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Sat vs Cable

R

RockIntern

Guest
I am fed up with Comcast, in Philly, they have the monopoly, due to Rendell and the Democratic stronghold on the city and state. New Jersey is going to let the telephone company get involved in cable, thus creating a new cable outfit, to battle with Comcast, the monopoly, competition means the consumer is the winner, no way in PA. My question is, I am looking into Satellite television, is there just two services, Dish and Direct, which one is the best, which one has more choices, which one has better audio music channels. Are there any other companies that offer Satellite TV, besides the two mentioned. I see some dishes with Asian writing on them, is this yet another service....Any help would be appreciated.
 
I've been with DirecTV for over 10 years and I've been happy with them. I know people who have Dish and they seem satisfied as well.DirecTV has music channels from XM. Dish has music channels from Sirius. You can get three day trials of both online to see if you prefer one over the other.Otherwise, I'd suggest you compare the packages on the two websites and see which one best fits your. The two services' packages are competitive but they don't exactly match.https://www.directv.comhttp://www.dishnetwork.com/You can't go wrong with either one.Both also offer packages including Digital Video Recorders which are much better deals than Comcast has for a DVR. At this point, I would not want to live without a DVR.
 
I do see at least 5X as many DirectTV dishes vs Dish Network receivers in the Philly area. Going by subscribers it looks like DirectTV is the one to go with. Someone told me if you have more than one set hooked up, you only need to be hard wired to the main set, a transmitter from that receiver sends the signals to the other receivers in your house. That sounds cool, if true, it would cut down on all the wires that Comcast has running for each addition set.
 
I have had both Direct and Dish over the last 8 years. In fact I only switched from Dish to Direct because my company offered a discount with them and I was moving anyway. I took advantage of the savings. Other than a few small package differences they are nearly the same, including price. If you like the NFL Teams outside of Phila however you would get Direct. NFL does not provide the NFL ticket to Dish (that’s another topic). In my experience Dish seems to have more ‘disputes’ resulting from channels being temporarily taken off the air but I then found Dish’s customer service to a bit better. 2 times in 6 years I had Dish in Maryland the cost went up, 1 dollar! Yes, I said $1 (a month)!! When this happened Dish sent me a free pay per view movie coupon. It’s the thought that counts! I do miss Sirus on the Dish though, I loved the all Elvis channel and their version of the 80’s Metal Bands channel was better but the few XM channels I do get are good. I too have a DVR and use it all the time for recording and love it. As for a transmitter that send the signals, can’t comment. My 3 sets are hard wired. Note: these are just my personal opinions. No scientific analysis was injured in the forming of these opinions. All that said I have Comcast for my high-speed connection and I am NOT Comcastic!! In fact the second Verizon has FIOS in my area I am jumping off the money sucking ship that is Comcast!
 
The main difference between the two then would be the music channels. It seems from what you said was the video channels are pretty much the same, but Dish has Sirius. Do you receive all the XM or Sirius music channels on the satellite or do they cut some out, anything would be better than this crap they call Music Choice. MC is another one of Rendells(Cohen) monopoly sources owned by Comcast or visa versa. On that note, I wonder how long before the Rendell administration adds so much tax to the satellite networks that it will force them to pass the cost on to the subscriber, thus making Comcast more feasible, lets hope not.
 
Not all, and since I have never had either service I am not sure which I do not get. But both provide a decent selection of music and yes they are better than Music Choice.
 
KK: With your latest post, I'm starting to wonder whether this thread is about helping you pick a satellite provider or about advancing your views on Rendell and Comcast.FTR: Rendell no longer holds any city or county office in Philadelphia.
 
Its about picking a good Sat Service, it probably will be D-TV, although I hear Sirius is better than XM for music, especially Hard Rock and Metal. The reason I am on Rendells butt is because I think he ruined the cable industry in PA, his pals at Comcast like Mr. Cohen are above the law. Comcast is out of control and in SP/CC, they are at their worst, less selection, higher rates. GSN is one prime example, never had it, never will, also many channels that you can receive on the 2-99 band in most areas, are put on digital, 101-185 in this area, to force you to upgrade, eg. CMT, MTV2, Oh! and more. Price example: Cherry Hill digital plus 58.93, total tax .86, SP/CC 80.53, total tax 5.13, same service, but more selection in Cherry Hill. My dish will be installed tomorrow, I hope the tech can speak English, my friend had a bad example with someone who did not know English, but worked for the company, it was a mess...yeh I know....
 
I don't disagree with you about Comcast. I think they crossed the line when they used their "loophole" to block satellite providers from carrying Philadelphia CSN. I don't see how Rendell is to blame for Comcast's practices - especially since Philadelphia - even Pennsylvania - is fraction of Comcast's service area (even if you only consider the Philadelphia DMA, let alone all of Comcast's operations). Besides, Philly cable franchises were awarded well before Rendell became mayor, and council had more to do with the franchise set up than the mayor (at the time, Rizzo).I've had good experience with DirecTV's customer service and installers (original installation in Philly and then re-installation when I moved to the 'burbs). When I moved, the cable had not been turned off and I was really impressed to see how much better the picture quality was from DirecTV.Bad news: DirecTV also has Game Show Network. I do sometimes watch the Black and White Overnight broadcasts of classic shows like What's My Line (with John Daly), Password (with Allen Ludden), To Tell The Truth or Beat The Clock (both with Bud Collyer) and I've Got A Secret (with Gary Moore) via Tivo.DirecTV used to have Music Choice and XM (at least on the channels to which I listen) is a BIG improvement.
 
I had some guy from Russia come over who could not speak any English, he started to drill and hammer, what a mess. I called D-TV and bitched and they sent some True American, born and bred, you know the kind Gino's steaks embraces, LOL. The new installer was great, very neat, you do only need one box wired, it micowaves to the other sets. Great Price, more channels, great music package and the clarity is fantastic. I wired my stereo system to the box and now I can hear music without putting the TV on. I did this on all the boxes, plus, when you are watching TV, you can hear the digital sound coming from your stereo system. Like I said, I hope crooked PA does not impose more tax on these satellite services to run them out of business, I guess they can find a way. I heard there is some competition for Comcast in certain areas, in South Philly at the aparments called the Gateway they also have Vulcan Cable, and the Presidential on City Line Ave has Hotwire. From what I was told, these are good systems, you only need a cable ready TV and have to subscribe to one set and the prices are much cheaper.
 
If you aren't a local sports fan the dish is a good option, since you are not subsidizing a Comcast sports channel you don't watch.
 
I've relayed this story from on other boards, but it bears repeating here.When I moved to Lansdale last August, Comcrap was supposed to install me on the 9th, a Tuesday. Right off the bat, I knew I was going to have problems when the tech that made the appointment started talking down to me after I made my intention known that I did NOT want their stinkin' digital service. Since I wasn't going to help his commision,, he wasn't going to give me the day I wanted.That being said, on said day of install their tech went AWOL. Numerous calls to Comcast were met with "we're looking into the situation". After 4PM, it was determined that the tech walked off the job. I said "OK, what are you going to do for me"? Their response was to reschedule me for TEN DAYS LATER WITH NO COMPENSATION (ie: free digital for three months, etc.). I am not trying to seem like I'm entitled, but come on! Ten days with rabbit ears and nothing more than a take it or leave it approach left a sour taste in my mouth.So, I researched Dish network and liked what I saw. I made an appointment, they set it for the next day at 8AM. They pulled up at 7:30AM and I was set without having to miss a day of work. My set-up, I believe is hard wired, but the cables are out of sight and are by no means cumbersome. And as far as the cable claim goes about losing signal when it rains, snows, or a bird s**ts on the dish, ABSOLUTELY FALSE. Only ONCE did I lose signal (the bad storms last week), but that was only for about 15 minutes. I didn't check into DirecTV at the time only because DishNet came to mind first. I believe many people have DirecTV because of the package with Verizon. Count me as one very happy with satellite over cable!
 
That's right. DirecTV thru Verizon is about $5 cheaper than DirecTV's listed prices.Aside from the NFL Sunday Ticket, another big difference between DirecTV and Dish is the international channel selection. Comcast always brings up that DirecTV has the NFL Sunday Ticket exclusivity, when CCSN exclusivity is being questioned. Then... say something about Dish Network. DN should be allowed carriage rights, as an alternative, and that will allay monopolistic attacks. Comcast knows that'd open the can of worms, and they'd lose exclusivity altogether.I suppose Verizon will not be offering DirecTV, once FIOS is up and ready in Cherry Hill and Southern NJ? I wonder if FIOS's local station channel lineup will be a copy of Comcast, without CN8, CCSN-Philly of course. I'd carry WLVT 39, WGN Superstation, WWOR, WPIX, WZBN, WMGM 40 (NBC)--latter four stations for the newscasts, Travel Channel, Fuse, The Tube, all the international channels available, amongst other services not given through Comcast here. Southern NJ qualifies for some NY NBA and NHL:http://www.directvsports.com/asp/active/RSN_Info.asp (by way of getting sports pak...these games aren't blacked out in SNJ).Fios should give that and anything else they can think of, if they can't get CCSN rights.
 
Having a Dish already the second FIOS is available I am off Comcast. In fact the contractors are in the area now putting in the cables. If not for TV (I’ll wait too see what the content is now and is what is planned) then purely for broadband access as I too am fed up with Comcast and the lack of any semblance of customer service! I find it very odd that they do nothing to improve customer service and their image. Makes you wonder just what the marketing dept does. Comcastic? Horrible tag line. Resurrecting Mr. in TV ads, could they not get anyone better? Changing OLN to VS? Versus? That is the best they can do for a sports network name? And then there is the not providing content to the Dish service. Deep breath, relax, its Friday! Just keep saying to myself, FIOS is coming FIOS is coming!
 
On my sattilte I do not get any philadelphia stations, but I do get WCBS and WNYW.
 
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