Cable vs Satellite.... again....

So, satellite offers a whole lot more HD channels than cable for most
users, right? Cable is very unlikely to catch up quickly for those of
us not living in NYC, LA, etc., since the added bandwidth requires a
significant investment in infrastructure.
Also, it seems like satellite (DirectTV, specifically) is cheaper than
what I currently pay for cable.
Less money and more HD channels?
What's the catch? A contract agreement and some (if I want the fancy
HD DVR) equipment purchase seems to be the case.

Any pointers would be most appreciated.

Victor Martinez
Austin, Texas

On Oct 23, 1:18 pm, Victor Martinez wrote:
So, satellite offers a whole lot more HD channels than cable for most
users, right? Cable is very unlikely to catch up quickly for those of
us not living in NYC, LA, etc., since the added bandwidth requires a
significant investment in infrastructure.
Also, it seems like satellite (DirectTV, specifically) is cheaper than
what I currently pay for cable.
Less money and more HD channels?
What's the catch? A contract agreement and some (if I want the fancy
HD DVR) equipment purchase seems to be the case.

Any pointers would be most appreciated.

Victor Martinez
Austin, Texas

My insight is only limited to my experience, so please take it with
the appropriate amount of salt. I recently moved and went through the
whole cable v. directv dilema. In the end, I went cable, but my best
friend and neighbor chose to go satellite, so we ended up with a
pretty good comparison.

1. Startup costs of directv are significantly more. By the time I
added a HD DVR, an HD box, and a regular box to one of the moderate
packages the startup costs were over $400. That's not including a
professional install. Cable costs me nothing to install.

2. Directv definitely has more HD and, in my opinion, better picture
quality. Of course, I don't lose my picture during a thunderstorm.

3. Price is close to the same. Both my package and my neighbors are
similar and cost around $90.00 a month. He has a 2 year contract, I
have none. As a matter of fact, I call the cable company every 6
months and threaten to go to directv. In response they give me the
current "deal" they have going that usually results in free channels
or reduced rates for a limited time. When that time is up, I call them
again!

4. [This was the deal breaker for me] - I live in a small college
town. Our metro area is right above 100k population. I live 100 miles
from both Birmingham and Atlanta and 60 miles from the capital of
Alabama. Directv does not offer local stations in our area but they
ASSURED my neighbor he could apply for a waiver to get access to the
national broadcast of NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, etc. The waivers were denied
even after being resubmitted "under extreme circumstances". Its one
thing to not get local news, but to not get the stations at all is
total crap! He spent $120 and three hot hours installing an antenna
that could pickup the channels OTA.

5. Following in the wake of #4, we discovered that only the HD DVR box
has the ability to incorporate the OTA signal into its on-screen menu.
For all other tuners, you must switch inputs on the TV to watch local
channels.

6. Directv is RF capable, MY cable is not. Very nice if you want to
hide components in a closet, behind a wall, etc.

Well, that's my $0.02! Others very likely have different stories to
tell. Obviously, the correct answer for you will depend on what
features are most important to you and what's available in your area.

Good luck.

Dish has no installation fees. In my town comcast cable would cost
about $80 per month. Dish with the 200 channelsis $62.00. Idon't
have the HD because of a tree blocking satellite . I like dish but
will go to Fios HD when it comes to my area



n Oct 23, 2:18 pm, Victor Martinez wrote:
So, satellite offers a whole lot more HD channels than cable for most
users, right? Cable is very unlikely to catch up quickly for those of
us not living in NYC, LA, etc., since the added bandwidth requires a
significant investment in infrastructure.
Also, it seems like satellite (DirectTV, specifically) is cheaper than
what I currently pay for cable.
Less money and more HD channels?
What's the catch? A contract agreement and some (if I want the fancy
HD DVR) equipment purchase seems to be the case.

Any pointers would be most appreciated.

Victor Martinez
Austin, Texas

On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:33:44 -0700, wrote:

Dish has no installation fees. In my town comcast cable would cost
about $80 per month. Dish with the 200 channelsis $62.00. Idon't
have the HD because of a tree blocking satellite . I like dish but
will go to Fios HD when it comes to my area



Do you still need a phone line to order PPV etc?
Thumper
n Oct 23, 2:18 pm, Victor Martinez wrote:
So, satellite offers a whole lot more HD channels than cable for most
users, right? Cable is very unlikely to catch up quickly for those of
us not living in NYC, LA, etc., since the added bandwidth requires a
significant investment in infrastructure.
Also, it seems like satellite (DirectTV, specifically) is cheaper than
what I currently pay for cable.
Less money and more HD channels?
What's the catch? A contract agreement and some (if I want the fancy
HD DVR) equipment purchase seems to be the case.

Any pointers would be most appreciated.

Victor Martinez
Austin, Texas

On Oct 23, 1:58 pm, kastnna wrote:

1. Startup costs of directv are significantly more. By the time I
added a HD DVR, an HD box, and a regular box to one of the moderate
packages the startup costs were over $400. That's not including a
professional install. Cable costs me nothing to install.

I should have been more clear here. Directv does not have any
installation fees, just the startup costs of the boxes I mentioned
above. It was $397 for the three boxes I mentioned. DishNetwork has an
additional $49.99 startup fee that is refunded (through mail-in
rebate, not instant) IF you agree to an 18 month contract.

I dont have receiver hooked to phoneline but I couldnt care about PPV
as I have Netflix

On Oct 23, 4:24 pm, Thumper wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:33:44 -0700, wrote:
Dish has no installation fees. In my town comcast cable would cost
about $80 per month. Dish with the 200 channelsis $62.00. Idon't
have the HD because of a tree blocking satellite . I like dish but
will go to Fios HD when it comes to my area

Do you still need a phone line to order PPV etc?
Thumper



n Oct 23, 2:18 pm, Victor Martinez wrote:
So, satellite offers a whole lot more HD channels than cable for most
users, right? Cable is very unlikely to catch up quickly for those of
us not living in NYC, LA, etc., since the added bandwidth requires a
significant investment in infrastructure.
Also, it seems like satellite (DirectTV, specifically) is cheaper than
what I currently pay for cable.
Less money and more HD channels?
What's the catch? A contract agreement and some (if I want the fancy
HD DVR) equipment purchase seems to be the case.

Any pointers would be most appreciated.

Victor Martinez
Austin, Texas- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

"kastnna" wrote in message
I should have been more clear here. Directv does not have any
installation fees, just the startup costs of the boxes I mentioned
above. It was $397 for the three boxes I mentioned. DishNetwork has an
additional $49.99 startup fee that is refunded (through mail-in
rebate, not instant) IF you agree to an 18 month contract.

Not only does Directv not have an installation fee, I don't think your
situation is typical, and it may not be accurate.

I paid $100 for 2 HDTV receivers (the first one was free and second one cost
$100). But I got an additional $200 rebate for the 2 year contract (this may
depend on who you purchase the service from). How many people have more than
2 HDTV's?

Earlier you said that Directv costs $90 per month. The $99 plan for Directv
has HDTV and every single channel, including all premium channels (HBO,
Cinemax, TMC, Starz , etc), so the $90 figure is suspect. I currently pay
about $60 for HDTV and all channels except the premium movie channels (this
includes the $5 discount below).

Also, if you have other AT&T services (the old SBC, BellSouth, etc) such as
phone, internet, wireless, etc, you may be able to get a package deal on
Directv that saves $5 per month. Obviously, this does not apply to those
served by other local phone companies such as Verizon, Qwest, etc.

On Oct 23, 9:14 pm, "Mark A" wrote:

Not only does Directv not have an installation fee, I don't think your
situation is typical, and it may not be accurate.

I'll justify the accuracy below. I don't know how the numbers taken
off of the national webiste aren't "typical". I''ll leave that to you
to figure out.

I paid $100 for 2 HDTV receivers (the first one was free and second one cost
$100). But I got an additional $200 rebate for the 2 year contract (this may
depend on who you purchase the service from). How many people have more than
2 HDTV's?

I re-ran the order package on their website just to check. For
starters, I said above that I got an HD DVR, not just an HD. The HD
DVR is $199 alone (after rebate). I don't see where you included that.
I also didn't see a $200 rebate for the 2 year contract, nor did my
neighbor. Congrats on your good deal, I'm just going by the websites
numbers. One mistake I made: my order was for 1 HD DVR, 1 HD, & 1 DVR
(not just a regular box). The total was $397.00 (before taxes). The
setup above provides for 2 HDTVs and 1 regular TV with the ability for
the kids to record shows as well as my wife and I. I don't think
that's an unreasonable setup. Even if you drop the second DVR, the
startup costs are $300.

Earlier you said that Directv costs $90 per month. The $99 plan for Directv
has HDTV and every single channel, including all premium channels (HBO,
Cinemax, TMC, Starz , etc), so the $90 figure is suspect. I currently pay
about $60 for HDTV and all channels except the premium movie channels (this
includes the $5 discount below).

AGAIN, I re-ran the numbers. Here's what the $99 dollar plan you
referred to actually comes out to be:

$96.99 - Premier, No local channels
$9.99 - HD access
$5.99 - Directv DVR service
$9.98 - Lease fee (for additonal boxes)
-$23.00 - Credit Starz and Showtime (FOR THREE MONTHS)
-$10.00 - Mail-in redemption (FOR TWELVE MONTHS)
Total : $89.95 (before taxes)

I added no packages accept the HD access and the DVR capability. I
very clearly indicated DVR in the original post. In addition, the
$23.00 credit srops off after only three months and the bill shoots up
to $113. Just for ****s and giggles, I also checked the next bundle
below that one (with DVR and HD added only). The total was $76.96
before taxes and, again, for only three months.

Also, if you have other AT&T services (the old SBC, BellSouth, etc) such as
phone, internet, wireless, etc, you may be able to get a package deal on
Directv that saves $5 per month. Obviously, this does not apply to those
served by other local phone companies such as Verizon, Qwest, etc.

Good point. I have 5Meg cable internet added to my cable package for
$39.99 a month (I own my own modem). My company pays for my cell and I
don't have a landline so I can't speak for those.

On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:08:50 -0700, wrote:

I dont have receiver hooked to phoneline but I couldnt care about PPV
as I have Netflix


That's fine but Netflix doesn't replace pay per view. It replaces
renting DVDs.
Thumper
On Oct 23, 4:24 pm, Thumper wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:33:44 -0700, wrote:
Dish has no installation fees. In my town comcast cable would cost
about $80 per month. Dish with the 200 channelsis $62.00. Idon't
have the HD because of a tree blocking satellite . I like dish but
will go to Fios HD when it comes to my area

Do you still need a phone line to order PPV etc?
Thumper



n Oct 23, 2:18 pm, Victor Martinez wrote:
So, satellite offers a whole lot more HD channels than cable for most
users, right? Cable is very unlikely to catch up quickly for those of
us not living in NYC, LA, etc., since the added bandwidth requires a
significant investment in infrastructure.
Also, it seems like satellite (DirectTV, specifically) is cheaper than
what I currently pay for cable.
Less money and more HD channels?
What's the catch? A contract agreement and some (if I want the fancy
HD DVR) equipment purchase seems to be the case.

Any pointers would be most appreciated.

Victor Martinez
Austin, Texas- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Oct 24, 11:45 am, Thumper wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:08:50 -0700, wrote:
I dont have receiver hooked to phoneline but I couldnt care about PPV
as I have Netflix

That's fine but Netflix doesn't replace pay per view. It replaces
renting DVDs.

Similar to Thumper's original question, does satellite have OnDemand
(or something similar to it) that allows you to watch movies and
original programming from the premium channels you subscribe to? If
so, does it require a phone line?

I personally love being able to watch entourage, six feet under, big
love, etc, etc... at my convenience.