Rainy weather...DirecTV or Cox (Wichita, Overland Park: houses, movies, utilities)

[rooch]

Hey folks...

As I prepare to set up utilities/services -- I was curious if anyone here has Direct TV in Wichita and what their service was like there...? For instance, when we get a bad rainstorm here in Acworth, GA - it typically will cause our TV to lag and become distorted and lose signal...

I was fine with this trade-off since it rarely rains here--but I believe it may rain there more frequently and stronger...so I have been trying to decide if I should simply switch to Cox or if Direct TV service typically does well despite the weather there...

How is Cox anyways? I switched to DirectTv mainly for NFL package--but also because I'd grown tired of cable's poor customer service (had Time Warner Cable previously)

[TinaMcG]

I know cable companies have awful customer service problems, but I would kill to have cable again. Whenever we get a storm, we lose out satellite signal. Sometimes it's out for a minute or two, sometimes 30-60 minutes. Satellite is our only option because there's no cable in our area yet.

One thing we also dislike about satellite is the VERY limited choice of on-demand programming -- it's practically zilch. We used to have Comcast in Chicago and there was a gigantic on-demand menu that included movies and the most poipular television shows like CSI. I really miss that.

We like the DVR with satellite. Does Cox offer that?

[quesera]

I know our small town cable company offers DVR service. I just ditched the dish and went to cable. There are so many redundant channels on dish, that we never watched, anyway. When we lived in another town (Salina), we had Cox, and loved it. I've heard negatives about them, a lot lately, so if that's your only option for cable service, I'd really check them out before ordering their service. Standard Cable Overview, Cable TV serving Kansas | Cox Communications

[KevK]

There are disadvantages to both. I have Dishnetwork in Lithia Springs- just down the road from you- and it goes out rarely- only in very heavy rain for a short period of time. If yours goes out everytime it rains, the installer did not "peak" the dish correctly. Check your signal meter. It should be between 75 and 100 on a clear day. Cable is able but when it goes out, it tends to go out for a long time. The reason I switched to Dish was because of the frequent cable outages I used to have.

[TNTargetmaster]

This has been a long standing problem that Direct TV cannot solve or really understand . When it rains, drizzles or when it seems rain is coming, the TV service goes out..mostly. We can sometimes get the 'DIY" channel but no others. But lately the whole system goes TU. When I called and complained today, the rep told me that if the service returned after the rain was over...( sometimes as long as two days) they couldn't do anything. ( Oh...she told me the "clouds interfered"...imagine that)

So, for those having to select a service....unless you live in the desert think twice about Direct TV. The ads mislead...

[OneKC]

I have DirecTV and am probably going to drop it when we move. Like the others in this thread, anytime it rains moderately, we lose service on everything except local channels.

When we signed up we, DirecTV gave us a free Tivo. We LOVED Tivo. Unfortunately after a year, it sputtered and died. No problem, they gave us another DVR for free. Except they had not renewed their agreement with Tivo and they were instead using their own DVR. It SUCKS. For several days, it would not record any programs at all, and we missed a lot of our favorite shows we thought were recording. It finally got on track and recorded, but the DVR is VERY user-unfriendly and difficult to navigate. It also locks up a lot - like you want to change channels, it can take up to 10-15 seconds at times. It frequently locks up if you fast-forward or rewind. It also doesn't seem to have as much disk space as Tivo did. We never got even close to maxing out Tivo - we're 80% full with Directv's DVR. And DirecTV doesn't recommend things for you like Tivo did. Maybe that's a plus - some people think its annoying and creepy that Tivo suggests things - I liked it because I found lots of new shows I didn't know about.

So I'm strongly leaning towards Time Warner when we move. They offer free HD channels (albeit not nearly as many as Directv) and I'm tired of the service issues. If you like tons of HD channels and want things like MLB Network, NFL Sunday ticket, and on-demand options, Directv is pretty good. But it comes with baggage, be forewarned.

[cp1969]

I had DirecTV but dropped it. Dish is no better; both of them disappear when you need weather information the most. When the weather gets serious, you're limited to what you can see out your window.

edit: If you're like me and satellite is your only option, you may as well plan on switching providers routinely. DirectTV had me as a customer for four years but wouldn't replace broken equipment. They wanted some ridiculous amount to replace broken receivers and would not budge so I just switched to Dish. Now, they send me a mailing about two times a week, wanting me back, advertising free equipment and installation. WTF? What kind of business model to they use? Dish may be no different; I don't know since nothing's broken since I switched. But it will. Then I'll probably be switching back to DirectV if Dish won't upgrade their equipment.

[chaseystarz]

I have DirecTv and I'm happy with the service. When it rains heavy-like during a storm warning, it does go out. But during a light rain shower? No, its fine. But in the winter time if we get alot of snow, you may have to knock the snow out of the dish.

I just have the bare minimum programing package so I don't spend that much for the channels I want. I've had it for like ten years now.

I'd look at the programing and the cost of all the services and figure out what you want from there.

[Johnny Bananas]

Aw just when we had a day off with rain, ya gotta mention it?! LOL I'm kidding... I always had problems with DirectTV in both of my recent houses in Kansas City, KS and Overland Park. Everytime it rained, I would lose the signal for a few minutes, regain it, lose it again, and so forth. I ended up switching to Everest (now Surewest) which I've not had any problems yet but I think that's gonna change once we start having ice/snowstorms this winter.

I'm not too sure about Cox though. I don't have any friends around here who have it and the only time I've came across the Cox network is when I've travelled to St. Louis and Branson....

You should look into SureWest as well.... Some good offers. Other than that, that's all I can help you with. Good luck.

EDIT: Well my post it completely irrevelant now seeing as the original post was about 4 months ago ... Heh my bad.