RCA DS4220RE Dual-LNB DIRECTV System with Free Pro-Installation
better than cable, almost better than chocoate
Our cable company was recently bought out by AT&amp;T Broadband, and what had been decent service became mediocre at best -- in particular, pay-per-view phone lines went dead and scheduled movies were often unavailable. With the great deal available right now (free installation and [price] a month for all channels for 4 months) we decided to take the satellite plunge and it has been tremendous!<br />The satellite arrived quickly; customer service people scheduled an appointment and were very informative and helpful; the installer arrived within the appointment window; within an hour all the hardware was in place; we called customer service and all channels were immediately available -- it was a great experience -- and how often can you say that about getting an appliance hooked up!?<br />The picture is phenomenal, much clearer than the cable picture. There are more channels available, and the online guides and features are phenomenal. Our favorite so far is Profiles, wherein everybody in the house (up to 5) can customize their own viewing grid and preferences and access it with the touch of one button. Another favorite is the Info button, that gives you a synopsis of the current show -- not only do you *not* have to wait for the commercial to see what's on, but you will get a description of the movie or a list of talk show guests within about 3 seconds! Also, while you are viewing a schedule grid, the show you were watching is kept running in the corner of the screen so you can pay attention to both things at once.<br />An added bonus: the remote control that comes with this satellite is very nice. It is an aesthetically pleasing shape, and somehow manages to hold many buttons in an easy-to-use way. We've bought two universal remotes lately, but neither worked without problems, whereas this remote operates our Sony television and GE VCR with no problems at all.<br />Because this satellite is Dual LNB, you would be able to hook up a second receiver, expanding your viewing options (e.g. watching one show and recording another).<br />Caveat:  After we signed up for this introductory deal wherein we receive Platinum programming for four months cheap, we found that there are two problems in our area: 1) some nonsense requires that we get waivers from our local tv stations allowing us to get the national feeds of their network -- and we were denied this waiver by all four networks, and 2) we do not get UPN or WB, and will ot for the foreseeable future, so we missed Star Trek: Enterprise.  If these things are iportant to you, check with customer service reps before you sign up.<br />We could not be much happier with this system and highly recommend it.ewing options (e.g. watching one show and recording another).<br />Caveat:  After we signed up for this introductory deal wherein we receive Platinum programming for four months cheap, we found that there are two problems in our area: 1) some nonsense requires that we get waivers from our local tv stations allowing us to get the national feeds of their network -- and we were denied this waiver by all four networks, and 2) we do not get UPN or WB, and will ot for the foreseeable future, so we missed Star Trek: Enterprise.  If these things are iportant to you, check with customer service reps before you sign up.<br />We could not be much happier with this system and highly recommend it.