Satellite TV vs Cable TV

Live forum: http://forum.freeipodguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=39248

UniPrize Media

14-05-2006 21:31:48

I want to get just some basic channels with a regular reciever. I am leaning more towards Satellite because of the low cost. For those with satellite TV, what are some bad things about satellite TV? One of my friends used to have satellite TV and I use to hate it because it lagged when browsing through channels. Is that because of the receiver or just because it's satellite? Or could it be because it was DirecTV? Please give me your opinions.

lianli

14-05-2006 21:51:58

I have dish and I also do notice the lag when changing channels ( not a big deal for me it is like a 2-4 second lag). The only thing I hate about dish is when it rains the signal gets lost or it gets really choppy. Sometimes you are unable to watch TV at all.

dmorris68

15-05-2006 05:45:41

While there is some inherent latency with sat compared to cable, due to the nature of the equipment involved, the majority of noticeable lag comes from the receiver. Some receivers are slow, others fast.

I had DirecTV for 5 years and recently switched to Charter cable because they offered me a much better HD deal -- but the Charter MOXI box is limanyli times slower than the DirecTivo I had. So much slower that I'm thinking of dumping Charter when my discounted promo period is up, and going with Dish since their HD package is better than DirecTV's. I love satellite TV and never had any complaints with DirecTV -- they just didn't have the HD programming I wanted at a good price.

It just depends on the equipment you get. DVR's are always slower than regular receivers, but with the extra benefits of DVR I don't care -- I could never go back to non-DVR TV again.

freedesktoppc

15-05-2006 06:28:22

I've got directv, virtually no lag, and it goes out due to weather even less than my cable used to.

tylerc

15-05-2006 13:27:12

I used to have Comcast for many years, until we moved and Comcast is not available where we live, so we got DirecTV.

Whenever it rains, the pictures tends to get choppy, or even go out for a few seconds. Same goes for heavy snows.

I had no problems whatsoever with Comcast, I'm not a big fan of DirecTV.

VrExe

15-05-2006 13:36:16

Just think about the triple X channels.

dmorris68

15-05-2006 13:36:22

[quote3734eb8beb="tylerc"]I used to have Comcast for many years, until we moved and Comcast is not available where we live, so we got DirecTV.

Whenever it rains, the pictures tends to get choppy, or even go out for a few seconds. Same goes for heavy snows.

I had no problems whatsoever with Comcast, I'm not a big fan of DirecTV.[/quote3734eb8beb]
What's your signal strength? If you're at 95+, then you shouldn't have much rain fade. The only time mine ever faded out was during a MAJOR storm, like where the sky was black. Moderate or even heavy rain never caused a problem with mine. Had it 5 years and I can remember maybe 3-4 times that it went out due to weather.

Now if snow collects on the dish it will definitely affect the signal, because snow is reflective and will scatter the beam. If you live in a high-snow area, they make heater elements to put on the dish that keeps the snow melted off.

Satellite picture quality is awesome compared to any cable I've seen. Except for HD channels, Charter image quality sucks for the most part coming from 5 years of DTV clarity. Charter's "digital" cable service only contains a few truly digital channels, while DTV/Dish channels are ALL digital.

tylerc

15-05-2006 13:37:31

Don't get me wrong, I love the picture quality, but with our dish it tends to scramble even with moderate rain.

h3x

15-05-2006 13:59:38

I've used Dli (DirecTV) before and I loved the service.. It was clear as a bell when it was raining.

I'm trying desperately to get DirecTV service... I ordered it 2 months ago and was constantly calling them up trying to get an installation date... The contracted installers called me 2 weeks ago telling me that they refuse to come here and cancelled my damn work order.. (they were going to send 2 illegals from SoCal up to Alaska) ?

The only installer/dealer remotely close to where I live, only does Dish Network. ?

NFL Sunday Ticket is a [b05def1958c]MUST[/b05def1958c] for me since I need to see every Seahawk's game.

Unfortunately (for me), I have to buy the dishes (I would need two 4 foot dishes; one for the SD channels [the main package channels] and NFL Sunday Ticket and the other dish for HD programming and Local channels)... the mounts and the LNBs and have them shipped here and have the local installer install the equipment. The recent price tag I got from Anchorage for [b05def1958c]one[/b05def1958c] dish/mount/LNB was $710 + whatever it's going to cost to ship those three suckers up here. (it would probably come out to $1,000 after shipping)..

So, where I'm at now is I know they use a Prodelin dish.. I'm trying to figure out the model # of the dish, so I could possibly purchase that elsewhere or directly from manufacturer. That way I could jimmyrig a mount and buy the LNB for $124.. Though I'd probably only save $100 in the end... Basically I'm fucked for now.. I have to come up with $2,000 + installer fees before the season begins.

The cable here sucks hard.. $60 for 50-some channels (none of which are HD).. Basic service ([b05def1958c]12[/b05def1958c] channels) is $27!!!

compuguru

15-05-2006 14:18:28

I've seen dish, and it's pretty good. Cable is the way to go in my house though because we have our Cable Modem, Tivo, Telephone, and 5 TVs hooked up to our cable. The cost of the extra boxes would kill me. ;)

Brok3n_Sword

15-05-2006 14:25:15

I have some good "morris sense". I can always tell if I'll see his informative posts by the thread title..

dmorris68

15-05-2006 14:32:08

[quote953906ce4f="Brok3n_Sword"]I have some good "morris sense". I can always tell if I'll see his informative posts by the thread title..[/quote953906ce4f]
P

Not sure if that's a jab or a back-handed compliment...

Brok3n_Sword

15-05-2006 14:34:11

[quote7efad67fdf="dmorris68"][quote7efad67fdf="Brok3n_Sword"]I have some good "morris sense". I can always tell if I'll see his informative posts by the thread title..[/quote7efad67fdf]
P

Not sure if that's a jab or a back-handed compliment...[/quote7efad67fdf]

Compliment, you just seem to know everything. 8)

dmorris68

15-05-2006 14:45:51

[quote925f83e295="Brok3n_Sword"]Compliment, you just seem to know everything. 8)[/quote925f83e295]
Everything? You give me just a bit too much credit.

If you guys would stop asking questions about stuff I take a special interest in, then this wouldn't happen. P ;)

gafdpc

15-05-2006 15:03:31

Dunno everytime it drizzles I didn't get the slightest reception.

h3x

15-05-2006 21:23:46

http//www.sadoun.com/Sat/Products/kings-control/Rain-Shield-Fade-Solution.htm[]http//www.sadoun.com/Sat/Products/kings-control/Rain-Shield-Fade-Solution.htm

King's Rain Shield Solution $25.99

http//www.sadoun.com/Sat/Products/kings-control/Rain-S5.jpg[" alt=""/img887700b596]

Left-side is treated, Right-side is not.

Problem Solved.

dmorris68

16-05-2006 05:16:12

Nice idea, h3x, but I'm a little skeptical of its effectivness. It ignores the problem that most rain fade happens at the cloud level, as pre-rain moisture and dirt builds up in a storm cloud, the sat signal can't punch through and you get dropped signal. Also heavy, sheeting rain is more difficult to punch through. I don't know how much fade is caused by water on the dish itself, but I wouldn't think that much. At least when I had it, the dish was often wet from rain but the only time I had fade was during very bad storms. I did have my sat strength tuned to 98+% though. That's the key to reducing fade getting your sat signal strength tuned as high as possible.