Don from Erie, PA writes:

I am trying to decide on either Direct or Dish.   My wife and I want the local channels-a must!  I want a STO sports channel (Sports Time Ohio) so I can watch my Cleveland Indians.  My wife enjoys her soap operas especially Days of Our Lives.   We have Time Warner Cable now and would like most of those channels that are on Cable to be also on Direct TV or DISH. .   We definitely need a DVR and we would like to have a receiver on 4 TV’s.   I would like to know what tier packages are available for both.  Please help me to make a logical decision.

Don,

Both DIRECTV and Dish Network have local channels. I did a zip code search with your zip code and got a list from Dish Network, but on DIRECTV’s site it said "We don’t currently offer local channels in your area." So that might be the deciding factor right there if that is really the case. Local channels with Dish are $5.00 per month. They are included in the price of DIRECTV.

Local channel links: Dish Network / DIRECTV

I can’t say for sure about STO… On their website the channels are listed for both satellite providers in "All areas of the Indians TV Territory". If you are out of that territory you may have to look at another options such as MLB Extra Innings, which is only available on DIRECTV.

Again, both offer free DVR upgrades, but that is generally for one room. Extra DVRs may cost more. Also, installing in 4 rooms is free for both, but you will again pay an extra fee for additional receivers – generally $5 per receiver per month.

You may get the information you need to fill the gaps fastest by calling both of them and getting the exact prices for what you need.

I hope this helps,
Dustin

Television entertainment has never been so in demand and so easy to get in this day and age. Today, it is not about scarcity of entertainment sources, it is about choosing the best option for optimal spending to value ratio.

The choices for quality television entertainment today are between cable and satellite TV. The question of consumers is – “Which one has the coolest channels for the price?” However, satellite TV is not as straightforward as cable. If you choose satellite TV, you need to choose between Direct TV and Dish Network.

So, which one has the better value for the money?

Let’s start with the coverage, the most important thing consumers need to know. Which of the two satellite TV providers can cover the best areas? The answer is that both have shortcomings in city coverage.

Dish Network covers cities that Direct TV does not. The same is true with Direct TV. For example, Direct TV covers Las Vegas, Memphis, Milwaukee, Columbus and Baltimore. Meanwhile, Dish Network covers Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Honolulu and Grand Rapids.

So look at the list carefully if your city is covered.

The next one to look at after you know that you are covered by the service is programming. What shows do you think you will want to watch the most to get the best bang for your hard-earned buck?

Both satellite TV providers offer cheap packages. Direct TV offers 3 packages with a starting price of $39.99. Dish Network has an offering of 5 packages, starting at $24.99.

Direct TV and Dish Network both offer the best sports channels out there today. If you are a sports buff, you won’t miss games from the NHL, MLB, NFL and a lot more. The only difference is in pricing. You can buy the sports package from both providers, but Direct TV has some exclusive sports channels that you can buy.

The Dish Network, however, has a better selection of international and foreign language programming. Take this into consideration if you are an overseas worker or immigrant because some of your country’s programs might be included here.

Now that you know a bit about the programs, make sure that you don’t miss any show by taking advantage of PVR technology. The two providers have this capability built-in out of the box.

PVR or Personal Video Recording can allow you to record shows so you won’t miss any of your favorites when you are away. The downside with Direct TV is the monthly fee to access this feature. Dish Network offers this service for free.

Lastly, both providers have 12 months of warranty and 24-hour customer service. Many say that Dish Network has superior customer service because it’s done within the company and not outsourced in any way.

If you want the best entertainment experience, you have to go digital satellite. Just remember the coverage, programming, price and customer service. This way, you will need to research and make an informed decision, before you pull money out of your wallet.

DirecTV’s decision to help fund Friday Night Lights in exchange for first dibs on the new episodes is a bold and exciting maneuver for the satellite provider. I’m not entirely certain of how I’ll view this event a year from now, but my knee-jerk reaction is this: one of my favorite shows is getting another season of life and that’s great news. DirecTV with less than 17 million subscribers is available to only about 15% of NBC viewers. As of Q4 2007, I believe Comcast was claiming more than 24 million subscribers between its basic and digital cable services, more subscribers than DirecTV, but not so many more that it should raise red flags around cannibalization. DirecTV has been sued over a similar issue in the past, and DISH has also engaged in such “HD Lite” tactics as well, namely by dropping the overall resolution of its broadcasts to save on bandwidth. In fact, DirecTV actually sued Comcast when Comcast tried to call out DirecTV’s lower-resolution HD in its advertisements.

DirecTV will soon introduce another gizmo called the AM21 that hooks up to the HR21 via USB and provides those missing digital TV receivers. It looks like this is probably how I’ll get this capability back after DirecTV (or its local contract installer) screwed up this part of my upgrade, but since the AM21 isn’t shipping yet, I can’t get DirecTV to tell me for sure whether they’ll be able to send me one.

DirecTV shares were up 42 cents, or 1.6%, to $26.42 in 4pm Nasdaq composite trading. Shares in Liberty Entertainment, the tracking stock through which Liberty holds its DirecTV stake, were up $1.17, or 5.1%, to $24.29 in 4pm Nasdaq composite trading. DirecTV 11 will co-locate with the Spaceway-2 satellite in the vicinity of 99.2 W. During a search for potential launch dates, a check of the Wikipedia Portal: Spaceflight page indicated March 19th, between 22:49 and 23:47 GMT, is a possible window for the Sea Launch Zenit-3SL launch vehicle’s next liftoff attempt. DirecTV-11 will be placed into such an orbit.

I read the following on Multichannel News this morning:

Like its satellite rival Dish Network, DirecTV is raisings prices on some of its program offerings this year.

I’m sure no consumer likes to hear this.

According to www.satelliteguys.us and Scott Greczkowski, who writes a blog for Multichannel News, the nation’s largest direct-broadcastsatellite provider will raise the rates for a variety of its packages, such as Choice and Plus HD DVR, by $3 a month effective Feb. 27.

Three dollars a month isn’t bad, really. $36 per year…

DirecTV Thursday confirmed the rate increase, saying it will average about 4%.

Earlier this month, Dish Network announced it was freezing the price for its DishDVR Advantage offer until February 2009, but raising the rates on other popular packages, such as America’s Top 100 and America’s Top 200.

These are obviously their most popular and competitive packages, so I’m sure the cost increase was unavoidable.

Overall, the Dish Network price increase average out to about 8%, according to Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett. Dish Network said customers who subscriber to non-DVR, a la carte packages would see an increase of about 3%.

Who doesn’t get DVR anymore? Seriously, they’re missing out!

“We’ve frozen prices on some of our most popular packages,” Dish Network spokesman Kathie Gonzalez said. “Unfortunately, we cannot offset the unavoidable costs of increased television programming fees, which were more than 5% in 2007.”

Richard From West Michigan writes:

I had dish for 2 years about 6 years ago. It was ok average pic quality, no DVR. Then Dish sent a promo for a free DVR and I switched to them for several years. Had a few probs – bad DVR box, bad switch in the dish (they fixed both free), but service was largely ok for those several years. Then Directv did a promo asking old customers to come back to them. The price was right, so I arranged installation. That was 48 hrs ago. What a difference two days makes. So far: Incomplete installation – no box or RF remote for the bedroom – Directv phone “tech” said I had to have a HDTV for an RF remote to work – unbelievable – that took 60 minutes on the phone. I told him I didn’t think that was true but he insisted repeatedly. I said ok, install the box like I arranged for in the first place, then he said that I’d have to pay an additional $19.99 to have a second box installed in the BR (which they had agreed to do as part of the original install order). I said I don’t think $19.99 was fair because the installer said that an RF Remote (like my old Dish system) eliminated the need for the second box in the bedroom. This goes on and on for awhile and after he left me hanging on the phone for another epoch of time I just hung up out of fatigue.

Did Directv or the installer call me the next day? Nope. Basically I was a cipher they didn’t want to deal with and they lack the common courtesy and responsibility to finish the job they started…

Some differences are apparent between Dish and Directv:

1) Directv wait times on hold seem to be about 20 minutes plus. Dish times were never more that a few minutes.

2) Directv picture with the latest dish/box combo are very good – better that the 3+ year old Dish equipment. Technology has improved TV pictures in three years.

3) The Dish remote and speed of operation of my old Dish DVR box are clearly, absolutely, massively superior to the new Directv remote and system performance. In fact I’d go so far as to say that until you’ve used a Dish DVR remote (assuming you’re now using a Directv system and remote) you have no idea what you’re missing. You use the remore ALL THE TIME to view, schedule, etc. My Directv remote is primitive, complicated and SLOW, SLOW, SLOW. If you’re used to clicking with a PC mouse as I am on a pentium-class PC, the Directv software and hardware will take you back to the days of the original IBM PC. Its that slow.

Dish equipment has obviously been engineered by people with a sensitivity to speed, simplicity, and performance. And it’s so much easier to navigate the Dish on-screen menus with their logic and intuition. You don’t even need the manual. But I’ve had the Directv manual out since I got the system… for instance, if the program guide is missing the channel descriptions on the Dish box, you push a few buttons and download the new program data. On Directv? no such function is available.

Want to delete a scheduled program on the Dish? A few SWIFT keystrokes and you’re done. On Directv? Plan on 30-60 seconds of remote button pushing with several second delays between every button push – slow, slow, slow.

Notwithstanding the installation issues which I presume will be solved eventually, I regret going with Directv mostly because of the comparatively primitive remote performance of the Directv system.

I truly wish I had my Dish back mostly because of its speed of operation. I’ll grant you that the new Directv picture is better than the old Dish, but so far it’s not worth it – the Directv man/machine interface is really that bad I My Humble Opinion.

Last year DIRECTV added many more channels and touted they would have 100 by the end of the year (2007). I don’t know what happened with that goal, but as of now, I believe they still have 85 channels.

Dish Network is now making the push for more HD channels. DISH Network this week said it will increase its national HDTV channel count from 76 to 100 in 2008.

DISH also said it plans to add local HD channels in 65 new markets this year, bringing its HD local market total to 100.

The company’s decision to offer more high-def programming is an obvious effort to keep up with satellite rival DIRECTV.

DIRECTV has said it will expand to nearly 150 HD channels in 2008.

When you are looking to make the switch to a satellite television provider, get ready for a show-down between the top two providers in the nation: Dish Network and DirecTV. Both offer amazing package deals and top-notch customer service that surpasses that of any cable provider. You can check out any mailed advertisement or log onto their websites for the promotions they are currently running to find out what your approximate out-of-pocket costs will be for the package your family desires. What about the features each provider offers? From the receivers to the programming lineup packages to the parental controls, how does each of these satellite providers measure up?

HD/DVR Receivers

Both Dish Network and DirecTV offer the latest in technology HD/DVR receivers. Dish Network offers the HD Receiver for 1 or 2 TVs as well as a dual HD DVR receiver for 1 or 2 TVs. Their latest dual HD/DVR receiver, called the ViP722 DVR, is capable of supporting two televisions (one HDTV and one SDTV). It can record up to 350 hours (that’s almost 15 days) of SDTV programming or 55 hours of HDTV. The satellite tuner can be viewed either in single-mode with picture-in-picture or in dual mode where a customer can record shows on two televisions as well as view a pre-recorded program simultaneously. The Dish Network program guide has easy-to-use search options. Also, a customer can choose to have caller ID shown on their screens, as long as they have subscribed to this feature with their phone company.

DirecTV’s latest dual HD/DVR receiver (DirecTV Plus HD DVR) allows customers to record 200 hours (over 8 days) of SDTV and 50 hours of HDTV. Their Series Link feature allows customers to record their favorite show for the entire season. If the date or time changes from week to week, the HD/DVR receiver will adjust for that. This receiver also touts a Media Share feature which allows users to view their photos and listen to their favorite tunes saved on an Intel Viiv processor personal computer. The DirecTV guide allows customers to view the schedule for upcoming shows and movies up to two weeks in advance. Like Dish Network, caller ID can also be displayed on the screen.

Sports Packages

Dish Network offers an extensive line of soccer, football, basketball and hockey packages. Customers have the option of purchasing individual games, 4-game packages or half-seasons or entire seasons. DirecTV is known for its sports subscriptions offering the same options as Dish Network, but going one step further with NASCAR, rugby and cricket.

Exclusive Programs & Music

Dish Network has their own exclusive interactive television channel (100) where customers can do anything from play games, check the local weather or a daily horoscope, read up on celebrity gossip, check local movie listings, get live scores for various sports events and even shop on the Home Shopping Network using their remotes. Dish Network has also teamed up with SIRIUS Music to provide over 60 channels of commercial-free music that are available with several Dish packages.

DirecTV also offers their own exclusive programming through channel 101. This channel offers music and live events as well as exclusive shows. Channel 103 is devoted to faith-based programming and family inspirational events. DirecTV also offers over 70 channels of XM Radio with selected packages.

Parental Locks

Both Dish Network and DirecTV offer parental controls and locks for no additional monthly cost as these features are built directly into the systems. Dish Network and DirecTV allow parents the option to lock certain movies based on their Motion Picture Association of America rating. In addition, Dish Network allows expanded ratings including nudity, language and violence to be taken into account and selected to offer extra protection for children. Both Dish Network and DirecTV allow parents to lock certain channels, including Pay-Per-View channels. DirecTV also authorizes parents to enforce spending limits on Pay-Per-View channels.

Dish Network and DirecTV offer tremendous packages and state-of-the-art technology to meet any family’s television needs. These listed features along with your family’s desired programming lineup and pocketbook will all need to be taken into consideration to choose the satellite television provider that is best suited for you.

Steven M. Bornstein recently issues a press release talking about how they work hard to deliver to their fans.

Football fans around the country watched a historic game on the last Saturday of the 2007 NFL season as the New England Patriots became the first team in 35 years to go undefeated in the regular season.

There were a few large cable companies that apparently tried to capitalize on the opportunity and blocked millions of fans from watching the game.

If some of the cable companies had their way, however, millions of fans would have missed this game. A few large cable companies tried to punish football fans by refusing to air the NFL Network and the game on reasonable terms.

Fortunately neither DIRECTV nor Dish Network were named as “bad guys”.

NFL Network had the exclusive right to telecast the game. More than 240 cable companies like Cox, along with satellite providers like DirecTV and Dish, and telephone company video providers like AT&T U-Verse and Verizon FiOS, had already reached agreements with NFL Network to carry our programming in its entirety.

It seems the HDTV battle is raging.

Comcast and DirecTV have settled a lawsuit regarding Comcast HDTV advertisements that DirecTV considered to be misleading.

I would be curious to know what the terms where. How was this settled?

Though terms of the deal will remain private, Comcast will be allowed to continue citing a study it commissioned from Frank N. Magid Associates that said most viewers preferred Comcast HDTV to DirecTV.

At least Comcast was pleased with the outcome. Where was the DIRECTV spokesman, er, spokeswoman?

“We’re pleased to have settled the outstanding litigation on a basis that’s mutually satisfactory,” a Comcast spokeswoman said in a statement.

65 percent eh? It doesn’t sound that overwhelming. Seems more like, uh, that one looks best I guess…

The Magid study, which Comcast released in May, found that 65 percent of those polled favored Comcast picture quality over DirecTV. Participants were asked to look at HDTV content on three identical TV sets, and select which one had the highest quality. One set displayed a picture from Comcast, while the others had content from DirecTV and Dish Network.

So I wonder where Dish Networked ranked. No lawsuit from them?

Following the study’s release, Comcast took out full-page newspaper ads in 15 markets that touted its HD picture quality as superior to DirecTV and Dish. DirecTV subsequently filed suit, claiming the ad campaign was false and misleading.

Oh, here’s the DIRECTV spokesman. Sure they are pleased…

“The parties are pleased that they have settled the outstanding litigation on a basis mutually satisfactory,” a DirecTV spokesman said in a statement. “The specific terms are confidential.”

Wow, HDTV is hot right now.

The announcement follows several HDTV-related lawsuits for DirecTV of late. In August, the satellite provider settled a lawsuit with Time Warner Cable over DirecTV ads that said DirecTV was superior to cable offerings. DirecTV also reportedly settled a case with Cox Communications over Cox ads that cited the Comcast study.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2239365,00.asp

When it comes to their television watching, Americans are not known to idly sit by when choosing a service provider. Television is an American pastime, right up there next to football and celebrity gossip, so making a choice between satellite and cable is akin to deciding what car to buy right down to the nitty gritty details. While this might not require being at a dealership for ten hours going back and forth between the salesman and the elusive finance guy, it may necessitate staying on the phone for hours at a time making sure the college football package is secured with two DVRs to record it by

Simply ask any group of average Americans which provider they use in their own homes, satellite or cable, and you might as well be asking their stance on the war in Iraq with the diverse types of reactions you get. Some will answer they would rather have no television at all than put an unsightly satellite on their roof while others will denounce cable for its lack of digital channels. With this in mind, let us explore cable television first

Cable Television Pros

*Bundling of services – In our modern world where we love to consolidate loans and bills and pay online rather than sending checks every month, bundling the three major services of digital television, phone service and high-speed internet into one bill has become increasingly attractive. Cable television has spearheaded this concept and some have even started to throw cell phone service into the mix. Satellite providers have quickly followed suit, but as of now this is more often the norm with cable television providers

*Localized – Cable television provides local stations as standard, unlike many satellite providers which often require a small fee for adding local stations into the lineup.

*No satellite – You might be thinking, duh, of course there is no satellite with a cable provider, so why is this a strength? One reason it counts as a pro is that many apartment management companies do not allow their tenants to hook up satellites on their balconies, thereby making cable the only alternative. Also, in general, there are many consumers who would rather not install a satellite on their roof for fear it may look tacky. On a personal note, when my husband and I opted for a satellite provider in our neighborhood, our homeowner’s association had very strict guidelines as to where we could actually install our satellite so that it would not appear unsightly to neighbors and passersby.

*On demand programming – Cable providers and customers love the on-demand feature which allows customers to watch, for instance, an entire season of a television show they might have missed when they choose to do so.

Cable Television Cons

*Reliability – Those consumers who opt for cable love to talk about how unreliable satellite service is when, say, a storm hits. The reality is that according to one respected rating company, one satellite provider averaged less than one percent of outages while its cable counterparts averaged much higher at three to five percent.

*Digital and DVR extra – By default, cable is broadcast in analog, so if you want digital cable, you will need to pay anywhere up to $15 or $20 to upgrade. The same goes for digital video recording (DVR). Should you wish to utilize this feature, you will need to not only upgrade to digital television, but you will also be paying a $5 to $15 monthly fee on top of that for the use of one DVR in your home.

Satellite Pros

*Affordability – In general, a consumer’s dollar will go a longer way with satellite than it will with cable. While cable packages usually start around $40 a month without the digital upgrade, an equivalent satellite package (all digital) could start as low as $20 a month. In addition, many satellite companies offer a free DVR as part of their initial setup package, so the consumer is not left to pay any extra monthly DVR fees on top of their normal bill.

*Channels galore – With cable television, there is usually a standard lineup of channels based on which package you pick. On the other hand, with satellite providers, there are several extra packages you can add to your lineup from sports packages to movie packages to international channel packages.

*Goes where cable does not – When my parents moved out to the boonies a few years ago, there was no cable provider where they lived; their only choice was to go with a satellite provider. Anywhere you choose to go on earth, if you desire, you can bring your satellite television with you.

*Simple start-up – With satellite, there is the option of purchasing the equipment and setting it up yourself without having to wait for days or even weeks for the cable guy to come set it up for you.

*HDTV – Satellite is known to offer more high-definition television stations than its cable counterparts.

Satellite Cons

*Local stations extra – Local stations are not usually standard with satellite service. If you choose to add the local station bundle to your standard lineup, you can expect to pay about $5 extra a month.

*Satellite dish may pose problem – As mentioned earlier, many homeowner associations and apartment companies have issues with installing a satellite dish that can be seen by others which is not a problem you will face with choosing a cable providers.

In the end, the decision to go with satellite or cable is a big one that must be researched extensively. Largely, which provider you choose depends on the type of television watcher you are. Make a list of channels you wish to watch on a regular basis and underline those channels you cannot live without. Explore your options thoroughly and choose wisely.