RebKell's Junkie Boards

[miatamama]

Considering switching from bad Comcast coverage to satellite television. Obviously both DirecTV and Dish Network are available. With the coming Big 10 TV, does anyone have suggestions or information as to where it will be (which network) or perhaps both????? Does anyone have either DirecTV or Dish that can provide advice on WBB coverage?

Thanks.

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"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it."
William Feather

[CalwbbFan]

I have Directv and was pretty happy with all the women's games I managed to find/view.....I subscribe to the top pkg which includes the various sports channels (not the special subscriptions like NBA)....

[BallState1984]

Big Ten Net is sign on with the Total Choice Package for Direct TV. That bit of new made my day even better when I talked to BTN people at the Tournament this spring.

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Terminally afffected with Our Girl Syndrome and proud of it!

[miatamama]

That might encourage a switch to DirecTV. I asked them and Dish Network folks (previously) if they knew where the Big 10 channel would be going and they were clueless.

There are lots of deals out there for service. The problem is when you have multiple televisions--it gets costly. Also, since I have AT&T phone/DSL coverage, Dish has a deal with them for a pretty darned good package deal. BUT if I can't get the games that sours that option.

Another question, since CSTV has covered a number of games in the past, with the advent of the Big 10 channel, does that mean CSTV won't be able to broadcast those games? Anyone know?

I'm serious here. What's the sense of getting all this great coverage if you can't get the games!

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"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it."
William Feather

[miatamama]

Q--Where can I get the Big Ten Network?

A--The Network will be available to cable and satellite operators nationwide, and consumers should contact their particular distributor regarding how to receive it. DIRECTV is the first distributor to affiliate with the Big Ten Network, agreeing to carry the Network at launch on its Total Choice package. The Network will also look at opportunities to utilize developing and emerging technologies to distribute its programming content, including the Internet, mobile/wireless, interactive and on-demand.

The goal of the Big Ten Conference is to have the Network as widely distributed as possible in each school's market as well as nationally. It is our expectation that the quality of the programming and the passion of Big Ten fans will ensure that goal becomes a reality. However, we can never guarantee that a specific television distributor will carry the Big Ten Network until we have a contract signed.

Q--Will I have to pay more for the Big Ten Network?

A-- The cost of the Big Ten Network will be included in the fees that subscribers pay for their basic level of cable or satellite service, or in the case of DIRECTV, the Total Choice package.

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"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it."
William Feather

[MadDog22]

DirecTV carries CSTV on it's sports package and also carries all the FSN channels that show a bunch of college sports.

[cthskzfn]

my guess (and hope) is direct's Sports Pack will carry it.

i'm looking forward to be able to see even more games next year.

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[miatamama]

This is still a tough choice because Dish Network will "bundle" the costs with existing telephone/internet (AT&T) services for a very good price. They also are giving away free HD DVR's. They also carry CSTV. I would guess they might be in negotiations with the Big 10 channel for their coverage also. DirecTV has lots of good "intro" deals, but the monthly fees after a 3 month period are greater than Dish. Another big drawback is all the contracts you have to enter into--break them and it's costly.

Does anyone out there have Dish Network who can comment on their service?

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"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it."
William Feather

[Toliver...Holy Cow!]

You've already heard about DirecTV and I back all of the praise up. You can find more games than you ever thought with the regional sports package. Plus, many stations replay the games during the night or the next day. You can also get various coaches shows- if you're REALLY bored! Getting the DVR has been worth it for me.

[JACKOWACKO]

Yeah DirecTV is stil the best for sports, no question.

CSTV is great because they normally replay all the games(WBB included) like 3 times over a span of 24 hours. ESPNU does as well but normally only once. And DirecTV also has all the foxsportsnet channels like you said.

Also, if you order ESPN fullcourt with DirecTV, youll get even more games.

Now the W is different. I noticed alot of FSN games were blackedout last season. I dont get it. If its not on NBA TV then I couldnt watch the game. When a Mercury/Storm isnt on NBATV or ESPN its really frustrating. They used to have a WNBA package but anymore for some reason

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LAUREN JACKSON is the greatest of alltime.

[DocSavage2001]

I'll back up whatever everyone else says about how great DirecTV is if you want to watch a lot of women's college basketball. There will absolutely more than you can possibly watch available to you if you get the sports package.

The only beef I have is actually with TiVo and not really DirecTV. And even this beef probably isn't TiVo's fault as much as still prevailing attitude towards women's sports.

That's this:

If you are looking for a PARTICULAR college game, if you wanted to find a men's game involving Indiana let's say, you can look it up in TiVo by either Indiana or the Opponent's name, depending on who the visiting team is in that game.

But EVERY women's college basketball game is listed under the generic and ubiquitous "Women's College Basketball" listing. Look that up on TiVo on any given week and you'll find literally 100s of entries. (Because unfortunately if the same game is being shown on multiple FSN channels, each one gets its own separate listing!) To find a particular game, you have to look at every single entry individually to find the game you want.

STILL, all in all, it's a minor quiblle really. I'd rather have 100s of games to choose from every week and have to hunt around to find the ones I want to watch than to not to have any games to watch at all.

Doc

[miatamama]

Again, does ANYONE have Dish Network who can comment on the services, system, etc. In the Chgo. area I see a lot of their dishes (perhaps due to the bundling with other AT&T services), but see many more DirecTV dishes. But I also see a lot of DirecTV receivers at yard sales.

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"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it."
William Feather

[DocSavage2001]

But I also see a lot of DirecTV receivers at yard sales.

That doesn't neccessarily mean that those people were unhappy with DirecTV. I have three DirecTV recievers sitting in my basement right now in fact. But that's because I keep upgrading my current reciever to a new and better one (and usually free to boot).

Doc

[cthskzfn]

only god knows how much i love my directv w/ tivo receivers.

alas, to save coin this summer, i have suspended my directv acct. (hopefully until WCB resumes) and have only basic cable- about 20 channels total. eek.

the inability to stop, pause, rewind, instant replay, watch 2 channels simultaneously w/ a 30-minute buffer and easily record any show, has me going through some serious withdrawals.


folks, if you don't have a DVR (especially a tivo-based one), you are living in the TV dark ages.

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[beknighted]

[rebkell]

[miatamama]

Thanks to all who have responded on this issue. I'm not too thrilled with the contract periods on any of these services. It'd sure be nice if you could get a "test drive" to see which one you'd like to choose. I did have DirecTV a while ago (pre-HD) and liked it because I got the yearly NFL package (loved those 13 games every Sunday). The problem was I never seemed to be home on Sundays to actually watch those 13 games - and then WBB is played on Sundays so that was the spike in the FB pkg.

I don't seem to see many Dish Network satellite dishes on homes in this area. We'll see what DirecTV has to offer.

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"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it."
William Feather

[Grumps]

Word of advice if you go with Dish...Do not set up an automatic credit card payment...My receiver crashed several years ago and I decided to just cancel my subscription...By the time I actually got around to calling them f( 2 or 3 days later) my credit card got hit the day before for a new month...They don't give refunds...I still have a credit with them and that was 5 or 6 years ago...

Grumps

[miatamama]

Well, after gathering information from both DirecTV and Dish I decided to stay with Comcast. There were oh so many reasons, but primarily it was a financial decision. I'm getting a new HD receiver (never had one--used a Cable Card which is BAD--DO NOT GET ONE--you do not have any of the wonderful "On Demand" services you get with all the services and you lose PIP capability--but didn't know that when I got the TV).

1. It would cost me about $120/mo. for DirecTV for comparable existing Comcast service
2. Dish would be cheaper for 4 tv's but supporting additional tv's is problematic and expensive (additional installation charges)
3. 2 year contract for both services (I HATE CONTRACTS)
4. in spite of having 4 DirecTV receivers on hand, they talked about charging for new cards or charging activation fees
5. cancellation fees are killers on both. DirecTV wants $12.50 PER MONTH cancellation fee for whatever number of months are left on your contract when you cancel. WOW.
6. Dish knows nothing about the Big 10 channel, DirecTV already has a contract, Comcast will probably get it.
7. DirecTV will only give me a 2 mo. promotional pkg. (movies, etc) because I was a customer 3 years ago. They want to get my business back but not bad enough to sweeten the deal or provide a "free" HD DVR (they'll rebate $100 but still charge me $199 for one).

Overall trying to get an accurate accounting of exactly how much each service will cost is not exactly easy. They toss packages at you that include about a hundred music channels I'll never listen to. The number of channels I get on Comcast is pretty darned good and the FB, BB, NASCAR and other sports in HD is incredible. In addition, really good sports (WBB) don't start until fall. Why pay for all that good stuff now when it's too darned nice out to be sitting around watching tv?

_________________
"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it."
William Feather

[cthskzfn]

Overall trying to get an accurate accounting of exactly how much each service will cost is not exactly easy. They toss packages at you that include about a hundred music channels I'll never listen to. The number of channels I get on Comcast is pretty darned good and the FB, BB, NASCAR and other sports in HD is incredible. In addition, really good sports (WBB) don't start until fall. Why pay for all that good stuff now when it's too darned nice out to be sitting around watching tv?


it's a royal PITA. the technology is changing all the time, so what may be the best option now probably won't be in 6 months.

i won't be going HD for years, so for me, during WCB season, there is no better way than DirecTV w/ the tivo-based DVRs.

in the meantime, i like my $14/month cable bill.

the thing i'll miss most this summer are the tennis grand slam early rounds.

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[jammerbirdi]