Satellite Television Wars – Which One Should You Choose?
Satellite television became an option for many more viewers sometime in the 1990’s when smaller dish antennas were invented that did not look like something out of a science fiction movie. Although some smaller satellite TV services have come and gone, the two major players left in the game are DISH Network and DirecTV.
With only two major players left in the business, the question most potential subscribers face when choosing satellite TV service is: Who has the better deal? Are the DirecTV deals better or should you opt for one of the satellite deals?
DirecTV is the clear winner in number of customers, with DISH Network coming in second. Even so, there are indeed some good reasons to give both companies consideration when consumers who are considering satellite companies for their television entertainment.
DirecTV offers more programming for sports fans in general, although DISH Network provides options for quite a few sports packages as well. A big plus for football fans is DirecTV’s “NFL Sunday Ticket” programming that DISH Network just doesn’t have.
However, some say, and I tend to agree, that DISH Network is the leader when it comes to technology. They were first to convert all their channels from the older MPEG-2 video format to the newer and more efficient MPEG-4 format and also the first to offer true 1080p HD programming on some of their video-on-demand channels while DirecTV does not offer 1080p at all currently.
DISH Network also offers digital video recorders that are thought of as the best by most experts. As someone who has a DISH Network DVR, it’s hard to imagine it being much better. It’s really changed the way I watch TV and makes the VCR look something out of the distant past.
DISH Network is also offers more choices when it comes to international programming and they have a wide variety of programming from countries all over the planet in many languages.
Both DISH Network and DirecTV have a pretty fierce rivalry where HD programming is concerned, with both of them claiming to have the most HD channels in recent years.
Like you would expect from most big corporations both companies get tricky with the method they use to tally up their HD programming choices. Does a pay-per-view channel count? What about movies on demand? As a potential customer, your best bet is to go through the entire list of programming each satellite broadcaster offers and decide which HD channels are more important to you.
I’ve done my own share of research and perusing of satellite TV forums and have remained with DISH Network for a number of years. I am quite happy with my DISH Network service and the programming packages that they offer.
The programming packages that DISH Network offers these days are some of the best I have seen and you do not have to pay for the equipment out of your own pocket like it used to be years ago. In case you have not figured it out my advice for potential satellite TV customers is to search for one of the best satellite deals you can find.
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