I had DirecTV for 2 years, went back to cable for a year, and now I've had DishNetwork for 1 year.

Quality and channel selection is on par between the two. I don't think I've ever had any non-weather related service interruptions with either satellite. The remotes and menu systems are very similar between the two. Pricing is almost identical. All in all, they are almost identical services. I say pick whichever one is offering better signup bonuses at the time, like free DVRs or six months for $19.95 or whatever. If you have HDTV, my understanding is that Dish offers higher quality HD channels. I haven't used HD yet though, so I can't comment from experience.

I had a really bad experience with DirecTVs install guys, however, DirecTV outsources the installation to local contractors. Since you're not in the Denver/Boulder area, that shouldn't be a problem. I had no issues whatsoever once my DirecTV service started. But when I moved, I decided to go with Dish since DirecTV's local installers were such douchebags. When Dishnetwork installed they set up an "8-12" delivery window, and the guy knocked on the door at exactly 8am. The DirecTV folks rescheduled me five times, always without giving any prior notice.