Digital Cable or "The Dish"?

[gullahisland]

I've had 'em all and it's pretty much a toss-up between DirecTV and Dish Network. Both are a better choice than cable with respect to pricing in almost ALL markets and the picture quality is better than cable in MOST markets.

I just recently switched back to Dish from DTV and canceled my Tivo service in favor of the new Dish 625 DVR receiver. It's a dual tuner receiver that allows you to record two shows simultaneously on a single device. I couldn't do that with my Tivo. The second television just uses a UHF remote and controls the second tuner of the DVR. Basically you can watch any show that you've recorded on EITHER television. Imagine...It's late at night and you're watching a movie that you recorded on the DVR. Half-way through the movie, you decide that you'd like to finish watching it in the bedroom. No problem. Very cool.

The only downside that I've found is that Tivo's user-interface is VASTLY superior to the DVR. But...my guess is that Dish will make improvements and update the software remotely.

The BIGGEST advantage that I've found with Dish, however, is that they offer Sirius Satellite Radio. The Pure Jazz station, alone, gives the nod to Dish Network if you're trying to make a decision between Dish and DirecTV.

Finally...There's no law that says you HAVE to use Dish Network's DVR feature. If I get too frustrated, I can easily reconnect the Tivo and have the best of both worlds...except for being able to record two shows at once. Oh well.