Dumping cable for dish

My dad had Dish and hated it. It went out in strong wind and down for hours in any rain, and the channel selection was limited (great in some ways, limited in some others because of sniping between Dish and the channels). He switched to FiOS a couple years ago and loves it.

 

It's funny that people still have cable.
Had DirecTV since 1998 and love it. Picture goes out for about 2 minutes once a month. No big deal. Always comes back quickly.

 

Switched to DISH about four months ago, mainly because the local cable company's sports package was ridiculously weak. The only issue I have (as others have noted) is that the signal goes out during stormy weather, which you might want to consider if you live in a rainy climate.

But yeah, it's worth that occasional hassle. Cable sucks. Won't go back if I can help it.

 

i'd rather stare at a blank and dark tv screen than go back to comcast. but my problem with direct tv since switching three years ago is that it goes out every time we have a slightly overcast day. living in south florida which has a six-month rainy season, this drives me crazy. thinking seriously about switching to u-verse, or at least trying it out if there is any kind of deal offered since we have home phone and dsl through at&t.

 

Had DirecTV, was specifically told by the sales person I wouldn't have to sign a 2-year deal. Guy came to install, asked for my signatures, I purposely did not sign where the agreement section referencing the 2-year commitment.

Went to cancel 16 months in (the wife went back to school full time and money was tight) and they said I couldn't because I had a 2-year deal. I argued with three different people over it. They kept sending me a 200.00 early cancellation bill for another 13 months before I had a lawyer send them a letter outlining what happened when I signed up.

Won't go back.
Have had Dish for two years now, and have no complaints. I did agree to the 2-year deal this time to avoid another fiasco. When I moved 9-months into the agreement I asked them if they could give me some kind of deal to upgrade to HD and the gave me a higher package, plus HD for $5 more than I was paying and didn't even balk. Needless to say I'm happy with Dish.

Cable is overpriced, period.

 

For those reading this, anyone who thinks you don't have to agree to a 2-year contract for DirecTV or Dish as a new customer is fooling themselves.

 

My internet connection is through my cell phone. It's a Palm Pre Plus from Verizon. It's got a wireless hotspot app that I use to get my laptop online.

The connection speed is OK - better than dialup, but not high speed. You get 5G of data use through the hotspot, which I've never come near but it's a low enough total that you can't really stream any kind of movie or more than a couple of tv shows. But I don't do that so it's no concern to me. If you have any other questions about it PM me.

 

I'm convinced that the cable companies are total D-bags, because they know they've got enough of a built-in market with people who live in apartments.

They kind of try, but when it comes down to it, they just can't compete with what Dish and Direct offer.

 

I would disagree with the last part. I once swore I would never go back to Comcast. I was very happy with DTV for many years, then Verizon was pretty nice at a good price, but Comcast offered us the world for 89 bucks a month. internet, phone, all HD, free red zone, hbo, starz, encore, for one or two years . . . our choice. Pretty much anyoen will give you a great deal if you switch anymore.