satellite - directv or dish?

[2dogs]

I am thinking of getting a satellite. If you are a satellite customer, which do you have? Issues with either company?

[CerealKiller]

My parents have Direct TV. I have Dish Network. Dish is nicer. Cheaper too.

[phill]

We have direct for now. Once again they have taken Versus off of the line-up. Shortly we will be a dish customer again.

[bgeddes]

I was with DriectTV for about 12 years. Signed up for an HD upgrade that they could not make work right for a year and a half (that I was paying for all along). There customer service used to be great, now it stinks.

I have Dish Network now, so far so good.

[Packerfan]

Another vote for Dish. Six years and no problems.

[2dogs]

Thanks for the info!

[WishIWasFlying]

I have not been a DBS subscribber for a number of years but am very close to the technology. In general:

If you are a big sports fan - go with DirecTV.

If you are not a big sports fan and are more interested in a better picture quality or international programming - go with Dish.

[t1m0thy]

I would go with Dish. I have DTV but only because with my verizon package its cheaper. Myself and several family member have had problems with them multiple times. I had a billing nightmare that took 4 months to fix when they kept charging me twice for all my premium channels.

[Berks_Iraq_Vet]

We have Direct for many years. No issues.

[dc dalton]

We have had Direct for as long as I can remember but a few months ago the cheap prices lured me to Dish, and a week of living hell Like I have never been through.

I told them we did NOT have HDTV and they told me no problem. Set up the appointment and the installer came out. Set everything up, new wires the whole 9 yards. Tries to get the TV's working and the main box was bad, get's another one and that one is bad. Finally gets a good one out of his truck and things appear to work and he leaves.

Later that night I bought a year's subscription to the NY MSM (can't stand Scranton WB news) and they say it will be on in 24 hours but in the mean time we will have to watch the S WB ones so I flip WNEP on, the picture is about 12 x 12 on my 27" TV ... WTF, so I call support and we do the whole change this and change that for an hour, nothing works. I get aggravated and say screw it for now.

Next Evening, turn on the TV and we have sound but no picture, back to tech support AGAIN. After an hour of screwing around on the phone they say the receiver is bad and they are sending a new on, of freaking joy.

Luckily we were doing the VF show that weekend so TV didn't matter. On Monday we get the new box and it works fine BUT I still can't get the NY channels I paid for so I call that company bitching about that, they say everything is fine on their end and to call Dish. Back to tech support with them .... they have NO freaking clue why this crap isn't working and after an hour of screwing around with the new box she puts me on hold and gets a supervisor. Another 20 minutes with her having me test this channel and that channel and she says "You don't have a digital TV do you?" I tell her I told them that from the beginning.

She pauses and says "Well I think I know the problem, the non digital channels, as well as the NY channels you bought are not on that satellite!"

She schedules another tech to come out 2 days later. He shows up and gets ready to move the dish to another spot on my GD BRAND NEW ROOF" and then comes in and says "erm, this can't be done". Now at this point you all probably know how pissed off I was and I TRY to hold it back and ask him why. He says "There is no place on the house where I can aim the dish at the satellite you need!"

As you can imagine at this point I am PISSED. He gets Dish on the phone and explains what is going on, then puts me on the phone with them. Literally the woman says to me "I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do, you are going to have to live with it the way it is"

Well I freaking LOST IT, told this bitch to tell her guy to get their shit out of my house and I do mean NOW (all while the installer is standing in my living room). She tells me "I can't have him do that, if you want the stuff removed I will have to send out someone else, the cost will be $100.

I tell her to cancel the service and I'll take the crap out and she then says "Well you do have a 2 year contract"

Lost it, at this point is not the word for it! I called this woman every name in the book and then some, told her the POS hadn't worked since day one and if they thought for one second I was going to pay to have the stuff removed OR honor their contract she could kiss my ass! After she talked to a supervisor they finally agreed to cancel the contract but they would not remove the dish or equipment, they would send a box for it and if I didn't get the receivers back to them within 3 weeks they would bill me something like $500.

Two weeks go by, no box, call them and they say "oops we will get that right out", another 10 days go by and still no box so I call again ... more 'oops shit" and I inform them if they even TRY to bill me for the equipment I will sue the shit out of them. Finally a week later the box showed up.

If that is the level of competency there then god help their customers, I will NEVER EVER deal with them again. We went back to DTV, got a discount for coming back and all is well. Yes DTV might be more money but at least they know what the HELL they are doing!