Ive been with both providers (now with Dish)they each have their issues ,what it comes down to is if you like alot of sports then Directv seems to offer more choices for sports,but if your into movies Dish has more premium Movie channels(quite a few in HD)Dish has the best receiver set up as with a duo tuner you dont need an extra receiver to set up 2nd TV(save a little money too.)The only thing I really dislike with Dish is the Customer service being Outsourced ,alot times when you call there is a language barrier(do online chat its less frustrating).So it really comes down to what your preferences are with programming,as far as picture quality I havent noticed any big differences.Ultimately if having a problem deciding which provider to use ,make a list of pros and Cons and see which one comes up better.I did this and Dish came up better as far as what I wanted .