Dish Network Review

[atlind01]

I am interpreting the question as whether it is advisable to move from cable to satellite. The answer is a resounding YES.

 

[mpl692001]

Think it all really depends on what your looking for if it's sports your after then D* might be better but if it's just general programming at a decent price then E*is the choice..... Have been an E* customer now for just over ten years but like everyone else have the normal frustrations regarding new programming out-sourced csr's but all in all have no real complaints.

 

[odbrv]

I live in Tornado Alley Texas. So far this spring I lost signal 3 times. I lost electricity 2 of those 3 times. The time electricity staid on the down time was 30 minutes.
Where I live there is no cable option and direct does not have our local channels and OTA doesn't work either. So Dish is a no brainer. I am hoping to get local HD this year . One of the earlier local maps on a chat showed our area. I have been with Dish since they started and with echostar equipment in my C-band days. I am quite pleased they exist.

 

[mlb]

My D* is cheaper than the same package I have with E*... so I wouldn't be so quick to state that Dish is cheaper.

 

[drdr]

I had Comcast for 6 months and switched to DISH. The picture quality on Comcast in my neighborhood was terrible with frequent image pixelation on HD channels. Also Comcast HD DVR were pretty primitive compared to Dish. Dish PQ has been better than Comcast because it works almost all the time.

Remember that cable service will also go out at unpredictable times. At least with rain fade you know why and how long it will last (usually just 10 minutes or so while it is raining really hard, happens 3-4 times per year). Also I have to go knock snow off the dish a few times in the winter after we get a foot of snow, but this may not be an issue where you live.

Comcast is a big company and service varies by location, but in my area (north of St. Paul,MN) it was terrible. I'm happy with Dish now.

 

[ncted]

I've had Dish for 11 months now. Coming from TimeWarnerCable, it has been a very good experience.

-Ted

 

[atlind01]

My D* is cheaper than the same package I have with E*... so I wouldn't be so quick to state that Dish is cheaper.

What package and how much are you paying.

 

[harshness]

The only information I have from a friend is that Dish suffers from more signal loss due to rain fade etc. than DirecTV.

This is typically not the case. Depending on where you live, your mileage may vary. DIRECTV is moving towards a frequency that is rather "wimpy" when it comes to penetrating heavy rain clouds or snow. Both services will drop out in some areas (S. Florida is a particularly difficult area).

Your first responsibility is to decide what you want in terms of programming. Look at the programming lineups and see which one fits better. If it comes down to having to make a choice on programming, then start considering hardware options. If that doesn't decide it for you, then it is time to fall back on the satisfaction questions.

Dismissing either service out of hand based on testimonials is not a good idea. Both have some very happy customers as well as some not-so-happy customers.

If you're the indecisive type, you may be able to avoid a commitment with DISH Network. DIRECTV will lock you up tight in a 18-24 month programming commitment with a very stiff early termination fee.

Think about how many "outlets" you want and whether you want HD or DVRs. Unlike CATV, if you don't have a receiver, you don't get TV (local or otherwise).

 

[DanME]

I have had Dish for over 8 years. My experience has been mostly very positive. I just upgraded to HD. A Dish technician removed my single Super Dish and replaced it with two smaller Dishes, replaced my two receivers, and made sure everything was working. The technician was from Dish and he did an excellent job.

I only had one issue with Dish a few years ago on a previous Dish upgrade. They replaced the antenna so I could get more channels. They forgot to replace my surge protector block with a higher bandwidth version. I had off and on channel drop outs for a month or two. They finally figured out the problem and since then no issues.

The Dish DVR is excellent.

I give Dish an A.

 

[mlb]

What package and how much are you paying.

AEP/Premiere - basically the same package

Cost for the Premiere after all costs is about $5 cheaper than the same package I had with Dish.

 

[davemich]

I live in SW Michigan and had E* for 4 years. Still have the super dish even tho not needed. I have occasional rain fade but it does not last that long...couple of minutes or so. Programming at the Top 200 suits me well and I have Cinemax for a penny for a year. I still am amazed at the SD pic quality when watching Fox News or ESPN. Clear as can be. I will never go back to Comcast as I will upgrade to HD one of these days and E* has more HD programming than Comcast does. Good luck on your decision. PS If you decide on either D* or E*, you can get a lot of answers to questions you may have after install right here. There is a great wealth of info here.

 

[Beckhamfam]

I've been with Dish for 11 years and I am glad I have it. The 722 receiver is wonderful and I'm looking for more HD channels. Yes, you will have some rain fades but that's going to happen, in the big picture it's not that big of the thing. How often does it rain cats and dogs. Go for Dish!

 

[vorteched_1]

I have both Dish and Comcast right now and I am disappointed in the Dish HD picture vs. Comcast. I was so disappointed that I attempted to back out of my Dish agreement because my vendor told me I had 30 days before they would hold me to the 24 month committment. I thought I was going to blow a gasket when the CSR at Dish told me that I was going to get tagged with the cancellation fee. He told me that Dish was the leader in HD and I told him that someone forgot to tell Comcast.

I talked to a manager and told her that Dish was trying to sell me an inferior product that didn't live up to it's own hype and she told me that it was my opinion and that all Dish was obligated to do was make sure that I had working service. I told her that when comparing the Dish HD and the Comcast HD on the same TV, that Comcast was better hands down. She then accused me of lying because there was no way that I could have HD cable and HD Dish on the same TV without some type of switch that was degrading the quality. I had to explain that my TV has three HD inputs and I asked her if she had ever seen an HDTV before.

At any rate, she proceeded to tell me that my set up was probably wrong so I challenged her to send a tech out. She got pissy and said that it was going to cost them $100 to send a tech out to look at something that might not even be broken so I reminded her that it was her idea that my set up was wrong.

So when the tech comes out this weekend, he will probably be taking my HD DVR with him. There is no way that I am going to keep paying for an HD package that blows (in my opinion) and that I will never use. If they are going to screw me, they shouldn't expect me to supply the lube.

 

[Andrewwski]

I don't think there will be a difference in the amount of rain fade between Dish and DirecTV.

People I know with Dish have very little problems in the winter and spring here. My relatives that have a heated cover for the dish never have it go out in the winter, even with whiteout conditions. Only in this very unusual summer have they had it go out...we've had 17 days in the past month with thunderstorms...sometimes 2 per day. If the thunderstorm is in the wrong part of the sky, it can cause it to go out, but usually only for a few minutes, and it comes back on.

My cable went out in a thunderstorm yesterday and took 10 hours to come back on. Total outage time for Dish can't add up to that much per year.

 

[Miggity]

Also Comcast HD DVR were pretty primitive compared to Dish.

The Motorola HD DVR's that Comcast used here Portland, OR (6412 I think?) were so whack it was singlehandedly the thing that drove me to Dish Network two years ago.

Best. Decision. Ever. :up

Dish's HD DVR's blow those Motorola boxes Comcast uses out of the water. They were laggy as hell. Now when you push play or rewind or fastforward the machine actually responds! It is a concept the folks at Comcast should really look into. Your device actually doing what you want it to do. It helps.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

. Total outage time for Dish can't add up to that much per year.

It doesn't. This year so far Dishnetwork service in my area has been out for a total 58 minutes including the nation wide outtage., D* up untill I dropped them last month, was up to 44 minutes. Cable has been out for 47.5 hours so far this year.

 

[DishSatUser]

As a previous two year customer of D* that just switched to E*, I'm more than happy.

The HD Package I'm using is also working fantastically, it's the new TurboHD Gold and locals package. Much better results than I was receiving with D* and also much cheaper at this time. I found that I never really watched the SD channels, so the decision to go with an ALL HD package made sense along with the lower pricing.

The E* HD DVR (ViP 722) is really working very well. Love the ability to switch between single mode and dual mode (TV in bedroom, where I can watch another show downconverted to 480i at the same time my spouse watches a different show on the HDTV without any additional receivers).

Periodically we compare to comcast at the in-laws that have the same HDTV set as us and are only 15 miles away. It must vary from city to city, because the quality is just not the same in my and my spouses opinion to what we currently are experiencing with our 722 and TurboHD Gold package.

 

[teamw]

I have the latest HD equipment and programming from D (7 yrs), E (10 yrs) and Charter Cable (5yr). Why? Because each offers something I want that the other two do not provide. If I could keep only one, it would be E. The reason is the equipment - it's much better than the others. In the end, the programming will end up about the same (except for D's expensive sports package), so for me it's about how the the programming is presented, i,e, the responsiveness and layout of the guide and menus; dvr recording and playback options; video quality, video output options including Pip/Pop built into the receiver; OTA built in; and reliability/service. E leads or is equal in all these categories in the dealings I've had with all three.

They are equal in that they each have very little down time. In fact, E called me and ask if I was having a problem with dropouts. I wasn't, but they said one of my dishes had a problem (they monitor performance) and they came out and replaced the LNB.

None are perfect, but if E has (or is likely to get) the programming you want, and your list of desired qualities is similar to mine, I think E is your best choice.

 

[reddice]

I first got Dish Network in 2000 and had then until 2004. We cancelled because we had legacy equipment and a SW64 switch that keep breaking. We then switched to DirecTV. My family did not like it that much. My mother complained that the channels were hard to find. News channels spread out in the 200's and 300's. Shopping and paid programming channels all over the place. I had the DirecTiVo which was the biggest peace of junk receiver ever. I hated how it would go to a black and white picture if you just changed the channels. So after our one year agreement ended we went back to Dish Network and are very pleased. We all got 510 DVR receivers and except for the occaonal reboot needed they work good.

I then upgraded to a HDTV. I upgraded my 510 to a 612 ViP. Although their CSR's were hard to understand a few days later they came and installed a 612 ViP. The installer that came knew what he was doing. I told him that I could not drill no more holes in the windows since they were new so he was able to drill a hole near my bed to the opening in the roof. I already had the second dish up from when the extra local channels were on 61.5. All he did was cascade another DP34 switch. The HD picture quality is amazing.

We do have some problems with rain fade. It really only goes out when we get lighting storms which is mostly during the summer. In the winter, snow storms rarely cause problems.