Satellite TV Systems

There are several satellite TV transmission distributors and providers, but DirecTV vs Dish Network comparison would probably be the most useful, as these are the top ranked suppliers who have gained consumer confidence by offering them quality satellite television service since 10 years.

There have been numerous satellite TV reviews and articles written that compare the 2 of these products - DirecTV vs Dish Network, but in reality their high competition and close market prestige enable them to gather different consumers and television viewers according to their needs. It is not necessary that if a certain user rates, it above the other provider, and then it must be more efficient in satellite TV provision; it is more likely that a certain characteristic is more valued by the particular consumer.

Following is a comparison based on current market study as per the time this article was written. There are a number of factors that can be regarded if the difference in satellite TV provision is to be compared between the two highly ranked competitors Dish Network and DirecTV.

Equipment & Cost

In DirecTV, there is an additional charge of $5 monthly at any other hardware item that is demanded except the first one that is given out free. The same case is with Dish Network where the first equipment is supplied free of charge however each extra DVR or set-top box is given out at $3 on a monthly basis whereas supplementary tuners are charged monthly $7. Initial equipment provided is a single satellite dish and up to four DVR (set-top boxes).

Installation

The maximum installation time for both satellite TV providers is set at around 7 days and the device and DVR setup is very free of charge.

Music Channels

DirecTV’s XM radio satellite provides 73 premium music channels whereas Dish Network offers 52 integrated music channels and around 60 music channels from its radio satellite Sirius. Dish Network has a strong base here as the number of channels supplied automatically increase. However, DirecTV has a larger number of premium XM music channels.

Pay-Per-View

DirecTV provides around 55 PPV channels on their satellite televisions however; Dish Network leads the race extensively as it contains almost 450-540 pay-per-view channels that show numerous PPV events including sports, movies and other events such as wrestling. These dish channels can be ordered either with the set-top box remote, on call, or online.

Packages & their Pricing

DirecTV provides 4 packages to its viewers with Choice as its cheapest package costing a subscription of $29.99 and a registration of $58.99 monthly. Conversely, Dish Network again takes the lead with its cheapest package America’s Top 120, which has a total cost of $64.98 for the first month (subscription cost of $24.99 and $39.99 monthly from there onwards). Among other packages, the most popular DirecTV package is Choice Ultra with a price of $34.99 and where you can enjoy over 210 feeds, around 63 XM radio channels and a free 3-monthly contract with Showtime and Starz. On the other hand, the most popular package in Dish Network provides over 220 channels, free Showtime and HBO channels for 3 months, 54 Sirius channels, 35 music feeds and more than 220 channels to enjoy in $39.99.

Sports Packages

DirecTV contains nine integrated sports packages for its viewers with NFL Sunday Ticket, CricketTicket, and Mega March Madness as the most popular ones. Dish Network does not come up to DirecTV’s mark here and provides just 7 sports packages with ESPN College Grand Slam as officially the most watched among other ones.

Movie Packages

Both Dish Network and DirecTV provide 4 main movie packages namely HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and STARZ.
Programming Available in International Languages
With both having a provision of adult material and parental controls optional activation, DirecTV supports more than 14 foreign languages and their conversion rates start from $9.99 per month. Dish Network on the other hand supplies 170 channels in their satellite television system in 28 languages worldwide.

HDTV

Both dish satellite networks are supplying HD free-of-charge for life to their viewers however Dish Network obliges you to either activate auto bill pay, paper-less billing services, or a one-time fee of $99 could be paid, and then the service can be benefitted from.

DVR (Set-top box)

DirecTV provides a TiVo DirecTV plus DVR for a $5.99 monthly charge, whereas the Dish DVR can be claimed after a $5.98 service charge paid monthly and a $5 Advantage sign-up which contains different tools and programming features. However, a benefit of the Dish Set-top box is that it has the ability to run 2 TVs with a single dish receiver due to its duo-tuner usage and this saves extra signal-catcher fees.

Pros

Reputed and recognized as the oldest company providing satellite TV systems with more than 19 million subscribers, DirecTV has a reliable name with special attention towards local and sports packages.

Dish Network was founded after some time and now it is the best emergent satellite TV provider with over 15 million total viewers and an advanced technology, which enables them to sell their service at cheaper prices and this, is the main purpose for their sudden extreme growth. There is a separate option for favorite listings, very helpful when living with a family.

Customer Satisfaction

The previous Cable TV subscribers have always voted for Dish Network to be more reliable and quality-oriented as its increasing research and technology is the reason why they shifted from cable providers. The winner of the cable vs satellite TV battle has definitely been won by satellite. In addition, Dish Network is commonly used and favored in places with terrestrial TV provision restriction.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index of 2007, which had statistics generated by the University of Michigan Business School, stated that DirecTV had exceeded the reputation of every Cable TV provider in the market for 7 consecutive years.

Bottom Line

It's really difficult to choose the best satellite TV when comparing DirecTV vs Dish Network. DirecTV is the correct path if you seek the most high-definition premium and local programming and if you are a sport-lover requiring a large amount of sports packages.

If you require the largest collection of movies, events and TV shows, the most PPV events, premier music channels, and the highest number of channels in foreign languages, all of these in cheaper prices, then the answer is DISH Network.