OT: DirecTV

[nomar]

I've had Time Warner for 12 years and I hate it. (Living in NYC, your cable choices are limited to what your building is wired for.)

My wife and I are moving to a new building (we just bought an apartment in Brooklyn), so I decided to check out if it was wired for FIOS. No dice. However, DirecTV can be installed there, and Verizon does have a Triple Play deal with DirecTV, so I got that. Got a free Genie DVR and two free mini-Genies and a lot of (temporary) savings.

I had DirecTV my senior year in college (1998-99) and that was the last time I had NFL Sunday Ticket, so I'm pretty excited. I also like that you can DVR five things at once and have a TB of storage space. And also that I'll no longer have the worst cable service in the world.

It seems like most people who have DirecTV prefer it to cable. (I know there was a discussion about TV platforms the other day, and I agree cable and dish companies are on the way out; I just don't think we're there yet.)

 

[arnie3]

I love DirecTV. I've had it since the late '90's without the hassles that I used to get with cable. They are easy to deal with, and give yearly rewards for loyalty.

 

[upstater]

I just got DirecTV, liking it so far.

BUT, two rainstorms, and twice the signal went out.

Is this normal?

I can understand a severe thunderstorm, but last night it was mild.

WTH?

 

[Dove]

I am seriously considering DirectTV. Basically I don't have the hair I used to to to sell to local wig shops.

 

[ctchamps]

I am seriously considering DirectTV. Basically I don't have the hair I used to to to sell to local wig shops.

Now we know why you're an expert on hats!

 

[upstater]

Now we know why you're an expert on hats!

Awesome!

 

[upstater]

I'm with Nomar on this. I got a double whammy last week when both Verizon and TW increased rates for internet and landline for an additional $30 a month. I looked into it and Verizon was selling me a TV-landline bundle that was $5 more than landline. I called TW and told them to stick their internet where the sun don't shine.

Seriously, they raised internet price by $13 and then took away the $3 credit for having my own modem. The DirectTV person was like, "Busiest week in a decade because TW is having a tiff with CBS, and Buffalo likes to watch the Bills."

 

[kyle]

Amazon has a deal right now where if you buy the Madden 25 Anniversary Edition ($100) you get $10/month off your DirecTv bill for a year and get free NFL Sunday Ticket for this season. Even if you don't play video games you could always just sell the game and still come out ahead.

 

[TRest]

I just got DirecTV, liking it so far.

BUT, two rainstorms, and twice the signal went out.

Is this normal?

I can understand a severe thunderstorm, but last night it was mild.

WTH?

I dropped dishnetwork partially due to this; it used to get knocked out in cloudbursts, but after a while any rain would kill it for a while. Start up time to reload and etc. was also a pain the ass. When it wouldn't carry SNY during one of those content disputes I let it go for Comcast.

 

[Rdm203]

Switched from comcast to DTV 2 years ago. Haven't looked back. When espn or SNY has games on prior to Uconn that run long. You are usually able to switch over to a local sports channel in the other teams region which has the Uconn game from the start.

 

[billythekid]

I've been a loyal DirecTV customer for over twelve years and have never regretted telling Comcast to take a hike. As was stated previously, their customer service is night and day different from any cable company I ever had the displeasure of dealing with. I live in California, so I don't have to deal with some of the weather issues that folks back East do. If you're thinking of signing up, find a friend that is already a customer and have them give you their account number before you sign up. DirecTV has a loyalty program where both you and your friend will get $10 off your monthly bill. But you need to provide their account number up front as they appear to be sticklers for that.

 

[Vuce]

I have had DirectV since late 90's and never switched back to cable. For me the rain fade issues are way overblown. Rarely have any issues with it. Love the DVRs and choices in programming (anything you want).

 

[upstater]

I have had DirectV since late 90's and never switched back to cable. For me the rain fade issues are way overblown. Rarely have any issues with it. Love the DVRs and choices in programming (anything you want).

so, you're saying I should give them a call? Because I've had it for 1 week and have gone out twice.

 

[Husky1972]

I just got DirecTV, liking it so far.

BUT, two rainstorms, and twice the signal went out.

Is this normal?

I can understand a severe thunderstorm, but last night it was mild.

WTH?

I think it depends on signal strength (they check this when they install it) and how far you are from the satellite. In southern Maryland where it rains a lot with serious thunder storms, I rarely lose it, but here in central Vermont it happen once in awhile, eg. I lost it last week on an off for 1/2 hour or so.

I had it on the north shore Kauai, HI for six years where it rains a real lot, and often, and seldom lost signal.

So, maybe it has to do with latitude which determines distance from the satellites and angle to them.

Overall, it has never been a big issue.

 

[upstater]

I think it depends on signal strength (they check this when they install it) and how far you are from the satellite. In southern Maryland where it rains a lot with serious thunder storms, I rarely lose it, but here in central Vermont it happen once in awhile, eg. I lost it last week on an off for 1/2 hour or so.

I had it on the north shore Kauai, HI for six years where it rains a real lot, and often, and seldom lost signal.

So, maybe it has to do with latitude which determines distance from the satellites and angle to them.

Overall, it has never been a big issue.

Thanks

 

[BFieldHusky]

Upstater...it is all about the signal strength. If you have a solid signal strength, a rainstorm most likely will not knock out the signal. Once it starts raining, the signal automatically goes down. So if you have a 8 or 9 out 10, the rainstorm will bring it down slightly, but not enough to shut it off. But if you original signal strength is more like a 5 or 6, rain will knock it out more often.

Signal strength is impacted by trees, latitude, etc. You could have them come back out and see if they can angle the satelitte better so it improves your signal.

 

[upstater]

Upstater...it is all about the signal strength. If you have a solid signal strength, a rainstorm most likely will not knock out the signal. Once it starts raining, the signal automatically goes down. So if you have a 8 or 9 out 10, the rainstorm will bring it down slightly, but not enough to shut it off. But if you original signal strength is more like a 5 or 6, rain will knock it out more often.

Signal strength is impacted by trees, latitude, etc. You could have them come back out and see if they can angle the satelitte better so it improves your signal.

Thanks

 

[arnie3]

so, you're saying I should give them a call? Because I've had it for 1 week and have gone out twice.

Definitely call them. I've never in years experienced what you have had to go through in a week!

 

[J-dog]

dumped dish... went with DirectTV (Woodbridge CT)... So far way better than Dish (content & reception)...

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I have had direct TV for 6 years. I don't remember ever losing the signal. We don't have the trees you have in Ct and seldom lose power. We do have some bad thunderstorms.I would never go back. I have the genie and whole house feature. I can record 7 programs at a time.I'm in Ct now at my daughters and Cable is like going back to the 20th century.
She has Charter
Major golf coverage with interactive features that allow you to switch from network coverage to a specified hole or a featured pair.
also instant leaderboard access.
Instant on demand. Additional movie details like cast bios.
Interactive sports scores. Easy navigation and great tech support.
Multiple match US Open tennis coverage for those those that like tennis.
I have a dierect line and negotiate my own premium channel discounts.
Right now I have six months free showtime.
But have had the entire premium package free in the past.


If you see a old guy with a UConn Fiesta Bowl shirt that would be me. I will get to Pepe's a couple of times on this visit.

 

[Husky1972]

A little off target, but for DirecTV users, they just introduced a feature (DoublePlay-Watch) where you can be "watching" two channels at the same time. It is activated by the "Arrow Down" key (V) below Select . You enter the DoublePlay and then you can toggle between the two channels, where you can pause, rewind, or fast forward each.

So, for example, come next Sunday, you can go back and forth between NFL games on Fox & CBS, or SundayTicket by just clicking the V key.

What's the difference between Previous Channel button? If you switch normally to another channel or via "PREV", you are starting fresh with that new channel live, no rewind, fast forward, etc. Same when you go back to the other one. With DoublePlay, you can pause the, say, Giants game, hit the V button go to the, say Colts game and watch awhile, maybe pause it. Hit the V again, and you go back to the Giants game exactly where you left off, having the option to rewind & fast forward it. Ditto for when you go back to the Colts game. It comes out of "Pause" mode when you go back, but at the point you had paused it.

So, the Giants game goes to Time Out, a commercial comes on, you pause it, go watch the other game, come back to the Giants, fast forward through the commercial to game action. You could literally watch two complete games, every play, without recording either.

You should have received a message on this in your Messages in the last couple of days.