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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."
Come on slashbots, and set yourself free - Kill your TV!
I've been tv free for 4 years now - and would never consider going back.
there is much more to life than watching a piece of furniture.
... hi bingo
...neither? Sell the TV, and where your entertainment center would be, put a bookcase. I cut back to basic cable and though i "miss" some shows, I dont miss wasting countless hours on the couch .....i cant even tell you what "reality shows" are on these days....
I lost my concept of community when my community lost all concept of me.
My parents still have the big huge dish in thier yard. You can get some pretty interesting stuff if you are willing to pay for the tech. Of course it IS a dying technology, but it is pretty interesting how they are trying keep it alive through things like 4dtv and mpeg sidecars.
http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
I recently bought a house in a neighborhood where "free" (i.e., subsidized) cable is part of what your HOA dues pay for. I pay nothing extra for "extended basic" cable from my local cable company. Because of this, my cable modem service is discounted by $10 per month, and I could upgrade to digital cable for $11 a month.
However, I have DirecTV, and have had it for about 7 years now, and I'm very happy with it. I recently bought a couple of TiVo-integrated receivers, and the convenience and picture quality is excellent.
I've retasked my standalone TiVo (formerly connected to a Sony SAT-B2 DirecTV receiver) to connect to the "free" cable. This TiVo has been upgraded to 193 hours of basic quality, so I record nearly everything on Best quality. The picture quality still sucks. The picture I get from my cable company is significantly inferior to what I get from DirecTV. Before my wife and I got married, she had digital cable in her apartment, and its picture quality was not as consistently good as DirecTV's is.
I know that even by cable company standards, my lousy analog cable picture is abnormally bad. I also know that with Rupert Murdoch taking over at DirecTV, things are likely to go downhill in picture quality there. It's a tough call to make, but for now, I'm sticking with DirecTV and I'm not impressed with cable in my neighborhood.
Also, the $5/month covers multiple TiVos. I have an old Series 1 Sony DirecTiVo and a newer Hughes Series 2 DirecTiVo, and still just pay the $5. Nice.
I scored the Hughes one at Circuit City for $100 a few months ago...didn't even matter that I was already a DirecTV customer (just had to agree to another year on my service agreement).
I have full-time playboy on DirectTV (more precisely, the guy who shares my duplex does, but I pay him for a receiver so...).
Playoby's offerings are FAR different from what they were 5 years ago. In that time, Playboy has eaten the Spice Network, home to harder-core material than the T&A stuff playboy is known for (and, if I can digress for a moment: That's the stuff I like. I don't want to see some guy's hairy ass, looking like he got out of prison that morning, pawing at Tera Patrick or Carmen Luvana. Give me T&A and I'm a happy guy).
Used to be, you didn't see penetration on Playboy. Now you do, even in some of the Playboy-branded content. I've seen gonzo-type movies and I've seen unedited titles from the major US porn studios (mostly Vivid, but also Wicked, VCA et al). No Max Hardcore, no "1200 Anal Cumshots", no interracial degradation porn, no midgets, but if your tastes run to something a woman might conceivably watch with you, Playboy is a pretty good deal. Cost is IIRC $12 a month, same as HBO. I think a four hour block of adult PPV on direcTV is $5 or $7.
"Totally Busted" and "The Naked News" are both pretty worthwhile for entertainment value. The "Are my Boobs crooked?" bit that's advertised on iFilms.com came from "Totally Busted".
Now, the day I can get Playboy in HDTV, I'll finally invest in a directv subscription of my own.
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
An important note:
Many problems with installations are from people ordering their stuff from a backwater sleezeball company.
I recommend you get your stuff directly from DirecTV or from a reputable vendor like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.
Calling 1-800-DIRECTV does not necessarily get you to DirecTV itself!
It is a national # setup to route you to a local dealer.
If you want to actually get your stuff from direcTV, call the general customer service phone # at 800-355-5000 and do whatever you need to do to talk to someone from the phone menu. It doesn't matter who. Then, ask for the sales department. They will ask if you have a credit card (say YES) and if you have ever had DirecTV before (say NO).
Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. --E. W. Dijkstra
A friend of mine, had a dish for 6 months, we hang out at his house all the time to drink, watch movies, sports, etc.
:P
Durring this time, there was a huge blizard that rolled through. The picture quailty was really bad, when there was signal at all. We had to keep going outside to clean the dish off. If anything gets inside it, it will start crapping out.
Durring normal rain, you will notice little "bleeps" here and there on the picture. Typically, it only happens 2 times durring a 1 hour show and its very minor. However, durring very heavy down pours, the signal disappears. At times, there is signal but its unbareable to even look at.
The only times wind will affect your signal, is if your dish isn't properly secured. Any movment on the dish will create poor signal. Of course things like leaves, branchs, acorns, etc will create problems.
Now, he moved over to digital cable. It rocks, very little downtime at all. Plus, ondemand is great. Just make sure you get the best package they have. Starz and Cenimax are the best ondemand packages out there. The movie selection is generally much better. Depending on your cable provider, they are usually free access as long as you have the big package. I rent over 100 movies a month with it for free. Beats renting from the video store. But, the video store is going to have a better selection
I would recommend what others have suggested. Get cable first, try it for a few months, then switch to the dish. The dish companys are giving out good deals to people who switch from cable. Try it for a few months, if you don't like it vs cable, many cable companys are giving out the same deals to switch back.
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