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 recently read that mostly in part to new ownership of DIRECTV, we may be able to see updates and new TiVo products available.

TiVo is what made our family switch from Dish Network to DIRECTV. It also let my mom to switch, but unfortunately she swich too late and didn’t get the TiVo. Instead she got a far inferior DVR produced by DIRECTV.  Now there may be hope for better TV on the horizon!

It’s a High Def World! I would suspect with the upcoming holidays and the continuing falling prices of High Definition Televisions that one of these beauties might be at the top of many families wish lists this Christmas. So if you’re one of them, you’re going to want to get the most out of your new HDTV. Where is that going to happen?

Dish Network

First let’s look at who’s leading the industry with the most HD channels. That would be Dish Network. Dish Network currently has 75 High Def channels. Right now they are offering six months free HD access to new and existing customers who will sign and 18 month contract. After that, DishHD costs $20 per month on top of whatever programming package you choose.

Dish Network also boasts having the best HD DVR on the planet. CNET reviews said it was better than TiVo! Dish Network is offering this HD DVR free to new subscribers as well. There is a $5.98 per month fee that applies for the DVR service.

DIRECTV

Not to be outdone, the satellite TV industry leader, DIRECTV is no slouch when it comes to HD. DIRECTV recently spend $1 billion for new satellites and upgraded ground equipment. DIRECTV now has 70 channels in HD and is promising to have 100 by the end of the year. Who will be the industry leader then? Still, it remains to be seen. The biggest selling point for DIRECTV right now is the price. At $9.99 per month it is $10 less that Dish Network. If you’re a football fan then the clear choice will be DIRECTV which offers over 230 games in HD.

DIRECTV is offering a free HD receiver to new subscribers after a $99 mail in rebate. Unfortunately, if you want an HD DVR will will cost you $199 after a $100 mail in rebate. So you maybe the $20 monthly charge for Dish Network is not so bad when you consider what you get up front. DIRECTV requires a 24 month contract for these rebates.

Since Google announced they will enter the TV advertising world, I wonder how they plan to tackle TiVo & DVR issues. Who watches commercials anymore?

It’s been a while since I’ve installed the package comparison tool? To date I have received no feedback on it. I’m curious as to what you think. Does it need work? How could it be improved. Please leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts.

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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A while back DIRECTV starting selling their own DVR rather than using TiVo. I really haven’t used it. I have the TiVo version. My mom recently switched to DIRECTV and said she didn’t have the same features that mine did – which really dissappointed her. I think it had to do with her not being about to record something and watch something else, or record two shows at once. I can’t remember for sure.

I’m curious though, has anyone here tried both? What do you like and dislike about the two?