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DirecTV sues Comcast over advertisements

20 May 2007 19:20 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 24 comments

Satellite provider, DirecTV, has filed a lawsuit against Comcast for alleged misrepresentation in an advertisement where Comcast claims its picture quality to be superior. DirecTV only had its own advertisements pulled back in February which also claimed that its broadcasting was superior in quality to what cable companies offered. Time Warner Cable had sued DirecTV for the claims.

Now, its DirecTV's turn to fire shots as the spat between Satellite and Cable in attracting the growing interest for HDTV programming continues. The most recent advertisement in question from Comcast (March 2007) cites a survey from Frank N. Magid Associates which showed Comcast was preferred over DirecTV with regard to picture quality.

"The Magid survey upon which Comcast relies does not provide or sufficiently substantiate the propositions for which Comcast cites the survey. Comcast's advertising and promotional claims, including the aforementioned, are literally false," DirecTV's lawsuit alleges. DirecTV is seeking monetary damages and expects retracting statements be made by Comcast.

Source:
TG Daily

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ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 20 May 2007 19:31
So like...can't mention facts or rivals names..mmmmm and since the big corporations own half of each its corporate warfare AKA sue! [ + quote]
tatsh (Junior Member) 20 May 2007 19:52
I hope DirecTV wins. Comcast is so crappy. Unfortunately they are all that are around and the other choices are not very good either if they were around. The other thing about it is that Comcast in my opinion IS lying to people in the ads that claim better video quality in cable. How can this be true when analog cable can never be better than digital satellite? On Comcast cable like most cable companies, channels 2-99 are analog, even with a box (sadly)! The reason for this is so people do not need to have a box in every room that will watch cable TV (unlike satellite). If the price were right, I'd rather have DirecTV in my house (yes, a box in each room) with Comcast cable solely for Internet. Digital delivery of channels 2-99 and the rest looks so much better than Comcast on my friend's DirecTV set up. Actually, maybe I'll just cancel my TV and just use torrents to download TV and other things. I literally watch TV on the TV set probably once a month; kind of a waste. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 20 May 2007 19:59
tatsh Frankly both of them blow,neither offer great subriptions plans for the price and both tend to be heavy handed on what you get. All in all break the plans up more and offer a bit more for a bit less(say I pick 30 channels and pay only 25 a month for that another 10 for hardware and such.). [ + quote]
spydah (Junior Member) 21 May 2007 5:11
I just switched from Comcast to DirectTv and DTv is better. I had Comcast for 8 years paying a bloated over priced bill every month and they always charge you a month in advance which is pure BS. The only thing i will miss about Comcast is Comcastsportsnet and how nicely the channels are laid out in comparison to DTv. DTv picture quality is a lot cleaner with HD-TV and they have a larger selection of channels. Comcast to me overall over charges for low quality with poor service. Every year for 5 - 6 years they was out at my house re-running the cable lines due to some issues they would never disclose to me. I hope that i dont have any issues remotely close to that with DTv. [ + quote]
akaangus (Member) 21 May 2007 12:06
Quote: The other thing about it is that Comcast in my opinion IS lying to people in the ads that claim better video quality in cable. How can this be true when analog cable can never be better than digital satellite? Analog cable IMO looks much better than DirecTV! We had it for a couple of years (before the card changes) and the DTV video was clearly compressed, it didn't look awful but it looked like a "good" quality WMV at the time. Even with Digital Cable now that I have, it looks much better than DTV ever did. Verizon should sue TWC and the others who are part of 1-800-OK-Cable (I'm not sure if Comcast is part of that) for their lame music video that has in the "lyrics" "High speed internet... Nothing's faster!". I'm pretty sure FIOS is faster than shitty-ass TWC RoadRunner (when I worked for TWC:NY's contracted-out call centre back in March), the fastest it went up to was 8Mb/s, and I believe FIOS goes to 25. Also RR NEVER EVER actually got 8Mb/s. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21 May 2007 12:09
spydah (Junior Member) 21 May 2007 13:31
Currently FIO's is faster then Comcast which they only offer up to 15 megs. But there was a article on here 2 weeks ago that stated Comcast is looking forward to releasing a newer and faster internet connection up to 50 megs or so. I just switch from Comcast to DTv and the quality is way superior at this point in comparison to Comcast and I had them for 5 - 6 years. Looking at the HD-DVR box from Comcast to the HD-DVR for DTv DTv is looking way better right now. Even the non HD channels look great on DTv. I did hear a few years ago DTv was not a good choice so i don't know if you had it then if so I can understand your comparison. Last thing Verizon is partners with DTv. So they share revenues with each other and Verizon offers FIOS Tv which is like DTv but coming through their fiber lines. Not sure what quality its offering. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21 May 2007 13:34
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 21 May 2007 16:31
This is kinda stupid if one says mine is better than yours. You should not be able to sue after that. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 21 May 2007 16:45
Originally posted by borhan9: This is kinda stupid if one says mine is better than yours. You should not be able to sue after that. they have to theres no real competition(price or other wise) between them. [ + quote]
akaangus (Member) 21 May 2007 18:57
spydah, I had DTV back in about 2002-2004, and at that time at least, the compression technology used made it look worse than analog cable. My girlfriend's parents have Star Choice which is a Canadian satellite provider and it did look better than analog here, so I guess it was not an issue with satellite but instead bad compression which they may or may not have fixed by now (hopefully they did!). I have not really seen much HD from either Cable or Sattelite so I can't comment on that part of it. [ + quote]
FlakMNKEY (Junior Member) 22 May 2007 15:37
I currently have DTV along with their HD package. My friend has Time Warner. We both have pretty much the same tv. His is a 55in sony wega 2 years older than mine. Mine is a 46in sony wega. We've comapared and we really can't tell that much of a difference between quality. However, he gets alot more channels in HD that what I get, but his montly bill is almost doubled what mine is. I pay $10 a month for about 9-11 channels in HD. He can get local channels in HD, I have to use an antennae. I can get my local channels on my satellite in analog format, but not digital. Really sucks to because I can only get 1 local channel all the time in HD - cbs. and the others like nbc,abc,pbs I get sometime. Fox is out of the question on my antennae. I am starting to get annoyed with this. I've called DTV many times asking when this is going to change, they always reply no comment and to fill out a channel waiver request form. It always comes back not approved. I've called my local channels and they say they don't grant waivers if you can't get there digital signal from an antennae. I went through this same bullshit a few years ago, to get my local channels analog signal on sattelite. waiver was always denied. Eventually DTV made them available after many complaints from consumers but it took them forever. I have no idea how to get around this. Hopefully this will change once DTV starts offering the most HD channels than anyone else. which they claim will be sometime this year. But I doubt it. Does anyone know what that waiver is for, or how I can get my local channels in HD on my sattelite? I'm starting to get pissed and really want them by the time football season rolls around. Live in Nebraska if that helps for information. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 22 May 2007 15:40
gus738 (Senior Member) 24 May 2007 15:52
Originally posted by tatsh: I hope DirecTV wins. Comcast is so crappy. Unfortunately they are all that are around and the other choices are not very good either if they were around. The other thing about it is that Comcast in my opinion IS lying to people in the ads that claim better video quality in cable. How can this be true when analog cable can never be better than digital satellite? On Comcast cable like most cable companies, channels 2-99 are analog, even with a box (sadly)! The reason for this is so people do not need to have a box in every room that will watch cable TV (unlike satellite). If the price were right, I'd rather have DirecTV in my house (yes, a box in each room) with Comcast cable solely for Internet. Digital delivery of channels 2-99 and the rest looks so much better than Comcast on my friend's DirecTV set up. Actually, maybe I'll just cancel my TV and just use torrents to download TV and other things. I literally watch TV on the TV set probably once a month; kind of a waste. i wish people would be smart like us fianly their someone who also thinks directv is better then cable ..... [ + quote]
Viperz_7 (Newbie) 24 May 2007 19:35
..just a note on fastest internet.. my friend lives in "upstate" NY and has Optimum online with fibre optic cable and he's getting 30Mbit down and 5Mbit up for around the $60 a month or so .. ~ side note to the guy with the HD antenna problems.. I'm not sure how to get around your waiver issues unless you go FTA but you may be able to improve your antenna reception. There are many variables that can inhibit your reception. Do a google around for ways to boost your input. I did this on my bosses TV and he went from one spanish channel to 5 full time english channels :) (hope this helps) [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 24 May 2007 19:41
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 24 May 2007 20:04
Originally posted by Viperz_7: ..just a note on fastest internet.. my friend lives in "upstate" NY and has Optimum online with fibre optic cable and he's getting 30Mbit down and 5Mbit up for around the $60 a month or so .. ~ side note to the guy with the HD antenna problems.. I'm not sure how to get around your waiver issues unless you go FTA but you may be able to improve your antenna reception. There are many variables that can inhibit your reception. Do a google around for ways to boost your input. I did this on my bosses TV and he went from one spanish channel to 5 full time english channels :) (hope this helps) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ damn is that faster than a T1 or T3? [ + quote]
DADEO1 (Member) 24 May 2007 20:14
How is DT when something quits working and a service call/man is needed to come to your house? Years ago I had Dish network but went back to cable because of the cost of service calls for repairs. Seemed like every couple of months something broke/quit working that required the service call and I had to pay for it. Cable (Comcast) fixes whatever is wrong/breaks and it doesn't cost me anything. Does the satellite providers have any kind of free warranty for repairs/replacement if needed? [ + quote]
gus738 (Senior Member) 24 May 2007 20:21
Originally posted by DADEO1: How is DT when something quits working and a service call/man is needed to come to your house? Years ago I had Dish network but went back to cable because of the cost of service calls for repairs. Seemed like every couple of months something broke/quit working that required the service call and I had to pay for it. Cable (Comcast) fixes whatever is wrong/breaks and it doesn't cost me anything. Does the satellite providers have any kind of free warranty for repairs/replacement if needed? LMFAO !!!! you said dish and the first words to come out was LMFAO directv is number 1 dude i never tried dish (i'v seen it installed at frieds) same goes with cable and boy a i glad i choose directv in the first place , try it then re think tv :D [ + quote]
DADEO1 (Member) 24 May 2007 21:27
Dude,when your done LMFAO, see if you can put a few sentences together and answer the question. [ + quote]
gus738 (Senior Member) 24 May 2007 22:32
Originally posted by DADEO1: Dude,when your done LMFAO, see if you can put a few sentences together and answer the question. srry for my typing errors and no i never had to deal with issues with directv so i dont know if they charge for repairs but i think they dont but you should verify that again im 99% sure they dont charge [ + quote]
DADEO1 (Member) 25 May 2007 3:13
If they have warranty like features like cable does,then that would change my thinking now.I always liked the satellite when I had it, but the cost of maintaining it just got out of hand.I kept getting bad switches,lnbs and recievers.Cable says with them you only rent the equipment,so they maintain and with satellite you own it,so you maintain it.I wish there was more competition allowed with cable in all areas.You have no choices with cable,it's one company in your neighborhood and that's it. [ + quote]
spydah (Junior Member) 25 May 2007 4:27
Originally posted by spydah: Currently FIO's is faster then Comcast which they only offer up to 15 megs. But there was a article on here 2 weeks ago that stated Comcast is looking forward to releasing a newer and faster internet connection up to 50 megs or so. I just switch from Comcast to DTv and the quality is way superior at this point in comparison to Comcast and I had them for 5 - 6 years. Looking at the HD-DVR box from Comcast to the HD-DVR for DTv DTv is looking way better right now. Even the non HD channels look great on DTv. I did hear a few years ago DTv was not a good choice so i don't know if you had it then if so I can understand your comparison. Last thing Verizon is partners with DTv. So they share revenues with each other and Verizon offers FIOS Tv which is like DTv but coming through their fiber lines. Not sure what quality its offering. This is just to correct myself on what i said Comcast was upgrading the internet speed to. At The Cable Show conference in Las Vegas this week, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts unveiled a new cable modem technology that could bring amazing speeds of 150 megabits per second. Roberts said the technology would be a good way to compete with lower cost DSL and the significantly faster FiOS. FiOS currently offers up to 50 megabits. [ + quote]
spydah (Junior Member) 25 May 2007 6:21
Originally posted by DADEO1: If they have warranty like features like cable does,then that would change my thinking now.I always liked the satellite when I had it, but the cost of maintaining it just got out of hand.I kept getting bad switches,lnbs and recievers.Cable says with them you only rent the equipment,so they maintain and with satellite you own it,so you maintain it.I wish there was more competition allowed with cable in all areas.You have no choices with cable,it's one company in your neighborhood and that's it. I know DTv is currently doing that now where your actually renting the equipment instead of buying it. They used to make you buy the equipment then you had to maintain it. I just had them come out 2 weeks ago and upgrade me for free mind you i just got their service in April. They even re-ran a extra line to my room for Tivo. I am not sure if you had Dish Network they may still be the same with making you pay for the equipment. [ + quote]
gus738 (Senior Member) 25 May 2007 9:25
Originally posted by DADEO1: If they have warranty like features like cable does,then that would change my thinking now.I always liked the satellite when I had it, but the cost of maintaining it just got out of hand.I kept getting bad switches,lnbs and recievers.Cable says with them you only rent the equipment,so they maintain and with satellite you own it,so you maintain it.I wish there was more competition allowed with cable in all areas.You have no choices with cable,it's one company in your neighborhood and that's it. just try directv dude watch you'll see i never needed service done and the only time its ever gotten interpted was when their was a hevy hevy storm (think lights dimming/going out ) so in this case its rarely just try it [ + quote]
spydah (Junior Member) 25 May 2007 10:37
I agree with the last post. [ + quote]
R33OCK (Newbie) 26 May 2007 16:48
Originally posted by spydah: I just switched from Comcast to DirectTv and DTv is better. I had Comcast for 8 years paying a bloated over priced bill every month and they always charge you a month in advance which is pure BS. The only thing i will miss about Comcast is Comcastsportsnet and how nicely the channels are laid out in comparison to DTv. DTv picture quality is a lot cleaner with HD-TV and they have a larger selection of channels. Comcast to me overall over charges for low quality with poor service. Every year for 5 - 6 years they was out at my house re-running the cable lines due to some issues they would never disclose to me. I hope that i dont have any issues remotely close to that with DTv. [ + quote]
gus738 (Senior Member) 26 May 2007 16:50
Quote: Originally posted by spydah: I just switched from Comcast to DirectTv and DTv is better. I had Comcast for 8 years paying a bloated over priced bill every month and they always charge you a month in advance which is pure BS. The only thing i will miss about Comcast is Comcastsportsnet and how nicely the channels are laid out in comparison to DTv. DTv picture quality is a lot cleaner with HD-TV and they have a larger selection of channels. Comcast to me overall over charges for low quality with poor service. Every year for 5 - 6 years they was out at my house re-running the cable lines due to some issues they would never disclose to me. I hope that i dont have any issues remotely close to that with DTv. did you say this or why you quote this ? [ + quote]