When looking for a good deal on home entertainment, you probably are looking at either satellite TV or cable television service.  While you usually only have one cable company to pick from, with satellite television you have two, Dish Network and Direct TV.   Lets briefly compare Dish TV vs cable service.

Satellite television service has now been around for more than 18 years.  Incredibly, cable TV has now been around about 40 years in most areas.  With cable TV, you usually have higher rates, as they have a last mile network to maintain.  Dish Network is probably the cheapest pay television option.  Their prices are even lower than DirecTV.  Another plus when reviewing cable TV vs Dish Network satellite TV.

With Dish Network, you have to have an area to place a 2 foot satellite dish.  If you live in a condominium, this can be an issue.  Some have solved this issue by putting a satellite stand on their patio, as long as it has a southern facing exposure.  Cable television of course has a last mile network running into almost every apartment building served in the area, so that may be your only choice if you live in an apartment.

DVR devices have become extremely popular over the past few years, and both cable TV companies and Dish Network offer this service.  Reviews of the Dish DVR though are much higher then the DVR’s used by cable operators.  In addition, Dish TV charges much less then your cable company for DVR service, sometimes by as much as $10 a month.

When it comes to HD, or high definition content you definitely need to check with your local cable company to see how many channels they offer.  The number can be quite different based on who your cable TV provider happens to be.  Dish Network does offer over 100 HD channels, but you do have an extra $10 a month charge, while most cable companies do not charge extra for their HD content.

In conclusion, pros and cons exist with both cable TV and Dish Network.  Fully evaluating your choice beforehand will insure you are satisfied with your service later on.

DirecTV is marking third quarter of 2008 with a great deal on their NFL Sunday Ticket plan. The regular season for the NFL doesn’t start until September, but training camp starts in late July for most NFL teams, and the pre-season games start in August. Maybe you have passed on the Sunday Ticket deal in the past. If so, now is the time to find the best deals out there, as this is the start of the busy time of year for DirecTV.

Now if you haven’t heard of this tremendous package, here are the details on DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket. Designed as the premium football viewing package, it is designed to give you viewing access to every single NFL game. In most cases, most viewers will see four or five games a week on network television, the Sunday morning and afternoon games, the Sunday Night game, and then Monday night football.

Now if you live in the area where “your” team plays, you can usually see your team play on network TV. However, if you don’t live in that market, you would have to make a trip down to the local bar to watch your team’s game. Since DirecTV began the Sunday Ticket package a few years back, you can always see your home team, from the comfort of your own house.

While out of market fans make up a strong base for the NFL Sunday Ticket, there are other fans that need this package as well. Fantasy football enthusiasts have been subscribing to the package, as it lets them keep up on their fantasy players at any time. Another group buying up the package is those who may have a little money on NFL games. They love the DirecTV Sunday Ticket as it lets them keep up on who covers the spread.

What about price? In past years, the Direct TV Sunday ticket cost has been around $250 per season, billed over 4 monthly installments. This year’s price for existing DirecTV subscribers will be almost $300 dollars. Those who sign up early get a discount.

New Direct TV subscribers can take advantage of the promotion on the Sunday Ticket. Current specials bill the same price .99 per month for 4 months, with a great start up bonus. New customers signing up for NFL Ticket can get the Direct TV Premier bundle free for 4 months.  If you want the NFL Superfan package though, you will have to pay an extra $100 for HD.  This is DirecTV’s top end package, with 265 stations, 35 sports stations, and also free movie channels.

Free DVR service is also included and an HD DVR upgrade rounds out this great offer on dish TV service.

The digital video recorder has to be the best add-on to my television. Ever since I got hooked up with the DirectTV Russian package and their top of the line digital video recorder, my television viewing habits have been altered.

Here is an example.

If you have not watched television with a TiVo or a DVR, you do not know what you are missing. You have total control over everything you decide to watch. If you are watching a program, and all of the sudden you realize that you are starving, you can just hit the pause button. Go make your food, and then come back when you are ready, even if it takes an hour!

Then when you begin viewing your program again, you will have the added advantage of skipping through any advertisements that come up. Pass right through them each time they pop up! Sometimes I don’t see a commercial for days.

Now here is how I get the most out of my digital video recorder setup. No need to channel surf anymore. I simply set up my DVR to save the programs I like. Even when watching football, I set the digital video recorder, then I sit down about half an hour after the game starts. This way, I can fast forward through all the commercials, and watch the game in about half the time.

Finally, I can always see new episodes of my favorite series. For example, new episodes are coming out soon of Friday Night Lights on Direct TV. On the digital video recorder, all I have to do is pick the record series option, and each time the show comes on, my Direct TV DVR finds it day or night, and saves it for me. I can set it to save all of the episodes, or just the first-run episodes. All of this in high definition too!

Then, when I have the time to watch television, all of my favorite shows are ready and waiting there for me to watch. No need to rearrange my schedule around the networks, not with my new DirecTV digital video recorder.

While other companies like AT&T U-verse and Verizion Fios have also begun to offer DVR service, satellite TV companies like DIRECTV pioneered the product.