The battle is heating up between the sat and cable. I just went back to Charter since their HD service didn't require any equipment purchase and my monthly fee for bascially identical services (TC+ with the sports pak and HD) is almost exactly the same... not counting TAX on cable! So it's $7 more per month. But I didn't have to shell out $300 for an HD box and I can cancel whenever I want.
My experience in switching back to Charter showed me that cable customer service still sucks horribly. But Direct's customer service is not exactly Nordstrom-like either... again, that's in my experience with having Direct for the last 12 months.
I mean, just try to cancel your Direct service, there's no option for it on their automated system or website and then they throw a last minute deal at you to get you to stay. In my case, it was a $200 credit if I stay and get the HD box. But then I'm locked in for 12 months. My guess is, I'll probably get some special offer to come back in the mail from Direct in a couple of months and then, if I decide Charter sucks, I can just switch back again.