DirecTV, DishNetwork or uVerse?

I've only ever had comcast and dish network - so let me say this. I regret getting dish network. Some big things: You don't get "local on the 8's" on the weather channel. This might not seem like a big deal - but if your computer needs to be off because of storms, and for some reason the local stations aren't actively reporting on the weather - you are up a creek without a paddle in determining what's going on. Their DVR software/OS sucks. Especially compared to comcast. It's more clunky. It's also less forgiving. You cannot watch one show while two record. You can only watch one of the shows that you are recording while a second records. Also, if you want two tvs hooked up - you don't get two boxes, you get one box hooked up to two tvs and lose the ability to record two stations. If you want two boxes/dvrs, you need to fork over $99 right away and then a usage charge of another $5 a month. They also charge you an additional $5 per box if that box is not hooked up to your phoneline (we have a landline, but there's only one jack in the entire house). It all makes me wish I could go back to comcast. I can't - because I'm stuck in a contract that charges $10 for every month that we have left on it if we break it.

I really like my DirecTV service, and it seems to fit everything you're looking for (the DVR is actually really nice in the HD model). However, from what I've experienced of it, I do crave FiOS (can't get it in D.C.), and while I haven't heard much about uVerse, I do know that Verizon's particular brand of it is pretty sweet. But, I can say you shouldn't be disappointed with DirecTV.

With uverse the one DVR can be accessed by all TVs in the house. It's all TV over IP - the main box does the heavy lifting, the satellite boxes are just decoders. uverse can record up to four stream at once in SD, two in HD I believe, depending on the bandwidth in your local area. Also, uverse home phone includes unlimited US & Canada long distance for only $20 or $30 which is a pretty good deal. They apparently include a local battery backup in the residential gateway to keep phone service up during blackouts. I've been looking at uverse for home and will probably get it once I get some other wiring issues figured out. If you google "uverse forums" you'll find an AT&T based board and an independent one both of which have lots of info and stories about uverse installation and products.

DirecTV's DVR's are OK in my experience. I'd honestly rather have a Tivo, and like JoanArkham says it's coming soon. To be totally honest DirecTV's content choices really are quite good though I seem to recall hearing something about Dish having better HD.

I should add: HD is nice, but I'm not concerned about the number of HD channels we get.

We've been DISH customers for over a decade now and are very very happy with their service. We chose them over DirecTV because they had a fewest number of sports channels bundled with their service. I think that difference has likely dissolved over the intervening years. What royalsong has to say about the service is true, although I'm not certain you get "local on the 8s" on the Weather Channel with DirecTV, either. One advantage with using a satellite service is, if you move, getting the service to follow you is trivial and won't involve the same kind of contract-cancelation process you have with cable or FiOS. Sit down with channel lists for all the services, start crossing off the channels which appear on all the services, and then you can decide based on what is not common between the lot.

Dish can be cheaper, but you'll get fewer channels. I'd sit down with Dish and Direct's channel line-ups and see who has the channels you must have. I have Directv with a dvr and like it fine. I've had them for around 7 years I guess and essentially any time I've had a gripe they've fixed it. I've threatened to leave once or twice and they've given me some freebies.

We use DirecTV and absolutely love it. However! For DVR we use the last integrated Tivo box they sold, which is several, several years old, and only like 40gb or something (wouldn't be good for HDTV). For a short period we "upgraded" to one of their newer models of DirecTV branded DVRs and absolutely hated it. Tivo is the golden standard in DVR usability.

I have Dish Network and am out of the contract period with them, but: I regularly record or tune into things that are listed on the guide but don't match up with what's actually on that channel. (This is mostly with certain channels, but it still sucks when I try to record a movie and get something unexpected). However, I do like the DVR itself, it works really well when everything's consistent. To get EVERY channel in one of the premium packages with two receivers and two DVRs, I pay about $120/month and then pay extra for cable Internet. I plan on terminating this soon because of the cost alone; bundled service seems to be cheaper, and I am also considering Uverse. Dish Network's customer service is based out of India now. Don't call the number for customer support EVER, unless you want to get frustrated. Try the online chat support instead if you decide to go with that; unfortunately you can't terminate your service that way. You have to call and they won't deal with anyone but you (this sounds great until your spouse/child calls and you're on a plane/missing/asleep in the car on a road trip with your brother, for example) and the customer service people hang up on them. Literally.