said by 58483323 :

No, they want you to order the more expensive package. That's their goal.

said by jmn1207 :

If satellite works in your situation, go for it. Big trees and a lengthy contract prevent me from switching over.

I always see heavy advertising for Dish and DirecTV, but their latest commercials are not too flattering. One of them talks about the "lies" about rain fade and quotes an up time average of just under 97%. It was over 12 days of interrupted service, one day of total outage per month! That seems really high to me, and I've had both Dish and DirecTV, albeit in a southern state (Austin, TX) with below average rainfall. Regardless, those are statistics that I would certainly never use as a boastful marketing ploy.

Also, the latest $29.99 deal claims you get an HD receiver for free OR a PVR. So make sure they give you the right price for setting up all of your televisions with HD and digital recorders before you commit to anything.

There are lots of things to consider. But if you are talking a couple of standard TV's with no HD or digital recorders, cable may not be your best option. Another thing to keep in mind is the discount you get for you online services. Internet by itself is $15 more with either available speed tier. At least in my area; $42.95/$52.95 with TV or Phone service and $57.95/$67.95 for HSI only. So in my case, that $30 satellite package effectively increases to $45.

said by rody_44 :

52 dollars for basic standard struck me too. thats why i upgraded to the triple play with all premiums included for 129 a month. thats phone, internet 6/750 and basic, standard,digital plus, hbo, starz, showtime, cinemax, encore, tmc. much better then any dish deals i could have got. did i mention its from the same company that wanted to charge me 52 for basic standard. the difference is a contract. but dish would have had that also. also thats for three tvs as i also get 2 free digital boxes for a year. add in the vod content and its a no brainer. the days of me paying 80 dollars a month for tv is over. and im glad for that. current break down is phone=33 internet=33 basic standard=33 digital plus with all premiums=30. basically instead of 52 dollars for basic standard i get all the channels for 63. where i pay 11 over the cost of basic standard i can deduct 9 of that off on what i save on the internet. so it really comes out to for 2 dollars more i get them all.

said by Obliteration :

Triple play is for NEW customers.

said by rody_44 :

..... i upgraded to the triple play with all premiums included for 129 a month. thats phone, internet 6/750 and basic, standard,digital plus, hbo, starz, showtime, cinemax, encore, tmc.

said by Hound :

I have had Dish Network HD since August 2004 and am leaving Dish next month when my 18 month HD commitment is
over. I was paying Dish $137 a month and switched to Fios
for $101 per month for better programming. The Dish basic
package for $29.99 does not include locals or regional
sports networks. The comparable Dish package to basic
cable is $39.99 a month plus you have to pay a satellite receiver fee for every TV. With cable you only pay a fee
for TVs with set top boxes. The Dish HD fee is $20 a month
which is the highest in the industry and it is not worth it. So if you take the basic Dish package of $39.99 and
add $20 for HD, you are already at $60 per month plus
satellite receiver and DVR fees.

When switching make sure you are getting all the channels
that you actually want. Where I live, Dish did not give
me CSN, YES or SNY in SD or HD. Fios gave me all three in HD and Comcast does the same in my area. Dish does not
have CSN Chicago in HD.