I know this has been hashed out before but since my 1 year is over and my price shot up by $50/month, I'm considering the benefits and drawbacks of switching. Any feedback?
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Dish vs. DirecTV
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Last: 7 yr ago by originaltexan
When you mention switching, who are you switching from? I'd assume DirecTV, given the price increase.
I've been quite happy with my Dish. Will likely be upgrading it later this year with the Hopper 3 and it's 4K and multi-view 1080P modes. Also really like the Sling capability built into the Hopper, which bests (in my opinion) the DirecTV offering, which limits certain channels from being streamed. Also like that my only price change has been when the free 6 months of service "protection" went away. Other than that, no changes. DirecTV had already raised my rates twice by this point in my contract with them.
I've been quite happy with my Dish. Will likely be upgrading it later this year with the Hopper 3 and it's 4K and multi-view 1080P modes. Also really like the Sling capability built into the Hopper, which bests (in my opinion) the DirecTV offering, which limits certain channels from being streamed. Also like that my only price change has been when the free 6 months of service "protection" went away. Other than that, no changes. DirecTV had already raised my rates twice by this point in my contract with them.
Correct. DirecTV to Dish possibly.
I have been happy with my switch from Direct to Dish
Jami.....we just switched to Dish from Directv because of prices. Let me know if you want my referral code for Dish....it'll save us both $50
Call DirecTV and talk to someone about your monthly fees. They are generally really willing to help and if you have been with them for a while they want to keep your business and will look to lower your bill. It never hurts to ask and it saves a LOT of hassle.
The smartest financial decision is to switch every 2 years to keep the low introductory rates.
But most people are lazy and get used to a channel list and interface of one or the other.
But most people are lazy and get used to a channel list and interface of one or the other.
quote:Thanks Brooke but I'll have to give my mom first dibs since she's also with Dish.
Jami.....we just switched to Dish from Directv because of prices. Let me know if you want my referral code for Dish....it'll save us both $50
Other than issues with heavy rain, Dish has been fine.
After switching from 5 years of Dish to DirecTV, I regret every single second of it. DirecTV's increased their tier prices by $5 a month after 3 months due to market adjustments. Then, conveniently, some of my credits popped off my account and I had to call to get them placed back on. On top of that, the free movies channels I was supposed to receive for ordering HBO did not get credited and I was charged for that, which they corrected. Let me save you some time and let you know to NEVER do business with DirecTV. I got so pissed off after 5 months that I paid the cancellation fees and decided to stream CBS All Access, Hulu, Sling TV, and HBO. Also, if you sign up with SlingTV and prepay for 3 months, you get a free Hulu 2 device, which works for anyone who doesn't have a 4K TV just like all the others. It was a little adjustment, but my monthly bill is now about $40 with all the programming I need. Also, if you sign up under 2 different email addresses with SlingTV, you can get 2 different machines if you prepay both packages. So, that covers 2 Roku 2 devices and a couple stick will get you whatever else you need. (NOTE: You must have super fast internet with unlimited bandwidth). Good luck!
Great Link for Cord Cutters
Also a note on the rain with both Dish and DirecTV. Dish would go out on occasion with extremely heavy rain. DirecTV would go out if the wind blew a little...much less reliable. I'm out!
Great Link for Cord Cutters
Also a note on the rain with both Dish and DirecTV. Dish would go out on occasion with extremely heavy rain. DirecTV would go out if the wind blew a little...much less reliable. I'm out!
Ive had Directv for 14 years now and never experienced some of this stuff. We've literally had maybe 2-3 issues in that time that were always fixed quickly. our bill has gone up a few times, but most of that has been due to adding services (like HD and DVR).
Ive always been curious when these threads come up because we have had what I would consider basically flawless service.
Ive always been curious when these threads come up because we have had what I would consider basically flawless service.
I don't have any problems with the service we get from DirecTV but the cost is questionable. I'm trying to stay in a budget and I knew my cost was going up after a year but that's why I'm checking on changing services now. I'll have to see what the best options are.
Both are pretty comparable nowadays and both are better than cable. I have been with Dish for 15 years and stay with them because they are cheaper. The main reason I would tell people to go with DirecTv is for sports. DirecTv has NFL Sunday ticket and they carry Root Sports Houston (Astros & Rockets games). If those don't matter to you then go with Dish and save money.
I turned on my free trial of Playstation Vue and it has almost every channel I want including all sports channels live. This might be the way to go. They added a ton of stuff recently and the top package is only $44/month. I'm going to test it out over the next week and see if I go with this and an antenna and a dvr.
We recently switched from Direct (3+ yrs) to Dish, based solely on the ever increasing Direct rates. First the promos fell off, then the basic rate increases every few months. We had a fairly basic package...nothing premium, only two TV's + a DVR. A call to Direct last fall resulted in a .....$5/month off for 6 months!
So when Direct went up in early 2016, I didn't even bother calling...the 3 yr guarantee from Dish, the $200 debit card, and for comparable service, we pay $37/month less than Direct. Much faster response on the Dish system, and no weather issues.
A neighbor who was also fed up with Direct decided to call them to negotiate....the Dish promo must have got their attention, as he was able to obtain a $35/month reduction for a year.
Competition is a good thing...a "non-Socialist" sort of thing
So when Direct went up in early 2016, I didn't even bother calling...the 3 yr guarantee from Dish, the $200 debit card, and for comparable service, we pay $37/month less than Direct. Much faster response on the Dish system, and no weather issues.
A neighbor who was also fed up with Direct decided to call them to negotiate....the Dish promo must have got their attention, as he was able to obtain a $35/month reduction for a year.
Competition is a good thing...a "non-Socialist" sort of thing
I always felt that dish was a pioneer of new technology and directv just perfected what dish invented. Dish always seemed a disorganized mess to me. Directv is McDonalds and dish is Burger King. I use Amazon Fire Stick.
When you call Direct to negotiate price, you have to get past the initial customer service rep and talk to retention department. They will offer the better discounts.
quote:
Ive had Directv for 14 years now and never experienced some of this stuff. We've literally had maybe 2-3 issues in that time that were always fixed quickly. our bill has gone up a few times, but most of that has been due to adding services (like HD and DVR).
Ive always been curious when these threads come up because we have had what I would consider basically flawless service.
Agree. DirecTv has been phenomenal. You call them up every couple of years and threaten to leave and they load you up with credits on the account for another year or two. Hell just calling and being concerned about the SEC network, and letting them know we had just gone month to month one month prior had them bending over backwards for us and loading us up with credits.
Just moved recently and was considering cutting the cord or going to Dish...I didn't even get around to telling them that but was just inquiring about what my cancellation fee would be that I'd owe due to outstanding months on my contract and they gave me NFL Sunday Ticket Plus for this year(their offer for anyone that moves), free premiums for 3 months(another offer for anyone that moves and stays), but then just wnet out of their way and knocked off $10 for a year and an extra $10 for the first 6 months.
I've never had anything just randomly go up on me, and the rare instances where I wanted to discuss my monthly fee they don't hesitate to give me credits on the account, not just free extra stuff.
quote:I surmise that Direct's responses may be fluid...if the competition is grabbing business (like ours), then the CS reps or retention reps have more leeway. This time around, I didn't play the game...just went with the 3 yr Dish price lock.quote:
Ive had Directv for 14 years now and never experienced some of this stuff. We've literally had maybe 2-3 issues in that time that were always fixed quickly. our bill has gone up a few times, but most of that has been due to adding services (like HD and DVR).
Ive always been curious when these threads come up because we have had what I would consider basically flawless service.
Agree. DirecTv has been phenomenal. You call them up every couple of years and threaten to leave and they load you up with credits on the account for another year or two. Hell just calling and being concerned about the SEC network, and letting them know we had just gone month to month one month prior had them bending over backwards for us and loading us up with credits.
Just moved recently and was considering cutting the cord or going to Dish...I didn't even get around to telling them that but was just inquiring about what my cancellation fee would be that I'd owe due to outstanding months on my contract and they gave me NFL Sunday Ticket Plus for this year(their offer for anyone that moves), free premiums for 3 months(another offer for anyone that moves and stays), but then just wnet out of their way and knocked off $10 for a year and an extra $10 for the first 6 months.
I've never had anything just randomly go up on me, and the rare instances where I wanted to discuss my monthly fee they don't hesitate to give me credits on the account, not just free extra stuff.
I cut the cable, got Hulu and Netflix, and I'm a happy camper. This fall, I'll get Sling so I can get ESPN and such, and I won't have missed a thing on cable. My total costs dropped by $100/month.
quote:Didn't work for me, which is why I cut the cable. Been with Directv for 25 years. They didn't care, now neither do I!quote:I surmise that Direct's responses may be fluid...if the competition is grabbing business (like ours), then the CS reps or retention reps have more leeway. This time around, I didn't play the game...just went with the 3 yr Dish price lock.quote:
Ive had Directv for 14 years now and never experienced some of this stuff. We've literally had maybe 2-3 issues in that time that were always fixed quickly. our bill has gone up a few times, but most of that has been due to adding services (like HD and DVR).
Ive always been curious when these threads come up because we have had what I would consider basically flawless service.
Agree. DirecTv has been phenomenal. You call them up every couple of years and threaten to leave and they load you up with credits on the account for another year or two. Hell just calling and being concerned about the SEC network, and letting them know we had just gone month to month one month prior had them bending over backwards for us and loading us up with credits.
Just moved recently and was considering cutting the cord or going to Dish...I didn't even get around to telling them that but was just inquiring about what my cancellation fee would be that I'd owe due to outstanding months on my contract and they gave me NFL Sunday Ticket Plus for this year(their offer for anyone that moves), free premiums for 3 months(another offer for anyone that moves and stays), but then just wnet out of their way and knocked off $10 for a year and an extra $10 for the first 6 months.
I've never had anything just randomly go up on me, and the rare instances where I wanted to discuss my monthly fee they don't hesitate to give me credits on the account, not just free extra stuff.
quote:
I surmise that Direct's responses may be fluid...if the competition is grabbing business (like ours), then the CS reps or retention reps have more leeway. This time around, I didn't play the game...just went with the 3 yr Dish price lock.
Yeah the 3 year price lock looked great and it was what I was going to go to most likely, but when I called to inquire about the move they went out of their way to make the total end up being exactly what I'd pay for Dish on the 3 year lock with the amount of equipment we have and active TV's.
Made more sense for us to take the sunday ticket max as a reward, and only being locked down for 1 more year, then I can shop to Dish if I want.
I was all set to cut the cord and go with a combo of PSVUE and antenna so I called DirecTV and cancelled. About 2 hours later I got a call from a account representative who offered me a price lower than my original one for the next 12 months. It came out to be about the same as I would pay for the year with buying equipment and paying for a year of PSVUE. I'll go through this all again in 12 months but right now, it saved me $60/month over what I would have had to pay if I just went with what they gave me.
Just switched from DISH (Customer for over 10 years) to Directv because of the 50 dollar lock for 2 years with ATT and the unlimited data for ATT customers. When combining the bills it's about 10 dollars more than whatII was paying for ATT limited data on four iphones. So basically cable free for 2 years.
Here's the problem. I agreed to the deal of this much a month. But it takes their billing system 2 or 3 months to get the charges right ? So basically we get to overcharge you for 3 months because are billing system stinks.
I miss DISH and would recommend DISH over DIRECTV. DIRECTV lied about their streaming system. DISH streaming system is the best. DISH PRIME TIME ANYTIME is better than DIRECTVs on demand and time machine playback. Auto commercial skip is nice with DISH. DISH's User interface is easier and looks better with folders for each show (using pictures and not text).
So hopefully I hope to get the billing correct, but i'm not crossing my fingers.
The actually picture quality seems a little nicer with DIRECTv.
Here's the problem. I agreed to the deal of this much a month. But it takes their billing system 2 or 3 months to get the charges right ? So basically we get to overcharge you for 3 months because are billing system stinks.
I miss DISH and would recommend DISH over DIRECTV. DIRECTV lied about their streaming system. DISH streaming system is the best. DISH PRIME TIME ANYTIME is better than DIRECTVs on demand and time machine playback. Auto commercial skip is nice with DISH. DISH's User interface is easier and looks better with folders for each show (using pictures and not text).
So hopefully I hope to get the billing correct, but i'm not crossing my fingers.
The actually picture quality seems a little nicer with DIRECTv.
DISH now has a 24 mo. $49.99 deal going on.
Here's a $50 referral code on the house!
APP000317050
APP000317050
100$ dish referral code for whoever wants it
VCD0017426901
VCD0017426901
Jarz, I just used your referral code, FYI. You should see a few bucks off your account.
I just switched from Direct. Been a Direct Customer for many many years. Decided I was tired of having to call and beg for a good price every 6-12 months. I'll just play the game every 2 years and bounce back and forth while getting the latest and greatest equipment.
Going to throw my referral code out there now if anyone else wants to keep this passing along... Just like Jarz94, this is worth 100 bucks over 10 months.
(For Dish)
DRA157680229
I just switched from Direct. Been a Direct Customer for many many years. Decided I was tired of having to call and beg for a good price every 6-12 months. I'll just play the game every 2 years and bounce back and forth while getting the latest and greatest equipment.
Going to throw my referral code out there now if anyone else wants to keep this passing along... Just like Jarz94, this is worth 100 bucks over 10 months.
(For Dish)
DRA157680229
google cut the cable
People are tired of the "fee increases" with Dish and Direct.
Get Playstion Sony Vue, ROKU, or Amazon stick.
Direct TV now has a deal fire Amazon Fire TV stick.
My point is that times have changed, and you have numerous choices.
Most people that make the switch save about $80 a month.
Add more functionality with a TV antennae.
People are tired of the "fee increases" with Dish and Direct.
Get Playstion Sony Vue, ROKU, or Amazon stick.
Direct TV now has a deal fire Amazon Fire TV stick.
My point is that times have changed, and you have numerous choices.
Most people that make the switch save about $80 a month.
Add more functionality with a TV antennae.