Torn between two TV lovers, feeling like a TV fool

July 3, 2007 7:28 PM

ExpressVu vs. StarChoice -- help me choose.

I am about to move into a house I built in a rural area in Ontario. I have clear line of sight to both the ExpressVu and StarChoice satellites, but no cable and (currently) only satellite internet.

I am now torn between ExpressVu and StarChoice for my Satellite TV.

Here are your data points:

-- I've had StarChoice for the last five years and am sort-of satisfied but I would like better HD choices and better picture quality overall
-- I've had endless, horrible experiences with Bell customer services. I've never had a call that ended well with them. I would like to limit my exposure to them as much as possible
-- I want to buy an HD PVR in the new place. The reviews for the Bell equipment are generally much more positive than the reviews for the StarChoice equipment
-- I already have some StarChoice equipment (a conventional STB and an HD decoder)
-- I like MSNBC but Bell doesn't carry it
-- the relative cost of services is sort of irrelevant to me

I guess what it comes down to is that I'd go with SC but I have a sneaking suspicion that BEV has better picture, more HD choice and a better PVR. But does that balance out the excruciating pain of dealing with Bell customer service?

You tell me!

posted by unSane to sports, hobbies, & recreation (2 answers total)

The starchoice guide system blows compared to the ExpressVu guide IMO. I choose expressvu for that reason alone.
posted by Mitheral at 1:57 AM on July 4, 2007

How often do you really wind up dealing with customer service? I had expressvu, and I agree, it's customer service is atrocious. I think I called them 4-5 times in the 10 years I had expressvu.

I dropped them because they kept jiggering my packages to drive up the price of what I wanted, but since you're price insensitive that's no reason. The picture quality was really good, and I liked my PVR (admittedly one of the old SD ones that I got as soon as they launched in Sept of 2001)
posted by Nodecam at 6:58 AM on July 4, 2007