Digital Cable V Dish

[Melissa]

Which do you guys like better? And what are your experiences with them?

Im FINALLY finishing up my house and now have to set up for TV.

I had Comcast in my apartment. But I would like to know what you guys all liked?

Also does anyone know about Tivo? I heard you have to subscribe? Is is worth it? I have a DVR for the cable right now so I know I HAVE to have it! But which do you guys like better?

 

[pricklesnquills]

I have cable. But I'm not a huge TV person, so I don't really care that much. However, I think a Dish would have more options....

 

[Moo-Shoo Mom]

Where I'm at, digital cable is 110% the ideal choice. Unfortunately, we have Dish Network right now due to limited choices at the time we moved into our apartment complex... it cuts in and out ALL the time. Nothing is better than tornado sirens blasting at 3 in the morning, and your dish network doesn't pick up anything so you can't watch the news. Our satellite gets disrupted all the time... annoying as heck.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

I'm a longtime Comcast subscriber (super deluxe platinum service, or whatever they call it) and love everything about it but the high price in Denver.

My best friend has Dish network -- she bought the special they were running just to protest Comcast. She's pretty happy with it, but doesn't like it when the signal goes out because of wind, rain or snow. It doesn't have to be THAT bad to cause a disruption, so be sure to put your dish where you can easily brush the snow off if necessary.

 

[HamNCheese]

I've got dish network where I am and I've got to say its waaaayyy better than the local cable. We had cable for two years and had nothing but problems with the service and that they kept switching basic channel packages with no notice, so we switched. We've only had to brush the snow off the dish once (which is right outside our window, so no biggie) and we've never looked back.

 

[Melissa]

Im in Florida so snow is not a problem.. And if there were snow.. the last thing I would be thinking about is TV.. LOL

I sometimes like comcast.. Just when ever there is a problem they want to send people out to your house and I dont like them coming over. I never had a good experience with service people coming over. SO what ever has the LEAST amount of problems is what I need...

 

[Melissa]

So I called and talked to Dish Network people.. This is what they have for me..

$19.99/mon 100 channels and HBO(free 3 months) for the first 6 months then its $44.99 after 6 months. $60 to include HBO. The DVR rental is included in the price and free installation for up to 4 rooms.

Comcast is $54.50/month includes Digital Cable starter.. Their basic cable is the same price.. so why not go with the one with the option to have a DVR. DVR is like a $5 rental if I remember correctly.

And thats all I can check right now on the comcast site.. of course their site is freezing.

My issue with the DISH is that Im worried that with our summer storms that it will be out all the time. And I REFUSE to pay for something that doesnt work. I have made comcast give me MANY MANY MANY credits because they tried to have me pay for stuff that didnt work.

What I dont understand is why my parents never have a problem with internet and cable and I had the SAME plan as them and lived in the same neighborhood and I literally had to call comcast every week!

 

[onduvalst]

I have had very few service interruptions with Dish, It has to be almost hurricane like rain and wind for me to lose signal. I didn't even lose signal when it was covered in thin ice. The Suddenlink Cable around here goes out alot. I have highspeed internet through Suddenlink.

 

[tskoffina]

I have DISH and am in Broward county, I have an Aunt who lives on the west coast, and the weather seems about the same to me. We only loose sat rarely, only worst storms. Even had sat during some of the "small" hurricanes. The dish lasted on the roof until 11:30am the day hurricane wilma hit, they officially called it over like 12:30, so the equipment almost survived the storm. They will credit you if you can't use service for a period of time. Not for like 15 min, but if out for a day or more. But you always have DVR to watch.

 

[ForCHINate Chins]

I had dish network and I loved it however, the slightest thing would make service go out. I called and complained a couple times about the position of the dish and they wanted to charge me to move it, so finally I got frustrated and when At&T Uverse came around I made the switch to that. IMO its really good. I'd say they're comparable but we've had NO outages with Uverse except for when they were doing work on the lines

 

[Sandi]

:hair: TODAY, I hate comcast! I have recently learned that they will be having "scheduled" maintenance, where their internet service will be shut down intermittently and without notice to customers! I was in the middle of work AND CnH last night when I was cut off for 6 HOURS!, Ugh! Digital cable is just ok, I think I'm gonna switch to AT&T

 

[Spoof]

I've lived in places that had both satellite and cable on and off for the last 10 years.

By far satellite (dish/DirectTV) have been the best and most consistent services over all, though we were pissed at Dish Network for awhile, I hear they have moved their support back to the U.S. Direct TV has been the most reliable (even going through two hurricanes), and they offer the best variety with the least hassle. They're also the only ones that offer RFD TV (a must have if you like horses, har har)

My friends have had a Tivo since the year it came out. We liked the setup WAY better than a traditional DVR, but had to switch to DVR to get High Definition with DirectTV last month. Yes, Tivo is worth the money, but the new DVR's are a close second now. Definitely get a dual tuner if you can afford it. They are worth their weight in gold if you are limited on free time.

 

[Chinniechantel]

I think it really depends on your local providers. I have had a dish, and never had good luck with it. It always got messed up, and they took forever to come fix it. Cable is ok, nothing special, but at least I know I am getting the channels I pay for. Since they are about the same price, and you hate having repair people coming, I think cable may be your best bet. But you can always try out the dish and see if you like it- do they make you sign a contract or anything? (I am traumatized by cell phone companies I think!)

 

[Jenn]

I had dish network for two years and if you live in a northern climate, the service was continually disrupted throughout the day. My HD was more affected, but it was totally aggravating. Then dish discontinued one of our favorite local channels, so we were among a huge population of people in this area to switch over to directv. We have had it for two or three months now and my service has not been interrupted once. It is such a nice change. We are also paying less right now for almost the same service. Cable doesn't come out to the country where I am located, but I think I would personally stick with satellite.

 

[tunes]

I'm with the dish people. Last summer, we had tornados whizzing by our house. We would no sooner come up stairs, than we had to go back downstairs again. Nobody's cable worked, anywhere in town. My dish held steady. I got all the weather reports and we kept a chain going by phone or just yelling down the street (weird I know, but whatever works).

I rarely, if ever, lose a signal with my dish, even with snow, 50 mph winds, ice, thunderstorms, you name it. That's not to say it can't happen, obviously, but my dish is on the top of a very tall 2 story house, and I have never had to clean it, move it, or anything. I get steady reception all the time. Plus, my only other choice out here is Golden West, the telephone company, and I'd rather do without TV at all.

If you get the dish, and you think you might someday want those four receivers, get them now. I only got two, then decided I wanted the other two, and it is HUGELY expensive to add them after the fact.

Know what else I like about my dish? I love pushing the button and getting the date, the time, the name of the show I'm watching, and how long it has left. It annoys the crap out of me to be at a hotel or someone else's house and they don't have that! I'm also spoiled by my DVR. I just don't understand WHY I have to watch those stupid commercials when I'm not at home...........

 

[Melissa]

Ive been seriously leaning towards a dish. I just found out that both Direct TV and Dish Network make you sign a two year contract.

What do you all pay for your dish?

BTW Direct TV quoted me $89.99 a month! This is for 4 DVRs($5 each) and Local and some extra channels. No free installation..

ALSO! Can you guys with dish tell me what company you guys use?

 

[tunes]

I just use "Dish Network." It doesn't go through any other company that I know of. I just pay my bills on line at the Dish Network site.

 

[TillyChinchilla]

My issue with dish is the 24 month contract. They make you pay for every month you miss if you cancel service before the two years. And I don't see myself living at this address for another two years.

We have the option of Dish Network and Charter here. We use Charter - they have been pretty decent and when we moved apartments, they spent 2 hours in the back of the complex swtching wires so we could have three working outlets instead of just one downstairs - and they never charge for that. ($30 when you first sign up, but that is deducted off your reg. bill)

Had Comcast when I lived in VA and hated it - the customer service sucked - they also cut off our extended channels with no notice, and said the price packages had changed, so the $75 we were paying was now only for Extended Basic.

We pay $52 a month w/tax for internet and extended basic cable. It will go up to $75 in a couple months.

 

[pricklesnquills]

We pay like $10 a month for our cable....we're not really TV people, so the 30 or so channels that we get works for us

 

[tskoffina]

Not sure exactly what we're paying, but it's under 100 with HBO Shotime, Local, and the Platinum HD package I think. Will ask tomorrow correct amount. Dish Network is who we have, with DVR in 4 rooms, both recievers are HD.