The two main satellite television services in the country are Dish Network and DirecTV. These are one of the very few options one has when one is seeking to switch from cable to satellite television. They are both far superior in their quality and customer service, offering the best deals available in the market when compared to any ordinary cable provider. The best deals offered by the service providers, the best packages and their prices are all available on their websites; thus providing a very customer friendly environment. All information regarding the packages and facilities can be obtained from the company's official website. This not only saves you a lot of time, but also saves you a lot of trouble as all the information you need is available at one place.
In brief, here are a overview on both Dish Network and DirecTV company background.
Dish Network
Owned by Echostar, Dish Network went 'on-air' officially in 1995. The Dish Network satellite TV is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service that broadcasts digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States. On the other hand, Hughes's DirecTV, the first high-powered DBS system, went live in 1994 and was the first North American DBS service. Owned by DirecTV Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, DirecTV was the first high-powered DBS service in the world.
As both TV services are offered based on the same technology, it is not surprise that shoppers are facing dilemma in picking up anyone of them most of the time. A search around the Internet should help you to get some brief comparison between these two companies but what lack is of is the detail comparison on Dish Network and DirecTV's special features. To ease the pain, here's the comparison of their special features.
High Definition and Digital Video Recording system
HD/DVR receivers are a part of the packages offered by both these service providers. This happens to be the latest development in technology which assists in superior quality viewing.
Dish Network has to offer to its customers, two types of receivers: One is a HD receiver that can support up to 2 TVs, along with which they also offer a dual HD DVR receiver for up to 2 TV's as well. This latest HD DVR receiver offered by them is called ViP722 DVR and it supports two kinds of televisions, both HDTV and SDTV. It is capable of recording over 350 hours of SDTV programs and about 55 hours or more of HDTV programs. This set also provides a satellite tuner that is capable of being viewed in two modes; either a picture -in-picture mode (single mode) or a dual mode wherein one can simultaneously record a program and view a previously recorded program as well. Being very customer oriented, Dish Networks' service provides for a customer friendly interface allowing for easy- to - use option for searches as well. If the customer desires, the company also provides for an on screen caller ID feature, provided the customer has subscribed for the same with their respective phone company.
DirecTV on the other hand promotes their newest product: Dual HD/DVR receiver ( DirecTV plus HD DVR) which allows its customers the choice of recording 200 hours of SDTV and 3000 minutes of HDTV. One of the best features offered by this receiver is the a feature known as Series Link, which allows people to record entire seasons, and even adjust for changes of date and time every week. Along with these features the receiver possess another feature known as Media share that gives the customers access to view photos, play their favorite music which can be saved on to an Inter Viiv processor PC.
In addition to allowing the caller id facility like their competitor, the TV guide allows its customers to be able to see the schedule for forthcoming TV sitcoms and movies for over 14 days in advance.
Sports Programming
As you might already alert, both the service providers provide an impressive line of football, soccer, hockey and basketball games, allowing the customer to purchase either the individual games, or the entire 4 game package for half to full seasons.
What differs DirecTV from Dish Network is that it provides rugby, cricket, as well NASCAR programming in their sport package. More over, DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket is so far the football programming package with the widest game coverage in the market. In fact, there're lots of DirecTV customer picked DirecTV just because they want more football actions!
Package Pricing
Pricing in satellite TV is always way better than cable TV. Both Dish Network and DirecTV take initial setups. Dish Network monthly fees starts from .99/mo; DirecTV, .99/mo.
Music and exclusive programming
Dish TV provides and extensive range of exclusive interactive programs allowing the customers to play games, keep a tab on the weather, read gossip, check your horoscopes, view scores live for different games and shop using the "home shopping network". By teaming with SIRIUS they provide around 60 different commercial music channels free of cost to suit different tastes, and are provided with several of their packages.
DirecTV, in comparison, provides a range of exclusive programs via channel 101, which includes music and live shows. A channel known as Channel 103 exists, which is dedicated to shows based on faith and inspirational events for the family. Along with this they also offer close to 70 channels of radio with specific packages.
Parental control locks
Both service providers offer the options of parental control along with locks for absolutely no extra monthly charge, allowing parents to lock movies that have been certified in appropriate for viewing by children by the Association of Motion Pictures in America. Dish network also offers an option where extended option allowing parents to view expanded ratings of things such as language, nudity and violence and thereby offering extra protection to the children. These parental locks are also extended to channels that you have to pay to watch or the Pay and View channels.
Wrapping things up
So hey, Dish Network or DirecTV? Seriously, when it comes to choosing Dish Network and DirecTV deals, there is really no one shoe fit for all in this question. The question to ask is that which one suits you more. But in case you really need a brief answer, I would say DirecTV is more for sport fans; and if you prefer more international and HD programming (as Dish Network has the most HD channels) then Dish Network sounds like a better choice for you.
Dish Network vs DirecTV - A Detail Comparison Between The Main Satellite TV Providers