The Hughes Executive satellite receiver is a great receiver for someone that has a channel laden programming package. It has a two hundred and fifty channel capacity and that is more than enough to handle any one of DirecTV's programming packages, including their Total Choice Premier package that comes with every channel that they have, with the exception of their two exclusive sports programming channels NCAA Mega March Madness and NFL Sunday Ticket.

It comes with the option of standard DVR, or DVR Powered by TiVo. For the sports enthusiasts TiVo is a must have feature, because it allows the viewer to do their own slow motion instant replays and also has the ability to zip right past any annoying commercials that come on during a game in mere seconds.

Another great feature that TiVo has is the ability to stop any event at any time and then restart it right where it was stopped at when the viewer returns to the TV. The DVR in the Hughes Executive receiver holds a full one-hundred hours of recorded programming and that comes out to be over four full days of recordings that it will hold.

A great feature that works well with the DVR is the programming search feature that allows the viewer to find any program, game or movie that is on the schedule by simply entering it into the function by name, or even a name of an actor in the movie or program. With the touch of a button it will instantly appear on the screen with the date and time it is scheduled.

Now simply give the DVR button on the remote a click and the event is set to be recorded automatically. You can even program it to record a whole series of games or programs this way. If for some reason the game or program is rescheduled, that's no problem, because the computer in the DVR reschedules the DVR right along with it and it still get recorded.

The custom menu feature, allows the viewer to set up their own menu of just their favorite channels that they can refer to avoid having to review the entire main menu to find something of interest. For the larger programming packages, the custom menu feature comes in real handy, because examining hundreds of channel choices can be very time consuming.

Of course there is a handy parental control feature, that allows someone to block out any channels that they want to and it has a fool proof code system that only allows the person that blocked out the channels to unblock them. The Hughes Executive receiver comes with the long standing Hughes reputation for quality and reliability and it also comes with an extended warranty.

DirecTV also has a base level receiver called the Hughes Director that comes free with their entry level Family Choice programming package. If you choose to upgrade to high definition TV programming then DirecTV also has your choice of two high definition receivers that receive both standard and high definition TV programming.