Dish Network vs Direct TV

[two_bit_score]

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?

Can't you get that with Direct TV?

What is the best system for what you are suggesting?


TBS

 

[roadhunter]

Can't you get that with Direct TV?

What is the best system for what you are suggesting?


TBS

You would have to ask someone with Direc TV. I have sling TV and you can watch the channels live or on demand. Even stuff like PBS programs can be watched on demand from thier website.

There are endless ways to get on demand TV such at netflix, hulu, amazon, etc... I'd suggest doing a google search and some research to get your mind around all the different choices, boxes, subscriptions, etc... Lots of free ones as well.

 

[two_bit_score]

You would have to ask someone with Direc TV. I have sling TV and you can watch the channels live or on demand. Even stuff like PBS programs can be watched on demand from thier website.

There are endless ways to get on demand TV such at netflix, hulu, amazon, etc... I'd suggest doing a google search and some research to get your mind around all the different choices, boxes, subscriptions, etc... Lots of free ones as well.

If regular cable would just menu price their channels so you could build your own package that is what i'd really like to see. But, looks like that will never happen.

I was thinking about Sling for a cable connection I have at the farm house where I like the channel line up there. Then Slinging that to my home residence TV where I don't want to pay for the line up that is offered. But I would go with Direct at the home residence in addition the Sling from the farm. I may try that. Do you think that would work?


TBS

 

[roadhunter]

If regular cable would just menu price their channels so you could build your own package that is what i'd really like to see. But, looks like that will never happen.

I was thinking about Sling for a cable connection I have at the farm house where I like the channel line up there. Then Slinging that to my home residence TV where I don't want to pay for the line up that is offered. But I would go with Direct at the home residence in addition the Sling from the farm. I may try that. Do you think that would work?


TBS

You can use you sling account anywhere that has an internet connection so that should work for you. I use a Roku box for my old TV's that are not connected to the internet. It's shocking how much TV there is out there that is completely free.

 

[NoTrespassing]

We probably won't have enough internet for video at our location until G5 comes to comes to cell phone towers.

Kevin

 

[two_bit_score]

You can use you sling account anywhere that has an internet connection so that should work for you. I use a Roku box for my old TV's that are not connected to the internet. It's shocking how much TV there is out there that is completely free.

So you just buy the Sling Box and the Roku unit and there is no subscription or fee, right?

TBS

 

[roadhunter]

So you just buy the Sling Box and the Roku unit and there is no subscription or fee, right?

TBS

No. https://www.sling.com/ for more into. It's a cable/satellite alternative that includes ESPN.

 

[dragoneggs]

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.

No argument really but the difference between DVR and VOD is a matter of who is in control. Some VOD programming forces you to watch commercials and/or otherwise not allow you to navigate fwd/back. I prefer to have this control. Granted VOD will be likely the dominant format in the future but it doesn't suit me now or likely then either. DVR search and record and save features have vastly improved as well... With a setting option, all Prime Time shows on select channels can be auto recorded, as well other things based on key words. As a Seahawks fanatic, my DVR auto records all seahawk games and other related programming. I don't have to repeatedly remember to 'record' things I am interested in. The DVR with proper settings will find things I couldn't find by using VOD (at least not yet).

 

[roadhunter]

No argument really but the difference between DVR and VOD is a matter of who is in control. Some VOD programming forces you to watch commercials and/or otherwise not allow you to navigate fwd/back. I prefer to have this control. Granted VOD will be likely the dominant format in the future but it doesn't suit me now or likely then either. DVR search and record and save features have vastly improved as well... With a setting option, all Prime Time shows on select channels can be auto recorded, as well other things based on key words. As a Seahawks fanatic, my DVR auto records all seahawk games and other related programming. I don't have to repeatedly remember to 'record' things I am interested in. The DVR with proper settings will find things I couldn't find by using VOD (at least not yet).

As long as you are happy with it that's all that matters. I am a very light TV user so what works for me is certainly not for everyone. I primarily watch the major networks news, PBS, and ESPN. So the only thing I can't get for free OTA is the ESPN. My daughter and wife watch most everything on demand. I used to watch lots of History, Discovery, and A&E but it just got to be too much about staged drama and not enough about the stuff I liked to watch on the programs which was just people working (fishing, driving trucks, building motorcycles) for the most part.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Just last Friday I did the telephone dance with Dish Network about my $120/month TV bill. To prepare I reviewed my DVR programming and put together a list of the channels I use. It seems that NBC Sports (for Dakar and Tour de France coverage) and The Outdoor Channel (for shooting sports) were the two that Dish make hard to get. Least expensive package was the T120, which if I remember correctly ran $75/month, as advertised on their web site. Then I noticed that the price of my current package was $15/month higher than what they are now advertising on their web site. Pointed this out to the Dish rep and he said he can lower my rate, but wanted a two year commitment to do so. Told him there's no way I'm signing up for another two years unless they refund the overcharges they've made already. End of conversation, but by reviewing the channels I actually watch I was able to downgrade my viewing package two levels and save a little money.

Got on the DirecTV web site. To get the Outdoor Channel I'd have to subscribe to a $120/month package. Couldn't find any other way to get it through them. So my plan to just play one company off against the other and switch back and forth to get the intro rates would result in either losing a channel I watch a lot or buying a higher cost plan and not watching most of the bundled programming.

When satellite TV first came out I was a DirecTV subscriber using a TiVo. During the first three years, the monthly subscription fee actually went DOWN twice! Then Rupert Murdoch bought the company and every nine months after that the fee went up two or three dollars with no additional programming options. That's how I ended up with Dish when I moved in '10. But they jack the rates just the same once you've gone beyond your contract.

Up until AT&T bought DirecTV I'd get mailings every month to switch and receive a $200+ Visa card and a big channel line up at a rate lower than what I was paying for Dish. Since the buy out all I get from AT&T is a guarantee not to raise my subscription fee during the contract. So bottom line is that if you aren't particular about what channels you get you can do the dance and keep your rates low. If you're particular, you just bend over and take it to get what you want because both companies are out to make as much money off of you as possible and both will raise the rates once your contract expires.

Like the OP, the only Internet choices I have are dial up and satellite. Dialup won't stream, and the cost for data on satellite makes streaming too expensive. Maybe 5G will fix that, but I'm below the rim of a canyon and unless the cell phone companies install additional towers and antennas, it's still unlikely to reach me. And it's extremely unlikely a phone or cable company is going to run five miles of fiber or copper to reach the three or four families on the road that leads to my property.

 

[dmccarty]

On demand only works with High Speed internet and much of the country doesn't have that option yet. M
...
Kevin

What is High Speed? When I first was thinking about canceling Directv, everything I read said one needed at least 3mbps to stream video. We stream video with 1.5mbps very successfully. In the past we would get hangs and such but I think that was due to the equipment that was dong the streaming. Our first streaming device was through a DVD player. When it died we bought a BD player which was much faster and minimized streaming pauses. We just got a Fire TV and it is even better.

For years we would be streaming to the TV in the living room and the kids would be streaming to their PCs, phone, or game boxes all on 1.5 mbps. The streams might pause from time to time but it was not bad. We can't get faster DSL, CenturyLink sucks but they are the only provider in our area and they know it. We did put in a second DSL line. At the moment, we run two networks at 1.5 mbps. One for us and one for the kids. Works well.

DSL went down one day and I had to connect to the Internet so I used my cell phone. The speeds on the PC connected via the phone where SOOOO much faster. I wish we could afford to tether the computers but we can't.

Back to the OP. We never had problems I can remember with Directv other than the always increasing bill. The guy that installed the system wanted to charge us even though it was supposed to be a free installation. That was the only issue we had with service and we did not pay extra. We canceled after many years due to increasing costs and decreasing content to watch. They had more and more channels with less and less to watch. We just stream content now, watch a few PBS shows and every once in awhile watch reruns of old shows on OTA.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

...

Up until AT&T bought DirecTV I'd get mailings every month to switch and receive a $200+ Visa card and a big channel line up at a rate lower than what I was paying for Dish....

We canceled Directv years ago and immediately started getting letters asking us to rejoin the service. We get at least two letters a month from them that I just toss in the trash. We get the $200 Visa card letter at least once a month and we got one a week or so back.

When A&E, Food Network, Discovery, and History channel went all reality programming, pay for TV was over for us and we won't go back. There is more Arts & Entertainment, science, history, and cooking on YouTube than on any of the paid for TV channels.

Later,
Dan

 

[riptides]

...

DSL went down one day and I had to connect to the Internet so I used my cell phone. The speeds on the PC connected via the phone where SOOOO much faster. I wish we could afford to tether the computers but we can't...

Dan

What is the cost with putting one cell phone on tethering and offering a WiFi spot from it?

I upgraded my cell phone data plan, tether enabled mine, and run my networks from it when I need connectivity.

I probably saved at least 100 dollars doing that, getting rid of the MiFi router and separate account that used to perform the network duties.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

We canceled Directv years ago and immediately started getting letters asking us to rejoin the service. We get at least two letters a month from them that I just toss in the trash. We get the $200 Visa card letter at least once a month and we got one a week or so back.

Maybe the difference is that I'm already an AT&T subscriber for my telephone land line. Haven't seen a DirecTV Visa card offer since the buy out. Guess they figure since I'm already a customer, I should just give them the TV subscription without any financial incentives. But even at $200, it wouldn't take long to eat it up with the top tier channel package I'd need to get the stations I really want to watch. At least with Dish I can get that lineup at a much lower tier.

 

[dmccarty]

What is the cost with putting one cell phone on tethering and offering a WiFi spot from it...

Too much. :shocked::laughing: At least it was the last time we checked a few months ago.

I really wish we could use the cell network and ditch Centurylink but for the amount of data we use, the only provider is Centurylink. We don't have cable access.

Later,
Dan

 

[NoTrespassing]

What is High Speed? When I first was thinking about canceling Directv, everything I read said one needed at least 3mbps to stream video. We stream video with 1.5mbps very successfully. In the past we would get hangs and such but I think that was due to the equipment that was dong the streaming. Our first streaming device was through a DVD player. When it died we bought a BD player which was much faster and minimized streaming pauses. We just got a Fire TV and it is even better.

For years we would be streaming to the TV in the living room and the kids would be streaming to their PCs, phone, or game boxes all on 1.5 mbps. The streams might pause from time to time but it was not bad. We can't get faster DSL, CenturyLink sucks but they are the only provider in our area and they know it. We did put in a second DSL line. At the moment, we run two networks at 1.5 mbps. One for us and one for the kids. Works well.

DSL went down one day and I had to connect to the Internet so I used my cell phone. The speeds on the PC connected via the phone where SOOOO much faster. I wish we could afford to tether the computers but we can't.

Back to the OP. We never had problems I can remember with Directv other than the always increasing bill. The guy that installed the system wanted to charge us even though it was supposed to be a free installation. That was the only issue we had with service and we did not pay extra. We canceled after many years due to increasing costs and decreasing content to watch. They had more and more channels with less and less to watch. We just stream content now, watch a few PBS shows and every once in awhile watch reruns of old shows on OTA.

Later,
Dan

We actually have enough speed on 4g cellphone tower, we just can't afford the data to stream. Even if I get on the same plan as my wife we will only have 20 gigs per month. Each phone costs 55$ plus tax for 10 gigs.

Kevin

 

[dmccarty]

Maybe the difference is that I'm already an AT&T subscriber for my telephone land line. Haven't seen a DirecTV Visa card offer since the buy out. Guess they figure since I'm already a customer, I should just give them the TV subscription without any financial incentives. But even at $200, it wouldn't take long to eat it up with the top tier channel package I'd need to get the stations I really want to watch. At least with Dish I can get that lineup at a much lower tier.

That could be. We have CenturyLink and they keep sending us mail to bundle Directv with the phone service but that is not going to happen either.

You are correct that $200 won't go far with Directv.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

We actually have enough speed on 4g cellphone tower, we just can't afford the data to stream. Even if I get on the same plan as my wife we will only have 20 gigs per month. Each phone costs 55$ plus tax for 10 gigs.

Kevin

Yeah, if you Internet is via cell the bottleneck is the data plan and not likely to be speed. We would love to use the cell for Internet access but we burn through too much data.

Later,
Dan

 

[riptides]

Yeah, if you Internet is via cell the bottleneck is the data plan and not likely to be speed. We would love to use the cell for Internet access but we burn through too much data.

Later,
Dan

I am at Verizon with a 40GB plan and 5 phones. Two offering hotspots and/or tethering. Just under 3 bills a month.

Four phones are women owned and operated, three of the four are college students traversing continents. Lots of video and photos services. I think Verzion offers plans over 60GB a month now. With carryover.

 

[rekees4300]

We actually have enough speed on 4g cellphone tower, we just can't afford the data to stream. Even if I get on the same plan as my wife we will only have 20 gigs per month. Each phone costs 55$ plus tax for 10 gigs.

Kevin

Ditto ... I'm concerned that even after 5G is available in a few years they will continue to impose data caps to suck as much money as possible out of their customers. :thumbdown: