Viva La Revolution!

Revolution? Yes Revolution is right. Directv's annual retailers convention called "Revolution" is where I was at last week. The event was held in Dallas Texas, or I should say the Hilton Antole hotel, I really didn't see much of Dallas other then the hotel. It really could have been Preston Idaho and I would have been none the wiser.

So what is a satellite dealers convention like? Day one flew into Dallas Love Field, then got a cab "nice guy from Ethiopia" got to the hotel, and from that time on meetings, classes, meetings, classes, a little entertainment and repeat. The first night after all the classes and such, Directv entertained all the dealers with a nice dinner followed by Bill Cosby. I didn't even know he was still doing gigs. The night was great, Bill was on top of his game, although it sounds like the relationship between he and his wife is a bit strained "she was the topic in most of the jokes". The second day much like the first until the night, where after dinner the next room over was transformed into some weird casino/club party whatever. Since I don't gamble, or drink, there wasn't much else to do other then help myself to the desert bar.

All in all it was good to see what Directv is all about. They showed the new MRV system which stands for Multi Room Viewing DVR. This is what I was talking about in a previous blog. It enables you to access your DVR from any other TV in the house, and you can watch it back in HD. Great step in the right direction for Directv! Now I'm just waiting until I can get my hands on the new HR24 DVR's to kick off Select Satellites own Revolution! Next stop, Team Summit! The Dish Network dealers convention in San Antonio.

Directv turning up the heat!

The Fedex guy just stopped by the office with an interesting package. Lately Directv has been going after Dish Network lock stock and barrel with a new campaign "to tell the truth," in an effort to show they are superior to Dish Network. I like Dishnetwork - and Directv has some cool stuff as well. So, ..... who's right? Let's compare some of the things I personally find good and bad about both companies.

In the new campaign, new Directv customers can receive 2 years of discounts off the regular price of service. This is new as of today. Yesterday it was just 12 months! That's pretty cool! Definitely a step in the right direction. I hate it when the promo period ends and people get sticker shock when their bill goes up to the regular price. Now it looks like they are giving the standard $29 off a month for the first 12 months, and $14 off for the second 12 months. In my opinion, this is much better than before. Remember that the regular price for the choice package is $58.99 without HD and without DVR. Customers are charged an additional $10 for HD and $7.00 for DVR and $5.00 for any other TV they want connected.

Multi room DVR: Dish Network has had multi-room DVRs for years, which has been fantastic! It seems that Directv has finally clued in and is now offering a comparable service. This is another step in the right direction. One thing of note about the multi-room DVR with Directv is, you must have a second set top box for any other tv hooked up for the multi-room DVR function, and this box must be HD!

Pros: now you can share DVR with multiple rooms in HD with Directv. Cool right? I agree cool indeed! But lets remember a few things. With Directv, in order to have an HD receiver in your house, you have to pay the $10.00 HD access fee. That's probably not a big deal if that is what you are getting the system for. Both companies charge the same fee. However, if you haven't upgraded to that shiny new super thin 120 hertz plasma or LCD beauty, then you probably don't really care. That's where, Dishnetwork shines. The dual tuner 722 is HD ready and is included in all DVR installations. And, there is no second tv fee! Other than the $6.00 DVR fee, you pay nothing to watch, record, DVR, and enjoy life on a second tv away from the pains of Days of our Lives playing on the first. You can also access your DVR's recorded list from your second TV and watch anything on the hard drive. With Dishnetwork, no set top box is required for any second TV, and you can split the signal to show up on that old TV you have sitting in the craft room or garage! Chalk one up for Dish!

Cons: So you want Dishnetwork and you want HD on that second TV, well sorry that's not going to work. The TV 2 picture is only in "Standard Definition" which is almost a 4 letter word in the TV industry these days. If you have that sexy new plasma or LCD in your second room the picture won't look so great, but if you still have that bulky but reliable tube tv it will look just fine. One more con, let's say you want another 2 tv's with their own tuner. Well of course you want little Tommy or Cindy to have a TV in their own room, what kind of parent would you be not letting your little angel have their own mind sucking machine. All antics aside, if you do want 2 more rooms with DVR it's not going to be cheap. Try an additional $17 a month for those 2 cherished children. Is it worth it? You make the call. It's a bit steep if you ask me. In a nutshell, if you need just one box to run two TV's, Dish is a great choice. You get a 2 room DVR, HD receiver whether you subscribe for HD service or not, and you can add other occasionally used tv's to the mix.

Ok, my fingers are getting a bit sore now because I'm a satellite geek, not a English major. Let's continue our little Dish vs Direct Discussion another day. I've covered multi-room DVR's, Directv's 2 year discount. I'll post some more about this silly boxing match and who is getting closer to the K.O. Happy TV!

Hello and Welcome!

Welcome to Dish Geek! Select Satellites official Blog! This blog was created to help all you Dish Network and Directv customers, or would be customers decode all the little things you may think are complicated, but in reality are pretty easy! I know, you may be saying to yourself "but I'm convinced I really can't do it myself". I am here to show you all that you can! Satellite liberation for all! Seriously I like to have fun with all this and hope this blog will guide you to take control of your satellite tv for good. Check back often to see the latest tip! It could save you some precious time and frustration, or just give you some good insight on what you can do with your current satellite system. I've been doing this for 9 years now, and have seen a lot. I will update you with all the changes coming to the industry and my honest opinion on what you should be doing.