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Satellite vs. Cable

I'm comparing my local cable company (Patriot Media) to the regional phone company (Verizon) for combined TV/internet/phone. Verizon resells Direct TV pending completion of fiber-to-the-home in my area. Surprisingly after negotiating the two offers are practically the same price (well below either company's published rates!) So I'm looking for a reason to favor one over the other.

1. Is HDTV over Direct TV satellite any better than CATV HDTV? On some CATV digital channels I've noticed compression problems and poor blacks & grey-scale, but I have yet to install an HD set to see if these problems occur with CATV HDTV.

2. Is Satellite TV still problematic in bad weather?

3. Is the phone company's dedicated DSL service at 3MB down/768MB up faster than CATV's advertised 3MB shared-media ethernet?

Any other considerations?

Thanks,

Dave

dgarretson

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theo
2,665 posts
 
I have had DTV for 9+ yrs and have very few problems. They have been quick to resolve any issues. I had cable at another residence fro at least 12 yrs and had many problems. The only advantage I can see with cable is that if you have multiple sets and they are cable ready, you can save. DTV charges $5 per set box. I am using HDTV and find it extremely satisfying in both picture and sound. I wish they would offer more channels than they do but that is coming....so I am told. Cost I beleive is acutally cheaper with DTV than Conast. I live in Colorado and recently I had some weather related issues, not form overcast but snow build up on the dish. I have since coated it with WD40 and that seems to resolve it. As far as internet I use DSL.
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