fbzh2 Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 For those of you who might be considering DIRECT-TV and whose personal situations allow the choice. Here is my experience with it. When my job transferred me to Florida from WNY our fear was that we would not see another Bills game down here. About a year after we moved here DIRECT-TV and NFL Sunday-Ticket became available. Since its inception we have seen more Bills games, here in Florida, than we ever saw for the years we lived in WNY. Of course NFL blackout rules still apply for all local games not sold out. DIRECT-TV and NFL SUNDAY TICKET are worth every penny. DIRECT-TV is the same price as comparable cable programming, and the cost of the NFL Sunday Ticket for the season is less than we would spend going to one NFL game. (It’s less than $200 per season) Without sounding like a salesman for them, they do offer a lot of benefits with the Sunday Ticket. Obviously they show each game on separate channels, but in addition they also have two channels that show a mix of eight games on each, and you can control the audio for whichever game you want to listen to, while watching the others and switch between any of them. We do this while the Networks are deluging viewers with their endless mind-numbing commercials. They also have a channel they call the Red Zone which shows teams that are….”in the red zone.” They also have other features that show stats and such for those who follow that. The way I personally use it is to set it on the Bills channel and one of the two split-screen eight-game channels, with the Bills game and the mix of teams I want to follow. When the Bills game goes into the mind-numbing Networks commercials I use the “jump” button on the remote to go to the eight-game screen, and select the audio of the game of interest, or if they are also in a commercial break, I can go to whatever other one that is of interest, all the time watching the Bills channel in the eight screen block for the commercials to end. I then flip back to the Bills channel. I don’t miss one-second of the Bills, and can keep-up with all the action around the league, and not be held hostage by the #!@#$%& Networks and cable programmers! We have two receivers (about $5 more per month) and I have half the house on one, and the other half on the other one. My wife an I are die-hard Bills fans, but sometime we differ slightly as to which other teams we want to watch during the endless commercials, so she may chose a different split-screen channel or a totally different late game. ($5-bucks a month is a small price to pay to keep a football crazed wife happy!) Oh yeah, and during the week they have the NFL shorts, that they show on two channels, that breakdown each game to about a half-hour each. It can be somewhat choppy at times, but it allows you to see every play and significant replays. We like to watch the Bills upcoming weeks’ opponent to see what they are doing, and who and how they are playing. It’s more or less like watching a coach’s tape. Direct-TV also carries the NFL channel. It’s 24/7/365 days of football….training camps, draft…player/coach interviews…I think it’s pretty good stuff….football year ‘round. Here in Florida afternoon thunder storms, some severe, are daily summertime occurrences. With the first generation dish/receivers we often had signal loss during heavy rain, not so anymore with the new equipment. I can only recall two time this summer we lost our signal as a severe storm was passing overhead. Each time it was no longer than 3-4 minutes at the very most. I’ve had cable outages that have lasted a lot longer. It’s good stuff, and as I said I think it’s worth every penny!
Kgun5 Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 Would love to move to the dish, ESPECIALLY now that it appears that Time Warner subscribers may actually lose the Fox Network in 2 days, but my apartment complex doesn't allow it. Good review, though.
BillnutinHouston Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 Yes, I've had NFL Sunday Ticket for 3-4 years now and it's really a no brainer. Seeing the Bills every Sunday is just a given (of course I live way outside of the blackout area).
Robert Paulson Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 smartest tv move i have made w/ tivo a close second
flomoe Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 Good post. I in Florida and have Directv since '97 and honestly wouldn't know what to do without it. I catch every Bills game and nearly every Sabre game throughout the year and love it. It by far is the best invention ever with the DVR a close second. IMO
cåblelady Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 Bet it doesn't compare to my 8-home-game live experience this year!
Max997 Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 Would love to move to the dish, ESPECIALLY now that it appears that Time Warner subscribers may actually lose the Fox Network in 2 days, but my apartment complex doesn't allow it. Good review, though. I didnt think complexes could prevent you from getting it anymore, thought there was a law passed about 8 years ago stating just that Time Warner just needs to sell, what are they going to lose next Ive had DirecTv for about 10 years now and as long as they have the NFL package I will continue to subscribe even though I have comcast as well. I keep DirecTv on during the football season then I suspend my account for 6 months and have it turned back on intime for the next football season. I would like to move completely over to DirecTv but if I did I wouldnt be able to see the Sixers and Phillies because I wouldnt be able to get the local Comcast channel and I dont see that changing anytime soon.
Colorado Mike Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 I didnt think complexes could prevent you from getting it anymore, thought there was a law passed about 8 years ago stating just thatTime Warner just needs to sell, what are they going to lose next Ive had DirecTv for about 10 years now and as long as they have the NFL package I will continue to subscribe even though I have comcast as well. I keep DirecTv on during the football season then I suspend my account for 6 months and have it turned back on intime for the next football season. I would like to move completely over to DirecTv but if I did I wouldnt be able to see the Sixers and Phillies because I wouldnt be able to get the local Comcast channel and I dont see that changing anytime soon. I remember that law passing as well. I'm no lawyer, but I think you can force them to allow you to do it. I have had Sunday Ticket every season since '96. Every season except one of those I was in my own home so I had no problem. The one season I was in an aprtment they said you cannot attach a dish to their building/property. I can't remember if that law had passed yet or not at that time. Rather than argue, I picked up a 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot, a bag of Quickcrete and a length of PVC the diameter of the mounting pole and made my own setup on my patio. I had arrived here in Denver the night before the '99 season opener and literally had this set up and working a few minutes before kcickoff the next day.
fbzh2 Posted December 30, 2006 Author Posted December 30, 2006 I remember that law passing as well. I'm no lawyer, but I think you can force them to allow you to do it. I have had Sunday Ticket every season since '96. Every season except one of those I was in my own home so I had no problem. The one season I was in an aprtment they said you cannot attach a dish to their building/property. I can't remember if that law had passed yet or not at that time. Rather than argue, I picked up a 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot, a bag of Quickcrete and a length of PVC the diameter of the mounting pole and made my own setup on my patio. I had arrived here in Denver the night before the '99 season opener and literally had this set up and working a few minutes before kcickoff the next day. Now that's the way to do it!!!
Max997 Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 I remember that law passing as well. I'm no lawyer, but I think you can force them to allow you to do it. I have had Sunday Ticket every season since '96. Every season except one of those I was in my own home so I had no problem. The one season I was in an aprtment they said you cannot attach a dish to their building/property. I can't remember if that law had passed yet or not at that time. Rather than argue, I picked up a 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot, a bag of Quickcrete and a length of PVC the diameter of the mounting pole and made my own setup on my patio. I had arrived here in Denver the night before the '99 season opener and literally had this set up and working a few minutes before kcickoff the next day. I was in an apartment complex just before that law was passed and they said I couldnt put my dish up so I cemented a pole in the ground next to my patio and put the dish up on sundays and took it down that night. Took until about midseason before anyone complained but they said as long as I took it down and it wasnt mounted anywhere there wasnt anything they could do. Someone actually complained because the dish was pointed in the direction of their apartment and thought they might get some kind of radiation, how funny is that...it was an older lady that I later found out had already lost it and had to be forced from her apartment and into a home
fbzh2 Posted December 31, 2006 Author Posted December 31, 2006 I was in an apartment complex just before that law was passed and they said I couldnt put my dish up so I cemented a pole in the ground next to my patio and put the dish up on sundays and took it down that night. Took until about midseason before anyone complained but they said as long as I took it down and it wasnt mounted anywhere there wasnt anything they could do. Someone actually complained because the dish was pointed in the direction of their apartment and thought they might get some kind of radiation, how funny is that...it was an older lady that I later found out had already lost it and had to be forced from her apartment and into a home
crackur Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 it might be a good idea now if you can to get it .........but over the past 10yrs before this one......it might have been good not to see every game lol
faderphreak Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 For those of you who might be considering DIRECT-TV and whose personal situations allow the choice. Here is my experience with it. When my job transferred me to Florida from WNY our fear was that we would not see another Bills game down here. About a year after we moved here DIRECT-TV and NFL Sunday-Ticket became available. Since its inception we have seen more Bills games, here in Florida, than we ever saw for the years we lived in WNY. Of course NFL blackout rules still apply for all local games not sold out. DIRECT-TV and NFL SUNDAY TICKET are worth every penny. DIRECT-TV is the same price as comparable cable programming, and the cost of the NFL Sunday Ticket for the season is less than we would spend going to one NFL game. (It’s less than $200 per season) Without sounding like a salesman for them, they do offer a lot of benefits with the Sunday Ticket. Obviously they show each game on separate channels, but in addition they also have two channels that show a mix of eight games on each, and you can control the audio for whichever game you want to listen to, while watching the others and switch between any of them. We do this while the Networks are deluging viewers with their endless mind-numbing commercials. They also have a channel they call the Red Zone which shows teams that are….”in the red zone.” They also have other features that show stats and such for those who follow that. The way I personally use it is to set it on the Bills channel and one of the two split-screen eight-game channels, with the Bills game and the mix of teams I want to follow. When the Bills game goes into the mind-numbing Networks commercials I use the “jump” button on the remote to go to the eight-game screen, and select the audio of the game of interest, or if they are also in a commercial break, I can go to whatever other one that is of interest, all the time watching the Bills channel in the eight screen block for the commercials to end. I then flip back to the Bills channel. I don’t miss one-second of the Bills, and can keep-up with all the action around the league, and not be held hostage by the #!@#$%& Networks and cable programmers! We have two receivers (about $5 more per month) and I have half the house on one, and the other half on the other one. My wife an I are die-hard Bills fans, but sometime we differ slightly as to which other teams we want to watch during the endless commercials, so she may chose a different split-screen channel or a totally different late game. ($5-bucks a month is a small price to pay to keep a football crazed wife happy!) Oh yeah, and during the week they have the NFL shorts, that they show on two channels, that breakdown each game to about a half-hour each. It can be somewhat choppy at times, but it allows you to see every play and significant replays. We like to watch the Bills upcoming weeks’ opponent to see what they are doing, and who and how they are playing. It’s more or less like watching a coach’s tape. Direct-TV also carries the NFL channel. It’s 24/7/365 days of football….training camps, draft…player/coach interviews…I think it’s pretty good stuff….football year ‘round. Here in Florida afternoon thunder storms, some severe, are daily summertime occurrences. With the first generation dish/receivers we often had signal loss during heavy rain, not so anymore with the new equipment. I can only recall two time this summer we lost our signal as a severe storm was passing overhead. Each time it was no longer than 3-4 minutes at the very most. I’ve had cable outages that have lasted a lot longer. It’s good stuff, and as I said I think it’s worth every penny! How did you get it for less than $200 per season. It was like $189 when I started about five years ago. I'd have to break out my bill but I'd swear it was like $239-249 this year. Not that it isn't still worth it, I'd just like to save the extra $39-$49 for Guinness
Avalanche Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 I usually Tivo the game and start watching it about an hour in a half later, fast forward thru the commercials and halftime and I end up live at the finish
faderphreak Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 I usually Tivo the game and start watching it about an hour in a half later, fast forward thru the commercials and halftime and I end up live at the finish I bought the NFL Field Pass as well. I plug my laptop into my stereo and access the Field Pass through my wireless network. I then pause my TIVO until the local radio broadcast over the internet catches up with the video feed. I play it and then nudge the video until I get within about 3-5 frames of sync. Yes I am a nerd. My wife has already pointed that out, thank you.
fbzh2 Posted December 31, 2006 Author Posted December 31, 2006 How did you get it for less than $200 per season. It was like $189 when I started about five years ago. I'd have to break out my bill but I'd swear it was like $239-249 this year. Not that it isn't still worth it, I'd just like to save the extra $39-$49 for Guinness I’ve had it from its inception which was around ten years ago or more….I’m not exactly sure which year it was…and back then I want to say it was about $119 per year give or take a few bucks. If you were a sustained subscriber they would offer a discount if you paid early and offered a four payment installment billing; which I believe they still do today at a higher price then ten years ago of course. The $200 is a ballpark figure, I don’t know exactly how much we pay now per year because my wife is the family accountant and she wrights the checks, but I believe that with the early-bird special as a repeat customer it still is under $200….I’d have to look at the bill to be exact…but that seems to be about right. Hope this helps…I’ve got to get back to the games…TT just scored a FG…TT 3 NE 0 Good luck and go bills this afternoon.
fbzh2 Posted December 31, 2006 Author Posted December 31, 2006 I bought the NFL Field Pass as well. I plug my laptop into my stereo and access the Field Pass through my wireless network. I then pause my TIVO until the local radio broadcast over the internet catches up with the video feed. I play it and then nudge the video until I get within about 3-5 frames of sync. Yes I am a nerd. My wife has already pointed that out, thank you. WOW...can I rent out your services?
SoulMan Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 Just a couple of additional notes on very good posts. Don't know if anybody else noticed, but Bills fans have gotten the very short end of the HD stick. Here is a way to share our thoughts with the great minds at CBS. http://www.cbs.com/info/hdtv/index.php# , click "feedback" then click "cbssportsline feedback". Also, for directv subscribers, NFL games in HD require the $100 superfan add-on. Long time directv customers have called and gotten significant reductions of 50 to 100 %. We'll need the whole package to watch the Bills go deep into the playoffs next season !
Amstel Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 I had directv from 99 to 2003. It was great. I moved exactly 8 games into the 2003 season. My new Landlord wouldn't let me have a dish (even though his parents directly above me had a dish bigger than my car) so I had to go back to cable. I've since moved and still have cable (becuase it's part of a year long packeage including internet connection and phone with unlimited local and ld calling) but I miss directv and their prices were MUCH better than cable for regular programming outside of NFL games. I had no outages either. The service was good
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