Cable Versus Dish - Page 2 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

nottwood · 10-19-2004, 06:07 PM

Believe it or not, I have neither....so I can think outside the box. The important issues should be cost, ease of use, and personal taste. 200 channels is just 195 more channels of f*ck.

fordluvr · 10-19-2004, 07:02 PM

DirecTV because:

1) NFL Sunday Ticket
2) HDTivo
3) Less $ per channel
4) Did I mention HDTivo?

Echodork · 10-19-2004, 09:50 PM

I worked for Dish Network for about two years in their phone support department. Before you rush off to buy your dish, let me tell you a few things.

1. You WILL be pointing this dish yourself, so dear god make sure the installer puts it in a place you don't mind going. Yes, you heard me right, you WILL learn how to point a satellite dish and you WILL do it yourself. Frequently. Your signal strength will decrease as time goes on from natural causes, or your dish might be blown to china by a heavy storm. No matter what the cause, just understand that YOU will be the one to fix it. Service calls for alignment issues cost $99 and take a minimum of 48 hours.

2. 90% of problems with the receiver can be solved by pulling out the Smart Card and putting it back in. Newer receivers don't have cards... push the Power button on the receiver in for five seconds and release instead.

3. Satellite TV comes with a lot of hidden fees. The cable commercials don't lie. Every receiver you have in your home after the first costs an extra $5/mo. That means that every television in your house that you would like to watch television on at some point will cost you extra. Sure, you can split one receiver to multiple TVs, but both TVs will have to be on the same channel and you'll need a $50 remote control to change channels in the remote room. You're also assessed fees for warranties, receiver rental, and/or service calls, depending on your contract.

4. What? Contract? Yes, contract. You're going to sign a contract. Your contract WILL be longer than the warranty period on the equipment. That means that if your receiver breaks 9 months after you get it, you're buying another one out of pocket. There are options to get service without a contract, but you'll pay a much higher monthly rate. More hidden fees.

5. Getting proper phone support from Dish Network is akin to gambling. In fact, we referred to calling tech support as "playing CSR roulette." Some people will be intelligent. Some people will be butt-ass stupid. Some people you speak to will know less about the system than you do. Most won't care about your problem. See, the #1 stat they track in the tech support call center is known as "handle time," which is a euphemism for "how fast can you make the customer hang up the phone?" It's more important to Dish Network that you be off the phone in under nine minutes than it is to get your problem fixed. When a CSR picks up the phone, start your watch... you have about nine minutes before they get antsy to get rid of you. Our favorite tactic was "perform this troubleshooting step and call back if it doesn't work." That means "there's a 25% chance this will work, and a 100% chance you'll get someone else when you call back and THEY can walk you through the rest of the steps." Oh... by the way, the #2 stat they track is "upselling," which is a fancy word for "convincing the customers to buy HBO." You will be sold to, on every call, regardless of the reason for the call. If anyone at Dish Network asks if you like to watch movies (or what your favorite movie is), either say NO or be prepared for a sales pitch.

Possibly the worst company I ever worked for in terms of employee treatment, and their mishandling of "warm resources" (read: employees) is what motivates me to type out these warnings on every forum I'm a part of :P

Karnic · 10-21-2004, 10:56 PM

As far as pirating goes:
Digital Cable can't be cracked at the moment, (Don't fall for the filters you will get charged eventually)

Direct TV cards can be cracked and emulated etc, but it's a perpetual thing always have to stay ahead of the company etc. Also, only pay cash for equipment, or find a place that doesn't keep records (Learned the hard way on this one)

but other than that, if you want a cable modem, go with the cable tv as well, if you want dish internet, go with dish on both, As to minimize cost.

Dish offers more channels but is reliant on good weather.

Cable is reliant on good service.

beteez2 · 10-24-2004, 06:32 AM

Which ever you choose get the tivo. It rules.

10-19-2004, 07:02 PM	#42 (permalink)
fordluvr Perpetually Confused	DirecTV because: 1) NFL Sunday Ticket 2) HDTivo 3) Less $ per channel 4) Did I mention HDTivo? __________________ I trust no one. Not even myself. -- Josef Stalin

10-19-2004, 06:07 PM	#41 (permalink)
nottwood Tilted	Believe it or not, I have neither....so I can think outside the box. The important issues should be cost, ease of use, and personal taste. 200 channels is just 195 more channels of f*ck.

10-19-2004, 09:50 PM	#43 (permalink)
Echodork Tilted	I worked for Dish Network for about two years in their phone support department. Before you rush off to buy your dish, let me tell you a few things. 1. You WILL be pointing this dish yourself, so dear god make sure the installer puts it in a place you don't mind going. Yes, you heard me right, you WILL learn how to point a satellite dish and you WILL do it yourself. Frequently. Your signal strength will decrease as time goes on from natural causes, or your dish might be blown to china by a heavy storm. No matter what the cause, just understand that YOU will be the one to fix it. Service calls for alignment issues cost $99 and take a minimum of 48 hours. 2. 90% of problems with the receiver can be solved by pulling out the Smart Card and putting it back in. Newer receivers don't have cards... push the Power button on the receiver in for five seconds and release instead. 3. Satellite TV comes with a lot of hidden fees. The cable commercials don't lie. Every receiver you have in your home after the first costs an extra $5/mo. That means that every television in your house that you would like to watch television on at some point will cost you extra. Sure, you can split one receiver to multiple TVs, but both TVs will have to be on the same channel and you'll need a $50 remote control to change channels in the remote room. You're also assessed fees for warranties, receiver rental, and/or service calls, depending on your contract. 4. What? Contract? Yes, contract. You're going to sign a contract. Your contract WILL be longer than the warranty period on the equipment. That means that if your receiver breaks 9 months after you get it, you're buying another one out of pocket. There are options to get service without a contract, but you'll pay a much higher monthly rate. More hidden fees. 5. Getting proper phone support from Dish Network is akin to gambling. In fact, we referred to calling tech support as "playing CSR roulette." Some people will be intelligent. Some people will be butt-ass stupid. Some people you speak to will know less about the system than you do. Most won't care about your problem. See, the #1 stat they track in the tech support call center is known as "handle time," which is a euphemism for "how fast can you make the customer hang up the phone?" It's more important to Dish Network that you be off the phone in under nine minutes than it is to get your problem fixed. When a CSR picks up the phone, start your watch... you have about nine minutes before they get antsy to get rid of you. Our favorite tactic was "perform this troubleshooting step and call back if it doesn't work." That means "there's a 25% chance this will work, and a 100% chance you'll get someone else when you call back and THEY can walk you through the rest of the steps." Oh... by the way, the #2 stat they track is "upselling," which is a fancy word for "convincing the customers to buy HBO." You will be sold to, on every call, regardless of the reason for the call. If anyone at Dish Network asks if you like to watch movies (or what your favorite movie is), either say NO or be prepared for a sales pitch. Possibly the worst company I ever worked for in terms of employee treatment, and their mishandling of "warm resources" (read: employees) is what motivates me to type out these warnings on every forum I'm a part of :P

10-21-2004, 10:56 PM	#44 (permalink)
Karnic Upright	As far as pirating goes: Digital Cable can't be cracked at the moment, (Don't fall for the filters you will get charged eventually) Direct TV cards can be cracked and emulated etc, but it's a perpetual thing always have to stay ahead of the company etc. Also, only pay cash for equipment, or find a place that doesn't keep records (Learned the hard way on this one) but other than that, if you want a cable modem, go with the cable tv as well, if you want dish internet, go with dish on both, As to minimize cost. Dish offers more channels but is reliant on good weather. Cable is reliant on good service.

10-24-2004, 06:32 AM	#45 (permalink)
beteez2 Upright Location: ga	Which ever you choose get the tivo. It rules.