One thing that you will find when you comparison shop the two leading satellite TV programming service providers is that they both are offering free complete satellite TV systems as part of their introductory offers when you sign an extended programming service agreement. While on the surface it sounds like a unbelievable give-away, it really is not the deal of a lifetime, because you do have to sign on to an extended programming service agreement and you can rest assured that the cost of the satellite TV system is factored into the total cost of that agreement or they would not be offering it.
Dish Network has three receivers that they offer and they include a standard receiver, a DVR receiver and a high definition receiver. The standard receiver that they will offer you comes with a few basic features that include parental controls for regulating the programming that your children can access, on screen program guide and a channel storage feature for storing favorite channels.
Their standard DVR receiver that they have to offer has some other features to offer you including of course the DVR that has a one-hundred hour memory capacity. Another great feature of their DVR receiver is the ability to pause a program at anytime and then restart it right where it was paused.
They also have a standard high definition receiver in stock to offer you that comes with limited auxiliary functions. It does however feature Dolby Digital Audio and auxiliary component output jacks for running the audio feature through your stereo speaker system if you choose to.
If you want a free HD DVR it does not come free, because you will have to pay $ 200 for it. However; it does come loaded with features and has a memory capacity for 200 hours of programming in both standard and high definition format.
DirecTV also has three separate free receivers for you to choose from and all of DirecTVs satellite components are made by Hughes Electronics Corp. Their standard base level receiver is called the Director and it features what is called "DirecTV Active" and this unique feature allows the user to set up personalized updates that will show daily lottery results, weather and also a menu of preferred programming.
Their next choice in receivers is their Hughes Executive and it comes with several features including DVR, parental control, custom menu and programming search function. With the programming search function a user can locate a program by entering it in by name or even an actors name that is in the program.
DirecTVs next choice in receivers is their HD receiver that comes with output jacks to route the Dolby digital surround sound system through your stereo speaker for a theater quality sound. DirecTVs HD DVR receiver has all of the same functions as Dish Networks HD DVR receiver and even comes with the same price tag of $ 200 but DirecTV does offer a $ 100 mail in rebate offer.