chrisyano

Hopefully this can stay here in the CL Hawaii forum...

What do you guys use? Are you happy with it?

I've been with Dish for years now and had the HD package (not that impressive) for the last two or so. Never been fully impressed with their service and their rates seem to keep climbing.

So, I'm thinking of switching it up. What do you recommend?

Thanks.

KatsuSauce

I was actually thinking of switching to Dish, cause my Oceanic rate is super high compaired to Dish and DirecTV.
I guess you can't win either way.
Anyone on DirecTV?.....

chrisyano

Thanks for the input. Ironically, I was thinking of going back to Oceanic.

With Dish I pay like $150/month for two DVRs, their best package + movie channels & lame sports pack. Only has about 30 or so HD channels I think. Heavy rains usually black out the signals too.

I was also curious about DirecTV but don't know anyone who has it.

llamaboiz

well... im on the puter ALL THE TIME, but recently i checked out the Oceanic HD channels and i was surprised to find ALOT MORE than just a yr ago...

PHML

iTrader: (33)

I was gonna try direct tv...but found out from my neighbor that reception sucked in our area. I guess the satellite flew past near the horizon and the waianae mountains didn't help...so I stuck with oceanic HD.

chrisyano

Thanks for the input.

You guys liking your Oceanic HD?

KatsuSauce

the reception is great.
the bill sucks!
Oceanic really has a monopoly on the cable industry.

chrisyano

Looks like I have a chance at getting some DirecTV installed. I have to bring the guys in and see if they can line it up properly.

If not, I guess I'm back with Oceanic which isn't so bad since it looks like they have some decent packages these days.

chrisyano

Revival time.

I ended up getting Oceanic because it was the easiest and least conspicuous of the two choices. Here's my take for anybody considering a switch or new option.

Dish Network - Decent. Probably around the same, if not a little less HD offerings than Oceanic. With Oceanic, I now have some channels that I didn't get in HD with Dish like Discovery Channel. I had their best box which is just about 2 years old right now. Their customer service is horribly lacking and you get the feeling you are talking to a dialog tree instead of a person.

Oceanic Digital Cable - About the same as Dish. I only watch the HD channels unless there is no choice, but I'd say the picture is about the same as satellite. Satellite probably has the slight edge here, but only really picky people will notice it on higher end systems. Some channels only output audio in stereo which I think is lame. I like the personalized customer service. You call and talk to a person who is not reading from a dialog tree. Box is way outdated though. Seriously this thing is the worst of the bunch and is so slow but it gets the job done. Only silver component in my system LOL.

DirecTV - Looks good. I only got to preview at my parents' house briefly. The box is what stands out as it looks like it is the most advanced one of all at the moment. Reception looked to be about the same as Dish was, so I'd say the two services are very similar. I really didn't spend much time checking it out though--but that receiver looks to be quite good. DirecTV has the advantage of the sports packages which is very enticing with the split screen views. The biggest drawback is their dish. They use a larger dish than Dish Network.

I think if you go for similar channel packages, the prices will not be that different regardless of your choice. I know Oceanic & Dish offer internet bundles so you can save a little that way I guess. Pay attention to "introductory" rates when you sign up. Make sure to ask how long that monthly rate will last--DirecTV lured in my family (I think) with their intro rate.

Hope that helps.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

The one thing keeping me from getting Dish or any other Sat Service here in Hawaii as an only source is the Rain Fade. No ifs and or buts about it. It will fade and you will loose signal in heavy and sometimes not so heavy rain. We experience some rain fade at times with our smaller 8M broadcast dish. You can imagine how a 12" or 18" dish will compare. Even our Main ABC dish can experience weather related problems. Unfortunately the Satellites are low on the Hawaiian horizon so we are very limited here in Hawaii in what we can see, and the strength of signal we get. Our margin to failure in not that great.

PS. I know you guys don't care about the local channels, but the Dish providers all get our signals from either Oceanic or Off Air. I don't believe any of the local stations have a direct fiber link to any of them.

chrisyano

^That's a good point. When I had Dish, a heavy rain meant watching recorded stuff or nothing at all. And there were quite a few glitches here and there that could get irritating and sometimes ruin an entire recording so you'd have to hope that it was going to be rebroadcast (if it was a live event you are out of luck).

DirecTV has a much larger dish (4 ft. diameter or so), but I don't know if it works any better than the Dish one.

I was shopping TVs earlier this year and struck up a conversation with one of the Best Buy Magnolia managers who had nothing kind to say about either satellite providers' reception vs. Oceanic's delivery.

KatsuSauce

Good info here.....

Deros

iTrader: (1)

Oceanic is increasing their internet speed. So their 5Mbps plan will be 10Mbps. I plan on switching from Hawaiiantel to Oceanic. This should help downloading all the great car pictures form this forum. Hopefully they don't significantly increase the price.