I switched to Dish Network about a year back, early 1999. Basically I was tired of my Cable Company raising rates every 3 months or so, and then adding 1-2 useless channels to appease me/customers. I finally decided to look into the 2 main mini-dish companies, Dish Network and Direct TV. These are the main advantages of the 2 companies

Dish Network
Cheaper basic packages
Lots of International Programming

Direct TV
Lots of Pay Per View
Lots of Sports

I decided to go to Dish because both of them offered a decent package but Dish offered more international programming and international sports. The advantages over Cable are

1. Check what is playing at any time (similar to the preview channel on Cable but more interactive)
2. Get program descriptions including, stars, storyline etc
3. Cheap Pay Per view movies, $2.99
4. Foreign Content, including Soccer and Cricket
5. Crystal Clear display and Great Stereo Sound
6. Direct billing to my credit card

The one thing to remember is if you have a direct viewing path to the satellite, I did not but it still somehow works. The direction depends on where you live, and to check that go to www.dishnetwork.com

It costs me $30/month, for 70 video channels and 30 digital audio channels (lots of categories)

The only problem is the EXTREMELY long hold times if you call them.





Recommended: Yes