I'm considering it over my current uVerse service, and would be getting it installed at the same time as my Gigapower fiber.

Advantages:
Better picture
All NFL games
Watch live/recorded/NFL on any device anywhere
4 rooms included

Disadvantages:
Satellite (evidently you can stream live programming if your service goes down though)
2 year contract
Is the software as good?
What else am i missing?

Has anyone had both services that can compare and contrast?

I went with TWC and their software was real shitty. Wouldn't want to be taking a step back there. I'm told their whole home DVR service is fully functional, like uVerse's, and not shitty like TWC's. What else is there?

11/10/2016 4:35:15 PM

directv was the best provider in terms of software, hardware, and hardware accessories (AM21 OTA tuner that connects to your DVR, nomad for taking recordings with you, directv2pc app, DECA units on amazon for ~$8)

having said that, building my own dvr with windows media center, hdhomerun, and an intel celeron based NUC has opened my eyes to just how garbage pretty much all the provider hardware is. so take that for what it's worth.

11/10/2016 9:23:49 PM

I let my contract expire with DirecTV at the beginning of August with the intent of cutting the cord, but I've been slow to do so because of football season and other priorities. My bill mysteriously goes up $20 every month, and they constantly try to get you back under contract when you call to dispute it.

Uverse was more expensive for crappier service when I had them, but playing games with invoices is something that really pisses me off. Other than that, it's a great service.

DirecTV:
better picture quality than Uverse or cable
best hardware of anyone
probably 10x more on-demand content
wireless boxes are convenient
NFL sunday ticket
Much better remote setup (one touch recording, not line of sight, excellent search feature, can program your favorite sports teams)

11/10/2016 10:29:15 PM

Quote :

"wireless boxes are convenient"

I was quoted $100 per box for those...but I pay $10/month with uVerse for them so $100 a box is actually good I guess.

Quote :

"directv was the best provider in terms of software, hardware, and hardware accessories "

Have you had uVerse? There shit is pretty solid. TWC is obviously the fucking worst.

Quote :

"Uverse was more expensive for crappier service when I had them"

How was it crappier?

[Edited on November 10, 2016 at 10:51 PM. Reason : Pricewise they don't seem too different from my vantage point...]

11/10/2016 10:48:44 PM

I've used uverse but the picture quality was total shit. the interface is windows media room and not bad, but the hardware is. all of this was ~2008/9

11/12/2016 10:36:53 AM

The picture quality was garbage, especially on some of the lesser known channels. Things like G4 and Fox sports south were compressed so much that they came out looking like a shitty webcam. If you were watching or recording two shows simultaneously, your internet bandwidth got throttled significantly. Sometimes you'd have to wait more than a second for the remote control inputs to register with the STB.

11/13/2016 2:17:06 PM

^^ Their hardware + software is great now. I'm getting their fiber, so that rectifies their slow internet speeds. The picture quality leaves lots to be desired, I'm just not sure it's worth it to go to satellite to fix that.

Quote :

" Sometimes you'd have to wait more than a second for the remote control inputs to register with the STB."

How long ago was that? I had that with TWC, but never uVerse.

11/13/2016 4:20:23 PM

I am sure that this has been mentioned before...but I can not say enough good things about it.
A few months ago, I dropped TWC TV. I now have an antenna in my attic. When I put an amp on it, all the major networks started coming in with no less an 92% signal strength regardless of time of day or weather. Then with a Roku, I have Hulu, Netflix and I am currently using Sling. I do plan to try Vue as well but Sling has only glitched once and is serving my needs rather well. I started these services up a month before cutting the TWC cord on TV. (Still use them for internet) and this has worked so well that it took my family 3 days to even realize that it was gone. On top of that, my monthly bill has been cut in half. At this moment, I can not see anything that Direct or anything else can offer that would be more tempting. I would suggest trying some alternatives like this. I should add..I am in Clayton

[Edited on November 14, 2016 at 3:18 AM. Reason : .]

11/14/2016 3:01:20 AM

I've had directTV for years; been out of contract though, and slow to renew or change over. Mainly because my only other option is TWC, who I despise. There were rumours of AT&T installing fiber for a while, which came to fruition, but still not service as of yet. Hence, my holding out thus far. I do have AT&T DSLOL, which is shit. But AT&T won't let me bundle DTV and DSLOL for better savings for some reason (had both before the merger).

My equipment is older (4-5 years), but picture quality and sound have been great. I don't know that I can watch anything on any device though. Not sure about new equipment, but you're limited to 2 live streams on the main DVR and the STBs are dumb boxes that don't do shit but pull from the main box (again, new equipment is probably different).

My bill is fairly constant; increases every 6 months or 12 months as promotions expire. Calling to get new promotions means you have to go through the renewal begging, but I've never had trouble getting through that and getting the non-contract promotions.

Don't know anything abou streaming if satellite does down.

But my biggest issue, is that any moderate to more intense rainfall from my house to souhwest raleigh will kill my signal.

[Edited on November 14, 2016 at 8:17 AM. Reason : /]

11/14/2016 8:16:35 AM

Has anyone tried the new DirectTV Now $35/month streaming service?

2/27/2017 5:33:46 PM

^the interface was pretty clunky when I did my 7 day trial a month back. hopefully they made some improvements since.

2/28/2017 10:59:46 AM

A lot of people are blasting the "DirectTV Now" UI and functionality on their facebook page. They are bitching about zero support as well. I think if you are getting TV via an app there is not much support that should be necessary. The internet connection is either bad or the software/stream are...having that said DirectTV is owned by ATT and ATT can find a way to fuck up anything.

My prepaid 3 months of sling are up in another month or so. I may try DirectTV now once it runs out and get another AppleTV for free.

https://directvnow.com/appletv


The 100mpbs internet with customer provided modem for 44.99 from TWC is working great. We have not had any issues with the speed. I had 300 before and it was not particularly consistent anyway. Also the TWC wireless router was a POS...much happier with the Apple Airport Extreme.

3/1/2017 9:19:46 AM