OT Comcast v. DirectTV

larryallen73 · January 27, 2011 12:20PM

Had Comcast for several years but thought it was overpriced. Got rid of it last week for Surewest (local company) and the wife is not happy. Can only pause one tv. We have a month to cancel. So thinking of trying Direct.

ldferg · January 27, 2011 12:51PM

not much help as I was thinking of going from DirecTV to Comcast.

Curious to hear others' experience. Comcast is making major pushes with xFinity for high speed connectivity.

storm888 · January 27, 2011 1:28PM

.

When Direct is working its best, it is as good as cable.
I tried it at one location and cancelled after three-weeks;
rain/snow/wind is not friendly to Direct.

There are lots of ways to reduce cable costs. I have looked
at all of them. I decided to just make more money, rather
than getting creative to save $50 a month.

basic cut the cord techniques

Cable is the path of least resistance and the quality of the
tv/internet/phone is as good/convenient as you're going to
find w/o a bunch of work and frontend expense.

GDM67 · January 27, 2011 1:33PM

All I can tell you is that I've had DirecTV for more than 12 years and I've never had a serious problem. Make sure you don't have issues with trees in the way of your feed and if you're cool, you're good to go. My aunt has their HD service and based on what I saw during the hollidays, it's pretty sterling as well.

Just one guy's experience.

cadets68 · January 27, 2011 1:36PM

I love me Directv. I have had it for about 12 years. 4 HD DVR receivers. I have one wired to the internet so I can use the "on demand".

To me they offer so much more than my local cable company (Charter).

Good luck. My wife would never let me get rid of Directv.

Shawn

Griffins · January 27, 2011 2:00PM

Had DirectTV for years, and they were also a client. But got a better deal from Dish and we like it a whole lot more.

CNote · January 27, 2011 2:11PM

I couldn't get directv because of trees, so I had Dish for about 18 months. Liked it at first, but grew tired of the receiver randomly rebooting during a show, or signal getting lost for one reason or another...pretty irritating actually. I went back to Comcast, and am glad I did because I missed On Demand

craigger · January 27, 2011 4:57PM

Had Comcast, had Cablevision, but HAVE Verizon Fios. No comparison. When Fios gets to your area, GET IT!

edmundfitzgerald · January 27, 2011 8:04PM

Verizon is the best imo.

Barfvader · January 27, 2011 9:30PM

<< <i>rain/snow/wind is not friendly to Direct. >>

Can only speak from my experience but during the worst snow storms the satellite transponder signals stay at the same strength as they are in calm sunny weather (high 90's with a couple in the 100's). Last storm the dish was covered in snow but still kept a great signal.

I think it has to do with the larger dish they installed (for HD and local channels) as the old smaller dish would lose the signal in the slightest rain storm.

New customer deals are great and then after that first year your bill skyrockets. Usually a call telling them your going to switch to something else will get them to lower your bill and add something for free for awhile.

Oh and then if you stay with them long enough they give you great gifts for being a loyal customer.

It's because of loyal customers like you that DIRECTV is America's #1 satellite TV service. As a token of our appreciation, please accept this FREE anniversary gift.

1 FREE DIRECTV CINEMA™ Movie

Blacklabelsociety · January 27, 2011 10:10PM

Directv is the best for sports. But as a customer since 2003, ive had numerous problems. Just last summer i wanted to watch the 7th game of the nba finals between lakers and celtics and couldnt because it rained. Missed the whole game. then just last month i didnt have any tv for 4 damn days because the end piece of the dish went bad. And the piece was only 7 months old. Every time your service messes up and you have to have something serviced, or THEIR equipment fails, they will charge you a $50 service fee.

I know someone who worked for directv, and he told me they would charge $200 for service calls, if you lived out in the country where cable is not available. complete ripoff.

Jmhockey23 · January 27, 2011 10:22PM

Switched from cable to directv 3 year ago. Don't plan on going back...

rexvos · January 27, 2011 10:50PM

Directv and NFL Sunday Ticket = Winner every time.

Toro · January 27, 2011 10:56PM

A PS3 and Netflix will make her happy.

larryallen73 · January 28, 2011 12:32AM

Does Direct allow pausing on all the TV's? The stupid Surewest system has DVR on 4 TV's but only one can pause! I am like my kids now and expect to be able to pause the TV when I want to!

Reljac · January 28, 2011 3:32AM

I always have heard the rain, snow, bad weather complaints about direct TV... it just seems to me that that is when I'd want to watch the TV most is on bad days.

I have Comcast, switched to it from AT&T. I really don't think we get our money's worth out of either of those. Simply don't watch enough TV... sometimes I feel like I'm paying $1200 a year to watch college football and local MLB.

I've heard the recent trend as been to cancel cable/direct TV and stream things through the internet that you want to watch.

mtcards · January 28, 2011 3:38AM

I currently have direct at work and Comcast at home, so can give you the pros and cons of each.

(1) Both are overpriced for as much as I watch it, but thats just an opinion
(2) Comcast has better consistency without service interruption, as stated earlier, Direct (or Dish) does NOT work well with snow and rain. If youre in an area with a lot of snow, you better be sure to have them mount it where you can get the snow off of it.
(3) Channel selection, for my taste is a bit better on Direct, but they seem to add/remove channels frequently, especially if you find a niche channel you like.
(4) Comcast now has Xfinity, at least in my area, which not only gives you lots of "On Demand" items, you can also watch it online.
(5) This is the only reason I have Direct at Work...NFL Sunday Ticket. Comcast doesnt have it.

Edited to add: The online streaming thing is going to be the way to go before too long, although probably at a cost. Most network and many cable shows are available online at little or no charge.

larryallen73 · January 28, 2011 4:43AM

Thanks for all the replies. Can you watch shows like CSI for free on demand with Direct like you can with Comcast?

CNote · January 28, 2011 4:45AM

There won't be Fios out in parts of the country- ever. Out here in the Puget Sound, Verizon was looking to find someone to buy their franchise because they couldn't compete with Comcast and Click!. Click! is a cable company out here run by our local utility, btw.

storm888 · January 28, 2011 4:51AM

<< <i>....Edited to add: The online streaming thing is going to be the way to go before too long, although probably at a cost. Most network and many cable shows are available online at little or no charge. >>

//////////////////////////////////

Yup.

And, that is the enabling/driving force that makes cutting the
cable-cord an attractive lure.

Most - maybe all - of the premium movie channels are available
online; some have commercials and are free, some have no
commercials and there is a fee. The are also software solutions
that deliver just about everything for free, if you dedicate a
good computer to the scheme. Netflix is also a great service.

I need/want fox-news/cnn/cnbc/fox-biz and sundry other spots
at the touch of a button. Only cable or sat can, currently, deliver
that. There are software solutions that can deliver 8-panels on a
laptop - each panel can be toggled, but that makes watching what
I wanna see more labor intensive than simply pushing a standard
remote control button; it also makes everything "medium hot,"
when my preference is often "background medium cool." All of that
makes either cable/sat what I need/want.

No matter what solution is picked, one still needs internet access to
fully exploit the available options. That means cable/sat are going to
be required ---- until the wireless plans become less pricey and faster.
(Verizon has a nice contraption, but it is expensive at both the front
and back ends; and, the megs are priced in increments that are too
small to stream large vols without running the bill way up. The speeds
are also not even close to what cable/sat delivers; when I wanna
stream something, I wanna see it NOW and don't wanna wait for
a slow/unreliable buffering scheme.)

The cable at one location is costing $90+; that includes internet, TV,
and a phone I never use. (The cost would be $100+, but I bought
a wireless router at BBY for $80; instead of renting it for $10 per/mo.)

If I cut out the phone and TV, I would save $50 per/mo, but it
would cause me a lot of labor to assure that I got the cable chans
that I need/want. It's just not worth it, to me.

BUT, if I was not the laziest person on the planet, I would explore
all alts and, over time, save some money.

The comments section in the below article are full of success stories
from folks who are NOT lazy and have cut the cord. (The first step
is to buy the best set of "rabbit ears" at RSH; this will tell you if your
location is a candidate for going without the cord. If it is working
right, you will prolly be SHOCKED at how BEAUTIFUL the signal is.
The new "rabbit ears" are NOT the ones from the early days.)

cable cutter article

CNote · January 28, 2011 7:05AM

streaming on your PC = crap

Blacklabelsociety · January 28, 2011 7:57AM

I had the directv NFL sunday ticket last year. But only because they offered it to me for $20. No way would i ever pay the $165 or whatever it is they charge. Especially now that i can watch any game on the net for free. If my directv doesnt work during the super bowl, like it didnt during the NBA Finals, i am going back to cable.

CEOBIDMC · January 28, 2011 8:23AM

waiting for FIOS; then i can say, hey Comcast? wanna make a deal? if not, bounce between them both for the best price every couple of years i guess. both are overpriced.

Barfvader · January 28, 2011 11:50AM

I will add that any time you need to use customer service it's an adventure.

Today was a rather fun ordeal. Recently purchased an HDTV so obviously wanted to add that service. So for us people that have been loyal customers we can get that as an added cost of $10 per month. New accounts can get that for free for life. Called them up and was given instructions on going paperless billing and once done call them back and they would turn on the HD and make it free every month (even though we are not a new customer).

Sounds simple but nothing is ever that simple. During the call two reps asked if we wanted the Starz/Showtime special they are running (reduced rate for three months then $24.99 after that). Both times said no as we wanted the Choice Extra + DVR and Starz pack. Only addition was to be the HD channels. After about 45 minutes of this and that got it worked out and had HD running. Go back online to check the account and even after telling them no twice on the Starz/Showtime deal they had switched us anyway. Another call made and this time get a rather rude woman and argue back and forth and we're told that we're getting the Starz/Showtime for 3 months at no charge (even though we said no,period). Fought with her for a while and had to be transferred to ask for a disconnect of the package we did not want or ask for and finally got it straightened out. What a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Oh and that free HD channels deal they gave us is NOT for life. They are giving us two years of free and after that we have to pay because as the rude person pointed out that it's really only for new customers.

This is probably my one complaint with them (and Dish Network is no better). Loyal customers that pump obscene amounts of money into their wallets really are treated like garbage. I get why they offer the deals for new customers but you would think that they would like to keep people from switching and throw us a bone now and then (and that free movie credit to watch one flic we got is a pathetic joke).

But in my neck of the woods options are limited. I can pay Time Warner more for less. Hook up Dish Network and be locked into a two year contract (not going to do that). And running an antenna, well out here in the woods that's not an option at all.

Will say though the HD picture is pretty sweet. Still see some compression of the signal on some of the HD channels but overall very nice.

OT Comcast v. DirectTV

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