Each and every TV programming service provider has certain areas where they choose to focus their recourses more then others and then cater to the area of the market that prefers those particular areas or area that they specialize in. No programming service provider can be everything to everyone, so you have to look them all over and make a note of the particular area that each one is dominant.

DirecTV specializes in sports programming and because of this they also use a higher quality of receiver that is required for sports enthusiasts. People who watch movie programming tend to sit back and relax while they watch the movie, while and avid sports fan in contrast will watch sports programming differently.

They will watch a good game with the TV remote clenched tightly in their hand and tend to make full use of any and all functions that can enhance their sports event. They also tend to record more programming and some will even record every sports event that they watch to be sure they have any unusual or extreme events that might happen during a game, recorded and stored in their archive.

For the true sports fanatic, instant replay in slow motion is a must have feature and it only comes on a higher quality satellite receiver with digital video recorder Powered by TiVo. This function will also allow you to stop a live event to go to the fridge and start it right back up where it left off when you return to the tube.

While some service providers cut corners by providing lesser quality off brand electronics components and receivers to their customers. DirecTV has chosen to go the other direction, with top of the line name brand Hughes receivers and electronics components.

There is only one down side to the customer in this and that is that they have to pay a nominal fee for the high definition Hughes receiver if they go with high definition programming from DirecTV. A good top quality name brand receiver like a Hughes receiver is not a cheap unit and DirecTV does not charge the total cost of the receiver. They only charge a nominal amount to help to offset then added cost of providing a higher quality unit.

When you join a service provider for your TV programming, it is long term agreement and you should make sure that you not only have quality programming which DirecTV also has, but you also want to have high quality gear with loads of features that are simple to understand and reliable.

The bottom line is that if a service provider will give you a free high definition receiver, it is a cheap unit and cheap home electronics components have a well earned reputation for breaking down right when you least expect them to. DirecTV carries Hughes receivers exclusively because of their long standing track record in quality and reliability. They could have gone with a cheaper source, but they didnt because they wanted to provide the best that they could in satellite TV systems to their viewing family members.