Our decision was simple - VERSUS!
Direct TV = No
Dish Network = Yes
I heard the boneheads at Direct TV wouldn't allow VS on their satellite because VS was owned by Comcast? and they didn't want any revenue going to a cable company. I'm not sayin that's true, just what I heard. Doesn't matter - If they don't carry VS we won't be subscribing. I don't care for kick-fighting or bull riding, but VS has motorcycle racing that I've just gotta have. World Rally racing is a plus. Those guys are nuts.
But I have to ding Dish for their GUI (722 DVR) vs the TiVo Series 3 (cable) we came off of. The TiVo guide and recording interface is hands down easier to operate. Easier to surf, easier to see recorded programs, easier to locate programs, easier to delete programs, blah blah blah. The TiVo hardware is slower but the user interface layout and character quality is far better. We'd switch back but we moved to a neighborhood without cable (another long story).
It's gotten to the point where I surf the guide on-line then switch, or find a movie by going directly to HBO, etc (free for 30 days) website.
We've also gotten finicky with what we watch. If it isn't HD we just pass it by.
Dish (and probably Direct) have so many channels it's difficult to scan through them all. We haven't setup any custom channel lists yet. It's on my "to do" list, right after clearing out the garage (old house), clearing out the barn (old house), pressure washing the front porch, pressure washing the back porch, installing electric in the basement, drywalling the basement, setting up the workshop, racing, etc. I figure by Christmas I might have the custom lists set up lol.
Good to find a serious group on satellite programming. Keep it up!
Best,
- c bob