Bye, Bye Warner!
Written: Apr 12 '00 (Updated May 16 '00)
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Pros: Extra channels for less than cable
Cons: Signal problems during storms
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| janetaba's Full Review: Hughes Networks D1131 Single LNB DIRECTV System |
As someone that has had cable television, no cable television, and now a satellite dish, I have to say that so far the dish is the best. I have access to more channels in the basic packages than I did with Warner Cable, and don't have to deal with the fight between Disney/ABC-TV and Time Warner Communications.
The dish was a freebie, we went up to see a time-share that we had no intention of buying, spent the day listening to the sales people, picked up our prizes, and went to lunch on the way home. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.
The company that provided service was Direct TV. They have packages from $19.99 up to $80.99 per month. The price goes up a little bit for each better package and gives you a little more than the package below. There are add-ons as well, such as local programming, and sports channels, movie channel packages.
I was a little dubious about sending away for a dish and giving them my credit card number, but since I had less than a hundred dollars available, I didn't worry too much. The number was just for verification purposes, and so they had recourse in case you didn't fulfill the contract of one year's service to at least their most basic package.
The most basic package was $19.99
After speaking with a representative, I was assured that the dish would be sent even thought it didn't have the required deposit available. The card would only be charged if I reneiged on the deal.
I arrived about a week and a half later by UPS. No one was home, so I called and had them hold the package for next day pick up. We brought it home and set to work putting it up that weekend.
Ours didn't come with all the required hardware needed to mount it to our roof, and we also needed to purchase cable for it. The manual said that there should be a compass with the install kit, but we must have been shorted on that. So off to the hardware and sporting goods store we went.
After running around that morning, picking stuff up, we went back to installing the dish. We had it mounted to the roof in no time, and went about the task of aiming the dish. THIS was the hard part. We didn't know what to look for and there were a few times my husband was just a little peeved.
We finally got the general direction right and started the fine tuning. We got up to a 95% signal. We decided that was pretty good, and finished tightening it down.
So far, we've had one storm blow through since we put it up. It took the dish signal out. I was afraid that we might have to realign the dish, but after the storm, the dish was fine!
There are a lot of pay per view channels on direct tv. I guess this is easier than going to the video store and renting something that I may have missed at the theatre. The all day movie ticket is the best value on that though.
It is really nice to be able to see both Nick at Night, and TV Land. Warner only carried Nick, not TV Land and charged extra for the Disney channel. I get 3 Disney channels in my regular programming.
I prefer the old sitcoms from a simpler time, back when kids weren't afraid of other kids bringing guns to school.
Please note the comments are on the low-end dish. I don't know how much better the high end models are, and haven't had it long enough to gauge its durability, - YET! I will keep this up to date. The minute we have a problem, I'll let everyone know.
UPDATE:
May 16, 2000 So far we've only lost the signal the one time and have had more storms, so maybe that was a fluke, although I've heard dishes are still prone to problems during bad weather. We're considering getting the expander so that we can hook up a second tv with a separate box. I also found a gadget at Walmart that sends the wireless signal to a second tv in another room. You still have to watch what the other tv is getting, but you can change rooms that way. It cost about $30.00.
My twenty year old son has added some packages to our service and he is paying the extra. He added an HBO/Starz movie package and a Sports package. There is some prorating on my present bill, so the amount is a little higher than I think it should be, I paid an additional amount last month for the services, and will let you know if I have a problem straightening it out.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): O.OO
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Epinions.com ID:
janetaba
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Member: Janet Tabares
Location: Sugar Land, Texas
Reviews written: 88
Trusted by: 38 members
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