Dish Network vs Direct TV

[ray66v]

In the beginning of "pay TV", they used the "commercial free" aspect as a sales feature to get people volunteer their money. Then, they started putting the commercials in, anyway.

Once everything is "on demand", you can bet, it will be full of commercials, and advertisers are not going be willing to pay for commercials, we are able to FF through. So, there will still be interest in recording programs.

As far as it being arduous to do so, My Tivo pretty much does it all for me. Including finding me new programs, based on what I like.

 

[rekees4300]

There are an enormous amount of choices available for internet TV.

That's true assuming your ISP doesn't have data caps (urban areas). Most rural plans do have data caps. We live in the boonies. Our plan is Verizon Wireless 4G with 20GB/mo cap. Go over the 20GB cap then they sock it to you at $8 per GB! Each streaming movie over the data cap would be $20-$30 bucks! Perhaps the situation will change with 5G but that is still years away?

 

[roadhunter]

That's true assuming your ISP doesn't have data caps (urban areas). Most rural plans do have data caps. We live in the boonies. Our plan is Verizon Wireless 4G with 20GB/mo cap. Go over the 20GB cap then they sock it to you at $8 per GB! Each streaming movie over the data cap would be $20-$30 bucks! Perhaps the situation will change with 5G but that is still years away?

This is just getting more interesting. I can assure you that I live in a much more rural area "boonies" than you do as there are less than 100k people within a 2 hour radius of my house.

So far we have seen people claim that the programming they want is not available streaming, yet none could say which channels they were not able to get via streaming. When asked directly they would not respond. Now the claims are you can't stream because the internet is still years away from being able to handle the data due to caps. Essentially people just dont' understand how this all works and they are loyal to thier satellite because they dont' know any better and are likely older. But as I said earlier cable/satellite is going to be obsolete in the next 10 years.

Reality check.

People in urban areas and rural areas stream TV all the time. Millions of them every day. Some watch movies, some binge watch entire TV series, some watch videos on you tube. If you want to pretend the content' isn't' available or your internet won't support it that is fine, but it doesn't mean it's true.

Heck I have verizon phone service and I stream TV on my phone all the time. No reason it won't work on your TV as well as your phone.

I'm getting ready to watch a NFL game streaming from CBS on my cell tower internet with data caps. Just like I streamed the bowl games yesterday.

 

[roadhunter]

In the beginning of "pay TV", they used the "commercial free" aspect as a sales feature to get people volunteer their money. Then, they started putting the commercials in, anyway.

Once everything is "on demand", you can bet, it will be full of commercials, and advertisers are not going be willing to pay for commercials, we are able to FF through. So, there will still be interest in recording programs.

As far as it being arduous to do so, My Tivo pretty much does it all for me. Including finding me new programs, based on what I like.

Recording TV programs to watch later will not be around much longer. There is no reason for it when you can simply pick what episodes of each show you want to watch from a library that has every episode and every season.

As far as commercials there will still be advertizing but you can pay extra not to have them. Many streaming services offer no commercial plans which are slightly more expensive.

DVR's will go the way of home phone service, huge satellite dishes in the yard, VHS tapes, etc.. as technology changes. To be honest DVR's are for old people at this point. It's certainly not something the younger generations are still doing.

 

[NoTrespassing]

This is just getting more interesting. I can assure you that I live in a much more rural area "boonies" than you do as there are less than 100k people within a 2 hour radius of my house.

So far we have seen people claim that the programming they want is not available streaming, yet none could say which channels they were not able to get via streaming. When asked directly they would not respond. Now the claims are you can't stream because the internet is still years away from being able to handle the data due to caps. Essentially people just dont' understand how this all works and they are loyal to thier satellite because they dont' know any better and are likely older. But as I said earlier cable/satellite is going to be obsolete in the next 10 years.

Reality check.

People in urban areas and rural areas stream TV all the time. Millions of them every day. Some watch movies, some binge watch entire TV series, some watch videos on you tube. If you want to pretend the content' isn't' available or your internet won't support it that is fine, but it doesn't mean it's true.

Heck I have verizon phone service and I stream TV on my phone all the time. No reason it won't work on your TV as well as your phone.

I'm getting ready to watch a NFL game streaming from CBS on my cell tower internet with data caps. Just like I streamed the bowl games yesterday.

How many gigs does a typical NFL game in HD use? How many gigs is a 90 minute movie? I'm trying to figure out how many games and movies we can watch before our 15 gigs of data is gone and we have to buy more @ $10/gig on one device and $2.5/gig on the other device. By the way, my wife's service doesn't support using her phone as a wifi hotspot so we downloaded an app as a work around. If the company detects too much data usage they will throttle the download speed.

 

[ray66v]

Recording TV programs to watch later will not be around much longer. There is no reason for it when you can simply pick what episodes of each show you want to watch from a library that has every episode and every season.

As far as commercials there will still be advertizing but you can pay extra not to have them. Many streaming services offer no commercial plans which are slightly more expensive.

DVR's will go the way of home phone service, huge satellite dishes in the yard, VHS tapes, etc.. as technology changes. To be honest DVR's are for old people at this point. It's certainly not something the younger generations are still doing.

As I said, I don't agree at all.

Commercials are the only reason the networks exist.

I guess we are going to find out.

 

[rekees4300]

This is just getting more interesting. I can assure you that I live in a much more rural area "boonies" than you do as there are less than 100k people within a 2 hour radius of my house.

So far we have seen people claim that the programming they want is not available streaming, yet none could say which channels they were not able to get via streaming. When asked directly they would not respond. Now the claims are you can't stream because the internet is still years away from being able to handle the data due to caps. Essentially people just dont' understand how this all works and they are loyal to thier satellite because they dont' know any better and are likely older. But as I said earlier cable/satellite is going to be obsolete in the next 10 years.

Reality check.

People in urban areas and rural areas stream TV all the time. Millions of them every day. Some watch movies, some binge watch entire TV series, some watch videos on you tube. If you want to pretend the content' isn't' available or your internet won't support it that is fine, but it doesn't mean it's true.

Heck I have verizon phone service and I stream TV on my phone all the time. No reason it won't work on your TV as well as your phone.

I'm getting ready to watch a NFL game streaming from CBS on my cell tower internet with data caps. Just like I streamed the bowl games yesterday.

Maybe I'm missing something or perhaps your perspective (no data caps?) is just different than mine? :confused3: "Streaming" is just another word for "downloading" right? It's all just data, 0's & 1's no matter if it's a movie or website. So please explain to this ignorant senior citizen boonie (who doesn't even own a cell phone) how to use Roku without connecting it the Internet? Their website says "Just connect your Roku streaming player to your wireless network and your TV, or connect your Roku TV to your wireless network, create a Roku account, and start streaming." When they say "wireless network" aren't they actually inferring "Internet"? Trust me I am not "loyal" to DirecTV. I would drop them and their $150/mo bill in a heartbeat if there truly was a viable way to get the TV programs I want, when I want them, and at a lower price (aka a la carte) .

Roku

 

[ray66v]

Maybe I'm missing something or perhaps your perspective (no data caps?) is just different than mine? :confused3: "Streaming" is just another word for "downloading" right? It's all just data, 0's & 1's no matter if it's a movie or website. So please explain to this ignorant senior citizen boonie (who doesn't even own a cell phone) how to use Roku without connecting it the Internet? Their website says "Just connect your Roku streaming player to your wireless network and your TV, or connect your Roku TV to your wireless network, create a Roku account, and start streaming." When they say "wireless network" aren't they actually inferring "Internet"? Trust me I am not "loyal" to DirecTV. I would drop them and their $150/mo bill in a heartbeat if there truly was a viable way to get the TV programs I want, when I want them, and at a lower price (aka a la carte) .

Roku

I'm no expert at this either. I believe the difference between downloading, and streaming, is the first is saving it, even if only temporarily, and the second is watching it as you download it, without saving it at all. Both are using lots of internet data. Neither really are going to be any different from your perspective.

I do have a Roku, and it does need to be connected to the internet, usually via your private wifi, (wireless), network. Some may be able to plug directly into your internet connection, if you don't have a wifi modem, or router.

 

[rekees4300]

I'm no expert at this either. I believe the difference between downloading, and streaming, is the first is saving it, even if only temporarily, and the second is watching it as you download it, without saving it at all. Both are using lots of internet data. Neither really are going to be any different from your perspective.

I do have a Roku, and it does need to be connected to the internet, usually via your private wifi, (wireless), network. Some may be able to plug directly into your internet connection, if you don't have a wifi modem, or router.

The bottom line is that until rural Internet infrastructure has the capacity to handle the streaming equivalent of Dish/DirecTV they will be in business.

 

[Oaktree]

Looks Like you have plenty of OTA antennas closeby, have you tried a long range antenna?
Coos County, NH - TV Channels & Antenna Map

There are gobs of free streams out there. Crackle has lots of movies for free. Tubit is another one great free movie channel. Weather Nation is a free knock off of the weather channel.

Yep. When the U.S. went digital (08?) I bought the biggest, baddest UHF antenna I could find. Vt. Public TV was all I could get when I did a scan. I could get that with a coathanger. It's still up there...I have a very steep roof and didn't really feel like going back up there to remove it.
Canada didn't switch until a couple years later, and there was one English-language channel (analog) we could get (several others in French).
The map you linked to is very deceiving. Now maybe there are all those signals available where it shows the reception point, but what doesn't tell you is that it is in the middle of national forest. For that matter, most of the high country here is either national forest or woodland owned by a paper company. It's the valleys where people live, and as I noted there are mountain ranges in pretty much every direction.

Do I need some external box to access these "free" streaming channels, or is it something you can get with a so-called smart tv? Don't recall seeing a link for either of the providers in the menu. Are the programs offered anything anyone would want to watch, or is it stuff no one would ever pay to see?

I realize that there are websites you can go to for programming, but I don't really have any interest in having to sit in front of a computer to watch a tv show.

 

[coffeeman]

I think I took his comment differently than you did. How I take it is a new customer can get a better price than they give me,,,,,, unless I call and *****. In your case you are calling them every year to get the "new customer" deal. I've never called Dishnetwork to negotiate my monthly fee. Maybe I should? But it shouldn't be necessary. As a long term customer I should be getting the best price available.

Yes, Shouldn't have to always check prices. They set prices, give deals and exchange customers every 2 years. Same as auto dealers. All bad service and we shop. New dealer is just as bad. Except, in rare cases.

My dish freezes up. Call for service, expect a wasted 1 1/2 hour wasted time with them. They send service. Service person saysI am recording too many programs. I show him; I unplug main receiver and reboot. Machine works fine. Phone service suggested I unplug every day. But Dish automatically resets every night from 2 - to about 5am every nite. I start morning with fox news. In kitchen I want to join fox in bedroom and is impossible. Next, I must pull main receiver. In 10 minutes I can tune into Fox. Every one awake using other 4 tvs, Into kitchen, "whats wrong with Dish." I tell them I shut 'er down. They are not happy. Week by week & sometime day by day.

My Problem, Over $120 month and don't work right. Changing robs me of no less than 8 hours of my time or someone else has to tend to. Call them, negotiate price, check competition , meet the guy ( waiting in a 4 hour window) , listen to guy complain on how hard job is, your wires no good etc. etc. Don't forget, below par service but get penalized for dumping them. IT AIN"T FAIR.

I am also fed up with bad service, from restaurants, garages, Lowes, Walmart you name it.. Many don't comprehend , "Can I help you?" When I get
GOOD SERVICE I stick with them, even if more expensive.

Also, fed up with cheap foreign stuff. Hey we save couple bucks on sink faucet. 2 - 3 years it's leaking. Trip to Lowes and they can't match to faucet parts. Familiar words, "It's cheaper to buy new one." I believe pay more, and save the fuel and time to Lowes. How about miles on my tires and truck. What the heck did I save?

One more rant. Life-Savers candy. Wife checking out calories on label. Have to write William Wrigley Jr Company, Chicago, Il. for nutrition facts.
The icing on the cake; MADE IN MEXICO. Also, "PRODUCED WITH GENETIC ENGINEERING". What the heck??? Same with thousands of others.

I have loved Life-Savers since the 60s. I thought they were a USA product?

Cheers........Coffeeman

 

[dragoneggs]

Sure, if you spend the time to pick out which shows/times/dates you want to record and go through the process of storing the data like a cave man. There are certainly downsides to that antiquated method of pre recorded TV to watch. Recording TV won't be around much longer as there is no reason to do so when the shows are all available on demand without wasting your time.

That's the beauty of on demand. Pick you show and episode and watch without having to do anything in advance. And you can stop watching and come back when you want as well as pick which episodes you watch even going to different seasons which you can't do while recording live TV. No worrying about standing in front of the screen when the show is on live and no hassle of recording TV to watch later via a hopper.

LOL, Have you never watched any TV on demand?

Live sports is the last hurdle for internet cable services to tackle and several already have done so with options as low as $25 for ESPN. The rest of the content from movies to TV series and other programming on just about every topic you can imagine can be watched on demand which is the future of TV. Pre recording live tv events with a DVR is just slightly better than recording TV shows with VHS tapes to watch later. Time to catch up with technology and get past the stone ages of TV.

Well this caveman likes the dish hopper system and recording shows even though I can also use VOD. Difference is I can skip back and forward pass commmercials, etc on recordings but not always using VOD.

 

[two_bit_score]

has anyone had experience with a Sling Box?

 

[ray66v]

has anyone had experience with a Sling Box?

Yes, I have one. It was an effort to get it working on my wifi, 3 different ROKU's, and my cell phone.

But, I like it.

 

[dragoneggs]

has anyone had experience with a Sling Box?

Yes worked great for me on iPad and MacBook over hotel wifi as long as their connection speed was sufficient. Otherwise too pixelated to watch sports or action shows. Now my dish hopper DER has sling built in and I can access any show regardless of which tv I recorded from. Even better.

 

[two_bit_score]

Yes worked great for me on iPad and MacBook over hotel wifi as long as their connection speed was sufficient. Otherwise too pixelated to watch sports or action shows. Now my dish hopper DER has sling built in and I can access any show regardless of which tv I recorded from. Even better.

I'm just now looking into it. Sounds like your well experienced. Do you primarily use it as a recorder?

TBS

 

[Blicker]

We just got DISH two months ago when we moved to a new house and have no complaints. The wireless receivers for other TV's in our house work great too.

 

[dragoneggs]

I'm just now looking into it. Sounds like your well experienced. Do you primarily use it as a recorder?

TBS

Typo in my last post... should be DVR not DER. Digital Video Recorder. Yes, we rarely watch anything live anymore. Dish Anywhere is nice because you can control your DVR anywhere from your iPhone, iPad, laptop.... meaning you can watch, record, delete, etc. With the Hopper/Joey system you have one DVR (Hopper) and a Joey for each TV. Before I had a couple DVRs that each had two tuners but the sling box could only be connected to one. This meant that if you are on the road and want to watch a recorded show, you better have recorded in on the right DVR. Now if you have two TVs or less then it is a non issue. We have 4 TVs hooked up so I upgraded to the hopper/joey.

We never see commercials anymore and an hour show becomes about 40 to 44 min. The skip forward/backward is very handy. fwd is 30sec increments and back is 10sec increments.

 

[jack707]

I rather pick the channels I want that's why I gave up the dish until then I won't bother!.

 

[roadhunter]

Well this caveman likes the dish hopper system and recording shows even though I can also use VOD. Difference is I can skip back and forward pass commmercials, etc on recordings but not always using VOD.

I'm not saying its doesn't work, but recording things to watch later is not the future. Heck I remember recording songs off the radio onto tapes so listen to later. Nobody does that anymore. Or taking the time to record songs on CD's. Now you just put it on your phone or MP3 player and listen to it whenever you want. TV will be no different.

The reality is live sports are about the only thing left that requires live TV. Most everything else is prereorded. Here is a scenario you get home late and miss the 10:00 pm news. For on demand customers you just choose the 10 o'clock news of your choice and watch. In the caveman scenario you woud have had to plan ahead and pre record the news. The VOD scenario you didn't have to do anything. So essentially you are choosing between taking the time to pick and choose what shows and what times to record. People are lazy, doing nothing will win out.

Movies are the same way. People dont pre record movies like they used to. They simply go to a site like netflix and pick the movie as opposed to waiting until it's on TV and then recording the movie to watch later. Make sense?