A long time DIRECTV customer looks at the competition...

A long time DIRECTV customer looks at the competition

For over 12 years, I have been a DIRECTV customer. 3 houses, multiple satellite moves, equipment purchase after equipment purchase, I always stayed with DIRECTV. The service was impeccable and the content was second to none. Their focus on the customer and delivering what the customer wants has kept me coming back for more. Everything was fine until this past June.

Like a big portion of the northeast, New England had a very rainy late spring / early summer. This rain brought rapid growth to a lot of trees around my house. Suddenly my impeccable high definition service was getting spotty. This meant the dish had to be moved. I needed to find a location where I could get at least 3 satellites (orbital slots of 99, 101, 103 if your interested). I found the location and called DIRECTV.

Now, anytime I have called DIRECTV for anything, they are been beyond helpful. Never had an issue, never a complaint. Their service has changed a bit. Long story short, after 3 attempts at a move and 2 no-show appointments and no HD programming with the new TV season coming I was getting frustrated. Enter Comcast.

I’ll be blunt, my opinion of Comcast was that of a bottom feeder. They always seemed to screw up the easiest things. I got a mailer advertising a package that was too good to be true. At least it seemed that way. I called Comcast to see if the offer was still available, it was. I would have 30 days to test drive it, and could cancel anytime in those 30 days. The deal was great - $44.95 a month for the first year, then $54.95 a month for the second. This included the digital preferred package, all the HD content I wanted, HBO (including HBO OnDemand) AND a HD DVR. The install went smoothly without an issue and I was soon rocking DIRECTV & Comcast on the living room tv.

One of the things I missed on DIRECTV was the DIRECTIVO receivers. Sure I had an R10, which did have the TiVo software, but it was stuck in SD world. Once you have HD, you can’t watch SD. Comcast offered TiVo services in my area for a reasonable $2.95 a month. I decided to call Comcast and upgrade my box to the TiVo software. The upgrade was smooth and trouble free, the whole process took about 15 minutes once the download started.

I now have my DIRECTV HR-21 and my Comcast Motorola 3416 TiVo box hooked up to my HD box, both connected through HDMI. So, what do I think of the two services? Here is a brief review and what my ultimate decision is.

1. Picture Quality -

There was a noticeable difference between the two providers. Same channel, same program and a noticeable difference. Look, I’m not your HD snob, I’m not getting into conversations about MPEG2 over MPEG4, compression, etc. This is just an informal what looked better to me comparison. Comcast was good, DIRECTV better. (Winner – DIRECTV)

2. Sound Quality

I’ll be honest, I can’t tell a difference. The one thing that happens on DIRECTV that I have not experienced on Comcast is audio loss when switching between a SD channel and HD channel when Dolby Digital is enabled. Its not a huge issue, but its enough to give Comcast the nod. (Winner – COMCAST)

3. Channel Selection

For what my family and I want in programming, both offer the same channels in SD and HD. Comcast offers HBO onDemand. DIRECTV offers up the 101 which provides a great selection of programs/movies in HD without commercial interruption. I can’t find a clear winner, so… (Winner – TIE)

4. Customer Service

Here we go. Perception IS NOT reality. Comcast does not ‘suck’ and DIRECTV is not the leader. DIRECTV has always excelled in this area, but my recent experiences calling Comcast for the install, upgrade, & questions has shown that they are serious about customer service. They also take a proactive role on Twitter. Complain about an issue on Twitter and someone from the ComcastCares team will be contacting you. This was a huge plus in my book. I get the feeling that Comcast is really customer focused now (thanks  ComcastMelissa!). DIRECTV is not horrible, but they are certainly not the same as they were in the past. Customer service is a huge plus for me. Taking care of your customer is always vital, and Comcast is taking it seriously. (Winner – COMCAST)

5. Value

DIRECTV has always been a better value than Comcast in the past. Based on regular rates they still are today, especially when you get into multiple HD DVR’s, etc. However getting HBO, OnDemand, HD service plus a HD DVR all included in the $44.95 (year 1)/$54.95(year 2) price gives Comcast the edge. Comcast clearly wins for the immediate term. I anticipate DIRECTV coming back as the value winner in a couple of years, so really its hard to call a winner given the current & circumstances. (Winner – TIE)

6. Sports

DIRECTV is the sports leader. NFL Sunday Ticket & NASCAR HotPass are exclusives to DIRECTV and both are extremely valuable additions. NFLST comes at a steep premium though, too rich for my blood this season. Comcast offers up the new NFL RedZone channel, however they still can’t touch DIRECTV when it comes to Sports.(Winner – DIRECTV)

DVR experience

The Comcast stand alone DVR was decent, it did what you expected it to do. When upgraded with the TiVo software and receiving that iconic TiVo peanut remote, it brought a smile back to my face. I missed TiVo. TiVo in HD is even better. The recording capacity, however, is anemic at best. 20 hours of HD recording is absolutely pathetic when you consider how low disk drive costs have come down.  DIRECTV’s DVR on the other hand offers up to 100 hours of HD recording. DIRECTV’s DVR service is better when compared to Comcast’s own DVR service, but comes up short when I compare it to Comcast’s TiVo DVR service.

Online scheduling (through a computer or mobile browser) is a feature offered by both DIRECTV and Comcast. While both companies offer online scheduling, Comcast far surpasses DIRECTV. With Comcast TiVo software, not only can you send recordings to the DVR, you can alter your season pass priority list online and view the To Do list. They even one up TiVo itself with their online scheduler!

See the shots below to compare the 3 services:

Comcast’s TiVO Online Scheduler

DIRECTV’s Online Scheduler

TiVo’s Online Scheduler

All 3 offer a mobile application for the iPhone. Only Tivo offers a dedicated BlackBerry application.

I put together a quick YouTube video of the Comcast TiVo online scheduler. I did not want to put the video here inline, but you can access it on my YouTube page.

Beyond the online scheduling experience, Comcast affords me the opportunity to obtain cable cards and use a stand alone TiVo HD. Awesome. For the record, I did buy a HD XL TiVo for my trial run and I got a multi-stream cable card installed. I’ll do a separate write up on that experience, but its really awesome to be back in the TiVo fold.(Winner – COMCAST)

Overall I’m quite happy with DIRECTV. Their service has always been great and their prices reasonable. My recent experiences pushed me to look, and the Comcast promotion got me to try them out. It’s not that DIRECTV’s customer service is bad, but it certainly is not as responsive as they were a few years ago. I get the feeling that DIRECTV is just waiting for someone to buy them out. They seemed to have lost their focus to their customers. Comcast’s customer service has come a long way. Their service sealed the deal, and I’m going the Comcast route for at least the next 2 years. I’ve since suspended my DIRECTV service for the next 6 months. My plan would be to enable it for a month or two then suspend again. This will allow me to keep my box and allow me to come back without going into a new 2 year commitment window if I so choose.

This is really just a simplified look at my experience between DIRECTV & Comcast. Both have their advantages and both their disadvantages. For now, Comcast is providing the most value & service for my money and for that they are the overall winner.

What are your thoughts?

FLASHBACK - A look at the Eee PC Netbook from ASUS

Surprised

I open a birthday gift and what do I find? A black 4gb Eee PC from Asus. I'm thinking, hey this is great. A perfect way to use something to do internet email, apps. Small, easy to travel with (for vacations) and so so so nice to have in a tv room or bedroom. Just tiny. I honestly could not have asked for a better gift, only thing is I did not ask for it and it was perfect for me, which made it all the better!

First use

So I open it up. The boxing is very Appleish, (which I think is a rip off of a company that is now called Red Envelope). I'm shocked at how small the thing is, it has a fast boot time and I can actually type on it. I mean, I'm typing this entry right now on it, and it is going pretty good. Easier than the Blackberry, harder than a Thinkpad, practice makes perfect. The Eee PC OS is nice, clean, quick and does all the basic tasks plus a lot more (internet streaming audio, video, etc) right out of the box. Anyone can use this, it's Linux, but its Linux for the masses. Underneath all the colorful icons is Asus' version of Xandros OS. Xandros is a Debian based OS (like ubuntu). It's pretty neat to have a linux computer have support for Atheros wireless, audio, webcam, etc right out of the box, no drivers to download. I've never actually just got a new computer, put Linux on and had everything work (not with the Thinkpads at least using a base OS). The EeePC has a built in web cam, and I have tested it with Skype to make a video call. Support for IM video can be enabled, I need to get the camera to work in Pidgin first, thankfully there are plenty of docs out there on how to do it. If you are not a Linux person, Asus now sells the EeePC pre-loaded with Windows XP (8gb flash drive). You can get XP or even Vista working on the 4gb model, but I'm keeping mine Linux for now.

Time to do some changes

My first "hack" was to remove the basic theme and get to the 'advanced' screen. This gave me a default Xandros look and feel. I also ordered and then added 2gb of memory and a 32gb pen drive. Now I started to wonder.... I travel a lot.....Thinkpad is nice, but.....would be useful if I could just enter my hours in ILC, or do a quick hit on Lotus Sametime.....or maybe take a look at my next assignment through Lotus Notes. Honestly, it's not going to be a work machine. I just prefer to use Lotus Symphony over OpenOffice, and having Lotus Sametime on it allows me a quick way to say hello without booting up my laptop. What I have now is, and Eee PC with:

1. Ubuntu 7.10

2. Lotus Notes 8.02 (Symphony, Sametime, Widgets, Activities enabled)

3. Itranet Labor Claiming (gotta put my hours in)

4. IBM Mobility Client (my connectivity back to blue)

I offloaded a lot of the Ubuntu packages that I did not need and moved my Lotus Notes data directory off to a flash drive (install on USB is coming soon for Linux I've heard). After adding all the necessary packages, and adding a little compiz for some clean cut graphics, I still have 915mb of free disk space available.

In closing

The Eee PC is a cool little device. It's quiet quiet quiet (No hard disk, just flash). Its perfect for travel, for the quick check of Sametime or Pidgin. It's the computer that does a lot, in a very small form factor. Do I use it for some work stuff, yes. But it absolutely is going to be a lot less than if I am on my Thinkpad. Honestly, a lot of times I am at a customer site, my Thinkpad needs to be on their network to remote access some of the servers I am working on. This leads to not being connected to IBM at all, beyond my Blackberry. Having the Eee as an option allows me to be on Lotus Sametime and Pidgin for IM. That said, the EeePC is not meant or designed to be a laptop or desktop replacement. It's meant to be an ultra portable internet device, that has the ability to do a lot more. Who knows if I will keep it this way, maybe I will wipe it all and go back to the default Eee PC os. Maybe I'll put Windows XP on it (ha ha ha ha) or maybe I'll keep it as is, or scale down a version of the Open Client for it, or maybe the strategic Open Desktop we sell with Novell. If you were thinking of getting an Eee PC but did not think it could be useful, think again. It's a very capable, very customizable laptop companion that can unleash you from your Thinkpad.

Adding DVR space

One of the little mysterious of life is a DVR. Most folks take it for granted. They don't realize the horsepower in one of these puppies. Think of what they have to do. Now think a bit more, can your computer do that? At its base, A DVR is a computer, usually based on the Linux OS (TiVO, DIRECTV, Dish, Motorola all use Linux). They contain a hard drive that is capable of recording hours and hours of content from your provider so that you can watch at anytime. The problem is, like most things, we need more space! From the time you purchase the unit, you are losing value, because the price of disk drives keep nose diving as new technologies and sizes are released. Most (not all) DVR's will support a direct drive replacement, this means buying a new larger drive then replacing the internal drive with your new one.

This can be done on a DIRECTV HR20-100. You go out buy a 1.5TB drive and replace the standard 320gb drive, giving you 4 times more space. An easier way (if your DVR has an eSATA port) is to simply buy an external drive of your choice and plug into the eSATA port and restart your DVR. Most will use this new drive as additional space, some, like the DIRECTV models will use it exclusively (meaning your internal storage is NOT used). Contact me if you have any questions or simply comment here and I'll answer what I can. In the meantime, happy DVR'ing!

A sunny day

A rare sunny day in New Hampshire. With all of the recent rain, a beautiful
80 degree day is just what the doctor ordered.

Mickey obviously agrees!

On the road with Linux

I'm amazed by the number of folks that tell me Linux is not ready for the masses. Everything I can/need to do in Windows I can do equally as well here. Yes, it may be with alternative programs, and yes there are some native apps you cannot run, but when I try to think about what I can't do, I draw a blank. I travel with it weekly, I use an express air card, BlackBerry tethering, WEP/LEAP/WPA wireless for my connectivity. I have Windows as well, through a vmware image, and I use that only for customer purposes and Lotus Domino Designer access.

What are your thoughts? What can't you do in Linux that you need to? Do you even care about the operating system? What about MAC OSX users, are you there just for the Apple marketing and hardware or is it the operating system?

I have to say, from talking to folks, the hardware and applications are key and the OS secondary. I disagree, but that would not be the first time....

Aloha aloft

When you travel on the road, you need to find joy and happiness in the little things (and I mean hotels, there is no joy to be found in a plane these days). Some folks want a nice restaurant, others a deathly quiet room, some just want it cheap, simple and to be left alone. When I travel on business, I like it to be simple, with a slight touch to make me feel like I am coming home. Little things, like a hello, or turndown service at night - service. So when Starwood began pushing their new brands, element (baby Westin) and aloft (baby W), I had to give them a shot.

I found out that there was an aloft and element hotel close to where I was traveling this week. After a lot of research (10 mins) I chose to try out aloft. I think it was the aloha that got me. I expected a tropical paradise in the middle of suburban Boston, ummm, not quite. I'm actually confused why they say aloha all the time, is that the 'chic' thing to do?

The hotel shares an address with the element hotel, located directly across the parking lot. Very nice area, new construction, and pretty hip location. This smells like a good tourist destination with a walkway to the national park on site.

The lobby was absolutely 100% inspired by W. The bass thumping disco music that makes you feel like you are going into that exclusive club for a $15 mojito, vibrates through my head. There are kiosks everywhere, begging to be used, just help myself and never have human contact. There was something wrong with the one I was at, but thankfully there was a live person available at the front desk, or more accurately the front pod. The check-in process felt just like a hotel, except they said aloha. Interesting of note, mahalo, e komo mai, & aloha kakahiaka were noticeably absent from the vocabulary. I got my key and proceeded to the elevators. I'm a platinum member in the Starwood program, so I got my 250 bonus points, but that is all you will get here with status, just a warning up front.

The elevator door opens and I immediately thought, oops, service elevator. It was new, but it had those furniture moving blankets hanging from the sides. I thought this was because the hotel was so new, but upon further inspection, I see that they are indeed there permanently. The floor in the elevator must have been designed by Dr. Scholls... blue liquid that squeezes away from where you stand. I get off the elevator and into the hallway of the 4th floor (top floor at this hotel). The hallways were new and very inviting, quiet quiet quiet. Loved it. I find my room, insert the key and open the door.


My first reaction to the room was, WOW, I really like the layout. The room is longer than wide, with the bathroom immediately to your right, then you walk a bit to the bed to the right, finally to the exterior wall with a 42" LG LCD tv mounted on it. Putting the TV on the exterior wall is perfect, no more listening to the guy next door watching the golf channel at 5am. Matter of fact, you won't hear the television, telephone or showers of your neighbor's room because none of them are actually near your head when you are in bed. You also will not hear doors slamming up and down the hallway. Very quiet rooms, which I loved. The decor is cheesy, art deco old and modern at the same time. Horrible wood paneling that reminds me of the 70's and a neat 60's style clock. The desk chair was like sitting on a snare drum, don't expect to work there. In the bathroom section, the shower is great, no wasted space for a bathtub, just a nice tile floor shower with a big rain drop shower head and a glass door. The sink is outside the shower/toilet section, which I always appreciate. The sink is a fancy kohler model, you know, the big bowl on top of the counter. I did not like it for shaving in the morning, but otherwise it does look cool. One thing that I did not like about the bathroom area, the lighting. If you turn the light on in the bathroom, it bleeds over to the sleeping area. There is no way to isolate the light behind a door (even in the shower/toilet area) its either on or off. That is a bit much, especially with someone sound asleep in the bedroom section. Behind the vanity is an open closet (with a curtain as a door) a coffee maker and 2 bottles of free water. There are also an assortment of magazines (the New Yorker, Wired, Style, etc) which is a nice touch and did bring a degree of hominess to the room. This place is absolutely inspired by the W chain. Now, let's list out some of my complaints:

1. The work area sucks. I can't say it any better. Work on the bed, the floor or in the courtyard area, but not on the desk in your room. The chair is horrible, and in reality must be there for display purposes only.

2. The light in the bathroom. Please think that maybe someone gets up before someone else, I know it sounds crazy, but it does indeed happen!

3. No vending machines - want a coke? go to the lobby.

There are outlets everywhere, which is great, but after seeing all of the room, I just get a sense the business traveler should not be here.

I left the room and decided to get a beer in the lobby.

The lobby is typical of W, however it has windows, lots of windows, so its not as dark as some of the W hotels I have been in. They do not have vending machines and instead opt for a community kitchen that has all kinds of snacks, and drinks, muffins and cereal, etc. The bar area is H I P. All of those plushy couches with big pillows. I sat at the bar, ordered a bud light and watched ESPN trying to decipher what was being said over the loud dance music playing "boom boom boom, push it, grab it, boom boom boom". There were 4 people at the bar, two women and an older couple who both wore matching andy warhol glasses. I took my beer and moved to a comfy arm chair, and observed. There were a lot of people here. A couple in their 30's playing pool, both drinking Mojitos. A 'casual' business worker who was downing shots with a beer chaser as if he was in college, all the while the andy warhol couple is saying "chug, chug, chug". That is not sarcasim, that actually was going on. Mr casual business said "hah, you should have seen me last night". I got the feeling this was all staged, but no, its reality right in front of me. I finish my beer, and decide to head back to the room. I notice the pool on the way to the elevator, its always in motion as if someone is swimming and there are plenty of kiddie beach balls in the pool. So if you want to swim some laps, this might not be the place. The workout room is small, but very functional. Plenty of machines for the size of the hotel and a nice selection of free weights.

Back to my room for bed time. Only 2 things to report here:

1. The bed is like the first adult bed you ever bought. The one that you either got from the thrift shop or it was on close out from that mattress store going out of business. The comforter was comfortable. The bed was very much bumpy stiff. No sweet sleeper or heavenly bed here. Pillows were nice and comfortable one real soft, one mid level.

2. You will wake up around 1am to the sound of a 757 taking off. Seriously the AC is that loud. BAAAAHHHHwwwooooooooooosh. Make your life easier, put the fan from Auto to ON. Trust me on this one, with it on, at least you can stay asleep.

In the morning, breakfast options were pretty good, some hot sandwiches, bagels, breads, cereal, fruit cups, yogurt, etc. Prices were reasonable. I recommend the muffins and a snack box. They have one for night and one for morning. I picked up the night pack. The night pack features cheese and crackers, jack links prime rib tender cuts, raisins and 2 Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies. Not the breakfast of champions, but a bit more substance than the morning pack with its granola and fruit chews. I also wanted an orange juice, let's see, here are my pepsi products, my amp energy drink selection, some red bull, 4 different types of water, naked juices, a whole bunch of teas, but no natural orange juice. I got the closest thing I could find "IZZE" sparkling clementine tonic. They also have a nice selections of coffee available. There is also a decent selection of newspapers for your use in the lobby (no delivery to the room) and what appears to be another "no business" sign, they do not have the Wall Street Journal available.

The hotel is very nice, it is priced inline with a full service Sheraton. I would say for a business trip aloft is not the destination of choice. Maybe element is, but I have not stayed there yet.

For business I recommend:

1. Sheraton
2. Westin
3. Courtyard
4. Marriott
5. Doubletree
6. Hampton Inn

cheers....

XM radio on DirecTV....

DirecTV what are you doing?

I've been with DirecTV (DirecTV) since 1995, they have always provided great service but a recent change has really irked me. At first glance, the announcement that DirecTV was switching from Music Choice (MusicChoice) to XM satellite radio (XM). You were getting more channels, that people pay $12.95 a month for, for no additional cost. I was worried about losing Sounds of the Season, the old DirecTV channel 819. This channel played a great assortment of Christmas music continually from around 11/10-1/5. It was the perfect channel for decorating, Christmas parties and gift wrapping. XM does indeed have a few Christmas channels but they do not start until after Thanksgiving (not a big deal). So, I tune to channel 819 "Holly", turn on the surround sound and go about decorating. Now the sound quality is not as good as Music Choice, but honestly, I'm not an 'audiophile' so I don't really care, its good enough for my ears.

Commercial free? HA! That is bull! I'm decorating and after 2 songs I hear a bunch of people wishing merry christmas, happy holidays, stuff like that to their friends and family, then a number to call so I can do that, then a commercial that this station is brought to you by the United States Postal Service. How is that Commercial free? It's annoying, it makes you stop and listen when franky all I want is some background music, not announcements. Hell, FM radio does this for free and better quality. Why DirecTV moved to XM we can only guess ($$$$$). Please DirecTV bring back MusicChoice!! I would not mind XM in my truck (my truck), however I already have Sirius (Sirius) in there. The disc jockeys don't annoy me when I'm in the car or when I am listening to a talk station but when I'm home I want music, not talk.

DirecTV - Your going to be in some trouble. Verizon and their FIOS (Verizon FiOS) TV service is really going to put a dent in your base. I commend you on getting MPEG4 satellites up, but until you partner with a high speed internet provider and tie that back to your system for ondemand type of programming, your going to be losing customers. I'm waiting patiently, but Verizon is already here with FIOS internet, and TV is supposed to come online this Spring with DVR, HDTV & MusicChoice for less money.... it may be time for me to move from DirecTV after 10+ years.