DirecTv and I have parted ways. And, it was not an amicable split. We’ve been contemplating replacing our TV for several months, and that meant going HD. A few weeks ago, I called DirecTv and asked them about HD packages. I was told, that to get HD, I would have to buy an HD receiver box for $99, and pay an additional $10 a month for the programming. I looked at online offerings, and if I were a new customer, they would give me an HD-DVR, and the cost of the package would be less than my current bill. Dish Networks had similar offers. I did a little research, and found that DirecTv’s DVR was not that great. TiVo was generally considered better, but since TiVo and DirecTv no longer worked together, there were some drawbacks, and it would cost more. The Dish DVR got better reviews, and seemed like a good compromise between DirecTv’s DVR and full TiVo.

Last week, we got around to purchasing our new TV. I didn’t go high end, but it was a decent set, and had 4 HDMI inputs (HDMI is the new standard for carrying both digital video and audio signals). The number of inputs is important when you want to attach multiple devices to your TV, like a DVD player, or a game console. After getting the TV home and setting it up (yes, standard def looks better on an HDTV), I once again called DirecTv. The customer service rep, gave me the same story. When I complained that I could get the box free if I switched to the competition, I was told “Well, the HD box used to cost $199, so you are saving $100!”. I told the rep, that if they couldn’t do better, I was going to go elsewhere for service. He said “That’s the best that I can do.” I told him “too bad”, and hung up. I then called Dish and ordered the same package I had from DirecTv. They gave me there 2 room DVR, HD programming, and all of the channels I currently get. The price is $5 a month more than DirecT, but With the free equipment, and the 3 free months of service, it is still a better deal.

Today the Dish installer came to hook things up. After he finished, I called DirecTv and cancelled my service. Less than 4 hours later, I got a call from DirecTv’s “Customer Satisfaction” department. This lady told me they would match Dish’s offer, free DVR and upgrade to HD, and wave the first year HD charges. I was ticked off. I asked why they didn’t offer that before I cancelled? She said the rep I talked to wasn’t authorized to make that offer. Too damn bad lady. If that is how you treat a customer who has been with you for 8 years, I don’t want to stay. Why didn’t the first rep direct me to someone else? Why don’t they have offers for existing customers? I would have stayed if they had just given me a break. If they had offered the HD receiver for free, not the DVR. But they didn’t, and now I am no longer a customer. I may be switching back in 2 years, but I noticed that on the Dish web site they have a tab for “existing customer offers”. That looks promising.

Comparing the 2 services, DirecTv has more HD channels than Dish. But when I did a channel by channel comparison, Dish had all of the HD channels I would watch. I mean who needs the Home Shopping Network in HD? The big difference is sports. Dish has exclusive deals with the NFL and Major League Baseball. But, since I am a 49er fan, there is certainly no reason I would pay extra to watch those pathetic souls, and baseball lost me when they cancelled the World Series several years ago. So, It’s Dish for me now. It will take a while to get used to the new channel numbers. But, I got to watch TopChef in HD tonite!!