So I moved into a house in Cumming, GA the Friday before last. I got Comcast installed last Monday and it is terrible. Moving from Alpharetta, GA I'd say I lost about 1/3rd to half of my HD lineup, and since all I watch is HD that is a pretty big hit. On top of that, the HD DVR they gave me is a Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD Explorer. I never thought I'd say this, but the Motorola HD DVR I had blows this thing out of the water, and it SUCKED.

The only reason I signed up was because the deal they cut me was INSANE, mainly because *gasp* Comcast has some competition in this area via U-Verse. The deal I got was this:

1st year
TV - Digital Preferred w/ free HBO, 1 HD DVR and 2 SD boxes (swapped out an SD box with a cable card) - $44.99
Internet - $19.99

2nd year
TV goes up to $54.99, I lose free HBO
Internet goes up to $42.99

3rd year is normal rate

Since my company reimburses $30 of my internet, internet is basically free for the 1st year and $13 for the next. So I was looking at a bill of $50 for year 1 and $70 for year 2, losing HBO as well. The reason I didn't pick satellite was cost; since internet wouldn't be bundled, that would be $60, and satellite would be roughly $80, leaving me with a final bill of $110, nearly double what Comcast gives. Now granted, this is only going to Dish and DirecTV's sites and looking at their "deals", which are probably the worst you can find, but nonetheless it gave me a rough idea that I'd be paying significantly more a month.

I've had to keep reminding this sales guy to, you know, give me the deal he promised, and he's being very touch and go. As it stands right now, I have no HBO and have to pay $6 for the DVRs, $3 for a modem rental I didn't get, and $17 for the DVR, jumping the bill up from $50 to $75.

So I'm having a problem getting the deal I was originally offered, a terrible DVR, mediocre HD, and a headache dealing with this. So I'm hoping that maybe someone here knows of some awesome satellite reseller or something that offers great deals that may make me switch to DBS. Dish has Turbo HD, but that seems to have gone. All I want is as much HD as possible in the highest quality possible with a nice DVR interface. I need 1 HD DVR and 1 HD receiver, that's it. Does DirecTV still have that VOOM movie package too?

I hear you can still get Turbo HD from Dish if you play them right. They just stopped advertising it on their site, and I think they might've stopped adding any new HD channels to it. I think it just takes getting the right CSR, so you might have to keep hanging up and calling back.

Dish was the one that had "VOOM", and they dropped it a couple of years back.

Most people like Direct's HD quality a little better, but Dish's DVR is generally considered the best of the provider's (you'd also get an extra, independent SD feed out of the Dish DVR to another TV for no extra fee).

Direct has more sports, if that's your thing, but that all costs extra, of course.

The deals change all the time.

Only you know what channels are must haves and what are not.

So whatever viewing patterns your household has should enter into the equation greatly.

If all you want is the most HD channels available, check out the websites of the two satellite providers, then check out FiOs (if available) and compare.

Virtually all sports and full-time HD RSNs are available in HD from DirecTV. More movie channels are available in HD from Dish.

There are minor differences ion the rest of their HD lineups, but only you can tell if those differences would enhance one provider over the other. What is a bargain and a no-brainer to some of us is not at all attractive to others.

You might want to take some time and do a careful inventory of what shows (and what channels) your family watches.

Most surveys show that the typical household regularly watches fewer than 20 channels a month. I would think that whichever provider has more of those channels important to you and your family should be your choice, as long as the price is relatively close.

If you have AT&T you can get a bundle with phone, DSL, and DirecTV. I get a $10 per month DirecTV credit from AT&T as well as about $25 off my DSL. My bundle includes local and unlimited long distance, 6mbs DSL, and DirecTV. I can't seem to beat my total cost monthly cost with Comcast or Dish offerings. I also can't adjust my bundle for additional savings, if I drop the long distance then my monthly cost actually increases due to the bundle requirements.

Also, with DirecTV you can get a $100 credit if you use a referral from another subscriber. I assume Dish has the same thing.

I am moving to a new house, and I am leaving U-verse (/cry). My options are Comcast, Dish, and Directv. I will not go back to Comcast under any circumstances, so I would like to know how the HD quality of Dish and Directv compare, and some basic functions of the DVR, like can you record 2 (or more) HD shows at once, or only 1 HD and 1 SD. Also, does the Dish function of record/playback from another room allow you to record 1 on top of the 2 (or more) from the DVR, or is that 1 SD stream taken from the total number of recordings the DVR can do?

I guess I am asking how similar those 2 DVR's functioned compared to U-verse, where I can record 4 shows (2 HD 2 SD) at once, and can record from any TV in the house without having more than 1 DVR. However, my house can record and watch 4 channels total, i.e. if I am watching a show in HD, and am recording a show in HD, then the other TV's in my house can only be watching/recording 2 other SD channels total.

Thanks in advance.

I am moving to a new house, and I am leaving U-verse (/cry). My options are Comcast, Dish, and Directv. I will not go back to Comcast under any circumstances, so I would like to know how the HD quality of Dish and Directv compare....
Forum consensus says DirecTV & Dish Network both have better HD image quality than U-verse, with DirecTV being better by a small but noticeable margin compared to Dish.