I just got Dish Network. My father in law & my mom both have Direct TV. For regular TV viewing either are fine I think. Dish Nework has more HD selections if you are into that. However, the main difference comes with the DVR. If that's really what you want, then I definately suggest Dish Network. DirectTV uses Tivo which is a little sluggish and not as refined as the newest Dish Network DVR. For reference, I have the Dish DVR622.