Based upon your profile picture, I'm guessing we're in the same area of California (more or less).
Go with a broker. If you're nice and tell them you understand the risks, they may give you access to your account to make changes yourself. Using a US-based credit card is not a problem. Remember that brokers either are dealers, too, or work with dealers. They can tell you what will work and what won't, and give you a bit of a safety net if you have problems.
There's no chance of G1 in the central part of California. So, you'll pretty much be relegated solely to HD broadcast networks from Toronto (though you can get SD from across the country). There used to be a lot more variety with the various locals around the country, but now they're pretty much all clones within their respective networks. So, aside from time-shifting (not necessary if you have a DVR), not much reason to get time-shifted channels. As others have mentioned, the province you choose will relegate what sports teams you get (or get blacked-out) and what tax rate you pay (Alberta has the lowest, while everything east of Ontario are the highest). It may also determine, depending on the receiver, what time your receiver displays. You may run into a problem in that only the newer LNBFs can be activated on the system for new users, but a broker can help you with that. There are also different packages based on east or west and some non-advertised packages, as well. One tip...if you specify Spokane for your US SD networks, you still get the HD ones from Seattle (they don't carry Spokane networks in HD)
I hope that helps.
