Digital cable or satellite

[merrily]

I am apparerently still in the stone age as I only have regular, not digital cable. I called my local provider (comcast) to see if I could upgrade to digital cable for the special pricing they give to new customers but of course was told no.

Now I am considering Direct TV as they offer a nice introductory deal. However, I know little about that type of service so I am hoping to get some advice from someone here. What can you tell me about Direct TV or Dish Network? Or should I suck it up and just pay the regular price for Comcast digital cable? I only want the TV stuff, not phone or internet.

 

[Fitswimmer]

I preferred Directv to cable, especially when it came to the channels offered in HD. I had to give the dish up though, since our homeowner's association decided to levy a $500 fee on anyone who wanted it.

If I still had a choice, I'd have Directv.

 

[bicker]

Each option has its advantages and disadvantages. Satellite generally has a high up-front cost and/or requires long-term commitments. Cable has fewer linear HD channels, at least for now. Satellite requires a very good view of the southwest sky and is more sensitive to weather. Cable may or may not recompress data to address bandwidth concerns. And so on..

 

[da-winnie-pooh]

Comcast has caused so many problems. We have our Internet through them and we had digital cable before we moved. They were going to charge us to disconnect from our old residence and also to hook up at our new house. It would have been a huge amount. So, we had them disconnect everything and then reinstall the Internet (dh's company pays for it). We ended up with Dish Network. Their package with both Nick and Disney was cheaper than DirectTV's, that's how we decided. I liked the channel lineup better with Comcast, but it cost more plus they were a pain to deal with.

Comcast's DVR was easier to deal with, at least to me. But, we have more recording time with Dish.

 

[kimluvswdw]

I just changed to Direct Tv a couple of weeks ago. So far I am very pleased with it.

 

[Doe]

We have DishNetwork and have been very happy with it. We had no expensive up front fees because we waited to get it when they were offering a good promo. The only problem we've ever had is when snow has built up on the dish and we lost our signal. This has only happened maybe 2-3 times in the last two years and considering we get a lot of snow it's really not a big deal. We just brush off the snow and we're back in business.
Oh, and we had a two year contract which was just up about 3 months ago.

 

[mickeyfan2]

We switched from Comcast to DirecTV and we love it. We have the HD-DVR package.

 

[Barbossa]

There's a 3rd alternative, which is AT&T U-Verse. It's usually brought in on fiberoptic cable, so it's a "landline", not satellite, service. I'm still using cable, but am itching to switch over to either satellite or AT&T.

 

[mickeyfan2]

There's a 3rd alternative, which is AT&T U-Verse. It's usually brought in on fiberoptic cable, so it's a "landline", not satellite, service. I'm still using cable, but am itching to switch over to either satellite or AT&T.

Verizon had that too. They call it FIOS. We cannot get that in our area.

 

[LaraK]

I have FIOS...LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Before I could get FIOS I had Direct TV...It was good...not FIOS...but good.

I hate and despise Comcast. I would rather have a hot poker stuck in my eye than give them a penny of my money.

 

[dahirsh]

I switched from basic cable to Dish Network this past fall. Dish was my only sattelite choice because I rent and the building just added Dish for everyone who wished to subscribe. a DVR package with more channels than I had with basic cable is cheaper than I was paying. Digital cable would have been even more. Made my choice easy. I did have to have the receiver swapped out almost immediatly, but since then I've been very happy

 

[Golf4food]

I am sick and tired of Comcast. Comcrap, more like. When our 1-year special price expires in a couple of months we are done.

 

[Aidensmom]

We've had both digital cable (brighthouse) and satellite (Directv). In our experience, they are very similarly priced, the only difference to us was the darn Directv went out every time we had a thunderstorm (which is DAILY in the summer here), so we prefer cable.

If you go with the satellite and decide you don't like it, you'll be able to then switch to the digital cable at the new customer price.

 

[bicker]

Verizon had that too. They call it FIOS. We cannot get that in our area.

We can get it in our area, but they refuse to provide service to all homes in town. They're picking and choosing who they want as customers.

 

[bicker]

We've had both digital cable (brighthouse) and satellite (Directv). In our experience, they are very similarly priced, the only difference to us was the darn Directv went out every time we had a thunderstorm (which is DAILY in the summer here), so we prefer cable.

This is a big consideration for us. Even just missing one episode of Lost (given that there are only eight of them this year -- 12.5%!!!) is too much. And Comcast charges only $8.50 a month here for basic cable (just broadcast channels) so folks concerned about the prices get a pretty good break.

 

[Demosthenes]

I've used them all, and they all have their advantages and disadvantages. Dish Network is great for home theater, simply because it has an RF remote to let you hide components, but DirectTV has more programming I like (and don't believe the hype on more HD channels, most of them are garbage; maybe a real "HD Revolution" is coming to DirecTV, but for now, it is total hype). The number one problem with satellite is the potential for poor reception in inclement weather. Also, you must have either a two-tuner box, or multiple tuners to watch separate programs on separate televisions. That may not be a big deal to you, but it is to families with older children especially. As far as picture quality goes, I cannot tell a real difference. I do find that over the air HD reception is better than network HD broadcasts on either satellite or cable, but since that affects both mediums, it is neutral. I now have cable, but only because DirectTV abandoned Tivo for their own (horrendous) DVR. HD Tivos are only made for digital cable right now. I do admit it is nice to not have the dish mounted on the side of the house, and it is simple to add television to new rooms, so I am pleased with digital cable right now. I cannot say that I had a big problem with any of them though. Whatever you do, leverage one offer against another. If DirectTV offers 6 months free premium channels and a free DVR, all of the others will match the offer to get your business. Also, be sure all of them waive any activation fees or installation fees. Like in the new car world, that is the "underbody protection" of the television programming providers, and all of them will waive it. If the doo-flunkie who answers the phone won't, take it to the next level, the manager will.

 

[merrily]

Thanks for all the info! I am most worried about losing the signal if I go with Direct TV. I live in NH so we do get some nasty weather! I wish we had Verizon FIOS but since Verizon is selling out to another company in this area that won't be happening!

 

[bicker]

(Even if Verizon doesn't sell its terrestrial business in Northern NE to Fairpoint, they probably are not going to string fiber there.)

 

[Deb & Bill]

...I hate and despise Comcast. I would rather have a hot poker stuck in my eye than give them a penny of my money.

You and me!!