Cable vs. Satellite TV

Mackleanen Beebarf

Experimental Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Posts
335
Media
0
Likes
13
Points
163
I've been subscribed to DirecTV since early '03, and you'd have better luck trying to take away Charleton Heston's gun.

If you'll notice, the cable company has satellite dishes in its own back yard. :thinking:
 

MH07

Expert Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2004
Posts
421
Media
3
Likes
124
Points
513
Location
Houston
Sexuality
100% Gay, 0% Straight
Gender
Male
I have searched and searched both the DTV & Dish sites but can't seem to find a definitive answer. Does the HD DVR require a land phone line? If they do, I am staying with cable.

It doesn't with DirecTv, but if you don't have a land line, you have to order movies, events, packages etc online or by phone, rather than on the DVR itself.

That said, DirecTv rocks the free world and I'm with Patrick 28 (who has some really nice pics in his gallery), you can have mine when you pry my cold dead fingers off the remote.
 

Mackleanen Beebarf

Experimental Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Posts
335
Media
0
Likes
13
Points
163
I have searched and searched both the DTV & Dish sites but can't seem to find a definitive answer. Does the HD DVR require a land phone line? If they do, I am staying with cable.

I can't speak with certainty to the HD service, but the only thing I know for sure you can't do without a phone line connected to the box is order PPVs on-screen.

I've been told by the installation techs that you only need a phone line to confirm certain things like the PPVs and your initial setup. One set me up and told me I could unplug the phone line in a couple of hours if I wanted to. When my home got wiped out and I was temporarily living in a RV with no phone line at all, I never had any issue with my service aside from 1) having to call in to have them "flip the switch" initially and 2) having to call in PPV orders.

If you really want to know, just call DirecTV and ask. Their customer service people are excellent.
 

b.c.

Worshipped Member
Verified
Gold
Joined
Nov 7, 2005
Posts
20,540
Media
0
Likes
21,784
Points
468
Location
at home
Verification
View
Gender
Male
....currently on a multipackage digital plan with the local cable company(cable, internet, and phone lines). The reduced package price of the cable provided phone service (compared to the regular phone service) and the cable internet access makes the package deal a bargain (price wise). Besides which, for satellite, don't you need a separate receiver for every room that you have a tv in?

I am thinking (however) of adding a satellite provider (with a single room receiver) if I ever get around to buying one of those new fangeled higher def tvs.
 

PrincessKashmir

Just Browsing
Joined
Jan 24, 2007
Posts
4
Media
0
Likes
0
Points
146
Sexuality
99% Straight, 1% Gay
Gender
Female
Have to say I'm surprised no one mentioned downloading or watching TV online. I may be a stealing bitch, but I download the majority of my TV shows. I pay only for a high speed cable internet connection and I never have to watch commercials. I also never get stuck watching TV shows that I dislike because something I do like is coming on next.

I haven't had cable for 3 years and I do not miss it a bit.
 

MagicTongue

Experimental Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2006
Posts
152
Media
0
Likes
3
Points
161
Location
WA
Sexuality
80% Straight, 20% Gay
Gender
Female
We've got Comcast Digital Cable here. We pay for the full package, all the movie channels, HD channels on both tvs, DVR service, plus digital phone and broadband internet, etc. We've had service inturruptions before, but nothing too bad. Most of the problems we'd been having involved some bad cable lines inside the house... But that was solved after a couple of service calls.

The HD channels rock! My favorite is Discovery HD. Lots of interesting shows on there. Which reminds me, I gotta make sure to call Comcast tomorrow and tell them how we're going to pay this month as someone decided to buy over 200 dollars worth of On Demand content... Mostly porn and sports...

I've known a few people with Satellite. It basically sucked because they would always get a bad signal. I suppose it has to do with how things are set up. You have to have a clear view to the south for anything to work properly as Satellites revolve around the Equator of the Earth. I'm sure most people in California probably get a better signal than most of those in Washington, but I could be wrong...

Anyway, rain, just ordinary rain shouldn't bother Cable unless you have bad lines outside of the house. High Winds might knock Service, but of course, Power is often knocked off too when we have a wind storm.

Which brings to mind a question of my own. What kind of Internet Connection do you use? Like I mentioned above, we've got Cable Broadband...
 

D_Martin van Burden

Account Disabled
Joined
Oct 6, 2002
Posts
3,229
Media
0
Likes
42
Points
258
I honestly imagine a day in which I'll be able to function without television. I used to tease some of my friends who jumped off the TV wagon some time ago, but now that I just a basic cable package lumped together with my hi-speed access, I hardly watch. Maybe an hour max per day, and most of the time it's just good background noise or keeps the dog entertained when she's not sleeping. I also don't miss a lot of the crap from MTV or reality shows. Even better, if I desperately want to see something, I can usually look up the show online and watch the latest episode (e.g. "Heroes").

So, cable it shall stay. I would persuade my roommates to give up some TV too, but I think they're way more glued to it.
 

dong20

Sexy Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Posts
6,058
Media
0
Likes
28
Points
183
Location
The grey country
Sexuality
No Response
Now I see that the earlier confusion was brand name verses generic name.

To me, direct tv would equate more to cable rather than satellite which is anything but direct.

Whatever, it's just a name. However direct or indirect its route to me, the end result is the same; 200 channels of crap.
 

SteveHd

Sexy Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2006
Posts
3,678
Media
0
Likes
82
Points
183
Location
Daytona
Sexuality
90% Gay, 10% Straight
Gender
Male
Has anyone subscribed to hi-def cable and hi-def satellite? But not necessarily both simultaneously, though. If you have please comment. Is there a big difference in picture quality? Earlier circumstances commented on "HDLite" and "compression effects". It looks like avalonjim had a bad experience with cable.

I have hi-def from cable and I'm mostly pleased with it. The main drawback is lack of channels that aren't extra cost. There's only two that I regularly watch are Discovery HD Theater and the Orlando PBS station. D/HD/T has excellent picture quality. The PBS station sometimes has pixel artifacts. That might be the "compression effects" circumstances commented on. Occasionally, it will "freeze" and drop a few seconds of air time.

I'd like to get The History Channel in hi-def. I don't think they're originating hi-def shows. If not then I won't consider satellite.

An oddity I've noticed is the hi-def channels run a few seconds behind their standard channels. For instance, if I switch from WMFE-HD to the non-HD equivalent, I'll see a second or two of what I saw on the HD channel. If I switch back, I'll miss a second or two.
 

dong20

Sexy Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Posts
6,058
Media
0
Likes
28
Points
183
Location
The grey country
Sexuality
No Response
Has anyone subscribed to hi-def cable and hi-def satellite? But not necessarily both simultaneously, though. If you have please comment. Is there a big difference in picture quality? Earlier circumstances commented on "HDLite" and "compression effects". It looks like avalonjim had a bad experience with cable.

I have a HD cable feed into my projector. I find the picture pretty good. Sky HD is more prone to artifacts. I can't speak to the specifics of US channelling content/issues but there is little HD broadcasting in the UK.