I live in NYC and I have DTV (from Time Warner Cable) and their cable modem service. But I keep hearing good things about Direct TV and the like? Which is better? Does Direct TV have more channels? Is their internet service better? Please enlighten me.
Which Is Better? Cable or Satellite
- Thread starter Dari
- Start date
Bah. Time Warner DTV's picture quality sucks ass. I'd go with DirecTV. I wouldn't use satellite for internet access though...does anyone know if you get a good deal if you have DirecTV service & DirecTV DSL?
olds
Elite Member
- Mar 3, 2000
- 50,125
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Satellite is for those who can't get cable or DSL.
EDIT
I read your question again. Cable is better for internet. Satellite is better for TV as long as you are not going to run more than 1 TV. With satellite you need a receiver for each tv if you want to watch different channels. When I lived alone in my house I had satellite. The receiver was in the livingroom but I ran a cable, split before it connected to the tv, to my bedroom. I also had/have an RCA remote control extender. That way I could watch satellite or a vcr tape in my bedroom and could change channels or pause the tape. Now my daughter lives with me, I am married and I have cable. I have a tv in the livingroom, diningroom, bedroom and tv card in 2 computers that are in different rooms. Much easier to do with cable.
Are you talking about for TV or internet?
You're annoying as hell. You have the vaguest questions I've ever seen.
rh71
No Lifer
- Aug 28, 2001
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I was looking into getting Satellite internet with DirecWay but a little digging revealed that they limit your bandwidth within peak hours. For example, you are flagged if you download more than 200MB from 7pm-9pm, etc. NO THANKS. I get unlimited / best speed from Optimum Online (don't you have that in the city in some places?).
As far as tv goes, we have regular cable tv going to our house, but also have 2 DirecTV receivers working (don't ask). In my opinion, DirectTV is better in that it offers a better quality picture (digital) along with west coast feeds... so if you miss your show at 8pm, it'll be on again at 11pm on a west coast channel. Just a minor perk if you don't have TIVO, etc. Digital cable, on the other hand, costs about $60, while DTV costs $40 with the same package.
So for me, cable modem internet + DirecTV is the best way to go. I should look into DirectTV DSL though - but OOL cable modem service can't be beat no matter what.
As far as tv goes, we have regular cable tv going to our house, but also have 2 DirecTV receivers working (don't ask). In my opinion, DirectTV is better in that it offers a better quality picture (digital) along with west coast feeds... so if you miss your show at 8pm, it'll be on again at 11pm on a west coast channel. Just a minor perk if you don't have TIVO, etc. Digital cable, on the other hand, costs about $60, while DTV costs $40 with the same package.
So for me, cable modem internet + DirecTV is the best way to go. I should look into DirectTV DSL though - but OOL cable modem service can't be beat no matter what.
I'm primarily talking about TV, not internet. Seeing that Satellite has little to no return signal (i.e. one way), there can't really be any uplink.
But getting back to the tv question. Why are people getting it? Is it because of the pricing, service, or amount of channels.
But getting back to the tv question. Why are people getting it? Is it because of the pricing, service, or amount of channels.
ScoobMaster
Platinum Member
- Jan 17, 2001
- 2,528
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After comparing *both* feeds for the same channels on my neighbor's RCA HD-Ready digital TV I can in all honesty tell you that the ALL-DIGITAL feed from Directv is far superior to anything coming out of the cable. ALL the channels on the Directv feed are digital. With cable, many of the basic and "extened" channels are still analog and look like crap compared to the digital Directv feed. His TV had enough inputs so that we could hook up BOTH sources and switch between the two (he had a 3 day overlap before time warner came and disconnected the cable). Seeing THE SAME CHANNELS compared on the SAME TV made the difference as clear as night and day!!!
Cable = washed out colors, many channels not very crisp and "fuzzy" or "noisy"
Directv = vibrant colors, picture much crisper and sharper.
The sound difference through his Home Theater receiver was amazing as well.
I conducted the same test when I switched from Time Warner cable to Directv and the results were the same (although I still have a "regular" tv - not digital and HD ready). The difference was much more striking on his higher-quality Digital TV, but it was still very noticeable on my conventional 27" JVC.
Clear Winner = Directv!
Cable = washed out colors, many channels not very crisp and "fuzzy" or "noisy"
Directv = vibrant colors, picture much crisper and sharper.
The sound difference through his Home Theater receiver was amazing as well.
I conducted the same test when I switched from Time Warner cable to Directv and the results were the same (although I still have a "regular" tv - not digital and HD ready). The difference was much more striking on his higher-quality Digital TV, but it was still very noticeable on my conventional 27" JVC.
Clear Winner = Directv!
rh71
No Lifer
- Aug 28, 2001
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Digital cable here is comparable to DirecTV in quality and quantity. 180 channels for ~$60/mo. for Digital cable. For DirecTV, it's a little less than 150 channels for $30/mo. and you just add from there.
Depends on the package and also equipment cost for you, I guess. But if it's not even digital cable, forget it. No competition - DTV all the way.
Depends on the package and also equipment cost for you, I guess. But if it's not even digital cable, forget it. No competition - DTV all the way.
olds
Elite Member
- Mar 3, 2000
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I found the pricing to be about the same. The service with both is terrible. Channel availability is better with satellite as is picture quality. I also like the menu system bettter than the ATT cable I now have. I too had west coast and east coast feeds and that was great. But they have gotten pickier on who gets the feeds depending on location. My cable HBO has east coast feeds so here in CA I can watch the Soprano's at 6:00 PM.
ok, Time Warner has HDTV boxes (with included HDTV decoder) as well. They don't charge extra for it (just the monthly fee). How does that compare to the Direct TV HDTV receivers?
- Jul 19, 2001
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I have both,
Cox Digital Cable at my school apt. and DirecTV at my home in South Florida... Personally, i like the picture quality and sound of DirecTV better, BUT the speed and ease of use of the Cox Digital Cable makes it the winner in my book. Its damn near IMPOSSIBLE to channel surf on a satellite system.
Cox Digital Cable at my school apt. and DirecTV at my home in South Florida... Personally, i like the picture quality and sound of DirecTV better, BUT the speed and ease of use of the Cox Digital Cable makes it the winner in my book. Its damn near IMPOSSIBLE to channel surf on a satellite system.
Man, I don't know what you're talking about...most digital cable feeds are so compressed they look worse than analog cable.Originally posted by: rh71
Yes I agree... we are watching regular analog cable channels on our Sony HDTV widescreen and the snow/fuzzyness is extremely clear to us.Digital is the way to go.
I have Cox Digital Cable and I think it works and look good. The only thing I would really want from Direct TV is the football package. The prices are comparable though.
LOL, what's gonna happen if you use satelite that couldn't happen with cable?
Time to put that Aluminum-foil brain-scan-protecting hat back on.
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