DIRECTV Satellite TV Receivers - Standard, DVR, and HD Receivers Reviewed

Free DIRECTV Satellite TV Receivers

In an effort to draw customers away from its competitors, DIRECTV will give you a complete satellite TV system - a satellite TV dish and up to four satellite TV receivers - when you subscribe to their service. Here's a review of the various types of standard, DVR, and HD receivers they offer:


Free Receivers

DIRECTV offers a free standard receiver with the following additional features:

* DIRECTV Active - Your personalized information with updates on local weather, horoscopes, lottery results, and pay-per-view suggestions
* Mini Guide - A small on-screen TV channel guide that shows one channel at a time
* Parental controls - Allows you to restrict the programs your child watches

DIRECTV offers a free DVR receiver that allows you to:

* Digitally record up to 100 hours of programming
* Record two shows at one time
* Pause live TV so you won't miss anything if you answer a phone call or get a snack
* Record one program while you watch another program
* Find TV shows by title, keyword, actor, or channel
* Bookmark the part of a TV show you'd like to come back to at a later time

DIRECTV offers a free HD receiver that features the following:

* High definition reception for the best TV picture available today
* Dolby Digital audio for superior sound

In order to get a DIRECTV receiver you must sign up for DIRECTV satellite TV service. Programming packages start at $29.99 for 155 channels and go up to $96.99 for 250 channels.

Note: Programming is 29.99 for the first three months then $41.99 thereafter. Local channels are $3. DVR and HD receivers are free after a $99 mail-in rebate.


Pay-for DIRECTV satellite TV receivers

For an additional $399, you can order a combination HD/DVR that has all the features of an HD receiver and a DVR receiver plus:

* Two-hundred hours of recording time
* Dolby Digital optical audio outputs for the best sound available


Bottom line

If you don't do a lot of TV recording then the standard receiver is all you'll need for satellite TV viewing. If you like to record shows and don't want to hassle with video tapes and VCR settings, the DISH Network DVR receiver is just what the doctor ordered.

If you want to watch satellite TV with the sharpest picture and the clearest sound, an HDTV receiver is what you'll want. And if you want the best of both worlds - best picture, best sound, 200-hour digital recording capability - and you don't mind paying the extra $400, then DIRECTV's HD/DVR is what you're looking for.

Visit http://www.thesatellitetvguide.com/directv-tivo-dvr.htm for more information on DIRECTV receivers. Click on the following link for current ordering information and the latest special offers from DIRECTV. Click on this link to compare DIRECTV vs. DISH Network.





The author, Brian Stevens, is the senior editor for TheSatelliteTVGuide.com and has written extensively on DIRECTV satellite TV receivers.

Satellite TV Set Up Fun

Satellite TV was the rainbow after the storm in my life. I had just left my drudge of a job, as an overworked sales clerk. I was bored at home, feeling really low. I did a lot of looking around in stores and window shopping just to get out of the house. I saw a promotion in the window of one of the video stores in town. It was for a satellite TV system on sale. Since I didn't have cable TV At the time, this ad really attracted me.

I went in and had a look at the quality and content of the satellite programming being shown on one of the TV sets showing it. The picture was so impressive. The picture quality was so crystal clear, and sharp. The brochure the clerk provided me indicated that there were over 50 channels to watch. Of course I jumped at the chance to brighten up my life.

That evening the store owner installed the dish. He laid the cable and hooked everything up. The system was turned on and then nothing. The receiver had to wait to be activated. This took over 24 hours to occur. When it started working it was terrific. It featured all the movie channels one could wish for. HBO, Cinemax, the Movie Channel, the independent Film Channel, and more. There were more sports channels than one could watch. MTV quickly became one of my favourites. Shows like Road Rules, and The Real World, made my day. It was like being in touch with a world I had never known.

Satellite TV signal reception has vulnerabilities. During heavy rain or snow storms, the amount of data carried in the signal is reduced, sometimes so much so that the computer which constructs the picture on the screen, can't do its job. When this happens little blocks pop up on the screen. This is called picture break up. If the rain or snow storm becomes more heavy, the data will became so reduced that the video freezes its movement. The computer crashes. Unplugging the receiver, removing and reinserting the smart card usually fixes the computer crash. When the storm has passed and the dish can receive, the satellite TV data at a normal signal strength, everything will work, normally once the receiver is plugged in and turned on.

When I moved residences, I had to reinstall the Satellite TV dish. This involves attaching a mast to the wall of your house, with a clear view of the southern sky. That means no trees, houses, or anything, in the way of the line of sight the dish has to the satellite location in the sky. The mast must be levelled vertically. The satellite dish is placed on the mast and set to the approximately height and direction of the satellite location in the sky. The receiver is then connected to the wire lead from the dish, and the TV. When the receiver is turned on and put in tuning mode, a graph will display the satellite signal strength. The satellite dish is moved ever so gently by a hairs width, up and down, side to side, until you reach the highest satellite signal strength. This gives you the best chance of viewing longer during a rain or snow storm.

On the whole satellite TV is the best TV viewing you can experience. You usually get more for your dollar, and it's worth every penny spent.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Satellite TV

Looking For Satellite TV

 by: Gary Gresham

It was 1994 and I had moved into another home and learned that the cable TV line had not been installed to my house. When the cable company told me they would have to dig up my yard to put the line in I wasn't pleased with the idea or the price they quoted me to do it.

Satellite TV was still in its infancy stage with the big monster dishes. While I was browsing in a local electronics store one day I saw a guy giving a demonstration about the new DIRECTV 18 inch digital satellite TV dish.

Needless to say I was very impressed and purchased the satellite TV system on the spot. I knew it would save me from digging up my yard and I could actually get more channels than I got with cable.

After the tech guy hooked it up and left I was like a kid with a new toy. I couldn't believe how it transformed the picture and sound quality on my television. It was like a completely different TV.

DIRECTV channels are 100% digital-quality picture and sound, including local network channels. If you haven't experienced quality like that before you are in for a real treat.

Cable TV tries to compete with digital satellite TV technology by offering digital cable. But if you compare both the picture and sound quality, the DIRECTV super clear picture and crystal clear sound wins hands down any day.

But that was only the beginning of the many things I discovered. I didn't need a TV guide anymore because the on screen programming guide tells me what shows are on, who's starring in the show and what it's about.

I have an incredible variety of over 200 channels of every kind of programming I could think of and some I never dreamed of.

Then, I checked out the pay per view movie service with up to 55 different choices of movies and special events a day that I could easily order with my remote.

Does anyone like sports? What are you kidding? DIRECTV offers sports packages that will put a smile on any sports fans face. How about NFL Sunday Ticket, NBA League Pass, MLB Extra Innings, NHL Center Ice, ESPN Game Plan and ESPN Full Court. That doesn't even include the regional sports networks I now have access to.

If you are a music lover, DIRECTV offers 31 different audio-only channels that range from choices like Soft Rock, Jazz and Country to Hit List, Easy Listening and a lot more.

I work out of my home and by selecting a DIRECTV audio channel to soft music, I can have the music I like in the background when I work.

Having a party? Just turn on any channel you like and you'll never have to touch it again because there are no commercials or interruptions. Just great digital quality music 24 hours a day at your fingertips.

When I moved again to another home, DIRECTV customer service made it about as easy as it gets. I just gave them my new address, and they not only sent a brand new replacement satellite TV dish to my new home, they provided complimentary standard professional installation for everything including the receivers. I didn't pay a penny for anything. How's that for a no-hassle move?

With cable, I would have had to pay another deposit and that is just extra money I get to keep in my wallet instead of giving it to the cable company.

If you're thinking about switching from cable to satellite TV or moving to another home, consider DIRECTV. It's simply a better value than cable and a smart choice you're whole family will enjoy.

With cable rates increasing an average of 8% per year it's no mystery why more than 12 million customers nationwide have made the switch to DIRECTV service.

Over 10 years have gone by now since I bought that first satellite TV dish and I love it as much now as when I first got it. I recommend DIRECTV to so many people because I know they will absolutely love it.

Only once in a great while a product comes along that actually over delivers. DIRECTV can not only save you money each month over cable but is a smart choice and an incredible value.

This article may be re-published "as is" (unedited) as long as the author's bio paragraph (resource box) and copyright information is included. The URLs in the resource box should be set as hyperlinks if used on a web page.

Gary Gresham is the webmaster for http://www.1stopshoppingonline.com. You can experience this same DIRECTV service he mentions in this article for your home or office through this online link: http://www.1stopshoppingonline.com/satellite-tv.html