First off, congrats on the new TV. I have the same one and I love it!
1. Direct TV or PrimeStar or Dish Network, which should I get and why?
I believe DirecTV has bought out Primestar and is in the process of converting all of the users. So I guess your question is DTV or Dish? DirecTV used to have the advantage, but Dish has caught up and in some ways, even surpassed DirecTV. DirecTV has a much large installed user base (in part due to their buyout of other DSS companies) and they have the most comprehensive sports packages. Dish appears to have more international channels and has a slight advantage in terms of pricing. The services both provide are pretty competitive (whatever you decide, just try to ignore the grass is always greener... thing). I personally subscribe to DirecTV because when I first signed up, it was the only one that broadcast movies in Dolby Digital, which I really liked.
2. Which manufacter's receiver should I get?
I've heard good things about Sony, RCA, and Hughes. I have the Sony AD4, which is their latest receiver and have been quite pleased with the performance. It supports Dolby digital, enabling me to take advantage of the movies broadcast in DD5.1. If you buy a 4th generation model, they should all be fairly comparable in terms of speed. Oh, be sure to get one with S-video output. The picture is so much better.
3. Should I get single or dual? What will work with the POP feature of the set?
Single or Dual. Are you anticipating getting a second receiver in the future for another room? If this is a possibility, then definitely go with the dual for future expansion. As for the POP feature, sorry but you're out of luck. You can use it to view a satellite signal in combination with a local broadcast from an antenna, but that's about it. This was one of the things that disappointed me since I really liked the feature of the TV (also the channel search).
5. Any good deals on the Internet?
Actually, you can save a lot purchasing through an online source as opposed to your local retailer. Check out
www.digitalsat.com. You can compare these prices with what you would find locally. The catch is that you have to commit to staying a subscriber for at least a year. That's how the online companies can offer you such a good price. However, I didn't think that was such a big deal since the whole point is I want to subscribe and it's not like the equipment that I buy can be used with another DSS service anyway.
6. What about installation?
How handy are you? Can you get up on a ladder or onto your roof? Self-installation is really not as difficult as some make it out to be. I installed my dish and ran the cable. You just need to do some planning on where to mount it (with clear line of sight), how the cable will run into your house, where your receiver will be, etc. The hardest part for me was to figure out where to drill the hole through the exterior wall to get the cable into my house and routed to where my receiver is. I'm not sure if there is still any promo on free installation, but doing it yourself could save you some money.
Or, if you're not comfortable with this or don't want to be bothered, you can always get professional installation. But I heard sometimes they don't take the time to do things right (e.g. properly ground the dish, create drip loop and seal up openings) so you would probably want to monitor what they were doing.
Good luck. I'm sure you'll be quite pleased once you get it all set up.
