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TV Service
updated: Jul 16, 2012, 8:10 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

Can anyone tell me their experiences and or comparisons with Dish Network, Cox Communications, and Direct TV - (Cost, Installation,Customer Support) ? I live in the Goleta area. Much appreciated!

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 297976	2012-07-16 08:53 AM
I currently have Directv...I don't have any issues with the reception but I can't say the same about pricing & programming....I originally went with Directv because of a specific sports channel only on Directv...As of May of this year the channel went off the air...and now the Viacom channels are not on Directv( commedy central, nick, mtv,etc). I'm looking into more affordable options...I wish we had the option of ATT uverse.
COMMENT 297977	2012-07-16 08:57 AM
They are all expensive and continually raise the price I have an antenna only now. A search on the internet will give you lots of information on how to select and put up an antenna. For example, if you go to wired-dot-com and search for best-gear-for-cutting-cable-cords they have information. Lots more for a few minutes searching the web. Channels that I get now: KCET Santa Barbara ABC + Retro TV KSBY San Luis Obisbo NBC + one channel of old shows (their repeater here is quite intermittent however) KOCE S. CA PBS from orange county - 3 programs KCET formerly PBS from LA - now a listener supported program with some great shows - Doc Martin, Foyle's War, MI5, plus a lot of foreign news BBC, German, French, Russian, Israeli, Al Jazzeria, Nipon, etc. I have a second antenna on order to try to soon get CBS and FOX from the Ventura area.
COMMENT 297983	2012-07-16 09:12 AM
I love the service of Cox, hate the price. Anytime now some d-bag will chime in with a "kill your TV" response.
COMMENT 297985	2012-07-16 09:16 AM
Cox is arrogant and useless.
COMMENT 297990	2012-07-16 09:23 AM
Cox and Direct TV are pretty close in terms of channel choice and price if you shop them apples to apples. Signing a two year contract with either will save you some money. The real problem is if you need broadband internet you have to use Cox as Verizon broadband cannot compete in terms of speed and stability. Beware - Both Cox and Direct will raise rates on you constantly after any contract expires. I'd avoid Dish with the contract negotiations around AMC, IFC etc.. The fact that they used their customer base as a bargaining chip and dropped those channels should tell you enough about them to stay away. No Breaking Bad! I would be dropping them ASAP.
COMMENT 297999	2012-07-16 09:51 AM
There are a lot of shows that you can watch over the internet too, such as the Daily Show (Viacon) for those suffering DTV.
COMMENT 298007	2012-07-16 10:06 AM
Almost missed my cue.... Kill your TV. It's the opiate of the masses for our time. If you want to continue living in an alternative reality in which you are fed lies, misinformation, and propaganda by the ruling elite, then by all means tune and and turn up the volume. But if you want to live in the real world, with real people, then turn it off and go talk to your neighbors.
COMMENT 298011	2012-07-16 10:11 AM
We have Dish Network since last October and have been really happy with reception, service, and transparent pricing. Unlike DirecTV or Cox, Dish tells you their everyday price, so you know what you're going to pay after the promo pricing expires. The everyday price is still way less than Cox or DirecTV and the promo pricing is actually very good as well. The only downside? Dish doesn't offer a fast internet connection, so you can't bundle.
COMMENT 298018	2012-07-16 10:27 AM
It's possible to do both 007, I talk to my neighbor about TV all the time:) and please drop it with the propaganda bs, learning to parse information is important in all media, if you can't handle TV that's fine, plenty of us can. The downside of Dish 011 is pretty big, No AMC because of a contract dispute! No mad men and no breaking bad = no dice
COMMENT 298020	2012-07-16 10:36 AM
We have Netfix only - cheap per month with access to pay per view movies .....
COMMENT 298022	2012-07-16 10:41 AM
If you want really inexpensive service, check out the Dish Welcome Package. It's only $14.95 a month, but you have to buy the equipment. This includes local channels and a few extras, such as History and HGTV.
COMMENT 298023	2012-07-16 10:49 AM
Anyone get FOX or CBS over the air? Would like to switch to antenna.
COMMENT 298032	2012-07-16 11:04 AM
I have Cox and have no problems with it. Very expensive though. We have upper-tier internet plan together with HD DVR for TV. HBO/Showtime and just got 3 months Starz package for free. We pay about $200/mo. Sounds ridiculous, but we do watch a lot of TV. Costs the same as us going out to two movies a week.
COMMENT 298035	2012-07-16 11:08 AM
Our household has been using Dishnetwork for the last 10 years and own all the equipment which include DVR (no HD) capability for 3 televisions. We've had very few rate increases and is currently around 75 bucks a month. I commend Dishnetwork for standing their ground in the dispute with AMC.
COMMENT 298047	2012-07-16 11:58 AM
Projectfreetv has all the shows streaming free online.
COMMENT 298053P	2012-07-16 12:06 PM
My TV money goes to athletic club membership, and they have a TV there too if I really need to watch some commercials interrupted by occasional programming.
SBJULES	2012-07-16 12:14 PM
I have cox basic cable. Works for us.
COMMENT 298073	2012-07-16 12:41 PM
We have DirecTV for the NFL football package. I wish we didn't have to pay so much but we are Rams fans and can't count on "local coverage" to show our games, so we pay. I'm irritated by their contract agreement crap every now and again, including the current crap with Viacom. My husband calls every year to ask for a reduction, after the football package jacks up our payment. He usually gets something. The installation guys leave much to be desired. Our first dish was installed to our house using a spacer of a pebble the kid found in our yard, to help him line up the dish correctly. We learned from the first install, and my husband supervised the second. The technical folks via phone can be tough, we've had to ask for a supervisor a few times to get a person on the line who actually understood how to help us fix our box. ;-)
COMMENT 298078P	2012-07-16 12:46 PM
D-Bag (007), I mostly agree. Enough said.
COMMENT 298084	2012-07-16 12:52 PM
I've had Cox, Comcast, and Dish in various locations in Orange and SB counties. Had decent customer service from each. Until recently, cable would have been a slam dunk because you could have analog channels in any room for the cost of running coax. So you could put an old TV out in the garage without having to pay $5 or more per month for a dedicated receiver. I don't know if Cox in SB has cut analog yet but Comcast just cut it off in the valley, completely eliminating cable's last major advantage (in my opinion). The only one they have left is the possibility of bundling if their bundle price saves you money. So get whichever service gives you the channels you want at the best price. FWIW, I had Dish set up on a property this weekend and the setup went smooth as silk. The installer's attitude was perfect. "Whatever you want, I'll do it." I couldn't find my Enemies List, tho, so he just set up the dish and receiver.
COMMENT 298090	2012-07-16 01:03 PM
Cox is the single cable provider in town - they have a monopoly. That being said - I honestly like watching TV - why deny it? I get all the channels including music and premium and my bill is about $135 a month. It's not cheap but when I've compared prices with friends across the country, the difference is not that vast. Cox's technical service is good - they are helpful. I've had a couple of negative experiences dealing with other aspects of their customer service but they weren't showstoppers. All in all, they are fine. People can cry Evil Empire all they want but....they provide a service and they don't need to impress me...they just need to provide the service and I'm good. Pay the bill...move on.
COMMENT 298093	2012-07-16 01:06 PM
Calling your provider occasionally to get lower rates works not just for TV but for cell phones, credit cards, and a whole host of others. But don't be surprised if they don't lower your bill but instead offer to upgrade your service for the same (or slightly higher) price, making you think you are getting a deal.
COMMENT 298106	2012-07-16 01:51 PM
I've had DirecTV since 1995 and love it. I get all football and baseball games I want, and the HD broadcast quality is better than Cox for less money. I can also watch/stream anything I want on my iPad, which is included in my subscription price with no additional charge. Their current dispute with Viacom stems from Viacom wanting to jack up the rates by over 50% and DirecTV saying "no way". I also would echo some of the other posts that streaming programming from the internet with services like Hulu and others is a viable option these days. Lastly, I wish we could break up the Cox monopoly and get Verizon Fios. That would be the only service that would make me think about switching from DirecTV.
COMMENT 298141	2012-07-16 03:07 PM
One of the main issues in the ViaCom (and Time-Warner) vs DirecTV and DiSH is the fact that both companies wnat to offer their customers a la carte channels instead of charging for a bunch of channels the customer may not want- thereby lowering prices (but gaining customers). ViaCom and the other majors want to maintain blockbooking, which is illegal. Up to 1950 the studios would force theatre owners to take every movie on the production slate, regardless in order to get the one Gable or Garbo or Bogart flick. The Court decreed this as a monopoly practice and ordered it stopped. It should apply to cable and satellite customers as well!
COMMENT 298167	2012-07-16 03:35 PM
Cancelled our cable service two years ago, but they never turned it off...free tv is awesome!!!
COMMENT 298185	2012-07-16 04:19 PM
Direct TV and Dish don't want to offer us a la carte channels 141. Bundling is in their interest. Putting that one channel you want in a block with 50 others is how they make their money and to say otherwise is believing their spin. The content providers are equally guilty but bundling channels is the evil work of cable and satellite providers. The real terror for the cable and satellite co's and the main issue in the current dispute is the internet as they see that content guys could bypass them completely. Sadly for the consumer our internet provider is often also our TV provider.
COMMENT 298255	2012-07-16 08:59 PM
Haven't had a TV in years and haven't missed one either. I'm free to use my Computer monitor if I want to see something.
COMMENT 298307P	2012-07-17 08:05 AM
Cox; very helpful; great over-the-phone tech support. Would prefer to pay for just the two-handfuls of channels we actually watch, but oh well...
COMMENT 298648	2012-07-17 06:30 PM
977-where do you live in SB
COMMENT 298801	2012-07-18 09:18 AM
I love roku! no local tv, but more movies, shows, news and channel choices than you could watch

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