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Wow, good for you Fuzz. I live in Tampa surrounded by ~40ft Cypress trees aka swamp land. When we had Directv, we lost the signal (searching for satellite message) during most storms. They sent techs out several times, once even during a storm. Unfortunately, it was a big factor in changing the service. Being in an area where hurricanes are prevalent, having instant access to the weather forecast is really important to us. This was over a year ago. Maybe it's changed since then. Or maybe we just had a really bad service experience.
Just got my cable bill.....$92 for the digital classic package. I compared the channels to that of Dish Networks 250 and Dish would be significantly cheaper. I have no premium channels, nor do I want any. I have a dual tuner DVR and my friend who has Dish loves hers, so switching from cable to Dish shouldn't be that hard of a transition. I'm leery about the signal making it through my trees. My backyard (south) is entirely tree lined. I wonder if you sign up in winter when the trees are bare if they'll let you out of your contract in spring if the trees block the signal. I need to look into this.
Thanks for your posts.
Well, feel fortunate that the trees are yours rather than your neighbors' and trim those trees.
I have had DirecTV for about 8 years, and I will never get rid of it.
The selection is greater...just the amount of channels that the Discovery Channel has is impressive. The fact that they are the ONLY provider that has the Sunday Ticket package is another reason.
I agree with a previous poster, losing the signal is a huge myth. One of the keys is to have the dish attached to your roof...not a tree, or a deck or a pole or on the front lawn.
I've always had cable except for my last two years in Philly. I wasn't told until I moved into the apartment building that it wasn't set up for cable. So I ended up getting DirecTV. I was satisfied with it overall. For whatever reason, the building manager didn't want to splurge for one large dish and so there were 15-20 dishes on the rooftop. It was annoying to have to pay extra for local channels (although I suppose that's either par for the course or a non-issue for peole in rural and remote areas). The signal also went out on a few occasions when it was particularly windy and/or snowy.
Cox is the cable provider in my part of Northern Virginia. They started out with around 10 HD channels but they're up to 30 now. Their DVR is okay but it would be nice to have a "season pass" feature like I hear can be found on Tivo.
Although I'm happy with Cox, I'd be open to Dish Network. I like their TV guide interface and I think I'd like their selection of channels even more. But the cable is bundled up with phone and internet so it's not really worth the bother as long we live in the same area.
Satellite is much better. However, we recently went to AT&T U-Verse and we are totally happy. It has the same number of high-def channels and many features. It's inexpensive as well.
Well, feel fortunate that the trees are yours rather than your neighbors' and trim those trees.
By the time I paid someone to come trim them, it'd be cheaper to just stick with cable. Two years ago, one of the trees toppled over. It shared it's base with another three and the tree guy who came out said that the tree left standing should be cut down. He also said I should rip all the 30+ year old trees out and replant. He said budget several thousand dollars to do it. The work might be worth a couple thousand dollars, but the neighborhood I live in surely isn't.
There's quite a distance between my rooftop and the trees. I'm hoping a signal can get through. My neighbor has Dish Network and has no problem with her signal, but her roof and my roof aren't exactly aligned in the same direction. I live on a cul-de-sac so our lots are shaped kind of funky.
I just switched to direct tv from years of having cable, it has some good perks, but the loss of signal is annoying, it was out all night into this morning i heard there is a signal booster u can install for this problem.
I just switched to direct tv from years of having cable, it has some good perks, but the loss of signal is annoying, it was out all night into this morning i heard there is a signal booster u can install for this problem.
Why was it out?
I have never needed any type of device to "boost" a signal.
Btw, did you install the dish, or was it professionally installed...and on "what" was it installed on (ie, roof, deck, tree etc)?
If a person lives in an area where the local cable company has made investments in their network to offer not only "broadcast" type video services (which is all that satellite companies offer), but also high speed internet, telephone over cable, video on demand, you can usually get package deals or "bundles" for multiple services. Chances are if you live in a medium to large sized metro area, your cable company has spent a bundle of cash to upgrade and the quality of services is high. Some independent rural area or small town cable networks don't have as much cash to invest for the latest technology, and in that case they may be limited to fewer digital services and maybe no HDTV. That's why in smaller towns or rural area, satellite is often the only good choice for a big TV channel lineup.
If you can buy a full bundle of services from a cable co, the combined price from a cable co will typically compete with what it what would cost you to buy the services separately from satellite providers and phone or high speed internet providers. Plus you don't have to hassle about letting people climb all over your roof or house and mess up something else while they put the ugly dish on the roof. In the area where I live, the "cable company" actually has more residential phone customers than the old "phone company", that gives you an idea how much technology and competition has opened doors for customers to choose from. Competition among cable, satellite and telephone companies is good for consumers, it forces all of them to pay attention to customer service, keep up with technology, and prevents them from increasing prices that are out of line with their competitors.
Why was it out?
I have never needed any type of device to "boost" a signal.
Btw, did you install the dish, or was it professionally installed...and on "what" was it installed on (ie, roof, deck, tree etc)?
It was a nasty little storm passing thru georgia,it was done by a tech from direct tv, it's on the roof and it's a hd setup.
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So I ended up getting DirecTV. I was satisfied with it overall. For whatever reason, the building manager didn't want to splurge for one large dish and so there were 15-20 dishes on the rooftop. 
It was annoying to have to pay extra for local channels (although I suppose that's either par for the course or a non-issue for peole in rural and remote areas). The signal also went out on a few occasions when it was particularly windy and/or snowy. 
i heard there is a signal booster u can install for this problem.
