said by jmn1207 :

If satellite works in your situation, go for it. Big trees and a lengthy contract prevent me from switching over.

I always see heavy advertising for Dish and DirecTV, but their latest commercials are not too flattering. One of them talks about the "lies" about rain fade and quotes an up time average of just under 97%. It was over 12 days of interrupted service, one day of total outage per month! That seems really high to me, and I've had both Dish and DirecTV, albeit in a southern state (Austin, TX) with below average rainfall. Regardless, those are statistics that I would certainly never use as a boastful marketing ploy.

Also, the latest $29.99 deal claims you get an HD receiver for free OR a PVR. So make sure they give you the right price for setting up all of your televisions with HD and digital recorders before you commit to anything.

There are lots of things to consider. But if you are talking a couple of standard TV's with no HD or digital recorders, cable may not be your best option. Another thing to keep in mind is the discount you get for you online services. Internet by itself is $15 more with either available speed tier. At least in my area; $42.95/$52.95 with TV or Phone service and $57.95/$67.95 for HSI only. So in my case, that $30 satellite package effectively increases to $45.