Quote:
Originally Posted by
raffiafinati 
...other than price what are the major reasons for making the switch from Time Warner? For me big sports packages would not be a reason to switch.
After doing the math it is obvious that there is major cost savings the first year, but after that the savings for DirecTV become much smaller.
Really no different than TWC in that respect in that you're given a discount rate for the first year before reality kicks in. TWC doesn't require a commitment though, unless they paid your ETF to switch from satellite.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
raffiafinati
There must be other reasons people are making the switch.
Equipment costs tend to be lower with DirecTV. I like the fact that other than a mirroring fee for additional receivers/DVRs, there are no equipment charges on the monthly statement. Yeah, I don't own my DVRs, but it was a very low upfront charge, free for the first and $99 for the second HD DVR. I use DirecTV2PC to watch recorded shows in the bedroom @ no extra charge. I also like the fact that when DirecTV deployed MPEG 4 HD they used the same channel alignment so I didn't have to re-learn where HD feeds of the channels were located. As a general rule the DirecTV equipment tends to be more advanced than what cable will provide.
In fairness TWC offers something DirecTV, or DISH for that matter, doesn't at this time: a quality High Speed Internet solution. Also, TWC has done a really good job of adding HD channels. You know what would be huge? If after doing away with their analog cable feed TWC allowed you to use the QAM tuner on your HD set to pick up the standard cable channels in HD. You'd only need a box if you want PPV, On Demand, Sports packages, and premium channels. But you'd get A&E-HD, History-HD, E!-HD, etc. without having pay for a box in every room. IMO that would crush satellite. Don't expect it though since they love the extra revenue the boxes generate.
As I've stated prior in the thread I'm currently under a promo period w/ TWC for Surf & View while my DirecTV service is suspended. I'm about four months in and I'm still on the fence about it. I love Roadrunner, but dealing with a TiVo HD and tuning adapter for SDV channels hasn't been painless. Averaging about one or two missed recordings a month, while my DirecTV DVRs would only cut out in severe cloud cover, which didn't occur anywhere near monthly, despite what the cable ads state. In short, if you don't feel compelled to switch to satellite, then don't. Personally, I just found TWC to be very much stuck in the their ways over a decade ago when I made my switch. IOW, they had a "take it or leave it" attitude. I left at that time, but the fact that no other quality HSI solutions exist brought me back...for now.
