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Dish Network vs Direct TV

June 5, 2012 By 2 Comments

I love doing reviews for our readers as it helps each of you to make the best possible decision for your personal situation and needs, so today I set out to find out if you are shopping for satellite TV, would it be better to choose Dish Network vs Direct TV?

Dish Network

Review of Dish Network and Direct TVI was amazed at the features and options I found available through Dish Network.  I think my favorite was that you can automatically skip commercials in primetime TV – ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC in HD. They also offer you the ability to watch TV Live on your on your tablet, Smartphone or computer at no extra monthly cost.  You can also watch the shows that you have saved on your DVR via your tablet, Smartphone, or computer.  They are allowing up to 4 TVs which can all be attached to the same DVR.  You can record up to 6 channels on your DVR which has a 2 TB hard drive meaning that you can record and store up to 2,000 hours worth of programming before you have to begin cleaning old recordings off.

They even had an interesting feature called the Remote Control Locator, so you would never lose your remote again!  (Something that happens very commonly at my grandfather’s!)  The company was founded by Charlie Ergen, Candy Ergen, and their good friend Jim DeFranco, so they’ve been a family-owned business since 1980.

Next, I checked out their various plans.  At the time of this post, the basic plan starts at $19.99 a month for 55+ channels.  $29.99 per month will get you 120+ channels and $34.99 a month will get you 220+ channels.  The $34.99 a month includes a free DVR.  The lesser plans require you to purchase your DVR.  After comparing the channel offerings, I found that you would in all likelihood want the $34.99 plan as it offered what I consider the most common channels such as Hallmark Channel, Food Network, all the News Channels, TV Land, Weather Channel, etc.  They also allow you to bundle your phone, internet, and cable to save money.  On their website, they say they partner with phone and internet providers such as Verizon, AT&T, Clear, Earthlink, CenturyLink, Windstream, Frontier, and TDS Telecom.

Direct TV

Next, I moved on to DirectTV.  I found that they were very similar to Dish Network.  They also allow you to watch television your laptop, tablet, and cell phone. You can record 5 channels at any given time on your DVR.  Their DVR allows you on average to store 400 hours of programming.  They also allow you to attach one DVR to multiple TVs; however, they do not state how many.

I could not find a remote control locator feature offered by Direct TV.  They are traditional company versus family owned like Dish Network.

Then I checked out their various plans.  The basic plan starts at $29.99 a month for 140+ channels.  $34.99 will get you 150+ channels.  $39.99 will get you 210 channels.  In order to match, Dish Network’s 220+, you would have to go with the $44.99 a month package for 225+ channels.  All of Direct TV’s packages include a free DVR.  They also allow bundling of phone, internet, and cable to save money.  On their website, they list that they partner with phone and internet providers such as AT&T, CenturyLink, Cincinnati Bell, Verizon, and Windstream.

Conclusion

I found that both companies were very similar in features and offerings; however, overall, I would personally lean towards Dish Network.  Have you had had any experience with either company?  What do think?

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About Jocelin Boutet

Jocelin Boutet is a homeschool graduate who grew up learning finances from a young age and now passionately has her own ministry – Standing in YHVH’s Hand Ministries – with a mission of training believers how to be stronger in their walk with the Messiah and free of the world in lifestyle, finances, and relationships. As well as being a Financial Coach and Trainer, previously serving with Crown Financial Ministries, and Certificate in Biblical Studies, her personal practical experience as well as involvement on a daily basis in Christian finances gives her a unique perspective. She has been blessed to speak regularly in person as well as on the radio on God’s View on Money.

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  • Emery

    Great read! That Auto Hop feature on the Hopper is exactly
    why I’d say Dish is better among the two services. The other cool thing is that
    Dish is the only company to offer live TV viewing on the go on Smartphone’s and
    tablets. My coworkers at Dish introduced me to Auto Hop earlier this month, and
    since then I’ve been enjoying all of my favorite PrimeTime Anytime recordings
    commercial free! The best part is I can now actually watch a show instead of
    spending so much time worrying about where my remote is to skip past them! :)

    • Kurt Vonnegut

      Why don’t CBS, FOX, and NBC execs want consumers
      to enjoy commercial-free TV? It’s what we want! I’m a customer and employee of
      Dish, and I think AutoHop is great because you can easily watch commercial-free
      TV. A well known consumer advocacy group, Public Knowledge, agrees that
      people should have the right to control how they watch TV. They’re taking a
      stand for consumers by creating a petition that tells CBS, FOX, and NBC media
      to keep their hands out of your living room and DVR. Sign their petition to
      keep control of how you watch TV http://bit.ly/KigXAn