Once you’ve decided to take the plunge and step up from cable TV or rabbit ears to all digital satellite TV, which of the two major providers should you go with? Which offers the best value for your money?Depending on where you live and what cable company serves your area, you will pay about $40 per month for basic cable service (about 64 channels), plus $5 per month to get digital programming instead of analogue. You’ll also pay a monthly fee for each additional “box” you need to service more than one television in your home. And finally, there will also be an installation charge.

When I finally left cable for digital satellite TV, I was paying nearly $70 per month for 64 channels of basic analogue service to 3 televisions. Now I pay Dish Network only $51 per month for more than 210 all-digital channels, including locals and 60 channels of SIRIUS radio.

If instead, I had chosen to go with DirecTV, I could have opted for their “Choice XTRA” package, offering more than 200 channels of all digital programming for the same $50 per month that I was paying cable for 64 channels.

With either DirecTV or Dish Network you receive free equipment and free professional installation for up to 4 rooms. This includes the satellite dish necessary to bring in the signal, and the receivers for each room that connect to your television.

With Dish Network you can get a free dual-room DVR receiver that lets you watch two separate TV programs in two separate rooms while recording each program separately. You can also get a free Dish TV High Definition receiver.

With DirecTV you receive DVR and HD upgrades free after the use of a $100 instant rebate and the commitment to a certain level of service. The DVR receiver likewise allows you to watch two separate programs in two separate rooms while recording each program separately.

So both Dish Network and DirecTV operate on the same basic business model. They give away the equipment and the installation so they can make money selling the programming packages, in much the same way as when Gillette used to give away the razor in order to sell the blades.

Dish Network and DirecTV equipment and installation are both excellent and there is very little difference between them in the way of quality, reliability, and ease of service.

Due to the fact that details of special offers by both providers are constantly changing, you should check the links at the end of this article for current information about Dish Network offers and DirecTV offers. You will be able to see exactly which channels you can get for a particular price, including local channels for your area, and learn more about your DVR and HD options if these are important to you