I would like to drop my high priced cable and get a sattlite. I don't care much for sports, movies and things like A&E Disney TNT WGN ext. I also want it to have DD 5.1 Also I have heard that some will lose the signal in heavy rain or snow, who does the best for that? I would prefer Sony, most of my system is Sony.

Sony equipment is great but expensive. I halso have to admit IA m in the dark on DD 5.1.

There are three providers of note. One is Direct TV. Equipment is avaialble everywhere Circuit City, Best Buy, Radio Shack etc. This is the well known provider and they advertise heavily. It is also the most expensive provider but the only one to offer the NFL, NHL, NBA or MLB packages.

the second provider is DISH NEtwork. You can buty their equipmet at Sam's Club, Costco, Direct on teh web or at Target or Sears but under other brand names. which receiver is best varies with need but the DIshplayer 500 is currently quite popular---no HDTV compatibility right now though.

Dish is cheaper, and offers a few more basic channels. Until recently there were fewer PPV channels though this has changed. You will save $$$ here but lsoe access to the sports packages. Also if you are brand loyal to SONY this may not be for you. I have a SONY TV with an RM- Y65 remote. It works everything but DISH they refuse to acknowledge it exists. The DISH receivers though come with adequate universal remotes.

The third and least known provider is Sky Angel. This is a VERY limited service. To get it you purchase DISH network equipment and point it at a different satellite. you get 30 religious and/or family friendly channels for $9.95--no sports, no HBO no nudes but if it's your cup of tea more power to you.

Good luck. Betwen DTV and DISh there is no right or wrong. Just depend on whether you want the sports or a cheaper rate---pretty subjective.

I have a sony with DD5.1 and it works great although there is still little in true 5.1. Some of the networks like starz is cheating and sending r&l in DD only to save bandwith. I have no problems with either direc pc or direc tv during foul weather and deep clouds and I am in Cleveland, OH. I understand there is little difference in technology between the two except now you need to know where you are and if you will need two dishs for local broadcasts and HD reception. Dish is using two sats far apart and requires two dishes for theirs and direct is using one if you are in 20 of the major cities and two if you are not.

Sony receivers have been good in the past, however there are performance concerns with the latest x50 series -- namely, very slow response. The older x4 series was good, but isn't available any more. RCA is also good... little lower quality image, but cleaper as well.

SATELLITE TIPS.....with response to daniel, as follows:we sell, install and service hme theatre and satellite , big and small dishes, for over 20 years.We have done the Fleet Centre and NESN and Fenway Park as a few example's....anyway,......the new sony A50, is as fast, or faster then the AD-4 it replaces.. We have them on display , and use them on a daily basis....its 32 bit processor is like a rocket ship....picture is the same as the much heralded SAS-AD4, and AD3..
we have both in stock, and for now an unlimited supply of the BRAND new A50 systems....but sony DOES have a problem keeping up with supply, so much so that circuit city in the northeast cant get ANY sony product, or just plain wont buy it anymore because of availability problems............and absolutely no service , or picture problem with the new A50's
or AD4's or AD3's.(never had one come back )....Hughes, newer E45's with UHF are not available yet, but i've been told have a stunning picture, and excellant menu's....all hughes equipment is good, with the D45 and E45 being the best.......the RCA #5451 system with the drd-515rb
AC-3 receiver is their best system, and has AC-3...has a stunning picture , good menu's, but is now discontinued....the DRD-4280's, which is the replacement unit is unavailable as yet, with a sprinkling of product here and there....both compare very favorably to the sony, in picture quality and features.....although the sony is state of the art supposedly, the ac-3 hughes
#E-45, and the rca 5451, and rca 4280, coming in a close second....with the soon to be expected hughes E-45 units, rivaling sony for top spot..as for the lower line rca's and hughes units, they are ok for budget minded people ....but the picture quality , i think, is not the same on the lower end rca's or hughes' receiver's....people sometimes buy lower end items because they either dont know what they are doing , or because they cant afford the extra money for the better product.....Remember, u get what u pay for in electronics , and this equip, is now so affordable , u're better off buying the better units if not for picture quality alone....THERE is a DIFFERENCE, at least to my eyes.......and the ac-3 is virtually identical from unit to unit......more on the DIGITAL set-top units from RCA and Panasonic at a later date...i'm all typed out for now...although, the rca dtc-100 does have a ouput copmpatibility plug problem with most newer T.V's. thats it for now folks'.....e mail me for further knowledge if u want it
billy c
comco sales group
northeast satcomm div.
everett ma 02149
617 394-9192

Hey Billy C, Whats the best price you can get for a SONY AC-3, with or without the dish? And what is the latest from Sony?

Dennis, Worcester

hi....sorry, but cant get enough sony stuff fast enough....because of supply and demand
problem, sony stuff is a bitch...and they arent shipping 'receivers only ' just dual systems, or at least from my supplier anyway...we sell the
SAS-A50D sony dual system for 399.00, plus tax and freight, from Everett ma....and supposedly , right now there is an endless supply....or for this week anyway....who knows with them
thanx billy c
ALSO....so as to receive our commission from directv, each and every system we sell must be turned on by us.....if we install it, we activate it at the customer's house....if we ship it, or its cash and carry, we need to activate it(the card and receiver)before it leaves our property
...we get too much static from directv about customers who never turn on their equip...if it aint turned on, activated , within 30 days , we get charged back from our distributor....and then we used to have to track down the customer.....so to alleviate all the BS, we just activate it ourseves....that insures no screw ups....sorry

....oooops, forgot latest from sony is sas-a50d, which is exactly the same as the sony sas-ad4, both have state of the art digital processors , and AC-3 outputs....i guess for right now this is the hi-end of satellite receivers....the hughes E-45, might give it a run though....we'll see....we have both in stock......also you may e mail me anytime for info at sattv4u@gis.net, or call my offices at 617 394-9192....ask for me billy c or richie my partner.....i dont check these threads much, guess today i got carried away...hahahaha...o well...

Chris,

It is easy to go compare the various recievers, there aren't too many vendors out there. I liked the Dishplayer. Its user interface is one of the best IMHO. It also now has integrated TiVo like features (I don't know why Dish isn't advertising this more), DD5.1 and a WebTV if desired.

Beyond programming, service providers are more difficult to compare. DirectTV has had some problems with handling phone support. As Mike M has already said DD 5.1 is limited, but it is available on many pay-per-views. If local stations are a priority, you'll need to compare based on your location.

Good luck.

Hey Billy C, New Sony Satelite receivers dont have the old discrete power on/off commands, what a goof from Sony. Also I have yet to hook up a Tivo to DSS but I here there is some problem with Sony Sats. and recording from them. Can you help with this.

What about the signal in bad weather? Like rain and snow? When I was in OK visiting a friend a thunderstorm came and lost the picture. Does this happen a lot? And is there anything that can keep it from loseing the sig?
Does the size of the dish make a difference or the recever, or the sat co.?

hi smokie and chris...to answer ur questions....you are probably correct about the discreets, cause I havent fooled around enough with the various remotes to answer ur question, guess i'm not a remote control person...but i am a satellite and hme theater person to be sure...as far as TIVO, i have heard that the recording time is very short in duration, with relation to the cost of the hard drive ,,,and larger drives right now are cost prohibitive...but things will drop in price , as the technology involved is excellant.....
also remember', u could actually build a com- puter 'with the proper hard ware , video cards ,and sound cards to do the same thing, using it as a proprietory-copy only computer...maybe for not much more than a TIVO with a big hard drive.....puter stuff is real cheap right now, and prices are getting lower , not higher....check it out, i think i may be right.....as of late , i havent had any problem copying off of sony sat's.....also there is digital VHS vcr's out there by hughe's for one ....they also do an excellant job of copying right from the satellite rcvr.........and yes the signal in bad weather does suck, and it happens quite often with the 18'' dish system....the cure....use a 24'' dish, we use 4 or 5 a week around here in boston, peak it to MAXIMUM signal strength, and then tweak it again, and if that aint good enough, use one of the BRAND NEW 'surface mount technology' 4 way multi-switches in the line by Jayco, or even a bullet amp in the line would work.......there is something about the 'surface mount' tech units that
virtually TOTALLY eliminates the rain fade dropouts, cloud and snow dropouts, and pixelization problems.....had dropouts at our showroom on a dual LNB system, then hooked up the Jayco device, using only 2 of the 4 taps on the outputs, and after the last 2 months, have only had 1 or 2 visual dropouts that i know about,,,then hooked up all 4 output taps with the same success....Hmmmmmm maybe thats a solution to the lil' dish dropout problem.....but , in any case spend the extra money and go to a BIGGER DISH...the lil' 18incher just does'nt have enough gain