Cable or Satellite?

[Cheesetogo]

Originally posted by: Queasy
For using with a HTPC, cable is better.

Comcast is the devil though.

Comcast and Adelphia have been bought by Time Warner. Hoplfully it will get better.

 

[steelels1]

I have Dish Network and I wouldn't go back. Had digital cable from Cox before. Quality is better as well as the price.

Ironically, the cable was the service that was prone to go out during storms. Satellite only crapped out on me once, when a few inches of snow accumulated on the dish.

The receiver is hooked up to my HTPC running BeyondTV and I can just use BeyondTV Link on my laptop (hooked up to a tv) in any other room I want to watch it in.

 

[CtK]

i just ordered DirecTV for my house. It only cost $22 to install 4 recievers. Paying $60 per month for Total Choice Plus.

 

[NL5]

Originally posted by: Safeway
Sat takes a while to load channels ...

That hasn't been the case for YEARS - I think only first gen recievers had that problem.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: Cheesetogo

Originally posted by: Queasy
For using with a HTPC, cable is better.

Comcast is the devil though.

Comcast and Adelphia have been bought by Time Warner. Hoplfully it will get better.

Nope, prepare for higher rates. Buy up the competition to form a monopoly and then jack up the prices...It's TW Cable's unofficial mission statement

 

[SparkyJJO]

My neighbors have dish tv and every time a big storm comes through it practicallly kills their signal. If it is snowing really hard outside well the picture on the TV looks just like it. So much for the weather channel! 😛
In my opinion get cable - then you could also get cable internet 🙂

 

[Kelemvor]

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: Cheesetogo

Originally posted by: Queasy
For using with a HTPC, cable is better.

Comcast is the devil though.

Comcast and Adelphia have been bought by Time Warner. Hoplfully it will get better.

Nope, prepare for higher rates. Buy up the competition to form a monopoly and then jack up the prices...It's TW Cable's unofficial mission statement

Sure is. TimeWarner is so freaking expensive it's nuts. You have to cancel your account very 6 months or so to get the next "Deal" which is what the standard used to be before they keep jacking up the prices.

 

[Dead3ye]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Shawn
I like cable. Mainly because you don't need a tuner in every room and they have local channels. I only watch NBC and Fox anyway. Wouldn't want to have to watch them over the air.

Most major cities get locals via Satellite. Only the boonies don't get locals but you can usually work it out with your Satellite provider to get east coast (NY) or west coast (LA) locals.

Wrong. If you live in the sticks and can get cable (I do), your gonna get the same locals as the cable was giving you, but you will only get one channel for each network. Some cable co's will have maybe a couple of locals of one network.

I have had DN since 1999 and not had one problem with any of my equipment.

 

[imthebadguy]

Definately get digital cable, the services offered these days (ondemand, dvr, hdtv, etc..) by comcast are just amazing, plus if your gonna get comcast always ask for the promos, they have great deals I get digital silver+hbo+dvr+hdtv for 39.99/mo and when the promo time expires(6mo) tell em youre thinking of canceling and they will give you another promo, technology wise these days cable is blowing dish outta the water

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
My neighbors have dish tv and every time a big storm comes through it practicallly kills their signal. If it is snowing really hard outside well the picture on the TV looks just like it. So much for the weather channel! 😛
In my opinion get cable - then you could also get cable internet 🙂

They must have an old dish and receivers then. Only the heaviest of thunderstorms have caused me to lose signal. The kind that usually knock out the power after it has killed the satellite signal. I've got an oval dish with dual LNBs btw.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Dead3ye

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Shawn
I like cable. Mainly because you don't need a tuner in every room and they have local channels. I only watch NBC and Fox anyway. Wouldn't want to have to watch them over the air.

Most major cities get locals via Satellite. Only the boonies don't get locals but you can usually work it out with your Satellite provider to get east coast (NY) or west coast (LA) locals.

Wrong. If you live in the sticks and can get cable (I do), your gonna get the same locals as the cable was giving you, but you will only get one channel for each network. Some cable co's will have maybe a couple of locals of one network.

I have had DN since 1999 and not had one problem with any of my equipment.

I've heard that as well as my post above.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Linflas
In terms of "portability" I wouldn't think there is any difference between DirecTV and Dish. They use the same basic technology and if you are doing the install yourself there is nothing to stop you from moving it with you.

Not only do they not care if you take it with you when you move, I know DTV (and I think Dish) will install a dish at your new house free of charge. I guess they figure if someone moves into a house that already has a dish installed, they may be more likely to choose satellite over cable.

I think they charge $25 to install the dish. At least that's what their commercial says. Note the fine print.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: jadinolf

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Linflas
In terms of "portability" I wouldn't think there is any difference between DirecTV and Dish. They use the same basic technology and if you are doing the install yourself there is nothing to stop you from moving it with you.

Not only do they not care if you take it with you when you move, I know DTV (and I think Dish) will install a dish at your new house free of charge. I guess they figure if someone moves into a house that already has a dish installed, they may be more likely to choose satellite over cable.

I think they charge $25 to install the dish. At least that's what their commercial says. Note the fine print.

You can find local dealers that will do free installs. I'm not sure about DISH, but DirecTV offers a "Movers" program where they will install a new dish at your new house.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: Cheesetogo

Originally posted by: Queasy
For using with a HTPC, cable is better.

Comcast is the devil though.

Comcast and Adelphia have been bought by Time Warner. Hoplfully it will get better.

Nope, prepare for higher rates. Buy up the competition to form a monopoly and then jack up the prices...It's TW Cable's unofficial mission statement

Sure is. TimeWarner is so freaking expensive it's nuts. You have to cancel your account very 6 months or so to get the next "Deal" which is what the standard used to be before they keep jacking up the prices.

The cheapest they will give me espn is part of a $46.25 a month package that has 90% of channels I will never watch..

Fvck TW Cable

 

[Dead3ye]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
My neighbors have dish tv and every time a big storm comes through it practicallly kills their signal. If it is snowing really hard outside well the picture on the TV looks just like it. So much for the weather channel! 😛
In my opinion get cable - then you could also get cable internet 🙂

You work for the cable company don't you?

This is their #1 marketing hype against satellite. The signal goes off for a max a 3 min (if at all) when a storm passes through.

You obviously don't know what your talking about about snow storms either. Mine has never gone out during a snow storm. And even if it did, it wouldn't be a "snowy picture". With digital, the picture is either there or not, not anything in between.

All of these "lose picture during a storm" claims are nuts. If your dish is pointed correctly and you have a strong signal, picture loss is minimal.

When I had cable, I was sure to lose picture for at least an hour during a lightening storm.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Dead3ye
All of these "lose picture during a storm" claims are nuts. If your dish is pointed correctly and you have a strong signal, picture loss is minimal.

Yeah, that's just lunacy. To be fair, I don't remember my CATV going out since the early 90s, but I have had DTV for 8 months now, and it's been through both a hurricane and 16" of snow and it didn't lose the signal.

 

[Dead3ye]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Dead3ye
All of these "lose picture during a storm" claims are nuts. If your dish is pointed correctly and you have a strong signal, picture loss is minimal.

Yeah, that's just lunacy. To be fair, I don't remember my CATV going out since the early 90s, but I have had DTV for 8 months now, and it's been through both a hurricane and 16" of snow and it didn't lose the signal.

To be fair as well, all cable companies are not equal. There very well may be some out there that have great picture quality and never go out. That was not the case with mine. The picture sucked and it was sure to go on the fritz on a regular basis. And all the while the rates were getting jacked up at $2 a clip and they never upgraded the system.

Believe it or not, one time I called to complain about the picture quality of my local stations. The canned response was "there is ice on the tower receiving the local stations".
This was April in Pa and it was sunny and about 60 F. And I have a perfect view of the mountian the tower was located on. I promptly told them to disconnect it and called DN as soon as I got off the phone and never looked back. I have friends and neighbors still on the same system and it still hasn't improved.

Dare I say Comcast? :disgust:

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: imthebadguy
Definately get digital cable, the services offered these days (ondemand, dvr, hdtv, etc..) by comcast are just amazing, plus if your gonna get comcast always ask for the promos, they have great deals I get digital silver+hbo+dvr+hdtv for 39.99/mo and when the promo time expires(6mo) tell em youre thinking of canceling and they will give you another promo, technology wise these days cable is blowing dish outta the water

Bull, shit.

 

[jammur21]

cable. don't get locked into a contract.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

sooo little pole in this question.

I use Satellite, but mostly because our cable company here sucks @ss.

 

[Garion]

Be sure to check your cable box carefully if you go that route...

- G

 

[jabamayne]

Cable = Fees, Fees, Fees!!!

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: Dead3ye

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
My neighbors have dish tv and every time a big storm comes through it practicallly kills their signal. If it is snowing really hard outside well the picture on the TV looks just like it. So much for the weather channel! 😛
In my opinion get cable - then you could also get cable internet 🙂

You work for the cable company don't you?

This is their #1 marketing hype against satellite. The signal goes off for a max a 3 min (if at all) when a storm passes through.

You obviously don't know what your talking about about snow storms either. Mine has never gone out during a snow storm. And even if it did, it wouldn't be a "snowy picture". With digital, the picture is either there or not, not anything in between.

All of these "lose picture during a storm" claims are nuts. If your dish is pointed correctly and you have a strong signal, picture loss is minimal.

When I had cable, I was sure to lose picture for at least an hour during a lightening storm.

I'm definitely with Dead3ye on that one. One of my adopted brothers had DISH, and it would drop out every time we'd have any decent storm. I told him that the dish just needed to be repointed, but he wouldn't listen... He got tired of it, and switched to TimeWarner. It had crappy pictures, and would also drop out all the time. He got tired enough of that, and got DirecTv. While the installer was there, he happened to mention his problem with DISH... the installer said... you guessed it... "the dish must not have been installed properly". He recently told me that he *thinks* that DirecTV dropped out during one storm (in the last two years), but he's not entirely sure, because the power failed about five seconds later, and he wasn't paying a lot of attention.

My adopted parents have cable... picture quality is crap. hzl eyed grl has DirecTV, IIRC - and I miss using her TIVO w/ her Satellite (because of the excellent image quality), even though I was only at her house for about a week. 😀

I now live in an area where broadband & cable TV isn't currently available. Verizon says that we might get a DSLAM installed sometime in the next couple of months. I wish... but I doubt it. My little brother is wanting to get Satellite TV (because all we get is broadcast... which means NBC, ABC, and CBS out of Columbus - and that's a really staticy picture because of crappy reception). DirecTV does offer our local channels, so he's thinking about ordering DirecTV. I hope he gets it.

Originally posted by: Nik
If you're going to get satellite, make sure it's not using telco return (56kbps) or you'll have a kickass download and a DIALUP upload!

Not only do you have no idea what this thread is about, you also must not realize that most satellite return systems don't work terribly much faster than 56k for uploads. Nonetheless, SRS (satellite return) is better than DRS (telco return) just because you don't have to have a phone line for it. 😉

 

[imported_Mike]

I can't get cable at my house, so I have to get the dish. 🙁

 

[cpals]

I decided to go with comcast... but since I just really wanted a better clarity for my local channels, I got the 'lifeline' package. $15/month for 30 or so channels w/locals. I'll be happy as long as the picture quality looks good. 🙂 Hook it up to my HTPC and I'll be ready to go.