When setting up your television service at home, you can choose from cable c or satellite dish connections.

Cable connection is available in almost all U.S. residencies. To activate a connection, simply call your local cable company. If you are renting an apartment, ask the rental company for contact details for a cable company.  You can choose from various cable televsion plans, depending on your preferences. A variety of packages such as limited, basic and comprehensive are available. Additionally,  premium channels like HBO and ShowTime can be added to your plan if you wish. Pay-per-view programs can be ordered for a one-time fee. These programs are generally used for watching movies or games.

Cable televsion does not usually have dedicated Indian channels that you might find in India such as Sony TV and TV Asia. Most cable providers have limited Indian programs on weekends and weekdays, depending on location in USA and cable company. However, some cable companies have recently started offering Zee TV as part of their digital or other more expensive packages.

Many cable companies also provide high speed or broadband internet access. Some of these companies provide deals by combining the cost of a cable television connection with a broadband connection. It is worthwhile to consider this option.

Instead of a cable connection, you may choose to opt for a satellite dish. To do so, you will need to have a satellite dish installed in your apartment or house. If you live in an apartment, check with the apartment management before buying a dish, as some apartments do not allow the installation of satellite dishes. The dish must be pointing in a specific direction--usually the south,  to receive reception.  Therefore, it is necessary to first decide where you would install a dish before you purchase it. An apartment balcony, for example,  may not have enough room for a dish. If trees are interfering with pointing the dish in a given direction, this may impede optimal reception as well.

There are two major satellite dish companies, Dish Network and Direct TV.  A Dish Network dish is available through the Dish Network only, while the Direct TV dish is manufactured by many companies such as RCA, Sony, HNS and ProScan. Both companies have different programming packages. You can find more details on their websites. 

Dish Network currently offers several Indian programming channels:
Hindi (11) : Zee TV, Sony Entertainment Television Asia, TV Asia, Sahara One, Sahara Samay, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, B4U Movies, Zee Cinema, SET Max, and B4U Music
Starting at $19.99/month

Punjabi (1): Alpha ETC Punjabi
Starting at $14.99/month

Gujarati (1): Zee Gujarati
Starting at $14.99/month

Bangla (3): Channel-i, NTV Bangla, Tara Muzik
Starting at $14.99/month

Tamil (2): Sun TV, KTV
Starting at $14.99/month

Telegu (2): Gemini TV, Teja TV
Starting at $14.99/month

Malayalam (2): Surya TV, Kairali TV
Starting at $14.99/month

Kannada (1): Udaya TV
Starting at $14.99/month

English (2): America Desi, South Asia World
Starting at $4.99/month

South Asia Radio (1): Asian FM
Starting at $0.99/month

You can choose as many channels you like.

DirectTV offers Star TV package such as Star News, Start One, Star Plus, MTV Desi, Cricket, Doordarhsan and NDTV.