DirecTV vs Comcast
 

I have been a huge fan of DirecTV. I switched from Comcast about 5 years ago because customer service at Comcast was really, really poor. Also, DirecTV had better equipment, more HD channels and excellent customer service.

However, this week I had a problem with one of my DirecTV receivers. When I called them, I got a runaround reminiscent of my Comcast days. Over two days and several hours, I talked to 6 different techs and customer service people. They sent me equipment I didn't want and set me up with a tech visit for this morning and then cancelled it without telling me. One person told me that customer service hasn't been the same since AT&T took over.

I'm thinking about going back to Comcast but would like some feedback from anyone who made the switch recently or has experienced Comcast customer service whether positive or not. I understand Comcast has made an effort recently to turn around their sub par service. I would love to have Bright House but I'm north of 466A.

I have only used comcast customer service 3 times in 3 years. I've had no problems whatsoever.

I've had directtv for the past 15 yrs and satisfied with service and equipment. However, I've never used their customer service. I'm not so naive as to think it's any better than most customer service experiences these days. All that being said: I would love to continue with DTV once in TV but I've heard rain fade and thunderstorms make satellite dishes almost useless anywhere in FL. Have you had these problems?

I have had Directv since 2008. Do you have the maintenance plan, I believe it's $5.99 per month. I've never had a problem since once in my intial year and they sent a tech right out and gave me a new receiver. In August of 2014 I got the Geni DVR and they sent a tech to hook that up along with my internet connection so I could watch all the ondemand stuff. Everything went smooth and I really like having a 1000 hours I can record, I have so much stuff recorded I can't watch it all. The only other contact I have with Directv is about every six months I call and complain about the rates and they give me a bunch of discounts that last about six months. I have the Premier Package which has almost eveything they offer.

My golfing partner switched from Directv to Century Link about a year ago. He's a big sports fan and he found out they don't have the NBA Network, and is considering switching back. I don't care about basketball but with the NFL, I've had NFL Sunday Ticket every year, just having the Red Zone is not enough for me and I'm not a big fan of going to the bar to watch football with a bunch of yelling drunks. If I was to leave Directv I believe Century Link Prism is the next best system.

The rainy season is May to Oct and it consists mostly of pop-up thunderstorms with enough intensity to knock out the signal for maybe 10 or 15 minutes. If you're familiar with Directv then you know most channels have two versions, the HD and the standard. For example if you watch TNT HD on channel 245, when weather strikes, bring up your menu and select 'all channels', then go the backup channel 245 and in most cases the channel will continue to be viewed but not in HD. When the storm ends, go back to HD. I would say the amount of loss viewing time might amount to an hour for the entire rainy season. It's also a good time to watch recorded programs on your Geni DVR.

We have had Comcast for the 12 years we have been here.

We have never not had them do what they said they were going to do.

And yes one does need to monitor the billing to be sure it matches with what they state when making a change. However I think that is true for most providers.

Their internet is very consistent to the point of not needing to shop for anything any better....if there even is.

Their customer srvice is usually pretty responsive. Every once in a while one might think they just talked to one that had not completed their training.

I would give the a B+ with itermittent A's.

It would be nice to have some cable competition to get the best out of them.

We have Comcast right now, and are looking to drop it due to inconsistent/poor customer service, and trouble with the internet (we are north of 466A). We have been considering DirectTV and had hoped things would get better under AT&T. We do have AT&T U-verse at our home in Michigan and really like it. Excellent customer service, good quality tech support on the phone, and they overnight expressed a new receiver to us at no charge to us when ours went bad. We did the cable route (Charter) and you would think it was Comcast under a different name.

We had Dish TV in PA and have it in The Villages now and we're extremely satisfied!!! Just be sure you go through Dish directly and not a middleman because you want a Dish tech to do your installation. Anyone who has had trouble with Dish in The Villages probably didn't go directly through Dish.

One hour a season isn’t unreasonable, and since I watch too much tv it might be 2 hours for me. Also, I’ve had good luck with Century Link. I use them for landline and their DSL for wifi. I hope to use them in TV. I’ve had good luck with their DSL, reliable and fast.

Couple of Points
 

A couple of points regarding Comcast and Direct TV. If the change is to save money, it will not happen. We had Comcast and became sick of arguing each month regarding ghost charges, increases etc. so we switched to Direct TV and
have been very happy BUT we are not saving money as if you add up the charges Direct TV, plus expense to get the internet (Comcast costs $39.99) and the AT&T charge to hook up a box to your cell line (with a separate number) costs $20.00 we are just about at the old Comcast charges. The differences is that we get more from Direct TV than Comcast offers. Yes it can go out for 2-3 minutes every other month but we never notice that. All in all we like Direct TV much more than Comcast (we had Comcast for many many years). Just one experience.:wave:

Just come comments on Comcast: I think they are the only provider of VNN, The Villages TV station #2 and the Villages radio station # 99 although doesn't seem to be working at the moment. (I wonder if its been removed). Also, I love the remote Comcast App for iPhone.

I am flipping through channels 2, 99, and 101 right now on Comcast. No problems up north.

Had Comcast, switched to DirecTV. Will never go back.

I am no fan of Comcast. I have it, though, and I will say the customer service has improved over the past year.

Mike,
Lost signal doesn’t seem to be a big problem for others. How about you, rain fade and thunderstorms not a big problem with DTV?

We had Centurylong for a little over a year, and got tired of the monthly price increase on the bills, less than stellar picture quality, and frequent resets of the STB. Switched to Comcast, and couldn't be happier. As an unexpected and added bonus, they offer more OnDemand shows, and faster internet speed. I'll never go back to Centurylink, and would never consider satellite tv.