Questions about DISH - before I jump

[ChadT41]

Leaving me jealous sir. It is currently 102, and that is the cooler part of the day. I think yesterday we had the lowest low of the summer. It was 99. We average 112 in the days and it's about to get hotter next month.

 

[ActionAl]

Dang... I can barely stand the 90's but over a 100 is unimaginable to me. Mid 80's today (uncomfortable) with 60's tonight (perfect).

 

[osu1991]

99 with heat index at 115 today and has been most of the last week and will continue for next couple of weeks.

I lost signal twice last week for about 2 mins during a heavy downpour. Rain fade really isn't much to worry about

 

[Tampa8]

I have had DISH almost since they started service. I have never, since the Late 90's had a prolonged outage. In advance of particularly heavy rain as the stormhead passes I may lose the signal from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. If the snow is dry it won't block the signal, with moisture I do have to brush off the snow from time to time. No loss of service is where Dish and Direct TV excel, along with their generally much superior equipment over cable.

Be advised local pro sports channels (Regional Sport Networks) on DISH are only in HD for the live game, not reruns and not other programming if that matters to you. Also with DISH you can change programming with no change in contract, about the only thing that triggers a contract renewal is upgrading equipment if you get it from Dish. Further, there is no cost benefit to owning your equipment, so generally it is better to get supplied by DISH.

 

[ActionAl]

I have had DISH almost since they started service. I have never, since the Late 90's had a prolonged outage. In advance of particularly heavy rain as the stormhead passes I may lose the signal from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. If the snow is dry it won't block the signal, with moisture I do have to brush off the snow from time to time. No loss of service is where Dish and Direct TV excel, along with their generally much superior equipment over cable.

Be advised local pro sports channels (Regional Sport Networks) on DISH are only in HD for the live game, not reruns and not other programming if that matters to you. Also with DISH you can change programming with no change in contract, about the only thing that triggers a contract renewal is upgrading equipment if you get it from Dish. Further, there is no cost benefit to owning your equipment, so generally it is better to get supplied by DISH.

Thanks for the additional information. I may get a few accessories, but I no plans to own the equipment. I'm not sure that SAT, Cable, or OTA TV is long for this world as broadband gets faster. Everything will be live or on-demand through the Internet. I couldn't guess on how many years with any certainty, but it probably will reach the tipping point in 5 years.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I've seen predictions that most tv will be delivered by internet by the end of the decade and with that delivery system ala cart will become more the norm,than the forced bundling that we endure today. I still see satellite having a place in rural areas with little to no broadband internet.

 

[Tampa8]

I can't see a major shift until those who are now somewhere around 30 to 35 and older are no longer a major factor. And when watching TV online becomes the way to watch TV, it won't be what we think of as watching TV. In fact I question if that happens if the actual TV will be as popular.
For many to most the people growing up now and using online primarily they do not watch programs. They watch clips of programs. Even the popular Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon is not watched by them, they watch clips on Youtube, often by "subscribing" to it. Others use "Trending sites" to watch clips of what is deemed popular or trending. If something particularly interests them they may follow up and watch more of that episode of a given show. Same for shows like the Bachelorette and many others. And importantly much of the time no TV is involved it is done on smartphones and tablets.
Watching movies is different, and with HBO and Showtime becoming available for those without cable subscriptions I wonder how that will impact Netflix etc.. And movies is where the TV still is important and using Miracast, Sling, or Chromecast keeps the TV relevant.
The way most of us older than that watch TV is entirely different and in no way will most change unless they just can't afford the traditional way or don't really watch much TV anyway.

Two other things, if someone lives at home or even visits often with their parents who has traditional TV (Cable, Satellite) then I don't believe any statistics that they only use online. Also, when push comes to shove and Cable/Satellite really has to do something to stay in business we don't know what that could be, what technology is coming that may make them more relevant at time goes on.
And a third thing (Ok I lied three things) living in two states, with totally different climates and using two different internet providers, I don't see where online is as reliable as Satellite, or perhaps it isn't always fast enough in some (not all) areas to watch using streaming to a TV.