View Full Version : DirecTV vs. Cox - Need advice



Jon27
11-30-2010, 03:16 PM
Hi, we're thinking of going from Cox to DirecTV. Our 2 main attractions are cheaper even after the 1 year discount period, and the multi room DVR. Does anyone have any experience going from Cox to DirecTV? What are the main advantages and disadvantages? The NFL Sunday Ticket has nothing to do with this, and I know that will be a lot of answers. So I'm not looking for that answer. How often does the signal go out? Is the HD picture clearer? Thanks for your help.

bradzilla
11-30-2010, 04:00 PM
In the past we've had cox analog and digital, att uverse, and now dish. The only regret ive had with dish is waiting so long to get it.

Cox - expensive, expect multiple incoming phone calls each week to ask how your service is / about and new change to your service / and they make multiple attempts during their calls to upgrade you to a more expensive package. Trust me, if im paying over 60 bucks per month for tv i dont think i need to spend more.

ATT - offshore tech support which is instantly frustrating and this elaborate pyramid scheme with their att cards. Long story short for different promotions and problems we were having we were supposed to receive over 150 dollars in att debit cards and never received ANY of them. Also be prepared to sit through a long drawn out telephone system to talk with someone in southeast asia who will not be able to solve any of your problems besides getting someone in the US to call you the next day(even if you call in the morning it will still take someone in america 24 hours to get back to you).

Dish - We've had ours since Feb and its dropped signal twice during storm season(when the large hail storms were going through) for about 5 minutes each time, great HD, free HD for life, great stateside customer service, even after their promotions wear off after the first year or two its still less than what we were paying for cox or att. They are ranked the highest in customer satisfaction. We pay 31.99 per month for 120 channels with hd, DVR , and the additional sports package. After the promo it goes to 44.99. DVR is multiple tv but not quite as simple to use as ATT's dvr. (its not hard by any stretch of the imagination just that att's dvr is the best)

edit - to answer your original question i found that cox has the worst hd service out of all of them, but they say its 'free'. (when their package cost more than the other providers)

bluedogok
11-30-2010, 08:48 PM
Ive had Directv for about 11 years now switching from Multimedia Cablevision in The Village. Granted that was MMC and a year or so after a tornado hit the area and the service was horrible, the signal went out when the wind blew, I would imagine the Cox service in the area now is vastly improved. I moved to 50th & Independence and never thought about switching back to Cox and never thought about changing when I moved to Austin, I will never go back to cable given an option. My parents have Cox-HD in OKC and the picture doesn't look as nice to me but there are many variables to compare. I do like my NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB Extra Innings and NHL Center Ice.

Kerry
12-01-2010, 07:31 AM
I have had DirecTV for 11 years. I will never go back to cable for any reason. Our picture does go out on accasion but only for 1 or 2 minutes if a large thunder storm is passing by. When it happens we just switch over to regular antenna for a few minutes. Since the DVR keeps recording we don't miss anything we tune back (except of the part where the signal wasn't received). The HD picture looks great but my television is the limiting factor so I can't tell how great it could be. My biggest compaint with HD is that most stuff I watch wasn't filmed in HD so it doesn't even matter.

BTW - my cable went out far more often than DirecTV which is why I switched in the first place. Also, do yourself a favor. If you do switch to DirecTV contact one of your neighbors, freinds, relatives, etc and signup throught the friends and family deal. You get the best price, free HD hardware upgrades, and you and the other person get a $120 credit. Don't leave a free HD DVR and $240 sitting on the table.

http://directvvip.com/offers/friendsAndFamily/viewEmail.html