I used to have DISH and (IMO) UPgraded to DirecTV about a year ago. DISH was fine as long as you didn't want anything fancy (like a digital output from your digital service) or those fluffy little extras (like... customer service!). Somewhere on this site I have a long vent about my frustration and then switch to DirecTV, but I've been very pleased with their service since I made the move.

I got a good deal (for me) by getting the free install and two free receiver units (and paying the difference to upgrade one to a digital out for sound) with a year service contract. Price is equivalent but their customer service is SO much better. Also, the installer actually knew his head from his @$$ and did everything I asked without a lot of hemming and hawwing and trying to charge me more.

I would just say to be certain of the connections on the boxes you are getting. If you can't find it printed somewhere, ask whoever is doing the install or call DirecTV's C.S. dept. I actually had a guy go physically find the box that came free and tell me what the connections were. That's how I knew I needed to upgrade. At the time DirecTV was not offering boxes that fit my needs direct from them so I eventually went with a Circuit City purchase/install plan. That was reassuring because I could hold in my hands what I was getting. It was also nice to just be told outright, "Here is what we have. Sorry it doesn't meet your needs. Here is how to get what you want." So much nicer than being sold vaporwire and getting bent over on the exchange or whatever when it turned out to be wrong.

My only complaint with the service isn't their fault, it's the boxes I opted for. I got the RCA ones (because, frankly, they were the cheapest that gave me what I wanted) knowing that I was getting slower operational response time. By that, I mean that there is a delay of a second or so between button operation and box response. I knew about it going in, and told my wife as well, but we both agreed we didn't really mind the inconvenience. And to be honest, it hasn't really been a big deal to us. The money saved up front is a fine trade off in our minds.

Hmm... guess this was sort of a turned in to a much larger post than I thought it would be. Hope you got something useful out of it.