I apologize if my questions are answered elsewhere, but I wasn't able to find recent, clear-cut answers by searching.
I currently have Time Warner Cable in Austin as my HD content provider. I use two SA8300HDCs as my HD-DVRs. Obviously they're not in the same league as the ones from TWC's competitors, but they do a decent job. However, after the recent crap with TWC-Austin losing NBC for a month or so then the pissing contest between TWC and Viacom, I thought it might be time to look at the competition again.
One other qualification to make...way back in the day I looked at getting DirecTV/Tivo as my HD-DVR, but the fact that those devices required dual coax inputs for dual tuners was an obstacle. The layout of my house prevents me from adding additional drops without burying them outside and drilling through the mortar, and it wasn't that important to me. I'm hoping that all of the main contenders now can record multiple programs simultaneously over a single strand of coax like my SA8300HDCs can because if not, the ones that can't aren't really in contention after all.
So having said all of that, I'm looking primarily at Dish and DirecTV as options. AT&T U-Verse is in Austin, but according to their Web site, my neighborhood doesn't have it yet nor does there seem to be any ETA on getting it.
I've heard VERY good things about the Dish HD-DVR, though I've never used one, and I've been relatively unimpressed with the DirecTV non-Tivo DVR. I know that DirecTV is striking up another deal with Tivo, but I'm not sure when that'll be official enough that the HD-DVRs from them will be Tivo-based again.
I went to dishtv.com and put together what looks to be a package that fits my needs with two HDTVs each with DVRs (which I assume/hope are HD-DVRs) and the TurboHD Gold/Platinum package. I was surprised to see that, with a 24 month contract, it was only $62/month and $50 activation. That seemed WAY too low given the hardware I'd be getting from them, so that further makes me question whether those DVRs are HD-DVRs.
I did similar on directv.com and the monthly rate was similar, but I had to pay $200 up front for an additional HD-DVR from them which seemed more in line with my expectations (though not my preference, obviously).
So I guess my questions are this:
1) Given my desire for multiple HD recordings over one strand of coax, are Dish and DirecTV options for me these days?
2) Does the package I quoted above from Dish look right to you guys? Are they just running an awesome deal for new customers?
3) Not to start a religious war, but what seems to be the general consensus on Dish and DirecTV these days for someone who wants to watch almost exclusively HD content with DVR capabilities?
Thanks much for any insights on this, and as I said earlier, if these questions are answered with recent data elsewhere on this forum, please just give me the redirect and I'll check it out there!
I currently have Time Warner Cable in Austin as my HD content provider. I use two SA8300HDCs as my HD-DVRs. Obviously they're not in the same league as the ones from TWC's competitors, but they do a decent job. However, after the recent crap with TWC-Austin losing NBC for a month or so then the pissing contest between TWC and Viacom, I thought it might be time to look at the competition again.
One other qualification to make...way back in the day I looked at getting DirecTV/Tivo as my HD-DVR, but the fact that those devices required dual coax inputs for dual tuners was an obstacle. The layout of my house prevents me from adding additional drops without burying them outside and drilling through the mortar, and it wasn't that important to me. I'm hoping that all of the main contenders now can record multiple programs simultaneously over a single strand of coax like my SA8300HDCs can because if not, the ones that can't aren't really in contention after all.
So having said all of that, I'm looking primarily at Dish and DirecTV as options. AT&T U-Verse is in Austin, but according to their Web site, my neighborhood doesn't have it yet nor does there seem to be any ETA on getting it.
I've heard VERY good things about the Dish HD-DVR, though I've never used one, and I've been relatively unimpressed with the DirecTV non-Tivo DVR. I know that DirecTV is striking up another deal with Tivo, but I'm not sure when that'll be official enough that the HD-DVRs from them will be Tivo-based again.
I went to dishtv.com and put together what looks to be a package that fits my needs with two HDTVs each with DVRs (which I assume/hope are HD-DVRs) and the TurboHD Gold/Platinum package. I was surprised to see that, with a 24 month contract, it was only $62/month and $50 activation. That seemed WAY too low given the hardware I'd be getting from them, so that further makes me question whether those DVRs are HD-DVRs.
I did similar on directv.com and the monthly rate was similar, but I had to pay $200 up front for an additional HD-DVR from them which seemed more in line with my expectations (though not my preference, obviously).
So I guess my questions are this:
1) Given my desire for multiple HD recordings over one strand of coax, are Dish and DirecTV options for me these days?
2) Does the package I quoted above from Dish look right to you guys? Are they just running an awesome deal for new customers?
3) Not to start a religious war, but what seems to be the general consensus on Dish and DirecTV these days for someone who wants to watch almost exclusively HD content with DVR capabilities?
Thanks much for any insights on this, and as I said earlier, if these questions are answered with recent data elsewhere on this forum, please just give me the redirect and I'll check it out there!
