Before you order DIRECTV service, you may want to review this article to get a brief overview of what all is involved.  While DIRECTV is a good value for the money, you need to be aware of a few things before placing your satellite TV service order.  Doing so will help you avoid any problems down the road, and will also help you to manage expectations if you are new to the satellite TV world.

1.  First take a good look at your current cable television bill.  Or if you have Dish Network, review that bill.  Are you happy with the package you currently have, or are you paying extra for channels you don’t even watch?  What about the number of receivers in your home?  Generally the cable company charges you for each cable box, so if you are rarely using a certain television set, then you might be better cutting service from that TV altogether.  When you order DIRECTV service, the price includes one receiver and each additional will cost you $5 extra.

2.  Once you know exactly how many TV sets you want hooked up, review the DIRECTV packages available to determine which one fits your needs.  The nice thing is you can easily upgrade or downgrade you package by setting up online access through the DIRECTV.com website, or by calling them.  New deals also now offer Free HD for life, so if you have a high definition TV you won’t pay anything extra if you meet the terms and conditions required.

3.  Next, take a brief look outside and try to figure out where you want the satellite dish installed.  The dish needs to face south and cannot be blocked by other buildings or extremely large trees.  If you want DIRECTV, you have to have a satellite dish installed, there is no other way to get their service.  Most installers will work with you and appreciate it if you have surveyed the situation ahead of time and have a general idea of where you want the DIRECTV dish installed.

4.  Place your order.  Depending on how busy DIRECTV is in your area, you can sometimes order DIRECTV satellite one day and have it installed the next, but usually it will be at least a few days.  DO NOT CANCEL your cable service yet, wait until the satellite installation is complete before calling to cancel.

5.  Manage your expectations.  Generally when you order DIRECTV, you can have service installed in up to four rooms as part of the deal.  But if there are extenuating circumstances that are going to require a lot of extra work, there may be some charges involved.  Your installer should pre-survey the job with you, and let you know in advance if there will be any “premium installation” charges.

6. Manage your expectations- Part 2.  Once your service is up and running, you will of course start getting your new monthly bill from DIRECTV.  Remember though that this is a discounted price, which generally lasts for one year.  Current DIRECTV promotions offer you a $29 a month reduction for the first year, but of course all good things must come to an end.  After the year is up, the regular price kicks in and you are contractually obligated to stay for two years total.  Knowing that this discounted rate will come to an end after one year can mitigate some of the sticker shock.

Placing your request for satellite TV is fairly simple, these days you can even order DIRECTV online.  But by knowing what you want ahead of time you won’t have to make a lot of last minute decisions on the phone.

Today in the United States there are two dominant satellite TV providers – Dish Network and DIRECTV. While the growth of satellite television services has been incredible over the past 20 years, every new technology has a saturation point. Are satellite TV companies beginning to suffer as the market matures? What factors should you consider if you are considering signing up with one of the satellite companies?  What should you know if you are going to compare satellite TV providers?

While both DIRECTV and Dish Network use similar technology, they certainly run their businesses differently. Dish Network continues to focus on price, with the lowest package costs overall. Most advertisements from Dish Network hit on their America’s Top 120 offer, which you can get for an entry level price point of $24.99 a month for one year. Of course this is a bare bones offering, with just a basic receiver. As soon as you add DVR service or need multiple boxes you will be paying more, not to mention this offer is discounted by $15 a month. A more realistic price for Dish Network’s service is probably between $50 and $60 a month once you factor in everything else.

Dish Network continues to be the provider willing to stand up and fight content providers tooth and nail. This probably comes from the fact that their founder and CEO Charlie Ergen is always willing to fight for a good deal when it comes to buying content for Dish Network. While some may call him “cheap” he won’t sign off on contracts he considers unfair. This is probably why some baseball related content like the YES Network, MLB Extra Innings, and the MLB Channel are not yet carried by this satellite television provider.

The other satellite provider, DIRECTV, focuses on the sports fan in much of their marketing. They continue to be the home of the NFL Sunday Ticket, which brings in millions of hard core football fans every season. While this package is a loss leader, costing DIRECTV around a billion dollars a year, it does a great job in insuring football fans both sign up and stay with DIRECTV year after year. DIRECTV is also the home of the NASCAR Hotpass package as well as the Mega March Madness bundle offered each spring. While your DIRECTV package price is probably going to cost you a bit more than a comparable Dish Network package, you will find all of your sports content here.

Both satellite TV providers have had to adopt to added competition in the market over the past few years.  This has come in the form of telecom companies beginning to offer their own cable TV packages. Verizon has rolled out FiOS to millions of customers, and the same is true of AT&T and their U-verse packages. These companies also have the advantage of being able to offer triple play bundles which make it easy for the customer to get high speed internet access and digital home phone services through one provider. How have satellite TV companies adapted to this challenge?

DIRECTV has adopted a “keep your enemies” close policy, by signing resale agreements with both AT&T and Verizon. If the technology is not available to the customer for either FiOS or U-verse, they can bundle DIRECTV service along with their home phone and high speed internet. DIRECTV also partners with Qwest in the Western United States, but has more success there as Qwest does not offer their own video product.

Dish Network currently navigates the pay television market on their own, relying on low prices and heavy advertising to battle the competition. Both companies have relied on their HD content offerings to bring in millions of customers.   Will the two big satellite TV providers merge at some point? It has been rumored that Dish and DIRECTV will get together at some point, but regulators in the United States government would have a hard time swallowing a deal like this. Many rural areas do not have any other choice when it comes to their pay television provider, so competition between Dish Network and DIRECTV remains a good thing for these individuals.

The NFL Sunday Ticket package is new and improved for 2010, as DIRECTV is finally going to include high definition broadcasts at no additional charge.  Gone is the Superfan package which was priced at $99 per season in years past, and most of the content is now part of Sunday Ticket.

Pricing on Sunday Ticket will go up a bit over the 2009 offer, with two different payment options available.  The all at once price for the 2010 Sunday Ticket package will be $314.93, or if you want to stretch things out you can opt for the seven payment play of $44.99 a month.  Last year pricing came in at about $300 for the standard NFL package, but if you wanted HD access you had to add Superfan for $99 extra.   Many long time Sunday Ticket subscribers were able to negotiate discounts by calling DIRECTV and threatening to cancel.   While that worked last year, I would expect DIRECTV to hold the line with this year’s price and not offer any additional deals for existing customers.

New customers of course will probably get in on another great deal.  While the 2010 Sunday Ticket deal for new customers has not been released yet, it will probably follow along the lines of past years which offered several months free of the Premier package with a new subscription.

Existing Sunday Ticket customers will no doubt be thrilled with the add-ons to the standard package.  As mentioned, all NFL games will be available in HD without additional cost.  This means if you already have a DIRECTV HD receiver and pay the $10 a month high definition fee, you won’t have to pay anything extra beyond the regular Sunday Ticket price.  Other additions to the Sunday Ticket package include the Red Zone channel, which also used to be part of Superfan.  This channel cuts from game to game when a team is in the “red zone” generally withing 20 yards of the goal line.  This DIRECTV in-house Red Zone channel is not to be confused with the football league produced Red Zone channel which is now available through DISH Network and Comcast.

The Game Mix on DIRECTV channel 702 will also be included.  Here you can watch all of the games going on in HD, though its hard to see much detail with as many as eight different games on at the same time.  Highlighting and selecting any game will bring it full screen for you.  NFL Short Cuts will also be available to Sunday Ticket subscribers at no additional charge.  On Mondays and Tuesdays you can watch the replays of all games compressed into 30 minutes.  This is great for fantasy football players looking to scout new talent.

All of the additional features of NFL Ticket will carry forward as well including the scoreboard feature, the NFL Player Tracker, and highlights as they happen.  So what isn’t included in the new DIRECTV setup?

The two features the DIRECTV will continue to charge extra for are the Sunday Ticket Online and the Sunday Ticket Mobile features.  The new package created is called NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go, and will offer both of these options for $49.95 a season, or $9.95 a month over five months.  Obviously this add on targets those who are not able to be at home every Sunday to enjoy the games, so they have an option to keep watching from other locations.  While Sunday Ticket Online was offered stand alone to Manhattan residents last year for $350, no mention of this offer going national can be found on the directv.com website.

While I have run this blog for a few years now, I haven’t yet knocked out an honest to goodness DIRECTV review.  Many of the “reviews” on this site  are primarily informational in nature – talking about pricing, content, and availability of different cable and satellite services.  Since DIRECTV is currently the service I have and use, here are a few thoughts on what I like and don’t like about the satellite service.

First up in my DIRECTV review I will go back to the initial setup.  DIRECTV was sort of my second choice in that I lived in an area served by Qwest where they offered their “Choice TV” service.  This was an IPTV product which was discontinued, so I was basically forced to pick a new provider or I was going to have to go without cable TV service. In my area, the cable company was/is Comcast, and while I have had their service in the past it was really time to see what satellite TV was all about especially since I was also in the market for my first HDTV.

That of course meant going with either DIRECTV or Dish Network.  My local phone and DSL carrier is Qwest, and they are a partner with DIRECTV as well, so that sort of sealed the deal.  I placed my order and patiently waited for installation day.

Installation day came, and I was promised a morning appointment.   Time seems to really grind to a halt when you are waiting for the cable or satellite guy, and of course I was not first on his list.  Around 11 am I got a call that he was heading my way.  Then around 11:45 he calls to say he doesn’t have an important tool that helps him point the satellite dish correctly, and has to go to the other side of town to get it.  Finally, he gets to my house around 2:30.  So much for my day…..

Installation takes about an hour and a half as he mounts the satellite dish, drops a DIRECTV HR21 DVR in the living room, and a standard receiver up in the loft for the kids television set.  Though I don’t have my HDTV set yet, I notice immediately the picture quality improves on my current setup.

I went with the Choice Xtra package with DVR, and still have it to this day.  While I initially did not have HD on the account, it was simple and quick to add a few months later when I did get my Panasonic HDTV.    I have tried out the Premier package as well, and while it certainly offers much more content, I just don’t watch enough of it to justify the cost.  One thing to be aware of is that if you do switch to the Premier package, you have to keep it for at least 30 days before downgrading your service.

One of the biggest debates going on in the satellite and cable market revolves around HD content.  Overall, the HD content on DIRECTV is adequate, but once you start watching programs in high definition, its hard to go back to anything else.  The reality of DIRECTV HD is that with the Choice Xtra package I only get about 45 HD channels. So where are the 130+ HD channels you see advertised on DIRECTV commercials?  Quite a few of these channels are there if you go to the Premier package, in fact you get about 80 channels total in HD when all of the HBO, Showtime, Starz, and Cinemax channels are added to the equation.  The rest of the so called HD channels are the regional sports networks and the Pay per view movie channels.  While I get two regional sports networks in HD, DIRECTV counts the other twenty-something HD channels from across the country in their advertising.   While the Sports Pack does offer access to these, all of the live professional games are blacked out so these channels really aren’t of much interest.

Now another feature that DIRECTV offers that I have tried out is their video on demand package.  It is free, which is a good thing because I don’t really think I would pay for it if they tried to charge me.  I had to hook my DSL connection up to the back of the HR21 DVR to get this up and working, but it was a fairly painless procedure.  Once your high speed internet connection is plugged in, you can then access the DIRECTV on demand menu on channel 1000.  Here you can scroll through available titles and select what you want to watch.  While there is plenty to pick from, you may or may not be able to begin watching immediately based on how fast of an internet connection you have.

My 7 Mbps connection through Qwest seems to work adequately, though at times I have to wait a minute or two for some of the content to be saved before I start watching. The DIRECTV on demand platform is a bit clumsy compared to the Comcast On demand I have tried out.  It needs a redesign as far as the menu options go to help you find what you want, and they also are sorely lacking in HD content.  If you have premiums like HBO, you will have much more available as far as movies go with satellite TV on demand.

As far as customer service goes, my experience has been fair with DIRECTV.  I have only called them once when we had trouble with our second receiver for a time.  It wasn’t working correctly, and when we called they wanted to either bill us for a service call or add the DIRECTV Protection Plan for $5.99 a month.  I politely declined and decided to replace the coaxial cable from the wall and reboot the receiver.  Something I did worked resulting in the receiver working again, but they were not all that helpful when I did call them.

DIRECTV is extremely aggressive in telemarketing their existing customers.  I probably get a couple of phone calls a month from them offering some sort of premium deal on HBO or Starz.  I did take advantage of one offer over the winter when we were inside more, but dropped the premiums later when the deal was about to expire.  These days I simply screen their calls as unless I want to hear what they have to offer.

One thing that takes a bit of getting used to is how slow the channels change with DIRECTV.  Coming from cable, I was a speed demon when it comes to surfing channels.  With DIRECTV, they slow channel change quickly gets you out of the channel surfing mode.  I use the “guide” button now, which shrinks the size of the show you are currently watching and then brings up a channel menu.  You can scroll through that fairly quickly and pick out your next channel by hitting the “select” button.  Of course the DIRECTV DVR has reduced my channel surfing even further, as I prefer to skip through the commercials altogether.

A couple of features that are new to satellite TV are the DIRECTV Scoreguide and DIRECTV Apps.   The Scoreguide is pretty helpful, as if you are on a sports channel you can hit the red button on your remote and scroll through scores from the major sports.  On the other hand DIRECTV Apps are fairly useless, simply because they load so slow.

A DIRECTV review probably isn’t complete for sports fans unless comment is made on the premium sports packages including NFL Sunday Ticket.  The football package is the only reason some people have a DIRECTV subscription, but the price just isn’t justifiable in my case.   While I have considered as Sunday Ticket subscription, it just isn’t as valuable to me as I live in my favorite teams’ market and can always see them play.  I have caught the NFL Ticket free preview offered the first weekend of the season and found it extremely entertaining, with the Mix channel and the RedZone channel being my favorites.   Other packages like the NBA League Pass and MLB Extra Innings are also available for around $200 a season, with free preview weeks mixed in from time to time for the rest of us.

That about wraps up my DIRECTV review.  While I am a fairly satisfied customer, I am still considering a jump to Dish Network when my contract is up.  Getting a good deal on and saving money is always important, and to do that you almost have to switch your provider from time to time.  If you are a DIRECTV customer, feel free to post your own review in the comment box below for others to read.

For quite some time, cable television companies held a monopoly on the pay television market in the United States.  Sure you could get a dish TV system installed if you had a huge backyard with space for a six foot wide satellite.   For obvious reasons these were not very popular in cities or the suburbs, though if you lived in a rural area it was pretty much the only way to receive cable television channels.  When the size of the dish shrunk, the popularity of these TV systems took off and customers quickly accepted this new technology.

Today satellite TV remains an extremely popular option for both city dwellers and rural customers alike.  But how exactly do dish TV systems work?  What factors come into play for the homeowner or the apartment dweller when looking at this option as an alternative to cable service?  Lets consider what is involved in getting dish TV installed in your home or apartment, and what equipment is needed to make your system bring those channels into the home.

When looking at a dish system, it all starts with the satellite unit that is mounted outside of your home.  These small satellite dish units are really what powered the growth of satellite service in the 1990′s.  No longer did the customer have to pour a concrete pad in their backyard and have a massive satellite dish placed out there to receive signal, instead small units were deployed by Dish Network, DIRECTV, and PrimeStar.  Eventually Primestar was sold and became a part of DIRECTV.

Because of the location of the satellites in space, your satellite dish has to be placed facing south or southwest depending on your location.  This of course can present problems for some homeowners with large trees or those who have buildings that may interfere with your line of sight.  Those in apartments may also be locked out of the satellite game if they face north.  But if your home allows installation of a dish TV system, the next step is routing that signal into the home in to the viewing areas.

Traditional coaxial cables that are used by cable television now take over.  Depending on what is already in place, the dish system installer may run additional cable to areas where it is needed.  Most satellite TV packages include setup to one television in the home, but there are generally charges for additional receivers each month for your other TV sets.  Most today opt to have one of the new HD DVR receivers on their primary television, allowing them to record and playback content at their convenience rathter that always being locked into live TV broadcasts.  Dish Network has had an advantage over the past few years in that their DuoDVR series allows two different feeds with independent remote controls.  DIRECTV is though bringing out their own multi-room DVR in 2010.

Most dish television systems can be customized fairly closely to your needs.  While free installation in up to four rooms is generally included, if you have a special situation and need more rooms connected, either company will help you out.  Just be aware that a custom dish system like this will in all likelihood have up front installation charges and may also require a second satellite dish.

For many Americans, the NFL Sunday Ticket package is not available to watch because of their cable or satellite provider. Only DIRECTV carries the out of market sports package, and that means that many in apartments and condos can’t subscribe to satellite TV. Others are simply happy with their cable provider or the other satellite company – Dish Network and don’t want to be forced into a DIRECTV subscription. But what about watching the Sunday Ticket online?

For several years, Major League Baseball has offered a package that allows internet user access to all of their games. Priced at a little more than $100 a season, it has been a huge hit with fans across America, as well as those around the world who want to tap into MLB action while either working or traveling abroad. The NFL has resisted offering a similar package, probably due to the major networks fear of losing viewers of the nationally televised games. But last year the NFL finally allowed access to the Sunday Ticket online, though it was to a small group of Americans – those living in Manhattan.

For the 2009 season, DIRECTV finally offered Sunday Ticket on computers if you lived in the Manhattan area of New York City. Of course, this is one area where there are very few DIRECTV customers, as nearly all of the real estate there is divided into apartments and condominiums. Many are high rise units, which do not have private balconies that a potential customer would need to get satellite TV. Many apartments also have exclusive agreements with cable television companies in the area like Cablevision and Time Warner, which prevent the installation of a shared satellite system for residents. Of course DIRECTV Sunday Ticket online was not cheap, being offered at $349 for the full season.

According to USA Today, last seasons Manhattan experiment was the first step in rolling out the product to a national audience. The newspaper reports that DIRECTV will bring the product out for everyone for the 2010 NFL season. Will the hefty price tag of more than $300 stay? How many American will swallow hard and pay for Sunday Ticket online?

Expect DIRECTV to charge at least the $349 if not more once the product goes to a national audience. The satellite provider offers a Sunday Ticket promotion starting every summer, and they do not want to discourage people from signing up with their full package by offering the online product at a low price. Generally, the promotion offers at least four months of the Premier package at no charge when a customer buys the NFL Ticket at regular price. If Sunday Ticket online was priced too low, potential customers will stick with their current provider rather than switching to a full DIRECTV package.

The 2010 MLB season is here, and for many die hard baseball fans it means that it is time to figure out if the MLB Extra Innings package is within their budget.  In this article, we will consider some of the details surrounding this package, and look at the various providers that carry the premium baseball package.

This year’s edition of MLB Extra Innings comes in at about $199 for the full season.  Most providers give you the option of paying for the package in four payments, which translates to $50 a month for four months.  For that, you will get access to around 80 out of market games each week.  Considering the baseball season lasts about 24 weeks you are looking at nearly 2,000 games, so if you are a fan this package is the best deal of any out of market sports package.

Now if you are interested in watching the games in HD, you mileage may vary depending on your provider.  DIRECTV is promising to carry at least 40 out of the 80 something games each week in high definition.   Depending on your cable television company, you may find anywhere from 10 to 50 games in HD each week.

So who will have MLB Extra Innings in 2010?  As mentioned DIRECTV is already on board, and they also will be carrying the MLB channel for the second straight year.  Most of the big cable TV companies are also set to carry the package, among them Comcast and Time Warner cable.  Other big providers that are carrying the baseball package include Cox cable, Cablevision, and Bright House networks.   Verizon is also offering Extra Innings as an add on to their FiOS package options.

Two big players are missing from the MLB Extra Innings lineup, those being Dish Network and AT&T U-verse.  Dish has been battling Major League Baseball for years over carriage terms, meaning you won’t find the MLB channel on Dish Network either.  Uverse also has not come to terms with MLB or the inDemand network for the package.

If you still aren’t sure if the package is right for you, be sure to check out the free MLB Extra Innings preview, which is running from April 5th through the 11th.   Channels vary depending on your cable or satellite provider, so check in directly with them to find out where the games are airing.

Cable TV packages have evolved quite a bit over the last 10 years. Before the year 2000, you pretty much just had to pick from either a basic cable package or a digital cable package. Now there are literally dozens of choices when it comes to your cable package, as they offer multiple levels of service, and also high speed internet connectivity along with voice service. What are some of the important things to consider when shopping for a cable TV package? Are cable packages competitive with the alternatives, satellite and telco TV?

One of the important things to realize if you are served by one of the big cable companies like Comcast or Time Warner is that they want you to subscribe to multiple services. The cable TV network is already there, so for the company to make a greater return on their investment they need their subscribers to order and pay for multiple services. Thus, cable TV packages are designed to give you greater discounts based on the number of services you order.

Most people in America today have some sort of cable or satellite TV. More and more are ordering high speed internet service as computers make their way into almost every home. Telephone service in the home is on the decline though, as cell phones have taken over as a more convenient way to keep in touch. Thus, the cable TV packages you can get primarily focus on video and internet service. At minimum, you should be able to get a cable double play deal that gives you a nice discount on video and internet service. Oftentimes, the cable deal you get will last for six months or one year. Lately though, some offers have extended discounts for as long as two years, but you may have to sign a contract to get a discounted rate for that period of time.  Offers like the Comcast triple play can be enticing, especially when they are throwing in a $200 Visa card with certain cable packages.  Make sure you get full details on the cable TV package you are interested in, especially any contractual information.

Another consideration with cable TV packages is the price they charge you for DVR service. If you order a satellite TV package, you can expect to pay around $6 or $7 a month for satellite DVR service with Dish Network or DIRECTV. This fee applies for each TV you have connected to a DVR with DIRECTV. Dish Network offers DuoDVR devices which can connect two TV sets. Some cable companies have hike their DVR prices up to $15 a month or more. That can be quite an expense, especially if you want more than one DVR with your cable TV bundle.

The main advantage of a cable television package when compared to satellite is that you can deal with one company for all of your communication services. DIRECTV and DISH Network only offer video, so they have to partner with local telecom companies like Qwest, Verizon and AT&T to offer phone service and DSL. Cable TV packages usually cost a more overall than satellite and telecom providers, but most cable operators also offer On-demand programming for free, which gives you a lot of flexibility in watching TV on your own time schedule.

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament kicks off in just a few weeks, and satellite TV customers will certainly be tuning in to watch all of the action. Here we will briefly review the tournament action, and where you will be able to watch the games on DISH Network.

While DIRECTV still has the Mega March Madness package, DISH Network will still have plenty of action. Whether you are looking to watch the Conference Championships from around the country, or the actual NCAA Tournament, hundreds of games will be on Dish satellite TV over the next month and a half. The official start to March Madness is on the 16th of March, with the famous play-in game. I’m not sure why the NCAA still insists on matching team number 64 against team 65 for the right to go get slaughtered by a number 1 seed, but if your interested this game will be on ESPN.

ESPN is on DISH Network channel 140, and is also available in HD if you subscribe.

March Madness truly begins on the 18th of the March, and here opening round action will be televised on your local CBS station with DISH Network. NCAA Tournament games will kick off at Noon Eastern time, and continue until midnight. First round action will take place from New Orleans, Providence, San Jose, and Oklahoma City.

First round action continues on Friday, March 19th with another 16 games. Again tune into your DISH Network CBS affiliate to watch the games. Venues hosting Buffalo, Jacksonville, Spokane, and Milwaukee. The first two days of the March Madness tournament are the main reason many opt for DIRECTV where you can get the Mega March Madness package for about $70. While the CBS coverage on DISH Network will jump around from game to game, with the DIRECTV March Madness package you can watch the game of your choice, or even the Mix channel showing all of the games at the same time.

Weekend coverage of the 2nd round continues on March 20th and 21st. The same venues will host as the tournament field is cut down to the Sweet Sixteen. Saturday’s coverage begins at 1PM Eastern, and continues to 10PM. Sunday starts the same time but wraps up around 7PM Eastern.

The Sweet Sixteen kicks off on March 25th, with a double header from Syracuse and Salt Lake City. Action runs from 7PM til Midnight Eastern. The same schedule applies on Friday the 26th, with games being held in St. Louis and Houston. The Regional Finals on Saturday the 26th will run from 4:30 til 9PM Eastern, with the Sunday regional scheduled from 2PM til 7PM. Again, all of the action on DISH Network will be found on your local CBS station.

The Final Four on DISH Network will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana this year. Lucas Oil stadium will be able to hold 70,000 fans for this years event. The Final Four kicks off on Saturday, April 3rd at about 6PM Eastern, with a half hour break between the first and second game. March Madness culminates with the national title game on Monday, April 5th with a 9:15 Eastern start time.

When watching March Madness on DISH Network, the key to the tournament is your local CBS affiliate. DISH Network currently reaches 97% of America with local SD channels, and 93% of the United States with local HD coverage.