Here’s a quick rundown of DISH Network’s current package deals. Keep in mind, these deals may expire or be changed at any time.

DISH Family: This package is a great choice for  "family-friendly" programming. Featuring more than 55 channels of sports, news, children’s programming and more. This package is currently being offered for $24.99 per month.

Classic Bronze 100: This very reasonable-priced package has something for every member of the family. This package offers the best in entertainment, sports, news and children’s programming and includes local programming. All for $24.99 a month.

Classic Bronze 100+: This package includes everything from the Classic Bronze 100 package above but adds your local sports channels to the deal as well. A decent bargain at $29.99 per month.

Classic Silver 200: The is one of DISH Network’s most popular package deals. This one features in excess of  220 channels of the best entertainment you can find, including all the programming content from the Classic Bronze 100 package plus a variety of great channels like Bravo, MSNBC, SPEED, Animal Planet and a lot more. This one is just $37.99 per month.

Classic Gold 250: This is the plan I personally have right now and it has just about everything I want. You get more than 250 channels, including SIRIUS music. I had the Classic Silver 200 package for quite a while, but got sick of hearing other people tell me about programs on other channels like National Geographic, The Military Channel and Fox Reality Channel that I did not have, so I upgraded. This plan is listed for $62.99 right now. I also have an HD DVR, 80 or so HD channels, an extra receiver for my son’s room as well as my local channels and I currently pay about $82 a month. Compare that to the $75 a month I am paying Comcast just for high-speed internet alone!

America’s Everything Pak: This is the top-of-the-line package and includes all the programming that the  Classic Gold 250 offers and also includes HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax and NBA TV. The current price for this package is $102.98.

HD channels can be added to each package for $10 more per month and the number of HD channels varies depending on the package.

To get all the information and details on these packages, head on over to the DISH Network website.

Psssst! Hey buddy, want to buy a free satellite TV descrambler? A shady looking character on a street corner selling illegal satellite receivers out of the back of a van is the image that comes to mind when I think about satellite pirates. This kind of stuff has been going on for years, even before the age of satellite TV when people would hijack cable TV programming by hooking up their homes illegally or buying descrambler boxes which allowed them to watch programming that was not part of the package they were paying for.

In this recent case of satellite piracy, forget about the shady dude with the van – these bozos actually set up a company that was selling a device called “Coolsat,” which allowed purchasers to receive DISH Network programming without paying for it. These geniuses, and their company, called “Freetech” (I wonder how they came up with that name?) recently but the dust in a big way after DISH Network prevailed in a lawsuit that netted a $97 million judgment against the company, hand over all its liquid assets to DISH Network and shut down its business which was reportedly engaged in “business” in other parts of the world beyond the U.S.

Talk about a smack down. Perhaps this will serve as a warning for anyone else foolish enough to actually set up a company and start selling equipment to receive television programming illegally.

I guess “Coolsat” didn’t turn out to be so cool after all.

I guess I’ve said more than once that I’m not a sports fan, but this development announced by DISH Network should certainly be of interest to football fans.

The NFL RedZone channel starts broadcasting on September 13th and sounds pretty much like a football fanatics dream come true. It is described as follows:

“NFL RedZone, produced by NFL Network, whips around every NFL game on Sunday afternoons delivering touchdowns and the most exciting moments live and in high definition. When a team goes inside the 20-yard line, known as the "red zone," fans see the crucial plays as they happen. The channel keeps fans up-to-date in real time, switching from game to game with live look-ins, highlights and a chance to see every important play.”

It sounds like the perfect content for the football fan who likes to follow more than one game at a time.

The new channel will be available on DISH Network in both standard and high definition and is part of the Multi-Sport Package, which is said to be available for the majority of DISH Network subscribers for $5.99 a month.

With the switch to digital TV, it seems that the ability to get local channels from your cable or satellite TV provider is more important than ever. Obviously, not everyone’s experience with digital TV compares with mine, but so far, I have found digital TV to be a bit less wonderful than all those commercials leading up to the switch-over indicated.

The main problem I have with DTV is its sporadic reliability where I live. One day I will get a beautiful clear picture and strong signal and the next day I may not be able to watch it at all due to poor signal strength. I don’t know if this is because digital television is more susceptible to interference from atmospheric or weather conditions, but that seems like a possibility.

Thankfully, DISH Network has been adding some new local channels recently, which should be quite helpful for DISH customers who have not had good luck with DTV.

The satellite broadcaster has recently added local channels in the following markets: South Bend/Elkhart, Indiana; Lima, OH; Columbus/Tupelo, MS; Springfield, MO and Alexandria, LA.

Reports indicate that the addition of these new stations mean that DISH Network is offering channels in 97% of the nation’s local markets.