Satellite Dish or cable??? (Evergreen: to live, moving to, installer)

[Boxer]

We are moving to Evergreen and are wondering what is the best deal for TV/Internet service? Are we better off with satellite or cable? Here in NY when the weather is bad the satellite does not seem to work well. Any suggestions? We will need cable, internet and phone service.

[EscapeCalifornia]

You definitely do not want satellite for Internet. Its almost as bad as dialup and in some respects, worse.

[AndrewKoransky]

Unless dial-up or no connectivity are your only options, avoid satellite if at all possible.

Satellite download speed isn't bad, but it's the latency that is most problematic. IE, each time you browse to a page, your dish sends a signal up to a satellite, which in turn sends the signal back down to the ground station, which then, finally sends it out on the internet. The reverse has to happen for the requested data to come back. At a minimum, this generally takes 3 seconds. Once the data starts to flow, it's pretty quick, but it's that wait that is most problematic. For those who only have dial-up OR have no connectivity options at all, it is great option. But I'd go with any other option if you have them. Don't forget about high speed cellular (broken link) and rural wireless.

Good luck.

[McGowdog]

They don't offer cable in my area. I should advertise for DirecTV because DTV been betty betty gued tue me. I get by with DSL over Cat 3 and could upgrade to even faster but don't need it at home.

I've got the HD TV with about 7 HD channels so far and that Planet Earth Discovery channel is pretty much like an acid trip. But when you see people on HD you go EWE! You pay 59.99/month to go Ewe! You see sweat beads and splotches and, it just ain't pretty. It's like watching Ren & Stimpy but on live TV.

As far as the storms go, I'd just ride them out. Get out your charged laptop and throw a DVD into it, stoke up the fire and kick back. Don't get cable. Move forward, not backward. The menus on cable just do not suffice. On my menus, I programmed just the channels that we get and don't suck. I called that menu McGowdog's TV. I took that menu and add like cooking shows, estrogen lifetime garbage channels and called that Mrs. McGowdog's TV.

I stayed up till 3:30 Saturday night watching the stupid thing.

On second thought, throw your computer and TV away, go to REI and get Kayak, some golf clubs, maybe a full-suspension Diamond Back...

[High Altitude]

Welcome to Evergreen.

I use Direct TV and Wispertel for my internet. If you can get cable or dsl use that for internet. Wispertel has the worse customer service but it is the only high speed internet available at my house.

Direct tv only goes out a few times a year for a couple hours when the snow is coming down very heavy.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by High Altitude

Welcome to Evergreen.

I use Direct TV and Wispertel for my internet. If you can get cable or dsl use that for internet. Wispertel has the worse customer service but it is the only high speed internet available at my house.

Direct tv only goes out a few times a year for a couple hours when the snow is coming down very heavy.

Nice place. Used to live 5 1/2 miles up Upper Bear Creek Rd., or is it CR 480? I couldn't believe that we had natural gas all the way up there.

PS Does Conifer still get 5 times as much snow as Evergreen? With regards to DirecTV, should I pay an installer 75/hour under the table to replace an existing coax for my HD DVR? I have two going to the rcvr, but he claims that one isn't getting the signals it should, like a staple may be pinching it or something.

[EscapeCalifornia]

When DirecTV goes out, is during a snow storm because there's so much snow and thick clouds in the air blocking the signal, or is it because of accumulation on the dish itself?

[High Altitude]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

When DirecTV goes out, is during a snow storm because there's so much snow and thick clouds in the air blocking the signal, or is it because of accumulation on the dish itself?

It is because the signal is blocked.

I have never had any problems with the signal going out due to snow accumulation. Even after the several 2'+ snows this last season I was pretty surprised when we had no problems with accumulation. Who ever placed the dish did a great job.

[High Altitude]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

Nice place. Used to live 5 1/2 miles up Upper Bear Creek Rd., or is it CR 480? I couldn't believe that we had natural gas all the way up there.

PS Does Conifer still get 5 times as much snow as Evergreen? With regards to DirecTV, should I pay an installer 75/hour under the table to replace an existing coax for my HD DVR? I have two going to the rcvr, but he claims that one isn't getting the signals it should, like a staple may be pinching it or something.

Have you replaced the fittings? Some times the wire inside the insulation pulls back and the fitting needs to be replaced.

[McGowdog]

The installer did the fittings himself. I'll have to try that. It just keeps me from recording one and watching another.

I'd agree that the signal goes only during the heavy cloud cover and/or percipitation, whether it be from rain or snow. It's usually a brief period. Don't these new dishes use several satellites now?