We stayed at a B&B a few months ago that had large flat plasma hi-def TV in the suite.

They were on the beach, no cable available there...and had DIRECTV.
Although the picture was fantastic and there were hundreds of channels, what was irritating was the herky-jerky slow response when changing channels. Also especially slow was using the channel guide - took 3-4 seconds at the least to go from page to page.

But, once we got tuned into a channel...the picture was great.

All the TVs in the building had the same problem.

As much as we detest Comcast, I would never get DIRECTV.

I have Directv and we don't have the problem Monica describes. The biggest problem we have is loss of signal during a heavy rain storm (sometimes even with light rain). I've also noticed some channels I got in the past (like Oxygen and WGN) we no longer get. We've had Directv for 15 years now, we were one of their first customers. I am getting ready to call them soon and see if I can get a extra receiver for free (going to try anyhow). If nothing else we should be able some free movie channels.

IF you decide to go with Directv... let me or someone else you know that has it give you their account number... both the person that signs up for new service and the current customer gets $100.

DirectTV is not available here. I had DISH at one time, but that was back when there was the big brouhaha over local channels and Court TV, etc, and I dropped it. So now I have Comcast, but just the Basic, Expanded which they call Standard Service. The service is okay, but there is very little of anything worthwhile to watch, and the programs are getting more and more sex-oriented, whoever the company is. When my year is up I may cancel it.

Sue

I've had DirecTV for about 7 years. The channel changes just fine. I have an HD tv and the reception is great.
I understand that weather can interfere with a dish. I've lost the signal maybe twice for a few minutes. We don't have severe weather, though. The only thing that annoyed me was when I switched to HD, I had to pay another $100 for the receiver whereas new customers got it for free. (I complained and they offered me free HBO, etc. for 3 months...whoopee...) You, as a new customer should get a good deal.

I have Dish. I know direct TV is more expensive.

We have had dish network for years. We have never had a problem with it. On occasion, when you do have a problem and have to call for tech support, I rarely have ever had to wait for just a couple minutes to talk to a real live person, and they are always great.
Never had directtv, so can't comment on that.
I would recommend dish network.

We have had DIRECTV for a year now. No problems with channel changes as described, or with weather. It is raining as I type and the TV is fine. Maybe the installation location of the satellite dish is the issue -- our seems secure.

We can record two shows at a time, and I believe we can watch another show at the same time, though I haven't tried.

Lots and lots of channels. Your choice by package which extra ones you want.

We have had DishNetwork for several years, and are very pleased. We have the dual DVR, so half of our TVs are on station one; the other half on station two. We can record a different show on each station, while we are watching a previously recorded show. I don't know how I ever lived without the DVR!

Cable will have issues too when their dishes get obstructed in adverse weather. Seems more noticeable on satellite, at least when I had it. I kind of liked the satellite but the price got to be prohibitive.

A cousin has used Dish for years. It was cheaper than direct but had fewer channels. A lot depends on the channels you want. He recently switched to Direct since the price on Dish had gone up continually, of course, and he was able to get the service at home and at the lake for about $30/mo cheaper than to stay with Dish, plus there were more channels, some of which he had an interest in having available.

However, he still complains that there's nothing to watch all too often!

I'd suggest checking for their pricing and specials. Be sure you include equipment and installation costs. Also compare channel lineups. Don't assume it'll have the channels you want.

We have had Direct TV for many years. Switched to Dish for two days and begged Direct TV to take us back (cannot remember why). You will lose the signal with either one with a heavy down pour or a major storm. The loss of service does not happen often or last too long. You can watch previously recorded shows during this period. Will advise you to have them put the dish in a spot that is reachable if you live in an area that gets snow. Ours is on the garage roof and can be reached with a long pole. If snow collects on it, it will also interfere with the signal.

We have had Dish Network for about 7 years and have been very happy with it. Last year, at a friends insistence, I checked out Directv and briefly considered switching. But after adding up all the costs I realized that I would not really be saving any money. And Dish's customer service has always been excellent. About a year ago we switched out our receiver for one that controls both TVs and we are able to record two programs at once while watching another recorded program. Love it!

Another feature I love (Directv may have it too, but I'm not aware of it) is that I can do all my programming online! It is so much faster and I can see all the synopses in the same window.

We watch way too much TV, but that's our entertainment. We also recently purchased an external hard drive so that we can store more programming and we're having some issues with that, but it's not Dish's problem. DH is working with the maker of the hard drive to work that out.

Thank you, all, for your comments. Hubs and I rarely would want to be watching two different programs at the same time. I watch much more tv than he does. I can be paying half-attention to a show and read a book or sit and knit if there isn't anything good on, whereas Hubs would prefer to read a book away from the tv. I haven't yet mastered reading and knitting at the same time... :-)

We don't get snow where we live (well, there was that one day not too long ago when we woke up to about two inches of snow, but that was a freak cold-front storm), but we can get a lot of rain at times.

Pretty much everything we watch is on a high-def channel... I wish we could get just high-def...

I'm going to print out your comments and give them to Hubs. This has to be a mutal decision - whether or not to give up Comcast and, if so, whether it will be for Directv or Dish.

We have had Dish Network for over 13 years and love it. Part of the reason is our LOCAL Dish guy. He is tops! He gets us the best deals and hooks up our equipment and will come out in a short amount of time if we need anything.

I like the....no scratch that... I LOVE the HD-DVR that we have. Makes TV viewing so nice. I tape what I want to watch and watch it when I have time. I like to fast forward through commercials, etc.

We have our guide set so that we can scroll through the guide, and still watch the program..

Everyone around here who has Direct seems to go back to Dish Network - they all say it is price.

I switched from Media Com to DIRECTV almost a year ago. The reason I switched was because Media Com kept raising their prices and I couldn't get ABC clearly. I love, love, love DIRECTV. I get great reception. With any satellite dish your reception may go out briefly while a rain storm passes through and snow accumulates in the dish. With all the snow we have had this winter, only twice has the dish needed to be cleared. The first time, I was able to clear it and the second time DS was visiting and he cleared it.

We had dish for years and switched to direct to save a few bucks. Bad move,,,it does have the herky jerky channel changing ,and the remotes freeze up.I hate it and wish we had stayed with Dish. After my contract runs out i am going back to DISH!!!!

I asked this same question over on the Home Decorating Conversations side of Gardenweb a couple of months ago. We live in the boonies and are constantly bombarded with advertisements mailed to us from DirectTV and Dish Network. I wanted some advice and asked....I'll try to link my thread below. One reply that stands out in my memory is the one where I was told that if the satellite company doesn't have an office near by, they just hire someone in the area to install....and it wasn't a good installation for the person telling the story.

Here is a link that might be useful: Satellite TV question

Thank you, FolkVictorian, for the link to your thread on the other forum. It was very interesting!

I absolutely don't like the thought of being locked into a two-year contract, and I don't think Hubs would like that, either... And I really don't want anything on the roof. Well, it's not that I don't want a small dish on the roof -- I just don't want any holes drilled through it.

I hadn't even thought about subcontractors doing the installation. We're in a suburb of Sacramento (unincorporated area in Sac County), so there's probably a "real office" for both companies in the area, but even though Comcast has an official, real office in the area, I know they use subcontractors...

Definitely lots to think about!