Satellite vs. Cable HD DVR svc...my dh is freaking out...again...

[divergrrl]

Ok, all you savvy ps-ers....once more I need advice for my sweet hubby...(time and again the smart members of PS help beyond stones...)

We have HD cable with DVR in one room...we have 5 tvs...3 of which are LCDs. (don''t ask...its dh''s obsession, not mine) Our ''big" tv is a very expensive 46inch LCD, 1080x1080 dpi with 120mhz processor. (aka, the sweet fast processor...no shadowing, pixelating).

Well, DH has had our cable company out a few times the last few weeks. Half our HD channels are pixelating all over the place. ESPN is fantastic, but HGTV, local channels, etc are kind of messy. Its a new problem, and its not on every channel.

The cable guys have changed out all our wiring, our drop, our fittings, etc...there is nothing left. Its not the TV, because its not always on every channel.

He''s freaking out and threatening to switch to dish...

Personally, I don''t care/notice, but I can''t stand to see him fret & if I have to sit here and watch him walk around the tv fussin'', I''d better make sure we pick a provider who is a good one.

So who do the ps-ers like? Dish Network or Direct TV? I currently have my phone and internet through our cable co. I don''t really care about price too much, since dh''s company picks up our phone & internet.

Thanks all!

 

[Hera]

This happened to me a while back and the problem wasn't with the tv. It was because there wasn't enough of a cable signal coming in. The cable co had to come out around 5 times and they finally found that the problem was outside of our apartment. I called the cable company and they gave me a discount because of the problem.

 

[sumbride]

We have DirecTV with HD service and are mostly happy with it. Sometimes it does pixelate though, and sometimes the sound gets wonky, but only on the HD channels. And we do have weather disturbances occasionally but not all that often. We have a LOT of HD programming though, way more than our local cable company offers, and that makes it a good value. I read something recently about the signal not being true HD because it is compressed or something like that, but it looks really HD to me!

The HD dish is a lot bigger than the regular dish though. It''s an elliptical shape, but we have it on the roof which I like better because our old round one was on the fence and I didn''t like looking at it. We do have more weather delays by moving it up higher though, I think. It was more protected on the fence.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

I work in the biz, and can tell you that DirecTV would get my vote. On the surface, DTV and Dish are v. similar, but DTV wins in the HD content category. They''ve ramped up big time, adding a ton of nets in the last couple of months (their goal was to hit 100 HD channels by year-end ''07) They''re totally blowing out their cable competitors which means that the cable guys are scrambling to compete (and therefore doing a shoddy job of updating their cable plant)

We live in a townhouse, and cannot get DTV (no ugly dishes allowed). However, we''re so fed up with our cable provider, that we''re going to give AT&T U-verse a try. They might be worth looking into- if they provide service in your area. Or, Verizon Fios. These telcos are getting into the cable biz, and hopefully it will help the industry as a whole. Competition is good!

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I don''t really have any advice other than I have Dish and I hate it. It is ok for the most part, but I hate that it goes out completely when there is bad weather, and I hate the fact that they want to charge me $100 to move the satellite from where they insited it should be, even though we wanted it more hidden. Now I am getting letters from the association in our subdevision telling me that it cannot be in view from the street. I am also not too impressed with their customer service. So as soon as my contract is up, I am switching back to cable.

I am not sure if this is what you were looking for or not, but thanks for letting me vent!

 

[divergrrl]

this is all helpful & you all reminded me i need to call my cable co again to get a credit...

we had too much signal before....who knows drives me bonkers.....

 

[baby monster]

I've had DirecTV for the past couple of years. I'm happy with them - cheaper than cable, Tivo instead of just dvr, good customer service on phone, so-so service on installation. The signal either pixelates or does go out during heavy rain and thunderstorms but I usually have enough recorded on Tivo to hold me over.

 

[chiefneil]

I''d suspect the signal as well. Has the cable company installed a booster?