I'd finally had enough of cable after their last aid hike. It was time to join the masses of satisfied satellite customers and make the big switch.
But, which one to choose? After all, I'd been a tried-and-true cable buyer for so long; I had no idea which satellite supplier was best.
"Oh, just pick one," my neighbor told me. "They're all the same."
That couldn't be right, I thought.
Or could it?
So I began a month-long saga of satellite Tv research, comparing Dish Network vs Direct Tv every which way until I knew every last information about each service.
Much to my family's despair, I was considered to find out everything I could about the satellite providers available, and make an informed buyer choice.
And the qoute is, most sites that pretend to tell where to find the best deals are just plain awful.
Now, I did find three that were worthwhile. To find out which ones those are, you have to scroll down to the lowest of this story where you'll find the links.
The good news, of course, is that there are only two clubs to choose from - Dish Network and Direct Tv. Considering how hard it was to find many differences between the two (and finally settle which one was best), I sure was glad there weren't others.
My first concern was either or not I could use both clubs where I live. That wasn't a qoute for me, but a friend was told that Direct Tv could not furnish a signal in his neighborhood due to some large oak trees in the neighbor's yard which interfered with their signal. But, he told me, since the signal from Dish Network came from the opposite direction (go figure), he was able to sign on with them - development his decision easier than mine.
Next, I looked at service.
Both clubs provided about the same level of aid for relatively the same price. Packages for both Dish Network and Direct Tv begin at about .99 a month, with their most beneficial house packages fluctuating colse to -.
I did find that Direct Tv offered more extensive sports packages, along with the Nfl Sunday marker (hooray!), as well as packages outside all of the major college and expert sports teams. They also sport fewer blackout dates in many of the big cities like Philadelphia, development their packages well worth the extra money.
While Direct Tv also offers other less-popular international sports such as cricket, rugby and soccer, Dish Network tends to incorporate more on the international sports coverage, according to many of the citizen I talked to.
One of the things that stood out among the Dish network programming seemed to be their collection of Latino and International channels and shows. For those looking for non-American (non-English) programming, Dish might be the way to go.
Since both clubs offered all-digital packages, loads of high definition channels and fullness of personel packages to choose from, my next concern was in regards to set-up fees and installation.
It's true that both providers "officially" payment for equipment and installation, however, unless you're the kind of someone who walks onto a car lot and just pays sticker price, you shouldn't ever have to pay for this.
Both Dish Network and Direct Tv continually offer a collection of promotions and specials for first-time users that furnish basic premise and equipment for free, in expanding to a myriad of coupons and gift certificates that can be redeemed for added equipment and/or services along with 1-3 months of free service; free pay-per-view movies; channel upgrades and more.
Where do you find these deals?
Again, you de facto have to go down to the lowest of this story and click on those links! They'll save you a ton of time!
So, on to the million dollar question: which aid is better?
Believe it or not, after all that investigate I came away convinced that neither aid outranks the other in more than a few small areas. Both offer between 180-250 channels, a collection of extensive sports packages (although Direct Tv seems to furnish more expert sports game options for the all-around sports lover), 100% all-digital and High Definition packages. And they do this for relatively the same price.
In the end, I chose Direct Tv naturally because they offered the Nfl Sunday marker and Dish didn't. Boy, am I glad I did!
As promised, Direct Tv has given my house more than 250 channels to choose from, loads of sporting events, music concerts and pay-per-view movies. We've never enjoyed such a crystal clear photograph before, and I am happy to article that we've only lost our signal once, and that was while a major snow storm last winter that ended up knocking out the electricity, so we wouldn't have been able to watch Tv anyway.
And, by the time the electricity came back on, so did our satellite signal! (Our neighbors with cable weren't so lucky - their signal was out for three days. Hah!)
Am I glad I ditched cable? You bet I am! I have a clearer picture, more channels to choose from and hassle free service, all for a fraction of the cost!
Don't forget to check out the three sites below to make sure you're always up to date on the best deals.
