Cable or Satellite?

[Fargoman2]

I am about ( I think) to purchase a new 50" inch HD-compatible television. I
I have been told that the picture will be better if transmitted via satellite than it would be on cable. Is that right?

I need to know if you think DirectTv or Cable is the way to go. If I go DirecTv I lose my local stations, which I could live with IF I DO indeed get a better
picture.

Plus, I am somewhat weary of being gouged by the cable company for monthly fees.

What do you experts think?

 

[glo]

I dunno about how it goes with the HD TV, but I will tell you my MIL and FIL have lots of reception trouble, everytime there is a storm, it goes out. Atleast with cable it is more consistent...JMHO

 

[Blondie]

The cable in our area was so terrible, that we went to satellite. I know some areas have wonderful reception w/cable, but ours was not worth the money we paid every month.

We went Dish Network about 4 years ago, and we're glad we did.

We rarely lose our reception, and when we do it's never for more than 5 mins--and it's during a torrential downpour! Actually, the satellite will go out before the rain hits the ground--that's how we know we're in for a down pour! Our cable often went out for no apparent reason!

We've never had a problem with Dish Network, their customer service or their billing (although I've read here that others have.)

Shop around and see what would better suit your needs.

 

[newmousecateer]

Just to let you know we went to satellite a year ago. We love the reception. As Blondie said, if we do lose reception, it is usually only for 5 - 10 minutes. Our cable used to go out and be out for a whole day at times.

When I used to call customer service for cable I would have to sit and listen to recordings for 40 minutes or more until a human being picked up the phone (honestly). When I have to call the satellite company (only called them twice) a person usually picks up in 1 to 3 minutes.

BTW, we get all of our local channels.

Good luck on your choice.

 

[Sharon A.]

I live in Seattle where it's cloudy a LOT of the time. We almost never lose reception and then it's not for very long.

 

[s&k'smom]

We got directtv a year ago and are happy with it. A few glitches once in a while but it's way less than cable and we always got a better response when calling customer service. Plus we get all 3 Disney channels which the kids love.

 

[jldriscoll]

We have cable and have very few problems. Neighbors have direct TV and lose tv whenever it rains.

 

[olena]

We have Dish and we love it. My folks got AT&T digital cable. Their service is out at least twice a month and customer service is a joke! I was over this past weekend...witnessing frustration over the latest outage. We used to be Broadband Cable customers, and seeing that brought back memories and made us realize how wonderful the dish has been.

As for local channels, I think they have to provide them now....by law. In most cities. We even see commercials about it...how they'll come install a second dish for free, so you get local stations.

As for reception, WONDERFUL! We have an HDTV and enjoy those broadcasts. They're incredible. Our reception rarely goes out. Occasionally sunspots will interfere, but never for long. Reception is fine when it rains. If the storm gets really heavy, we might lose the signal for a few minutes.

And customer service is way better than it ever was with cable.

 

[Poohbear123]

We just got Digitel Cable thru AT&T and so far, its been a week, we have not had any trouble. My DH has trouble with his remote every once in awhile, but other than that I think its great so far!

 

[Tina]

We have had Directv since 1996 and will NEVER go back to cable. Sure we lose the signal once in awhile when there's a BIG storm, but its only for a short time. When the cable goes out - you never know when it will be back. With satellite, you know it will be back as soon as the storm passes. By the way, it doesn't go out with every rainstorm, just real big ones. I think we've only lost our signal once in the last year and it was for less than 5 minutes.

As for the local channels, all of that changed a couple of years ago. We get all of our local stations. Plus, we subscribe to the west coast feed of NBC for only a buck or so per month. I do this so I can watch Friends (and some of my other NBC favorites) 3 hours later since I'm usually not home at prime time.

 

[Fargoman2]

Great informative feedback everyone. I'm definitely leaning toward
satellite.

Just by way of clarification, though, the availablity of local channels depends
on the market you live in. Unfortunately, local channels are not
allowed in my market.

Still, I think the change will be worth it. I have grown quite weary of being
gouged by the cable company and its indifferent attitude toward
customer service.

 

[janette]

Our cable was pretty bad, I don't know when we got directtv it's been several years.

There are many more channels than you get on regular cable, there are lots of things for the kids. I did without local channels for a long time as I signed up before they were available. I got a west & east coast feed but the only one that has continued to offer that is NBC. It is nice to get the shows again 3 hours later. I don't mind watching Friends at 10pm but dont' think it's appropriate for the girls so 7pm is a bad time.

If you can get decent cable it might be an option, for us it really it just isn't. I don't notice the picture quality that much unless I'm somewhere else, their pictures usually seem grainy.

 

[Chattyaholic]

We've had DirecTV for several years now and really like it. We rarely lose reception, except for really severe storms and even then not for very long. The other "problems" we have are keeping the bush next to it trimmed so the leaves don't interfere with the reception, and in the winter you have to keep the snow brushed off it too!!

 

[Kermit]

You should probably ask people in your town if the cable or satellite service is better. Whether the satellite tends to go out during storms or not depends if the geography where you live tends to create strong storms. I know that the people with satellites here say that it's not a big deal, but my parents had one in San Antonio, and they lost reception all the time. Likewise, people who live in your neighborhood can tell you if the cable company is good.

Keep in mind that cable Internet service is much cheaper if you have cable TV. That's the primary reason we chose cable.

 

[cassie]

One other thougt Fargoman2, you could also get basic cable for your local channels. When I got my dish, local wasn't available yet, so I kept just the basic with my cable co. We now have local.

I love my dish, and would never go back to cable. It's so much cheaper.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

I think we might be talking different issues here. My understanding is that it is not possible to transmit a true HDTV signal over cable, even digital cable. That is one of the big hangups in converting completely.
Satelite can transmit HDTV

 

[Angelrose]

We just got our Dish Network about a month ago. We got the Dish Pro. That is supposed to be more reliable in bad weather. There is also a weather cover that you can purchase online that will stop any cut offs. We LOVE it. No more bad reception that we had with our cable. When cable is out, it's out for a long time. We had one bad rainstorm and out reception with Dish was fine. We had a teeny bit of "snow" but that was the extent of it. We also get our local channels for an extra charge. I think it's an extra $6 a month. No problem. Sometimes Dish Network will offer local channels when DirectTV won't. At least around here that is the case.

 

[abaldacci]

We have had both and I like cable better because if it rains hard you lose your reception w/dish. If it snows you have to go clean it off. IMHO

 

[ead79]

We have DirecTV, and we have been really pleased with it. It's much better than the cable in our area and goes out much less often. With the plan we have, we pay an extra $5 a month to get the local channels.

 

[HorizonsFan]

We have had Dish Network for about 5 years. We have never had a problem with rain fade (5 to 10 min. max if it rains REALLY hard; cable went out if I watered the lawn and was out for hours). HDTV is probably best recieved over the air with an antenna. Cable is not capable and DSS doesn't have the bandwidth to spare yet. Only a few channels are available over DSS. One of the best features available from DSS and not cable is the PVR. You can record programs onto a harddrive, pause and rewind live TV and skip commercials and never fool with videotape again! (Sometimes Dish Network dealers give these away for free to new subscribers).

Whether the satellite tends to go out during storms or not depends if the geography where you live tends to create strong storms.

Actually, whether DSS fades during storms is mostly dependent on the quality of installation. Most people blame outages on rain fade when in reality (if the outage lasts more than about 10 minutes) they have a connection that isn't water-tight. I did mine myself and everything is sealed tight as a drum!
I will NEVER go back to cable!