I've got DirecTV and it's way better than any of the other offerings around here. Occasionally, my reciever had a problem finding some of the HD channels. I used to go into the set up and have it search for the 19b sats. But one day I got tired of that and had it do a reset. I haven't had the problem any more. Lesson learned.

Be wary of the installers. DirecTV contract out the installation work and here in my area it's a company called MASTech. They are headquarters down in Florida, and cover a huge area. I got so fed up with the last guy they sent out that I called DirecTV and handed him the phone. The rep straightened him out quick.

My problem was what DirecTV called and even/odd issue. I was missing channels on my non-HD recievers. The tech comes out and tells me it's because I'm using old TiVO recievers and I don't have the second tuner connected. I explained to him that I knew that and I had gone into the menus and disabled the second tuner. He still claimed that was the problem. I told him to his face that his company was the worst I had ever dealt with and he was lying. He started arguing with me, so I called DTV directly. The rest of the day was smooth.

Now my wife wants HD in the basement. I'm dreading having to call them (MASTech) back. I think this time, I'll take care of it myself. I've already got the required multiswitch and a spool of RG-6.

I wouldn't trade my DirecTV service for anything, but I wish they had a different contractor.

OH... Check the FCC website. The rules governing dish restrictions are on there. No HOA can tell you that you can't have a dish. Apartments are a little different, but there are ways around that. I still don't think you can be denied your choice of carrier even in an apartment, you just have to get creative in placing the dish.