Here is my situation: I first tried satellite TV about 3 years ago. I was renting my home and was told I could have free installation if I signed a 12 month contract with the provider. I was also told I needed a permission slip from the property owner. I did both. So as I don’t get comments about the provider and so I can avoid libelous statements, we will call the provider Plate Network. When the Plate Network installation team arrived I was told that the owner would have to arrive in person and give verbal permission, or I would have to pay $60 dollars for a post to be mounted on my property. I said thanks, but no thanks, after all free should be free. Twelve months ago, I moved to an apartment complex, was given permission to use Plate Network and placed an order. I had to sign an 18 month contract. When the installation team arrived, I was told that I had no contract and had to pay for installation. I called customer service and was told that the installation fee would be applied to my first bill and I would get the installation fee refunded. It wasn’t. Also, was told that the phone line could not be connected to the satellite. I don’t recall why.
Anyway, the connection went out after two days. I called tech support and was told it would be three days before someone could come out and that was only because we had ordered another receiver. We get the second receiver, we are back online for three days. Then it goes out again and we the call to tech support informs us that it will be 10 days before a tech can come out. Oh, and again, we still don’t have a contract, so the installation fee will not be refunded. So I canceled and went with analog cable which is the only other option in this county. Our apartment complex signed a “cable contract.” As a result, those that currently have satellite receivers can keep them, but new service will not be allowed. Also, the cable company that provided service to our apartments will no longer provide service. The apartment complex rates are lower than either cable or satellite. It is still analog, so we bought a DVR and added the apartment “cable” system. Come to discover that every time a channel goes out (and they do quite often, usually 8-10 channels each weekend) the Plate Network logo comes up on the screen. This would be no problem, however the contact number at Plate Network directs us to our local maintenance team (i.e. the same guys that fix the toilets) who only work during normal business hours. So, we spend a lot of time with channels out.
I am moving into a house about a mile up the road. The current resident has Plate Network and says he has no problems. He is renting and I know he and his wife socially, so I doubt he would mislead me. So, my options are Plate Network, which has a bad history with me, or basic analog cable.
What do you think? Can I exploit this to get a couple months free? Any input is appreciated.
Installation is done by local contractors. Since I own, I didn’t have your apartment problems, but our initial installation, and our follow-up when we got an additional set top box, had no problems. We’ve had service go out maybe twice in 8 years. When we switched stations for our second dish, I did it myself helped by very good directions. We got a DVR for Christmas, and when it went out, the interactive phone system was quite smart. (It wound up I had to reboot it, which I should have seen in the manual.) I sat on the phone while it was coming up, and a real person broke in to see if I was having problems. So I’m a big fan of “Plate” Network.
I’ve had Plate TV for 6 years now. Was a cable subscriber for 15 years before that, and have never been happier.
I have moved three times in that 6 years and the installers that the company has sent out have all been professional and very knowledgeable about the installation. My only complaint is during a strong rain the signal drops.
I have the one that is aimed DIRECTly at you, y’know? It’s like TV, DIRECTly beamed to your dish. Amazing stuff, this technology.
ANyway, if I may offer a bit of advice: don’t use this one. Plate TV sounds like it’s sticking it to you, but your experience sounds a lot like what mine did. I’ve posted here at least once about problems – my microwave was making it go crazy. Now, yeah, that’s my microwave’s fault, but the techs weren’t helpful at ALL about it.
Plus, every time it rains, thinks about raining, gets above a certain humidity, or even has a single cirrus cloud high in the sky, pfft. Distortions, glitches, and lost signal. sigh
According to the unit’s self-tests, it’s got GREAT signal. And the five techs we’ve had come out say it’s got GREAT signal. So why does it glitch all the damn time?
Arrgh. As soon as my contract is up, I’m switching to cable. My buddy has it, lives right down the street, and hasn’t had a problem yet.
We’ve had Plate TV for years, and no problems at all. We had Rapid Cable before that, and it was always going out. We still have RC for internet, but it’s still going out all the time. At least once a day. I can’t wait for Plate TV to get internet access out here where we live. I’ll be switching as soon as I get word it’s available!
I wonder if Dad got someone around to align his dish properly. He did a great job getting the dish installed and the lead threaded down through the roof (we’ve a shallow roof, so the attic is very cramped and there’s expensive wood in some ceilings he couldn’t drill through)
But, the satellite only picks up German and Turkish daytime TV, Arabian porn and between all these, the US Pentagon tv channel :dubious:
I’ve had DIRECTV for about 9 years. A couple of little problems here and there, but all in all I like it very much. IF I could get cable I would probably look into it. But the only reason I would change is if it was cheaper.
That sounds more like Free To Air DVB satellites rather than the “cable on a stick” DBS. I would imagine that Arabian porn would be subscription, though.
The Pentagon Channel and Deutsche Welle are both on AMC-1. Let me know about the pornography.
I have Dish Network and am happy with it, although there is rain fade from time to time.
There were only adverts for phone sex when I watched, but the adverts themselves were a bit more explicit than anything in the UK, complete nudity and nowhere the camera wouldn’t go.
Pentagon TV was a bit cheerier, some sort of awards ceremony in Hawaii, complete with flower necklaces.
We’ve had DirecTV since January 2004 and we love it. We’ve moved twice with no problems; each time we paid $25 for them to get us hooked up at the new place. Our service has been uniformly great.
To the OP - it sounds like the apartment building had some really crummy contracts with Dish and/or the local cable company. (Assuming you’re in the US, their legality is questionable as it sounds like they violate your rights under Federal law. As long as the installation does not extend out of your space, and does not harm the building, you should not need anyone’s permission. For large buildings - hospitals, hotels, apartment complexes and so forth, the building can be set up with an in-house distribution system. In this case, maintenance issues would be re-directed to the guys that fix the toilets, rather than an actual Dish Network tech. You have my sympathies on that.
I’ve been a happy customer of theirs for at least ten years. If you’re dealing with them directly, their service quality is quite good, and their maintenance/repair is also good.
I have had Dish for about a year now and we are pretty happy with it. I was skeptical at first, so I just paid for the install ($50) instead of signing a contract, I figured the $50 was worth it not to be tied to a crappy company for a year or 18 months or whatever. But I plan to keep them.
The only real issue we have is we had 2 DVR boxes conk out on us. This kind of sucks as we lose tv signal on the 2 tv’s that come through the DVR, and we lose anything we had recorded on that box, plus we have to re-set up all our settings when we get the new box. Both times I called customer service and they sent us a new box at no charge, and we just sent in the old one with a written explanation of what went wrong. I like the DVR service very much, that is the main reason we switched to Dish. We are able to hook up through our phone line and get a $5 discount for doing so, I’m not sure why you couldn’t. We own our home though, so no renter issues to deal with.
I am willing to bet signal changes a lot with the area you are in. We live in Michigan but we have never totally lost signal, even through rain and snow, once in a while it will go out for a minute or 2 and come back, but that is rare. If your neighbor has good luck that is a good sign. If you want to try them out I suggest just paying for the install and not signing a contract. Installation is done through local places and I’m sure varies a lot depending on who you get.
Yeah, we’re supposed to go for the Astra satellite, I don’t what the heck Dad’s doing on the roof or where he’s pointing the dish but Arab pussy sure ain’t the BBC :dubious:
Thanks for all the comments. I talked to Plate TV today, and they suggested a month to month as well as giving me a $30 credit on the first month’s bill. Based upon the suggestions, I will try it again.
It is indeed, I got Dad a satellite strength detector and we’re pointing the dish where everyone else seems to be, but its just not right. Hopefully the dish installation fellow will sort it for the weekend when I’m home, I can introduce Mum and Dad to the Daily Show
We’ve had DISH for about a year and I have no complaints at all. Rain fade only during the very worst storms. And this is after getting rid of the worst cable company in the world.
Well, one thing to keep in mind is that, given the distances involved, a centimeter or two off on this end means you’re pointing at, say, the Dog Star rather than whatever satellite you thought you were aiming at.
I don’t remember exactly what one cm off here equates to up there, but it does make a pretty big difference. This from experience in my teenage years working as an assistant to a satellite installer. I was the fetch-and-carry, dig-the-trenches guy, but I learned quite a bit from watching. A bit of math and a protractor will get you in the right ballpark and from there you can tune the signal in, but just “pointing the dish where everyone else seems to be” isn’t going to get you squat.
(I imagine it’s easier nowadays, with GPS and all, but even so – given GPS’s inherent inaccuracies – I don’t think it’s quite so easy as just pointing it.)