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Review by pinhead3641 
UPDATED: 204 days ago
member for 5.5 years, 28 visits, last login: 123 days ago
 Placentia,Orange,CA
 Contract price not specified.
 "They are willing to negotiate"
 "They don't do as well as they could matching DirecTV channel-wise"
 "DVR is better than DirecTV equivalent?"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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We've been Dish subscribers since 2001.
At first we purchased a receiver/antenna kit at a big-box discount warehouse for $200. They rebated the first year of service to offset the purchase price of the hardware. We used this receiver and its replacement until 10/2008, when we re-upped via a two-year contract with Dish. When I talked with them on the phone, I told them I was interested in getting DirecTV, unless they could convince me to remain a subscriber. The first rep I talked with was giving me the standard party line: no discounts, no special treatment, etc., so I asked her for someone more senior, and she transferred me to some guy who was much more willing to make a deal. They offered us an HD DVR (ViP722 for $25 up-front; the ViP622 would have been free), plus a new antenna (free installation) as part of the deal.
The DVR is better than our old TiVo in some ways, worse in others. After rebates, the TiVo was about $50 to purchase. We had lifetime service on the TiVo ($300 back in 2005) and an upgraded 400GB HDD, which held a minimum of 120 hours of standard-definition recordings (not HD-compatible). I find the TiVo interface to be more user-friendly than the Dish ViP722 interface, and I think the TiVo interface is much better in terms of design. The ViP722 interface is counter-intuitive in some ways and it has irritating quirks that suggest the programming was not carefully considered. Comparing the cost, the ViP722 was $25, and the programming, etc., is provided via our Dish subscription. If I want to upgrade the HDD on the ViP722, I can buy a 750GB external HDD, pay Dish $40, and connect it to the USB port on the back of the DVR. So overall, I think the Dish DVR is pretty competitive with TiVo and other equivalents, though we owned the TiVo and we are only renting the ViP722 from Dish. In some respects, I think that's not so bad. When/if my TiVo died, the lifetime subscription died with the box, but with the Dish ViP722, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get them to upgrade it for me in two or three years, and they'll replace it if it dies in the interim.
Anyway, at this point I'm still a more-or-less satisfied Dish subscriber. Right now we're getting 200 channels, plus HD, plus locals, plus a couple of a-la-carte channels for $69/month. Our monthly subscription is as follows:
Dish DVR "Advantage Classic Silver 200:" $57.99
Silver HD package: $10.00
A-la-carte channels: $3.49
Dish DVR "Advantage Credit" (3.00)
Taxes: $1.08
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Total: $ 69.54
I'm still complaining to Dish about two or three times a year regarding some channels that DirecTV offers in their basic packages, but Dish does not. I'm pretty sure they don't really pay a lot of mind to my requests, but I'll keep asking.
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