Satellite TV recommendations please...

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  • daddyusmaximus

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 98.8%
    82   1   0
    Aug 21, 2013
    8,504
    113
    Remington
    Can anybody who has experience with satellite TV give me some recommendations? How reliable is it?

    I'm getting extremely sick of the unreliability of Comcast, and it's the only cable provider in my town. We lose internet and cable a dozen or more times a day. It always come back on, but the interruption is a huge PITA, and the reboot times really screws up any enjoyment you get out of watching a show. Just now, 3 times in one 43 minute long TV show. It's an issue I have had them out to the house with a dozen times over the last several years.
     

    danimal

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 12, 2011
    217
    18
    Unincorporated Lake County
    Well, you'll still get interruptions depending on how bad of storm you have between you and the southern horizon. Some storms didn't bother us at all. There were a couple times where it was sunny out, and service was unavailable; go outside and nothing but black clouds to the south of us. All you can do is wait for the cell to pass by. We had Dish for several years when we ditched Comcast TV service. We still use them for Internet, but our reason for switching was pricing and all the useless channels Comcast make you pay for. Dish isn't ala-carte, but for us it was much better lineup than Comcast. Our Dish experience was great until we decided to cut the cord and do all online streaming. We liked the Hopper/Joey DVR setup, don't know if that's still their thing or not. Between Amazon, Netflix, and Google Play, there's really not anything we're missing out on. We don't even bother with an antenna for the OTA channels. Might want to consider keeping Comcast for just Internet and just stream everything. All depends on whether or not you can get the content you're after online, or if it's something you can live without.
     

    jkaetz

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Jan 20, 2009
    1,953
    83
    Indianapolis
    Can only speak for DirecTV, if the dish is aligned correctly and you have no cabling issues it is dead reliable. Very tall storm cells will block the signal for usually less than five minutes. I can count on one hand the number of times this happens to us.
     

    Ballstater98

    Certified Bro Shark
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Jan 18, 2015
    23,461
    113
    NWI
    We had Dish for 16 years at my last house (parents still have Dish in southern IN, but satellite is their only option in the country). We went Roku because it is significantly less expensive, and we have high speed cable for that streaming service. It's a new construction home and I didn't want to install a dish on the house.

    That being said, Dish is completely reliable and less expensive than DirectTV (even they are both owned by the same company). Customer Service was always great. The afore mentioned storms only affected my reception if it was an intense downpour. The longest outage I has was about 20 minutes during a massive storm. You have to place the satellite in a spot with nothing blocking it. Heavily wooded areas are an issues if trees are swaying (mine at the last house had a clear shot over a woods). I had 1 winter issue when a heavy, wet snowstorm and ice covered the dish blocking the signal. I had to go out with a broom and clear it off. A little WD-40 after that and I never had to do that task ever again. So, consider that when placement is talked about. I could reach it with a broom from the ground (a ladder in a rain or snow storm would be a bad time). Also, make sure you look up what channels you want. Both providers programming aren't exactly the same, like Dish does not provide NFL Sunday Ticket as with DirectTV, as an example.

    Now, if I hadn't moved in January, I would still have Dish Network. :twocents:
     

    ghuns

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Nov 22, 2011
    9,308
    113
    Our DirectTV goes out with every moderate to hard rain that comes from the south, the direction the dish is pointed. Always has.:rolleyes:
     

    daddyusmaximus

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 98.8%
    82   1   0
    Aug 21, 2013
    8,504
    113
    Remington
    Well, you'll still get interruptions depending on how bad of storm you have between you and the southern horizon. Some storms didn't bother us at all. There were a couple times where it was sunny out, and service was unavailable; go outside and nothing but black clouds to the south of us. All you can do is wait for the cell to pass by. We had Dish for several years when we ditched Comcast TV service. We still use them for Internet, but our reason for switching was pricing and all the useless channels Comcast make you pay for. Dish isn't ala-carte, but for us it was much better lineup than Comcast. Our Dish experience was great until we decided to cut the cord and do all online streaming. We liked the Hopper/Joey DVR setup, don't know if that's still their thing or not. Between Amazon, Netflix, and Google Play, there's really not anything we're missing out on. We don't even bother with an antenna for the OTA channels. Might want to consider keeping Comcast for just Internet and just stream everything. All depends on whether or not you can get the content you're after online, or if it's something you can live without.


    Have considered going all internet, but no dice. Internet signal comes through same cables as the TV service. When the TV goes out, so does the modem... A lot of times that's when I use the mobile hot spot on the phone to link the laptop to the internet.
     

    churchmouse

    I still care....Really
    Emeritus
    Rating - 100%
    187   0   0
    Dec 7, 2011
    191,809
    152
    Speedway area
    We are looking to dump Direct. This will be the last string holding us to AT$T. We loose signal if it is cloudy or so it seems. Prices have went north. Looking at Dish.
     

    JettaKnight

    Я з Україною
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Oct 13, 2010
    26,517
    113
    Fort Wayne
    Can only speak for DirecTV, if the dish is aligned correctly and you have no cabling issues it is dead reliable. Very tall storm cells will block the signal for usually less than five minutes. I can count on one hand the number of times this happens to us.

    That's been my experience too.
     

    rob63

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    20   0   0
    May 9, 2013
    4,282
    77
    I had Dish Network for many years, was one of their first customers. I was perfectly satisfied with Dish. The only time it went out was if there was a very heavy rain storm. They were pretty rare and only lasted for a few minutes when the heaviest rain clouds passed by.

    We then had DirecTV for a number of years. The only reason we switched was so that I could upgrade equipment without having to pay for it myself. DirecTV had an offer that Dish refused to match. I was perfectly satisfied with DirecTV, had the same reliability as Dish.

    We now have Comcast Xfinity. We switched because my wife wanted to be able to stream video so we needed faster internet. Comcast is the only high-speed internet available in our area. I keep hoping another provider might show up, but so far no luck. Comcast pricing is such that the TV is basically free with internet, so it didn't make any sense to keep the dish. It goes out quite often, and has a pixelated screen regularly. We have had to have the fiber optic cable replaced twice, and it requires multiple complaint calls to get their customer service to actually send a technician out. Ironically, it does worse during storms than either Dish Network or DirecTV ever did!

    If I rated them according to reliability it would be:
    1) DirecTV
    2) Dish Network, but a very close second.
    3) Comcast Xfinity, but a very distant third.
     

    jkaetz

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Jan 20, 2009
    1,953
    83
    Indianapolis
    We are looking to dump Direct. This will be the last string holding us to AT$T. We loose signal if it is cloudy or so it seems. Prices have went north. Looking at Dish.
    Have access to the dish? If it's mounted level and solid your signals should be in the mid 90's for the 99c and 103c satellites. If the signal is less you can fine tune the elevation & azimuth with a helper watching the signal strength. Trouble after getting the alignment fine tuned is usually moisture in one of the cable connections.

    I would love to not give AT&T money but they own the fiber in our area so it makes sense to use that and Direc. Plus if I'm not giving them money I'm usually giving it to an equally unlikable competitor.
     

    two70

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    19   0   0
    Feb 5, 2016
    3,724
    113
    Johnson
    I have had Comcast internet and Dish TV for 9 years and the only problems I've had were a problem with rodents have chewing the Comcast cable nearly in two earlier this year and brief interruptions of the Dish TV during really heavy rain or snow storms.
     

    WebSnyper

    Maximum Effort
    Rating - 100%
    56   0   0
    Jul 3, 2010
    15,417
    113
    127.0.0.1
    Can only speak for DirecTV, if the dish is aligned correctly and you have no cabling issues it is dead reliable. Very tall storm cells will block the signal for usually less than five minutes. I can count on one hand the number of times this happens to us.

    My experience as well. I personally don't care much about TV, but my wife is a TV watching machine. We have had DirecTV at 2 houses over the course of about 22 years or so (first house was not in Cable TV area at the time and we went DirecTV and never looked back).

    Not particularly thrilled that AT&T bought them, but no issues due to it so far either. Currently have the Genie whole home DVR (have for a while now) with 2 smaller boxes for other rooms that are slaved off of the primary whole home DVR, and can record 5 things at once or use for Live viewing, etc. Rarely lose signal only when a really bad storm approaches from the south.

    I call in every year and get them to add a discount (been fairly significant the last couple of years) to the line which keeps my costs down where the should be and it doesn't extend any contract on my part to do so.

    If it were just for my usage, I'd just go internet/streaming, but the DirecTV plan with discount is cheaper than a divorce or counseling...
     
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