Should I make the change to DirecTV? Does anyone have good/bad experiences??

Question

My family just bought a new HDTV and we were considering changing from our local digital cable provider to DirecTV. This local company offers a free upgrade to HD Receiver, which DirecTV does as well. DirecTV sounds like they have a lot more to offer when speaking about HD channels, but the fact that it is a dish scares me, and makes me worry about equipment fees and cancellation charges that I am unaware of, etc. I've heard both sides of the story, that some say they went DirecTV and would never go back. Costs are very similar so it wouldn't be an issue. I was also looking at the DTV HD DVR as well. Any personal experiences you guys and gals can share to help me make up my mind? Anything would help! Thanks!

Answer 1

Directtv has alot of hidden fees that you are going to be required to pay. Also, you will end up paying fees for any kind of trouble or maintenance calls. This includes storms, etc. As far as their HD channels. Keep in mind that directtv does not actually carry a 1080i or 1080p true HD picture. Most of their "HD channels" are actually in a 720 format.

Answer 2

I got DirecTV. The reception was SO bad that after a few months I wanted to cancel. I called customer service TWO times and asked if I had a contract (I honestly could not remember).  BOTH times they told me "no". I asked SPECIFICALLY, "So if I cancel my service I owe you nothing?" They said, "Correct." It was even documented in their phone records on my account that this took place.  So I canceled and went back to Comcast. Next thing you know, BAM, $200 bill in the mail for early cancellation.  Filed a BBB complaint and they still refused to remove the charge. Bottom line, DirecTV is a bunch of sheisters and scam artists and if I didn't care about my credit rating I would have told them to s***w themselves over the $200.  I hope they go out of business.

Oh, and to get High Def you have to have TWO sattelite dishes on your house!  Pain in the ****.  The PVR box I got didn't record shows, it would tape half then die.  The guide would list shows that were completely wrong or in the wrong time slots.  I'm serious. I'm not just a disgruntled customer, these are real issues that I had.

Answer 3

I love DirecTV. I got it as soon as I bought an HD TV, because it offered the most HD channels. It actually ended up being a little bit cheaper than regular cable also. I live in Florida so I was very concerned that during thunderstorms the dish would "go out" like I heard could happen with all satellite TV. I've had DirecTV for over a year and this has happened twice during SEVERE thunderstorms. It lasted less than an hour and the screen said "searching for satellite signal.." But those two times were the only times that they've gone out the whole year. I found from my experiences with Bright House that regular cable went out more than that. I think DirecTV now has a promotion when you sign up you get a free HD DVR. I would recommend that. I only have the HD receiver which I got at Best Buy for free when I bought my TV and signed up for DirecTV service. The HD DVR is usually pretty expensive (around $300, I think) so if you could get that for free it would be WELL worth it. I am so happy with DirecTV, and I highly recommend it for HD programming.

Answer 4

I had direvt tv and had no problems with them, the only reason I switched to dish network was to get the free upgrade to a dvr that I wanted, and I still have not had any problems with dish network.

Answer 5

I considered direct tv over comcast.  I googled direct tv complaints and found some interesting reading on the pros and cons of each.  If its a savings of 10 bucks or so i say "if it aint broke don't fix it".

Answer 6

Geez, talk about a lot of misinformation.......Let me address that first before I render my opinion of DirectTV.

First I can't offer an opinion on cancellation charges because you'd have to pry my DirectTV from my cold dead hands, so I have no idea about that.  But what I do know if that the few times I have ever had to call customer service it was outstanding.  I recently lost an LNB on my dish and DirectTV actually sent a guy on SUNDAY to fix it so I wouldn't miss my NFL ticket and it didn't cost me a cent.  If the poster above me had such a poor signal then obviously he either had something blocking the view or a weak signal.  Plus he is dead wrong about needing 2 dishes for HD.  You only need one 3 LNB dish for all of your channels and I have NEVER had ANY of the issues that he describes.

As far as resolution goes the poster above me is correct that the majority of HD channels are in 720p except for the HD PPV which are in 1080i.  Well, get a clue lady....NOTHING is broadcast in 1080p except for HD DVD and Blu-Ray and ONLY DirectTV broadcasts in 1080i so if anything they have BETTER resolution than anyone else.

Combine that with fact that DirectTV has almost 100 HD channels it's a no brainer if you just got an HDTV.  Keep in mind too that these are almost 100 SEPARATE channels like MTV, Food Network, Fuel, TBS, etc and NOT just a bunch of HD PPV like Comcast counts when they claim 100 HD channels.

Lastly, don't let the weather scare you away.  It is true that you can get a weak or no signal during a storm but it has to be raining EXTREMELY hard (can't see your hand in front of your face) to lose your signal and it comes back when the rain stops.  I had my cable go out for no reason and stay that way for days before they would send someone.

From a price perspective they may be a little more expensive, but if you just bought that new HDTV then you have to get DTV to fully enjoy it.  And for the record, the DVR rules!

weeder

Answer 7

making the switch to DirecTV would be the right choice.

They have far more HD channels then a cable company. If you want to get the most in HD including over 50 national channels in HD then switching would be the right choice.

When you go with an advanced receiver. you will have a 24 month commitment. they do give you a 7 day grace period in which you can cancel before you commitment begins. I know that doesn't give you a lot of time to try out the system but if you don't like it within your first week you can cancel.

as far as the equipment fees. they do give you a free upgrade to a HD receiver of dvr. but and actually hd/dvr is $99 which is a one time lease fee. that you'll never have to pay again.  and also depending on what package you chose you wont have to pay extra for dvr service or hd access!!

i hoped this helped alittle