Cable vs. Satellite TV

Hatched69

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Anyone else have experiences with both hi-def cable and hi-def satellite?


Yes. In fact, I have experience with DirecTV, Dish Netcra...er...Network, and Insight. So far, the cable where I live falls short of HD channel choices, but it is way more consistent when it comes to picture quality. The satellite-based options naturally crap out when inclement weather approaches (NO trees blocking any of the satellites), but even when the weather is fair, they both seem to "freeze" far more often (at least once or twice an hour) than the cable does. This applies to standard, non-HD programming as well. Just my humble opinion, not that of staff and management...
 

Tank30

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I can't wait to get either one. We still have antenna tv. The fuzzy picture will drive u crazy at times.
 
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32717

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I've worked for both Comcast Cable as a Technician and for DirecTV as a Technician. As for the quality satellite is far more superior than most cable systems. For one cable grids/systems have many many many things that can degrade signal and decrease quality of picture, sound, and overall service. With satellite you are cutting out the middle man of beaming a signal from the broadcast location to the cable headend then from the headend compressing the signal and setting it in different band lengths along with splitting the audio from the video before sending it out into the cable network which alone provides tons of problems. As for satellite it has gotten tremendously better with the upgrading of the mHz carrier signal. So clouds, winds, heavy rains don't affect the customer near as much. Verizon is coming out with fios but DirecTV is going to be their broadcasting service. Also DirecTV sent up another bird (satellite) to up their HD Programming to over 150 channels, compared to Comcast and their 20 if that in some markets. Basically it is just a personal preference.
 

SteveHd

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... along with splitting the audio from the video before sending it out into the cable network which alone provides tons of problems.
Ah ha! That explains something I see occasionally: the sound being a fraction of a second out-of-sync with the picture. It's distracting when watching a "talking head" type of show.

From what you're saying that doesn't happen with satellite?
 
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32717

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With satellite it shouldn't. If it does then you have the problem narrowed down to a couple things.

1. A bad fitting
2. A bad reciever
3. A bad switch
4. A bad KA/KU or bad LNB
5. A broken/crushed cable
6. Shitty shitty weather.
 
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32717

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Cable is also capped at a 900 mHz system to where as sat is ranged from 750 mHz to 2150 mHz. Much broader spectrum to run without overloading a carrier signal.
 

arliss

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I've worked for both Comcast Cable as a Technician and for DirecTV as a Technician. As for the quality satellite is far more superior than most cable systems. For one cable grids/systems have many many many things that can degrade signal and decrease quality of picture, sound, and overall service. With satellite you are cutting out the middle man of beaming a signal from the broadcast location to the cable headend then from the headend compressing the signal and setting it in different band lengths along with splitting the audio from the video before sending it out into the cable network which alone provides tons of problems. As for satellite it has gotten tremendously better with the upgrading of the mHz carrier signal. So clouds, winds, heavy rains don't affect the customer near as much. Verizon is coming out with fios but DirecTV is going to be their broadcasting service. Also DirecTV sent up another bird (satellite) to up their HD Programming to over 150 channels, compared to Comcast and their 20 if that in some markets. Basically it is just a personal preference.

very informative--thanks
 

findfirefox

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I have had three TV providers, the only three I know of in my area.

Notes: I love in the Pacific Northwest, Portland, OR, its rainy, its cold, and its windy, no one I know with DirecTV gets bad or no picture because of these reasons. Hell during the last Ice Storm we had people's service only went out for a minute or so. All in all it’s almost perfect. Dish has the most "blips"

Note 2: Comcast normally worked through storms but if they went out you saw nothing for a while.

Note 3: Installation was free for all my providers.

Note 4: You need to have a clear view of the South sky for Sat.

Fav. Provider- DirecTV
Second- Comcast
Third- Dish Network

Comcast- Growing up I had Cable like just about everyone else, it had a few name changes/buy outs now its known as Comcast, it sucked. My picture sucked on the lower "local" channels but was alright on the upper channels, there rates though were a little high. We eventually got digital cable and I always thought that the picture looked the same "digital" though the local channels still looked the worse. Then we got sexy Comcast voice, way over priced, but it only went out with everything else. Internet was awesome though.

Dish Network- I moved into a residence with Dish Network, it wasn't bad, the locals looked sooo much better, and so did all my other channels as well, I was pretty happy, though channels change much slower then I liked. As for Signal I would say out of any given month it would drop like 1-2 times for NO reason. (Not weather or line of site) also Dish Network boxes <3 Phone lines for any reason or else they get pissy.

DirecTV- I got DirecTV a few months back because I heard rumors that Dish was going to drop Comedy Central/some Viacom networks. I live on the top floor of my apartment building and the landlord was nice enough to allow a dish on the roof (He seemed pissed off at Comcast when I asked for written permission that DirecTV asked for) Well I must say I think the picture quality is the best, they also aren’t did not care about the phone line, and I can order movies online with a few clicks, also for music they have XM and I love XM radio. I think price wise they are fair also I like their Customer Care, even though outsourced (at night at least) they are trained fairly well. I have never had even a blip, its always working.

Overview
---------
Comcast-
Pros: Outages are rare, U.S. based customer care (I don't particularly care but some people do), and no charges for service calls.
Cons: They are the most expensive of the providers, and it seems like when something breaks it takes a while to fix. Rental Fees suck, a lot. Slowish channel changing on Digital Cable. I hate their music channels. Locals look like shit.

Dish Network-
Pros: A few blips here and there, the cheapest provider from my experience, all my local channels look better. Sirius Sat. Radio.
Cons: Always having disputes with vendors, shitty Customer care, charges for service dispatches, charges for not having a phone line, crappy PPV, most drop outs, slowest channel changing of any provider I have ever had.

DirecTV-
Pros: Almost no service outages, reasonable prices, good programming packages (less un-needed crap), XM Sat. Radio, nicer technology with nicer better looking equipment, well trained support (They have U.S. and International call centers), nice website, no phone line needed. Fastest channel changes.
Cons: Service dispatch charges, you have to have room for the dish.

I think that’s pretty much everything... oh also I like to leave my TV on almost the entire time I am home because I like the noise, so I notice a lot about it.
 

Mackleanen Beebarf

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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.

A hi-def signal carries a lot more information, which takes that much longer to process. Even with a local over-the-air station just a few miles away, their analog broadcast will make its way out of your TV every-so-slightly ahead of the digital one.
 
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32717

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A hi-def signal carries a lot more information, which takes that much longer to process. Even with a local over-the-air station just a few miles away, their analog broadcast will make its way out of your TV every-so-slightly ahead of the digital one.


Actually a HD signal carries no more information than a analog or digital broadcast. The only differences between analog, digital, and hd are the compression ratios. The time lag you are noticing more than likely is just a buffer on the carrier signals. IE the HD carrier is much more powerful than digital and digital than analog.
 

SteveHd

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bombayeclipse, compression matches what I was guessing. I'd read that HDTV uses MPEG [MPEG-3?] compression so I figured that was part of or most of the time lag.

When you say "the HD carrier is much more powerful than ... analog" do you mean a higher frequency?
 
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Yes and no. As I state cable systems are 900mHz systems meaning they can use anywhere from 1mHz to 900mHz to carry a signal but with cable systems the audio is stripped from the video and carried on seperate carriers. satellite is 750mHz to 2150mHz so the plus side is they do not need to strip the audio. So yes and no it depends on what available carrie they have to carry a HD signal. Most of the time it is on the higher end of the spectrum but that is not always the case.
 

SteveHd

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findfirefox, thanks for the extensive review. I do have a couple follow-up questions.

When you mention "drop" is that a brief loss of signal? By brief I mean a fraction of a second or so. It sounds similar to what I call a "freeze" with the difference being how the converter box reacts to it.

In the DirecTV overview you mention ...
... you have to have room for the dish.
Is it a larger dish than what Dish uses?
 

findfirefox

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findfirefox, thanks for the extensive review. I do have a couple follow-up questions.

When you mention "drop" is that a brief loss of signal? By brief I mean a fraction of a second or so. It sounds similar to what I call a "freeze" with the difference being how the converter box reacts to it.

In the DirecTV overview you mention ...Is it a larger dish than what Dish uses?

By drop I ment a second or two or no audio or video.

This dish is the same for both systems, HD dishes are larger with direcTV if I recall.
 

Mackleanen Beebarf

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Actually a HD signal carries no more information than a analog or digital broadcast. The only differences between analog, digital, and hd are the compression ratios. The time lag you are noticing more than likely is just a buffer on the carrier signals. IE the HD carrier is much more powerful than digital and digital than analog.

Thanks for clearing that up.
 

hung9mike

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Anyone else have experiences with both hi-def cable and hi-def satellite?
I can do you one better, SteveHd. I've had HD cable with Comcast and Time Warner and HD satellite with Dish Network and DirecTV AND used to have an antenna on the roof to pick up over-the-air local HD broadcasts.

I had the antenna on the roof because, at the time, DirecTV did not have local channels in HD in my market. Suffice it to say, I thought installing the antenna was a lot of trouble and barely worth the effort of doing so in the end, given I always had trouble keeping the signal. (If you want to know more, just PM me and I'll tell you the story.) I really didn't notice any difference between the local HD channels and the channels in HD on DirecTV.

I've heard that DirecTV compresses its HD signal. Perhaps a videophile might be able to detect a difference in the picture quality relative to an uncompressed signal, but I don't think I'd be able to. At least to my untrained eye, the picture quality in HD is the same from any of the sources (cable, satellite, over the air) that I've seen.
 

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Purely out of interest, does the U.S have Freeview? As it's name suggests, it offers free-to-air channels, about 30 or so, that you do not have to pay for, it only requires a set-top box costing upwards of 20 pounds. Or is that similar to your cable system?
 
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that_other_guy

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You can get it (I have it!) but its not widely advertised (not at all actually.) Generally speaking, it gives me access to many international channels, local stations from around the country, and random shopping/christian networks.