DirecTV vs. cable

[somerset72]

Does anyone have problems with DirecTV here? Is the reception spotty if it is rainy for several days? We are thinking of switching from Comcast.

[nitakk]

Yes, the picture with Direct TV does break up with heavy rain and lightning. But the benefits far outweigh the negatives in my opinion. The HD resolution is far better than cable with a lot more HD channels available. Be sure to get the DVR receiver and record shows - you can watch a one hour show in 40 minutes as you skip commercials. We are quite happy with Direct TV.

[Medtrans]

I would recommend doing a search on cable companies or Comcast before making the switch. If you're south of 466A you can consider Brighthouse.

[JoMar]

[QUOTE=Medtrans;953458]I would recommend doing a search on cable companies or Comcast before making the switch. If you're south of 466A you can consider Brighthouse.[/QUOTE

South of 466A also has Century Link in addition to Direct TV, Comcast and Brighthouse......competition is wonderful.

[aln]

I've had DirecTV here for 8 years. Yes heavy rain will take out the HD service but rarely for more than 3-5 minutes. Then you can usually change to the Standard Definition channel in most cases.

If you're a sports fan there's no better service that I know of.

[MikeV]

Had Comcast - very unhappy. Got DirecTV - very happy. If rain affects HD channel just switch to the SD duplicate and enjoy your show.

[JGVillages]

Agree on DirecTV. I use Comcast for internet only. They have the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. DirecTV will loose HD in heavy rain sometimes but if you program your guide with both HD and standard chanels almost always the standard chanel will be available if the HD goes off, and this happens rairly. Plus the DirecTV customer service is excellent.

[JoMar]

Maybe it's just me, but why would you accept a service that goes away when it rains.....I know it's satellite and that happens but aside from the fact it might be cheaper than cable and almost anything would be better than COMCAST, why?

[Polar Bear]

Maybe it's just me, but why would you accept a service that goes away when it rains.....I know it's satellite and that happens but aside from the fact it might be cheaper than cable and almost anything would be better than COMCAST, why?


For me, it has happened so infrequently and for such short periods of time that's it's simply not an issue.

[villagetinker]

OK, I have a question for Direct TV customers, after the intro rate of 19.95 to 24.95 per month, what does it really go up to? I have seen some TV commercials that indicate thousands of $$ per year (or 2)?

[NYGUY]

....aside from the fact it might be cheaper than cable and almost anything would be better than COMCAST, why?

LOL, you need more reasons?

[lynxville]

I have Dish net work and love the Hopper. I also use there internet service. When I snowbird I take router and dvr with me and only pay for one house. Otherwise you have to have two accounts and two bills each month. The loss of signal is rare and doesn't bother me at all. I watch mostly recorded shows anyhow. My daughter has Direct and stayed there for a week and I hated it. The guide is a joke and the programming was disappointing.

[Deseylou]

I can't wait to get rid of Comcast and go back to direct tv
We had them in TN for 5 years
In Haines City for 7 years
We were trying to save $ so we tried comcast
Very unhappy

[GeoGeo]

We've had Directv for many, many years. It has to be a hard rain to lose the signal and it usually is not out very long. The year of the hurricanes was a different story. We kept getting those outer bands and it would rain hard for most of the day. Then we had to resort to reading. But that is a rare occurrence. We love the Genie. You can record/watch 5 things at once. That is more than any other provider offers, as far as I know. Lots of sports channels offered.

[rp001]

I've had dish for two years and really like it. When direct tv approached me with a cheaper price I contacted Dish and they matched it. I didn't have to do anything. As far as Comcast goes they are the worst company in customer service, period. Of course if you've ever had to deal with them you would know it. Best thing I ever did was dumping them. I have century link for Internet and I'd put them on par with Comcast, very poor with customer service!

[PennBF]

We had Comcast for many years, (at least 20 in Florida) and I continued to put up with their bad bills, poor customer service, etc. etc. A few months ago we finally bit the bullet and cancelled Comcast and went to Direct TV. It was terrible that we waited all those years to go to Direct TV and tolerated the bad service and increasing bills from Comcast. We really like Direct TV. Their service is great, the picture is much better than Comcast and with Genie where we can record up to 5 channels at one time and they flow to each of our 4 TV's and are available on each is terrific. I would recommend that when you cancel Comcast you make sure you keep the confirmation that you turned in your equipment and the date that service is cut off. I would then send a letter, return receipt to the Comcast Hdq's in Philldelphia and confirm you have shut off all service of Comcast and returned all the equipment. I only suggest this as I was warned by some that billing kept up after service stopped. Also, I was told by the Service Office in The Villages that they could not stop service and I had to call Comcast directly. I did and they tried to get me to stay and of course I did not. Good luck. Regarding disruption when there are storms we have found that is rare and very short. The benifits FAR exceed this little situtation and this should not stop anyone from going to Direct TV.:pepper2:

[jjgrask]

Does anyone have problems with DirecTV here? Is the reception spotty if it is rainy for several days? We are thinking of switching from Comcast.


I live in Hudson, south of you a bit. I had Comcast in Naples and they are the worse. Then when I moved here, Comcast was going to sue me for not turning in the flipper. I had turned it in and had a receipt from them that no matter how many copies I sent to prove it they ignored. I fin ally drive back to Naples and causes to big fuss that ended the problem. I have Direct TV here and love it. The customer service is excellent. I did Rain X the dish and it has to be one very bad down pour to lose signal. Only twice this year. I highly recommend it.

[aquabeez]

what does anyone know about the Brighthouse service

[Jullie]

We have direct TV and love it. Loss of reception is not frequent enough to matter. Good customer service and picture is perfect. Had cable before and hated the reception & customer service. We still have cable for internet and would like to get rid of them. Looking for options, we currently pay $40.00.

[Lonnyward]

let me know when one of them is free

[PennBF]

I can't say enough in support of Direct TV and their service. I will pass on a problem we had and what we found. We could not attach the Internet to Direct TV so we could access On Demand, etc. Direct TV could not do more to help us but had not faced this same problem in the past. I contacted "GeekaToo" who also advertise on TOTV's. They responded quickly and fixed it in record time. It appears it was a problem in the Cache and how it needed to work better. Can't go further but if anyone has a problem like this I would strongly suggest you call "GeeKaToo". In fact you may want to use them for Computer problems.
Ask for Robert Hanlon since he was exceptual in handling our problem. Unlike Geeks at Best Buy they do not demand their money up front before they will give a date when a service person will show up and the [Geekatoo] was about 35% cheaper than Geeks At Best Buy. Kinds of backs up the Advistisers in TOTV are good business source's:wave:

[CFrance]

Maybe it's just me, but why would you accept a service that goes away when it rains.....I know it's satellite and that happens but aside from the fact it might be cheaper than cable and almost anything would be better than COMCAST, why?
For all the reasons stated above--it doesn't happen very often or for very long, the picture is a better quality, the customer service is great, and... NFL Ticket.

[Bavarian]

Be sure to check the channel list for the provider you select. I found DirecTv had more stations. It's not the number of stations carried, it's the ones you like.

[Medtrans]

We're fairly new to Brighthouse but so far it has been great. Lysander is the contact person in TV. So easy. Their customer service dept is in this country. They make putting a hold on your service very easy if you are not their full-time. I look forward to the day in the not too distant future we can drop Comcast here in the north. I will do as the above poster said in regards to turning in equipment. I had that issue with them in a previous move and that issue lasted nearly a year to which I would ask them "why would I keep a $30.00 router when I am paying you over $200.00 a month? Pretty sure I didn't need that router that bad!

[eweissenbach]

I'm super creepy Rob Lowe and my cable's out so I'm down at the Y watching folks swim. Seriously we've had DirectTV for 16 years and wouldn't do anything else.

[CFrance]

I'm super creepy Rob Lowe and my cable's out so I'm down at the Y watching folks swim. Seriously we've had DirectTV for 16 years and wouldn't do anything else.
I thought you were going to say you can't go with other people in the room!:1rotfl::1rotfl:

[dotti105]

We also have had directv for many years. Our bills started to creep up and strange small fees were appearing on our bill. I called and after speaking with rep #1. Was transferred to the "loyalty" or "customer retention" dept. Rep #2 offered us a smaller channel package. Gave us 12 mo of credit on the genie, and 12 mo credit on whole house DVR and just for good measure offered the NFL season ticket at no cost! "Ding, Ding, Ding!! Winner!!!!
Our bill is now almost half of what it was. I asked to be locked in at this price, but it's only for 12 mo. Rep#2 suggested we call "loyalty" dept before the end of the 12 months and ask for an offer I can't refuse! Works for me. And hubby is Thrilled with the NFLseason ticket. He thinks I'm a genius! That's good enough for me.
But basicly we LOVE Directv and love the fact that they will work with you. I refuse to pay $100/mo for TV.

[eweissenbach]

I'm super creepy Rob Lowe and my cable's out so I'm down at the Y watching folks swim. Seriously we've had DirectTV for 16 years and wouldn't do anything else.

I thought you were going to say you can't go with other people in the room!:1rotfl::1rotfl:

Cyndi, you're thinking of painfully shy Rob Lowe.

[jebartle]

I thought there were issues with Direct if more than one TV..Box would have to be shared between TV's and programming also????.We have four, we pay $100/mo. to Comcast for internet and TV... With Direct it was much more... Could anyone compare apples to apples for me...

[jebartle]

ever come North of 466....I would love to dump Comcast!!!!!!






Also wanted to make everyone aware that by the end of the year all our internet speeds will be going up without an increase in rates.

10Mbps --- 15Mpbs

30Mbps --- 35Mbps

60Mbps --- 75Mbps

90Mbps --- 150Mbps

Also coming soon will be 300Mbps

So we have much faster speeds available than any other carrier in the Villages..

Call today for more info..

[PennBF]

We have had 4 TV's. When we had Comcast they charged $17.00 per DVR for each TV. We now have Direct TV and pay $6.00 for their Genie. It is much better in addition to being cheaper. You can record up to 5 shows at the same time on the Genie and its 3 or 4 other TV's at the same time. Each time you sign on you can see all that is and has been recorded on the all the Genies and play any back. The Genie's are much much better than the Comcast $17.00 rip off. The only regret we have is waiting so long to go to Direct TV from Comcast !! One clue. When they install the Dish you may want to have it on a stand on
the yard as opposed to the roof as there is some talk that the roof warranty may be cancelled if you put the dish on the roof. Ours is on a stand outside and you can hardly see it. :clap2:

[rjm1cc]

OK, I have a question for Direct TV customers, after the intro rate of 19.95 to 24.95 per month, what does it really go up to? I have seen some TV commercials that indicate thousands of $$ per year (or 2)?

The 19.95 replaced the 24.95. This (24.95) will double after 12 months. It requires a 24 month contract. Then add $6 per set per month. If you get the option to record shows add 15.00 per month. The equipment is probably no additional costs. However instillation could have additional charges. Wireless is a one time 100 charge.
Go to the web and read the fine print. Takes a little work to figure it out.

[PennBF]

Rjm1cc makes a good point. The price will go up significantly after the first year. When you add the additional costs to sign up for the Internet and assume you have a bundle (TV,Internet and Phone) with Comcast they have to be priced separately. We have Direct TV, Internet through Comcast and Phone thru good program with AT&T at $20 per month which covers local and long distance calls. Adding all of this up and comparing to Comcast you will, in the end save about 20% by going to Direct TV and spreading the costs as above. For the first 2 years you can take the sum of Direct TV costs with the discounts on the 1st year and add to the second year and use the average to compare to Comcast. Net: You save some significant dollars. Even at the costs being the same there are very great advantages with Direct TV. (e.g. much better picture, not having to call each month and spend an hour+ on phone arguing about the bill, waiting a week for service when your TV is down vs Direct TV's almost same day, waiting an hour on the phone for Comcast to answer, being able to record multiple shows and play back on any set, the frustration dealing with Comcast which was voted the 2nd worst service company in US. :mornincoffee:

[CFrance]

Cyndi, you're thinking of painfully shy Rob Lowe.
My bad!:a20:

[chevy123]

we had directv before moving to the villages an i loved it,im a sports junkie an comcast doesnt have the same programming directv has even with the ocassional outage due to weather id still use directv but since its not my say in the house i have to deal with comcast blech