Having 1 box per television is a pain (compared to dish and comcast which can support multiple). The price is too high. The delay between the time that I press a button on the guide and see a response on the television can get (no exaggeration) up to 15 seconds. The DVR automatically jumps to the end of programs (end of sporting events, too, which makes me want to kill somebody). The "on demand" is overpriced and the free stuff sucks. If I wasn't in a contract I'd switch to anything else. I don't recommend or give praise to anything I've experienced with DirecTV.

I really cannot complain too much about this service, because it'snot actuallly mine. My girlfriend lives in McHenry, IL and she gets this black box on her smaller tv when she is trying to watch the basic channels. pleh! It's very frustrating because we have to get out of the cozy bed and go into the living room if the program is something we really want to watch. She has also had an outage because lightning struck the Mirror? I don't really know what happened there, probably the only time that is happened right? Well, Overall I like the programming, but I am slightly dissatisfied with the pixelation and the black box issues. However, I have Comcast at my house and I have the pixelation issues there too. I am looking at changin services, but I might try Dish network first. Less holes in the wall.

i work for dish we have alot more respect for customers than direct you dont know how many jobs i have been too where a new customer has told me that a direct opp has hung up on them on the phone or the technician has damaged their house in one way or another one of our best features is that if you want dvr direct tv needs two lines to come in the house to EVERY reciever! ours only uses ONE line so if you want two holes in your house and pay extra for the same service than well....... anyway if you do end up going with dish just ask for an IN HOUSE TECH NO SUB-CONTRACTORS!! like DIRECT all of there techs are sub contractors they get paid by the job so the faster they can get it done the better not dish we have in-house techs that will take the time and effort to make sure your install is up to aaa standars trust me DISH IS THE WAY TO GO!

I had Dish for six years. I had a 510 DVR which was rather flaky (it would freeze up, lose programming and require a reset twice a week.) I liked it though. It was very simple to use and the parental controls were logical.

Due to a special, I switched to DirecTV. I checked out the Dish website to see if they could give me a comparable upgrade for less or at least without the 2 year commitment. They didn't. I suppose I should have called Dish immediately since when I did call to cancel, they offered me a "free upgrade", but didn't go into details.

The installer completely messed up the DirecTV installation. It arguably wasn't his fault since the stupid salesman didn't convey what to do. On the other hand, the installer only talked to us AFTER the dish was put in precisely the wrong place. I decided to cancel, but got told so many different things about 24 hours and 3 days and so forth that I just threw up my hands and decided to live with it.

I have one standard definition TV and rarely watch sports. So far, except for a few channels where the audio is a fraction of a second out of sync (Dish had that on occasion too), the DirecTV has been very good. The channel guide is much better than that of Dish as is the way it takes care of recording conflicts when setting them. DirecTV's web site is better than Dish. I really like how DirecTV stores series in folders. We record a lot of old shows and it keeps the menu from being cluttered.

On the other hand, Dish's parental controls made more sense to me and the guide was easier to use (though on the 510 at least, the DVR timers control was really messed up and confusing.)

In the end, despite the better guide on DirecTV, I think I would have preferred sticking with Dish. But I say that with six years of familiarity. I may change my mind two years from now.

One last thing: I have NEVER had a problem with Dish or DirecTV phone support. Both companies have had very professional operators and support staff who have been very helpful on the rare occasions I needed it.

The reason I didn't rate this five stars is that there are still minor software design issues and more channels than Dish have the audio a few milliseconds behind. Oh, and the skip feature on DirecTV is idiotic--it's really fast forward 30 seconds.

(Once I go HD, it would be nice to have the cash to do a side-by-side comparison for several days.)

My conclusion: for standard definition non-sports people, it doesn't make much of a difference which one you go with.

I had Dish Network for 15 years prior to divorce and move. Never had a problem with service. Since move, I've had nothing BUT problems with the box "freezing" up on me, then shutting down. I did have the best package available, and I was set up on easy pay, but the last 4 times I've called to order a movie (I'm not hooked up to a phone line) they have TOTALLY screwed me. 1st Rep I spoke with said I had gone over my $200 limit... ? No one ever told me I had a $200 limit. Second Rep I experienced on line (cuz I was running up cell phone minutes on hold) and that rep said he would schedule my movie events for me. Those events never came on. CALLED back and third rep said no movies had been ordered on my account. Called back the next day to have service shut down to bare minimum and Rep informed me that movies WHERE on my account but not scheduled for another 3 days.... I'm thinking about switching to Direct TV but I've called three times to get more info and get left on permanent hold each time....

I never thought that Directv had 1080p for the on demand like Dish did. When I switched I was a little apprehensive because the Dish reps were telling me how much more advanced their equip is. I was pretty sick of Dish and all their bull-oney that kept feeding. I couldn't even get HD on the 2nd tv hooked up to their system! Let me tell you- Directv HD DVR is awesome! I have the On demand with the 1080p, all my family photos are downloaded onto the HD DVR,the DVR scheduler that I use on my cell all the time, I play Gamelounge like all the time, and their interactive features are so much better to the eyes than Dish. I can't wait til the end of the year when Directv has TIVO back! (Tivo got into a lawsuit with Dish- HA FIGURES!) I don't really care for Dish's service or the fact that they're cheaper. I rather get what I pay for in customer service and products!

I've had Directv from 1998. Always done my homework with them and they've always sent me copies of my customer agreement, my bill, even helped me understand the economics of why the price increases were happening whenever I've requested. (Hey it's not like the whole industry doesn't see the price increases from their programmers) The customer service people helped me understand everything on my account before I did anything on my account. Completely patient with me & spoke to me like a person who just needed help. Upon upgrading my equipment to HD DVR they very politely said "since it's a discounted equipment that costs the company a lot of money to make we would like to ask your permission to stay with us for 24 mos, is that ok?" WHAT A SWEET WAY TO ASK ME! I totally didn't feel like I was being pressured by some sales rep trying to make their commission. I rarely call them for any problems. Maybe about 0.5% of the time we get some bad weather that causes the dish to go out. Their customer service is great! I feel like an appreciated customer. The technician that installed the equipment was very polite and walked me through the house showing me all his plans first of what he was going to do and also asked my permission before I started! I totally felt like I was the boss of the company! A VIP in their eyes. I just want to let people know that they're really working for me!

I work for dish so I am going to give you a brief run down of things to watch. If you are going to get dish besure to get atleast two rooms the 381 we use for one rooms is not very good and it does not have a coxial output so we have to use Rca type connections to the tv.It wont cost you to get the two room service as long as we can hook a phone line up.Installation Dish has both subcontractors and Corporate Techs I am the latter.While Direct only has Subs. Some Subs are good but getting them back out there if they mess up is like pulling teeth. So be sure that you get your service by calling Dish not a third party retailer to get service it will get you a corporate tech. Last Reciever 381- single room SD box not good,322-Two room SD box-Excellent,625-SD DVR TWO ROOM BOX- excellent,211-single room hd box-ok,222-two room HD box-fair,722-Two room HD DVR box-awesome,612-single room HD DVR box-good.
If you have expirenced problems with the 612 freezing local HD channels latly don't be alarmed It is a software problem and we are correcting it you wont have to do anything at all. It should be corrected very soon. I hope I have helped you in anyway.

i have been a loyal direct tv customer for 10+ years, and now I think that will all change, I recently bought a hdtv, so since my contract was up, i called about a hd dvr upgrade, and was told i would have to pay for it ... i called dish and they said they would replace my stuff for hd and not charge a penny... so it seems like direct tv wants you, at first but then do do's on you when you have been so loyal ... direct tv didn't even want to talk to me so they hung up the first time i asked ... That's Rude!!!! to think it would cost direct tv about $2 a month to keep me as a customer but it don't matter to them ... Later!!!

This is the worst company ever! Go with cable or dish because these people will try and suck every last nickel and dime out of you.

I have had both Directv and Dish as companies. There is absolutely no comparison. Directv are liars and cheats. They increase your bills for no reason, and you are constantly on the phone trying to stop them from cheating you all the time. I finally switched to Dish and Had zero problems for over a year. Even when I ended service to bundle telephone, internet and tv through another company. However, the new bundle was with Directv and the nightmare started all over again. They cancelled my service two days because of their own accounting error. So I said to them when they disrupted service that I quit if I can't get service because I paid you. Well, they figured out their error, that I had paid them, but now their asking 420 for an early cancellation fee. These people are crooks! If you are hesitating at all go with Dish as it is much cheaper and the quality is better as well. Not to mention they are not crooks like Directv

DISH NETWORK = DEVIL NETWORK We decided to get Dish Network based on the offer they had of price and a free HD DVR and 3 months of three movie channels. They did not even tell us we were signing a two year contract. When they came out to install Dish they did not even bring the HD DVR and charged us for the movie channels from the start. Once they have you as signed up they don't treat you like a good company should! They charge you $200.00 more to turn their bad service off! Dish Network made me feel like I signed a deal with the devil network!

I could go lower on the rating but I did have reasonably good service for a year and a half. Recently, however, my HD DVR stopped working right before a football game (I had people over to watch it - very bad). After working with tech support they determined that I needed a new receiver (taking 3-5 days to arrive). I called back after 7 business days and they said they had no record of my call. I was very upset but all they did was offer to refund the DVR service fee (which would amount to a whopping $2 and apologize profusely) - no offer of refunds to my bill or free premium channels or anything - wow! It's like they were trying to drive me away. Needless to say, I switched to DirecTV - hopefully they do better (how could they be any worse).

i didnt find a zero in the rating else i would assign zero. The technician punctuality and attitude is simply horrible. The technician from dishnetwork had to come work at our place on one evening. The time slot that they give is usually either 8 a.m to 2p.m or 12p.m to 5p.m. They scheduled ours from 12 to 5. Finally waiting for 3 hrs the technician called to say he would not do it today and have us rescheduled. We rescheduled it for the next day again 12 to 5. At this point of time i didnt wantto trust the technical service department at all and planned to go out to finish some of the work for 2 hrs, since anyways technicians usually call before coming. Right when i was about to step out after waiting for 3 hrs, the phone bell rang. it was dishnetwork telling me technician is about to come. Finally i waited for total 5 hr. when i called the customer service she advised me to reschedule it again.Bloody hell, do we have all the vacation time on earth for dishnetwork.For them its very simple to say reschedule. Finally frustrated i called and the rep told me he will ask the technician to call me. After waiting for about 7 hrs for the already rescheduled appointment, the technician didnt turn up. With this horrible service i am planning to get rid of the dish and see some more alternatives.
Total time i spent waiting was around 9 hrs. Just dont trust these dishnetwork technical department. I have dealt with companies like reliant energy, altell etc and never ever had any issues with services. But dishnetwork is simply horrible. I would never advise anybody to go for it. MOST HORRIBLE TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT EVER.

I must say that service wise, Dish Network is awesome. The picture is great and the prices are unbeatable. The only thing that I hate is that it's a sucky place to work for.

dish network has better prices and they are NON-INTRODUCTORY direct on the other hand has introdutory rates and then they go up to their normal rate..everyone says oh no the locals are not included in the package price of dish but thats a good thing they give you a choice yes or no locals...either way its still cheaper if you add the locals...apart from that the receivers that dish offers are way better than directv's receivers in every way...all in all dish network is the better service!!!!

As a home theater installer, I can tell you first hand that Directv is much easier to use and navigate through than Dish. Dish menus are hard to navigate through if you are a new satillite user, Dish is pretty much garbage if you ask me.

I have had directv for 10 years now and love my servce not had any problems with them.

I had some minor complaints about DirecTV when I was a customer. My major complaint is with the company’s continuing refusal to send the $47.03 refund that it acknowledges I am due after discontinuing my service. I was a customer in Herndon, VA, and was moving to Cedar Rapids, IA, and called to close my DirecTV account. The condo I was moving into has Dish, so I declined when the rep tried to talk me into suspending my account rather than closing it. That was June. DirecTV sent us a statement saying we were owed a refund (apparently we were paying in advance for a month and were supposed to get a refund for the portion of that month that we didn’t use). By August, when we didn’t have the refund, my wife called and they said it had not been sent because the account was suspended, not closed. She told them no, it should have been closed, so they should close it and send us the refund. They said they could close it but we would have to call back and request the refund after the closing had been processed. (Does this sound like a company that’s trying to hang onto your money?) So she called back in September and requested the refund again. They said they would credit it to the debit card we had been using to pay the bill online. She said no, that account had been closed, so they needed to mail us a check. Again, they ignored what we told them and transferred the money to a Wachovia account we had closed. My wife found this out in October when she called again to track down the refund. This took several hours on the phone, including a three-way phone call with Wachovia and DirecTV reps in which Wachovia confirmed that the account was closed and the money had been sent back to DirecTV. Even that didn’t get the money back. I then emailed Chase Carey, DirecTV CEO, telling him the whole stupid story. I got an email from the “DirecTV Customer Advocate Team,” telling me about the company’s commitment to “outstanding customer service.” That email said, “We recommend you speak with the Credit Card department at Wachovia to track the status of the refund on your bank’s side. If we receive a record for the failed refund, we will send out a check for the $47.03 as soon as possible.” This was after Wachovia had confirmed directly to them. So they ignored my initial order to close the account rather than suspending it and ignored my wife’s order not to send it to a closed account, and still they are telling me I need to track down information they already have. Another phone call and email to Chase Carey and the Customer Advocate Team still failed to shake loose the check. The company, my wife and I have spent far more time on the telephone hassling over this refund than the refund is worth. So I am turning my attention from wasting my time with DirecTV to telling as many people as possible about my experience with the company.

We had DirecTV since 1997 when we finally quit using our old C-Band satellite system. Anyway, DirecTV has the best customer service on the planet. They will bend over backwards to help solve your problems. You really can't ask for more.

As for the shipping department, it could definitely use some work. Lately, they have really screwed up some of my orders and they tend to ship refurbished equipment when your suppose to be receiving new.

Another problem I have with DirecTV is their new HD DVR equipment. It's got some problems that need to be corrected. Plus, the fact that they're now shipping out receiver that are missing the B-Band converters which are required if you plan on watching your HD programming.

Because of the problems I've had with DirecTV's HR20 and the HR21 (it's even worst) ... I'm leaving DirecTV and switching to Dish Network ... plus the fact that Dish Network HD DVR's are the only 1080p receivers out there (DirecTV's are 1080i only). Hopefully the switch goes well.

We had Directv for 9 years and just switched to Dish earlier this year. I'm so glad we made the switch. The first thing I can say is the picture quality is better then Directv. I had the best receiver Directv offered hooked up to my TV with a HDMI cable and now with Dish and the 722 receiver I'm so excited to watch HD television because the picture is 100 times better now. I didn't know how fuzzy the picture was until I switched to Dish and got the surprize I was hoping for HD looks incredible now. The advantages I have now with this receiver are great itself. I can hook up an External Hard drive to the receiver and transfer my HD movies I record to keep instead of keeping them on the receiver. The receiver has 300 hours of recording time and 55 hours of HD recording time ofcourse that is shared time but it is still a tons of time. Also with a 750GB External Hard Drive hooked up I have so much space now it is amazing. I should have picked Dish along time ago. If you love HD go with Dish and go with their best receiver the 722 you can't miss.

In 1998, we bought into Dish Network. We had it for 6 years. For the most part it was good - there were customer service problems though and the one time I used their installer (instead of doing it myself) it was a nightmare.

We ended up going to cable for about 3 years and missed the DBS service.

Last year we decided to go back to satellite TV and DirecTV had the better deal at the time (plus the NFL Sunday Ticket and NASCAR Hotpass). We cannot believe how much better they have been than Dish. Don't get me wrong, Dish was good but DirecTV has been great.

The equipment is very easy to use (the HD picture is second to none). We have 3 DVRs (including 1 HD DVR). This would cost another $45/month with our cable provider. With DirecTV it's $4.99 per box regardless.

It is easy to change programming if you want to(the online functions for this, and for recording to DVR are great). I like the Sportspak in the fall (for colloege sports) and don't need it other times of the year. This is no problem to change with DirecTV.

I have had a few customer service issues. They have always gone above and beyond to take care of me. I have never hung up from them feeling as if they did not take care of what I needed.

we have been ripped off by dish network highspeed with poor service and rude customer service this has spilled over into rude and unresponsive customer service at dish network. i want to warn everyone away. the rating should be -10

There is no Zero rating?

Big Mistake. I was disappointed in the cable company's level of service. I had no idea.

It started with the extremely unprofessional, local contractor they had come do the install and went down hill from there.

The signal is fine when the sky is clear, but under the slightest cloud cover it goes out. I live in Central Florida and this time of year (Summer) it rains every afternoon. So I can look forward to loosing Tv each afternoon.

I also have an issue with the box. It just decides to reboot itself from time to time. It says checking disk, may take up to a half an hour. It takes every bit of a half an hour.

I called them to get support on the leased box and they said I had to pay ($80.00) to have a tech onsite to look at the box. I am leasing the box, it doesn't work and I have to pay to have someone fix it.

I thought the cable company had poor service, at least they gave us service.

Buyer beware. DirecTv is very poor.

i was with those DishNetwork turds for 7 or 8 years and got tired of the snide attitude and crappy service. at the end, when i told them i might switch to DirecTV, they said DirecTV leases all their satellite signals from them so i shouldn't bother. i had no clue if that was true or not and didn't care because i had my fill of their condescending customer service people. and canceling service only reminded me why they suck so bad. it took 10 weeks and over a dozen phone calls just to get them to issue me a return shipping label for their receiver. no exaggeration! i spoke with no less than 10 supervisors and 1 manager. all of them assuring me a return box was on the way. one time, they even gave me a tracking number to a package that was delivered to another city and state -2- years prior. then they had the gall to tell me i should have UPS put a trace on the package !?!? for a package that was shipped 2 years ago to someone else????? i figured this was a blatant attempt to later claim i never sent the receiver back to them. wouldn't put it past them. i even called my credit card company and had them change my account number so they couldn't attempt to extort money. i finally did get the return label from them and sent the receiver back to them, but only after they wasted a lot of my time. to this day, they owe me a credit i'll never get back. on several calls, i was intentionally ridiculed, then placed on hold, then hung up on after 45mn on hold. all this because i wanted to return their receiver. very childish and unprofessional behavior. which was par for the course with Dish for the 7+ years i had service with them. the final piece of comedy has been their phone solicitations asking me to return to Dish. WHY?!? for more of your b.s.??? no thanks! a horrible company with horrible employees. i'm so glad i switched to DirecTV. Dish pales by comparison in every respect. good riddance Dish!

I have had Directv for over 10 years now, and for the most part, I have liked the service...but not customer service. Being that I rarely have to interact with customer service, I have stuck with them. Both the dishes & systems I have had to purchase..no free units like what they give to new customers. My one unit died back in November ok...10 years old, they had nothing to offer, other than a refurbished unit with a lease fee. So I removed that unit from my account and did without. Now the second unit has failed, only two years old at a cost of $400, out of warranty and same BS as before. I was hassled when I called in to suspend the service temporarily since I way of watching my Directv service. I only wanted to suspend it until I could find a solution sometime later this week. I had intended later this year to upgrade to the HD systems later in the year, but I'm not really ready to do that right now. In any case, the foreign speaking rep that I talked to that gave me grief and has nothing to offer me as far a equipment. However he wanted me to keep the service on till I got new equipment, what a joke. (I have no ongoing contact with them, I fulfilled my agreement with them - 10 years ago and can leave at any time.) Service is now suspended at my request/demand. So I submitted a request online with them about the failed equipment, what I wanted, and could they provide any recommendations. Their reply was to go online and figure it out yourself. If I'm not satisfied with that I can call them again....and they will see what they can do at what price. What a joke. I've had issues customer service there in the past, but since I rarely have to deal with them I've just dealt with it. But I can't stand dealing with companies that provide inadequate unacceptable customer service. Why would anyone suggest that you keep your service on that you can't use. As we all know, you just can't go out and buy a new box, plug it in turn it on and have it work without having to call them to turn it on. So Monday, I'll be calling them back...no choice..and canceling my service with them. I just can't deal with that mentality were customers are teated as the problem and how dare you as a customer call in and ask us for help.
So I hope to go out and find a Dish Network system. Hopefully Dish network will be a bit more responsive...or I'll be going back to my roof antenna with my 4 or 5 channels.

Oh, and one more thing there should be a rating of 0 Stars here! Customer service 0 - leave customer service out of the picture...probably a 4. If you never have to deal with customer service, you'll love the satellite service. If you ever have to deal with them, you'll hate it.

we switched from dish to cable due to the great deal on their cable-internet-phone packages, however my husband hates the picture so we bought direct hd, in addition to cable, for one tv so he can watch ballgames. after 5 months of problems and a horrible picture, we are canceling direct and going back to dish. i sure hope dish carries all the st louis cardinal games that he wants to watch!

After about a year of service, my DVR failed for a second time. After 45min of troubleshooting with customer service, they requested 1 additional test, then they would send a new DVR. I called back after the test failed and was informed by a supervisor that they never replace DVRs with my troublecode without a service visit, which will run about $75. After further conversation, I found they had been billing me for an additional receiver that I never ordered or received. I finally cancelled my service, figuring I'd pay a termination fee and be done with DircTV. I was wrong. Apparently as the supervisor was messing and unmessing my account, she re-activated an existing receiver, which reset my contract date. After much discussion after receipt of the high cancellation fee, the service rep agreed that the service date was false, but would have to forward the info to investigations, who would then follow up with me. Weeks later, I received a call not from investigations, but from a collections agency. A call to DirecTV revealed that the investigator simply rejected the claim. I put in for further investigation... the saga continues

Dish network has continued to decline. Their customer service is horrible and now they elimated voom HD channels from their line up. I will be switching to Direct.

I soured on DIRECTV when they continued to charge my credit card for several months after I had moved and had canceled my service. I was in another city for medical treatment and somewhat inattentive to what was happening. Despite numerous contacts they failed to make amends for the over $300 in invalid charges. In selecting another service after returning from that absence I was influenced by Dish Network's inclusion of the VOOM channels. We were exceptionally pleased with the content and resolution of the several VOOM channels. They came to represent at least half of our TV watching. Last month dish Network abruptly ceased carriage of the 15 VOOM channels. We are greatly irritated by this action and that irritation will prompt us to quickly switch to any other service available which includes the VOOM channels. In the meantime in our experience neither of the two carriers here discussed is worthy of recommendation.

I have only had Direct TV for a little over two months. Moved from DishNetwork. I think I may have made a BIG mistake. Now I am committed to two years with Direct TV. I moved because I wanted the more HD channels they offered. they might have more HD channels but their receivers aren't worth bringing home. I have a HD H21-100 and HD HR21-100(DVR). I called on the DVR the first week. It kept locking up. It seems to have gotten better, I don't know if they sent a new update to it or not. But don't get the plain HD receiver. They don't tell you that every time the electricity blinks that you will have to go through a complete setup of the receiver each time. You better hope it doesn't happen more than once in a day or that is all you will be doing. You have to go through and choose what dish you have outside, your zip code, then some numbers punched in using also the mute and channel up/down and select keys. Several continues. Then waiting for each satellite to pick up their signal. After all this then you will need to go back and reset your HD statuses, such as screen ratio, crop, stretch etc and other stuff. Then if that isn't enough if you buy an RF remote separately (because only and IR comes with) you will need to reprogram it to work and if you have a DVD or surround sound hooked you will need to reprogram that too to the remote. What a headache. I have called several times. Was told that is the way the receiver is (this is the TIVO version for DirectTV receiver) and won't be any different. I can either upgrade to a HD DVR and pay $200 more or downgrade to a standard receiver or buy a UPS and hook to it so the power is never interupted again. Needless to say that as soon as my subscription is up I will more than likely go back to DishNetwork unless there are changes made in the receivers. Also, I was told how TIVO and their products are so much better in searches and everything. I don't think so. DishNetwork receivers are so much easier to use. The only beef I had with Dish's was if a show lasted longer or changed time it would cut it off or tape the wrong program. But with as many problems I have had (there has also been billing problems with overcharging too) in the two months, I sure don't look forward to the other 22 months with DIRECT TV.

Tivo no longer exist.

With the new DVR, you can't switch from 1 program to another without first recording it.

We have had DISH Network for several years and have had nothing but good experiences so far with them. We switched from cable and started out paying the same fees for DISH and over 80 channels that we had been paying for basic cable. It was really a no-brainer when it came to making the switch. Additionally, their customer service has been outstanding; when I complained recently that we lost a signal every time it rained, they sent out a tech who ended up replacing something on the dish and we've not lost the signal since - over three months and several wind and rain storms ago. We're not too sports crazy in our home, so we're not all that interested in the extra sports packages offered by either DISH or DirectTV. I think that's one reason we're so happy with DISH; we aren't depending on them for much in the way of sports programming.

What I really resent about DirectTV, and what makes me skeptical about everything they say in their television ads is that their mailed promotional material in our area appears to be a bill. It arrives in an envelope which is labeled, "Urgent - Open immediately," "Act now to prevent cancellation of your account," or "Important information about your account enclosed." It is deceptive and misleading. If this advertising ploy represents the company, then I don't want anything to do with them. That gimmick alone - mailing me what seems to be a bill - has put me off of ever reading what they send to us or trust what they have to say in their television ads. It has had the effect of keeping me loyal to DISH Network.

I'm very happy with the service, channel selection, and support we've gotten through DISH. I recommend it all the time.

We've had Dish Network so long now I can't even remember when we didn't. I only know we dumped Comcast fr it. We've had virtually no problems with our sets. One of them we use for our RV and that has been a lifesaver for us. Getting weather in the 'outback' of Nevada has kept us out of trouble many times. It's always been relatively easy to set up our dish when on trips.

The home DVR is set up with two TV's. One in the living room and one in our office. Works great. Now I'm going to mount another dish on my shop and use the RV box to run it when we're not out on a trip. I can't wait. I'll use it mainly for music out there, and since Dish has their music PLUS Sirius Satellite music, there's no problem finding a music channel I like.

I'm sure DirecTV is pretty much the same, but we've been loyal Dish subscribers for years and see no reason to change. Their customer service has always been very good, the few times we needed to call them, and, as someone else mentioned, the people on the other end always speak English.

It took a while to get used to subtle differences between DIRECTV & Dish Network. They both have their pros & cons. With DIRECTV I really like the TiVo system I got. It was the first time I could record two shows at once, or record one show and watch another. This was probably the best part. What I didn't like was the Guide. My biggest complaint is that it doesn't show channels in red that you don't have like Dish Network does. So you never really knew if you had a channel unless you clicked on it and got a message. Plus it only allow on favorite list and you had to wade through some menu options to change your favorite list.

I just had my Dishnetwork installed. I am very pleased. I have never seen a television HD (high definition) so clear and rich in color (a little dark tint, like a cloudy weather type pictures, nevertheless, awesome). Granted, I purchased Samsung 58” plasma 1080p, (that makes all the difference in the world of high definition. I used Comcast Cable for over 10 years and DirecTV for two weeks; none came close to picture quality and clarity. Even my wife who did not care much about TV pictures acknowledged that she was blown away by the level of high definition. For a moment I thought I was watching one of my Bluray HD movies. It was that close. I know the transmission is not any more than 1080i, but those VOOM channels look like 1080p. The 2in1 DVR HD was awesome, but second TV extension, a regular digital reception is nothing to write home about. Installation was November, 12 2007, I have not experienced the weather problems everyone talks about yet and I anticipate that, because the installation technician explained that given that satellite receives signal from above the earth, you should expect interruption in service in a very bad weather (dark clouds, take-the-house-down type of rain). With DirecTV, we have to wake up at 6 AM to watch preprogrammed Pay per view movies. If I don’t come back early enough from work I could miss the afternoon pay per view movies, because they ended at 6 PM. That and a bunch of customer service personnel that tell you one thing and after installation, the language changes to something else. I obtained my service from AT&T Bundle with DirecTV. Please do not go that route, because you cannot hold anyone responsible for what was quoted to you and what DirecTV says afterwards. You have to deal with DirecTV later. After the installation, believe me, you are on your own. An 18 months commitment to cancel within 2 weeks is a joke. Once signed up, it turns into two years agreement and all those free installation is not free anymore. My two hundred dollars refundable equipment lease for additional HD receivers, became installation charge when I called to cancel within allowed time. Then customer’s service refers you to corporate office to fight to get your money back if you did’t agree. Think twice about what sales people tell you to get you to sign up. All that 70 plus HD; it’s a sales pitch. They count pay per view that you may not subscribe to, as part of the 70 plus HD. If you have a good 1080p TV, forget cable and DirecTV, go with Dish Network. Their HD channels are grouped together so if you don’t want to watch regular digital, you flip on HD only. It is cheaper too! I regret not doing this sooner. My house has a very clear view of the earth, no obstructions, I might add. Goodluck!

I have had DISH NETWORK for 8 years now and they have wonderful prices and customer service! When I need help i get someone who speaks english! switch to dish network NOW!

Switched from cable several years ago, and love it. Moved to Michigan and had tons of trees on my property and couldn't get my dish installed. We hated having cable again. Moved back to Indy, and have DirecTV again and would recommend it to anyone. My Father in Law has the Dish Network, and hates it, and will get rid of it after his contract expires. He will be switching shortly. I've used his system and he doesn't get near the channels, or options on his system for the price that we do with DirecTV.

I think Direct TV is good.
I prefer TIVO to Dish's DVR.
I like Direct TV.

i have had dish network for 5 years i love it i pay $95.00 a month i have the everything pack locals and superstation pack i tell every on here to change to it are cabel here sucks its off almost every sunday night and there chanels that play more than one channel at the same time.
i payed $95 for cable for 40 channels that sucks

I dumped Comcast for DirecTV about 4 years ago. I had to do it while my wife was away or she would have never allowed it. We have been happy ever since. Even added the DirecTV-Tivo's to our home. When we moved, I asked my wife if she wanted to move back to Comcast, she flat out refused, even though we have broadband through them. So we used the "Movers Package." This was great! We purchased a new Tivo unit for $50 (Half Price), then had dual lines run to 3 rooms for the Tivos, and a single line run to the third bedroom. 7 Lines total plus a $250 mutliswtich, all for free. You can't complain about that! And the customer service has been excellent. I even got Vonage to work with all of the systems! I cannot recomend DirecTV enough.

Other than the turned our service off when we failed to read the junk mail that had an additional new "yellow" card included, they have been a very good no hassel provider. we pay by the year for additional savings.

The service is good but the support is terrible and they will charge you outragous prices for any new equipment you need.

I have had Directv for about 9 years now with no complaints. However, this was pre-TiVo. I installed my first system myself; running cables to the 4 TV's and phone lines to each receiver.
I moved to another house abour 2 years ago and decided to get the free "professional" installation because I was too old and tired to do it myself.
The installers (contracted by Directv) seemed like they just got out of jail and they were trying to make alittle money to start their own biker gang. Installation went OK, however they said they wont installed the phone line to the extra box like it will benefit me. I have heard this from other people who had their Directv installed. Don't listen to them, they are just lazy. You need a phone line connected to each receiver or else once you turn the box off, you will have to call Directv back, have a phone line connected to it, and they will "zap" the box so it will work again.
As far as the programming and service, I have no problems. I was very happy with everything. I just moved again and I am thinking of switching to Dish Network because their is no contract, DVR is free for 2 rooms, the price is a few dollars cheaper, and the main reason is because of the Hawaiian music channel. It will be nice to have it to remind me of home.
I will have to update you on Dish Network after about a month of service. If I don't like it, I will switch back to Directv as soon as possible

jofa90@hotmail.com

oh yahh....one more thing...

DISH Network broadcasts as many as 231 NFL pre-season, regular season and post-season playoff games without having to purchase a costly season package subscription!

Dish Network was launched in December of 1995. It reached its first million customers at the end of 1997 and today it is the fastest growing pay television provider in the nation.

No complaint at all..

I had opportunity to owned both the systems and they are both great in respect to what they offers. Both are unique, Service is Great; it all depends on what you are looking for in a service.

Benefits comparison -

Plus for Direct TV: - Sunday NFL package (three Months) and College March Madness Basketball.

Plus for Dish Network: - Price, More package options, customer service and did I state Price.

Dish network offers better price and more Package options and better service. Direct TV has little bit more to offer if you are looking for Sports.

They are both winners in my book (I would like to Rate Dish Network 4 and Direct TV 3)

Unfortunately I can only select one of the service providers… maybe in future you should consider revising your website so that we can comment on both services and rate both Service provider at same time.

I can only comment on Dish Network because that who I have my service with. I would say that most of the customer who have service with Dish Network would not have anything negative to say about the service. I give 4 stars to Dish Network….

Deggi Man

I think both Direct TV and Dish Network are great.
They are both good I would give Direct TV 3.25.

Clearly Dish network wins bragging rights. It has been that way for few years now and it only will improve not that it needs any.

Direct TV is close but not close enough to take over. When it comes to Satellite Television Dish Network wins the skirmish.

I had Dish Network for last 4 years and I can’t say enough about the service. Customer comes first with dish network and their prices are great compare to Direct TV. One other thing is that Dish network offers more packages so you have more options to select from.

For those of you who can’t make up your mind then you need to know only one thing; if you are BIG NFL fan and absolutely can’t live without football on Sundays then I would say you can select Direct TV (If you want to order NFL Sunday Package for three months). Just remember a Direct TV option also comes with horrible service and your wallet will take a big hit monthly. For those of us who can get by with 3 to 4 games on local NFL channels then Dish Network is the correct choice.

If you look at the markets review right now only Dish Network has been steady from the start. It has built it reputation on excellent service. I think that it will continue to do so since it want to be right on top every year. If you look at today more and more people are switching to Satellite Services. I personally think within 5 to 7 years Satellite customer will be quadrupled.

If you are going to compare Direct TV and Dish Network then Dish Network is the one I would pick. No doubt about it…Dish Network

I ONLY use my local Cable Service for High speed Internet and Voice Over IP (phone Service).

Folks that all I had to say…off to another discussion….

Take care,
Dan

I had Direct TV and just recently (5+ Month ago) switched to Dish Network and I only have one thing to say is that I should have made the switch long time ago. They’re more options/package especially for international channels. Service and Price are better then Direct TV. I rate Dish Network as superior…

Excellent Service; Dish Network recently lost only Cricket to Direct TV. In few years it will come back to dish network. Price is excellent and you have more options with Dish then direct TV. The only benefit of Direct TV is Sunday NFL tickets and MARCH madness. If you are looking for package with little of everything then Dish network should be your choice. I highly recommend it. Especially if are looking for south Asian channels. Dish network Offers lots of package with south Asian channels (SET, SETMAX, TV ASIA, ZEE TV, ZEE Movies, B4U Movies, SUN TV and many other regional channels compare that to Direct TV (only one good channel STAR TV).

I love the pricing and quality of Dish Network. Service has always been great. My only complaint is that they offer all these nice freebies to new subscribers but it costs money to get these features added later. I have found that if you tell them you want to quit they will transfer you to an "account specialist" to give you good deals to entice you to stay.

Oh, one other thing. I tried calling support one time and got tired of being on hold. So I used their email support and never did get a response to this day.