Which do you prefer DirecTV, DishNetwork or Digital Cable

[Arkitech]

I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade from digital cable to some form of a satellite package. I guess the most obvious questions would be which one of the 3 has the most channels and the best quality.

Thanks for any input

 

[Ausm]

I have used both Dish Network and Digital cable. I personally like digital cable the best because I use the service for my high speed internet connection also.


Ausm

 

[thebestMAX]

Directv here and still happy with it. My DSL connection also.

To be fair I havent tried HDTV but another box and my neighbor has a lot of trouble with it also.

 

[Karsten]

I grudingly have to say Digital Cable right now. I used to do DirectV and was pretty happy with it. But I am getting a pretty good package now with Cable, Internet and Local phone for a good price. I'll see how this works out in the near future.

 

[Arkitech]

If I purchased a digital TV/HDTV which medium would look better? (not including HDTV channels)

 

[vtqanh]

I have DirecTV and i'm happy with it. I hate Cox :| extremely poor customer service

 

[olds]

I have had all 3. I am currently using DC and wish I was still using DirecTV. I will go back to it eventually. Great picture quality.

 

[iamwiz82]

I have direcTV and my parents have comast digital cable, so i can compare and contrast:

1. DirecTV has a better picutre, better sound
2. DirecTV gives better descriptions and has never been wrong
3. Digital cable has very limited info and has been wrong on a number of occassions while i was over their house
4. DirecTV is significantly cheaper for up to 3 TVs than Comcast digital cable.

 

[Digobick]

Originally posted by: Arkitech
If I purchased a digital TV/HDTV which medium would look better? (not including HDTV channels)

Either one of the satellites would look better. For one, they're digital so you won't see any static (picutre either comes in perfectly clear or not at all). And two, cable doesn't have the bandwidth yet to provide really crisp HDTV content - satellite does.

 

[ScoobMaster]

Directv all the way.

To answer your question Arki:

My best friend purchased a 36" RCA HD capable TV this past summer. We both signed on for DirectV and cancelled our cable soon after. He had digital cable (Time Warner) at the time and there was about a 4 -day overlap when DirecTV was active and Time Warner had not "pulled the plug" yet (both services were active). Since the monster RCA has a gazillion inputs, we could hook both sources up and compare the SAME CHANNELS on one verses the other with the push of a remote button.

Here is the skinny: ALL the channels on satellite are broadcast in digital format - with "digital" cable, only the movie/pay channels were digital - the rest (local channels, TNT, TBS, VH1, etc) were still ANALOG. The difference was NIGHT and DAY. When we tuned both sources to the same channels and switched back and forth the DirecTV feed was very noticeably sharper, clearer, and the colors were more vibrant. It REALLY made the cable look like crap in comparison (we were stunned at how marked the difference was). Even my non-HD 27" JVC set showed a difference, but the high-res HD TVs REALLY show you how bad an analog cable transmission can be.

 

[Electric Amish]

I've had Direct TV for 6 years. Haven't had any problems.

Never had Dish Network

Had friends and relatives that have Cable and, personally, I don't like the interface (Menues and such).

Can't really comment on quality.

amish

 

[NutBucket]

Having DirecTV is like watching a DVD all the time. I'm VERY happy with it. Cable sucks

 

[Mutilator]

I've had DirecTV for the last year and never had any major problems with it... quality was good and I only lost signal in a couple summer storms. A little over a month or 2 ago I bought a HDTV and I'm in the process of comparing DirecTV with my local (Raleigh, NC area) TWC Digital Cable with their HDTV receiver. I think I'm going to call DirecTV tonight and cancel. The analog channels on cable are acceptable... and I can't tell much difference between the digital cable channels and satellite... cable colors seem a little better. And the 7 HD channels I get will blow you away... there's no way I'm going to go back to reg satellite now that I can watch my local CBS news in HD (WRAL-TV)
The reason I'm going with digital cable is because with DirecTV I'd have to buy a new $100 dish and a $900 receiver to receive just 2 or 3 HD channels. DirecTV was only willing to give me $150 to help out.
The big deal is I'll be saving $30/month on TV/Internet since I have road runner. I got myself a good deal on the digital cable.

If you're going to get a HDTV I'd check the avsforums or hometheaterspot and see what local channels are broadcasting in HD if any. I'm lucky since I'm in the Raleigh area... we're kinda leading the way in HD technology. If most of them are broadcasting primetime shows in HD I'd go with your local cable company if they offer HD receivers (probably the SA 3100HD like I have) you'll have more HD channels and get new ones quicker than with satellite.

 

[Arkitech]

Thanks for the info guys, I guess I'll be dumping my digital cable pretty soon.


Now I just need to decide between DirecTV and Dish Networks. I've heard that DirecTV has more customers but Dish Networks has far more channels

 

[Adul]

direct tv.

I had digital cable, it wasn't very good. Direct TV all the way and I pay less to.

 

[hdeck]

digital cable is the way to go. enjoy frequent loss of satellites during storms, when you are most likely to be inside watching tv...

 

[Mutilator]

As you can see from this thread... digital cable quality varies from city to city. I've got great quality and on Satelite I had 99 signal all the time. Guess I'm just in the perfect spot.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: hdeck
digital cable is the way to go. enjoy frequent loss of satellites during storms, when you are most likely to be inside watching tv...

In the 5 or so years I had satellite I never lost the signal during a storm.

 

[bozo1]

It all depends on how good digital cable is in your area.

I had DirecTV for a couple of years and switched to digital cable about a year and a half ago. With digital cable in my area, I was paying about $15/month less and had more channels than DirecTV offered. Also at the time, DirecTV was compressing some of their channels so much it was a pain to watch - audio not synced with the video, etc. I heard that was corrected once that brought another satellite online or something.

 

[Mutilator]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: hdeck
digital cable is the way to go. enjoy frequent loss of satellites during storms, when you are most likely to be inside watching tv...

In the 5 or so years I had satellite I never lost the signal during a storm.

Consider yourself one of the very very few. You may not have lost signal completely but I'm sure you had the picture freeze or get scrambled and the sound cut out atleast once or twice.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: hdeck
digital cable is the way to go. enjoy frequent loss of satellites during storms, when you are most likely to be inside watching tv...

If its installed properly you will rarely ever experience loss of signal.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Arkitech
I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade from digital cable to some form of a satellite package. I guess the most obvious questions would be which one of the 3 has the most channels and the best quality.

Thanks for any input

I can't comment on cable since I haven't used it in three years. But I can tell you to avoid Dish Network and go with DirecTV if you go with satellite service. Dish will try to tempt you with the promise of a free dish and multiple receivers. Unfortunately, they throw a bunch of junk fees on top of your base fee which will raise you monthly to $10 -$50 more a month depending on the number of receivers you have. On top of that, they have propietary receivers so if you ever want to upgrade to a different receiver you are looking at having to pay $200 for the latest 'base' receive.

I also do not care for the Dish receivers. I have two RCA receivers (one of them being an UltimateTV receiver) and they both have great menus, lots of info, easy to use, etc etc plus I was able to get a good deal for the two plus the satellite. The other plus of DirecTV is you get your choice of TiVo and UltimateTV (getting rarer) receivers. With Dish, you get their proprietary PVR receiver that blows in comparison to TiVo and UltimateTV. No search function, poor menus, etc.

So, again, if you go with a satellite system, I suggest DirecTV.

 

[thebestMAX]

DirecTV here in Floriduh with all the heavy storms has only gone out on me twice in 5 years and then only for a few minutes at a time. OF COURSE, I installed it myself so I know the dish is set up RIGHT!

My friends who have had Dish often switched to DirecTV. Dont know number of channels but hard to believe dish has many more.

Have cable also (included in maintenance fees) and channels were out last night all night.

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: hdeck digital cable is the way to go. enjoy frequent loss of satellites during storms, when you are most likely to be inside watching tv...

In the 5 or so years I had satellite I never lost the signal during a storm.

Used to loose my signal during blizzard conditions and also during violent rainstorms

Ausm

 

[PlatinumGold]

the satellite gives the best reception. digital cable has just as much if not more reception problems during harsh weather as my comcast digital did.

oh btw, i had comcast digital, went to dish tv for a year, now i'm back with comcast digital.

my reasons for comcast digital.

1. Because i live in central Jersey, I get all Philly Local and all NY Local, i can't get this w/ satellite. This means almost unlimited sports as i get most of the games for the local teams.

2. i get YES network, more sports

3. I get On Demand TV, much better than Pay Per View, i can purchase a movie any time i want it and it starts also i can control the movie just as if it were a video (no more blockbuster for me, and no late fees, weee.)

4. I have cable modem so i get a $5.00 / month Discount on my cable internet.