RCA DS4120RE DIRECTV System
Stick it to THE MAN!
Outside of the Napster vs. Record Companies debate, probably nothing generates accusations of greed and profiteering more than a simple mention of your local cable company.  Yes, all the accusations are true!  My &quot;last straw&quot; so to speak was when I ordered cable thru one of those free-installation specials offered on TV.  I waited and waited and never received the call I was supposed to from the ONE cable company servicing my area (so competitive!)  After calling them personally to ask why, the order taker simply said &quot;oh, we don't honor those offers because we don't need to.&quot;  &quot;Because you're a monopoly, right?&quot;, I asked.  &quot;Yes&quot;, was the response.<br />So I bought and alternative and I must say the picture and sound quality of Directv is nothing short of amazing - so good in fact that it shows the limitations of my recently purchased tv where I sacrificed picture quality for a larger screen size and lower price.  Directv to cable (even digital cable) is like comparing dvd to vhs quality.  There is only one local channel is my area that Directv doesn't carry and I can feel my eyes going &quot;ahhhh...&quot; as I switch from the grainy local broadcast back to their crystal clear picture.<br />If you just want &quot;Basic&quot; television with only the major cable networks, monthly service runs about $25/mo and gets you about 50 channels.  The best deal of the bunch, Total Choice, costs $10 more and you get twice the channels as well as music channels in about every category you could imagine.  The selection of music is mediocre at best, but music buffs will like the commercial-free radio.  Directv probably has the best lineup of sports networks available including subscriptions to college football and basketball packages, but it's gonna cost you and you still get the same blackouts you'll experience on cable and local tv.  If you have absolutely no life, you can get the Platinum package with everything for $82.99/mo.<br />PPV movies went up to $3.99 from $2.99 recently but I'm sure most people's salaries also went up 30% last year to compensate (sarcasm intended.)  The movies offered usually hit the video store about a month or two before they're available on Directv but the most recent additions are usually on about 5 different channels at various times.  Directv claims their satellites support surround sound technologies such as pro-logic and AC3 if you have the necessary decoding equipment, but I've had problems getting it to work on all movies.  I'm still unsure if it's Directv, my stereo equipment, or the way I have it all connected.<br />Mom's got the Dish Network so I've had a chance to compare the two.  The picture quality is great on both, but personally I prefer Directv's menu guide as it's more intuitive and you can still watch the current channel in the corner of the screen as you scan the guide for other offerings.  The channels also seem to be arranged better as well, news channels are near each other, premium channels are in the same general area, etc...  Although a special Directv edition of TV Guide is available, you really don't need it.  Another nice feature is the ability to &quot;block&quot; certain channels so men can remove lame channels like Lifetime or Oxygen (just kidding ladies, sort of...)<br />Installation isn't too difficult in my opinion.  Mounting the dish isn't difficult and you just have to cut a small hole somewhere to run a cable line into the house.  From there it's a two person job as one shouts out the window as the other moves the dish to where the signal strength is at maximum.  (Los Angeles and New York residents will have difficulty accomplishing this task without the use of cellphones, Nextel, or satellite enabled laptops with instant messenger.)<br />Finally, the only point of confusion I have found is deciding which Directv dish to get.  It seems like they have a million different models available and I don't understand why.  From what I gather, if you plan on getting HDTV or using Tivo or Ultimate TV (Microsoft's competing product) in the near future, you will want to invest in the 18x24&quot; oval dish.  If you want local channels but don't live in a major metropolitan area you may need this dish as well (check the Directv site or ask one of their sales reps on what you'll need for your location).  Other than that, I say get the cheapest.  That's what I did and I've been really happy - it is just tv, you know.<br />Hope my review helped!er, if you plan on getting HDTV or using Tivo or Ultimate TV (Microsoft's competing product) in the near future, you will want to invest in the 18x24&quot; oval dish.  If you want local channels but don't live in a major metropolitan area you may need this dish as well (check the Directv site or ask one of their sales reps on what you'll need for your location).  Other than that, I say get the cheapest.  That's what I did and I've been really happy - it is just tv, you know.<br />Hope my review helped!