Does anyone use DirecTV? How do you like it, how's the signal?

[pinto]

I live in CA, so weather's not a big issue.

(LOL, there was a meteorologist here that went East on June 1st. Not much to report. He said, "Basically you could tape one generic broadcast and run it through to the Fall.)

[pintobean]

1. We dropped it recently

after about 12 years. It just got too pricey. We found that we only watched about 3-4 channels most of the time. Loved the user interface, though. Better than Dish or cable.

[pinto]

3. I hear you. Would love to see someone offer a do-it-yourself package. 8 feeds or so would work.

That's about it for me.

I'm looking to move from cable.

[jehop61]

12. If you have wifi

Think about getting a roku. You can pick and choose what you like.

[kelliekat44]

16. What isa "roku?" nt

[jehop61]

31. it's a streaming device

that hooks into a tv and provides programming. Have two and love them. I only pay for what I want to watch via netflix and hulu. Many stations are free such as Free Speech tv. Use an antenna for local news and weather. Cost us about $13 a month. Google it.

[Calista241]

38. Works for now.

Until companies start charging for bandwidth.

[KoKo]

40. Roku Box info...

We have 3 Roku boxes. The first one was the Roku $59.00 box on our 16 year old Phillips TV (yes we could connect it) and Roku 2 ($79. 00 )on our 4 yr old Samsung Internet TV and on our DYNEX small Kitchen TV. Once we paid for the Box...there was nothing else. And we had a whole world of Content opened up to us that our Basic Cable Subscription couldn't provide.
We even Travel with one of our Roku Boxes to hook up in Vacation Places for family rentals and we used it in a Marriott Residence Inn to get our Netflix Movies.

What Roku offers (as long as you have Internet Connection) is incredible. If you get the "Private Channel Link" (easy to do from Private Add On) it opens up International TV and "Free Speech TV" (Democracy Now, Thom Hartmann, Mike Papatonio, Mike Malloy) and you have access to Network TV like Charlie Rose, Bill Moyers and all other Dem Shows ...WHEN YOU WANT TO WATCH THEM..

There's so much more....

ROKU REVIEW:

http://www.cnet.com/products/roku-3/

ROKU CHANNEL STORE:

http://www.roku.com/channels/#!browse/movies-and-tv/by-popular

[Algernon Moncrieff]

43. Do you get HGTV, Food Network, and Disney via Roku?

I've looked into it, but my understanding is that those are channels it doesn't carry/you can't get.

[Whisp]

23. We dropped cable a few months ago and feel so much healthier for it, and a bit richer.

There was very very little on that was worth almost $80 a month. Shame it took us so long to realize what suckers we were. I mean when The Learning Channel has Hillbilly Handfishing ... and what once were respectable channels go for pathetic Reality Shows... time to move on.

We have had a Roku box for a while now and it has been great - lots of free channels of movies and music and all sorts of stuff through Roku, plus we subscribe to Netflix. So that initial investment into the Box was one months worth of cable and it is ours with no monthy payments and $8 a month for Netflix.

A short time ago Youtube has been added to the Roku Channel List and now the world is ours whenever we want to watch practically anything.

[pintobean]

30. We're on antenna and have Netflix

The only thing we really miss is Cardinals baseball. We're also looking into Roku.

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. My niece has it.

They like it. I don't think that weather is much of an issue with it. It is pricey, though.

[pinto]

4. Hi. Good to see you around. It looks to be cheaper than the cable I have now.

So I'm fishing for options.

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. Good to see you around, too!

They have about a gazillion channels and the reception seems to be fine.

[pintobean]

6. Heavy thunderstorms can block the signal.

It might be for a few seconds, but could be for up to 10 minutes. It can be irritating. Also, this can be an issue during weather warnings. If this can be a problem, I highly recommend an antenna for back-up.

[csziggy]

19. We had DirecTV and/or DISH through hurricanes and tropical storms

Never lost the signal for as much as 10 minutes - unless it was while the power was out from trees falling on the lines.

[SamKnause]

5. I have had DirecTV for nine years.

I live in rural Ohio.

My dish is on the roof.

It has never been adjusted since it was first installed. We had a derecho with sustained 80 mile per hour winds and there was no signal interruption.

When it storms (rain or snow) I lose my signal for a few minutes.

I lost my signal a couple of weeks ago because of a storm in Atlanta, Georgia.

We had a severe ice storm 5 or 6 years ago. I lost my electricity for 5 days and nights. DirecTV credited my account.

I am pleased with DirecTV.

I hope AT&T doesn't destroy it.

[frogmarch]

8. Dropped it recently for DISH

DirectTV cost us $129 a month. Two years ago it was $90.

DISH costs us $57 a month now and will cost us $90 when our intro offer expires in June. We have way more channels than we ever had with Direct.

[pinto]

9. Thanks for the added info.

[otohara]

14. I Like Dish's DVR vs Tivo

we just upgraded and wow is it fast. I didn't like all the prime-time network stuff being recorded each and every night automatically, so I turned it off and program my own titles.

I always thought Tivo was slow and the bleeping sound drove me nuts. Maybe they've changed.

[frogmarch]

17. We love Dish DVR.

We record every episode of The Artful Detective. Old episodes air on weekdays, and a new one every Saturday evening. Dish records them all and skips duplicates that sometimes run on weekdays. If we wanted duplicates we could set the recorder to record them too.

We also record old episodes of TNT's Cold Justice. They air on Friday mornings before we're up, and even though our receiver is off then, it turns back on automatically to record the shows. (CJ's new season starts June 20th, I think, and Dish will record all the new episodes too.)

With Dish we can watch HD shows, for which we had to pay extra with Direct.

[rufus dog]

10. Works for me

Agree with some on the cost had it for five years wouldn't back the cost down, so I cancelled went back to cable and it was inferior. At 45 days direct called me an locked me in at 70, then 80' then 92 per month over three years.

Pain in the ass to lose a few hours when they could have locked me in at three more years at the highest year three charge.

Quality and UI much better IMO.

[chillfactor]

11. I have DirecTV and I love it.....

and if I run into trouble paying my bill.....they are very easy to work with

[itsrobert]

13. I have it in Calfiornia for years

rarely loose signal. It's on the expensive side, but they usually give me freebies/discounts when I call to complain or try to cancel. The first two years you usually can be locked in with discounts. (but other services offer discount to new customers too)

The main reason I dont give it up, because I get the East Coast feeds of ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox with it. I don't think new customers can get the distant networks anymore. We enjoy watching live events/sports and shows 3 hours earlier.

[Cleita]

15. I've had since it first came out, 1997, I believe. It's great out here in SLO county

for the great reception and service. You can have as little or as much as you like as far as content. If you want all the local stuff like city council meetings and such, they don't carry it like Charter does, but I find the picture quality superior to Charter or Dish. However if ATT does take it over, I don't think it will be as good in the future as it is now.

[Saboburns]

18. I love myDirecTV. I wouldnt have anything else.

And if you tell them that you're a new customer yer gonna get A BUNCH of free stuff fer six months or so. My pops has it too and he calls them up from time to time and gets free packages.

DirecTV has the best customer service department of any company I've ever dealt with, hands down the best. Talk to them and you can help yourself.

[pinto]

20. I've heard a lot of positive comments about customer service.

[Fuddnik]

21. I have DirecTV again.

Good signal, and rarely lose it in Florida. Just during major storms.

I dropped them a few years ago, and went with Dish, and the 3 times I had to deal with Dish customer "service", I never wanted to reach through a phone and strangle someone like I did them. I went back to DirecTV, have a wireless network for the DVRs, and it works fine.

Cable didn't carry two channels that I like to watch, Free Speech TV and Link. I like to have my coffee with Amy Goodman in the morning.

[pipi_k]

22. Have had DirecTV for a long time...

like 15 years or better.

If weather isn't an issue, you shouldn't have many problems at all. The service people we have had were prompt and polite (sometimes the wind knocks the dish out of alignment).

Heavy snow or thunderstorms can be a pain, but really it's not that often.

Happy with it.

[csziggy]

24. I've had both DirecTV and DISH - they are about the same for signal and customer service

I was an early adopter of DirecTV - before the installation and equipment was free. Years later when I needed to relocate the dish and wanted to upgrade the old equipment, DirecTV wouldn't match what DISH was offering so I changed over to DISH. Then DirecTV was all over me offering better deals - which they wouldn't do as long as I was a current customer

When we moved to the new house, DirecTV had the better deal so I went back to them.

I saw no significant difference in quality of signal, customer service, or costs once their special offers run out. If I were to go back to satellite TV, I would play them off against each other, getting the best deal from one, then trying to get the other to give a better offer.

Unfortunately our trees have now grown up and are blocking the satellite signal. About the time it got really incovnenient, Centurylink offered PrismTV in our area - TV over the internet, basically. We get a bundle deal for landline (necessary since we get no cell service in our house), long distance, broadband and TV for about what we were paying for satellite TV and DSL previously. It's been as good as the satellite TV was and we don't have to have a dish sitting in the yard (though we still do, since we haven't dug up the old dish, LOL).

[hobbit709]

25. Been using it for years. Occasionally a real hard rain to the south blocks the signal.

And here it's cheaper than either Time-Warner of AT&T.

[DURHAM D]

26. I have DirectTV and have

had it for at about 15 years. Also have TIVO because I like the programming. It is expensive but every time I call for any reason they give me some credits, etc. for "being such a loyal customer".

Occasionally I lose the feed when a storm is moving in but just for a few minutes.

The installers are sub-contractors now and don't always know what they are doing and can't always be trusted. I had one try to take my two Tivos and replace them with their cheap DVRs. I kept telling him that I owned them and did not want his "trade out". He kept insisting that DirecTV owned my Tivos and he could take them if he wanted to. I finally asked him if he wanted to see the invoices from Best Buy. I am certain that he wanted them because he planned to sell them on ebay. Anyway, I called DirecTV and they gave me three free months and canned the installer.

[Warpy]

27. I've been happy with it

They had better packages and were a lot less buggy than the Dish TV my dad had. I didn't even consider Comcast. I understand Dish has gotten better receivers but I still like Direct's channel lineup better. They're being sold to AT&T, so that might change. I hope not.

You do lose the signal in torrential downpours and heavy snow. Neither is much of a factor here in the desert, the signal mostly cuts out for 5 minutes or so when a frog strangler comes through in the monsoon season.

[elleng]

28. I do, like it a lot,

signal's good, in MD.

[DesertFlower]

29. i've had it for more than 11 years.

had cox cable before that which went down a lot. had no choice because we live in a remote area. i really like it. occasionally it will go down during a bad storm. i pay $160 a month, but i have 5 tvs and HBO and SHO, etc. customer service is good.

[hunter]

32. We've abandoned them all, even broadcast television.

Our television is a DVD player, and occasionally plays internet streams.

First we got rid of comcast for dish. Never had trouble with the satellite signal. Then we got rid of dish. Then we got a new television, the old one died, and I've no idea what sort of free television we could get. PBS used to work well enough, maybe it still does. I haven't looked.

The future is internet television, providing entities like comcast don't kill it.

Our lowly dsl connection, through a local provider, streams video at slightly better quality than old fashioned analog television. It's better than an old VCR taped movie (Holy cow, I remember when video rental stores were new!) and maybe equivalent quality, or just slightly less, than a DVD.

[onecaliberal]

33. I have it

Had comcast before that. It is cheaper than comcast but still costly, weather is never a problem with it in my area but we don't get snow. Still can't find a lot to watch and still corporate owned TV.

[IDemo]

34. AT&T Buys DirecTV in $49B Stock-And-Cash Deal

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/t-buys-directv-49b-stock-cash-deal-n108261

NEW YORK — AT&T says it is buying DirecTV for $95 per share, or $49 billion, a move that gives the telecommunications company a larger base of video subscribers and increases its ability to compete against Comcast and Time Warner Cable, which agreed to a merger in February.

Dallas-based AT&T's proposed combination could improve its Internet service by pushing its existing U-verse TV subscribers into video over satellite service, and thereby free up bandwidth on its telecommunications network.

AT&T currently offers a high-speed Internet plan in a bundle with DirecTV television service. The acquisition would help it further reap the benefits of that alliance.

[Major Hogwash]

46. We are doomed!!

They broke up AT&T once because of this kind of crap.

[madaboutharry]

35. I really love it.

It's rare that the signal goes out in a storm. Customer Service is very good.

[Live and Learn]

36. AT&T just bought DirecTV.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024966550

http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/18/news/companies/att-directv/index.html?section=money_topstories

[leftyohiolib]

37. i did and no matter how many channels i dropped the price always worked it's way back t0 100 a month

[jwirr]

39. Up until about two months ago we only had a lost signal in a real heavy storm. Now for some reason

we are getting one every day. On Monday we are going to call the insurance we pay for on the bill and ask them to either fix it or we are out. One thing we liked about Direct TV was that we could tape shows while watching other shows which we could not do with Dish.


Is anyone else having troubles?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

41. We've had it for about 15 years

The signal is great, but a good heavy rain will take it out if coming from a certain direction. The prices are about par with cable to be honest.

[pinto]

42. Great feedback. Thanks all.

[ohheckyeah]

44. I hate it.

Their equipment is crap and it took a letter to the CEO of the company to get fairly decent equipment. There's always something wrong with it. They lied to us about the capabilities of the whole home system and it was totally screwed up from day one. Took two years and the letter to get it somewhat fixed....and they only did it then because our contract was almost over.

If you can get cable, get cable.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

45. This is my 2nd go-round with DirecTV

I had it when I lived in the southeastern US. We had Primestar, and they got bought out by DirecTV. This was the mid 90s to mid 2000s. Unless it was really raining like Hell, we didn't have issues with the picture. Then we moved. Then we had a cheap deal for cable that ended in 2013. So, when that ended, we went back to DirecTV. I'm not nearly as happy this time around.

1) They always hype these whole house DVRs, but those cost extra per month (they don't tell you that) and there are extra charges for equipment.

2) The current HD equipment constantly loses programming. I have to go on line and "reactivate" service. It's a PITA.

3) Pretty much any thunderstorm now knocks out the signal.

4) They have an extrordinary number of PPV channels, as well as channels showing nothing but back-to-back infomercials.

I'm halfway through a 24 month commitment. Once it's done, I'm either back to cable, or some internet streaming platform (Roku, Google TV, Sony TV). My current problem is that Miss Cecily constantly watches HGTV, and that channel doesn't currently stream through any internet platform of which I am aware.

[ohheckyeah]

47. Well, we're without service yet again

due to equipment failure....equipment that was installed in March.

I HATE this company.