Satellite VS Cable -- High Definition

Demiurge
Demiurge Posts: 10,874
edited February 2006 in Electronics
I'm sure this has been talked about before, but I am guessing things are ever changing in the world of Satellite TV and Cable TV.

I have always in my own personal life had Cable TV. My Dad has had Satellite TV since around 1998, and has never updated his dish or box since he got it. HT isn't a big thing to him at all, so I understand.

One complaint I have had when I would house sit for him while he was on vacation is that the Satellite would often go out in weather that would make you want to be inside watching TV. So if it snowed or rained even a moderately the TV would be out for hours on end.

Has this changed?

What is the benefit of Satellite over Cable TV or vice versa?

When it comes to High Definition, which is better?

If you have an HD TV that already has it all integrated right into the TV (No separate box) do you even need a Cable box or a Satellite box?

I'm hoping some of you can tell me the experiences you have had with both, and I am not expecting anything definitive as we all have our own opinions and experiences.

What has been the best for you, and why?

Thanks in advance!
Post edited by Demiurge on
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Comments

  • bvette94
    bvette94 Posts: 356
    edited February 2006
    I tried the dish network hi def service. i wasnt impressed and i canceled it. the hi def pic was ok but the standard def pic was terrible.i used it on a rear projection hdtv 55in. i would encourage you to look at cable hi def.i dont have it but set up my buddies hi def lcd tv and all pics looked pretty good.
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  • PolkThug
    PolkThug Posts: 7,532
    edited February 2006
    Cable>Satellite still.

    You still need the cable company's HD box, or their cable card.
    Never Forget
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  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited February 2006
    Dishnetwork, been with them for years and years. HD quality is excellant, SD is, well it's SD. It's better than DirecTV, less compression.

    SD will never look really good on a large set, regardless of the signal provider. The bigger the picture, the easier it is to be disgusted by the poor picture quality of a standard def. signal.

    Around here the cable provider is Adelphia...and they suck butt nuggets! The prices are alot more expensive than DBS for fewer SD and HD channels. Their HD DVR is a joke.

    If your considering DBS, make sure you get a receiver that is already setup for MPEG-4 or else you'll be replacing the box in the near future. All of the much touted jump to HD-LIL and the increased HD channels will all be MPEG-4 in the not to distant future.


    BTW, even though my local NBC station is not yet broadcasting a DTV signal, I'll still be able watch the Olympics in HD via Dishnetwork.
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  • Demiurge
    Demiurge Posts: 10,874
    edited February 2006
    Frank -

    I am an HD novice, when a TV (like mine) has the HD convertor already in the TV, you still need the box?

    I just calculated the monthly cost of the HD package I want with DVR, and it came to like $140/mo with Road Runner (We have Time Warner). I tried to throw in a dollar value for taxes and all their other charges they like to tack on.

    What does your Satellite bill look like and what do you get?
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  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited February 2006
    Demi,
    Yes you'll still need a receiver for DBS.
    I've got the AT180 program and the HD-PAK, 1 HD-DVR, and one Model 6000 HD receiver. I bought both receivers so there's no monthly lease/rental fee. My monthly payment is less than $70.
    As far as signal loss from rain is concerned, well it's not a problem for me...I live in a semi-arid area. Snow is only a problem if the dish gets a heavy coat of the white stuff.
    9/11 - WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! (<---<<click)
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  • wingnut4772
    wingnut4772 Posts: 7,519
    edited February 2006
    I am actually pretty satisfied with Dish. The SD is crap but the HD is pretty nice- nothing compared to Voom though...Waaahhhh!! :( I miss my Voom service.
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited February 2006
    i'm thinking about dumping Dishnetwork and going digital HD cable. (Comcast here).. I tried to upgrade from a standard Dish DVD to a HD DVR and they want $400 to do it.. plus i'd need an upgraded dish adding another $199.

    I already have high speed internet with Comcast.. so i may as well go digital cable with them as well.

    Snow and rain don't really interfere with the picture or sound... I have an HD tuner built into the TV.. and I have an external antenna for OTA HD signals.
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited February 2006
    If your TV has a built-in tuner, you can get off the air HD with the right antenna. This will only give you the local channels. Go to the link and see what's available in your area (click on "choose antenna"; zip code enough). I did it and cannot be happier with picture and sound.
    http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

    For regular TV, I switched from Cable to Directv for programming, and I have not had any reception issues with rain/thunder/snow... I had this concern because I had a dish a few years ago and suffered of this issues, but I guess things have improved (more satellites, better antennas??)
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  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited February 2006
    wingnut4772 wrote:
    I am actually pretty satisfied with Dish. The SD is crap but the HD is pretty nice- nothing compared to Voom though...Waaahhhh!! :( I miss my Voom service.
    DishNetwork is carrying the VOOM channels on Sat. 61.5,

    WWW.DBSTalk.com is the place to go for all of your DBS questions.
    9/11 - WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! (<---<<click)
    2005-06 Club Polk Football Pool Champion!! :D
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited February 2006
    Demi,

    If you go with SAT you will need a box, does not matter what tuner you have inside the set.

    RT1
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  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 11,064
    edited February 2006
    We use HD cable, for two reasons.
    1-our house is part of a condo and the block shares one dish...call me selfish but I don't want to share my dish with others.
    2-my parents have sat and was installed by the sat company,the picture is not great and they have complained about snowstorms and rain storms.
    I can sit back and not worry about it. In 5yrs of having digcable recently HD...we only loss tv 1 time for 3 hrs, due to an accident.

    -We rent our HD box right now with the deal we have we only pay 8$ mth for the rental of the HD box our total bill is 49$
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  • wingnut4772
    wingnut4772 Posts: 7,519
    edited February 2006
    DishNetwork is carrying the VOOM channels on Sat. 61.5,

    Thanks. I actually do have those. I just miss the total Voom quality signal all around.
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    Hsu ULS-15 Quad Drive Subwoofers
    Sony PS3
    Squeezebox Touch

    Polk Atrium 7s on the patio just to keep my foot in the door.
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited February 2006
    Frank Z wrote:


    BTW, even though my local NBC station is not yet broadcasting a DTV signal, I'll still be able watch the Olympics in HD via Dishnetwork.

    http://broadcastengineering.com/news/highlights/Kmgh-super-bowl-20060207/

    ""KMGH is part of the Lake Cedar Group, which also includes CBS 4, 9 News and UPN 20. The group is seeking to build a new HD tower and transmission facility but has run into opposition from homeowners, environmentalists and the city of Golden, CO.""

    Looks like your neighbors have the "Not in my back yard" attitude.
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  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited February 2006
    Golden is about 90 miles north of me. The Denver folks are having a real tough time with their stations. So far I've got CBS & Fox in HD, ABC is live events only until they get some more equipment from their vendors. Hopefully our NBC station will be on the air with an HD signal in the next 1-3 months. Their schedule is weather dependant since the transmitter is on top of Cheyenne Mtn.
    9/11 - WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! (<---<<click)
    2005-06 Club Polk Football Pool Champion!! :D
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  • Demiurge
    Demiurge Posts: 10,874
    edited February 2006
    Thanks for all the replies thus far....

    I am thinking of going with the Cable, I just don't want to deal with all the Satellite setup only to have something wrong with it.

    Thing is that having HBO is something that I need if I am going to get cable again. I also like the idea of DVR.
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  • r.camacho1
    r.camacho1 Posts: 36
    edited February 2006
    I'm from the Los Angeles area. This is coming from a person how has had both cable (Adelphia) and satellite (Directv). I hated Adelphia since the day had got it, poor video quality and signal will go out for hours on a monthly or even on a weekly bases. Then I got Directv, and I have been loving it from day one. I upgraded to their HD DVR service for a very good price, and the picture is unbelievable on my Hitachi 50" LCD projection. I also compared it to my brother's Dish Network service, and I notice that his signal was pixilated compared to mine. But this is what I tell my customers, if your looking for a 4 room system, I would recommend satellite, but if they something like 6-8 TV's, then I would recommend cable. But for overall picture quality, I like Directv personally.
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