Betting Talk

OT-Direct TV vs Cable

thecaptain12thecaptain12 Senior Member
edited April 2012 in Sports Betting
In the next six months my family is building a new house and I am tired of paying too much for TV. I know with the internet/net flix/Hulu Plus, you can make things cheaper. Currently have Comcast (xfinity) bundle (tv, phone and Net) and get HBO and 2 HD DVR boxes. It seems like these prices are just getting out of control. I use to play the "I'm going to switch services card" (from WOW to Comcast and back) in order to get the cheapest service and it worked but I am sick of switching back and forth.

I have been researching Direct TV and it seems so cheap, but don't know if it comes with any issues? I have also thought of getting the middle of the road cable package, then adding NFL ticket or NCAA package. That way I don't need the huge package to see all football games.

My wifes work gives her HULU PLUS for free that we can watch through our Blu Ray player, and all she really wants is HBO which I know is extra, and HGTV which I am sure comes with the basic package.

Any insight into this would be very grateful. Thanks

Comments

  • blueblue Senior Member
    edited April 2012
    You can only get NFL ticket package through Direct TV or on Sony Playstation, from what I understand.
  • ugadawgs7769ugadawgs7769 Senior Member
    edited April 2012
    Directv on the outside looks cheaper but once you subscribe it basically comes out around the same price. IF you wait to closer to the NFL season though you can usually get them to throw in free Sunday ticket with a 2 year agreement.

    When you sign up they will charge you bulk up front fee for HD/DVR boxes that is usually a few hundred bucks. In addition you will have to pay $10 monthly HD fee and $8 month DVR fee. They also charge you $6 per for any active receiver you have in your home.

    I have basic middle of the line package with HD/DVR and my bill is $125 or so a month.

    Just a heads up before you make a decision based solely on costs.

    As far as the actual tv, it works fine unless its storming hard. However, good luck if you ever have to deal with the customer service as I have a few nightmare stories from my previous encounters.
  • Old-TimerOld-Timer Senior Member
    edited April 2012
    I'm with Directv since 1992 and I think the CS is great and as far as problems (I live in Vegas) I can count on one hand and the weather really has to be bad and by that I mean high winds and it doesn't last very long. I think there the greatest but I also as all TV is there of line with there prices. But there all the same. EX: $200 for a DVR box so in my mind that's buying it but you have to pay $10 a month for and also a $7 for HD and after the first receiver I pay $6 a month for the other 3 I have. I have the top of the line package which by it self is $115 or now $119 a month I have to check. (They just raise it ) My bill is around $175 a month without any special sports packages. This year I got the NFL for free I talked my way for the NBA package for $10 a month because it started late.

    The one thing I do with Directv I call every 8 months or so and this is a sample of what I tell them. They always answer saying hello and thank you for being a VIP customer since 1992 and I tell them yes I enjoy your service and I know you see in your computer notes that I call from time to time complaining about seeing all the stuff you want to give the new customer but you never offer anything to your loyal customers. They always say hold on lets see what promotions we have this month for our loyal customers. They always come back with something one time it was $20 a month off my bill for 6 months most of the time it $5 or $10 for 6 months but always something. I think they're by far the best out their at this time. The CS their Reception and lack of over-all problems. Also if you have to have a tech come out you can always politely talk them out of the $49. Charge the first time. I had to change an old box in my office to an HD box and they required the tech come out to set it up talked them right out of the charge.

    They do treat their long time customer a little different where's most other company's don't give a shit. Got a little long winded there sorry about that.
  • bixlerbixler Senior Member
    edited April 2012
    Been with Direct TV (from Comcast) since Oct 2009 and I've never looked back. Currently have 1 HD Receiver and 3 HD DVRs. I love watching sports so Direct TV is almost a must have with the MLB Extra Innings package, basically all games that are broadcast are in HD (unlike Comcast which doesn't have enough channels to support this) and the NFL Sunday Ticket package. Something that might seem small but is a great item in my opinion is the HD channel and the SD channels are the same number. I can't stand Comcast where my local NBC station (WGAL 8) is channel 3 in SD and Channel 807 in HD but the station is channel 8. With Direct TV, if I want to watch WGAL 8 I turn to channel 8 and there it is in beautiful HD. Same with ESPN, 32 in SD and 8something in HD....I couldn't stand having to remember what the HD channel number was. Big plus there in my opinion. Also, I've had great success in getting discounts on programing package and sports packages. There are threads on here regarding that and threads on other internet forums that can help you along with that as well. So far I haven't really had issues with signal loss....that is really dependent on the installer you get. If you dish is peaked (pointed at the satellites) correctly your rain fade signal loss should be minimal to none unless you have a huge thunderstorm in the path.....and then you should only be down for a few minutes until those thickest clouds pass.

    Before you sign up though, you should look at the total outlay of costs over the entire 24 month Direct TV contract compared to other options. Make sure you are comparing like services and programming packages but look at the entire picture and not just the first months of discounts. For most people that like sports and have multiple tv's that require HD or HD DVR boxes, I think Direct TV is the way to go.
  • BetThemDogsBetThemDogs Senior Member
    edited April 2012
    DirectTV is the way to go. I've got every premium movie channel and all the sports channels for about $125 a month. They usually give you some sort of discount for the first year-- then you call like Old Timer said. Last time I called and told them the cost was getting to me and I had to do something to lower the price, they gave me $25/month off for six months and also free NFL package.

    The only service outages I've had were when the dish gets covered in snow-- and I just wiped it off with my hand and everything was fine. Do get scrambled eggs occasionally-- but used to get that with cable too.
  • BuckyBadgerBuckyBadger Senior Member
    edited April 2012
    Old-Timer wrote: »
    I'm with Directv since 1992 and I think the CS is great and as far as problems (I live in Vegas) I can count on one hand and the weather really has to be bad and by that I mean high winds and it doesn't last very long. I think there the greatest but I also as all TV is there of line with there prices. But there all the same. EX: $200 for a DVR box so in my mind that's buying it but you have to pay $10 a month for and also a $7 for HD and after the first receiver I pay $6 a month for the other 3 I have. I have the top of the line package which by it self is $115 or now $119 a month I have to check. (They just raise it ) My bill is around $175 a month without any special sports packages. This year I got the NFL for free I talked my way for the NBA package for $10 a month because it started late.




    The one thing I do with Directv I call every 8 months or so and this is a sample of what I tell them. They always answer saying hello and thank you for being a VIP customer since 1992 and I tell them yes I enjoy your service and I know you see in your computer notes that I call from time to time complaining about seeing all the stuff you want to give the new customer but you never offer anything to your loyal customers. They always say hold on lets see what promotions we have this month for our loyal customers. They always come back with something one time it was $20 a month off my bill for 6 months most of the time it $5 or $10 for 6 months but always something. I think they're by far the best out their at this time. The CS their Reception and lack of over-all problems. Also if you have to have a tech come out you can always politely talk them out of the $49. Charge the first time. I had to change an old box in my office to an HD box and they required the tech come out to set it up talked them right out of the charge.

    They do treat their long time customer a little different where's most other company's don't give a shit. Got a little long winded there sorry about that.

    My experience similar to OT's--Direct TV cust since 1995 and love the NFL Superfan Package
  • jpg30jpg30 Member
    edited April 2012
    Directv all the way. They always beat the cable operators on delivering the most games in HD, regardless of the sport. And, they carry the NFL Sunday Ticket.
  • MikeRASMikeRAS Senior Handicapper
    edited April 2012
    DTV is cheaper if you have an obscene amt of TVs with HD/DVR type boxes as well as you just pay the mirror fee for each box. You pay for the boxes up front but if you stay with dtv for for a period of time you wont pay again for equipment. Call every year and politely threaten to leave, they come up with great discounts for you to sign up for the 2 year agreement again. Have an issue with a box your "leasing" and theyll replace it.

    I am not sure if DTV is exactly what your looking for but I certainly love it.
  • golfguru1golfguru1 Senior Member
    edited April 2012
    Directv is the best there is for sports, I love it!
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