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Help I Can’t Choose Between Dish Network and Direct TV

This Question was mailed in by Mike

Hi Dave,

I’m looking to finally make the switch from cable to satellite, and I’m getting dizzy with all the options. The only thing I have to go off of is my co-worker who had DISH Network and then switched to DIRECTV because he said DISH was miserable. So I am inclined to go with DIRECT TV, but from reading your site it seems like they are both pretty equitable.

Anyway, my main question is this: we are primarily interested in the DVR option, and we only have two televisions to hook up, and really only one needs the DVR. So which plan would you recommend for this scenario? Also, are the initial rates we see just baiting rates, with actual monthly rates increasing after the initial “trial period?” I’m definitely looking at this as a long-term investment, so I’m willing to pay more upfront to get something that will work for the long haul.

Thanks,

Mike

My Reply

Hey Mike, It is a tuff choice, but I do try and keep this site unbiased. However, I am the opposite of your coworker.

The Main Differences Between DISH Network and DIRECT TV:
Directv does not have it’s own DVR at this time so it offers TiVo, but you do have to pay for it.
DISH Network has it’s own DVR and they offer it for FREE.

I think this is a huge plus for DISH Network.

Now, DIRECTV is coming out with it’s own DVR later this year. Some people who have owned a TiVo do not like the DISH DVR, they say it is not as flexible. Personally i love my DVR and i have it on all my TV’s and it did not cost me a dime.

Programming price is also different, if you look on this page.
Compare Satellite TV Programming it will show you a side-by-side comparison. I think DISH Network has better prices.

The channels you get from each are about equal except when it comes to Football. DIRECTV has the market with the NFL Sunday Ticket. Now, Dish does have season tickets for sports but, with football it does not compare.

You can look at it this way… Say you go with Dish Network and your not happy with it for some reason… It didn’t cost you anything…. Or if you tried DIRECT TV first… the only thing it cost you is the price of the TiVo machine. Right now You can get the TiVo for $50.00 and in your first DIRECTV bill you receive a $50.00 mail in rebate….so that’s also free. Only one retailer has that offer but, they are not allowed to advertise it as free…. so they say the lowest available price for TiVo. Rapid Satellite

You might also consider future needs…. if you plan on getting a TV with PiP or even a HD TV, Dish Might be your better choice. They both have options for high end receivers that Combine HDTV and DVR and DISH has the better deals on that.

They both make getting Satellite TV as easy as possible. Has your friend mentioned why he did not like DISH?

Neither do any baiting rates. They do offer incentives but they make it very clear. For instance..Dish Network is offering an extra 130 channels Free for Three Months to new customers and Directv is offering 50 Premium Channels Free for Three Months. Directv has the better bonus!

Both DISH and DIRECT just had programming price increase of about $1.50 so i would not expect them to have another for a couple years.

I hope this helps, if you want to offer more feed back I’ll try and help more.

Dave
AKA-kapsat

His Reply

Hi Dave,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. You gave lots of good information and I really appreciate it. I’m still undecided so I was hoping you could answer a few more quick questions:

1.) For the promotions, I thought I read (at least for the DISH offer) that the free channels were only if you signed up for the higher priced plan, and you had to sign a year agreement, so you end up paying the higher monthly fee for 9 months. Did I just read it wrong, am I interpreting this correctly. I didn’t check the DirecTV offer yet, but I would hope that after three months you could cancel the premium channels without a fee. Otherwise that seems more like a baiting technique than a promotion.

2.) You say I could try one and if I’m not happy, it doesn’t cost anything. Don’t both of these systems require an annual contract? Like I said previously, I’m not looking to switch, but I don’t want to be locked into something I’m not happy with either. I prefer pay-as-you-go agreements, even if they cost a bit more per month. That’s how I do it with my cell phone at least.

Thanks again for the information and your very useful web site.

Mike

My Reply
Hi Mike,

The DISH Promotion is…
You sign up for Americas top 80 Pac and you only get charged for the top 60 Pac. After the first three months is over you have 30 day’s to downgrade for free. They are hoping you will like that package and keep it, but you will not receive any penalty if you change the programming within the first thirty days, at the end of the promotion. If you downgrade after the first thirty day’s they do charge a $5.00 down grade fee.

DIRECTV is the same.

Commitment
Dish Network for awhile last year did not require a commitment, but in the last couple months most retailers have decided to require a 1 year commitment but they give you what is called The Home Protection Plan.

Now…I do know one retailer that still offers that no commitment option.

The Retailer that you can order from that has the no commitment as an option.
Dish Pronto
1-800-315-0788 Promotion Code 1258

If you order by phone you need the promotion code and you should tell them you want the no commitment option.

When it comes to DIRECTV, it is a little different. In the Agreement Terms

Consequences of Your Failure to Maintain Agreement:
If you fail to maintain and pay for twelve (12) consecutive months of the required programming package, you agree that DIRECTV may charge you a prorated fee of up to one hundred fifty U.S. dollars ($150.00); within 14 days of disconnecting your programming, you have an option to send all of your DIRECTV System Equipment (receiver[s] and remote control[s]) to DIRECTV in lieu of this payment. The Equipment, including the Access Card inserted into each DIRECTV System Receiver unit, must be returned to DIRECTV in good working order, normal wear and tear excepted.

Notice the section
“you have an option to send all of your DIRECTV System Equipment (receiver[s] and remote control[s]) to DIRECTV in lieu of this payment”

One thing i do know about these two companies is this. They, in no way try to deceive anyone, but at the same time they need to turn a profit. Sometimes you need to read the legal mumbo-jumbo but it is cut-n-dry. Both retailers are strict with the retailers to be certain they do not pull any crap.

Personally, the NFL Sunday Ticket was not an issue for me, so i went with DISH Network because they had a better deal on programming and they offered the FREE DVR. Ask your friend what he did not like about DISH, it might be something trivial like not offering a specific channel.

I hope this is helping and please reply with more questions.

This also helps me to know what i need to explain on my site, thanks.

Dave
AKA-kapsat

His Reply

Hi Dave,

Thanks again for all the information. I still have a few unanswered questions, and a few more comments which I’d love to share.

1.) I called DishPronto and asked about the no commitment offer. They said it is basically the same and the one year commitment offer except there is no home protection plan. So my question then becomes; what happens if any of the equipment is bad or damaged? They said I would have to replace it myself, but if I don’t own it, how does that work? It seems like this whole home protection plan is whacked, since you are insuring their equipment. Doesn’t that seem odd?

2.) Another downside of not getting the one year commitment is that they don’t offer the extra channels for the first three months. I’d like to at least sample the 180 channels to see if we use any extra ones I’m not too sure about, but we’ll most likely settle for the 120 channel option.

3.) We have three tv’s, but only realistically need the DVR for two of them, and I’m debating whether we really need the satellite on the third tv (it’s in the kitchen and used very infrequently). Anyway, the best I can tell it would cost an extra $5/month to add the third tv to the mix. I thought I had read that with a splitter you could add an extra tv without an extra receiver, so why couldn’t I just split a line from one of the other two receivers for this third tv? Is it because the DVRs need the second line? Could I theoretically have one DVR and hook up the other two tv’s to the second receiver (since I probably don’t really need a second DVR)?

4.) What’s the deal with all these promotion codes? Is this just a way folks get credit for referring customers, because the deals seem pretty much identical wherever you go. For instance, you sent me the promotion code 1258, but then Googling DishPronto I came to a virtually identical plan with promotion code 1164. I’m assuming they are the same plan, but the whole promotion code scheme seems shrouded in mystery. I’d certainly like to give you a promotion credit if this is all about.

So, bottom line is that I’m probably going to go with Dish, either DishPronto or iDishNetwork, depending upon if I can figure out the difference between those two. I’ll probably get the one year commitment since I’m planning on having it for many years, so the commitment part doesn’t really bother me. I wish I had the option of the no commitment with the ability to still get the 180 channel trial, but no biggie. Oh yeah, that reminds me, I was wondering how likely an equipment failure is, since this home protection plan apparently ends after the first year. Then again, if the equipment fails, theoretically you can just return it (since they own it) and cancel the service. Again, this whole insuring their equipment bothers me philosophically, but hey, if they’re giving it to me for free, I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining.

I guess that begs another question; if I was to go out and just purchase all the equipment myself, how does that affect my choices? I’m certainly not against owning the stuff myself, since then I’d feel better insuring it. But it doesn’t seem like that would get me a whole lot in the long run.

Thanks for hearing me out. I really appreciate all your help. Hopefully I’ll have satellite by the end of next week, once I sift through all the options.

Mike

My Reply
Mike,

1) I am a little embarrassed that you were given the wrong information from Dish Pronto. But, they gave you inaccurate information about the equipment coverage. The Equipment is covered for defects, meaning if it goes bad on it’s own you do not pay for replacement. If you or your kids break any of the equipment then you would be responsible for replacement. With the Home Protection Plan…no matter what happens it is covered….it’s like getting the extra warrantee when you buy electronics. I can only assume you spoke to someone that is new. Again i am sorry about the misinformation. I can also assume the phone people do not have many customers requesting that option.

I just called DISH Pronto, They explained it to me this way. If you have no commitment then the equipment is still covered for one year. With the year commitment you have the Home protection plan that covers everything regardless of what happened to it. If you still are considering the no commitment offer call Dish Pronto again and ask for Justin Williams.

2) That may be correct, most companies only offer programming specials to get a commitment.

3) You can split one of your cable lines to your third tv and they can not charge you for that. You are only charged for extra receivers and that is because they are required too. My mother has her kitchen TV setup that way.

4) Yes the promotion codes are setup so the retailers know who’s website the referral came from. Any site suggestions are welcome.

5) I have had DISH Network for about four years and have had ZERO problems. My sister and mother also have DISH and no problems except my sisters kids did tear up the remote. I had the same concern when i first got DISH, they did not have the free promotion, i had to buy my receivers and i installed it myself.

Years ago they used a 21 switch that they had problems with, but about 3-4 years ago they came out with what is called DISH PRO Technology and that eliminated the need for that 21 switch and eliminated 90% of any equipment problems. The equipment is covered under warrantee if you own it and it is always covered from defects if you don’t own it, that is the main advantage of not owning it. The home protection plan is extended coverage for no question replacement.

6) You could buy your own equipment, but you would not be eligible for any promotions. The Dish and a DVR would cost you around Five hundred +/- and then you would pay an installer about $150.00 +/-to install it.

Note: The retailers are not the ones that make the DISH Promotions, DISH Network tells them what the offer is. So… no matter what Retailer you go with the “Satellite TV Offer” is the same. They would rather get you to commit to at least one year, that’s why they offer the free equipment, free installation, free DVR’s and a free home protection plan. Then they even add the programming deal. They kind of make it hard for you not to commit. ( In my opinion the FREE DVR is The Clincher)

The difference with Commitment an No Commitment is a little fuzzy because no company wants to give you expensive equipment and not know you will be with them for awhile.

I hope i covered your questions and if you have more let me know. You are doing the right thing by asking questions.

Dave
AKA-kapsat

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