Direct TV seems to be offering some very, very good deals right now. And now that we have a HDTV (as well as the MLB Network and NFL Network being offered on DTV), I am considering making a switch.

The deals being offered right now are something like $60/month for the first year for HD+DVR, free equipment, and free setup. I have to research it more, but it seems like a very good deal.

Can those with DirecTV discuss their experiences with the service? Are there any cons I should looking at? I'm really green when it comes to this stuff.

Thanks,
John

The biggest cons is rain fade which drives my wife crazy, but I don't mind it. It happens about once every month or two and only lasts 15 minutes usually. It only happens when it is storming very hard. However, I keep an antenna backup just in case.

Other than, the next biggest drawback is the fees for the equipment. If they are offering an HD-DVR for free, that is an excellent deal. I'm very happy overall with my DirecTV service.

Direct TV seems to be offering some very, very good deals right now. And now that we have a HDTV (as well as the MLB Network and NFL Network being offered on DTV), I am considering making a switch.

The deals being offered right now are something like $60/month for the first year for HD+DVR, free equipment, and free setup. I have to research it more, but it seems like a very good deal.

Can those with DirecTV discuss their experiences with the service? Are there any cons I should looking at? I'm really green when it comes to this stuff.

Thanks,
John

I've had both directv and comcast.

Directv's customer service is pretty bad. The actual service itself was pretty good, but they kept raising their prices to the point where I didn't care to lose Sunday Ticket. I'd ask what your prices would be right now if your one year deal was up. They were also pretty slow to get out to my house whenever there was an issue (usually a 3-4 day wait was the minimum).

The experience that had me swear off directv was I called to cancel my directv service one night (I had moved and was going to stick with them, but Comcast was running a great deal at the time) and they told me their computer systems were down, but they'd make sure it was canceled as soon as they came back up. About a month later I get a bill from them billing me for the time after I supposedly canceled. I call them and they tell me they don't have me in their log as calling, but they'd go ahead and cancel my service again. I'm then told in order to dispute the bill I received I had to write a letter to their home office in Colorado. No number to call, no email, you had to actually write a letter and mail it.

Despite that, if the price is good (keeping in mind what you'll pay after the first year) and you like what they're offering then I don't see why you shouldn't switch. The fact that most people aren't willing to switch services after they make a choice is a big reason why they're able to jack prices up after the first year.

I've had DirectTV in two different locations, and Comcast in two different locations. I've never had any service/customer service issues with DirectTV in either location. That'll be put to the test this weekend for the first time in awhile as DirectTV is coming out to install a new satellite so that I can get HD Service and an HD-DVR on my new HDTV. I, like EF27, was unable to get around paying full price for the HD-DVR.

Comcast was nothing but trouble for me both times i had them. The install process was a nightmare both times(in Atlanta from what I can tell the install tech's are not actually comcast employees). From simply not showing up, to not being able to figure out which box at the apartment complex was needed to access my building, to getting on my cell phone to yell at the comcast support rep, my experiences with Comcast are very negative. I have had no such experiences with DirectTV.


I've never had to call DirectTV out for service in the 2 1/2 years I've had them, so I can't comment on their technical service on existing accounts. My experience with telephone customer service has been above average when I've had to call in.

I've talked to others about what they're paying, and it's comparable to my cable bill. I am a bit blah about changing the internet on top of it...but it's something I'm going to explore over the next few days.

Please, keep the comments coming. I appreciate all of the information I'm able to get!

I can't comment on Comcast, but we've been with DirecTV for over seven years now and are pretty happy with them. Other than the initial installation, we're extremely happy with them. We've had DirecTV in three different "cities" (I say cities since Cache, OK isn't a city), and four different locations. We've only had one problem with the initial set-up in our second go-around in El Paso: the guy was supposed to mount the dish on a pole, but brought the stuff for the roof.

The guy here in Cache who installed our dish took forever, but it worked. I swear I was going to charge him rent for how long he was taking. Our household goods arrived the same day he came to install and we had a big dent in our stuff put away before he left.

The biggest cons is rain fade which drives my wife crazy, but I don't mind it. It happens about once every month or two and only lasts 15 minutes usually.
The next time it happens call DirecTV and they'll send someone out to check out your signal strength. The past two Sundays our HD channels were pixelated and a little intermittent so I called DirecTV and they sent someone out on Tuesday to check our dish. The signal strength wasn't optimal and they adjusted it slightly and we're good now.

i just paid 99$ for the HD-dvr so for free thats damn good.

I had DirecTv for one year in 2005. The instillation went fine and I had no issue with them until it was time to move and we decided that we did not want to re-new the service at our new place. It took my wife multiple calls to finally get our account canceled and they kept pestering us for months. Very annoying. They also seemed to pull some billing shananigans as well. So, customer service-wise, I was not impressed.

I've had Comcast from 2006 to the present. Unlike the vast majority of folks out there, I've never had an issue with their customer service. In fact, the guy who installed it went above and beyond the call of duty to get the connections in place where we wanted them. He was great. The few times I have had an issue either with the cable or the internet, the folks I spoke with were polite, intelligent, and helpful. Again, based on the stories I have heard that's just dumb luck really.

I have tried to price compare the two services a few times and each time I've determined it made sense to stick with Comcast. The cable/internet deal is a bonus. I like the extra HD channels on DirecTV, but it's not enough for me to make the jump.

I've had DirectTV in two different locations, and Comcast in two different locations. I've never had any service/customer service issues with DirectTV in either location. That'll be put to the test this weekend for the first time in awhile as DirectTV is coming out to install a new satellite so that I can get HD Service and an HD-DVR on my new HDTV. I, like EF27, was unable to get around paying full price for the HD-DVR.

Comcast was nothing but trouble for me both times i had them. The install process was a nightmare both times(in Atlanta from what I can tell the install tech's are not actually comcast employees). From simply not showing up, to not being able to figure out which box at the apartment complex was needed to access my building, to getting on my cell phone to yell at the comcast support rep, my experiences with Comcast are very negative. I have had no such experiences with DirectTV.


I've never had to call DirectTV out for service in the 2 1/2 years I've had them, so I can't comment on their technical service on existing accounts. My experience with telephone customer service has been above average when I've had to call in.

I went through the upgrade process a year ago, and got a contractor who didn't really know what he was doing (and charged me $50 for a "pole" mount that didn't involve a pole at all, but involved a 2x4 and some cable ties to attach it to my deck). I called a couple days later when the rather large dish inevitably moved enough to have some channels cut out. We called up customer service had another technician out within a day or so. This guy knew what he was doing, and was impressed that he had been brought in so soon (I believe he worked for Directv directly; we've been customers for at least 8 years now, so that might have had something to do with it). He looked at the patchwork setup and I told him about the install. "Was it an Asian guy"? Yep. "Oh yeah, I've been cleaning up a bunch of messes from that outfit. We don't use them anymore." He fixed everything and we've had no problems since.

Anyway, I've never had any major issues with Directv. I'm even used to their non-TiVo HD-DVR now (one that yes, I did have to pay for and it's still technically not mine).

Direct TV seems to be offering some very, very good deals right now. And now that we have a HDTV (as well as the MLB Network and NFL Network being offered on DTV), I am considering making a switch.

The deals being offered right now are something like $60/month for the first year for HD+DVR, free equipment, and free setup. I have to research it more, but it seems like a very good deal.

Can those with DirecTV discuss their experiences with the service? Are there any cons I should looking at? I'm really green when it comes to this stuff.

Thanks,
John

Just an FYI, the best Sat. deals always include you signing a contract...

Just an FYI, the best Sat. deals always include you signing a contract...


I did have to commit to an extra year of direct TV to get the HD install, which is very silly. Of course I don't plan on changing away from direct TV as long as we're living here, but if there was a chance I was moving it would be an annoyance.

I had DirecTV service for about 7 years. Better than cable w/ the service, generally speaking, but the customer service and such is no better than cable. Just like with cable, the customer service is only good for those who don't have an above average understanding of how it all works. If you've got a clue, they cannot/will not come up with the right answers.

The biggest issue w/ the service may be "rain fade", but the better tuned your dish is to the signal from the satellites the less you will have to deal with this problem.

We had Comcast for many years as they were the only Cable option in South Jersey. But as a big fan of the English Premier League, I wanted to watch Setanta Sports, so I switched to DirecTV. The flip side is that the idiots at Comcrap do not allow Comcast Sportsnet Philly to be carried over satellite, so we lost the ability to watch Flyers, Phillies, & Sixers home games.

I have been very pleased with the actual service provided by DTV (not necessarily customer service, but TV content and picture). Although I will say it seems we have lost signal a little more often lately than over the past few years. We kept Comcast for their high-speed internet until Verizon FIOS moved into town. I quickly jumped on an annual deal for FIOS internet, and have been EXTREMELY pleased with the speed and service.

But as we've had to cut back on costs, I'm finding it harder and harder to justify paying 2 different companies for our overall entertainment budget, so I'm looking to consolidate. Verizon carries Setanta and also Comcast Sportsnet... so this is definitely where we are headed. We will lose NFL Sunday Ticket (and we are big fans of the Red Zone Channel), but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make. However, as we watch the vast majority of our shows on TIVO, I would have to spend money upfront buying an upgraded DVR. I really want the new TIVO HD receiver that can hold 2 cablecards (or maybe even the newer "M"? series cablecard that allows 2 streams with one card). But I am a little leery of spending so much up front for a technology that is still in its infancy.

In Summary, my opinion is:
Comcast = Average
DTV = Better
Verizon FIOS = Best (I hope...)

Let me be careful what I say.. I know of a local company that is a dealer for BOTH DirecTv and Dish network. That in and of itself is against the rules of both providers so we will be careful not to incriminate said company. I'll leave comcast out as I have never personally known anyone in their service area. DirecTv has NFL ST and honestly thats the only reason to really go there. DISH has better equipment and is cheaper across the board and has much better customer service. IF you go DTV, watch your bill, every month. Bogus charges WILL appear, but they are quick to take them off with a simple call. Also when you cancel it will not end, and collection agencies will hassle you. Best advice here is put it on auto draft with a CC and when you are through with them, call CC and stop future recurs and tell them DTV will not cooperate. They have heard it so much they will do it easy. Said local company, will not sign a new customer up to DTV unless they are an existing customer moving or theey sign a release/warning. As always your mileage may vary with any company, but with over 8,000 accounts to speak from dont bet on it.

Comcast has the very worst customer service I've dealt with in my entire life, but their triple play package offers me a much better deal than any other combination of companies could, and they gave me a HD DVR to go with it.

I would also get as muuch equipment as possible with the initial install. With Dish it was expensive to get a 2nd hd dvr where it would be basically free if I had done it at signup. Even if you only have 1 hd TV right now.

tyketime--

From what I see with Verizon (we are Wireless customers), they offer DirecTV. I would see if they could help you, since you're already up with FIOS.

We picked up the Comcast HD box tonight. I am pretty underwhelmed with the selection. We did get a whole bunch of new channels (including movie channels, which we did not order), so I'm wondering when this will change. But the vast majority of the channels are not HD. I understand that. We get 28-29 channels with Comcast...39-40 with DirecTV.

I think, right now, it's a money issue. It's simply much better, financially, to ditch Comcast and go with DirecTV...especially if Verizon can give us a deal akin to what I'm seeing on the web. If they can't, we'll do with each company individually. But it's very difficult to pass these up right now...especially when Comcast is dropping the ball to me.

That'll be put to the test this weekend for the first time in awhile as DirectTV is coming out to install a new satellite so that I can get HD Service and an HD-DVR on my new HDTV.

Well, my HD install with Direct TV was this morning and it went flawlessly. The install was scheduled from 8-noon, the tech called at 8 to say he'd be at our house by 8:30. He installed the new dish, set up my HD-DVR, and did some wiring for us so my sister could get a DVR with two feeds in her room(prevoiusly she only had a non-DVR receiver).

I'm watching Georgetown-Pitt in HD and am looking quite forward to my first NFL playoff games in HD later today :D