Hopper with Sling lets you watch your TV using anything from anywhere. Wanna watch NFL football from a hotel room in Manila? No problem. Feel like catching some UEFA champions league action during lunch on your phone? No problem. Genie is not better until it does the same thing.
Oh I know, I didn't say it was better. The only thing I've implied about what makes DirecTV better than Dish is HD quality and I'm sure most can agree on. I mentioned the phone app mainly to show it's "remote" potential lol. You can using a sling adapter on a DirecTV HR24 (support is extremely limited). DirecTV also has the "nomad" . It doesn't let you watch live tv anywhere but it'll let you watch any of your DVR'd shows anywhere. Dish definitely has the advantage there. Sling adapters are awesome through cable though.
I personally like the Genie better too. We have both the Genie and Hopper back home. The interface for the Hopper is a tad bit slower (thought they may have improved it with software updates, not sure). I also like the fact that it has more tuners to record. I have my Slingbox HD hooked up to the Genie. Works out pretty nicely.
Definitely agree. The ability to watch anything at any point on your phone is really amazing. I like DirecTV, but I really miss the DishSling.
I had Dish before we moved and had no issues with HD. It looked fine to me. I don't know how close you have to sit in front of the TV to tell the difference... I have UVerse now and love it. Also had Comcast before and that is total crap.
Genie let's me record 5 shows in HD on any channel at the same time. The Hopper can't do that. I can also download shows in 1080p through DTV. The interface is also smooth and quick and ultra responsive. No lag on the Genie.
Are there even 5 TV shows out there worth watching? Anyway you can always buy a Slingbox no matter your TV provider. I'm thinking about getting an HD antenna, TiVo, and Slingbox once my Uverse contract runs out. I only get cable for Rockets anyway, and I'm not getting Comcast.