DirectTV vs. Cable (Colorado Springs, Englewood, Golden: live, cost of, centers)

[.gif]

dish network and directv are better than comcast, especially for high def. comcast's selection is very limited.

i like dish network. dish network is generally cheaper than directv. my startup costs were 0, whereas with directv i would have had to pay $199 for an hd receiver and dvr (with a longer contract as well). monthly costs are also less. channel selection is slightly less than directv but not appreciably so. their remote and tv/dvr interface is also nicer in my opinion. dish network does not have great customer service though.

as far as high speed internet goes, comcast is far superior. satellite internet just isn't very viable due to the enormous amount of lag you get with satellites that are 22,000 miles away.

[.gif]

also worth noting is that it may not be possible to get dishtv/directv if you don't have a clear view of the southern sky. hoa rules may also prevent a dish from being installed on the front of your house.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by Charles

How do you do this? Is this a one button operation? That is, is there a way to toggle a setting to only list channels I receive (easy), or do I have to manually add each channel I receive (or manually delete or remove each channel I don't receive) to some sort of memory or list (a bit of an initial hassle, but would seem to solve my problem)?

You can direct message if you want...thanks.

On our DirecTV, we set up our own menus in favorites so I can go to McGowdog's Favs and get all the good channels and Mrs. McGowdog's Favs can have all the garbage like cooking shows, reality TV, CMT, Lifetime, etc.

I find that the DirecTV guide feature is far superior to anything that cable does and we now get a bunch of HD channels.

[NeedAChangeFromFL]

You want DirecTV...hubby works for them.
Not biased or anything.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by .gif

also worth noting is that it may not be possible to get dishtv/directv if you don't have a clear view of the southern sky. hoa rules may also prevent a dish from being installed on the front of your house.

with the federal communications act of 1999, HOA cannot dictate where you can and cannot put a dish on your house. If they try it, go get a copy of the act, and let them know you will get a lawyer if they try to force it on you.

[ditto]

Originally Posted by Charles

You can rapidly change channels (I can literally tell within 0.3 seconds if I want to watch that channel). With digital the refresh seems like one long second.

I agree. I have DirecTV and lease one of their newer DVR units and the thing takes about 5 seconds to change channels - no joke. Even navigating suffers from lagging response time. Any of the DirecTV DVR models are not meant for channel surfing; they'll drive you insane. On the plus side, having a DVR is great for recording shows and fast-forwarding through a bunch of crap. I hear Dish Network has much better hardware compared to DirecTV, but they don't offer nearly enough HD channels (yet).

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by ditto

I agree. I have DirecTV and lease one of their newer DVR units and the thing takes about 5 seconds to change channels - no joke. Even navigating suffers from lagging response time. Any of the DirecTV DVR models are not meant for channel surfing; they'll drive you insane. On the plus side, having a DVR is great for recording shows and fast-forwarding through a bunch of crap. I hear Dish Network has much better hardware compared to DirecTV, but they don't offer nearly enough HD channels (yet).

We have the DVR offered by Comcast cable and it has the same maddening lag time to change channels.

[BarryK123]

Originally Posted by .gif

also worth noting is that it may not be possible to get dishtv/directv if you don't have a clear view of the southern sky. hoa rules may also prevent a dish from being installed on the front of your house.

They can't do that. Google OTARD.

[ditto]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

We have the DVR offered by Comcast cable and it has the same maddening lag time to change channels.

Yup, most DVR boxes suffer from lag. The overall quality of Dish Network's DVR's are better than DirecTV models, but I'm sure they're a bit slow.

[Topaz]

We love our DirectTV with Tivo. In our area, Comcast can't be paired with Tivo yet.