I recently made the switch to DIRECTV. I was on Comcast. First of all, let me explain why I was on Comcast:

1. It all started when BYU and University of Utah moved to the MTN. The only way you could watch their games was to get Comcast.
2. I have Comcast high-speed internet. I get a small discount by also getting my TV service through them.
3. I built my own DVR with Windows Media Center. I still think Media Center is awesome (Comcast, not so much)

Comcast recently turned off their analog signals and started scrambling their digital signals. So my TV tuner card would only pick local channels through Comcast. Here were my new options:

1. Stop using Windows Media Center (WMC) and just use the set top box Comcast provides. There are a few problems with this. First, their set top box they gave me absolutely sucks. I have two wide screen TVs and the set top box doesn’t support white screen. I was told by their support that it was a TV setting I had to adjust. Um no. Also, using only the set top box I lose my DVR. I was not about to pay their outlandish prices for DVR service.
2. Connect my set top box to WMC. I’ve only heard this works. You can use an IR blaster to change channels. To me it seems there would be a lag and the though of doing things this way was just not appealing.
3. Buy a tuner card that supports CableCard. The problem with this is that they don’t exist. Well, they didn’t exist. The only one I could find was this Ceton model. It actually looked really cool. It has four tuners while only needing one CableCard. The problem was twofold: 1) Everything was pre-order. They were struggling to get them released. 2) They were $400! Why pay $400 for something that used to just work?
4. Switch to DISH Network or DIRECTV. This way I could vote with my wallet and drop Comcast like a bad habit. There were plenty of upsides, but the one downside I could think of was that I would lose the cool features of using my WMC media pc.

I decided to make the switch to DIRECTV. Here are the reasons why I chose it over my Comcast plan:

1. It works!
2. I get so much more for the same price. I was paying $50/mo for basic cable. Only my local channels were digital and in HD on my media center PC. On the set top box that I had on our other TV, everything was digital, but no HD – not even locals
3. On our TV where we had the digital box, it was so glitchy and annoying. This is something we used to experience years ago with DISH Network during REALLY bad snow storms. You just don’t expect such poor reception every night when you have cable running right into your home.
4. It seems I always had to play games with Comcast. I could call in and get a discount that would last for 6 months. That was nice. By why make me keep calling in begging for discounts every six months. Just make your prices more reasonable.

Being the tight-wad that I am, my inclination is was to choose DISH Network over DIRECTV, but I chose DIRECTV instead. Here’s why:

1. I really wanted to check out the whole-home DVR system. We have two TVs, one downstairs in our family room and one in our bedroom. The thought of controlling the DVR remotely and watching recorded shows from our room was appealing. DISH Network has a DVR that you can control from two different rooms, but you can only get HD on one TV while the other one will be standard def. When it comes to technology, computers & gadgets, I become a kid and price is less of an issue for me.
2. Going back to the begging of this article, I wanted the MTN so I could watch BYU football games this fall. The MTN is only available on DIRECTV.
3. My wife wanted DIRECTV – probably because her mom and sister have DIRECTV. They often get on the phone and say “check out Food Network/HGTV/TLC…” It bother her that shows played at different times on Comcast that they did on DIRECTV. Also, I think she would like to have the same channels so they can just say “turn to channel ###”

So that is why I ordered DIRECTV.

My sister-in-law just moved to a new house. I was helping out on Saturday. The DIRECTV installer was also there moving her service. He installed a new satellite dish and set up her equipment.

As he was mounting the dish on the roof her garage, he asked if I would come “watch his back”. He had just sprayed a large nest of yellow jackets that had taken up home in a light fixture right below where he was working. It soon became apparent that he had some kind of phobia of these stinging type insects. My job was to squirt hornet spray at them if one flew near home.

It turns out that this installer would also make a great salesman. Despite the fact that I maintain this comparison guide, I learned a few things that day:

1. I was interested in the new whole-home HD DVR service that basically lets you control your DVR from any room. I learned that if you order CHOICE XTRA or higher, your equipment is free for two rooms.
2. We currently have our house up for sale and plan to move when we find the right home for us. I asked about moving. He said if you move within 6 months then there is a $50 charge, otherwise it is free. (I wonder though… I tend to think if you made a stink about it you could get moved for free if you moved four months later for example
3. DIRECTV can be connected to your home network if you have one and make use of your internet access to rather than use a land line to dial out for pay-per-view for example. It can also take advantage of other features if you have a home network. This got me excited

I must say, I was very impressed with his service. He was very helpful to my sister in law. I was amazed at how well he organized the mess of cables hanging from the ceiling in the basement. He took the time to answer all my questions and even offered to drive to my home when he was finished to take a look at my current configuration and where an ideal place to mount a satellite dish would be.

To make a long story short, I ordered DIRECTV this morning.

I just happened to be on DISH Network’s site today to look up some information when I noticed a new banner.

Apparently DISH Network now has over 200 HD channels. Add that to their free HD for life deal and I would venture to say that if you love HD, you’ll love DISH Network even more now!

Ron from Connecticut writes:

I am looking to change to DirecTV HD. I currently have Dishnetwork SD. With that, I can watch 2 diffrent shows on 2 different TVs with 1 receiver. If recording 2 different shows, I can watch 2 different pre-recorded shows at the same time on 2 different TVs. Is this also possible with HD?

I have 4 TVs. Without getting any more equipment than base packages require, how many shows can I watch simultaneously on the 4 TVs with DirecTV? How many ban I record simultaneously while watching different shows?

Thanks

Ron

Hi Ron,

I have never worked for DIRECTV so I don’t know if I’m 100% accurate on this, but DIRECTV has a new service that allows you to get one HD DVR and connect up to 16 HD receivers to it. You would pay a premium for this though. The HD DVR is $99 at checkout and each HD receiver beyond that is an additional $99 at checkout. DIRECTV doesn’t have any models that control two TVs from one receiver.

Hope this helps. If you more info you might want to call a DIRECTV rep (1-888-438-9651)

Dustin

http://www.direct-vs-dish.com

Sonny from Cordele, Georga writes:

Just examined your comparison site and was very informative. We are a standard cable subscriber and its getting out of hand.

Few questions;
1. Our TV is 20 years old and is still going very strong. Do we need to replace it?
2. If so, what would you recommend? (Would like to avoid this if possible.)
thanks..

Hi Sonny,

No you don’t need to replace it. Both Satellite providers equipment work fine with older TVs.

The only thing you may want to consider is that if you want HD (High Definition) both companies are offering it free for life right now. I’m quite sure you can order HD and it will still work with your TV, then IF you decide to upgrade your TV in the future you will have HD already.

On a side note, I purchased my last two TV’s from NewEgg.com and found great deals.

Good luck!

Dustin

http://www.direct-vs-dish.com

Kat from Columbus, GA wrote:

Thank you so much for this site..it was EXACTLY what i was looking for because i could not decide between the two, and am now POSITIVE i should go with dish! thank you!!

Thanks for the feedback Kat. Now that you have made your choice, I hope you come back in a few month and tell us what you think of your experience.

Susan from Tempe Arizona writes:

I am considering switching but there is one comparison I don’t really understand. With DISH we share a DVR box. That allows me to record on both of my TV’s and watch recordings from either tv on either one. But with Direct the boxes are separate. Does that mean I can only view what was recorded on that specific TV? That seems like a disadvantage. Can you give me your opinion about which is preferable?
Thanks!

This is a nice feature, and this comes up on a number of occasions. For example, say you start watching a recorded show in the family room, then put the kids to bed and want to finish watching the show in your bedroom. Or, maybe you have a series scheduled to record. You have to watch all the shows on the TV that you scheduled to record them.

Dish Network was the first to offer this capability, but DIRECTV has also entered the game in a big way. With Dish Network’s DuoDVR VIP 722k, you can watch on two different computers. There is a 500 MB hard drive to store all your shows. One drawback is that only one of the TV’s can have High Definition, the other will be standard. This may not be a big deal. Their newest DVR – the VIP 922 SlingLoaded DVR allows you to watch TV on your computer and mobile devices. It has double the memory with a 1 terabyte hard drive. But from what I understand you still can’t watch on more than one TV.

DIRECTV offers multi-room viewing with a single DVR. You would need the DIRECTV Plus HD DVR Receiver, and a DIRECTV Plus HD Receiver for each additional TV you want to connect. This will require a home network, which DIRECTV can professionally install. There are also other fees involved – $3/month for the Whole-Home DVR service, $10/month for HD access (currently FREE for life for new customers), and $7/month for DVR service. Also, each receiver beyond your first will be $5 per month. So to put in two HD TVs and share the same DVR, with the free HD promotion, you are looking at $15/month on top of your base package price.

DIRECTV is now offering free HD for life to all new customers. I have noticed existing DIRECTV customers complaining via twitter and DIRECTV is responding with the following:

For a limited time, DIRECTV is offering free HD to existing customers! Call us at (800) 531-5000 to see if you qualify.

I suppose it was only a matter of time, but Kudos to Dish Network to be the first to offer free HD for life. If you sign up for any package. You can get HD programming included for the life of your contract. I wonder if other providers will jump on this bandwagon. What do you think?

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