Cable vs. Dish Network vs. Direct TV

[SlmShdy1]

I have Comcast and am happy with it. The picture quality is good, but their HD channels have bad compression (I was watching Speed Racer on HBO, my god the macroblocking ). If I had a choice between satellite providers I would go with DirecTV because Dish Network sucks balls. The one that I've been reading is the best is Verizon FiOS. It's supposed to have the best PQ available but it's not accessible to everyone yet.

[Septimus Prime]

Originally Posted by SlmShdy1

I have Comcast and am happy with it. The picture quality is good, but their HD channels have bad compression (I was watching Speed Racer on HBO, my god the macroblocking ). If I had a choice between satellite providers I would go with DirecTV because Dish Network sucks balls. The one that I've been reading is the best is Verizon FiOS. It's supposed to have the best PQ available but it's not accessible to everyone yet.

Yeah, I get terrible compression artifacts on my Time Warner "HD" channels, too, and my box even locks up for a few seconds every couple of hours. Cable simply doesn't have the bandwidth that satellite does, so it'll always provide inferior service. I guess one "bonus" for me is that I don't really mind watching SD channels, since it looks almost as good as my HD ones.

The only caveat for me is that FiOS isn't in my area yet, and cable is the best solution for broadband at the moment.

[igotcabada]

I'm considering changing from Cable to DirectTV, the only thing that concerns me is the problem when the reception goes out during storms.

couple questions about this. If you have a DVR, and the reception goes out, can you rewind whatever you were watching and rewatch what you missed? or is it lost forever? how often would you say the satillite goes out (and where do you live) ?

[Chordata]

I've tried cable and Dish Network.

I'll never go back to Dish Network. Signal interruptions were ridiculous.

[blujacket]

I have Dish. After leaving Time Warner, I'll never go back.I may give U-verse a try, but my service with Dish is so good, it will have to be a lot better to get me to switch. My dish is peaked almost perfect and it has to be storming to get my signal to drop.

[Galley]

Originally Posted by igotcabada

I'm considering changing from Cable to DirectTV, the only thing that concerns me is the problem when the reception goes out during storms.

couple questions about this. If you have a DVR, and the reception goes out, can you rewind whatever you were watching and rewatch what you missed? or is it lost forever? how often would you say the satillite goes out (and where do you live) ?

Yes, you can always watch what has been recorded. If you've got a clear view and excellent reception, then it has to rain pretty hard for the signal to go out. On a related note, DirecTV specifically chose their uplink location because it receives little precipitation, and they have their own power plant, so they can operate indefinitely.