Pirate Angel Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I know its a little early, but i just got off the phone with Directv and there god awful customer service. Just wondering if there is way us out of towners can catch all the Bills games without DirectTv? Is there a reliable live stream that might be cheaper? The only reason I keep Directv is for the Sunday Ticket and would love to be able to cancel their service.
Max997 Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 The Sunday ticket was available streaming through the PS3 last year. It had its problems especially early on but I will be purchasing again this year simply because there is no other option for me. I had DirecTv for ten years but canceled after the 2010 season because of signal problems due to neighbors trees and their awful cable boxes. Was nice to get rid of that eye sore off my roof as well
CodeMonkey Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 The only other options that I am aware of are: 1) Watch an internet stream. Several different sites, but all of them are at best below standard definition television in terms of video quality. Will get you through for the occasional game (say blackout games in WNY), but not what you want for a steady diet. 2) Get a satellite dish (a bigger one than you have for DTV)and pull the network feeds in yourself. More information here. Works great with HD video. Plus you see whats going on there while the rest of the country watches commercials. Expensive to start up and generally low wife acceptance factor due to the larger dish on your property. 3) Go to a place with the ticket and is willing to watch the Bills game. 4) Bend over and take it from DTV.
Malazan Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 The PS3 package is pricey, but works well. I think it was $340 last season (not bad considering like me, I don't pay for cable, direct tv, etc). It also gives you the redzone channel.
1B4IDie Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 The only other options that I am aware of are: 1) Watch an internet stream. Several different sites, but all of them are at best below standard definition television in terms of video quality. Will get you through for the occasional game (say blackout games in WNY), but not what you want for a steady diet. 2) Get a satellite dish (a bigger one than you have for DTV)and pull the network feeds in yourself. More information here. Works great with HD video. Plus you see whats going on there while the rest of the country watches commercials. Expensive to start up and generally low wife acceptance factor due to the larger dish on your property. 3) Go to a place with the ticket and is willing to watch the Bills game. 4) Bend over and take it from DTV. There are two more options 5.) Buy Sunday Ticket Streaming, no DirectTV service required. from DirectTV (If you are in area that doesn't receive a signal or a HoA that won't allow dishes) 6.) Buy Sunday Ticket Streaming through the PS3. I chose option 6 last year. Worked great. There was a problem week 2 but I was in Buffalo for that game and wasn't effected but got a credit anyway. I am going to choose option 5.) this year because it offers more flexibility when traveling and I have a computer with HDMI out hooked up to my flatscreen for home use.
Johnny Hammersticks Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I know its a little early, but i just got off the phone with Directv and there god awful customer service. Just wondering if there is way us out of towners can catch all the Bills games without DirectTv? Is there a reliable live stream that might be cheaper? The only reason I keep Directv is for the Sunday Ticket and would love to be able to cancel their service. I guess I can't relate to this anti-DirecTV sentiment. I have found their programming to be exceptional as compared to Dish, Time Warner, Verizon, etc... Their pricing (for what you get), and their customer service also seem to be very reasonable. Plus, they lowered the price of the Sunday Ticket by nearly 40% this year. You're paying $199 to be able to watch every single regular season game! To me, it's well worth it. I'm not even going to "shake them down" for a discount this year.
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I guess I can't relate to this anti-DirecTV sentiment. I have found their programming to be exceptional as compared to Dish, Time Warner, Verizon, etc... Their pricing (for what you get), and their customer service also seem to be very reasonable. Plus, they lowered the price of the Sunday Ticket by nearly 40% this year. You're paying $199 to be able to watch every single regular season game! To me, it's well worth it. I'm not even going to "shake them down" for a discount this year. I concur. They're the only outfit that will bargain with you too. I'm going to call about my regular bill this week, and I'm sure they'll knock $15-$20 off of it for a year. There is pretty much no price too high for me for Sunday Ticket. That said, I'll call later this summer, do the song and dance, and get it for 1/2 off.
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I don't think this is an option for him. To sign up for the streaming service they ask you three questions ( I had the service two years ago, worked pretty well, early on had some bugs) The three questions are: Do you currently have DTV? Can you get DTV at this address? Have you ever had DTV at this address? Sounds like he use to have Sunday Ticket so unless he's moved since then, they can easily look it up. I just signed up for DTV this past spring as a new customer. They had on my record that I had the Sunday Ticket to Go at this address, so there was question as to whether they'd allow me to sign up for the new subscriber package. They did, but they knew I had it at this address. So I'd imagine if he tried to sign up, they'd tell him sorry, you're not eligible as you can receive DTV where you live. I'm guessing if a prior owner of a property had DTV at address you're living at now, that would prove you can get DTV so they wouldn't allow you to buy the "go package" . There are two more options 5.) Buy Sunday Ticket Streaming, no DirectTV service required. from DirectTV (If you are in area that doesn't receive a signal or a HoA that won't allow dishes) 6.) Buy Sunday Ticket Streaming through the PS3. I chose option 6 last year. Worked great. There was a problem week 2 but I was in Buffalo for that game and wasn't effected but got a credit anyway. I am going to choose option 5.) this year because it offers more flexibility when traveling and I have a computer with HDMI out hooked up to my flatscreen for home use.
MattM Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I have to agree with the sentiment on their customer service. Not once, but twice,I had appointments to have them come and do work and had them not only be late, but simply fail to show up at all that day despite in one case having an 8-12 appointment and in both cases me calling their dispatcher every 30 mins after they were an hour late. Inexcusable in my book, especially when they require someone to be home at the time (ie., take a day off). I'm only there for the Ticket (although when we moved two years ago my last installer was pretty competent and timely....
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I guess I can't relate to this anti-DirecTV sentiment. I have found their programming to be exceptional as compared to Dish, Time Warner, Verizon, etc... Their pricing (for what you get), and their customer service also seem to be very reasonable. Plus, they lowered the price of the Sunday Ticket by nearly 40% this year. You're paying $199 to be able to watch every single regular season game! To me, it's well worth it. I'm not even going to "shake them down" for a discount this year. Agreed. Even if you just count Bills games (16 weeks vs 17 weeks for the entire NFL), the cost is $12.40/week. That's ridiculously cheap, especially when you compare it to the cost of going out to a sports bar.
Mike In Illinois Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 FWIW, Week One is usually free. I've been able to see the openers the past few years, including the KC beatdown last season.
Frostbelt City Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I work for Dish Network (we dont have sunday ticket) - but if you need a hookup let me know bills fans.
Buftex Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 The other option is "NFL Re-wind" which allows you to watch any NFL game, from whatever the current season is, on your computer, with an HD signal. At $40 for a season (an extra $15 for pre-season) it is a steal. Only catch is, you can't watch the games live. In fact, you can't access it at all, if there is an NFL broadcast on any of the networks. For example, you can't watch a Sunday afternoon Bills game, until the broadcast for the Sunday night game is over on NBC. You can't watch the re-play of a Sunday game, on Monday evening while Monday Night Football is on...so, it definitely has its' drawbacks. I go to a bar to watch the games on Sunday, and then, replay the game (and other NFL games) during the following week, when I have down-time.
Dragonborn10 Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I never had a problem with Direct TV service and was dismayed when I moved to a place that had no signal. I swithced to PS3 and other than the week when the signal was garbage, it worked fine. There are no other good options. You want to watch the games you've got to pay...
Pirate Angel Posted May 27, 2012 Author Posted May 27, 2012 I have to agree with the sentiment on their customer service. Not once, but twice,I had appointments to have them come and do work and had them not only be late, but simply fail to show up at all that day despite in one case having an 8-12 appointment and in both cases me calling their dispatcher every 30 mins after they were an hour late. Inexcusable in my book, especially when they require someone to be home at the time (ie., take a day off). I'm only there for the Ticket (although when we moved two years ago my last installer was pretty competent and timely.... Anytime you have an issues with them, one thing you can do is call and complain and you usually can get a couple free months of movie channels
BLZFAN4LIFE Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I guess I can't relate to this anti-DirecTV sentiment. I have found their programming to be exceptional as compared to Dish, Time Warner, Verizon, etc... Their pricing (for what you get), and their customer service also seem to be very reasonable. Plus, they lowered the price of the Sunday Ticket by nearly 40% this year. You're paying $199 to be able to watch every single regular season game! To me, it's well worth it. I'm not even going to "shake them down" for a discount this year. I agree. I've been a DTV customer since '99. I have no complaints about my service. They've always been great about upgrading receivers for free. I'm always satisfied with my Sunday Ticket negotiations. I usually get the price I want with a free 3 month movie package. I don't go to the well too often and I will not dicker this year as $199.00 is worth it to me. My only complaint is that you lose service in a very strong t-storm or very heavy rain, but I've learned to deal with it. Other than that, I have no animosity at all toward DTV.
BRAWNDO Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 Agreed. Even if you just count Bills games (16 weeks vs 17 weeks for the entire NFL), the cost is $12.40/week. That's ridiculously cheap, especially when you compare it to the cost of going out to a sports bar. That is a great point.
Pirate Angel Posted May 28, 2012 Author Posted May 28, 2012 I agree. I've been a DTV customer since '99. I have no complaints about my service. They've always been great about upgrading receivers for free. I'm always satisfied with my Sunday Ticket negotiations. I usually get the price I want with a free 3 month movie package. I don't go to the well too often and I will not dicker this year as $199.00 is worth it to me. My only complaint is that you lose service in a very strong t-storm or very heavy rain, but I've learned to deal with it. Other than that, I have no animosity at all toward DTV. You have to dicker, you just have to. Direct TV cleared almost 30 million last year, Save the 10-20 a month you could save and give it to a more deserving company like Labatts, your kids or mail it to me.
BigBuff423 Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 I just bought a house and we moved in on Friday, and had DirectTv installed yesterday....love it!! And, of course being a new customer I got NFL Sunday Ticket for free....so far, their customer service has been great, the tech hook up guy was really nice and professional and sincerely accomodating, and as for price, compared to Time Warner is pheonmenal!! And while I am certainly biased against Time Warner and therefore happy to boot them to the curb and glad to give my hard earned money to their competitor, it seems as though you may be in the minority when it comes to the complaint for customer service. Someone else mentioned the unsightly dish on their house and that's certainly a personal preference but for one particular reason (international programming options) I have both Dish Network and DirectTv on my house....yeah, it'd be nice not to have it, but the way it's positioned, you can't really see it from the street, just the side yard facing no one....so for me, no complaints about the aesthetics....as for quality of signal, watching in HD and since I just bought an LED - this was important, is seriously high quality....thus far....so, I'm new and we'll see over the test of time, but I can't friggen wait to watch the BILLS at home on this network!! Psyched!! But to the OP, happy hunting and good luck...all of us BILLS fans are comrades in misery until they change the culture so anyone willing to stick it out for any reason gets my respect for that alone!
DC Grid Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 (edited) DTV stinks? Compared to what? I've had Comcast, Timewarner, Cox Cable, they all are so much worse its laughable. The part I found really amazing is that living only 2 miles from where I had Comcast I now have DVT, and while a bad storm distorts the signal 4-5 times a year for a couple of hours a shot, Comcast use to be down at least 15 or so days a year for the same ammount of time. Twice in the 4 years I had comcast the entire neighborhood feed went down for 3 freaking days. And we're not talking about some backwoods locale, this occured in the heart of Arlington. Edited May 28, 2012 by DC Grid
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