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Just moved into a new condo, and was very excited about finally getting satellite tv. About 2 months ago I called DirecTV to order the service and set up installation. This took about 2 hours and I got the first inklings that this wasn't going to be a smooth transaction. I called twice in the interem to ensure that installation was in fact scheduled for the right time and that I was to receive HD in one room and DVR (no HD) in the other. I received two different answers to the latter.Service was scheduled for Dec 17 (Sat.) between 1 and 5 pm. The guy showed up at 6 pm and couldn't figure out how to install it so he rescheduled for Sunday morning (Dec 18). Sunday morning came and went. At 2 pm, he called to tell me his mother died and that he would have to reschedule for Monday morning (Dec 19). I called Direct TV to be sure someone was actually coming. They gave me the number of their dispatcher, which I called and was put on hold for over an hour. Realizing it was their responsibility, not mine, to deal with this, I called Directv again and had the rep call the dispatcher (with me on hold as well). 1.5 hours later still no answer from the dispatcher.
The next morning (Monday Dec. 9), Directv called and told me that an installer would be at my house by 11 am. At 11:45 someone actually showed up, but without the proper equipment. He would have to reschedule me for another day. At this point, I was beyond angry, and told him to get out. I then called Directv to cancel my order.
Next, I called Dish Network, but they don't do weekend installations (apparently only students and housewives can get Dish Network in our area). Having already taken 2 days off work to no avail, there was no way I was going to take another.
Finally, I called the cable service. They're coming next Saturday to install it. At least they have network channels in HD.
I've been around and am at least somewhat familiar with the ways of the world, but I have never in my life dealt with this kind of utter incompetence.
Follow Ups:
The installers had to install another 2 outlets and cleaned up the cabling network nightmare that previously "graced" our home.They were in and out, quick and professional. The installers gave me their business card, should I have any questions.
Reception has never let us down, even on days with 3 inches of snowfall or 1 inch of rain.
No complaints.
I'm sorry to hear your experience. I would have done the same as you, and cancelled out, too.
Jack
Direct TV by myself. Didn't take long at all, just using basic hand tools and some good crimpers. I've since switched back to cable though. I got tired of losing the picture whenever it rained moderately hard or sometimes when it snowed hard.
I'm actually kind of glad I'm getting cable now - I really like the idea of getting all the network channels in HD, especially since my TV is only HD-ready.
I swore I would move to either DirecTV or Dish satellite service by now but decided to give Comcast digital cable another try.I've been on analog cable forever and tried digital cable with a HD set top box about a year ago. I was completely unimpressed. At that time there were only a couple HD channels broadcast via Comcast cable in my area plus the clunker Motorola set top box was very slow to navigate or channel hop and the regular (non-premium) channels looked worse than analog cable. Back then, about a year ago, I picked up more HD channels using my Samsung HD tuner and an outdoor UHF antenna than via Comcast cable.
Here it is about a year later..., all local network channels available in HD over cable plus ESPN HD, Discovery HD, a couple PBS channels in HD, premium channels in HD, and a couple "INHD" channels. See http://inhd.com INHD and INHD2 are part of the HD package and not additional cost channels.
The latest Motorola High Definition DVR set top box is far better and faster to navigate and channel hop than the previous model. It can record HD or standard definition programs which can be scheduled from the onscreen Program Guide or recorded instantly by pressing the record button. It will actually record two different programs at the same time if you wish. And of course there's the instant replay feature. The regular channels look much better than they did with the older Motorola box and it's awesome recording High-Def 'widescreen' material with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. PBS, INHD, and some of the other channels broadcast concerts in HD and with the 5.1 Dolby Digital sound through the home theater setup, it's outstanding.
I have two of the new Motorola Hi-Def DVR's in my home but I'm about to try a CableCard which will allow my new LCD flat-screen TV to pickup digital cable including HD content w/o the external Motorola box. The plus side is a real clean look with the LCD TV mounted to the wall with no additional gear nearby to clutter things up. The down side is that the CableCard is not bi-directional in that it does not accept ONDEMAND or Pay-Per-View requests and of course it doesn't have a DVR.... which is OK for this particular bedroom LCD TV. They're working on bi-directional CableCards now and we might see them sometime in 2006.
So far I'm real happy with my setup. There was no expensive gear to buy. The Motorola HD DVR is a simple self-install project but I'm told that the CableCard requires a tech to come out and install it. I'm not sure why because you just plug it into the CableCard slot in TV.
Some other benefits include no lost signal due to rain or snow. It's been extremely reliable. Cable is however more expensive on a monthly basis (I think) but the flip side is there's no expensive gear to buy and no contracts to sign. I can cancel the whole thing at anytime w/o notice & w/o penalty.
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