Slashdot Mirror
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."
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
Sent from your iPad.
(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!"