I've never had Dish, so I cannot comment on them. But D* is not too bad. One of the biggest problems with D* is getting someone who can correct your problem (if any) right away. Seems like you'll get 10 different answers from 10 different people. However, when I've called to complain about service and what not, they are good about making me happy in the end with credits & free upgrades.
Now as far as cable goes? When I had TWC the service almost never went out, but they were pricey. If I compare apples to apples, I get more for the money from D*. Better SD PQ by far, 100% better sound quality across all channels in comparison to TWC. Not to mention that if I wanted to get all the channels in every room like now, cable would be too expensive for me to keep. I always had HD & Digi-Pak on the main TV, but all the others always had "Basic" pkg. unless I paid more $$. Plus cable co.'s have a tendancy to have a God complex. They told me I
WOULD be back after I told them I was going to D*. little do they know that I'm much happier.
D* may have some under paid customer service people who may have to transfer you 5 times till you get your probelm solved, but there was NEVER a time when they were nasty to me, no matter hold much or how loud I bitch.
Will you lose your picture with Sat.? Hell yes, but it's not too often, and usually brief. Static? never for me, either I get a signal or I don't. I say go with D* or Dish for a lousy year (or 1.5 with Dish) and see what happens. A year will fly by and before you know it, you'll know what you want then.
Cable has it's advantages, but it also has limitations. No matter how much you pay them, the PQ & sound will never be as good as Sat. But in a nasty storm, it's nice to have Cable. Even though my cable has gone out in bad storms, it was very seldom.