I've never used Dish, but DirecTV was awesome. Great customer service, reasonable price for what you got. Got rid of it when I moved and the new HOA didn't allow dishes. On a side note, if it's available, Comcast Digital Cable sucks. Don't waste your time. I hated the entire experience (installation, activation, customer service, etc...) Ended up cancelling cable and went without for a couple years. Will probably get DirecTV again in a few months though.