Is Dish a better deal than DIRECTV?

In the market of satellite TV services, Dish Network and DirecTV have become two of the largest providers. Both offer hundreds of channels in different categories including entertainment, news, sports, and movies among others. Nonetheless, there are certain features that may help distinguish the two and thus, determine which of the offers is more advantageous for the household.

Content and Packages DirecTV has over 295 channels in its different packages, while Dish has approximately 300 channels. While not identical, the actual channel options are very similar; they include all the major networks and popular cable channels such as ESPN, HGTV, Fox News, etc. DirecTV has an exclusive deal for NFL Sunday Ticket, which is perfect for football enthusiasts. Dish also provides more content through the Sling TV app for streaming additional content.

As for the basic packages themselves, their pricing and the channel offering are rather similar for the two. Entertainment is the basic package of DirecTV with the price of about dollarfigure per month. Dish’s America’s Top plan costs approximately dollarfigure. Dish often have offers where dollarfigure is knocked off your bill for the first year.

The higher-tier packages offer more and better channels than the lower-tier packages. DirecTV has seven base plans while Dish offers four under the Flex Pack brand. DirecTV’s top-shelf Premier package offers the customer over channels while Dish Network’s Top-tier America’s Everything Pack offers more than channels.

Technology and Features Advanced DVR systems are offered by both companies and they let you record your favorite programs, set up the parental controls and access on-demand libraries. Dish has a voice remote and works with smart assistants like Google Home. It can fast forward or skip commercials in recorded primetime shows using its Hopper DVR. DirecTV’s Genie DVR has plenty of extra features, including the ability to record up to five shows simultaneously.

In terms of picture and sound quality they offer lots of HD channels and the maximum resolution permitted is K Both providers offer K on some channels and for certain events which is currently the highest level of image definition. It will be seen that most users are likely to satisfy all the visual quality standards according to Dish as well as DirecTV.

In this case, direcTV is way much superior because of the NFL Sunday Ticket that is only offered by this company. Thus, for instance, any big football fans will easily see that DirecTV has a strong suit there. In this regard, however, Sling TV does provide Dish Network customers with another option to fine-tune those offerings that the satellite service does not stream itself.

Availability and Installation Satellite TV requires an unobstructed and clear view of the southern sky for the proper reception of the channels. This means that some rural areas or apartments/condos may have a problem getting a signal. Dish and DirecTV both employ complex satellite arrays to achieve coverage areas, although there are a few spots where one may offer service while the other does not.

The professional installation is generally a part of the package when you subscribe to either of the providers. Signal meters will be the responsibility of the installers to determine the most appropriate place to fix the satellite dish. They may recommend a roof-mount if there is no place in your yard that has a clear line of vision. Scheduling for installation appointments is fast, thus, one should expect at least one or more week’s wait from the time they order.

Contracts and Commitments While making agreements, Dish and DirecTV believe that the customers are going to stay loyal in the long run. Contracts with DirecTV clients can span from a month to years. There is no contract with Dish’s Flex Pack, but other packages do come with a two-year agreement. These contracts assist in reducing the initial capital expenditure of the provider on new equipment and installation. Usually, there is an early termination fee of about dollarfigure for breaching the contract.

One thing that, normally, one receives in exchange for a subscription commitment is a price lock-in. This gives some comfort which excludes any possibility of the bill amount rising unexpectedly during the agreement period. This is more favorable when it comes to budgeting than cable packages, which appear to increase their prices at random.

Customer Satisfaction Reviews From the American Customer Satisfaction Index it is noticeable that customers are more satisfied with DirecTV than Dish. In general, DirecTV rates significantly higher for factors ranging from the choice of channels to picture clarity and support. Although Dish is not as far off from DirecTV in many areas.

This is so because Dish tends to have disputes with channel providers, which result in blackouts. For instance, a disagreement with NBCUniversal over a fee escalation saw Dish’s consumers lose access to NBC channels for three months before a new agreement was signed. DirecTV has not involved in many of such public spats of this kind.

However, 50 users’ reviews for both services are positive and negative. Therefore, your own experience may be significantly different from the averages that you might get from consumer surveys. It appears that most of them are caused by problems with billing and misunderstandings.

Who is the Better Provider? All in all, when it comes to content and technology, Dish and DirecTV provide similar solutions. DirecTV has a higher advantage in customer satisfaction ratings while Dish seeks to counter through cheaper introductory deals. The functionality for DVR is good on both the platforms. Camera and audio is on par with 4K streaming. And no matter which you choose, installation of satellite service is still limited by certain restriction based on location.

Here are a few key advantages of each provider:Here are a few key advantages of each provider:

DirecTV

• Increased customer satisfaction scores

• Having NFL Sunday Ticket access

• More HD/4K UHD choices

• From two to seven packages can be ordered

  Dish

• Marginally lower monthly tariffs

• Lesser number of contracts available (Flex Pack)

• Voice enabled remote and home integration

• Commercial-skipping Hopper DVR

  However, if price or length of commitment is more of a concern, then Dish has the upper hand over DirecTV in terms of flexibility. Remember to check all the offers you have in your area so you can compare with the current promotions going on. In the case of such factors as channel lineup and picture quality, try to take advantage of free trials if they exist to make a decision. Knowing which channel and features are important to you will also dictate further whether Dish or DirecTV offers the better entertainment bargain.