Community weekly poll: Which is better, digital cable or satellite?
- 6/27/05 3:24 PM
Digital Cable VS Satellite
by George B. Lockwood - 6/28/05 3:24 PM In reply to: Which is better, digital cable or satellite? by Marc Bennett
The main reason for me is there is not two-way transmission (Internet & Email) with Satellite.
DirecTV offers broadband internet and email
by Product Developer - 6/28/05 3:31 PM In reply to: Digital Cable VS Satellite by George B. LockwoodIt's called Direcway. It's only a value if you can't get Cable or DSL.
I use that service
by thecoolnessrune - 6/29/05 7:39 AM In reply to: DirecTV offers broadband internet and email by Product DeveloperI have DirecTV and DirecWAY satellite internet. The satellite TV is good since we live 30 miles from town. The only cable option was analog, gave us 10 channels, got rained out, looked horrible, and cost $40 a month. DirecTV was the best option for us. Since we live in the country, Dial-Up is limited to 26.4kbps since we have old analog rotary lines. So we got Direcway Satellite internet. It says 500kbps max but my average is 800kbps. I've seen all the way up to 2300kbps at night. Upload is still only a max of 85kbps. Can only download 170MB every 14 hours. But it still beats the heck out of Dial-Up.
DirecTV and DirecWAY satellite internet
by no9to5wdm - 6/29/05 8:03 AM In reply to: I use that service by thecoolnessruneSounds like us, but I would never move into town, but it is comeing out to meet us. Do you get a package deal on TV & Internet? We have DishNetwork TV currently and 10' dist before that for 20 years. It's great. I need down & uploads, we indepdent contractors Mystery shops & store audits and all paper work is by internet now. Dial-up is 26. to 28000 max on good days, which is SLOW.
What about the E-mail send and receive? That is how I get my assignments.
Cable's advantage
by batavier - 6/28/05 3:25 PM In reply to: Which is better, digital cable or satellite? by Marc Bennett
Broadband internet access - BOTH WAYS. Sattelite just cannot do that (yet?)
Both are equally bad due to compression artifacts
by Product Developer - 6/28/05 3:26 PM In reply to: Which is better, digital cable or satellite? by Marc Bennett
Satellite and digital cable images are horrible. To get as many channels crammed in as possible both services compress their feeds to the point where the picture looks worse than standard VHS. If they were to increase the compression any more than it is now the picture would like you were watching through a shower door!
I would rather have half the channels with half the compression artifacting.
And another thing!....Don't you hate those ridiculous logo bugs taking up entire corners of the picture?!
I was surfing past the County Music Channel one day and their bug was so large it looked like a separate picture in picture broadcast!
Cable all the way
by Jamie314 - 6/28/05 3:27 PM In reply to: Which is better, digital cable or satellite? by Marc Bennett
For my area, that is in the UK, the digital cable services represent much greater value for money as you get a 3-way service. I can get a phone line, broadband internet (3MBps) and the full channel digital package for the same price as the full channel satellite TV package alone. To top that, satellite reception isn't too hot in my street either, and the digital cable picture is far, far superior.
Also, when I was upgraded to digital (from the old analog cable service, 5-6 years ago I think) it was simply a matter of changing the set-top box. The rest was handled outwith my property by the cable company and the installation was completely painless. Some other people in the neighbourhood, however, had to have large dishes removed and replaced with smaller ''minidishes''. I always remember the neighbour doing the switch — he had a big fight with the satellite company to get them to pay for roof repairs necessary because of the engineer stomping around on his new tiles.
Satellite has the edge!
by Redhand2000 - 6/28/05 3:31 PM In reply to: Which is better, digital cable or satellite? by Marc Bennett
I am a RURAL subscriber that will never(?) see a cable strund through the trees. I have had satellite for a number of years. I used to live in town, and did the cable thing for nearly 20 years. Satellite has been more reliable, especially the 'new' ones, over the 17 years here in the woods. My HDTV installation, having bought a 52" TV, tok about 30 minutes, including a new dish, new reciever, and programming. The TV had the proper inputs and resolution. It was a breeze!
Cable - satellite signal fades
by outcast - 6/28/05 3:34 PM In reply to: Which is better, digital cable or satellite? by Marc Bennett
in this area of the US (Florida) with our frequent thunderstorms. Too many service interuptions.
Satellite & storms
by snut - 6/28/05 3:40 PM In reply to: Cable - satellite signal fades by outcastIt must depend on the satellite company because I live in upstate NY and rarely ever have interruptions due to any kind of inclement weather including snow storms and thunderstorms. I have Dish Network, btw.
N.W. Florida and satellite TV
by bleslie3 - 6/28/05 4:32 PM In reply to: Cable - satellite signal fades by outcastI had DirecTV for years when they first came out but the frequency of thunderstorms in this area and to the southwest often left you with a "searching for satellite" message. I would have stayed with DirecTV but their service had reached an intolerable stage. I finally had to start a lawsuit to get away from the blankety blank people. I played enough telephone tag with DirecTV to last me a lifetime and only with a threatening letter to the CEO was able to get any action. I really enjoyed satellite TV, even with the thunderstorms, and may go back to Dish Networks someday.
Which is better digital cable or satellite
by charlesmcdonald100 - 6/28/05 3:36 PM In reply to: Which is better, digital cable or satellite? by Marc Bennett
Cable is really better as it is always on I guess. I know storms knock out satellite signals.
Storms knocking out satellites is a myth...
by fixmyhead - 6/28/05 3:44 PM In reply to: Which is better digital cable or satellite by charlesmcdonald100The cable companies want you to believe that a storm will knock out your satellite. This is true if the system was improperly installed or had a weak signal to begin with. I have had satellite for 10 years and have experienced less outage time with my Directv than I had with my cable tv. Heck, my cable internet goes out more than my Directv. Has anyone ever been to their local cable office. Did you notice the big dish in the backyard? The biggest difference is they have a dish with miles of cable and amplifiers between you and the office. With directv you have a dish on your property with feet of cable between you and your dish.
Storms knocking out satellites is a myth
by bleslie3 - 6/28/05 4:40 PM In reply to: Storms knocking out satellites is a myth... by fixmyheadTrue, the storms don't knock out the satellites but they sure interfere with the signal if the storm is in the right area. You did not say where you live so that makes this a sort of "mox-nix". I installed my own DirecTV (I have two degrees in electrical engineering, am a ham radio operator (N4VPX) and happen to have a hobby of studying antenna radiation patterns, both receiving and transmitting. My setup read all the way out to the maximum for reception once I had the antenna in the right position, but a thunderstorm would knock it off line for a short while.
IOE that has not been the case
by Grandriver - 6/28/05 8:06 PM In reply to: Storms knocking out satellites is a myth... by fixmyheadWe found that weather knocked out our satellite reception several times in FL this past winter. Neighhbours with cable did not have the same problem. It certainly is not a regular occurence but it did happen at least 5 times in 6 months.
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