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Cable TV Versus Satellite TV?
rufey writes "In the next few weeks I'll be moving and am thinking about getting either cable TV or satellite. I don't need broadband Internet (I use DSL), so getting cable TV bundled with broadband is not an option I'm considering. Comcast is the local cable provider in my area, and are playing TV spots about how satellite TV signals can be lost when it rains, when the wind blows, and even when the dog sneezes (I'm sure the dog sneezing excuse in the commercials are more for humor than fact). What has been Slashdot readers' experience with cable and satellite TV? I'm looking at trying to balance cost versus quality of signal and picture. How much does the weather affect the signal quality of satellite TV reception? Some satellite packages include a DVR (Comcast doesn't offer one yet in my area). Is it worth getting the DVR supplied by the satellite company (DirectTV, DishNetwork), or is buying a separate TiVo a better option? As a geek, I'm also interested in getting NASA TV."
I'll put it this way: my cable modem has had more downtime than my satellite TV over the last two years, and every time I've checked, the cable TV feed has also been messed up whenever the cable modem has had trouble.
Plus, if you get an integrated DirecTV/TiVo receiver, you get to time-shift your shows with zero quality loss. With a standalone TiVo there's an extra D/A conversion between the satellite receiver and the video cable, then an A/D conversion and a lossy compression step to get from the cable onto the TiVo's hard disk. I quite enjoy being able to make pristine archive DVDs of my favorite shows without any re-encoding at all.
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
Wasting countless hours on the couch is as much TV's fault as an open mail relay is the Sendmail team's fault. A tool is just a tool; whether or not it's used appropriately is up to its owner. It's possible to have both a TV and a bookcase and get plenty of enjoyment out of both.
yeah, I've had my DirecTivo for about 8 months now, and let me tell you, I'll NEVER go back to cable again.
I pay $45.00 a month for Directv and Tivo (39.00 for Directv, $4.99 for tivo) I don't have to pay some stupid rental fee for the cable box. I can take the damned thing with me if I want.
It's a win win situation.
Oh, and those commercials where the cable company tries to tell you why you shouldn't use Satellite are effing retarded. I love the one where the customer is told they will need to chop down their tree for service. Uh, clueless customer, you need to put the dish in a place where an un-obstructed view of the southern sky is. Then you won't have this problem.
Weather (as far as I can tell, and it's been a rough winter so far) DOES NOT affect service.
4 days after I installed the dish, the winds hit about 35 mph, with some nasty sideways rain. Not a pixel of static or interference. I guess it helps to actually bolt the dish on properly.
In a nutshell, cable sucks big hairy goat testicles, and I'll never get it again. If the weather is so bad to affect your dish, chances are you need to be taking cover anyway.
HTH
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(Don't TELL me Slashdot is more intellectually stimulating than Must See T.V.)
Why not? Heck, being forced to listen to the Barney song 24/7 while immersed in a sensory deprivation tank for three months with a severed spinal cord is more intellectually stimulating than so-called "Must See TV."
I mean you could've picked the Discovery channel, the History channel, Food Network, the Sundance channel, or any of a dozen other sources of good quality television, and I might've conceded the point, but network television? Come on, playing Tic-Tac-Toe against a toddler is more intellectually stimulating than network television. It's like having a shiny, flashy, happy video lobotomy.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
"Don't TELL me Slashdot is more intellectually stimulating than Must See T.V."
I can't recall the last time my TV allowed me to read, think, and interact with it.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Most places broadcast an analog signal along side the digital, so you might be able to just plug the Tivo directly into the cable feed and use the analog. This also saves unencoding MPEG and then reencoding it again. Analog is crappier sometimes, but I would think actually getting the correct channel recorded might be more important.
... because they offer more channels for less money and their encoding quality is (usually) better (my experience based on DISH Network; can't speak for DirecTV.) Satellite wins hands down in almost all categories: quality, value, programming choice, reliability, equipment choice and customer service.
... satellite offers more channels (especially DISH) than most cable MSO's for less money. Locals too in most markets, and HDTV which cable co's have been painfully slow to adopt.
;-) and limited aggregate bandwidth.
Quality and value... satellite providers have more total bandwidth (about 2-4x) to work with than the typical hybrid fiber-coax cable plant. Being all digital they don't have to carry legacy analog channels. So, they have less need to compress heavily than the cable guys do and so can offer more channels at lower cost.
Programming
Reliability... as much as the cable ads make of it, it's a total non-issue with satellite. It's amazingly robust. In the three years on DISH I had one (!) outage due to rain fade, and then only for about 30 seconds or so. Compare this to my experience with cable providers (in my case Charter, now Adelphia) who seem to have several outages a year: distribution amps blowing up, segments taken down for maintenance/upgrades, and so forth.
Equipment... the satellite providers seem to adopt new tech more quickly than the cable MSO's. They embrace newer media (like HDTV, PVR's, etc.) more enthusiastically than the cable heavyweights do. This has a lot to do with the business model: generally, they unbundle the box from the service (you own the box) so you have choice. Some perceive this as a drawback; however when you look at the poor quality of most cable boxes vs. their rental cost you can see you get a better shake from DirecTV or DISH.
Customer service... DISH is awesome, can't speak for DirecTV although I understand they've improved too. In my case DISH patiently worked with me to debug a complex HDTV setup using a 5200 IRD, HDTV modulator and a Mistubishi HD set. Another time they broke 'seamless integration' with a firmware upgrade, they fixed it in two days (!) after I reported it to them.
Now, the satellite drawbacks...
First, there's no 'analog only' option so you're always looking at MPEG-2 and thus have slower channel surfing (not to mention your TV's P-I-P is mostly useless.) I understand there are IRD's with two decoders now.
Second, satellite broadband is poor due to the up/down latency (c = 300,000 km/s, it's the law
Third, you do have to mount the antenna. Some quibble about this but it's not a big deal: installation and gear are free if you buy a package; it's a simple DIY project if you prefer to run your own.
Most users need only one dual-LNB antenna. DISH needs a second one aimed at 61.5 or 148 if you want some of the 'non-core' programming, such as their slate of international channels (including Al-Jazeera and World Link TV - gotta get your Karachi Kops somehow) and some of the HDTV feeds. If your locals aren't on the core sats (110 and 119) DISH will install the second antenna free.
Also, before you commit to satellite, you need to verify that you have a clean sight line to the bird(s.) DISH has a tool you can download to get your azimuth and elevation to each bird. For the continental US the core satellites are at 101, 110 and 119 deg. - generally due south for most people. You do need to mount the antenna(s) on something that doesn't move - a nearby tree won't do it. If you're unsure about any of this have an installer do a site survey for you prior to entering into a contract.
If these drawbacks aren't a concern for you... then your next choice is DirecTV or DISH.
Three things should dictate your choice: programming, equipment and service.
Programming... DirectTV has NFL Sunday Ticket, DISH does not. DISH has lots of international programming, DirecTV does not. Other than that their lineup is nearly identical, but... to