Dish Network countersues DirecTV over signal reliability claims
By Ross Miller 
posted March 22nd 2010 10:11PM
posted March 22nd 2010 10:11PM
Oh, don't act surprised. As is the norm with these things, Dish Network has filed a countersuit against DirecTV. Last month, the latter company filed suit, claiming Dish's "Why Pay More" ads were false and misleading. The countersuit, unsurprisingly, is also false and misleading advertising -- in this instance, the claim "nothing comes close to the reliability and quality of DirecTV." Dish asserts its signal reliability is exactly the same, 99.9 percent. Better strap yourself in, it's gonna be a long and bumpy ride through the court system.
They both have terrible signal anyways! Hulu foe me!
@iPad2010 that was my first thought. every experience i have had with any satellite provider has been awful. slightly cloudy outside and it says it can't find the satellite. not saying cable is perfect but at least i don't have to deal with my TV not working because of the freakin weather.
@kojo87
I've had Dish Network personally for over a year and my parents have had Dish for a few years as well. Neither I nor my parents have had ANY signal issues, regardless of the weather. We live in the Pacific Northwest so we see our share of bad weather, not constant sun. Maybe satellite has gotten better in recent years. I don't have any experience with older satellite, so I can't speak to it's past quality. I just know that now, it works just fine for me.
@iPad2010 not really. I've had Dish for years and years. Only time it goes out is if snow builds up on it. If so, I go out, push it off, and its good. other than that its had no issues.
@joshuag18 i'm only basing my opinion off of a few experiences years ago. i was at my uncle's cabin and it was raining and the only thing to do was watch TV but the satellite was out and it said on the screen that it was due to weather. but like i said that was a while ago and the technology has probably gotten better.
@iPad2010
My family has had Dish for probably 8 or 9 years, and very rarely does it ever lose the satellite signal. Even when there's an absolutely monstrous storm on the way, it might go out for 5 minutes. Fact is, the picture quality and channel selection of satellite TV always beats cable. Not to mention the HD selection and DVR boxes are better. The Dish ViP series boxes are quite impressive, and Dish's remotes can't be beat.
Looks like your comments are about as useless as the ipad.
@kojo87 at least you know the picture will comeback when the thick clouds pass, with cable when it goes out someone has to come out to repair the cable.
@kojo87 I had this problem with Dish but not with DirecTV. Well, on occasion snow gets on the dish and I have to clean it off but I don't lose signal in a thunderstorm like I did with Dish. My wife wanted to go back but I had to put my foot down on that.
Anecdotal, but we get DirecTV signals during blizzards.
Snow on the dish fucks it up (It's next to a window, just use a broom!), but we usually get good signals even when it's snowing pretty heavily.
Clash of the crappy Satellite TVs!
I think you need to proofread a little better. Your article says,
"The countersuit, unsurprisingly, is also false and misleading..."
I am assuming you meant to say that the countersuit was also "OVER false and misleading advertising " or "CLAIMING false and misleading advertising." The way you wrote it, the text straight up claims that Dish's lawsuit is "unsurprisingly...false and misleading."
@(Unverified)
the engadget article, unsurprisingly, is also false and misleading
@(Unverified) the article is correct as far as the grammar, maybe you should brush up on your reading
@lv2bll54
Grammatically, yes, but that doesn't mean that it is correct. If I write an article that says "Monkeys have been found to be tools.", while grammatically correct, it's not accurate.
It's clear that what the author MEANS to say is that the countersuit is over DirecTV's alleged "false and misleading advertising" which is NOT what the text reads. The text states that the countersuit itself is "false and misleading advertising," which is NOT accurate (and I'm quite sure was not even the autor's intent.)
So, lv2bll54, what exactly is your point? My comment stated that the author's proofreading leaves something to be desired, and your comment does not negate my point. Grammar isn't everything, and in this case, it was not to what I was referring.
Try again later and have a nice day.
As much as I HATE TWC I have to admit that DirecTV has been a HUGE disappointment for me.
I'm thoroughly disgusted by their practices...overpriced and yet shitty quality.
@TheRogueFFAngel I would have to disagree. I've had TWC, Comcast, Dish Network, and DirecTV all at the same house with the same TV. I can say without a doubt that quality wise DirecTV provides me with the best quality picture. Followed by Dish, then TWC. I was on TWC when they sold our market to Comcast and the quality of the picture went way, way down within 2 months..I couldn't get rid of them fast enough. As far as DVR boxes the TWC/Comcast box was crap, complete and utter crap. Both the Dish and DirecTV boxes are much better and there are things I like from each. My biggest beef with Dish is they appear to be cheaper then nickle and dime you to death. DirecTV bundles everything so you can easily see what you are going to pay and their customer service is by far the best.
this is verison and att all over again
Honestly these lawsuits are ridiculous. They both just clash each other for no reason. They advertise to make it seem like they are better than each other. I'm a Dish Network customer, but I'm not a fanboy. I hate all this "we have better HD" bashing. I've been seeing more and more Dish and DirecTV commercials...and it's just getting annoying. Can't we all be friends? You're going to get customers regardless!
It seems like every company is...
*puts on sunglasses*
Dishing out lawsuits these days.
@HurricaneDC http://instantrimshot.com
Upvoted for the truly horrific pun (which of course is the best kind. ;) )
At first we had DirecTV, then we switched over to Dish. I'll have to say that DirecTV has better Quality, when it comes down to HD. To me, the reliability is about the same.
Seriously, I hope dish network wins. A couple of years ago my parents bought a DVR at wal-mart to use with their DirectTV service (I was there and helped them picked it out), and a couple of months ago when my parents switched to Dish Network, DirectTV claimed that the DVR belonged to them and that they were leasing it to my parents. Unfortunately, my parents didn't have the receipt anymore, and DirectTV threatened a $400 dollar charge if they didn't get it in a month. All we could do was report it to the BBB. For anyone considering DirectTV, be sure to look for the lawsuits against them. If I remember right, both the states of Washington and California each have one. /rant.
@zebeste
Sorry to disappoint you but Dish will do the same to you, even though its misleading on DirecTV's part to do that you kind of should of known the box isn't yours when you 'leased' it at walmart by reading and doing just 5 minutes of research.
@LexSky if you sign a 2 year contract then you leased the box. If you paid anywhere from $200 to $500 for the box outright then it's yours 4eva
@zebeste
Not surprising at all. You're not the first person that's happened to, no will you be the last.
Neighbors had the same issue a few years back. I helped them pick out the TiVo variant and when they decided to cancel, DirectTV tried to charge them for the box THEY bought. Had receipts to prove it and everything and just kept getting the run-around. Fortunately for them, my neighbors have a little more money than I and therefore were able to pull in some legal help, at which point DirectTV quickly backed off.
@LexSky
Uh, no. If you pay $400, its YOURS. If you pay for it monthly and it shows up on your bill, its theirs. If you buy a box at walmart, its yours.
@PBB Nope, not with the way DirecTV (and Dish Network) work.
If you 'bought' the box at your average electronics retailer, you are actually paying a fee for the privilege of leasing it. That's the deal you are signing. NOBODY will tell you this, but it's in the fine print.
If you want to own the box outright, you have to buy it from a specialty satellite equipment dealer.
DirecTV waives the lease fee on the first box you activate. If you buy and activate more boxes with them, they will be assessed lease fees. If you buy more boxes at a specialty retailer (therefore owning the box), DirecTV will still assess a fee on them, but it won't be a lease fee, it'll be a "program package duplication fee" which is (quite coincidentally, I'm sure) exactly the same amount as the lease fee.
DirecTV are shysters of the highest order.
@PBB and @tonewheelmonster
You both are mistaken, when you pay for that DirecTV box at a retailer youre actually leasing it, til the end of your contract. The contract begins once the box is activated and ends within 1-2years depending upon your agreement with them while activating the box. Theeeeen that box is yours.
Its kind of shady but thats just how it works.
Why pay anything? ;)
@Eternal Density im really starting to think OTA digital TV is the way to go.
Keep the fight going guys please start a real price war!!!
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Let me you through this..... as a Dish Network technician. Of course the reliability is the same, they use pretty much the same damned satellites. Dish's two main birds are the 119 and 110 orbital location and wouldn't you know Direct tv just so happens to use those same spots for some of their programming. Magical!!!
@tonewheelmonster ............. first sentence should be "let me WALK you through this :-\
@tonewheelmonster
Yeah, we know they're both stupid. Even more stupid they agreed to this suit just so in the end the winner could say "Federal law say's we have better quality then company X"
@tonewheelmonster Actually it could be higher on the East coast, since those installs are EA 61.5/72.5/77, which has a larger dish, and are closer and higher in the sky than 110/119 with a wing on 61.5.
Am I the only one that loved direct tv? Givin the price I never had as many channels as I did with dvt. I have cable now cause my place won't allow sat and I gotta say it's terrible! I never had so many blacks screens and interuption as I did with dvt. I lived in jersey with dtv and only got a no signal once in 5 years of service with sat and that was from a once in a decade storm that swept thru my town.
Ok lawyers!! Time to cash in!!
Is it ironic that when this article's preview image didn't load and instead displayed a red x?
Dish Network started this fight so they need to gird their loins for whatever DTV wants to throw at them.
American companies have forgotten how to compete. All they do is sue each other. Who loses? The customer. They should try spending the money they waste on lawsuits on better services for customers.
Watch out! It's the battle of the over compressed 3rd generation pseudo HD feed satellite providers! Oh noes! Which provider of low bit-rate 540p nodef macroblock-o-vision will prevail!!!!11!!!!ONE!!!!
If you've checked their websites you know the add is bogus, and they do down sample their picture quality to "save satellite bandwidth" This is the line they give me any way. The fact is they want to spend as little as possible to get the satellite signal to you. down sampling saves them money. thats it. I work for all of you and from what I can tell you all are gluttons for punishment. All customers seem to enjoy being lied to by the agents they speak with and lied to by the technicians doing your dish installation. If everyone knew what happened behind the scenes at these companies you might just wise up and walk away. Customer service is not the goal. Getting you off of the phone is. Making you pay for unnecessary service calls is. The fact is neither company feels they need to earn your money. Each behaves as though you owe it to them and they have no obligation to you at all. So why put up with either. Switch to something else. It doesn't matter which. Its all the same garbage in the end. My true advice is to read a book. Go out for a walk. Get involved in local activity. Stop torturing yourselves with disappointment and emptying your pockets for no reason. That is unless you like seeing error messages and being charged ridiculous fees.
Shows what you know. Dish uses Ku Band for HD and Directv uses Ka which has 3 times more rain fade effect than Ku Band. Furthermore, Directv's Ka birds for HD are at 99W and 103W - not 110W and 119W (not to mention Dish's key HD Bird is at 129W). And you claim to be a Dish tech?
Not many people know that sling is working with dishnetwork and they are going to have a box that has sling built in. Cant wait till summer
I have DirecTV and learned that the affects of the weather depend greatly on how well your dish was installed. Many of the contractors do a lousy job of installation....as long as they get a signal, they consider the job done. I have found that many leave the job when the signal is in the 70s....why? Because they can show the customer a picture and get to the next job. The problem is that when the signal is low to begin with, any adverse weather lowers it...if you start low, you don't have much room for bad weather before you lose the picture. When we last had an install done, I told the guy that he wasn't leaving until the signal was in the 90s. It took awhile to get it there, but he did it. The bottom line? No weather related issues. If you have either service and lose the signal with marginal adverse weather, check your signal strength during good weather....my guess is that it's not so great...make 'em come out and get it right.
until they charge you 50 bucks for coming out. Which is BS. I for one do lose signal with directTV on BAD weather....and I lose it every time. I have one of the newer HD dishes and running on a two year contract. I called them once because the signal wasn't coming back and after a few troubleshoots said they would have to send a tech out. I said sure, then she says thats gonna be a 50 dollar service fee. WTF. I said I have to pay for you to come out and fix YOUR equipment that I am paying YOU service for? She said I wasnt on the service "service" and if I wanted it it was 5 more dollars every month. Pretty stupid. I will be going back to TWC as soon as the contract is up.
@Drew3739 - Aligning a dish is not rocket science. Anyone can do it themselves – assuming you can safely get access to your dish and see a satellite system connected TV. All it takes is a short level and a toy compass (one comes with a new satellite dish). Use the level to plumb your mounting pole so it is straight, adjust the dish elevation to the specified value per the protractor like scale on the dish, then use the compass to point your dish in the general direction of the satellite. Place your TV set on the satellite system signal strength setup screen, adjust the dish until you have maximized the signal strength. There, now you owe me $50.
I've had Dish for ten years and haven't had a problem, unless the dish was completely encrusted with snow and ice. That's happened about twice.
Again, a case of the inferior company trying to attack the superior company. Silly DirecTV.