Captain Spaulding - You might want to try a little experiment: Reverse D* and E* in your question and post it to the DTV forum - see what response you get that way! You're going to find loyal and very frustrated customers either way.
I've been reading these forums for only a few weeks now but I think I can summarize as below. These are only 1 man's observations/opinions but I hope I'm fairly objective here. (I guess most of this would be more valuable to someone who has never had either service.)
1) The two companies run neck-and-neck in a very competitive marketplace. Right now E* might have a slight edge with their just released MPEG-4 equipment and programming upgrades, but no-doubt D* will catch up and perhaps surpass for a time, and so on. I don't think either company will throw in the towel or fold-up anytime soon!
2) Currently E* has more HD content available (OK - much of it, on both services, is "HDLite") but that is expected to equalize. What do you want from HD? I can't see where either company has an advantage on pricing. I comes down to what you want to watch; figure that our first then compare.
3) The "quality" of programming (in terms of both content and PQ) is a wildcard that I haven't been able to quantify. This should all be driven ultimately by market demand but there is too much churn right now in both services to speculate where it will settle-out. Maybe it never will! Coin-toss here!
4) Equipment is what it is. Each customer has his preferences. I don't see where either company has a clear long-term advantage. The quirks with newly-released equipment will always be an unintended consequence of "first-to-market", but mostly solved with software upgrades in the short time following availability. As equipment becomes more complex, this situation will only get "worse", but how is that different in any other technolgy-intensive field? I think long-term reliability is about the same either way. What do you expect from your equipment? Factor that into your decision. Lease vs. buy is another wildcard. IMHO, with the ever-increasing technology changes leasing might really be the better choice, and there doesn't seem to be any monthly price advantage to ownership any longer with either sat. service, i.e., there is no quick payback for ownership. (CableCos seem to have an advantage here right now.)
5) Customer service and installation competency seem to be on the decline, perhaps more so at E*. I don't mean to cast any aspersions to the great installers who are part of these forums; I sense their frustration in how the new business models have degraded their ability to do their best jobs. This is all competition driven and will not likely change any time soon. I think the best plan is to try to establish a relationship with a local installer (preferrably one who will offer either service) and stay with them through your long-term experience and upgrades, etc. That gives you the best shot at a high-quality installation and quick service when needed. Ask a LOT of questions and do what you can yourself.
6) Many customers are recognizing the increasing competition from cable and that's not to be overlooked if you have that option!
All that said - I have had E* since '98 with basically no complaints. Cable has never been available to me in my current location and at the time I decided to go sat. it seemed that E* was a bit ahead of D*. It was only about $30/mo. when I started with a basic 40-channel package, no locals, and 2 sets. I've gradually migrated to HD on one of 3 sets and some additional programming for about $70 per month. I have never had any equipment issues. Service has only been interrupted by Mother Nature and that is infrequent. Every technical question I've called-in has been handled quickly, completely, and correctly in the first call, and I have never had any customer service issues. My recent upgrade to HD via the 811 was fast, competent, and correct. The installer (running several hours behind, but he showed-up nonetheless and did the installation after dark) was clearly overworked, but he still did a quality job and didn't leave until everything was working to my satisfaction and all my questions were answered.
My situation is surely not unique. I'll bet you'll find the majority of customers on either side are "satisfied" with service, equipment, installation, and support - but that's rarely reported. We see only the horror stories, in graphic detail, which are are abundant and seem to be relatively balanced between E* and D*.
I have decided to wait a bit for my upgrade to MPEG-4 to see how it sorts out. Right now, given the limited time I have to watch TV, I'm still in my "honeymoon" period with the 16 HD channels I get now and having a lot of fun with just those. I don't have a leaning for HD recording yet, at least not until the networks are readily available to me in HD. (Looking at my years-old stack of unwatched videotapes reminds me that I wouldn't have time to watch what I record anyway!)
To the rest - have I misrepresented anything here?
As the Templar knight said to Indiana Jones..."You must choose wisely!"
But I don't think you'd be making a big mistake either way...
