[UglyBuzzard]

Getting to the point of no return with Cox TV. Lousy service and very expensive.

Any experience with Direct TV? I know nothing is perfect but is it better than cable?

Thanks

[TXSTYLE]

Plenty of experience! I've been a loyal DirecTV customer for 16 years! So it this without saying, I have extensive experience.

The PQ, sound and content and just as important: "customer service" are excellent. In the times where I have had problems (which we all will have especially in that time) they always make it right. Either by fixing, replacing or crediting my account with little effort. When I compare prices for all providers based on my pkg, they remain competitive.
As a Amazon Prime member too, I have no shortage of TV content.
So I would definitely recommend. And for new customers, ask for some perks: Free hbo, Starz, etc or even free nfl Sunday ticket.

[csu87]

only reason i have direct tv is because of the NFL Sunday Ticket.

Otherwise, id probably go back to comcast cable. Hate it when we get a blizzard and my dish ices over or gets covered in snow. Have to go out in the storm to dig it out. And comcast always caves to your demands, where direct tv doesnt. I always got free stuff from comcast.

[///F80M3]

Originally Posted by UglyBuzzard

Getting to the point of no return with Cox TV. Lousy service and very expensive.

Any experience with Direct TV? I know nothing is perfect but is it better than cable?

Thanks

Satellite has better picture quality than cable. Only problem I had was it loses signal when there is bad weather.

[TXSTYLE]

The signal can go out in very stormy conditions, but if you call, they'll credit me for the day.

[saleen556]

Switched to Dish after having Comcast cable for 20+ years. No regrets and much cheaper. The rental fees were getting rediculous.

[M_Six]

I switched to DirecTV just for MLB Extra Innings. But this season I went with MLB's single team plan, which is not available on DirecTV. I looked into switching back to cable, but it would be about the same monthly cost and then there's the hassle of sending all the DirecTV equipment back, so I just stayed with DirecTV.

The service has been fine. Occasionally you lose the signal in a storm, but that doesn't happen very often. The only other thing that will wreck the signal is snow and ice buildup in the dish. My dish is on top of my shed, so I can reach it with a broom and clear it. Would be impossible if the dish sat on the roof of the house.

[1and1]

Been on Directv for 15+ years now, and couldn't imagine giving it up. We're in Florida with all that it rains here we only loose signal a few times a year during the very very worst storms with the thickest clouds. Even then we're mostly watching recorded stuff so typically no worries.

We've comparison shopped every few years to be sure we're getting the best bang for the buck and honestly the prices and packages we see with Comcast TV are just scary. Less total HD content, higher prices and the packages just don't group the channels we watch. Really, at this point we'd probably just hunt our programs off the internet instead if we gave up DTV.

Also run OSMC on a Raspberry Pi 3 and am still impressed by what we find through that, along with our own movie/tv/music selection. Nifty set-up for sure.

[okusa]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

The signal can go out in very stormy conditions, but if you call, they'll credit me for the day.

Wait, if I call they credit you? How'd you swing that deal?

[///Mongo]

Excuse my ignorance, but don't you still have to deal with Comcast/Cox/etc. for internet?

[IndotagSwizz]

depends whether you value reliability or not, can't tell how many times I double check before going to a superbowl party of nba finals game what kind of service they have, my friends always tell me how their satellite tv barely ever goes out, but every time I'm there it happens lol sure most times it comes right back but it does happen with simple things like rain or wind, also sometimes it freezes for a quick second, cable is more expensive but 100% more reliable

[TXSTYLE]

I use Time Warner for Internet.

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by okusa

Wait, if I call they credit you? How'd you swing that deal?

[RJ_]

Originally Posted by csu87

only reason i have direct tv is because of the NFL Sunday Ticket.

Otherwise, id probably go back to comcast cable. Hate it when we get a blizzard and my dish ices over or gets covered in snow. Have to go out in the storm to dig it out. And comcast always caves to your demands, where direct tv doesnt. I always got free stuff from comcast.

My parents have DirecTV and they've had an awful experience with their customer service. Between that and my prior experience with comcast, I've felt no need to deal with TV.

I have ATT for internet, so I get mailers all the time for DTV. You guys might be convincing me right now.

[IndotagSwizz]

by the way according to most people picture quality is better with satellite than cable

[ASBSECU E93]

Hey UglyBuzzard - when you switch, list me as a referral so we can both get a little cash

[UglyBuzzard]

Thanks all - these are informative responses and appreciated.

Living in SoCal it is doubtful that I have to worry about freezing conditions.

We do use Cox for internet as well and that has been ok. I don't know if we would switch that as well.

We love sports and also have 4k so that is a consideration.

[M_Six]

Yeah, I'm stuck with the local cable company (Mediacom) for internet. And it gets pricey if you don't have a package deal with TV and phone. I wish Verizon or someone would bring fiber in here.

[Templar]

I've had Directv for 6 years.

Quality is great and selection is great. It takes a pretty massive storm rolling through to knock it out, so I don't buy the "little bit of rain or wind and I'm out for hours" BS. I rarely have downtime unless we are having severe thunderstorms, and even then it's out until the storm passes by then it's back. Ice storms here in NC haven't knocked it out either, even with a nice coating of ice on the dish.

My issue, and this is with most service companies in general, is that once you're no longer a "new customer," your prices will increase dramatically. So in a nutshell, as a new Directv customer, you're going to get a great service for a great price. But hit me up in a few years and let me know how much your price has increased. I guarantee it will. There's no point in being loyal to these companies anymore, because they aren't loyal to you.

And yea, if you call them and whine about something you'll get a credit. Kinda like I did last week. My bill is just getting to be too much and I'm sick of it so I called them telling them I was considering changing service and I want to be sure I am not in a contract because I got new equipment a year ago. So they give me a credit; I get $5 off every month for a year. What a wonderful credit. Barely makes a dent in the bill. I have actually decreased my package and removed some of the additional channels I got promotions on, and my bill went down maybe $5 a month. Once they got you, they got you good.

My only other option in my area would be Dish and they just aren't as good. I'd kill for Cable TV and internet right now in my location. Even though Dish isn't as good I'm seriously considering it. Their comparable package for what I have now would cost me almost half of what I'm paying Directv, and I'd be a new customer so I'd get "perks."

Unfortunately the online billing only lets me view bills from two years prior, so I can't tell you how much I was paying when I first became a customer. But, I can guarantee it was probably half or maybe even less than half of what I am paying now.

[David70]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

The signal can go out in very stormy conditions, but if you call, they'll credit me for the day.

This made me laugh. Last thing I am going to do is call them and go through everything, explain about the weather so I can collect $3.

I stay at a lot of hotels and it seems like most have Satellite TV and it goes out a lot, at least way too much to deal with the small amount of money I would save.

[RickFLM4]

I've had DirecTV for 11 years and would never go back to Comcast for TV. DirecTV picture and sound are better and more reliable. I have an antenna for the very rare occasion I lose DirecTV due to weather. In fact, I'd probably cut the cord and go with antenna and AppleTV before going back to Comcast cable TV.

I use Comcast for Internet because my only other choice is uVerse, which I tried for Internet and phone and it sucked. Comcast Internet works ok because they replaced equipment in my neighborhood and I had them run a new cable from the street direct to my office without going through miles of cable in the attic.

I find all these services to be expensive.

[1and1]

When properly installed & aligned DTV signal is remarkably stable- we pull strong signal in the 98-100 range. We very very rarely lose signal, and when it does get that bad we typically start unplugging things due to lightning.

Originally Posted by Templar

And yea, if you call them and whine about something you'll get a credit. Kinda like I did last week. My bill is just getting to be too much and I'm sick of it so I called them telling them I was considering changing service and I want to be sure I am not in a contract because I got new equipment a year ago. So they give me a credit; I get $5 off every month for a year. What a wonderful credit. Barely makes a dent in the bill.

Might want to try it again- we get a $30 credit on our bill just cause we call and asked. We call every year when the credit expires.





That's for three receivers, each with it's own DVR, one is a genie DVR, so we can record up to 9 different things at once if needed- main room, college student son's bedroom and master bedroom.