BS: Cable or Dish TV

Subject: BS: Cable or Dish TV?
From: artbrooks
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 01:09 PM

I'm considering changing from cable (Comcast) to satellite (Directv) and am looking for comments pro and con. US only, please, and preferably those who know about these specific companies. Thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: gnu
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 01:13 PM

I don't know anything about the companies. I DO know about the difference in reliability... cable for me.

And, as I get my TV AND internet on cable, I get a 15% discount. Your mileage may vary.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 02:17 PM

art...where you are may get clear, unobtructed satellite reception. I have heard this is necessary for good service, though dish service can be cheaper and still get more channels. In my case, they would have to point the dish thru trees, and I hear bad reports.
I have a prejudice towards direct, wired connections that are less subject to vagaries. Even phone lines, like Verizon, are tricky. Cable is about 99.995% 'up' for me. And remember, satellites run into each other. ;>)

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: gnu
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 02:28 PM

And, with all the snow you get, Art, your dish could be down a lot.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Rapparee
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 02:30 PM

Only if I could get it in various rooms from one antenna -- which I can't without massive bills. My cable (TV and Internet, not phone) can be and is hooked to a simple splitter and goes to two boxes and two other TVs. Granted that the TVs without boxes can only get "basic" cable, but that's okay with us -- I don't watch much TV anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 02:41 PM

It depends on who the providers are. I finally, after many years, hooked up Charter cable again, but ONLY to get Internet. I don't like their cable prices or packages. I prefer DishNetwork, but I turned that off last summer because we weren't watching that much and because gas was so high. I needed the money for the gas tank. I had DSL via Earthlink that was pretty slow for my location, so I upgraded to cable. So far, so good.

I'm enjoying the viewing on HD TV with the converter boxes, and I can watch a lot online with the new faster cable connection. I get NetFlix, 2 movies at a time, and can also watch quite a few things on demand from their site, without limits.

If you can live with the attitude, reliability, offerings, and price of cable, it works fine. But the satellite services have a lot to offer, and like I said, I liked it better that cable offerings. It isn't much (if any) cheaper, though.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: CarolC
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 02:55 PM

We had Directv for a couple of years in Alabama. The place where we were living didn't have cable service, so that was all we could get. It wasn't bad, but it was subject to weather conditions, and would go out when the weather was bad. Not all the time, but often enough for me to decide that cable is better if it's an option.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Barry Finn
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 03:05 PM

I had cable & was very pleased with it. I then switched to verizon. I always had a bundled package but verizon had for it's TV service "Direct TV" who told me my bills would be 'bundled altogether which they weren't. It took me many months before I could get them (Verizon) to bill me one time each month. Then Verizon give it's telephone service to Fair Point along with it's cable much later. So I started out with everything on Verizon & now nothing has any thing to do with Verizon.
The "Direct TV" dish service sucks! If you get snow like I do you shot the TV (I'm in southern NH). If I get more than flurries my TV screen starts snowing, in a good snow it's out until the tell me to clean off the dish (Fuck you, I'm not getting up on the roof to wipe snow from the dish!) or wait till it melts, of course they'll come out at $75 a whack & take core of the problem. I now pay an extra $5 a month for "dish insurance". If there's a problem they'll come out at no charge. If it's a heavy rain storm my TV screen starts snowing. When they 1st set up my dish they fastened the dish rigth through the shingles & into the decking, so they said. They didn't get it right & wanted to charge me to come back out & do it again. The installer argueed with them saying it was improperly installed the first time, so they didn't charge me. A few weeks later I was on the porch & notice that the porch roof was leaking. After investigating the roof I found that the installed of the dish had put a hole in the flat roof he was standing on when he was fixing the dish to the shingle roof. When I called Direct TV they told me to have a roofing company come out & do an estimate, fill out the paper work, take photo's & send it to there office & they'd let me know what their course of action would be. No roofing company would come out to that that kind of estimate for a small repaire. It was to much of a bother so I fixed it myself but it sure pissed me off.
I will be dumping my whole package & will go with Comcast, mostly because of the dish TV.

Barry

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 03:08 PM

Not a problem in your area, but frequent snowfalls at her location in a Rocky Mountain foothills location interfere with my daughter's satellite reception (no cable available).

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: olddude
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 04:33 PM

Live outside of Buffalo, I have a cable modem at home for internet and a dish for TV. I got rid of my cable TV because they kept jacking the bill up and taking away channels. I like my dish a lot but I do have to sweep the snow off of it (3 times this year) last year not once
If it is not too cold I find shooting it with the garden hose works instead of getting out a ladder.

if you get pounded by snow like I do ... the dish will need to be cleared from time to time. Crazy I find that sometimes it is buried and I still get good TV, other times it is that dang spotty snow that messes up the picture. Even snow it is a lot cheaper and far more interesting viewing in my area at least.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: olddude
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 04:41 PM

By the way, I had Time Warner for cable. amazing they took away the only local channel that carried the Buffalo Bills football local games. Didn't care but my family sure did. They now gave it back I guess.

If comcast has good programing you probably are better off to stay with them and not fuss with the dish, if it stinks, switch like I did but keep the modem (that is unless they force a bundling) some cable companies do. Time Warner did not so I kept their internet cause they didn't give a discount for it even with their package (at least in my area they didnt)

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 05:28 PM

Art is in Albuquerque.

You can choose a dish and you'll be fine. And if you have such a horrible snow or rain storm as the others are describing you'll be out celebrating the precipiation, not worring about the television picture! Since the weather they describe is rare, and you're in an urban area, you have a lot to choose from. Let us know what you decide.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 05:37 PM

How about no TV at all? Works for me.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: olddude
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 05:42 PM

Art is in Albuquerque

No brainer go with the dish you will love it

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: olddude
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 07:44 PM

Art
also for the dish, read the packages they offer really close. They are sneaker buggers. For example, you get a zillion channels for practically nothing .... aaahhh shopping channels that is. Or they will give you some decent channels but take away some of the good ones like CNN or MSNBC for their next level package. It all depends on what dish vendor you pick. More than price, pick who gives you the best package that you want for the lowest price.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: MaineDog
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 07:54 PM

No TV at all has worked fine for me for many years,
but I really do need high-speed net access, and simultaneous phone service. No dsl available here (way Down East), but lots of sticky snow and ice. So, what's my best option?
MD

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: olddude
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 08:02 PM

Sticky Ice and Snow will make you have to sweep your dish ... but this year with the rotten Buffalo winter we are having I only had to do it 3 times. If the put the dish on the top of a high roof that is a problem, mine is sitting on my garage so non issue. I use a cable modem for internet from Time Warner but get my TV from my dish best bang for the dollar for sure. Cheaper than full cable yet better TV. If you go the dish route make sure you can access it easy

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: number 6
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 09:15 PM

We have Internet Protocol Television ... works good.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: CarolC
Date: 23 Feb 09 - 11:12 PM

Is a provider required for Internet Protocol Television?

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: GUEST,number 6
Date: 24 Feb 09 - 10:32 AM

Good question Carol. I can't see why not .... I haven't heard of any services other than internet providers offering IPTV. Whenever IPTV becoems popular in North America you will probably see operators other than Service Providers offering this service.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Feb 09 - 11:00 AM

There are a whole bunch of satellite channels you can watch out there that you don't need to pay for (Free to Air). There are converters and satellite dishes available (you simply buy and install them, since the dish or receiver isn't the bait to get you to subscribe to a system). There's a lot of religious junk out there, but you can get various news feeds and PBS also.

SatelliteWiz.com lists channels, receivers, and satellites. This isn't an endorsement of the company, but it does seem to offer useful information without the pop-ups I found at a couple of other places.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: CarolC
Date: 24 Feb 09 - 02:23 PM

I guess I'm trying to find out how the poster in this thread who is using internet protocol tv gets theirs.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: GUEST,number 6
Date: 24 Feb 09 - 02:49 PM

Hey Carol ...... our IPTV service provider is Bell Aliant (the big legacy telephone company here in the Maritimes)... you have to have their high speed to get the TV service.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: CarolC
Date: 24 Feb 09 - 03:04 PM

Ok. Thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: kendall
Date: 24 Feb 09 - 05:01 PM

I keep getting offers to switch to direct tv, but they don't tell me what the regular rate is after the trial period. Whenever the main announcement is in 48 point block letters and the details are so small you can't read them without a microscope, I get suspicious.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: artbrooks
Date: 24 Feb 09 - 06:42 PM

Kendall, the come-on I'm looking at says it goes up $23 per month after the first year...that is on top of whatever the "trial period" price is for whichever package you pick. The package I'm eying is $45, including the $10 plus-up for HD, and increases to $68. That's still $10 less than I'm paying for cable. The problem I have is that there are a couple of stations I really want, and I have to buy into the 4th tier of Comcast to get them.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Big Mick
Date: 24 Feb 09 - 06:50 PM

Art, I had both. I went back to cable. No comparing the internet speed, and the tv reception is much more reliable. When you compare the cost over a couple of years, there is little savings. I'll stay with the speed on the net, and the reliability on the tube.

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: gnu
Date: 24 Feb 09 - 06:57 PM

sIx.... NBTel was indeed the inventor extrordinaire. Amazing stuff... high speed internet and TV and phone over existing phone lines. Then, they merged with the other Atlantic Canada telephone companies and it all faded away.. ??? I wonder is $ had anything to do with it?

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Feb 09 - 10:13 AM

Art, the trouble I find with those tier systems is that they have figured out that the way to get the people who don't watch a lot of sports, a lot of lowest-common denominator rerun channels (WGN, TBS, USA, etc), and the endless cable sales channels and spectator news is to put a few of the high-end channels (the movie channels, the Biography channel, the Mystery channel) out of reach where you have to buy the whole spread of tiers to get those programs you really want to watch.

This isn't fair. They're making you subsidize all of the rest of the stuff you don't watch. Every time I get a call from DishNetwork asking me why I don't come back, I tell them two things. "I can't afford it" and "until you give me the choice to get what I want ala carte, I won't be back." I won't hold my breath. Most of the programming I like on those movie channels is available through NetFlix, so I've shifted my viewing over to the NetFlix model.

DishNetwork lost 25% of their subscribers in one fell swoop last summer--I wasn't the only one who decided it was a luxury I could no longer afford. I needed the money for gas. If they had come back and asked "what do you want to watch?" and offered a break based on my viewing habits, I'd have re-upped by now. But as long as they need me to subsidize their expensive contract for NFL so other people can watch it, I'm not interested.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: number 6
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 07:27 PM

Hey gnu .... you are so correct, NBTel was an amazing, innovative company .... it's the reason we moved here to New Brunswick, as I took advantage of the opportunity offered to me to be a part of them ... yes, Vibe TV was well ahead of it's time ... some amazing stuff developed by some amazing people ... I really can't say what happened and why and what with the mergers ... but Vibe was sold to a French company and they made a success of IPTV in Europe.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: GUEST,pattyClink
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 08:02 PM

Amen, Stilly. SO tired of paying for sports and other junk channels, we ditched the dish. Until we can get decent channels, we're saving a lot of money using just our local broadcast channels, because they added a few new ones when they went to digital. It's not ideal, but it's better than, as you say, paying for other people to watch the NFL.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 11:34 PM

Our local channels have several extra ones (8, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, etc.) in the HD format, and several have very good weather coverage. That is one of the things I thought I'd miss when we got rid of dish.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: kendall
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 08:39 AM

Sports programming is like a virus. More and more of those silly ass ball kicking things to clutter up my TV. No thanks.
I get furious when they preempt 60 Minutes to show a gang of glandular cases throwing/kicking a ball around. I'd rather watch cans rust.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 09:52 AM

Our Comcast went out when it rained, or snowed or if we had exceptionally good weather. We switched to Verizon and feel as though we have discovered what cable was supposed to be.

I would be happy to go with a dish but until they make a larger dish with less interference we will stay with Fiber Optics.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: Paul Burke
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 04:14 PM

After the antenna blew down a couple of months ago, I put up a Freesat dish. This is UK, so our channel count went up from 4 to several hundred. The reception is great. The only downside is...

There's still nothing worth watching!

Except the occasional Alba folk thing which I usually manage to miss.

Subject: RE: BS: Cable or Dish TV
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 06:41 AM

I thought when I changed from terrestrial analogue to Sky digital satellite, the picture quality was going to be vastly improved - it hasn't! Sometimes it's very good but often it isn't, even though the indicated signal strength is good, the picture is crap, some days I can't receive Channel 4, E4, More 4 at all.