Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[efrbc1]

We have a cabin in the western NC mountains and currently have Direct TV.  To make a long story short, Direct TV sucks and my contract is up in June at which time they can come get their crap.  My wife is insistent that we have some sort of TV in the cabin so I am trying to find some options.  Dish TV is one option - anybody have any experience with Dish??

I am also looking at options that eliminate the monthly BS with a provider.  Does anyone know of any sort of antenna or "dish" system that can be purchased and used to get signals?  We are in the mountains with no cable options.  We are about 50 miles west of Ashville and that is the closesst "local" station.  Not looking for a bunch of channels - just the major neworks.

Thanks for any suggestions / ideas.

Chris

[OBB]

Are you ticked off about their service or the prices? I've had both (living in the city) and never any major issues with signal. Customer service from Dish really ticked me off though. You might want to check into a good antenna. Hell, you can pick up free HD signals over the air nowadays.

[efrbc1]

Service is OK.  Customer service is horrible.  Constant overbilling and take several calls to get straight.  Then it happens all over again.  Finally just started paying what is in the contract and now they are charging me late fees on the "overbill" amounts.  Late fees on late fees and they won't take them off.  Tired of their crap, can't wait to get rid of them.  Any links to the HD antenna thing?

Chris 

[cvobiker]

They both went to the same customer service school, in fact, rumor has it, they share secrets how to screw the customer.    All i can say, either way, avoid a contract so you dont get as frustrated when you want to dump them..   besides Dish and Direct,,  i dont think you have any other options.   There are other companies but they contract with Dish or Direct and you end up with same garbage.

[OBB]

Service is OK.  Customer service is horrible.  Constant overbilling and take several calls to get straight.  Then it happens all over again.  Finally just started paying what is in the contract and now they are charging me late fees on the "overbill" amounts.  Late fees on late fees and they won't take them off.  Tired of their crap, can't wait to get rid of them.  Any links to the HD antenna thing?

Chris  

Just do a google search for tv antennas. Doesn't need to be an HD one, just a good quality one will pick up the HD signals.

That or have a family member add a tv to their Direct TV account and take the box to your cabin and plug it in. Should work from what I've heard about it before. Years ago I had a spare box at my uncle's house in Charlotte (7 1/2 hours due south of me) and he got all the programming I had except for the local channels. He was happy to give the extra $60 a year so he could watch his beloved Cleveland sports teams on the Ohio networks.

[dayne66]

 Constant over-billing and take several calls to get straight.  Then it happens all over again.  Finally just started paying what is in the contract and now they are charging me late fees on the "over-bill" amounts.  Late fees on late fees and they won't take them off.  Tired of their crap, can't wait to get rid of them.

Chris  

Don't 'ignore' those late fees on top of late fees....they may be reporting to the credit bureau.....my wife has seen such things many times.  

[arcticdude]

I have Direct in one house and Dish in the other. The programming for Dish is terrible compared to the Direct line up. Haven't seen any difference in service, but will eventually switch the other house to Direct.

[mrmagloo]

I've had DirecTV for years and love it. Much better than anything else I've tried.  That tip about sharing service with a buddy works. Just don't plug in the phone line.

[MIKEYTEE]

I have been on Direct TV for 15 years. Had cable before that but moved to an area with no cable service. That being said, I've had no problems with the service or the billing. I have 6 receivers all HD and local channels, also no phone line required. I have taken a receiver to my buddy's place at the lake with no problems. Haven't used Dish but have friends that have. They switched to Direct TV and are happy.
Mike
 

[T-Hawk]

I've had a few issues with billing myself having been a DirecTV customer for many years... however, all it's ever taken for me was a phone call and charges were dismissed.  Maybe the time difference makes all the difference.  Try calling around midnight and see if you get any better customer service.

Also, when I was having a difficult time with them not so long ago... I called and was quite adamant about getting someone out to the house to get their equipment off my roof and pack it all up.  Eventually, they put me on the line with a senior manager... they certainly didn't want to lose me as a customer (all the money I've been sending them) and fixed all the billing issues, sent replacement boxes, and told me that my old boxes were obsolete and that I could just take them to the trash, as they had no use for them.

I was told, and it's been verified, that everything except the digital boxes themselves belongs to me.

So, if you can find a digital service that will talk to the dish you already have, that may be a direction to go.   

[efrbc1]

I suppose I can try the midnight call - but it sucks that I have to keep calling them every couple of months or so for the same overbilling issues.  Every time I have asked to speak with a Manager I get put on hold - forever.  I don't yet have the luxury of telling them to come get their stuff - I have about 6 months left on my contract so I'm stuck for now.  The biggest headache is that they sent me the wrong equipment (an HD box and I don't have an HD TV up there) and they are billing me for HD.  Can't tell the difference by sight which is which so I didn't know until after the "free HD trial" (wasn't told about that either).  So now I try to get a regular box (remember, it was their mistake) and if they send me the regular box it automatically renews my 2 year contract.  These Aholes are worse than Cell phone companies.

Chris

[CVOThunder]

Find one of those old C band dishes out in peoples yards and a decoder. I don't have any info on this, just things I've heard. There should be some internet info out there.
You won't have the programming like Dish and Direct since they pump out power to smaller dishes but you should be able to surf other birds and see what they have. More of a hobby kinda thing if you're into that geek stuff...hmmm like I should be doing.

[GC_Super]

We have a cabin at the lake and have Direct TV in both locations. Been mostly trouble free, and when required, they have been pretty good at sending out a tech out when needed. One thing I've learned is to never take free trials of anything. As soon as the free period is over they start charging you and it takes several phone calls to get it right. The people you need to talk to are the " customer retention " group. They can make offers to keep you on board and a happy camper. The regular operators can't do this.

[OTIS]

We have a cabin in the western NC mountains and currently have Direct TV.  To make a long story short, Direct TV sucks and my contract is up in June at which time they can come get their crap.  My wife is insistent that we have some sort of TV in the cabin so I am trying to find some options.  Dish TV is one option - anybody have any experience with Dish??

I am also looking at options that eliminate the monthly BS with a provider.  Does anyone know of any sort of antenna or "dish" system that can be purchased and used to get signals?  We are in the mountains with no cable options.  We are about 50 miles west of Ashville and that is the closesst "local" station.  Not looking for a bunch of channels - just the major neworks.

Thanks for any suggestions / ideas.

Chris

Do a search for free to air they work.