Non-diving ? Cable or satellite

[SmokeAire]

Well, I think that you had better check the requirement for satellite and HDTV.

I know in the past with DishNetwork, that you needed an extra box to take full advantage.

I have not had satellite (which I really liked) for over a year now. Just extended basic cable (hey, it comes with the place, so it's almost free!)

Jeff

My tv will have the hd box, the other tvs will have the standard boxes.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Hmmmph! hyeah20:

 

[RonFrank]

I'm posting the ? in my home forum because well this where I live.
I'm in the process of buying an HDtv and haven't decided whether to go with HD Cable (comcast is provider) or DirecttvHD. Because of Florida's pop-up t-storms and associated weather I'm not sure which is the best or which one is the best value. I would like my fellow Conchs opinion and experience before I sign on the dotted line. I'm looking for the best SI experience when I'm not diving...will this keep it in this Forum roomy

I'm a wannabe Conch, so I'll give you an opinion :11:

We have Dish, and it's great. I echo Renee, and say GET DVR!

I think part of the issue with Dish is how good is the signal. We have some very serious thunderstorms in the Mnts during the Summer, and I can count the number of times we've lost signal on one hand, however it may be different in FL.

If you go with Dish, and you are a NEW customer, shop around, and get as MUCH equipment for the X number of year commitment as possible. My buddy did NOT take this advice, and is now looking at about $500 in equipment upgrades because he did not want to commit to a package that he upgraded to after just a couple months of barebones service.

My buddy up the road has the HDTV with Dish, and the reception is incredible. However it IS expensive! However it's even MORE expensive if you get the standard FREE installation, and then go HDTV later.

I can not comment on FL cable, but Comcast in our area has VERY BAD customer service. Dish OTOH has some of the best customer service I've ever encountered from any service provider.

 

[SmokeAire]

I'm a wannabe Conch, so I'll give you an opinion :11:

We have Dish, and it's great. I echo Renee, and say GET DVR!

I think part of the issue with Dish is how good is the signal. We have some very serious thunderstorms in the Mnts during the Summer, and I can count the number of times we've lost signal on one hand, however it may be different in FL.

If you go with Dish, and you are a NEW customer, shop around, and get as MUCH equipment for the X number of year commitment as possible. My buddy did NOT take this advice, and is now looking at about $500 in equipment upgrades because he did not want to commit to a package that he upgraded to after just a couple months of barebones service.

My buddy up the road has the HDTV with Dish, and the reception is incredible. However it IS expensive! However it's even MORE expensive if you get the standard FREE installation, and then go HDTV later.

I can not comment on FL cable, but Comcast in our area has VERY BAD customer service. Dish OTOH has some of the best customer service I've ever encountered from any service provider.

I just called Comcst to get their prices and the recording that answered the phone went through a litiny of outages in our area. There was a lot of outages including the county I live in..the whole county!!! I just hung up the phone and decided on Directtv.
The problem with getting as much eq. as possible is that unless you activate it within 30 days you have to give it back or you have to pay for it. Since only one tv will be HD I'll get one hd reciever and the two other will be the standard. I wish the dvr for hd was cheaper but since the dvr is also the reciever you can only haveone or the other and since you are essentially buying the eqp., I can't afford to pay $500 for the hddvr. I'll just tape the shows on my vcr. Yea it won't be hd but oh well, I can buy alot of vcrs these days for $500 or another hd tv.

 

[Hoyden]

I can't comment directly on Fl Comast cable vs DirectTV, but I have both here in MD. I have been a directTV subscriber for the last 10 years and will never be without it. I keep Comcast basic cable because it only costs $5 more than just cable internet. I hate Comcast and love DirectTV - there is no comparison between the level of customer service. We do lose satelite signal for a few minutes during bad storms, but we don't generally lose the local channels. By the way, if you have to chose between HD and a DVR/Tivo - go Tivo - you'll never want to be without it. But just get both - you'll be glad you did.

Jackie

 

[RonFrank]

I can't afford to pay $500 for the hddvr. I'll just tape the shows on my vcr. Yea it won't be hd but oh well, I can buy alot of vcrs these days for $500 or another hd tv.

The real advantage to DVR is that one can pause a show, and one can fast forward through commercials. It has changed the way we watch TV.

I guess the question one must ask is what is 15 minutes of time per hour of viewing worth? We no longer spend an hour in front of the tube to watch a 60 minute slot. Most shows run under 45minutes. I'm not sure if we watch less TV, but likely, and we no longer watch commercials.

As for pricing, it would *appear* that one can get a HD-DVR and one standard receiver for no cost installation, but that is with DISH. I did not look at Direct TV, but I'm surprised that they are not the same price as that is the competition.

Of couse Direct TV has sports packages that Dish does not, but with E/W coast channels, I get more games now than I have time to watch.

 

[SmokeAire]

As for pricing, it would *appear* that one can get a HD-DVR and one standard receiver for no cost installation, but that is with DISH. I did not look at Direct TV, but I'm surprised that they are not the same price as that is the competition.

.

I think the difference is with Direct a person owns the eq. with dish you rent it for monthly fee plus subscription. Not sure about that though.
If I can get a hddvr for nothing or at least very cheap I will.

BTW: Thanks everyone for the great help,,,well except for my roomy..who I must thank for not pulling this thread also.

 

[JeffG]

Because I'm getting HD I can't get DVR/Tivo, the unit for HD is $500!!!!!

Most (but not all) HD receivers have a Firewire port on the back that carries the feed. You can hook it up to a PC to turn it into a DVR with the right software. If you use a Mac you can get free software to turn it into a DVR. If you are using windows there is some software out there, but I haven't had very much success with it (doesn't seem to want to recognize my firewire card, but I haven't re-tried the experiment since I went to XP-Pro)

 

[PerroneFord]

A couple of comments.

1. If the satellite install is clean, it will FAR outperform cable. No question.

2. There aren't that many HD channels out there on Sat or cable yet.

3. Satellite is cheaper and will continue to be cheaper because the middle-man is cut out.

4. Get DVR. You'll never forgive yourself if you don't. It truly does change the way you watch TV.

5. Buy a DVD recorder and toss the VCR. Trust me on this.

 

[HowardE]

Hey smoke... We have DirecTV in Colorado... It almost never goes out except when it snows really hard... which it doesn't do in florida... We LOVE the SUNDAY TICKET football package. It has EVERY GAME! Guess what we do on sunday's in colorado.

Everything PerroneFord said also... Yeah.