I am looking at get off cable as it is now more expensive than dishnet. i had been holding off due to the number of tv's in my home (4), but dishnet is offering service w/4 receivers for 49.95 installation fee. My worry is they contract this out to a local installer and i fear this guy will come up with all sorts of extra charges, does anyone have any expeirence on these installs ?  

As a person that has sold their servicse (three guess at of which mega chain I worked at) 50 buck means 50 bucks. I suggest Driectv instead of Dish. Directv has better hardware and will be cheaper in the long run. If you are technicly adept you should consider self install. Also check out http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1359940224

When we had Directtv installed a couple of years ago, it was a free install through a local contractor. If it is a standard installation, it is free. If it is more complicated,i.e. having to crawl under the house, drilling through brick walls, etc., the contractor may charge more.
I think the way they get thier money back from you is that they require you sign a contract for a package that costs x amount a month for a year or two or however long.

I'd double check first to be sure they'd honor that price to install 4 receivers.

With DirecTV you can attach 4 independent receivers as well; you'll need to have a dual LNB satellite dish and a 4-way multi-switch.  Dual LNB dishes are usually what they bundle (vs single LNB) with complete systems, and the multi-switch costs around $50-100.

Each receiver needs to be plugged into the phone line so you'd have to make provision for that as well, unless you want to pay the full programming fee for each of the receivers.

fearlessrogue is right in that if you're decent with tools you can consider a self-install. Aligning the dish is the hardest part, and if you can read a compass you can handle it.

thanks for the advice, I went ahead and ordered the dishnet, the viewing packages are better and the rates are lower. , They don't allow self install for the 4 receiver set up or I would do it myself, but 50.00 is not bad , my house is pre cabled, and i have plenty of phine jacks,  so it should be a snap for the guy.

by the way, I heard dishnet and direct tv are involved in some sort of merger ?

You can install it yourself, Its really easy, you just need to mount it on to your house and point it the right direction, all you need is level a compass and some rg-6 coaxil cable. You can do it in a half hour. I would also highly reccomend direct tv over dish net, It costs a little more, but it is much more user friendly and is set up much better.
If you have any specific questions about hooking up the dish let me know..

I lucked out.  I was a C band customer and was offered a free Dishnetwork system and installation thru my provider.  After asking questions and found out there was no minimum commitment or contract, I received the dish and the installer had to drive about 100 miles as there was no one in my town at that time that would install the system.  It was all free.(I almost fainted that there was no charge even on the mileage)