In the beginning, television was simple. Black and white. Maybe with some shades of gray if you want to split hairs. Even after the advent of color television there wasn't much more to it. For decades a television was basically a cathode ray tube and a speaker hooked up to some electronics that translated electromagnetic waves into images and sound. Other technologies did gradually come along, but were reserved for the wealthy, or created new inconveniences to replace the old problems they solved. Now, thanks to innovators like Direct TV, home entertainment has finally matured. What used to be a few lumps of electronics clumsily held together with coaxial cable has been refined into a smoothly functioning unit. An updated version of that old television is still at the center, but now the ideal home entertainment system includes a minimum of a Direct TV satellite dish and receiver to provide a 100% digital picture and the same quality of sound that comes out of your CD player.

A digital video recorder and high definition television receiver, both available through Direct TV round out the modern home entertainment system. The digital video recorder (DVR) replaces your old fashioned VCR by allowing you to record one program while watching another or two programs at the same time while you're out of the house. It holds up to 100 hours of programming, so you never have to fumble with video cassettes or worry about accidentally taping over the irreplaceable video of your sister-in-law's wedding. Even more incredibly, the DVR allows you to pause and replay live television! Direct TV HDTV improves on the resolution of normal television by a factor of ten, widens the viewing field, and produces even higher quality sound! Direct TV HD Programming offers over fifteen channels that take advantage of this incredible technology and more programming is switching over to the high definition format all the time!

Direct TV has made all of this technology wonderfully convenient by integrating it together. Direct TV provides an on screen program guide which allows you to see what will be available to watch on every channel for hours to come, create profiles of your favorite channels, and bookmark programs to make them easier to find when they come on. The digital video recorder works in concert with the on screen program guide, which makes it far easier to program than the obsolete VCR. Pay Per View (PPV) allows you to order specific programming with the touch of a button on your remote. And a parental control system allows you to limit children's access to selected programming based on channel, time, and MPAA rating.

Of course there wouldn't be a point to all of this great technology if there wasn't anything to watch on it! Fortunately Direct TV has taken care of that too, with program packages for every budget and preference. Direct TV's entry level Total Choice package offers 155 channels including local network programming, sports, news, religion, and education as well as XM satellite radio. Total Choice Plus adds thirty more channels, and Total Choice Premier brings the total up to 250 channels with a great selection of movies and sports. Seasonal sports subscriptions, adult programming, HD (High Definition) channels, and Spanish language programming can enhance any program package.

Family Choice is the program package of choice for the viewer who wants to stay entertained and informed, but doesn't want to spend a lot of money to do so. It comes with over 40 channels including children's programming, general entertainment channels, and all of your local programming.

Home entertainment technology has never been better. With a subscription to Direct TV you'll be able to access all of the best programming and latest technology at a great price. And with 14 million satisfied customers, you can trust Direct TV to continue to provide the best service possible. All of this in the privacy of your own home. Start now. Switch to the best.