Which Is Really Best - Cable TV Vs. Satellite Television

By Brian Stevens


The Differences Between Cable And Satellite TV Are Not All That Great These Days. But There Are A Few Differences You Ought To Be Aware Of If You Are Thinking Of Paying For Cable TV Or Satellite Television Service. Here They Are In A Nutshell .

Cable TV vs Satellite TV Price

Cable Television could cost up to $25 per month more compared to satellite television for similar services. That's $300 per year more. This difference is due in part because cable TV companies pay local taxes and fees

As an example, in my area cable TV costs $57 per month for 142 satellite channels, while I get Dish Network for $24.99 per month for 190 channels, and also 3 months of HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, plus Starz.

In terms of rate increases, cable TV service fees have increased by 40% since 1998, while Dish Network and DirecTV's service fees have gone up by only 8% within the very same time frame.

Equipment

With cable TV you get a receiver that receives a television signal coming from a cable television company through an underground coaxial or fiber optic cable. The cable box receiver decodes the incoming TV signal and sends it to your television.

With satellite TV you get a dish which captures the signal from a satellite, plus a receiver that converts the signal and sends it to your TV.

Cable TV providers charge $3 to $5 per month extra for each receiver, while Dish Network and DirecTV receivers are free.

DVR Recorders

DVRs (digital video recorders) are built into satellite or cable receivers and allow you to record Television programs. In addition, they make it possible for you to pause the show you happen to be watching so you could get a snack, answer the telephone, or whatever else you have to do, then resume watching your show whenever you're ready.

Cable DVRs let you record as much as 100 hours of your favorite TV shows. They also offer the option of recording 2 TV shows simultaneously. The problem with this is that if you have 3 shows that come on simultaneously you can watch one show and record one, record two shows, but you won't have the ability to view the third show.`

DirecTV will allow you to record 4 TV shows at once and record as many as 1.000 hours of programs, and Dish Network will allow you to record as many as 6 shows at one time and record as many as 2,000 hours of programming.



Installing The Components

Because of the rivalry between cable and satellite TV providers, equipment installation for either one costs nothing. You'll want to make sure you get a dependable installation company and a qualified installer, or you may encounter equipment issues down the line.

Dependability

DirecTV as well as Dish Network black outs average 1%. Cable TV blackouts, conversely, are any where from 3% to 5% - up to 5 times greater than cable.

Customer Satisfaction

Dish Network is ranked number one in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index among the top cable TV providers and satellite TV companies, while DirecTV is actually ranked number two.

Consumer Support

Customer support for almost all satellite television as well as cable television providers is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including holidays, and with most companies the service is very good.

In Conclusion

When it comes to program assortment, number of channels, recording capacity, dependability, value, plus customer satisfaction, satellite TV beats cable TV hands down.






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