Thinking of switching back to TWC

[joeker]

Sitting with no DirecTV after yesterday's snow/ice storm....can only assume my dish was knocked out of place or is covered in snow, my house is a very large duplex, and the dish is very high up and not easily accessible.  

I like DirecTV especially now that they finally got HBO On Demand but was just wondering what the big difference between TWC/DTV is nowadays?  Does DTV still have more HD channels?  Any channels one has that the other doesn't?   FYI -  I don't care about NFL Sunday Ticket.

Thanks in adance

[klwillis45]

I'm very satisfied with TWC now that they've got their "channel not available" issues fixed.

I miss NFL Network & the HDNets but at least I get the HD versions of AMC & BBCA. The On Demand selection is good & getting better.

[joeker]

I'm very satisfied with TWC now that they've got their "channel not available" issues fixed.

I miss NFL Network & the HDNets but at least I get the HD versions of AMC & BBCA. The On Demand selection is good & getting better.

They don't have HDNet and HDNet Movies?  Damn I like HDNet Movies

[Stanley Kritzik]

The mounting assembly for a dish is pretty heavy-duty -- I'd suspect ice and snow.

Assuming that's the case, consider installing a "Hot Shot" dish heater next Spring.  You can get one from Solid Signal, and elsewhere, I assume.  It's not a trivial  install, but I did mine myself -- a pair of wires and access to the dish are needed.  After it is in and working, with thermostatic control, it keeps the dish warm enough in cold weather to melt ice and snow -- automatically.

That's a good solution if DirecTV satisfies you in other ways.  And, why DirecTV doesn't promote the product for its customers in snow country beats the heck out of me.

Stan

[Nels Harvey]

With dish Network, I lost the 61.5 degree feed.  The wet, heavy snow packed the dish, I suppose.  The 110 and 119 degree feeds always seem to work, and do so now.  That saved the day for tonight's recordings, albeit not in HD.

FWIW, Dish just told me that they were giving me Starz free for a year.  I never paid much attention to Starz, and do not now receive any premium channels.  They said they are celebrating 30 years in business.  Wow, that time went past quickly!

[kevbeck122]

I lost everything except locals on DIRECTV, but eventually the locals went out too.  I just had to wipe the snow off the dish to get everything back.

I've heard that spraying the dish with cooking oil (like Pam) should help with snow build up, but I've never tried it.

[ArgMeMatey]

In the early 90s I duct-taped an old windshield brush to an 8-foot 1x2 to clean off our 2 meter Ku & 3 meter C band dishes, which were on a flat roof.   Only had one or two storms per season with the really sticky stuff, and usually pushing from the top down was enough to create an avalanche that quickly removed most of the accumulation.  

If you don't have overhead wires in the way, I would think you could fashion something similar from Garelick or similar roof rake extension poles ... and a $1.49 snow brush.  

But if I had a little dish out of reach, I would definitely be getting the heater.

[Scott]

Haven't posted here in years, but I am having the same direct tv dish issues.

I can reach my dish with a brush on a handle, but that isn't doing any good.  Gets the base snow off, but this stuff was so thick that it has frozen on.  Tried to coat the brush with window wiper fluid, but that didn't do much.  Not sure if the problem is the ice packs on the dish itself or if some ice is just frozen over the lnbs.  

It looks like I got most of the snow off, but still not getting a good enough signal.  Been 36 hours now.   Wife asking for TWC.  

Never had it this bad.  The real wound is that I do have an OTA antennae but direct tv subbed out my boxes with an OTA input.  And my flat screen is old enough to not have an hd tuner in it.  Ugh.

[Xizer]

No HDNet is a dealbreaker for Time Warner Cable imo.

Have you looked at AT&T U-verse? They carry HDNet.

[Scott]

Do not have U Verse available in my area unfortunately.

[Bluto]

Haven't posted here in years, but I am having the same direct tv dish issues.

I can reach my dish with a brush on a handle, but that isn't doing any good.  Gets the base snow off, but this stuff was so thick that it has frozen on.  Tried to coat the brush with window wiper fluid, but that didn't do much.  Not sure if the problem is the ice packs on the dish itself or if some ice is just frozen over the lnbs.  

It looks like I got most of the snow off, but still not getting a good enough signal.  Been 36 hours now.   Wife asking for TWC.  

Never had it this bad.  The real wound is that I do have an OTA antennae but direct tv subbed out my boxes with an OTA input.  And my flat screen is old enough to not have an hd tuner in it.  Ugh.

I haven't had to try this, because my D* dish is low enough to reach easily with a brush, but some perople swear by a big squirt gun (super soaker) and hot water.

[WPXE ION]

Covers work well. Last time I checked they were around $30.

[Matt Heebner]

I second the supersoaker idea...works great.
DO NOT coat your dish with Pam, you will have more issues than you started with as Pam attracts dirt and dust and will wreak the whole purpose of the reflector.
 Not having NFL Network would be a deal breaker for me. Also, and I admit I may be biased, but I think Directv has better PQ than TWC.

[gparris]

With dish Network, I lost the 61.5 degree feed.  The wet, heavy snow packed the dish, I suppose.  The 110 and 119 degree feeds always seem to work, and do so now.  That saved the day for tonight's recordings, albeit not in HD.

FWIW, Dish just told me that they were giving me Starz free for a year.  I never paid much attention to Starz, and do not now receive any premium channels.  They said they are celebrating 30 years in business.  Wow, that time went past quickly!

That answers my question, you actually NEED a second dish in Wisconsin to receive anything the first dish doesn't offer, like HD locals (the 4, not 5 of them as in Chicago)...ugh.
I thought Dishnetwork had its act together with a one-dish solution like Directv, guess not.

[gparris]

I'm very satisfied with TWC now that they've got their "channel not available" issues fixed.

I miss NFL Network & the HDNets but at least I get the HD versions of AMC & BBCA. The On Demand selection is good & getting better.

Yes, BBCAHD and AMCHD are what keep me with TWC, HDNETs were good, but not a dealbreaker when these were taken away, I felt  bad for Mark Cuban, but he made his deal and wouldn't change it,  his problem, not mine.

Dishnetwork offers these HD channels, but with a 2-dish setup required and no CWHD, which my family watches a good deal of, its no-go for us.

Directv with its desire to add more and more the 3D and PPV additions as of late (no BBCAHD and AMCHD), forget it...I tell them when they solicit to call me back when they have them.