I guess it also depends what you are looking for in sending them to daycare. For me I chose a centre over FDC because I wanted it to be like going to school, there are more kids to interact with and for Tori that was what she needed, she needed to have the big group feel and the added stimulation, had it been for Liam only I probably would have looked into FDC because he was younger, didn't need the large group interact etc.

For L the advantages of a daycare centre is that they will run a Kindy program, so because he misses out on the cut off for Kindy for next year, he will be able to do a similar program through daycare. A similar thing would be offered at FDC just obviously on a smaller scale.
Being that he hasn't experienced any type of care etc yet, FDC might be a good option because it is smaller, less kids etc but still a very similar adult/child ratio.

I personally prefer small council run/ family run centres over the large chains- I have had Tori in all 3 types, she lasted 3 weeks at the large chain one because I wasn't happy with the number of kids etc We loved the council run one she went to, not as many flashy new toys or anything like that, but it was a small centre and had a lovely feel about it. The centre that they are at now is just wonderful, again it is nice and small, run by sisters and a mum and they have had bulk of the staff working their for longer than 5 years, some even for 9 years which to me indicated that the conditions were good etc.

The only way to find out though, is to go out and have a look around, go in and talk to the staff- ask if you can drop in for a visit, and maybe see if there are any people around your area that can give you recommendations because word of mouth is usually the way to go.