Any thoughts on why to choose one over the other?

I guess I should be more specific...

Are there any significant differences between the two?

We currently have Dish, but are moving into a house that has Direct TV. The previous owners are leaving their receivers, so we are now debating whether to stay with Dish (and have to do reinstallation of the actual dish) or to switch to Direct TV.

Any thoughts?

We switched when Dish started offering DVR with a purchase. I switched about 4 months ago and Dish is the better product as far as I'm concerned.

Can you be more specific as to why you think that Dish is the better product?

(No, I don't work for one of these companies or for cable, just trying to make an "informed" decision.)

My Dish DVR can record 100 hours of whatever you want. It is user friendly and programable. Dish also more reliable in storms. They are both pretty equal as far as reception is concerned (digital) and comparable as far as cost. However, the Dish offer in my area was something like 3 free months, free setup, DVR for 2 TVs, etc.

You might start checking the newspaper and see if which company has the better offer and be sure to get DVR with it.

We currently have DVR, and the Direct TV offer is for 4 free receivers (standard, not DVR). But we really do not need the receivers. What makes Direct TV appealing is a "bundle" offer from our phone company, but I want to know if the savings is really worth it, or will I be kicking myself in September for a mere $10/mo.

I guess my main concern is any difference in service, reliability, general quality, etc.

We had Dish three or four years ago and switched over to digital cable because they didn't carry the ESPN college sports packages and MLB Extra Innings. Don't know if it's still like that or not.

Hell, there probably pretty even since they are the only shows in town. I think SBC is getting into the picture in a big way so you might also want to check into that.

I've got digital cable and have never order ESPN Game Plan using it (used direct dish in the past), but I'm guessing the coverage will be the same.

Thanks for your thoughts.

We're in Nashville, so Bell South is our "local" phone service. They are now bundling several services: local & long distance, DSL, Direct TV, and even Cingular Wireless. They offer nice monthly savings to bundle.