Dish/Direct TV vs Cable

[Jason]

I'm one that has has cable/DirecTV (now/Switching to Dish Network very soon.

All of the above offer local channels in my area.

Cable....higher priced/local support/internet (big plus)

DirecTV slighly priced higher than Dish, lower than Cable (DirectWay internet is crap if you do anything other than surf and is highly overpriced). I got DirecTV for the NFL Sunday Ticket, the only one that offers this if you are a football fan like myself. Also , when local channels were added, I have to add a additional Dish, so two dishes instead of one, check into this.

Dish Network....the cheapest of the bunch, no NFL Sunday Ticket, only one dish.

So depending on what choices you want these are your options.

[m4rcone]

Not necessarily. DirecTV can give you an oval dish with a triple LNB, allowing it to look at 3 satellites at the same time. My neighbor just got Dish Network, and for some reason they put 2 dishes on his roof, pointing in different directions.

[Paul Franklin]

Sherry,

I'm in Northern OH. (Adelphia--much maligned, but other than a few glitches when they started up in the area, I've no complaints) Tree may be a problem, but often there is a spot on the house that has a clear enough view to work; the installer can check your site ahead of time. (I hate those wind gusts that only ever seem to blow leaves

*onto* your property!)

Digital cable usually requires a STB (set top box) or a cable DVR/PVR (digital/personal video recorder) for anything other than the basic cable channels. They generally have both video and RF outputs so they should connect to any TV except the few units that have no antenna or video connection at all. And the dish won't be able to connect to them either.

Regardless of which you go with, I highly recommend (as have others) the DVR/PVR. It completely changes the way you watch TV, and for the better. The ones supplied by my cable company allow you to record two different shows while watching another prerecorded show, or watch one show while recording another. I think the units provided by the dish companies have similar capabilities. Good luck with your choice. Paul