I have been a DTV customer since 1997 or 98. The quality was amazing and monthly fee was reasonable. Enough so that I was willing to pay $200 for the dish/1st receiver and $100 per addl receiver. AND install it myself, because back then install was not free. Well, I just got my 61" HDTV for our new finished basement and began looking at my options. Apparently, my neighbors have had a really hard time getting OTA HD channels to come in well. We are in between Cincinnati and Dayton, OH and apparently just a little too far from either one. So I began to look at my options.
I've never dealt with Adelphia, only Time Warner cable, but I've found that Adelphia is my only choice at this house. Time Warner offered me a very good deal on their digital cable + HD DVR + 2 premium channels for 51.98/mo. They also will buy up to 2 pieces of DTV equipment for $50 each. Adelphia had no "dump the dish" deal to compare to and prices were more comparable to what I'd be paying for DTV + HD svc (~$70). Once they confirm that I'm in their service area, they can talk about deals apparently. From what I've heard from neighbors, Adelphia is pretty crappy.... Nowhere even close to Warner, which in the past wasn't even close to DTV for me.
But anyway, I am in this to get my locals in HD without using an antenna, so even at the same price as DTV, Adelphia wins. I was completely ready to stay with DTV and buy the HD Tivo, but when I realized that OTA wasn't going to work, that deal is no good. PLUS with the new mpeg4 satellites going up, DTV couldn't tell me if I'd have to upgrade my Tivo later or I could trade it for the new one or what..... They offered no information at all! With a $900 piece of equipment, that's quite a risk to take. Especially compared to $5/mo to rent the Adelphia HD DVR. And like others have mentioned, I'd have no contract, so I could jump to the best provider when someone else offers locals in HD. I am in a contract with DTV now for switching my programming level, so I'm going to get dinged for that when switching too, a reminder that contracts suck.... Especially considering I've been with them for about 7 years now!
Phil