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Thread: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

  1. #1
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    DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    Since Time Warner is prevalent in Cincinnati, I'm hoping some of you may have opinions here. Time Warner (unfortunately) is prevalent in NYC and I'm just fed up with it. Fios would be an option too, but for some reason it's not wired to my building.

    There are a couple of things I do like about Time Warner. I enjoy NY1 (which is a Time Warner only channel) and I do like the fact that Time Warner does not require any 2 year commitments unlike DirecTV. However, neither are significant enough to keep me with TWC.

    The things I loathe about Time Warner include the following: No NFL network, bad service, bad customer service, Roadrunner internet service works awful (at least for me), DVR box memory space is small, charges for a box that has no DVR.

    As for the internet, if I were to switch, I would likely go with Verizon High Speed, which charges about the same as Time Warner/Roadrunner.

    So for those of you that have DirecTV and especially those who have DTV and have switched from Time Warner, what are your thoughts? Is the service better? What happens when there is heavy snow or rain? Is there any way around the 2 year deal that keeps the monthly price reasonable? How is the customer service? Do you find the pricing is a better deal? It looks like the first year is reasonable as they offer up a discount, but year 2 probably would be maybe more than what I pay now. It also appears that the price DirecTV puts up on their site is a lot more when you add in "hidden" fees that aren't really articulated clearly, which I despise. That's why I'm curious to hear what others experiences and opinions are. I also kind of feel like I'm getting ripped off since the pricing is the same now as it was a few months ago, except new subscribers received the NFL Sunday ticket with their package.

    Thoughts?


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  3. #2
    Member Redsfaithful's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    DirecTV is one of the best things I spend money on. It just works, it has everything. I don't really ever have to worry about carriage squabbles (I know they've had a couple of issues, but minor for me and less than others imo), and as a sports fan nothing else can touch it. I spend money on lots of things that make me less happy than NFL Sunday Ticket.

    Check out FatWallet or somewhere similar to see if you can find people who are signing up and what kind of deals they are getting. A lot of that can be dependent on what customer service agent you pull and having full knowledge of what they are offering. The deal on the website isn't always the only thing they've got running. I got free NFL Sunday Ticket one year by calling and claiming I got a letter that a bunch of other subscribers got (read about it on FatWallet) so I know they don't treat every subscriber or new subscriber the same which is disappointing, but seems common with cable companies in general.

    Rain interruption is an issue, but only comes up a few times a year for me. To me, it's worth it even with that small downside.

    I have had ATT Uverse in the past few years, and might have stuck with that for awhile, but they didn't have MLB Network at the time and I just get tired of that kind of crap. With DirecTV I know they are going to carry everything I want, because that's their competitive advantage - offering everything.
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    Goober GAC's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    I've had TW, and really had no problems with it. It was certainly a step up from Charter Communications (who sold out to TW). They were terrible. I currently have Directv (almost 7 years now) and prefer it.
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)

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    Member cumberlandreds's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    I switched from DISH to DirecTV about 1 1/2 years ago and have never regretted it. They have met what I want in TV to this point. Just go to their website www.directv.com and look over what they have and see if it is what you want.
    For me they been terrific. You can get discounts on a lot of their programming packages just by calling them up. DISH never did this. They offer all the sports packages and you can usually get discounts on them. I got $60 off the MLBEI package last season. The score guide application is an added bonus too. So far their customer service has been excellent. I had a problem with the initial DVR I got. They came out and checked it and replaced it that day. I had the warranty from them so I didn't have to pay a thing and it was a painless process. Everyone has different experiences but to this point mine has been very positive with them.
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  6. #5
    Member JaxRed's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    I have DirecTV and am very happy, but at least in my area, the On-Demand from the cable company is far superior.

  7. #6
    Member Sea Ray's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    If you're not getting your phone bundled from TWC it's a no brainer. Switch

  8. #7
    Member JaxRed's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    And then get your phone service from Ooma

  9. #8
    he/him *BaseClogger*'s Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    Time Warner is the worst! The cable/internet goes down multiple times per week here in Oxford and we as students have no choices because there are no competing cable companies and most of us cannot switch to DirecTV because we live in rental properties...

  10. #9
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    I have time warner, I've heard the customer service complaints, but personally, I rarely had an issue. Some on demand things havn't worked at times, but 1 call and they usually fix it right away, getting someone out to fix something has always been easy, they're generally there at the front of their window. I've never had a problem w/ customer service when calling in.

    I know that doesn't help you, I've just never seen the issues that so many others seem to have w/ time warner.

  11. #10
    We Need Our Myths reds1869's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    Quote Originally Posted by medford View Post
    I have time warner, I've heard the customer service complaints, but personally, I rarely had an issue. Some on demand things havn't worked at times, but 1 call and they usually fix it right away, getting someone out to fix something has always been easy, they're generally there at the front of their window. I've never had a problem w/ customer service when calling in.

    I know that doesn't help you, I've just never seen the issues that so many others seem to have w/ time warner.
    I'm the same way. I've always had tremendous customer service from Time Warner. Dish Network, on the other hand, was a nightmare. My parents had a pretty brutal experience with DirecTV but that was when it was a new service.

  12. #11
    Member marcshoe's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    I had DTV for years and loved it. The only problem I ever had with them was that they took my direct payment out of my checking account several days early, and before I realized what they were doing, it unbalanced my checkbook terribly.

    I always had good customer service experiences with them. Very easy to deal with. It has been several years, though (I dropped them when I moved and haven't got around to going back), so who knows?

    fwiw, even though I am the least handy person on Earth, I installed the dish and equipment myself.

  13. #12
    Are we not men? Yachtzee's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    I used to have DirectTV but now have TWC in Northeast Ohio. I liked DTV for the most part, but it got expensive once we were out of the promotional period. We have our phone, internet and cable bundled through TWC. They've gotten a lot better over the years, but customer service requiring service calls can still be a major pain.

    I thought about switching back every once in a while, but now I think it may be a problem because of trees. When we first got DTV, we didn't have an HDTV. We have a pond and trees just beyond the property line on protected wetlands. At the time the installer set up the dish, he said we'll be fine for standard definition tv, but could have a problem down the road if we wanted to upgrade to HD because the trees on the wetlands property were getting close to interfering with the line-of-sight for the HD satellite. If we were to get it now, we'd probably have to put the dish way out in the backyard, right on the property line.
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  14. #13
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    Quote Originally Posted by Redsfaithful View Post
    DirecTV is one of the best things I spend money on. It just works, it has everything. I don't really ever have to worry about carriage squabbles (I know they've had a couple of issues, but minor for me and less than others imo), and as a sports fan nothing else can touch it. I spend money on lots of things that make me less happy than NFL Sunday Ticket.

    Check out FatWallet or somewhere similar to see if you can find people who are signing up and what kind of deals they are getting. A lot of that can be dependent on what customer service agent you pull and having full knowledge of what they are offering. The deal on the website isn't always the only thing they've got running. I got free NFL Sunday Ticket one year by calling and claiming I got a letter that a bunch of other subscribers got (read about it on FatWallet) so I know they don't treat every subscriber or new subscriber the same which is disappointing, but seems common with cable companies in general.

    Rain interruption is an issue, but only comes up a few times a year for me. To me, it's worth it even with that small downside.

    I have had ATT Uverse in the past few years, and might have stuck with that for awhile, but they didn't have MLB Network at the time and I just get tired of that kind of crap. With DirecTV I know they are going to carry everything I want, because that's their competitive advantage - offering everything.
    Thanks for this, very good advice here. And thanks to everyone else who responded. I think I'm going to make the switch if I can call up and get something better than what is advertised on DirecTV's website.

  15. #14
    Goober GAC's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    Quote Originally Posted by fearofpopvol1 View Post
    Thanks for this, very good advice here. And thanks to everyone else who responded. I think I'm going to make the switch if I can call up and get something better than what is advertised on DirecTV's website.
    If you're going to go with Directv then take advantage of that $100 referral offer. If you know someone (family, friend, etc) who is currently a Directv customer, then get their account number when you call Directv to have it installed ad tell them they referred you. You'll both get $100 off ($10/month for 10 months). I did it this past Fall with a buddy who was switching to Directv. Nice way to save even some more money.
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)

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    Member top6's Avatar
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    Re: DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable

    Quote Originally Posted by fearofpopvol1 View Post
    Thanks for this, very good advice here. And thanks to everyone else who responded. I think I'm going to make the switch if I can call up and get something better than what is advertised on DirecTV's website.
    Make sure you can get Direct TV (living in NYC). When I lived in Chicago, I was always blocked by another building. It was frustrating. One apartment assured me that I had access when I rented, then when the Direct TV people came to install it I didn't.


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