Forget Cable ~Get Direct!!
Written: Jan 06 '01
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Pros: A lot of channels for your money Good customer service and no more waiting for a technician to show up!
Cons: I can't think of anything that is truly a CON
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| caprcorn28's Full Review: RCA DS2122RD Single LNB DIRECTV System |
My hubby bought the DirecTV unit last winter as a surprise. One of those surprises that he came in from the garage holding the box and said, "Honey! Look what I found out in the garage..." One of those 'surprises' that there was no way of saying "NO WAY - We don't need it"!!! He had been talking about getting it for quite a many months. We have had cable turned on many times and subsequently turned off in the eight years that we have lived in our home. I felt ripped off to pay upwards in the neighborhood of forty dollars for seventy some channels of 'nothing.' He said that DirecTV was going to be different! Tons of channels for cheaper than cable tv...ok, let's give it a try.
He took the unit out of the box and I went about my business. I knew that he needed to 'install' the dish, so I thought that I would allow him the time that he needed to read the manual before making the decision of where the best place would be. Then I heard a drill...
The drill sounds were coming from the back of my house down on the lower level. He had to just put a small hole in the house to get the line in!!! AHHH. Now, you don't know my husband. Things like putting holes in houses are just 'not a big deal' but I worry about what the repercussions are!!! "Are you sure you know what you are doing"?!?! "Yep, piece of cake," he says! Ok, just don't mess this up Tim the ToolMan!
Before I knew it, he said that we were all set! It really was easy to install and I didn't hear any "uh-oh's..." The dish was all installed on the side of our deck, with the line coming in the lower level and running up to the television in the living room. He said that we had to aim the dish and call to order the service.
The remote and the instructions were very clear how to do both things to get us started on the road to being DirecTV customers. The dish was aimed to the south at about thirty-seven degrees with a strong signal of 87 percent. He called the 1-800 number and told them that we just wanted the Select Choice package for only $20/month. This came with approximately 45 channels. Plenty of choices for the kids and my hubby and I alike. What a deal! Because we were new customers, they gave us the Total Choice Platinum package with over a 100 channels and all kinds of bonus packages (movies, sports, etc.) for the first month free! Before the phone conversation was even finished, the service was up and running. No waiting for the 'cable guy' to come over sometime between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The channels were THERE!
The first month went by without a hitch! There was something on at every hour of the day for anyone that was in the house. Who got any sleep when there was so much to watch?! Everything from the great family channels like Nickelodeon and Disney to the Game Show Network of game shows that I haven't seen since I was a child to game shows that are 'new' like Rock and Roll Jeopardy. My seven year old was loving the Game Show Network and all the ancient reruns of Match Game!!
Our first month went by fast, and exactly on the one month date....we were down to the Select Choice channels that we 'wanted'. Wait! What happened to the Game Show Network and WGN and all those great old sitcoms? And the Discovery Health Channel?? I loved watching all the surguries that they did on the air!
We called DirecTV to ask what it would take to upgrade to the next size package and what the cost would be. Select Choice wasn't enough now, we were spoiled and there really was far too much interesting stuff on to miss out on! For another ten dollars we could get a package to include up to one hundred channels, including the ones that we really liked and so much more! Sure, let's go for it and BOOM there it was. It must be as easy as a click of the mouse or something for them!
That is what I really like!!! Immediate service changes!! No more waiting once you put in the change of service request and the unreasonable time waits for the cable guy to actually show up with a bad attitude! You want to start or change your service, you can do it RIGHT now!!
The people that work at the DirecTV central number, from our experience, are always friendly and helpful! You can literally call at anytime of the day to change your service as well. We have called, morning, afternoon and late into the evening! I just called tonight, for instance. It is Saturday and it was about nine p.m. I wanted to compare and contrast Select to Total Choice (Total Choice is what we have now) with adding on the Family Package. The Family Pack has always been something that I was interested in. It has channels on there like PBSkids, DoItYourself, Oxygen network and SoapNet. There are many other channels also in the Family Pack, and for only five dollars more on the Total Choice package...why not?! Let's try it! Boom, there it was! Nine more networks of really great programming. All geared to the family with kids! And for five bucks more.
Total choice package now runs about $31.99/mo. This is a $1.99 increase since we first became customers almost a year ago. DirecTV did give us plenty of ample warning in our billing that the pricing would be going up. But two dollars a month was nothing to get us at all upset. We were still paying less than our neighbors and got way better programming!
I only have one problem with DirecTV. It can be a little irritating, but nothing to ever cancel an otherwise great service. Once in awhile you will check the guide on the television (easily accessible by pushing the "Guide" button on the remote control) to see what is coming on and then show that is listed will not be the one that actually comes on. I don't know why this is, but I guess it is just the same kind of error that periodically occurs when the newspaper prints out their own guides for regular television.
Another thing that I like about DirecTV is the informational channels that they have available regarding using your service/remote. There are informational shows to to tell you about specials coming up (free preview weekends for instance). You aren't just left to search endlessly through owners manuals when there is actually a person that can walk you through the process!
Our Favorite Channels On DirecTV
Discovery Health Channels
The Learning Channel (TLC)
Animal Planet (this channel has the Crocodile Hunter!!)
Home and Garden Television (HGTV)
E!
Travel Channel
History Channel
SoapNet
ToonDisney
Nickelodeon
Noggin
TVLand (they do marathons on the wkends. It's a lot of FUN!)
Game Show Network
FoxNews Channel (I personally love the O'Reilly Factor & Hannity&Colmes)
It may look like we watch a lot of television. But more than anything, it is just that there is so much to choose from, we sample a lot of it whenever we can!
It would be a really great alternative to your average cable! So much more for your money!
(Our unit, bought about a year ago was about a hundred dollars, and the service was thirty a month. Now, this same unit you can buy at WalMart for about fifty dollars)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
caprcorn28
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Member: Sherida (share-i [short i] -da)
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 6 members
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