DISH Network offers you the channels you want for less than you'll pay with DIRECTV. Look at the chart and see.

There are a few key differences between DISH and Directv. The foremost difference, important to most people, is price. DISH is, in fact, less expensive than Directv. DISH has created their packages in such a way that allows greater choice for the consumer in regards to monthly payments. Look at the chart (Right). We're doing a regular everyday price (after promotion) comparison between DISH and Directv. Who has a better deal? It seems really obvious, right?

But, is Directv offering more, is that why they're more expensive?

Directv really promotes this argument, that they're "offering more" and that's why they're more expensive. Well what they're really doing is just removing the choice of selecting a smaller package. Some of the channels in their CHOICE package are not available in our DISH America, or our Top 120 package, but many of the good ones are. Just look at the chart though. Their second (2nd) package, the CHOICE Xtra is more expensive than our fifth (5th) package!

To see a side by side list of DISH and Directv Channels, click here.

To see a side by side list of DISH and Directv High Definition (HD) channels, click here.

What about HD service, and HD-DVR Upgrades?

Sometimes comparing the package prices isn't enough. Most customers are now concerned with HD programming, DVRs, and the fact that they have several TVs in the home that may need servicing. So, let's put DISH Network up against Directv again.

No matter what package you choose, DISH Network offers several free equipment upgrades:

• DISH Offer: FREE Multi-Room Dual Tuner HD-DVR upgrade
  Choose any of our DISH America or America's Top packages, or the Everything Pack, and this upgrade is free ($0). There is a monthly service fee of $6/month, and the HD-DVR works in both (2) rooms. Directv charges $10/month for this functionality, and two $99 upgrade fees if you select their entry-level package, called CHOICE.


• DISH Offer: Up to three (3) HD Receiver Upgrades, FREE
  Again, choose any of our DISH America or America's Top packages, or the Everything Pack, and upgrade three of your receivers to HD for free. If you select Directv's entry-level package, called CHOICE, the you get one non-DVR HD receiver, or a SD DVR receiver upgrade for free. Each additional HD receiver is a $99 upgrade fee. If you want the HD-DVR, that's a $99 upgrade fee. If you select any of Directv's packages beyond CHOICE, the first HD-DVR and HD receiver are free upgrades, but the third is $99. DISH has Directv beat from every angle on this.


• DISH Offer: Up to six rooms worth of equipment, and installation, FREE
  DISH Has multi-room dual tuner receivers. So, three receivers will work up to six (6) televisions. You do not have to pay an upgrade fee for a six room configuration, which can include a multi-room HD-DVR dual tuner, and two additional HD dual tuner receivers! Both DISH Network and Directv offer "free equipment for six rooms" options. The main difference is DISH has better options, with less upgrade fees than Directv who tries to charge you something at every corner. And besides that, would you rather have three boxes to cover six TVs, or six? Less is more here, in our opinion.

Let's see what Directv offers ...

• Directv offer: Get a FREE HD or non-HD DVR for free, or pay $99 for an HD-DVR Receiver upgrade.
  When you select their entry-level package, the CHOICE package, you have to pay $99 for the HD-DVR receiver upgrade. They charge $7 per month if you want it to operate only one TV. If you want it to operate two TVs, they charge $10 per month for the DVR service, $5 per month for the second receiver (required), and also charge an additional $99 upgrade fee for that second HD receiver (that is not optional if you want the Whole Home DVR Service). If you select their more expensive packages, you get the HD-DVR upgrade and the additional HD receiver upgrade free, but the $10 and $5 extra monthly charges still apply, and the third HD receiver will always cost at least $99 up front.


• Directv offer: Get a two free receiver upgrades
  If you select their entry-level package, CHOICE, you'll see this offer: "Free HD or DVR upgrade." This is cleverly worded, as if you choose the DVR they're talking about a Standard Definition DVR, not an HD-DVR. The HD receiver is just that, an HD box for one TV. If you're looking for SD-DVR, DISH will give you six (6) rooms of SD-DVR without any upgrade fees!
  
  If you select their mid-level package, CHOICE XTRA, or higher, they give you the choice of two free receiver upgrades: HD-DVR and an HD receiver, or two HD receivers. Either way, this only covers two of the TVs in your home. If you have a third TV that is HD, they tack on an additional $99 upgrade fee. DISH will cover all three HD receiver upgrades free of charge.


• Directv offer: Whole home HD DVR Service, only $10 per month
  This sounds appealing, right? Well, here are the details. This requires an HD-DVR upgrade. Then, any TV in your home that you want to have the extended DVR playback feature (aka, Whole Home DVR) must be connected to it's own HD receiver. Only one TV in the home may be accessing Directv's Whole-Home DVR at a time! So, if you're choosing the CHOICE package, and you have a two room system, that's a minimum of $198 in upgrade fees. So, let's say you have four rooms, and want their Whole-home DVR service. Just remember, each TV requires an HD receiver for this to work, and they're $99 a pop. That can get really expensive, really quick.
  
  So, if you're willing to pay for their more expensive packages, like the CHOICE Xtra and above, they'll allow a free HD-DVR and an additional HD receiver upgrade for free. This will cover two TVs, which may be enough for some people, but anything beyond that is $99 a pop to get the whole-home DVR feature. Their new "whole home DVR feature" sounds more like a two or three room feature, with upgrade fees.
  
  DISH Network HD-DVR Dual Tuners are multi-room receivers that operate two televisions. Both TV (A) and (B) can watch different channels at the same time, and can each perform DVR functions, but only TV (A) will be able to watch HD programming. TV (B) will receive standard definition programming. Both TVs can record HD programming simultaneously. Each TV gets its own DVR remote control. You can record two HD programs, and watch two different playbacks at the same time. Need DVR in three or four rooms? Piece of cake. Pay a one-time fee of $99 and you're good to go. That is much less expensive than Directv. To learn more about the DISH HD-DVR Receiver (Model ViP 722k) click here.

All Directv pricing and policy information sourced from www.directv.com.

At anytime you can read detailed terms and conditions by clicking the link in the footer, or the link in this sentence.