As you may have guessed part of the
moving process involves a variety of things including transferring
mail and disconnecting various services. The decision to transfer the
mail was decided weeks before the move. But we were still undecided
on whether we would transfer our phone, internet, and TV service. We
were told that the wait wouldn't be long and we knew that we could
probably go without these services if we needed to. But, just before
the move was complete we decided to only transfer our phone and
internet service. To save money we dropped cable TV. While renting we
relied upon over the air TV(rabbit ears) for watching television.
In April of 2015, the house was
completed and we moved in. A short time after, the services that we
took with us were transferred back. For TV service we continued to
rely on over the air TV. Over the air TV was decent but it was no
comparison to cable. But we used that time to decide whether or not we still wanted cable. We were saving money but we were missing our
favorite shows.
So, I researched and compared various
TV services. In the end we decided on DirecTV. But, we left cable as
an option just in case we were not satisfied. Years ago I heard a few
bad things about DirecTV and satellite TV in general.
What we received from DirecTV
We used AT&T(before the merger) to
get our DirecTV service. We were already getting internet and phone
service from AT&T and we wanted to eventually bundle these services.
We chose the choice package and
selected four HD (genie) receivers with DVR service. We have one
regular size receiver (13” wide and 9 ½ long) for the living room,
three smaller receivers (5 7/8” wide and 3 5/8 “ long) for the
bedrooms, four remotes, and one dish installed in the back on the
roof.
My experience with DirecTV
So far I am very pleased with DirecTV.
It is a big leap from basic cable and an even bigger leap from over
the air TV. I have been very surprised by the capabilities of
DirecTV.
In the past, I relied upon either
searching online for a TV guide or channel surfing to find programs.
I have never found any of these methods difficult but, I have found
this new method to be much more efficient. I now have an on-screen TV
guide. With this on-screen TV guide, I have no need to use any other
methods for finding a program. The on-screen guide has everything I
would need to find TV shows. With the press of a button, I am able to
see what is available to watch. Unlike online TV guides, it's in real-time. There is no need to enter information about my location, TV
provider, etc like online TV guides require. It has information about
each show and how long each show will last. In addition to these
things, the on-screen guide has more capabilities.
A few years ago I replaced my broken
DVD recorder with a new one. I really liked my new DVD recorder but
it lacked a built-in tuner. The lack of a built-in tuner made
recording my favorite shows inconvenient and slightly difficult. But,
with DirecTV, I don't have this problem.
With DirecTV, I have an HD DVR (as I
mentioned earlier) for each TV. The HD DVR gives more capabilities to
the on-screen TV guide and makes recording simple and convenient.
I now am able to record my favorite
shows with the press of one button. With the press of two buttons, I
can record a whole season of any program. I no longer have to go into
any menus or enter the time or date etc when I want to record a show.
Plus I have the added bonus of being able to record up to 5 programs
at the same time, from any room.
The largest receiver has a slight
advantage over the smaller receivers. It's the only one capable of
picture-in-picture. There are a total of 5 screen positions for
picture-in-picture. I can choose upper left, upper right, lower
right, lower left, and side by side. I use this feature occasionally.
The remote controls are well designed.
I have had a variety of remotes over the years but I feel that these
are one of the best. If you choose DirecTV you won't be disappointed
with the remotes. They have a variety of features and are very
responsive. These remotes don't have to be pointed directly at the
receiver when changing a channel, turning up the volume, etc.
As I mentioned, I use the on-screen
programming guide to find channels. The on-screen programming guide
has an extra feature that I really like. It gives me the capability
to keep watching my current program while I search for something
new. Whatever I am watching first is always visible in the upper
left corner of the on-screen guide. If I choose not to use the
on-screen guide I can channel surf like I did with basic cable. But,
channel surfing is something I rarely do. I have many more channels
available to me than I did with basic cable.
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| On-screen guide |
Picture Quality
I have been very pleased with the
picture quality that DirecTV provides. The picture quality is very
good. Because we have the latest equipment we are able to receive a
majority of our channels in high definition. When we had cable I had
to get two drop amplifiers to eliminate the problems I had with poor
picture quality.
What if it rains?
Before my family and I made the
decision to sign up with DirecTV we were worried. We have always
heard that when it rains you can't watch satellite TV. But, after
having satellite TV I know how it actually is.
When it rains it does disrupt the
service. But, it's not as bad as you might think. The service is only
disrupted by heavy extreme rain. In my experience light or mild rains
won't disrupt service. I have also found that on very rare occasions
some channels will still be available during heavy extreme rain. But,
overall these types of disruptions rarely occur and I have never been
annoyed by it.
In addition to being disrupted by
heavy extreme rain, service can also be disrupted by heavy winds. But
it is usually fairly brief and it rarely happens.
Will I get my local channels?
Wondering whether are not we would get
our local channels was also a concern. But, with this service local
channels are available.
In the beginning, I had one complaint
about my local channels. My complaint was that it took too long for
the picture to appear once the channel was selected. Early on it took
about a minute are two for the picture to appear once I selected any
of the local channels. Now things are improving. The picture now
appears in seconds after selecting any of the local channels.
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| These are a few of my local channels. |
Like the early days of cable
When my family and I first got cable
we would occasionally get free previews of premium channels. As time
went on these free previews were offered less and less. But, with
DirecTV I am able to experience this more often. So far, watching
these free previews have been an advantage to me. I have been able to
occasionally save on movie rental fees. A few of the movies that I
have been planning to rent were shown during a few previews that
were offered.
Extra Features
The features that I mentioned earlier
are just a few of the features that are offered by DirecTV. There are
many more features available including some basic features. Some of
these basic features can be used by pressing the info button on the
remote. When I press the info button I have the ability to view
messages (similar to email) that are sent by DirecTV, select closed
captioning, add/adjust parental controls, and the ability to adjust
the audio/video settings.
Channel lineup
This is a list of channels that are
available through various packages such as the Select (145+),
Entertainment (150+), Choice (175+), Xtra (220+), Ultimate (240+),
and Premier (315+) packages:
- DirecTV Cinema Information
- DirecTV Cinema HD
- DirecTV PPV Adult
- DirecTV PPV Events HD
- DirecTV Sportsmix HD
- Local Channels HD
- A&E HD
- ABC Family HD
- Al Jazeera America HD
- AMC HD
- Animal Planet HD
- Audience HD
- AXS TV HD
- Baby First TV
- Back 9 Network
- BBC America HD
- BET HD
- Bloomberg TV HD
- Boomerang
- Bravo HD
- BTN HD
- BYUTV
- Cartoon Network HD (East)
- Cartoon Network (West)
- Centric
- Chiller
- Church Channel
- Cloo
- CMT HD
- CNBC HD
- CNBC World
- CNN HD
- Comedy Central HD
- Cooking Channel HD
- C-Span
- C-span 2
- CTN
- Daystar
- Destination America HD
- Discovery Family Channel
- Discovery Life
- Disney Channel HD (East)
- Disney Channel (West)
- Disney Junior HD
- Disney XD HD
- DIY Network HD
- E! HD
- El Rey
- Enlace HD
- ESPN HD
- ESPN 2 HD
- ESPNEWS HD
- ESPN U HD
- Esquire Network
- EWTN
- Food Network HD
- Fox Business Network HD
- Fox News Channel HD
- Fox Sports 1 HD
- Fox Sports 2 HD
- Free Speech TV
- Fuse
- FX HD
- FX Movie Channel
- FXX HD
- FYI HD
- Galavision HD
- GEB America
- Gem Shopping Network
- GOD TV
- Golf Channel HD
- Great American Country
- GSN
- H2 HD
- Hallmark Channel HD
- Hallmark Movies and Mysteries HD
- HGTV HD
- History HD
- HLN HD
- Hope Channel
- HSN
- IFC HD
- INSP
- Investigation Discovery HD
- ION Television HD (East)
- ION Television (West)
- Jewelry Television
- Jewish Life Television
- Lifetime HD
- Link TV
- LMN HD
- LOGO
- MAVTV
- MLB Network HD
- MSNBC HD
- MTV HD
- MTV 2 HD
- NASA TV
- Nat Geo Wild HD
- National Geographic Channel HD
- NBA TV HD
- NBA Sports Network HD
- NBC Universo
- Newsmax
- NFL TV HD
- NHL Network HD
- Nick Jr.
- Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite HD (East)
- Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite (West)
- Nicktoons
- NRB
- Outdoor Channel
- Ovation HD
- OWN HD
- Oxygen
- Pivot
- POP
- Pursuit Channel
- QVC HD
- QVC Plus
- Reelz Channel HD
- Regional Sports Network HD
- RFD-TV
- Science HD
- SEC Network
- Shop HQ
- Spike HD
- Sprout
- Syfy HD
- TBS HD
- TCM HD
- TCT Network
- TeenNick
- Tennis Channel HD
- TLC HD
- TNT HD
- Travel Channel HD
- Trinity Broadcasting Network
- TruTV HD
- TV Land HD
- TV One
- TVG
- Univision Deportes Network HD
- Univision HD (East)
- UP
- USA Network HD
- Velocity HD
- VH1 HD
- VH1 Classic
- We TV
- The Weather Channel HD
- WeatherNation HD
- WGN America HD
- The Word Network
- World Harvest Television
- Sonic Tap Music Channels
DirecTV HD Extra Pack:
- Crime & Investigation HD
- Hallmark Movies & Mysteries HD
- HDNET Movies HD
- MGM HD
- Palladia HD
- ShortsHD
- Smithsonian Channel HD
- Sony Movie Channel HD
- Universal HD
HBO:
- HBO HD (East)
- HBO HD (West)
- HBO 2 HD (East)
- HBO Comedy HD
- HBO Family HD (East)
- HBO Family (West)
- HBO Latino HD
- HBO Signature HD
- HBO Zone HD
Starz Super Pack:
- Encore HD (East)
- Encore (West)
- Encore Action HD
- Encore Black
- Encore Classic
- Encore Family
- Encore Suspense
- Encore Westerns
- Starz HD (East)
- Starz Cinema HD
- Starz Comedy HD
- Starz Edge HD
- Starz in Black HD
- Starz Kids & Family HD
Showtime Unlimited:
- Flix
- The Movie Channel HD (East)
- The Movie Channel (West)
- The Movie Channel Xtra HD (East)
- Showtime HD (East)
- Showtime HD (West)
- Showtime 2 HD
- Showtime Beyond HD
- Showtime Extreme HD
- Showtime Next HD
- Showtime Showcase HD
- Showtime Women HD
- Sundance TV
Cinemax:
- 5StarMax HD (East)
- Action Max HD (East)
- Cinemax HD
- Cinemax HD (East)
- Cinemax HD (West)
- MoreMax HD
- MovieMax HD (East)
- Thriller Max HD
A La Carte Programming:
- Adult Programming
- DOG TV
- ESPN Full Court
- ESPN GamePlan
- Fox Soccer Plus HD
- International Channels
- MLB Extra Innings HD
- MLS Direct Kick HD
- NBA League Pass HD
- NFL Sunday Ticket HD
- NHL Center Ice HD
Sports Pack:
- Altitude Sports HD
- BeIN Sports HD
- CBS Sports Network HD
- Comcast SportsNet Bay Area HD
- Comcast SportsNet California HD
- Comcast SportsNet Chicago HD
- Comcast SportsNet Mid- Atlantic HD
- Comcast SportsNet New England HD
- ESPN Classic
- Fox Deportes
- FSN Arizona HD
- FSN Cincinnati HD
- FSN Detroit HD
- FSN Florida HD
- FSN Mid West HD
- FSN North HD
- FSN Ohio HD
- FSN San Diego HD
- FSN South HD
- FSN Southwest HD
- FSN West HD
- MASN HD
- MSG HD
- MSG + HD
- NESN
- Prime Ticket HD
- Root Sports Northwest HD
- Root Sports Pittsburgh HD
- Root Sports Rocky Mountain HD
- Root Sports Southwest HD
- SNY HD
- Sports South HD
- Sportsman Channel
- SportsTime Ohio HD
- SUN Sports HD
- Time Warner Cable Deportes HD
- Time Warner Cable SportsNet HD
- Unimas HD
- Universal Sports
- YES Network HD
Overall
I think that DirecTV is a good
choice. Everything has been going well and I haven't had the problems
that I thought I would with this service. I also feel that I am
getting more for my money. I have no regrets about choosing DirecTV.
Overall, DirecTV may be the solution for those who are not satisfied
with there current TV provider.
