I ran across the following comment on another site:

Second, Dish Network may be cheaper on some packages, but honestly after I did the research on what I wanted to get, Dish and DirecTV were not even.

While the comment doesn’t seem to make sense at first (you’re expecting a bit more after the word “even”), I think I know what this person is talking about.

If you are trying to decide between Dish and Directv, the first place I would start is on paper. Write the channels you *must* have. For example, for me it would include TBS to watch Braves games, ESPN, and local channels. My wife on the other had would require that we get Food Network, HGTV, TLC & Fox News.

The second step would be to determine what features you want to have. For us, DVR is now essential. Since we have 3 small children, we don’t really watch much live TV. If we do, then it is common to be interrupted often. DVR allows us to pause and rewind live TV, and record shows to watch at our convenience. We’re still sporting our 25″ TV we bought when we were married over 7 years ago so HD is not yet a feature we *need*.

The next step would be to see what packages include you required channels and features. You might also have a list of channels that would be nice to have, but are not require if you want to keep the price down. This could help you decide to choose one package over another.

As far as cost, remember that DIRECTV include “free” local channels while Dish Network is an additional $5.99 per month.

We were recently at a friends house for dinner & games. They just build a new house and I was admiring the TV setup. My friend owns and audio/video installation company. They install high-end systems daily. He owned Dish Network and and asked him why.

For him, the biggest reason was the the DVR for Dish is so much better. He likes the dual HDTV DVR tuner and the skip features better on Dish Network.

I also like the skip features on the Dish Network DVRs. With TiVo there is only a variable speed fast forward button. With Dish you can skip 30 seconds and time, normally 4 skips gets you back to your show in a hurry. If you go too far, two skips back cues you right up.

As far as having the dual tuner for their bedroom and living room, I asked, “Why not just get two DVRs?” The reason: he didn’t want to pay an extra lease fee. That certainly makes sense.

Yet after pondering that, I remembered that he also had HD. Now if one happened to prefer DIRECTV, they could justify the extra receiver fee because HD is $10 less per month, and local channels are included free. Considering Dish Network plans are on average $10 less per month – it pretty much all evens out, and we’re just back to personal preference.

The top 12 reasons satellite television (i.e. DIRECTV & Dish Network) kick cable’s (i.e. Comcast) Butt:

1. More channels – Satellite providers are available across the country and out of the country even. More customers means more customer demands and hence more channels and packages available. Let’s say a particular channel is popular and available back east and you want to watch it on the west coast. You are much more likely to have this channel included in you satellite package that you would in your cable package. For example, I like watching Braves games and I live in Utah. Many of the games are played on SportsSouth. That channel is available on both DIRECTV & Dish Network, but not available through my local cable provider.
2. Cheaper – Thanks to the two major players in the market, the costs are quite reasonable. You will find by comparing packages that you can get much more for your money than you can with cable.
3. No Activation Fees – Order from either satellite provider and they will be out within a couple days and get you all set up, for free! Cable always tends to tack on a $30-$100 setup fee.
4. Better Equipment – Enjoy top of the line gadgets from the satellite dealers – again, in most cases it is free.
5. Free DVR! – Even with the cheapest satellite plans, you can get multiple DVR’s for free. Once you’ve had a DVR it’s hard to imaging not owning one. Cable’s DVR’s seem a bit out of reach in my mind for the average consumer.
6. All Digital – All channels are digital on the satellite. This is not the case with “digital cable”.
7. More sports – Looking back at reason number 1, you will see why this is the case. Plus, DIRECTV has more sports than any other provider. If you are a true sports fan, DIRECTV is your only options really.
8. And Music – DIRECTV has XM satellite and Dish Network has Sirius. What does Cable have?
9. Customer Satisfaction – OK, everyone will have their complaints and when there are problems with TV service I’ve found that people bark loud! But overall, based on consumer surveys, Dish Network is #1, and DIRECTV is #2. Oddly, is seams customers are more happy when they pay less and get more… go figure.
10. More HDTV – Satellite has led the way when it comes to HD. Soon DIRECTV will air 150 channels in HD including local channels.
11. Availability – This obviously will not apply to MOST people, but if you live in Rural area that doesn’t have a cable company, or a new development where the utilities have not yet come to you, you basically have no other choice.
12. Portability – My mom is weird but, I know whenever they take their camper out, they take along their extra satellite dish and receiver and have satellite TV with them while their camping (if you can call it camping). Have you ever heard of anyone taking their cable with them?

… And the 6 reasons why cable has its strong points:

1. Reliability – I went 5 years without having a problem with my satellite including wind, rain & snow, then one day it went fuzzy. That’s when I switched to the other provider and problem was solved. There may be occasions when snow or some other environmental variable may cause interference with your satellite. You just don’t have this problem with cable. That’s not to say cable is perfect. It seems my cable high speed internet has more outages than my satellite, but that’s a different beast.
2. Local packages – Cable companies are generally local and they know what locals want. The biggest example I can think of is right here in Utah. BYU and University of Utah Football is HUGE in the fall. The mountain west games are now being played on 3 different channels: 1. The Mountain (MTN); 2. Versus; 3. CSTV. Comcast has all three channels in their basic package. Neither DIRECTV nor Dish Network carry the Mountain. It is a new station and they claim they don’t have enough demand yet. I personally thing the real issue is because Comcast owns the Mountain. Damn them all!
3. Package Deals – Sticking with the local them, you can often get your phone and internet through your cable company, which can save you some money.
4. On Demand – Comcast loves to tote their On Demand stuff. This basically lets you choose from a library of shows and movies that you can watch anytime – much like YouTube
5. No Roof Décor – Hey, you can always put the satellite on the side of your house if you don’t like it on the roof
6. No Contract – Often, if you’re going to take advantage of the free equipment and installation with the satellite providers it will require a one or two year contract. With cable there is generally no contract so you can cancel at any time.

I was browsing my DIRECTV account online this morning and noticed that I was eligible for various free upgrades. My first though was, “man, I could have had another DVR all this time… for free?”

But then I read the fine print

Offer for existing residential customers only and requires a two-year programming commitment to any DIRECTV base package or DIRECTV Spanish-language^® package, and activation of DIRECTV^® DVR service.

So I would have to renew my contract for two years, but I would also have to activate DVR service. What if it is already activated?

In any case, after comparing apples to apples the pricing and channels available of various packages, I think I’ll be switching to Dish Network next month anyway.

One thing that really irks me is how most companies treat existing clients. This would include both Dish Network and DIRECTV.

They don’t seem to really care about you unless 1. you are a potential customer, or 2. you ask to leave. In either one of these scenarios you seem to hold more cards.

I’ve owned both Dish Network and DIRECTV. Honestly, I can’t say one is better than the other – hence this website. They both have their pros and cons.

It seems quite easy to continue to jump back and forth though. I’m currently with DIRECTV, but I have a game plan as follows:

When August rolls around, my 2 year contract ends. I’m a free man. I plan on calling them asking them to quit. Once you call in to you quit to get transferred to an account specialist. I’ll see what they have to offer. If it is better than whatever the latest promotion with Dish Network is then I will likely stay with them. I think that would include getting a free DVR upgrade on one of our TVs and sending out a tech to put another cable to that TV.

If I don’t like the deal and if it doesn’t even compare to what they offer to their new customers I will likely quit just out of principle.

I will then get the latest deal from Dish Network. For the channels that we get their package may be about $10.00 cheaper per month. I will sign up in my wife’s name this time though.

After 2 yeas with Dish (I think their contract is only for one year, but that’s ok) I’ll go through the same process. Each time I do, I will change the name on the account, or do both our names. I think they keep track of former users so you can’t get new customer deals again – which I think is stupid really. Absurd!

So if I follow this pattern, I will get a new deal and new equipment every two years. It’s really win-win-win-win. I win because I get new equipment & promotion specials every two years. Dealers such as Expert Satellite and DishPronto get commission on the “new” sale. Installers get paid to come out and install the system at my house. DIRECTV and Dish Network still get to have me as a customer every two years, and despite them paying commission and for my new equipment every two years, I still believe the are pulling in a profit.

Hey maybe someday they will learn the value of existing customers (much like State Farm insurance) and give incentives to stick around longer than two years!

I’ve been a DIRECTV customer for a year and a half now. Overall I am happy, but everyone once in a while I remember what I miss about my old Dish Network account.

First of all there was the DVR. I think with time all DVR systems continue to improve, but what I miss most about my Dish DVR is the ability to skip ahead 30 seconds. This allowed me to press the skip button approximately 4 times and jump through all the commercials. With my current DVR, I have not other option but to fast forward through them. Even at the fastest speed it is not as fast as pressing the “jump ahead” button 4 times. Also, at the fastest speed I have to pay close attention to the scenes or I can easily go past the point I wanted to start watching again.
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