What's the difference between Direct TV, Dish Network, Digital Cable and Digital Television?

I get asked quite a bit what the difference is between Digital TV, Satellite TV and Digital Cable TV. Digital Television, including HDTV, received over the air is FREE. Like cable, Your home satellite networks are not free. You will pay a monthly subscription fee. DIRECTV and Dish Network are the nation's two leading Home satellite networks. Like cable, they both package a variety of channels, including sports, movies, news, even local broadcast stations, and send the digital satellite signal to rooftop dish antennas on their subscriber's homes. Digital Television, on the other hand, is transmitted from TV towers. Broadcasters are required to always provide a free signal; however, the ATSC standard allows them to develop additional over the air pay Digital TV services if they choose. Digital Television broadcasters must also follow the federally mandated ATSC digital television standards for quality and the broadcast signals are designed to be displayed on DTV sets. Satellite networks can chose any digital standard they wish and their signals are designed to be shown on traditional analog sets. However, both DIRECTV and Dish Network have begun broadcasting some HDTV programs, and these programs do follow the ATSC standards and must be viewed on an HDTV set to enjoy the higher resolution picture.

A/V Reporter,
CL West