Satellite vs. Cable (convert, cost, basement, weather)

[Janipoo]

Hello all, because of the new digital broadcasting and I recently found out that we will need boxes on all our tv's even with cable I am thinking about switching to satellite. I am curious to hear from people with Dish Network and Direct TV to figure out what I am going to do. I am interested on any pro's or con's with your reception/company. Also, I don't like the idea of having each tv hooked up to a receiver so I am wondering if there is anyway around this. We had our house hooked up with 3 cable outlets in the basement to hang the tv's so there is no place to put them. Cable charges $8.00 per box per month.

I would also like any information you have with their Internet. After reviewing their sites I see that they offer this now.

I guess I should also mention that we only have basic cable, no premium channels.

[Kalbo]

I have been happy with Direct TV for about 7 years now, have never had a reception issue. Did have a receiver go out once. Direct TV charges $4.99 for each additional box.

We don't use them for internet so no information there.

[South Range Family]

Why would you need a digital converter box if you already have cable?

A converter box is a TV tuner that picks up over the air digital signals, and converts them to analog for your TV. If you plug it into your analog cable system, it doesn't do anything.

Has your cable company said something, or did you just hear this from somebody?

[golfgal]

We have had cable and satellite (Dish Network). We moved from cable to satellite because of horrid customer service with our cable provider. I miss having free movies on demand with our cable company but other then that satellite has been fine. We had cable internet and moved to DSL when we went to satellite. The DSL was actually faster for us but again, because of the customer service we had with our cable company, I won't go back to them. The biggest problem with DSL internet is being close enough to a node to get fast service so that would be something to look into. I haven't heard very good things about satellite internet but I don't have personal experience with that.

[Aylalou]

You get a better bang for your buck with satellite - many more channels and prices go up so high and not that often vs. cable.

But using a DVR for cable allows you to record one channel while watching another which you can't do with satellite.

[South Range Family]

Satellite has dVR receivers. They are dual tuner, so a second line is run in from the dish. They sometimes run the second line from one receiver to another TV, but it has to be set up for it, and have an RF remote.





This is a Dish Network 625 dual tuner DVR with 2 remotes for 2 TVs. http://www.amazon.com/Dish-Network-6...XHP16YNAKWN4MW


Forgot to say that I still believe that somebody gave you some bad information about needing a converter box with cable.

[Ynot]

First, I don't understand why you need digital converter box with cable - sounds odd. You only need the converter boxes for tv antenna broadcasts. But, maybe your cable company is an exception.

Second, we've been customer of Direct for many years now and continue to be pleased, well as pleased as one can be when dealing with a mega-sized company that really doesn't care a hoot about customers in general -- but maybe you find me an exception to that rule.

Third, we live in a nether region where no cable exists, so we use an antenna for local channel reception and we bought the converter boxes for our sets. (Of course, the channels are not really local; nether regions don't have broadcasting stations!) If cable were offered in our area...but that company is too busy working on their bankruptcy case....I would buy basic cable for the local programming. While Direct offers local channels, it isn't much use when the weather turns severe. Unfortunately, this also applies to the new digital broadcasting. (For the life of me, I can't figure out why all the big rush to get digial broadcasting--bad weather interferes with the signal!)

Finally, for my bit of advice - you'll find contented customers with either brand of satellite, so you could flip a coin to choose. Or you can call both and see which will offer you the best deal. Then get basic cable to cover those bad reception days, which you will surely experience. Good luck!

[southgeorgia]

as other's have stated, you shouldn't have to be connecting a box for cable due to the digital transition. that only affects over-the-air broadcasts. The only reason you would need it is if your cable company is switching to digital cable that may require a set-top-box.


I have Dish Network because my local cable system is analog only. I've had directv, and had terrible experiences with their customer service. i've been much happier w/ dish network.

they just launched a new satellite, so my good satellite reception went to excellent.

if you decide on satellite, i would very much recommend dish network.

[tgbwc]

We went with DirecTV because they offered MLB Extra Innings. The satellite was fine and we "upgraded" to dvr. The picture freezes and pixilates a lot. We were told it is because we only have one line running into the house and to get another it would cost over $300. The local cable company now offers MLB Extra Innings and we are moving, so we are thinking we will now opt for cable.

[South Range Family]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

We went with DirecTV because they offered MLB Extra Innings. The satellite was fine and we "upgraded" to dvr. The picture freezes and pixilates a lot. We were told it is because we only have one line running into the house and to get another it would cost over $300. The local cable company now offers MLB Extra Innings and we are moving, so we are thinking we will now opt for cable.

If you weren't moving, I would say run another line yourself. It's very easy.

It wouldn't fix your problem, but it's still very easy. Pixilation is caused by the receiver losing signal from the dish. It can be caused by a loose, or corroded connection, dish moving in the wind, trees blowing around, or rain fade. Rain fade is most common when the dish isn't perfectly aligned, and is only getting a weak signal to begin with.

Go to your setup menu. There should be a meter somewhere to tell you what your strength is. You should always be over 70% strength.

Some receivers have two meters. One is signal, the other is quality. Signal tells you that there is a good connection between the dish, and your receiver. It keeps an eye on your hardware.

Quality tells you how well you are aimed at the satellite.

Today's dishes are hitting multiple satellites. They have to be perfectly tuned to get the best quality from every bird. The latest directv slimline dish hits five different satellites.