Dish vs Direct

[mulligan]

I don't recall seeing a comparison of these 2 on TOTV. I am considering getting rid of cable, and using one or the other for TV. The relatively minor service disruptions during bad weather are of little or no consequence to us, because I usually have my head in a book anyway, and there is so little quality TV, I wouldn't miss a little here or there. Has anybody done a recent comparison ?

[indianavette]

I went through the same decision process a few months ago and Direct TV won. Much more flexibility when recording shows.

[Avista]

I went through the same decision process a few months ago and Direct TV won. Much more flexibility when recording shows.

Funny, we did the same comparison and Dish TV won. have had Dish about 2 years and are very pleased.

[biker1]

If you are content with the major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX plus a bunch of other stuff), you can use an over-the-air antenna and pick up these stations from Orlando for no cost (like in the good old days). We supplement with a Roku box to access Netflix and Hulu+. We stopped paying for cable/sat TV a while ago and don't miss it, especially the cost.

I don't recall seeing a comparison of these 2 on TOTV. I am considering getting rid of cable, and using one or the other for TV. The relatively minor service disruptions during bad weather are of little or no consequence to us, because I usually have my head in a book anyway, and there is so little quality TV, I wouldn't miss a little here or there. Has anybody done a recent comparison ?

[MikeV]

Got rid of Comcast - Went with DirecTV.

[Shimpy]

The relatively minor service disruptions during bad weather are of little or no consequence to us, because I usually have my head in a book anyway, and there is so little quality TV, I wouldn't miss a little here or there.

It wouldn't be considered a minor service disruption when the weather is quickly getting worse with a hurricane heading your way. You might not have access to weather when you need it most. I've been through many hurricanes and believe me, TV, if you still have power is your friend. Radio just isn't the same thing.
That is the reason I still stay with cable.

[NoMoSno]

It wouldn't be considered a minor service disruption when the weather is quickly getting worse with a hurricane heading your way. You might not have access to weather when you need it most. I've been through many hurricanes and believe me, TV, if you still have power is your friend. Radio just isn't the same thing.
That is the reason I still stay with cable.

Just turn on your battery operated laptop. Go to:
Lady Lake, Florida (32162) Conditions & Forecast | Weather Underground (http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=zmw:32162.1.99999)

[ureout]

if you want the NFL games pkg. go with direct tv....dvr'ing programs I prefer dish....also the hopper is nice....no commercials on the big 4 networks during prime time

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I don't recall seeing a comparison of these 2 on TOTV. I am considering getting rid of cable, and using one or the other for TV. The relatively minor service disruptions during bad weather are of little or no consequence to us, because I usually have my head in a book anyway, and there is so little quality TV, I wouldn't miss a little here or there. Has anybody done a recent comparison ?

I get the impression that severity and duration of the weather related service interruptions are related to exactly where you are located. I though about this a while ago and was told by some that the interruptions are rare and only minutes. Then I spoke with other people who had a dish and went to cable because every time we got a rain shower their service would go out and sometimes stay out for hours at a time.

I'd check with people in your neighborhood or on your street if possible to find out what the service it like for them in that area.

[buzzy]

I think a lot has to do with the accuracy of aiming the dish itself. A good tech will fiddle with it until the signal is the strongest. A poor setup will be more susceptible to outages from rain. It's also possible for the dish to be bumped over time if it's on a pedestal on the lawn.

[Kahuna32162]

We have had Dish, both up north and here, only minor disruptions and only with local network channels. Overall, I am very happy with Dish and the quality of signal. Customer service is excellent and very helpful.

[ricthemic]

If you are content with the major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX plus a bunch of other stuff), you can use an over-the-air antenna and pick up these stations from Orlando for no cost (like in the good old days). We supplement with a Roku box to access Netflix and Hulu+. We stopped paying for cable/sat TV a while ago and don't miss it, especially the cost.

Please provide more information on your antenna. Thanks

[Halibut]

If you haven't already, check the channel line-ups for both; there are only minor differences but if there's a specific channel you need/like, that might made the decision easier.

We've had both providers and prefer DirecTV. Their Genie receiver can record 5 shows at once, which can be helpful when the dratted networks insist on running their shows 1 minute past the hour. I don't use them but they've added some options for additional full-house coverage. I also like the remote and onscreen guide for DirecTV better, but that's just personal preference. They bundle with Centurylink for a small monthly price reduction. Dish may do the same.

For as much as it's been raining lately, the signal rarely gets interrupted, and then only when it's really pouring. We have the dish on the roof.

Of course, I'd almost say not to go with DirecTV just because of their incessant marionette commercials ...

[gadaboutgal]

After 5 years we just canceled DISH and have gone with Century Link Prism. We think it is so much better; we have internet with it and it seems to be much faster.
Good luck trying to cancel if you go with DISH. What a pain in getting then to cancel, and then you have to ship everything back to them within 30 days including a part of the actual dish which was installed up on our roof.

It was so annoying that when we had a storm it went out in the middle of whatever we were watching.
So glad to be rid of them.

[Halibut]

I should add that DirecTV has great introductory rates but they jack up the fees about double after the initial 12 months. Offerings likely vary, but we had to agree to a two-year contract.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

After 5 years we just canceled DISH and have gone with Century Link Prism. We think it is so much better; we have internet with it and it seems to be much faster.
Good luck trying to cancel if you go with DISH. What a pain in getting then to cancel, and then you have to ship everything back to them within 30 days including a part of the actual dish which was installed up on our roof.

It was so annoying that when we had a storm it went out in the middle of whatever we were watching.
So glad to be rid of them.

Is Century Link also a satellite dish system?

[gadaboutgal]

Century Link is not a satellite system. Prism is a new offering from Century Link ( had been servicing our land phone lines) is not available in all parts of The Villages. Most villages south of 466 have had access for awhile, and we were looking forward to having it eventually in Glenbrook. Finally got it when they started installing the underground cables this spring. So you would have to call Century Link to find out if it is available in any specific area.

[biker1]

Tom at TheVillagesAV.com installed an over-the-air antenna in our attic. It is connected to 3 TVs. I believe the model is the following:

https://www.antennasdirect.com/store/DB4e-extended-long-range-outdoor-dtv-antenna.html

We pull in about 50 channels from Orlando (like cable, many are not of interest to us). We get CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX in HD (which is really what we were looking for).

Tom's install works great.

Please provide more information on your antenna. Thanks

[biker1]

I believe the following is true. Prism is a so-called "IPTV" offering - TV through your internet connection. I believe they use the Cisco boxes and Microsoft's Media Center software. We have had this from another company in GA and it worked great. Typically, it can be provided through copper wires if you are close enough to a switching station or through fiber optic cable. There is a minimum bandwidth requirement which is why you need to be close enough to a switching station (bandwidth through copper wires drops with distance from a switching station). With fiber optic cables, no such restriction typically exists because fiber offers lots of bandwidth.

Century Link is not a satellite system. Prism is a new offering from Century Link ( had been servicing our land phone lines) is not available in all parts of The Villages. Most villages south of 466 have had access for awhile, and we were looking forward to having it eventually in Glenbrook. Finally got it when they started installing the underground cables this spring. So you would have to call Century Link to find out if it is available in any specific area.

[Ooper]

You can find a lot of comparison on You Tube. IMHO, Dish has it all over Direct, the DVR stores more, faster, and just plain better and user friendly.

[grannymaggie]

We have DirecTV and love it. The quality of programs offered is so good and they are constantly striving to make it even better than it already is. One of my favorite features is that you can record 5 programs at once. Also, it is so easy to use. DirecTV will always have our vote.
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Everything happens for a reason.

[Ooper]

We have DirecTV and love it. The quality of programs offered is so good and they are constantly striving to make it even better than it already is. One of my favorite features is that you can record 5 programs at once. Also, it is so easy to use. DirecTV will always have our vote.
********************************
Everything happens for a reason.

Record 6 with Dish.

[Villages Kahuna]

I've been a DirecTV subscriber for well over ten years. I've never done the direct comparison of their channel lineup compared to the Dish Network, but I've heard that DirecTV's is more extensive. Similarly, I've never done a comparison of cost. I think they both have the bigger DVR's that can record five programs at a time. They just call them different names.

To me a major point of differentiation is DirecTV's customer service. Their's is 24-7 with knowledgeable U.S.-based reps. Dial their number and there is seldom a wait to get to a friendly, knowledgeable tech support person.

I subscribe to an extra cost tech support and equipment replacement program--I don't know what it's called, but it costs less than ten bucks a month. With this program, they seldom hesitate to send out a rep on a truck to fix your problem, most often the next day. In addition, you can get all your equipment replaced with the newest, upgraded equipment at no cost every two years.

As far as the "weather interruption" argument, I think that criticism is baloney. Yes, when there's a driving rainstorm you're signal will be interrupted. But you can almost look out the window and predict when the rain subsides that your signal will return. Interruptions are measured in minutes, definitely not hours. And besides, why wouldn't one watch all those programs they've recorded during such interruptions? That's what we do.

My vote is a strong one for DirecTV.

[rp001]

My vote is Dish. I've had them over two years now and really like the service..... Compared to Comcast and centurylink.

[forgan]

I've had Directv since 1997 when I bought the dish at Circuit City and installed it myself. I have two homes and have Directv at both locations, one in The Villages and the other in the Atlanta area. My golfing buddy in Atlanta has Dish and at this time cannot get Braves games because of a dispute between Fox Sports South and Dish. This seems to happen a lot with Dish. It happened with Directv and The Weather Channel but as a result we now get Weather Nation and since they solved the problem with The Weather Channel, we get that also. I vote for Directv.

[TxJollyMon]

We are new residents in Sunset Pointe and initially elected to go with Century Link Prism TV and Internet. The tech that came out to check the signal levels was honest with us and told us that the signal was not sufficient for HDTV and he expected that we would elect to find another service that could provide a HDTV signal. While we had great service from Comcast in Houston where we came from, TOTV posts indicated that Comcast service here left a lot to be desired. If you ignore the telephone support you get (all the tel phone reps read from a script), the Comcast techs you deal with are actually (in our experience) pretty good.

[mandc]

I've had satellite since the 80's when you needed a 12 foot dish to pick up just a few available channels. Of course that was replaced a long time ago when Direct and later Dish became available. I've designed and installed all three systems for large commercial users.

Dish and Direct are both a good choice. I've had both. I personally prefer Dish because they have more HD channels and they are cheaper. Both systems use high compression to transmit the programming as Century Link does except it comes over an internet connection. I've only had an outage in severe weather but only for a minute or two. You can also have an outage with cable or iptv as they get the programming from satellites before it's relayed to you.

One more thing. For emergencies you should have a weather alert radio. It will tell what's coming and will wake you up in an emergency. It's activated by NOAA and you can get current weather and forecasts on it. About $40 and up depending on features. Chack Amazon.

[coalminer]

Being a seasonal TV resident I prefer Direct. I just take my boxes back and forth and pay for just one subscription.

[graciegirl]

I've been a DirecTV subscriber for well over ten years. I've never done the direct comparison of their channel lineup compared to the Dish Network, but I've heard that DirecTV's is more extensive. Similarly, I've never done a comparison of cost. I think they both have the bigger DVR's that can record five programs at a time. They just call them different names.

To me a major point of differentiation is DirecTV's customer service. Their's is 24-7 with knowledgeable U.S.-based reps. Dial their number and there is seldom a wait to get to a friendly, knowledgeable tech support person.

I subscribe to an extra cost tech support and equipment replacement program--I don't know what it's called, but it costs less than ten bucks a month. With this program, they seldom hesitate to send out a rep on a truck to fix your problem, most often the next day. In addition, you can get all your equipment replaced with the newest, upgraded equipment at no cost every two years.

As far as the "weather interruption" argument, I think that criticism is baloney. Yes, when there's a driving rainstorm you're signal will be interrupted. But you can almost look out the window and predict when the rain subsides that your signal will return. Interruptions are measured in minutes, definitely not hours. And besides, why wouldn't one watch all those programs they've recorded during such interruptions? That's what we do.

My vote is a strong one for DirecTV.


We agree.

[dok4933]

Have to go with Direct TV. Picture quality and service are the best. Their upgrade program can't be beat.

[buzzy]

Have to go with Direct TV. Picture quality and service are the best. Their upgrade program can't be beat.

What upgrade program is that?