Direct TV and Home Internet Services

[YoungNeil]

Thinking about getting rid of Oceanic and going to DirectTV--does anyone have good stories, bad stories or advice? Trying to do my homework before making a decision. Also considering dropping Roadrunner for Hawaiian Tel, worth it for the price or is there a better alternative?

Thanks in advance!

[anapuni808]

Re: Direct TV

I have Direct TV. Only problem is when the weather is bad like this afternoon. The satellite tends to go out but comes back soon. Seems that rain/wind has an effect on it. Otherwise, I'm very happy with my coverage.

I've had DSL for a few years now. The only problem with them is the distance from a hub. Distance determines what your internet speed is. but on the positive side - it doesn't go down (like Oceanic) and its consistent.

[helen]

Re: Direct TV

I got Oceanic for my TV service but Hawaiian Tel DSL for my Internet connection.

For DirecTV does one need an antenna to recieve the signal? If so how big is the antenna?

[anapuni808]

Re: Direct TV

Yes you will need a satellite dish antenna. They vary in size. The one we have is probably about 4 feet across but some are very small. For renters, they must receive permission from their landlord before installing the antenna.

Since I've lived here, we have had both Dish Network and Direct TV. I much prefer Direct TV which is what we have now.

[Kimo]

Re: Direct TV

Switched from RR to Hawaiian Tel for Internet service - bundle inlcudes home 'phone service (we still have a land line as part of our monitored security system) and Internet for a cheaper price. . . and they setup secure wireless for our laptops at no extra charge. If you still have a landline, you'll need plug-in filters for your 'phone lines.

No complaints - don't do gaming, don't do huge downloads - perfectly fine for our needs.

[Palolo lolo]

Re: Direct TV

I've worked for Oceanic,subscribed to Dish and now have Directv and ain't looking back. Better pix,more choices and cheaper. I had 2 smaller dishes with Dish, but just 1 medium sized with Directv. Yes, there is occasional "rain fade",
but even Oceanic can be affected by that. I have 3 tv's on HD, all pay channels
and 2 DVR's for $115/mo.
I also have Haw tel's bundle for phone/DSL. A much better deal than Oceanic. My DSL never goes down, my mom's RR is always a problem and at $50+/mo, it's way over-priced

[bueller555]

Re: Direct TV

For Directv, you'll need to have a 1.2 meter dish (~4 feet) installed. These are the large white dishes that you may have seen on some rooftops. This was a bit of a dealbreaker for me.

Because I have only one main tv that I want hd content, the benefit of switching from Oceanic isn't that great. If I had two or three tv's that needed hd, Directv or Dish would be much more cost effective. I also use Tivo, so that investment would be useless if I moved to satellite.

You may have more Internet options when LTE wireless networks gets built out. Clear, Sprint, Verizon, or even AT&T may be viable options for home soon. Depends if data caps will be in place.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Direct TV and Home Internet Services

I have a question on DirecTV. When I got my subscription (after dumping Dish Network), I was told I needed two 1-meter dishes for regular and HD reception. Plus I was told in Hawaii the HD boxes were the same price as the standard boxes, so I got five HD boxes (one HD DVR) but only one HDTV. The rest are standard TV sets.

Now I hear from others that you can get HD reception with one 1-meter dish instead of two. I'm wondering now if standard boxes are cheaper than HD dishes (common sense tells me that) and if I was simply duped into buying five HD boxes and needed two h-u-mongous dishes instead of a single one.