[ripwho]

I'm going with Directv (had good performance in past life plus the 'programing' fits me more than cable (good sports coverage including SNY, my NY Mets channel).... Right now the lean is to Comcast (lower speed) for ISP - recently experienced it myself in TV and it was fine!

[Xavier]

Originally Posted by startrek133

well maybe i should just stick with comcast or look into maybe brighthouse , if getting a dish is that bad ..

You should make your decision after thorough research and you've started that here. DON'T be turned away by one or two reports of bad experiences if the vast majority has been happy with the service. Keep checking - use the search feature on this site and on the Internet in general. A company isn't recognized by J.D. Power and Associates because they give constantly crappy customer service!

Good luck to you.
Xavier

I've had Direct Tv since 1999..No problems..great HD ..Great DVR
As far as verizon wireless broadband .I have one and hate it.It's slooooooooow and you can't do much with 5 gig of data a month.All you can do is read your emails and go on sights like this.Forget Skyping or watching any videos from sights.Wish there were a reasonable alternative ...

[LELANDJANE]

I just switched a few weeks ago from Comcast to Dish. So far, I love it. Not having a tv guide or DVR since I moved here in July was "rustic' as far as I'm concerned. We have 250 channels and DVR for 33.32 (inc. taxes).

[BobKat1]

I believe that Consumer Reports has rated dish and cable services. If you're not a subscriber go the library and they'll have Buyers Guides etc. with their findings.

[zcaveman]

Originally Posted by startrek133

Hello Everyone,

I hate comcast and looking to switch service, and was thinking of getting a dish, but i see the trucks around the villages and was not sure which one is better so thought i would ask ..

any thoughts ?

Why do you hate Comcast?? I have had Comcast for 6 years now and have never had a problem.

Also, before you do switch make sure you check the contract. I think DirecTV has a 2 year rental contract or a severe penalty if you decide to dump it. Or maybe that is Dish.

[EdWilliams]

Originally Posted by rsetterlund

OK. Dumping Comcast and getting new TV service is one thing. What does everyone that dumps Comcast doing for high speed internet and phone service?

DSL through Embarq work very well. High speed up and download speeds are quite sufficient and reliable. About $30/mo.

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by Talk Host

I'm glad you had a good experience. My downtime with Direct TV was intolerable. First, they hooked it up wrong and I spent two months without HD. During that two months, the receiver hard drive crashed and I had to send it back to wherever. It was a week before I got the new receiver and had to hook it up myself. I was an hour on the phone with customer support and they couldn't figure out how to make it work. Finally, a high level support staff was able to determine that it was sent to me way out of whack.

Every time, and I mean every time, it rains, the signal is lost completely. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes to get it back. WHAAAAAAAAA! It's always the last 10 minutes of the program or sporting event I am watching.

I have been on record here many times complaining about customer service issues with DirecTV, but I can honestly say that the quality of service is quite good - not as good as cable, but a far cry from what TalkHost is experiencing. It takes a VERY severe rain storm for service to go out with my installation. It sounds to me that he has a "lemon" in terms of installation. The DVR that DirecTV has is miles ahead of what I used to have with Comcast. So, despite poor customer service and a rare outage, I will probably grit my teeth and continue with DirecTV for:
1) much better programming - especially sports
2) a significantly better DVR
3) far bigger lineup of HD channels

[djplong]

I've had Dish Network for 9 years, before that, I had a "BUD" - Big Ugly Dish (10') for about 10 years. I've been a member of dbstalk.com for a VERY long time.

In short:

Programming - in general, Dish is a little cheaper. Look at the packages to see who's package you want. It's more confusing now that HD is in the mix but it's not universal.

If you're a sports fan, hands down, you want DirecTV. You want MLB Extra Innings or NFL Sunday Ticket? DirecTV is your only satellite choice. The fact that I wouldn't be able to get the Red Sox and Patriots if I moved to Florida means that I would seriously consider switching.

DVRs. This is a tossup. Dish has a history of releasing new DVRs before their time. If you get one at introduction, it's typically going to have some very weird programming bugs. Fortunately, they tend to get ironed out in a decent fashion. I've heard many complaints about DirecTV's DVRs but, when they work, *if* you are very technically oriented, they have some features that make up for it (like multi-room viewing - record on one DVR and watch it on another if your place is wired for ethernet). However, Dish is much nicer about adding external hard drives so you can store more programs. (One fee activates this for your entire house no matter how many DVRs you have)

Personally, I have a pair of Dish 621 DVRs, one in the family room and one in the bedroom and I'm very happy with them.

Rain fade - well if EVERY rainstorm is causing a blackout, I'd have an installer come look at the alignment of the dish.

...just my 2 centidollars.

[startrek133]

Thanks again everyone for the information ..

the reason i dont like comcast , is because my internet services comes and goes and goes from fast to slow all the time, also i used to live in orlando and with bright house i was paying 90 bucks for the same service i have now and i pay almost 150 because they keep jacking it up ..

i have basic and ext. cable, one dvr, and high speed net .. thats it ..

I am not really into sports that much so not worry about that when it comes to chooseing my new provider ..

any other thoughts would be nice !!!!