# Anybody go to or come from Comcast?



## El Gabito (Apr 24, 2006)

I'm seriously considering switching (serious as in both are active in my house right now).

I currently have an HR24 and HR22 from DirecTV.

I have a crappy motorola comcast box and a Tivo Premiere Elite (4 tuner + 1 live).

I'm getting hell trying to get the cablecard activated in the Tivo.


HOWEVER my question is what did you dislike that caused you to switch FROM comcast - or what do you dislike AFTER switching from DirecTV?

I'm having a real tough time making up my mind. I will also be saving about $100/mo in service with a $940 up-front investment. First 6 months will save $140/mo so it will pay for itself in about 7 months.


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## kmax (May 23, 2007)

Well a couple thoughts (switched from DirecTV to Comcast)...

In my case I went with a media center PC with a Ceton tuner card and am using Xboxes as extenders.

So that saves on the outlet fees that Comcast nails you with. And gives a vast upgrade over the DVR that Comcast provides. But you don't have to worry about that since you are going with Tivos.

One thing I miss is that Comcast has nowhere near the amount of premiums. They switched them over to on demand and thus cable card users get the shaft. However, they have a few of the "basics" in HD that I wanted. And of course sports offerings are less. However I do get the Red Zone channel which I like. And SD is tons better.

Taxes are higher with Comcast.

But no rain/snow fade.

I found customer service much better with DirecTV. Not that Comcast isn't friendly, but they have major issues. Cable card activation was a nightmare.

For me, guess it boiled down to saving a chunk of change every month, combined with not really liking 2 year commitments with DirecTV, and them dragging their heels on getting some of the basics to HD. 

Of course this is all market dependent. Fortunately there is a lot of competition in my neck of the woods.


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## bixler (Oct 14, 2008)

I came from Comcast 3 years ago and have never thought about going back. For the equipment and programming I have, it is much cheaper for me to be with Direct TV. I am also a sports nut so Sunday Ticket, all MLB Extra Inning games in HD, scoreguide function, FSN Pittsburgh in HD all play a major role in me not wanting to go back to Comcast. I also find the fact that the SD and HD channels are the same number a huge plus compared to Comcast. My service seems to be more consistent, I had far more issues losing service with Comcast than I do with Direct TV.


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## El Gabito (Apr 24, 2006)

bixler said:


> I came from Comcast 3 years ago and have never thought about going back. For the equipment and programming I have, it is much cheaper for me to be with Direct TV. I am also a sports nut so Sunday Ticket, all MLB Extra Inning games in HD, scoreguide function, FSN Pittsburgh in HD all play a major role in me not wanting to go back to Comcast. I also find the fact that the SD and HD channels are the same number a huge plus compared to Comcast. My service seems to be more consistent, I had far more issues losing service with Comcast than I do with Direct TV.


Yeah that part kind of boggled my mind. (HD #'s vs SD #'s)


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## je4755 (Dec 11, 2006)

I pay both providers as well. I initially became a Comcast subscriber (with a basic HD TiVo) because DirecTV didn’t – and still fails to – provide my local channels in HD. I purchased an expanded package from Comcast when Versus went dark on DirecTV. Having retained “HD Preferred xf” as part of a “triple play,” I now enjoy many HD channels not furnished by DirecTV, such as H2 and BBCA, although their availability in my DMA occurred well after other locations received them. On the other hand, I find HD movie and sports options on Comcast much less attractive than DirecTV; for example, only two HD channels are dedicated to CI. 

Bottom line: I am keeping both until DirecTV offers HD LIL in my area and expands its basic HD lineup, neither of which likely will occur in the near term.


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## DawgLink (Nov 5, 2006)

I had Comcast for a year in 2009 and I was rather appauled at the TV software for my DVR. I felt like I was back in 1990.

I had DirecTV and Cox before Comcast and went back to DirecTV.


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## psuscott0483 (Apr 16, 2009)

i pay both providers because of csnphilly but in my opinion the clear winner is directv because of superior equipment, customer service, picture quality, and channel availability


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

I switched from DirecTV to Comcast about 3 years ago when I made the switch from SD to HD. For me, a couple of differences:

* Comcast customer service is far superior to DirecTV customer service. I only had one billing error with Comcast, which was quickly resolved. My customer service problems with DirecTV were never ending, right past the day I quit (link).

* Comcast SD picture quality is far suprior to DirecTV SD picture quality. This is less of an issue now, because just about everything I watch is in HD. Since I never had DirecTV HD, I can't compare HD picture quality.

* No rain fade with Comcast.

* Comcast DVR is much more stable than my DirecTV DVR (R15). This means fewer missed recordings, recording glitches, or freeze ups.

* DirecTV DVR has more features, the most important one being the ability to add an external hard drive. However the Comcast DVR has dual-live-buffers, which DirecTV did not when I switched (I don't know if that is still the case).

* For my set-up, Comcast is a couple bucks a month cheaper. Also Comcast has no upfront equipment costs, which was significant when I was looking to make the move from SD to HD. Plus Comcast has no commitment.

* Comcast has local substations. And in my area (Central NJ) Comcast provides locals from 2 DMAs (New York and Phila), giving me access to more local sports and news.


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## klambert (Feb 8, 2008)

Went from DirecTV to Comcast a little over a year ago.

1) More High Def options. DTV may have more channels, but most are subscription, duplicate feeds, or both. We gained a dozen or so basic cable HD channels.

2) PBS in HD + Subchannels. I know this is partially WGBH being a problem, but DTV still doesn't have it in HD. They also don't carry the different subchannels. Since switching, PBS has probably gone from virtually unwatched to 10 or 20% of our tv viewing.

3) Near market channels. We're not big broadcast watchers, b particular, we get RI PBS in HD as well as Boston. 

4) FAR better SD picture quality. You can certainly tell what on Comcast is HD or SD, but it's perfectly watchable even letterboxed stuff that you zoom in on. DirecTV SD is so compressed its simply not watchable.

5) On Demand. Comcast's on demand has more options and some of the channels not available in HD, particularly BBC America, are available in HD On Demand.

Negatives:

1) The DVR

A) Comcast's DVR interface is a joke. It has all the major features, but it looks like something from the 1990s.

B) We are a Motorola market and esata expansion is disabled by Comcast on these boxes. We had a 1 terabyte expander for DTV and we now have only 500gb and that only because we got multi-room DVR--the standard DVR is only 320gb in this market. It hasn't been a huge issue, particularly because of On Demand. It's mostly been about deleting stuff we probably were never going to watch anyway. But it still stung to half our storage.

C) The Motorola HDMI interface is wonky. It works straight to the TV fine, but if you run it through an AV receiver, which is what we do, the handshake makes it reset its resolution options. Unfortunately, the default settings include SD being stretched rather than pillarboxed. We had to go to component video and digital audio coax into the receiver, which it then converts to HDMI. 

Yes, I realize all of this would be solved by getting TIVO or media PC, but we use a lot of On Demand, which isn't compatible with cablecards.


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## Beerstalker (Feb 9, 2009)

I went from Comcast to DirecTV about 4 years ago now. I would never go back, and I'm trying to get my parents to switch from Comcast to D*.

In my area Comcasts HD is way worse than DirecTV's, and DirecTV's SD is about the same and maybe a little better than Comcast's (we are an old Insight market that needs updated).

DirecTV's DVRs are 1000x better, this is the main reason I want my parents to switch.

The costs are cheaper if you have multiple HDTVs. Comcast charges a rediculous amount for each HD-DVR or HD box per month. If you have more than one or two it is usually cheaper with DirecTV.

The only things I really miss from Comcast are the On-Demand library, and more local channels. I had ot get a couple AM21s to get some of my local subchannels because DirecTV doesn't carry them. My parents would lose out on some locals because with Comcast they get locals from both Rockford and the Quad Cities, but with DirecTV they will only get the Quad Cities locals.

Where I live now my only choices are DirecTV or Dish, and I am not impressed with Dish's equipment at all from what I have experienced at my mother in law's house.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

I've got to ask what the $1000 up front is about. I have to assume you're buying a couple of DVRs outright, but why? The monthly charges are the same whether you lease or own. And the ETF is only $20/month left on your contract. Sounds like you want to keep it at least a 7 months to realize your savings, hence you're spending $1000 to avoid possibly paying $300? DirecTV will probably give you an HD DVR or two for free or at most a couple of hundred bucks. If you're out of contract right now, just cancel and sign back up and you'll get nearly everything for free.

I also have to ask since you have both right now, what don't you already know first hand that you're trying to find out? Everything posted so far you already know.


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## charlie460 (Sep 12, 2009)

Came from Comcast to DirecTV. Was in a non-WoM (World of More) area so had very limited HD channels, nowadays Comcast in my area actually carries more basic HD channels than DirecTV but I will still stick with DirecTV because of the dual-feed sports HD packages, awesome customer support, etc.


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## Jimmy 440 (Nov 17, 2007)

I came to D from C in April 1999.A few of the reasons I switched because C blacks out Philadelphia sports in my area of NJ.D does NOT.I also switched to D because I got sick & tired of Madden & Sumerall saying "Stay tuned for the 2nd half of today's double header with the exception of you in the New York area".Translated into english,you have to watch the JETS ! I wanted NFLST.I have since dumped it because it got too $$$$$$.
I found the PQ superior to C & it was cheaper.
I have never looked back.


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

Been a number of years, but went from Comcast to DirecTV.

First off, cable is not the same everyplace you go. You can't compare Indianapolis to Seattle (or any place else). So observations on reliability of service or picture quality (good or bad) are not necessarily valid or applicable to Comcast service at your location.

Here is why I am staying with DirecTV:
1. Picture quality (both SD and HD) is better. SD picture quality was one of the main considerations that caused me to switch in the first place (although my local Comcast has improved in that regard recently).
2. I have three DVRs plus two non-DVR receivers active right now. The cost for this with DirecTV is significantly lower than with Comcast.
3. I love the (satellite) technology and playing with it (part hobby as opposed to just TV).


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## El Gabito (Apr 24, 2006)

mdavej said:


> I've got to ask what the $1000 up front is about. I have to assume you're buying a couple of DVRs outright, but why? The monthly charges are the same whether you lease or own. And the ETF is only $20/month left on your contract. Sounds like you want to keep it at least a 7 months to realize your savings, hence you're spending $1000 to avoid possibly paying $300? DirecTV will probably give you an HD DVR or two for free or at most a couple of hundred bucks. If you're out of contract right now, just cancel and sign back up and you'll get nearly everything for free.
> 
> I also have to ask since you have both right now, what don't you already know first hand that you're trying to find out? Everything posted so far you already know.


$940 is a Tivo Elite (4 tuner + 1 livestream) with lifetime service. Lifetime is $499.99 or $20/mo for Tivo service. So the Elite was $440.

DirecTV I pay $100-200 depending on the rep for an HD DVR (I have two - I think I paid $300 total for those). I DO NOT OWN THESE. If I want to get the new HR34 (which I'd like to) it'll be $399.99. So $40 less than the Elite but the difference is I own the Tivo vs not the HR34.

Just trying to make the decision. I love directv and I'd love to swap my HR22 for a HR34 and keep the HR24 and go from there, but that's an extra $400 up front plus about an extra $100/mo in service fees (between tv, internet, phone).

Thanks for the input from everyone.


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## Coca Cola Kid (Jul 19, 2009)

I had Comcast before I got D*. The main reason I got rid of them was because I was sick of always reading about larger markets like Philly, Minneapolis, Boston, etc. always getting new HD channels that I wanted months (or even years) before I ever got them. With D* everyone gets the same new HD channels at the same time no matter where they live.


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

El Gabito said:


> $940 is a Tivo Elite (4 tuner + 1 livestream) with lifetime service. Lifetime is $499.99 or $20/mo for Tivo service. So the Elite was $440.
> 
> DirecTV I pay $100-200 depending on the rep for an HD DVR (I have two - I think I paid $300 total for those). I DO NOT OWN THESE. If I want to get the new HR34 (which I'd like to) it'll be $399.99. So $40 less than the Elite but the difference is I own the Tivo vs not the HR34.
> 
> ...


I'm curious, if you decide to stick with DIRECTV, can you return the Tivo Elite DVR? And since it has 4 tuners, do you need 4 cablecards in it. If so, I guess you have to pay a monthly charge for each of them?

I have a Panasonic Flat screen that has a cablecard slot and when I was with Time Warner I had a cable card. While it was working, it was great. If you had a problem with it, then it was hard to find an installer that knew anything about them. It was fairly new then, so I'm sure it may be better now with all cable companies.


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## JohnGalt (Apr 16, 2008)

I'm switching off of DTV to comcast.

Why?

Comcast understands that they're simply a provider and doesn't want to lock people into their DVRs (either doesn't want to or can't because of FCC regulations to do with cablecards). DTV's solution is to do RDV and force us all to use their lame interface. (and yes I include the HD interface that is in testing which just keeps getting slower and slower and slower over time)

Meanwhile on comcast I can right now use a 4 tuner card for $220 with a Windows Media Center PC and record 4 high def shows at the same time, and then play them throughout the house without the $4 / box / month and $3 / month /per house tax that DTV likes to impose for absolutely no reason. ($19 / month total!) And Dec 6th I'll be able to use an Xbox 360 to do the same thing without the WMC.

Meanwhile DTV killed their tuner system for WMC and apparently has no plans to revive it. 

Until and unless DTV gets their heads out of their a$$ I'm out of here end of the year. Companies like Comcast and DTV need to recognize that they're a provider, nothing more and they are no longer in control of the content or the interface. The more they try and hold on to it, the worse they're going to do. They haven't noticed yet, but as more and more people cut the cord they'll realize that it's about content delivery, not control or interface and DTV clearly doesn't get it. Send me the content, give it to me and let me choose how I want to view/listen to said content. Do not force me to watch it on your schedule or through your interface or you lose me and millions of others.

(and I've had more crappy DTV support interactions than with Comcast over the years and my comcast internet is more reliable than DTV care of DTV refusing to install on a post set in concrete and then charging me for 2 fixes to the installation (which is still broken) that they promised not to, so if you think the service is better forget it.)

(Feel free to use MythTV if you want the comments are the same)


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## JohnGalt (Apr 16, 2008)

BTW, comcast supplies the first cable card for free and they're M-cast cards so they can do multi-streams.

Thus in a TIVO or WMC with the right card in it you can record 4 programs at once with a single cablecard at no charge.

While at minimum this will cost you $8 / month + $3 for MRV on DTV.

Adds up to a Lennovo HTPC for $350 pretty damn quickly, especially if you have 4 dvrs from DTV like I do. Asside from the fact that recording 4 shows at the same time scheduled on DTV is a PITA and trivial with WMC.


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

Isn't competition wonderful? Enjoy your new service.


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## Rtm (Oct 18, 2011)

Comcast always went out in the rain here just like the directv does and it only happens when it is seriously thundering. The comcast internet still goes out in the rain all the time weird for cable I know.

Switched to directv and I'm in love with it vs comcast. Comcast didn't have hardly any hd channels and they were in the 300s you had to know if HD was available or not say TBS was 24 the HD was 324 it wasn't the same number like on directv which is better.

Love there internet not their Scientific Atlanta boxes and dvrs.


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## Scott in FL (Mar 18, 2008)

I only use Comcast for my internet service (TV is via Directv), and I'll go back to Century Link when my one year is up with Comcast in April. The performance of Comcast's internet is OK, but I lose service for a minute or two several times a day. This usually happens between around 10 am and 2 pm. Being so intermittent, Comcast can't find the problem (I've tried calling during an outage, but by the time I get someone on line to help me the internet is back up).

Normally I'd just live with the inconvenience, but I use Vonage for my work office phone at home, and even a one second hit will drop your call -- not great when you're on a conference call with a customer.

I'm curious if anyone else has this problem.


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## dualsub2006 (Aug 29, 2007)

"JohnGalt" said:


> Comcast understands that they're simply a provider and doesn't want to lock people into their DVR.


Comcast understands no such thing, their feet are nailed to the cable card floor by the FCC. If they could, they would go back to the days when they could put the screws to cable card users to encourage them to pay extortion like DVR fees.



"JohnGalt" said:


> (and yes I include the HD interface that is in testing which just keeps getting slower and slower and slower over time)


I've been on the new HD UI for months and that's just not been my experience with it. My HR23 DVRs are still very fast and the experience is much better.



"JohnGalt" said:


> Meanwhile DTV killed their tuner system for WMC and apparently has no plans to revive it.


A tuner card with the ability to decrypt the D* signal would make theft of service a lot easier for those willing to go that route. That's just a guess, but I'd be shocked if that weren't part of the reason why tuner card support went away.

Aside from that, how many people actually used the option when it was available? Not many? A few?

It really sounds like Comcast would work out better for you. I hope that it does.


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## crocostimpy (Dec 2, 2011)

Just switched from Comcast to DTV (still have the Comcast equipment on the floor waiting for the return boxes). I had been keeping an eye on the satellite offerings waiting for a really good deal. We have 5 TVs in the house and I wanted to get as many of them an HD receiver as I could. More HD boxes would cost extra with cable, so when I saw the current DTV deal for 4 HD boxes I finally switched. We do have 1 SD box now though, but I would like to update that at some point in the future.

We had an HD DVR with Comcast, which I liked, but now we have Whole House DVR included, where it would have cost extra with cable. I wanted to get 2 DVRs but the wife didn't want to pay the extra. The premium stations for 3 months and NFL Sunday Ticket sealed the deal.

Pros/Cons:

DVR: Well, we've only had DTV for a week so I haven't had a lot of experience with it. The Whole House is definitely a plus. You can't set up series recordings or check the list of upcoming recordings from anywhere other than the DVR itself though, which kind of defeats the purpose. Accessing DVR functions from the menu on DTV is kind of a pain compared to Comcast. The Comcast interface was simple. Too many button presses on DTV.

OnDemand/PPV: We never watched much PPV, but we did use OD frequently on Comcast. It was all together in one place. I'm not crazy about all of the separate channels involved in DTVs version. Maybe I'm missing a shortcut somewhere.

Programming: With the DTV Choice Extra package there are only about 2 channels that we lose coming from Comcast: Palladia and another that I can't remember right now. Our Comcast package had Encore and a few other movie channels like IFC, etc. After our premiums go away in 3 months we'll still have those plus TMC, so I'd say it's a wash. There are a few channels that are not in HD now though, like DIY and BBC. Top Gear is in HD and we'll miss not seeing that way for now.

Reception: Haven't had DTV long enough to see how good or bad it is. My neighbor with a Dish says he almost never gets any interference. We supposedly have a strong signal so we'll have to wait and see. We had lost cable before when distant lines went down during a storm. Our neighborhood has buried lines.

GUI: Comcast gets the nod here. DTV interface seems convoluted sometimes. DVR functions are spread around. Opening and closing the guide on DTV is very slow. I understand that when changing a channel there will be a delay while the system searches for the right satellite, but the guide should all be local and should be fast. Going from menu to menu can take as long as 5 seconds or more most of the time. That doesn't sound long, but when you're sitting there waiting it can get pretty annoying. The thing that bugs about the most is that there is no 'New' or "Repeat' tag in the short description as you're going through the guide. You have to push the Info button to look for the 'First Aired' tag. How hard can it be to add it in the front of the description!?

Equipment: I don't know offhand which models we have. The original HD DVR was swapped out for 'the latest model' after it couldn't connect to our wireless network. It still only records 2 shows at a time. I was told that there will be a model coming out in Feb. or so that will record 5 shows. Maybe I should have waited. The other HD receivers seem to work fine. They're pretty small and unobtrusive.

Conclusion: In writing all of this it almost seems as if I Comcast would be a better choice. That all depends on how you look at it I guess. Four out of five TVs in our house are HD, and we only had 1 HD box with Comcast. The latest DTV promotion gives us 4 HD boxes, plus Whole House DVR. Those were big advantages for me. We kept our Comcast internet and phone. After our 'new customer' pricing ends it will cost us only a few more dollars a month over our previous Comcast setup. Those few dollars are worth it to me for the added amenities.

Sorry this was so lengthy. For my first post no less! I can be long-winded sometimes.


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## Red Orc (Oct 11, 2011)

I had DTV SD switched to Comcast HD for about three weeks and then went back to DTV and upgraded to HD.

I really miss some of the HD channels that Comcast had. In my area Comcast has the Cooking Channel DIY BBC America & Nat Geo Wild G4 in HD. DTV didn't have G4 at all last time I checked. And I watch very little sports so all the sports available on DTV mean absolutely nothing to me.
I like DTV's dvr UI a lot better. Comcast's UI is very bizarre - For example there's two ways to search for things. There was a search function and A search and record function. No matter how you searched for something it was hard to tell if the results were in HD or SD. 
Comcast's DVR's don't have a whole lot of space. I think most of them are 320GB.
DTV lets you add an external HD Comcast does not.
Comcast's picture quality for me was very good. It wasn't quite as good as DTV but it was _much_ better than I expected. I would say their SD was about as good as DTV's and the only thing holding back their HD was that it was noticeably softer than DTV's. I didn't see any pixilation or any other kind of ugliness in the picture or sound.


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## shoeheel (Oct 15, 2006)

Today I got Comcast. Tomorrow I will probably return it. I've got it running side-by-side with my DTV, that I was thinking of replacing. I wanted to upgrade an SD DTV box and go to a whole home DVR, so I thought I've give Comcast a try. The monthly price is about the same.

Comcast pluses:

Better HD picture
Networks On Demand
Faster channel changing
DIY Network 

DTV pluses:

Better GUI
My off brand TVs work with DTV remotes
Wireless remotes (I run multiple TVs off of a single box)
Duplicate SD channels not cluttering the guide
HD channel numbers the same as SD channel

What am I missing?


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

For Comcast:
With DirecTv, the new HDGUI will prevent you from running multiple tvs off one box unless they are all in SD mode (for menus). The menu will not show up on your SD sets if the main set is HD.

You can create a favorites list with Comcast and remove those duplicate channels I believe.

You can buy a Tivo Premier and use it with Comcast, and with two of them, you can use them Whole Home, copy recorded shows to your computer, etc. Supports Hulu Plus, Netflix, etc.

Cheaper Internet price with Comcast TV.

Occasional rain fade outages during storms with satellite.


For DirecTv:

More sports channels in HD

larger recording space on drives

Availability of a 5 tuner DVR

More bits per channel (better PQ, less compression)

No annoying weather interruptions on EVERY channel


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

As to weather interruptions, my experience over many years has been that Comcast has been out much more than satellite. When sat goes down, it's for seconds or maybe minutes. When comcast goes down, it's for days or weeks.

I've got comcast internet and limited cable (internet is actually cheaper that way than without limited cable). The limited cable (analog) is almost unwatchable on some channels (the vhf-low 2 through 6).

There is a work around for the HD master, SD remote TV's issue with DirecTV. It is purchasing a component video to composite video converter box (about $50). While I agree you "shouldn't have to" do that, it is a workable solution that will let you accomplish what you want.

Just my personal experiences.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

carl6 said:


> As to weather interruptions, my experience over many years has been that Comcast has been out much more than satellite. When sat goes down, it's for seconds or maybe minutes. When comcast goes down, it's for days or weeks.


I wasnt referring to the cable going out. I was referring to those annoying EBS broadcasts "The emergency alert system has been activated, please tune to channel 18 for emergency information" repeated over and over, on every channel, and interrupting recordings. Very annoying to me.


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

Davenlr said:


> For Comcast:
> With DirecTv, the new HDGUI will prevent you from running multiple tvs off one box unless they are all in SD mode (for menus). The menu will not show up on your SD sets if the main set is HD....


I would add to that comment, if the multiple TV's are all HD, with the proper setup the HD menu works fine on all TV's as well.


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## shoeheel (Oct 15, 2006)

Oh, I forgot:

Comcast plus:

Live Button

DTV:

30 Second Skip Button

I know this stuff could technically be covered under DTV's "Better GUI", but the 30 Second Skip Button is such and awesome feature, I just had to mention it separately.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Shoeheel-

How did you test PQ between the providers?


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## shoeheel (Oct 15, 2006)

Laxguy said:


> Shoeheel-
> 
> How did you test PQ between the providers?


Just with my eyes. The Comcast seemed sharper and brighter, but it could be a difference in my TV source settings, between the 2 HDMI inputs, or it could be my imagination. 

On second thought, I was comparing local stations at the time. Could it be only the locals are lower quality on DTV?


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

I had both as well, and some of the DirecTv channels looked better (specifically the 1080i channels), while for some reason, the 720p channels on Comcast appeared to look better. Comcasts SD channels also contained a LOT less pixellation, and was sharper looking.

Its impossible to do an A/B comparison vs a subjective one like we did, as there is no single DVR/receiver that can receive both formats. I was using a HR24 for DirecTv and a Tivo Premier for Comcast.

In theory, Comcast compresses more, and should look worse. In reality, they do a really good job picture wise. I continue to subscribe to DirecTv, though, not so much because of the PQ, but due to price (DirecTv is cheaper for me), and technical issues (Comcast internet would constantly drop out any time a splitter was put in line to distribute the signal to the TV, and after 3 tech visits, they never could find the issue).


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## la24philly (Mar 9, 2010)

I have been paying for comcast and directv.

I have directv as my main - which i have the premier and sports pack, etc.

I have 1 comcast cable box- for 2 stinking channels CSN philly and TCN.


I'm moving to raleigh and will fianlly not have to pay comcast at all.

only thing ill be blacked out of is 4 sixer games and thats when they play the bobcats, only because directv chooses not to pay the bobcats the extra money to extend the market into raleigh. its even blacked out on NBA LP. but im not to worry nor really care about msising 4 sixer games and not a bobcat fan.

outside of that I'll never be blacked out of philly sports again, and can do it with 1 provider.


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## JoeTheDragon (Jul 21, 2008)

Red Orc said:


> I had DTV SD switched to Comcast HD for about three weeks and then went back to DTV and upgraded to HD.
> 
> I really miss some of the HD channels that Comcast had. In my area Comcast has the Cooking Channel DIY BBC America & Nat Geo Wild G4 in HD. DTV didn't have G4 at all last time I checked. And I watch very little sports so all the sports available on DTV mean absolutely nothing to me.
> I like DTV's dvr UI a lot better. Comcast's UI is very bizarre - For example there's two ways to search for things. There was a search function and A search and record function. No matter how you searched for something it was hard to tell if the results were in HD or SD.
> ...


Comcast Channel map in the Chicago area is just a big mess.

Also the Comcast guide sucks and it's loaded with ad's on each F*** page.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

I agree. Only way to tolerate Comcast is with a Tivo Premier in my opinion.


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## doctrsnoop (Nov 20, 2007)

I had both Comcast and DirecTV concurrently for a year and a half. I had both the Comcast Motorola Box and a Tivo HD box with cable card.

I won't comment on programming because the channels have changed so much since the 2 years have passed since.

I didn't see significant PQ differences.

Cost: To have multiple boxes with Comcast was much more expensive and I wanted quite a few. I think it's around 15-20 for comcast vs. 6 now for DirecTV.

The Comcast Motorola Box was and Still is a joke. I will never complain about an HR2x after having multiple minute delays with the motorola. I didn't like the implementation of the favorites which makes it difficult since the response is so slow.

Finally, having the Tivo HD boxes would have made life tolerable, but there is a big fee per box to Tivo on top of the fee to Comcast. It had some nice transcoding options available


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## kenmoo (Oct 3, 2006)

Thanks for all the info in this thread. I switched to DTV in 2006 when I got my first HDTV and Comcast only had terrible SD. 2 months ago our county was finally upgraded to a full fiber optic system from Comcast. Now I'm getting a 1 year bundle offer for land phone, 8 times faster internet than ATT DSL and a full premium HD package for a total of $109 per month. That's slightly more than my DTV package minus the 2nd and 3rd HRx DVR's but includes the land line phone and cable internet. In my rural area no OTA reception and ATT does not offer HDTV here.

If I drop my ATT land phone and ATT DSL service and switch both to Comcast for the trial year does anyone know if I can suspend my DTV account for a year and would I keep my current DVR's for that year? Would programing previously recorded on the DTV DVR's still play in a suspended account? 

If I keep a basic DTV HD package and drop all the extra add on HD and Premiums, will my recorded programs from those dropped channels already on the DVR's still play?


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## doctrsnoop (Nov 20, 2007)

kenmoo said:


> If I keep a basic DTV HD package and drop all the extra add on HD and Premiums, will my recorded programs from those dropped channels already on the DVR's still play?


That I know to be yes. the other question I don't know


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## AlanSaysYo (Aug 22, 2007)

kenmoo said:


> If I drop my ATT land phone and ATT DSL service and switch both to Comcast for the trial year does anyone know if I can suspend my DTV account for a year and would I keep my current DVR's for that year?


I believe you can only be suspended for 6 months out of a 12 month period before they force you to reactivate or cancel.


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## Red Orc (Oct 11, 2011)

shoeheel said:


> Today I got Comcast. Tomorrow I will probably return it. I've got it running side-by-side with my DTV, that I was thinking of replacing. I wanted to upgrade an SD DTV box and go to a whole home DVR, so I thought I've give Comcast a try. The monthly price is about the same.
> 
> Comcast pluses:
> 
> ...


I thought Comcast DVR's had an option to hide duplicate SD channels in the guide. It might have been in the hidden menu you access when the DVR is powered down.


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## Red Orc (Oct 11, 2011)

JoeTheDragon said:


> Comcast Channel map in the Chicago area is just a big mess.
> 
> Also the Comcast guide sucks and it's loaded with ad's on each F*** page.


Yes the way Comcast's channels are layed out is an absolute nightmare!
The only reason I was able to cope (let alone find anything) was because I made out my own channel guide that was in *alphabetical order*  . 
SD channels were in black HD channels were in bold red. Favorite SD channels were in bold blue. Since it was in alphabetical order I could find any channel I wanted as long as I didn't lose my home-made channel guide.


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## Geeke19 (Oct 16, 2004)

Comcast's channels are layed out is an absolute nightmare!


^ I agree with you on that one!

I returned my cable boxes to comcast today, had DTV installed on Monday. Comcast is the biggest rip off when it comes to cable tv, I counted 104+ duplicate channels that was costing me 100+ dollars a month and that didn't even include the internet. If you are thinking about getting comcast cable tv DON'T RUN FAR FAR AWAY!!


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## BHYDE-1 (Nov 2, 2007)

I'm another person with both DirecTV and Comcast. When we first got DirecTV a few years ago we kept Comcast out of fear that weather problems would interrupt the satellite, but over the last 7 years that hasn't been a problem. We went to DirecTV because of the DirecTV tivos, and were very disappointed when DirecTV started using its own brand of dvr for HD. When we obtained an HDTV, I upgraded the DirecTV receivers but also added a Tivo Series 3 HD DVR, and later a Premiere, again in case of those non-existent weather problems. 

But over the years my wife and I have found ourselves always looking at shows on the Tivo with Comcast rather than DirecTV because the Tivo has always seemed superior to the DirecTV DVRs. The peanut remote is easier to use, and the interface is simpler and more intuitive. I know that is a subject of much debate, and over time, of course, the DirecTV dvrs have greatly improved. The new HD interface for the HR units is also rather nifty - although I don't like the opaque black band at the bottom when you're fast forwarding. But, without really thinking about it, we just keep using the Tivo and Comcast. 

We hoped that the DirecTV HD Tivo would solve the problem, but alas it doesn't have streaming or the 3D channels. And my wife just got me the Tivo elite, and it has multi room streaming that is equivalent to DirecTV's "whole home" functionality. We find ourselves never using DirecTV now that pro football season is over. (Ah, yes, the majesty of Sunday Ticket!)

Programming wise, it depends on one's preferences. DirecTV carries more sports, and more sports HD - and not just Sunday Ticket or Major League baseball but also Fox Soccer Channel and GOL TV. It has many more choices on the premium channels, but with a DVR that's less of an issue because there are always so many shows we've got recorded. Comcast seems to have more of the non-sports stations in HD, although the HD offerings seem to differ widely from area to area - for example, we don't have BBCA in HD, but we do have E in HD, and Fashion Police in HD is a hoot!

If finances become an issue, it's become pretty clear that the satellite dish will go and not the Tivo, and that's just based on how our viewing preferences have played out.


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## Red Orc (Oct 11, 2011)

I like DTV's OD implementation a little better. DTV's OD is downloaded to the DVR and you can watch it whenever you want before the expiration date.
Comcast's OD is streamed to the DVR and isn't saved to it. IIRC if you stop watching an OD on Comcast you have to go back through the menus find the program again and start watching it all over again.

I thought Comcast's HD looked almost as good as DTV's HD it was just a little soft looking on a few channels. SD channels were about the same.


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## hclarkjr (Feb 18, 2012)

for me it was the lack of HD, when i got comcast the tech told me that "most" games were in HD for their extra innings package. big fat lie there :eek2: i got 2-4 games per day in HD and the rest in their stretched out 480 to 720 conversion that looked hideous. :nono2: the final straw was when after my promotion was over my bill went from $162 to $175 then the very next month it went to $193 all with no explanation. called in trying to get another promotion and was told there were none for me. told them i was going to directv with the free sunday ticket and was told " sorry you feel that way " needless to say i called directv that day and was hooked up that sunday. that was in September of last year.


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