Does Anyone here have DirectTV? I have a few questions for you...

[BlueCrush]

I currently have Comcast best cable package $80mo and their Highspeed cable internet $45/mo. plus all fees end up being around $140/mo total. I just received an awesome offer to switch to DirectTV from my Comcast Cable. They are offering their Total Choice Plus package, free Starz & Showtime for a year, with free install, free DVR, free portable DVD player, $100 cash back (credit applied to bill over 12 months at $10/month), and High-speed broadband internet.All of this for only $70/month+fees for the first year. I realize it will go up after that. I will worry about that later.1) If you have DirectTV, do you like it?2) Do you have their high speed internet? If so, how has it worked for you? Is it fast?3) If you switched from cable TV to Direct TV, was it worth the switch?4) Has you had any weather related picture quality issues?5) Has anyone used Vonage Phone service with the DirectTV's broadband? Any issues with that?Thanks for you help!

[BlueCrush]

Well I looked into the Broadband part of the offer and found out it is only as low as $10/month. In my area it is $40/month. So no real savings there! I wonder if Comcast will sweeten their current deal with me if I tell them I am switching unless they can give me a better deal.

[tnpartsguy]

1) If you have DirectTV, do you like it?Yes, i've had it for about 2 years now. I've also had Dish Network before *Danger Will Robinson Danger*2) Do you have their high speed internet? If so, how has it worked for you? Is it fast?No, I use Bellsouth DSL Ultra 6.0 (T1 Speeds)3) If you switched from cable TV to Direct TV, was it worth the switch?Absolutely! The local cable company is AWFUL, service was terrible, and the price??? OMG4) Has you had any weather related picture quality issues?I have lost service twice in 2 yrs, both were due to extremely high winds. I have never lost service due to just rain or snow, as I did with Dish Network so many times I can't count that high......5) Has anyone used Vonage Phone service with the DirectTV's broadband? Any issues with that?Sorry, can't help you there, I'm bundled with Bellsouth on phone services.

[VforVIBE]

1) If you have DirectTV, do you like it?Have it, not too happy with it, going to switch to Fios soon.2) Do you have their high speed internet? If so, how has it worked for you? Is it fast?Don't have it.3) If you switched from cable TV to Direct TV, was it worth the switch?Had Direct TV as long as I can remember, so about 13 yrs or so. 4) Has you had any weather related picture quality issues?YES!!! Vary strange, didn't lose picture during the hurricans, but during our summer rains, we'd lose it off and on.5) Has anyone used Vonage Phone service with the DirectTV's broadband? Any issues with that?don't got it.DON'T GET THE HIGH DEF!!! IT'S CRAP!!!!

[millster]

Is DirectTV's internet still Satellite based? If so, I'm not sure Vonage would be a good idea. Satellite is a VERY high-latency connection (takes a while for the signal to get from sat to Earth) and last I knew games and VOIP solutions (Vonage and the like) didn't work well.

[zionzr2]

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »I currently have Comcast best cable package $80mo and their Highspeed cable internet $45/mo. plus all fees end up being around $140/mo total. I just received an awesome offer to switch to DirectTV from my Comcast Cable. They are offering their Total Choice Plus package, free Starz & Showtime for a year, with free install, free DVR, free portable DVD player, $100 cash back (credit applied to bill over 12 months at $10/month), and High-speed broadband internet.All of this for only $70/month+fees for the first year. I realize it will go up after that. I will worry about that later.1) If you have DirectTV, do you like it?2) Do you have their high speed internet? If so, how has it worked for you? Is it fast?3) If you switched from cable TV to Direct TV, was it worth the switch?4) Has you had any weather related picture quality issues?5) Has anyone used Vonage Phone service with the DirectTV's broadband? Any issues with that?Thanks for you help! 1. YES!, and YES!2. NO!3. YES!4. sometimes during super heavy downpours or bad thunderstorms the signal will go out in which case i shut it off anyway. I'll use rabbit ears or radio if i need to findout whats going on I also have a weather radio.5. N/A

[AKLGT]

well i don't have direct tv and we don't really get it here in AK. i'll be switching us over from cable HD to dish network digital (only 6 channels in HD available so why pay $95/mo for it?? yes, that's right: $95/mo JUST FOR TV!!!). of course, i work for Clearwire and we use our internet service and we don't ever use a land line, so no need for Voip. I will say that Vonage works with MOST high speed connections, but like internet via cellphones, it's voice over data and sometimes the clarity isn't that great if you are online and also using the phone. Granted, where you're at, we don't have service, BC, but I often try and sell our internet service with my buddy who sells Dish. If we had our Voip service available here in AK, I'd probably go ahead and sign up for it just to have it so I could help out customers. Oh well.... I'm tempted to set up Skype phone service though to check that out, but really I don't need the land line and just hate to pay for something I won't really use much. as for those who have had dish or direct tv, i've always heard good things about them, which is why we'll be switching over in the next couple weeks.

[DopeVibeGT]

1) Yes, I love it. Only problem is, because my neighbor has a huge tree, I dont get a signal all summer. So, I'm stuck with cable from like may until oct. If you have no obstruction, it's da best.2) No, for above reason. Have HS DSL for $29 a month.3)Yes! Cable sucks! DirecTV has better sound and picture!4)No, just tree problems.The tree wasnt as big when I installed it. You may lose a signal when there are very thick snow clouds, but of course cable TV has that too .5)No.

[chemrebel]

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »1) If you have DirectTV, do you like it?2) Do you have their high speed internet? If so, how has it worked for you? Is it fast?3) If you switched from cable TV to Direct TV, was it worth the switch?4) Has you had any weather related picture quality issues?5) Has anyone used Vonage Phone service with the DirectTV's broadband? Any issues with that?Thanks for you help! 1. -yes and we like it2-no, we currently have verizon fios and would not be interested in a slower connection regardless of who's trying to sell it3-for the cost yes it's very worth it, but we carry a super-basic"antenna package" cable because...4-our DTV service will go out during heavy t-storms and heavy snowfall, and i need something that gives me the weather channel locally which DTV used to offer but not anymore (about the only thing programming-wise i don't like)5-don't have vonage and quite frankly until their 911 service is linked to your area's main 911 center and not their own call center which isn't equipped to handle those kinds of calls i wouldn't consider it if i were you even if you were getting it for free. that's a land line service i will gladly pay taxes to support. if my cell phone provider could figure it out why can't vonage?

[Jahntassa]

1) If you have DirectTV, do you like it?No. After seeing people who've had it, I went with Dish. The DirectTV Program guide is one of the most annoying things on the planet (slow), and I like my reciever with dish. I have one box (two tuners and DVR built in) running my whole house.2) Do you have their high speed internet? If so, how has it worked for you? Is it fast?You need to find out if it's DSL or Satellite. Typically it's rebranded DSL. If it's satellite, don't bother. I personally have Dish for TV and Comcast for cable. Yes, it's more expensive, but around here cable is much faster than DSL. Even though they 'claim' the same speeds, there's just no comparison.3) If you switched from cable TV to Direct TV, was it worth the switch?Never had cable. Well, I have, just not in my house. 4) Has you had any weather related picture quality issues?Not recently, but then i'm with dish. Some people have more problems with Direct than dish, and some people have it the other way. Mostly, it's not much of an issue if you have clear line of sight.5) Has anyone used Vonage Phone service with the DirectTV's broadband? Any issues with that?I use vonage with comcast, but again, you have to find out if their service is DSL or Satellite. If it's satellite, vonage will be horrible. Even if it's DSL it may be horrible.

[ColonelPanic]

You're right man, you really don't want to do VOIP on a satellite. The parents have satellite internet through WildBlue, as there is no possible way to get DSL or cable internet or even cable TV in their area. Considering that's their only alternative, I guess the speed isn't that bad, dial-up that runs at a max of 33600 is the only other way to connect down there. But that latency is there, whew! It's just a minor nusiance when browsing, but games or VOIP would probably be useless.

[Jahntassa]

Yeah I have a coworker moving to the boonies. He's gonna have to get WildBlue. Unfortunately a lot of our work requires VPN and remote access, so I can't wait to see how that goes for him. Honestly, Direct isn't that bad. As noted I have no idea what their 'high speed' service is, but I personally love the fact that with Dish, I have only one box for the whole house. Granted it's just me and my wife, but it's nice that we can watch two different things (provided one of us is watching the Big TV downstairs) and have all of our recordings shared.

[Mase]

I recently set my grandparents up with the hi-speed directv isp via WildBlue. The isp dish is pretty large; about as big as a HD dish.Speeds are just...ok. Benched in at 380kb down/70kb up . I wouldn't use Vonage on it. The slow connection could barely handle an audio messenger session with out breaking up every couple of seconds.It's lightyears faster than dialup which was all that mattered to my grandparents though.As far as tv service goes, I've been with them for 4 years. Loved it until I bought the HD receiver...the HR20, I believe. Nothing but problems. Signal always cutting out, dvr recordings get played back as black nothingness, etc. I found out that 2 friends with the same receiver have the same problems. I plan on sending my HD receiver in for a new one SOON.Never had any weather related issues, but I don't get much of that in SoCal except for 30mph+ winds.

[BlueCrush]

Thank you everyone for your comments to my questions. You guys rock!I ordered DirecTV yesterday it will be installed on Sunday. My DirecTV bill will be $59.99/mo. A savings of $30 less each month. I got the free DVR with service, Starz & Showtime, $100 cash back applied monthy to my bill, a Free portable dvd player, free installation. Pricing is guaranteed for a year. Then I can downgrade if I want. I am excited about the DVR and being able to record 2 shows at once or recording one shoe while watching another and pausing and rewinding live TV for up to 90 minutes. I can't wait!I also signed up for Embarq High Speed Internet yesterday. It is only @24.95/mo. for 1.5mbps. So I will save $20/mo. on internet.Embarq (my local phone company) also offers 3 faster levels of speed if I want to upgrade in the future. (3.0mbps=$34.95, 4.5mbps=$44.95 & 6.0mbps=54.95) I will be starting off with the lowest for now.I will have a total savings of $50/mo. and I get a free portable DVD player from DirecTV. Definitely worth the switch for me.Bye, Bye, Comcast!.... Hello, DirecTV & Embarq!

[AKLGT]

god i wish we had faster speed like that for the price! we have 1.5 mpbs for $49.99/mo! if we wanted 5.0 mbps we'd have to go cable and it'd be about $129.99!

[blake31]

my directv dvr only has a 30 minute buffer to rewind. are there new ones with a 90 minute buffer?all the "weather problems" you hear about are the cabe company trying to scare their customers into staying with them. i only lose signal a few times a year due to storms, and it usually only lasts a few minutes (unless it's a big storm).i've had directv for 6 years and i love it. tivo will change your life. seriously, the way we watch tv completely changed. i hardly watch anything "live" anymore. i can blow through an hour show in about 40 minutes now.

[BlueCrush]

Yup it is 90 minutes rewind cpability now and 100 hours of recording time available.

[vibebob]

I've wondered about this, thanks for the responses. I have cable and it's high broadband internet .. 5mbps and cable for $90.00 (US) a month. they do offer a 9mbps, I think it is $20 a month more. I also use the broadband for work when I'm oncall because I can use my VPN through it and the connection has to be fast to get anything done.

[keithvibe]

my local RCN just started offering 20mb download speeds don't know how much that will cost... I currently have a 7meg download speed for 33 a month thats including renting a cable modem from them, but dosen't cover the taxes and fees though. they are compeating with comcast right now...

[mcgusto82]

From the responses i've gotten from friends. Direct TV rules. i currently have the Basic antenna channels and internet from cablevision. 15mps Down/3mps Up. All of this 49$ a month. not bad. They offer 30 mps down for 1$ more a month. Verizon has a tv, internet, phone package for 95$ they use direct TV for (duh) Tv. But their speeds is 750(ish) Down. for like 20$. too slow for me.

[AKLGT]

well, i have dishnetwork folks here getting us set up. we can't really get direct tv here unless we have the 8 ft dish. plus, still no HDTV because of the satellites.... oh well. it'll still be better and cheaper than crappy cable!

[NUBlackshirts]

Quote, originally posted by Jahntassa »1) If you have DirectTV, do you like it?No. After seeing people who've had it, I went with Dish. The DirectTV Program guide is one of the most annoying things on the planet (slow), and I like my reciever with dish. I have one box (two tuners and DVR built in) running my whole house.It really depends on what receiver you have. My old RCA DirecTV was slow, but my Samsung receiver's program guide is fast. I love my DirecTV and wouldn't give it up for anything. When we moved to CO, I had to go 6 months with digital cable in our apartment until we moved into our house. I would rather run in front of a bus than deal with cable again.