Dish or Cable TV?
 

I've never had Dish TV, I've always had cable but I'm deciding whether I should hook up Dish or Cable.

I will need high speed Internet and I don't want DSL.

I've always used Cable Modems do they offer satellite high speed? If so what providers?

How is the reception on Dish? Does it go out during storms?

I'm looking for your advice on this.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Yup... :upsidedow

I personally like satellite TV better, but that may be due to the fact that our local cable company sucks around here. In Canada you get better picture quality, more channels, and more HDTV channels with satellite. Only drawback is rain fade during bad storms. Not much of a problem though.

If you don't want DSL you might as well just get cable TV and go with cable internet, because those are really the only two viable options. Satellite internet is just one step above dial up. Going cable TV and cable internet will be the cheapest option.

There are high speed wireless internet providers out there, but I know the local ones around here also can't compete with DSL or cable as far as throughput.

Thanks, I've always been happy with Cable, but my cheap ass doesn't like spending $100/month on cable and internet. I saw the satellite promotions and it looked much more affordable.

To get all the channels up here I have to pay $86 Canadian + tax / month. That still doesn't include stuff like Playboy, etc. I think it just depends on what packages you go with. My brother has cable and if he subscribed to all the channels available he would be paying about the same as me.

I like my DirecTV HD

Directv, dishnetwork, or cable
 

as a formal directv and dishnetwork dealer - it depends what your looking for.
most cable companies are offering the "triple play" which is cable, highspeed internet and dig phone. cable internet is the best in terms of over all speed up and down package with cable tv its tough to beat price wise.
High speed internet through Directv (direcway) is crap. dont waist your money unless your in the boonies and cant get anything else.
One thing satellite does offer over cable is the quality of the picture.
the HD feeds are real nice. however...directv is about to revamp there whole product line as its getting ready for more HD feeds. that means buying it now would prob not be a good idea. as for dishnetwork vs directv. i thinnk you are better off with direct. the most important thing about getting satellite is the installation. the guy has to know what he is doing and most of them are former cable hackers that do things cheap as possible to save on materials.
ie. if your home is old and u have old cable (its thin and called rg59)
then it will not work right for digital signals either cable or satellite.
it would need to be completely rewired. there are many problems that can happen with a shitty installation. the best thing to do is ask for there best tech and tip him so he does u right...(ie. outdoor fittings, drip loops, grounding the system, good signal meet for optimum signal) hope that helps...

I like my dish
:thumbsup
altho using DSL through the phone company suxs ass
:error :helpme

I use cable for both my T.V. and connection..

Satellite all the way. Cable is way overpriced.

If your main choice is for ISP then you do not want sat. Cable is much better for internet but if you want a wide variety of tv channels then definitely go with Dish.

Who has a hack for Dave?

I have DTV and cable internet. I pay $115 for my dish and 54 for my cable.

Digital cable is much better, I hate satalite.
Their high speed internet is too expensive for what you get

No hack anymore for DAVE ... at least at this time ... Same for BEV... but Dish is another story :winkwink:

Yeah but dish isn't as good as Dave. Thats why I'm paying over a $100 bucks now. Oh well it was good while it lasted.

I have a 10 foot dish with an mpeg receiver slaved to a 4DTV receiver. I get a couple thousand channels (most of it free) and pay around $100/year for the basic subscription channels I want, ala carte. I rotate a Showtime package with an HBO package depending on when Bill Maher and Queer as Folk is in season. You get 20 or so movie channel feeds for around $50 for 3 months. There is no such thing as rain fade with the big dish :)

For internet I use DSL. My sister next door has the local cable internet service and quite frankly it sucks royally compared to the local DSL service.

Interesting....any good sites you'd recommend for more info?? thanks

http://satforums.com is my main source for everything in the industry. If you just want to browse what's available up there check out http://lyngsat.com ...the page for frequencies available in North America is http://lyngsat.com/america.html

I receive the satellites from 72.0°W to 139.0°W, depending on your location in the US you may receive one more or less on either end of that spectrum.

The legend at the bottom will explain what the color codes are. With the home setup like mine you will be able to pick up the analog, DVB and Digicipher 2 signals that are in the clear, along with the NTSC feeds (in grey). As far as subscribing to the encrypted channels you'll be able to subscribe to the digital ones labeled Digicipher 2 and the analog ones labeled NTSC VC2.

Also, this page is a good list of "wild feeds" up there http://www.orbitmagazine.com/wfeedsac.htm

As far as equipment, the company that supports the C-band hobby most, National Programming Service http://callnps.com has for awhile run specials where if you subscribe to certain programming they knock much more off the price of a 4DTV receiver than the programming costs. The MPEG receiver you slave to it for all the free digital stuff can be found on eBay or through a dealer in the satellite forums for $150 or less. You'll need a minimum 8' dish, but 10' will be better for certain satellites, it all depends on your location. A lot of people get their dishes free by offering to haul them off for someone who has been converted to the little dish :).

I forgot to explain what a 4DTV is :upsidedow

It is a hybrid receiver that combines the traditional big dish analog C-Band with consumer digital frequencies (the DCII I mentioned above). If you get a C-Band only receiver you won't be able to receive DCII. That will especially knock your movie channel packages down significantly.

satellite > *
keep the cable internet though
i would recommend http://ftaworld.com/ for Free-to-Air Dishnetwork

Thanks Mardigras :) The wild feeds sound like the best part of the whole thing LOL

I'm using both Dish and Cable.

They are as far as the things with a listed schedule, but I also get tremendous enjoyment out of all of the international stuff and niche channels on the MPEG receiver :upsidedow

I have DirectTv and Earthlink DSL here. I was wrong the other day or the installers were lol. The new digital service they strung here the other day is like 80 bucks a month for 1.5 DSL and around 60 bucks a month for 40 channels. NOT a fucking bargain in my book. Think ill stay with DirecTv and EL.

If you're looking just to get "free" channels with Dish then don't waste your money. They will soon be doing a complete swap to N2 like BEV has done. There is no public release of any hack for Dave, Dish or BEV at this time. There is a rumor that once Dish has done their swap in September or October the hack for Rom 101 and 102 will be released. This has fueled the price increase for these cards on eBay. Best advise is to wait and see what happens.