DIRECTV Review

When the time came to make a choice on a cable provider, the choice was actually rather simple for me.

With Comcast's rates being out of control, not to mention the horrible experiences I had seen my parents have with them, DirecTV was the only choice.  I had heard mostly good things about them, and when comparing their rates to Comcast's, it wasn't much of a competition.  DirecTV blew them away.

DirecTV offers up 3 or 4 different packages, starting out with the very basic, moving up to the mid and high mid packages, and then finally, of course, their "gold" package or whatever term you'd like to use for getting every channel under the sun.  Right now, I have the high mid package, with no premium channels.  I get about 250 channels, plus another 50-60 satellite radio channels for about $52 a month (I do pay an extra $5 for a second box).  Premium channels are offered at an additional cost starting at about $12 a month for one.  Discounts are extended when you combine premium channels.

Compared to Comcast, I figured out that I'm paying about 25-30 dollars less a month for what I get.  DirecTV does not offer any sort of "on demand" service, which is the one true blue advantage Comcast has over them.

I did hear people say that DirecTV's service could go out quite often in bad storms, but I've found the service to be quite reliable (put it this way, it never went out during that monsoon we just endured on the east coast the last two days!).  I can probably count on one hand the amount of times it's gone out in the two years or so I've subscribed to their service.

If you are going to go with DirecTV though, I feel the need to warn you about their customer service department.  These people are the most incompetent fools I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with.  When I first signed up, it took 3 emails and 4 phone calls for them to record my address correctly.  Meanwhile, I wasn't getting my monthly bills, or the paperwork I needed to fill out for the free DVD player bonus I qualified for.

While they offer a "mover's connection" service for when you change addresses, it took them FOUR TRIPS to my new place and more than a MONTH to get my service up and running correctly.  In the meantime, I was left with channels being out, being unable to watch two different channels at the same time on different TVs, and probably an unhealthy rise in blood pressure.  Next time I move, I may not be so eager to have them install my service again!

DirecTV also offers up a variety of add ons, from HD receivers to DVR service, for a low monthly fee.  If you take advantage of special offers upon sign up, you can many times get a free DVR recorder and save yourself the usual initial $99 fee. 

I can say I'm pretty happy with DirecTV's service.  Yes, I had problems with their customer service department, and I truly hope I never have to deal with them on anything major ever again.  Outside of that though, the service has been reliable and much more fairly priced than Comcast, even after a couple of very very modest price increases.

If you're sick of Comcast's (or whomever's) abhorrent rates, check out DirecTV.