Guess after the receiver fees between the two I ended up with a cheaper bill with more channels, HD at more TVs, and better flexibility. Win win for me.
Sometimes different setups may be cheaper from provider.
The primary receiver is considered free by most from the providers or at least included in the package price. However, the way to look at it is $0.00 on the bill or a credit for it.
After the first receiver, the solo receiver is $6.00/month with DirecTV (although I know they do not call it a solo) and $7.00/month with Dish. However, a Duo receiver with Dish can cover two TVs, and a primary Duo is $0.00.
Any additional Duos (which cover 2 TVS--1 HD and 1 SD [with downconverted HD channels to 480i resolution if it is an HD Duo]) are $14/month and additional HD DVR Duos are $17/month. (I think the only exception is 922s; I think additional 922s are $21/month and carried a $10/month DVR fee. However, those are rumored to be phased out from what I have read with the Hopper coming along.)
In terms of DVR fees, DirecTV is $8/month and Dish is $6/month (with the exception of $10/month for the 922). If one has a 211 with Dish, then the DVR fee is not charged unless he or she has another receiver that carries the DVR fee. For the 211, there is a one-time $40 fee to turn it into a DVR with an external hard drive (which the sub must have).
However, if your initial install was not what you wanted, then I can understand. Best of luck to you with DirecTV. My family did not have the best luck with the installs with DirecTV. We would lose the signal a lot, and the receivers in our home could not be on at the same time for some strange reason without one not working correctly. Another family member's HD channels completely went out, and she had to do a service call. Luckily, you know the person doing the install; so, hopefully, you will have better luck. Another thing to remember is that with the HD Duo receivers from Dish you can still watch the HD channels on TV 2 even though they are downcoverted to a 480i resolution. With a standalone SD DirecTV receiver, you cannot do that.
Again, it really goes by what channels you want, what equipment you want, etc.
Are you getting a new DirecTV receiver that covers multiple TVs? I do not think there is one out, yet. Are you getting one of those HMC HD DVRs? I think a new customer may get one.
