Which is Better… Satellite or Cable?

[PhishyBrewer]

So as some of you might now, Karen and I just bought our first house. And now were thinking of what kind of TV service do we want, cable or satellite. We’ve only have had cable (Comcast) and was thinking about the dish. But which is better… Satellite or Cable?

[AznShortBoi8021]

Cable. Comcast On Demand is so cool. I've had satellite before. It sucks in New England weather, but I'm not sure about California weather. If you really really really want to give up On Demand and its sunny most of the days in California, try satellite.

[DerekRx]

I'd stick with cable, specifically digital. Nothing worse than not being able to get a signal when there is bad weather outside. Plus the dish may look stupid on your house, depending on where they tell you it HAS to go for best results.

[Homer]

Digital Cable, has a great lineup of channels and no ugly dish.

 

My relatives are stubborn, they have been DirecTV suscribers for like, 10 years. They don't care if wind, rain, or snow affects the cable, but I do.

 

Go with digital cables, it can give you entertainment in all weather situations (well, unless the power goes out, of course! ).

[benzo41190]

Digital Cable.

 

but it depends on the company you get it from. Some dish companies are great and others suck. But then the same thing can happen with cable.

 

I would look into differnt companies before you choose.

[DenDen]

I have both, and cable is better. My sat. goes out every time there is rain in the southern sky. But if you can put up with the outages, sat is cheaper.

[SharkTums]

Wow, see that's weird...

 

Robb had to really convince me to get DirecTV, but now I LOVE it!!! I can't imagine going back to cable!

 

Our cable in Florida would go out at least once a week due to storms and other randomness. We have NEVER had any issue with our Satellite dish, and we've had rain, a bit of thunder, and lots of smoke. For us Satellite is also significantly cheaper. We get all of the local and major channels and I believe that for what we have if we had cable it would be about $30 more a month!

 

Oh, and my Tivo rules!!!

[calcajun]

Since katrina knocked out cable for a few months, I got direct tv. During heavy downpours it will go out for brief periods (rain fade) and with tv, breif outage is not acceptable. Other than that direct tv is fine but after my one year contract is up, I will return to cable which only went out once in the last two years.

 

I place my vote for cable.

 

In Cali where you get little rain or it is light during winter you may not have the rain fade problem.

[Nrthwnd]

Even tho we've had a few glitches here and (mostly) there with our cable hookup - - - unless you're really willing to put up with sudden dis-connections (which I'm sure you're not, hmm?) mostly weather-related....

 

Cable's the way to go. Digital cable would be even better.

 

But like others suggested, do your "comparison shopping," take yer time, and really REALLY make sure you've got all the info. you need (on paper too, doesn't hurt) about cost, guarantees, repair costs for parts, etc.

 

Mmmm, such a busy, busy houselife you're getting into now.

Enjoy the ride.

[benzo41190]

didnt Robb say that you dont spend alot on extra things. I think he even said something like you also have basic TV and that you dont buy any thing fancy for you TV?

[CoasterCrazy]

I like Comcast cable because I don't have to worry about not being able to watch television during storms.

 

Oh, and my Tivo rules!!!

 

I thought Robb said you guys don't have Tivo!

 

Don't you have to pay a monthly fee for Tivo?

[Coaster Palooza]

I love DirecTV in California. I can see why people in the east don't like it with their weather, but out here is no problem. I have had it for 5 years and we won't go back to cable again. I also must suggest getting some type of DVR. It is the only way to go!

[SharkTums]

Exactly! We don't spend $75/month on digital cable or $10/month to get premium channels.

 

DirecTV comes with a million channels (basic package!) and Tivo for $49.99 a month!

[CoasterCrazy]

^DirecTV sounds like a great deal, I just wish that the dish could get a good signal where I live.

 

I pay about $60 a month (about 100 channels) and I don't have a Tivo!

[benzo41190]

wow that is cheap!

 

I gotta try to get my parents to look into that. I think we pay almost $100 total for internet/Cable a month :shock:

 

We had dail-up for a while then we deceided to upgrade our Dial-Up to cable internet 2 months ago. Ever since then our cable bills have almost doubled!

 

We were also looking into Dish internet. You buy equipment for $300 then pay $25/month for high speen internet. Or lease the equipment and pay $50/month. The only thing is, is that you must be able to see a cell tower from your roof in order to get it (about 7 miles).

[SharkTums]

Be careful with Satellite Internet, from what I understand the upload times are pretty poor.

 

Also keep an eye out for sales...we didn't pay anything for any of our 'equipment'.

[Meteornotes]

It totally depends on what services are available in your area. Our Comcast service here is pretty good, and you get a decent discount on cable internet with cable, so that's what we have. I used to have DirecTV, but to get a similar package for what I get on cable (especially HDTV stuff), it would cost a lot more. We also have a DVR in the Comcast box, which we didn't have to pay for, which is really cool (HDTV Tivo's are about $900 right now, and no way am I spending that much).

 

I'd say go for cable, especially if you can get a good deal on cable and internet.

 

dt

[smells_like_team_disney]

Me, I chose neither, only because I've lived without cable my entire life. We had premium channels in college, but I was never around to take advantage of it. Whenever I did have some free time, I rarely stayed in my room. The only show I watch is Lost (good ol' network television). Even now, we don't have cable in my parents house... is that weird? :?

[BiCoastal Kid]

Satellite for TV.

 

Cable for internet.

[mb425]

We have Time Warner Cable and have had it for about 7 years now. My Aunt has DIRECTV, and I don't like it as much as cable because it has no Video On Demand. I just can't imagine not having the on demand channels to turn to when I can't find anything else good on. As far as outages go, we have hardly had any and if they do occur they are usually fixed within a half hour. Yes, you do pay a bit more, but it is worth it, IMO.

[crispy]

Phishey, We had satellite (Direct TV) in Santa Cruz, and NEVER lost signal once in over a year, i doubt you will have a problem in Sacramento

 

We now have "The Dish Network" because we got a free DVR with our setup, there is no way we will EVER go back to cable, it SUCKS compared to the picture quality we get with our dish, we also have only had one loss of signal, and it was VERY temporary, and attributed to a VERY nasty electrical storm passing overhead, we watched the lightning show, for about 10 minutes, then the TV cleared up

 

With the very nice weather were you live, no question, go with the dish

[benzo41190]

I think that it really depend on the area you live in and what company you have. I heard bad stories from both cable and dish so it is really hard to tell what works best with you. I would ask anyone in the area that lives around you and see what they have.

[derwood]

Wally,

 

Go with cable. Especially if you get a HD tv. We have Comcast here in Indy and the HD channels are way better than what DTV and Dish offer...and Comcast has the NHL Center Ice package(go Habs). and as you said...On Demand rocks.

 

Comcast is nice if you get their internet access they will generally give you a decent discount. We call em every six months and threaten to cancel and they give us whatever discounts they are offering to new customers.

 

Congrats on the house. I don't know how you californians afford it!

 

d

[CoasterFanatic]

I switched from DirecTV to Comcast and I have been very happy with the move. I had DirecTV for around 5 years but didn't really need it anymore after I cancelled Sunday Ticket.

 

Another BIG reason for my move to cable was DirecTV's decision to dump TRIO. Now I have it again and I am a very happy man.

 

Most importanatly ... if you don't have it already, TIVO makes any programming 10x better. Satelite or Cable.

[Kroger8]

I enjoy the satellite at the cabin a lot more than our Charter Digital Cable, which is currently out due to last weeks ice storm. The internet which we now have to use on phone lines sucks major... I miss cable internet, but anyway, I would go with satellite, especially in SoCal, you guys' weather isn't as bad as it is here in the east.