Home :: satellite dish networks

The basics of satellite dish networks

So you've got cable. And it's been doing an OK job of entertaining you.

But you're starting to want more and you've heard a couple of things, maybe from friends that have it, about satellite dish networks and now you're curious.

Well here you are, and with an effort to not totally confuse you, I will try to lay out the basics as simply as I can.

Features of satellite dish networks

Everything starts with a small dish, around 18 to 24 inches in circumference, that the friendly neighborhood tech (or you) installs on the outside of your home somewhere facing the southern sky.

After a few adjustments... bingo, you have just become one of the proud satellite dish customers joining the 20 million or so that took the plunge before you got your nerve up. That was easy enough, right?

Now you were thinking "Cable has options", but soon you'll see satellite dish networks offer so many more. From DVR's and TiVo, to Dish Network America's top 60 and Direct Tv Total Choice, dish customers have their choice of company, programming, hardware and more.

Satellite tv gives you more of what you want

With cable, while there are several companies, each city/area is divvied up into sections so you have to deal with whichever company's jurisdiction your location happens to fall into.

When I had cable there were two companies in the area, Charter and Brighthouse. In one area I was a Brighthouse customer, which was OK, I liked them. When I moved to my new apartment it was in a Charter area so my service changed.

Well let's just say my experience with Charter was less than stellar.

So when I wanted to go back to using Brighthouse, imagine my chagrin when I found out I didn't have a choice to return to Brighthouse because of the area I lived in and to deal with a company I didn't like.

That whole ordeal basically prompted me to look into switching to one of the satellite dish networks. With satellite I had much more say so over what I wanted. From company to channel lineup it all was in my hands. This also gave me direct control over what I had to pay.

With cable, since there's really only one company for any given area, they can just gouge you and there's really nothing you can do, other than move. And who wants to do that just to watch TV?

National satellite networks give an alternative to cable

Satellite dish networks offer upwards to 300 channels to watch, so you would be hard pressed to not find something you like. But that doesn't mean there aren't a couple of cons associated with dish tv.

For one thing you have to pay to get local channels, yes that's right, you pay for local channels. Since dish networks are national companies they have to pay to hook up the local affiliates, which they of course, pass on to you.

But the bright side is, this can be looked at as a good thing compared to the first satellite customers which had to carry an addition service, usually a very basic cable subscription, to get their locals.

Either that or pull out the good ole' "rabbit ears" (antenna). These days they just add a little extra fee, but even with that added your overall bill will probably still beat cable.

The other problem is, you have so many choices that most people get confused and end up getting a bunch of stuff they don't really want or need. With the first choice of just choosing one of the satellite dish networks themselves, plus the multitude of packages offered, it can be really overwhelming.

Hopefully this is where we come in. We put together this site to put the most relevant information out there we could find together to help you make the most informed decision possible.

Related articles:

Cable vs dish tv satellite
My comparison of dish tv satellite companies Direct TV and Dish Network vs cable.

Direct TV satellite systems
Over a decade and growing, Direct TV is the granddaddy of digital TV satellite dishes.

Dish Network satellite systems
HDTV, Interactive TV, DVR Video on Demand... EchoStar's Dish Network is satellite tv's total package.

VOOM satellite systems
Upstart VOOM satellite TV may be just what the dish network HDTV junkie is looking for.