Dish Network Owners - How is the Service?

[jikhead]

I'm looking for Dish Network owners to let me know what they think about the service? What do you like or dislike about it? Also, does anyone have the DVR version with the built-in Sling Box?

I'm currently on DirecTV and originally switched to them a few years ago because they had way more HD channels than Dish. As it stands now, it appears to be pretty even. I'm looking to add DVR, but DirecTV won't give me any new subscription promo's: only a sorry free 3 mos. of 5 extra useless HD channels. After looking at Dish, it appears that I'll get all the same channels that I watch, same number of HD channels, and save money over the next year if I were to go with their Everything package. Plus the DVR with the Sling Box (which DirecTV does not have). I sent Dish an email about the availability of using it with Android phones, but have not received a respone back yet. I have seen that the regular Sling Box's will have Android apps soon.

 

[OfTheDamned]

I have dish and it works great. Picture quality is great and I've had no service interruptions, even during really bad storms. I had cable before and I admit that I liked the DVR they offered more, but the one from Dish works very well. The one receiver for 2 TVs is a little weird at first, but it is great to be able to watch my recorded shows on either of the 2 TVs connected to the DVR.

I haven't bothered about the slingbox DVR since there isn't an app for it yet.

 

[Skipdawg]

I've had Dish since the Summer of 2001. Has been great. Been thinking of upgrading just have the basic package and I'd like to get that DVR and also be able to use a HDMI cable too. But no complaints.

 

[IOWA]

And if you do have reception issues, you can always upgrade your dish or add another dish. That help tremendously, but it will cost a bit of $ and time. But in the longrun, you'll save money over cable and directTV

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[colnago]

I've had Dish for about 2-3 years now. I love the flexibility/value of the 622 DVR STB. From what I hear, the picture quality of FIOS and DirectTV is a little better as there is less compression. I'm grandfathered in with my service package from the "Voom Network" days, but to get the same channels on say FIOS, would cost a bit more, not including the (2) additional boxes I'd need for all (4) TVs.

Things that's really keeping me from switching to FIOS (could do a tripple play by adding TV and cell to my interenet and saving more) is the ability to additonal external drives to my DVR, the 1080p video on demand, and the possibility of upgrading to a 922 STB, with the built-in Sling.

FWIW, I have a dual tuner 222 STB, w/no DVR, and for the same $15/mo. I can get the 922 w/DVR and sling capability, but I would lose the ability to have a 2nd TV. It would also cost $200 to get the box, $70 more than just buying a Sling Solo, but then again, I'd be adding the DVR. I already have a Sling Solo for my 622, and having slingmobile is a Godsend when clothes shopping w/my girl.

 

[OldMetalDad]

We've been with DISH for over five years, and have been quite happy with it - far more than we ever were with cable. Quality is good, and loss of signal is very rare. The 622 VIP receiver does the job for us, though we've had to have it replaced twice now when there was a hardware failure. About 4 days to get the replacement, but we did lose some programs (nothing really upsetting). Adding an external hard drive for additional storage is nice (there is an initial charge to allow the USB ports to recognize it, but it is great to have the huge extra storage).

I don't have the built-in Slingbox, but I have an external Pro Slingbox hooked up to one of the DVRs, and it works like a charm. It does take a slight dip in performance on a handheld device/cell vs. a laptop/netbook/etc. I have the Sling Box app for the iPod Touch, and it does ok, but getting a good solid framerate or streaming connection can be a challenge sometimes. I still love it, however.

 

[Neon8]

I have been with dish for 12years and never problem. Got the slingloaded 922 receiver and works great. Can use pc with dish remote access or mobile. Using the slingmobile iphone app on my ipad. Waiting for ipad app and android sling app which are both coming soon.

 

[NSXLA]

Careful if you want to get a DVR, they are having a bit of falling out with TIVO, who is suing them... well i spoke too soon

"In some bad news for TiVo, a federal appeals court granted the DISH Network, the satellite TV provider, a full-court review of a ruling it lost to TiVo in a patent dispute over TV recording devices.

The earlier ruling had threatened to force DISH to disable millions of its customers’ digital video recorders; however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington gave DISH a chance for a better outcome in the litigation, which it has consistently lost to TiVo."


Okay that out of the way, i do like DirecTV better cause of their systems UI and they tend to carry more sports, Dishnetwork wins if you need international channels. I myself just use newsgroups. =]