I switched from Comcast cable to Dish network in January, and would NEVER consider going back. I had very basic cable, and have very basic Dish (America's Top 60), with no premium movie channels. The Dish is about $10.00/month cheaper than the similar lineup on Comcast, plus the picture is 10 times better! And, if you haven't experienced a DVR yet, you're in for a treat. Dish provided all my equipment and installation at no cost, plus I got my first month's programming free. There was no contract to sign -- I can terminate any time I want.
Dish starts with a Dual Tuner with a built in DVR. If you only want 2 TV's set up, it is perfect. They will run a cable from the Dish to your Dual Tuner box, which is normally located at the primary TV. The Dual Tuner has two outputs which allow you to watch 2 different shows at the same time. One output is connected to the primary TV, the other to the secondary TV. If you already have cable, they will tie into it for the second TV. If not, I'm not sure if installation includes running the second cable -- you may have to DIY or pay for it. I actually daisey chained the secondary TV in the computer room with one in my son's room. When he goes to bed, he can control what he wants to watch on that TV, while we watch something else on the primary TV. The primary TV is controlled with an infrared remote -- you have to be pointing the remote somewhere near the Dual Tuner box. The secondary TV is controlled with a UHF remote -- it can be on the opposite side of the house and will work the tuner just fine.
Now -- the DVR. This feature will add $5.00/month to your bill, but would be a bargain at 3x the price. It can record up to 100 hours of TV shows. There are a couple ways of setting it up -- both extremely easy. Dish has an on-screen schedule of everything that is currently on, plus everything coming on in the next 7-10 days. You can set up "favorites" lists, so you don't have to scroll through all the channels you don't watch. Locate something on the schedule you want to record. Press the record button and it will ask you if you want to record this show just once, every time it is on, or just new episodes. Take your pick, select "create timer", and you're done. You never have to worry about whether your show will be recorded or not. No setting of start and stop times, whether it's a daily show or a weekly show, etc. No limit to the number of shows you can have set up to record (remember the limit of 2,4,6, or 8 events on the vcr?). Never worrying about whether you rewound the tape, or even if you have a tape in the vcr -- just don't go over the 100 hour limit.
Finally -- With Dish (and I think the same is true with Direct), you can watch 1 show on 1 tv while another show is recording on the DVR. Or you can record 2 shows at the same time on the DVR. You can watch either of the 2 shows you are recording while you are recording them, or you can watch a previously recorded show at the same time 2 new shows are being recorded -- try that with a vcr! The only thing you can't do is record 2 shows at the same time and watch a third live show.
I like my Dish, and the customer service -- during a couple of early setup issues -- was superb.
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