Which Is Better - Satellite Television Or Cable?

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Which Is Better - Satellite Television Or Cable?
Cable has essentially caught up with satellite television when it comes to level of quality, customer care, and cost, however there are differences between the two that you ought to bear in mind if you are thinking about getting satellite or cable television. This is a short comparison of the two:

Cost

Cable could cost as much as $25 per month more when compared with satellite television for the same services. That is $300 per year more. This difference is due in part because cable television providers pay local taxes and fees

Where I reside in Arizona if I were to decide to buy cable it would cost me just about $60 per month for 140 TV channels. If I were to decide to buy Dish Network service it would cost me $24.99 for 190 TV channels.

One other difference is the rate increases. Cable Television service has increased by around 40% since 1998, while satellite television service has increased by a mere 8% within that exact same length of time.

System Evaluation

Cable TV providers provide a receiver, or cable box, which gets a TV signal via an underground cable. The cable box receiver decodes the inbound TV signal and transmits it to your TV set.

Satellite TV providers provide you with a satellite TV dish which captures the TV signal coming from the company's satellite, and also a receiver which decodes that signal and delivers it to your television set.

For both systems you will need a receiver for every television in your house that you'd like to view cable or satellite Television programming on. With cable television you must pay between $3 to $5 per month for each and every cable box receiver you'd like connected to your Televisions. With Dish Network and DirecTV your recievers are free of charge.

DVR Recorders

DVRs (digital video recorders) are built into satellite or cable receivers and allow you to record Television programs. In addition to recording your shows you are also able to pause, rewind, and also fast forward live Television programs, so you're able to answer your phone, view part of the program you missed, or fast forward through a commercial.

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

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

Each of their DVRs will let you see a television show in one room in your home, and finish seeing it in a second room.

System Set Up

The two satellite TV providers, as well as almost all cable TV providers, will install all the components needed to receive their programming at no charge. To be sure you will not have equipment breakdowns later on, you'll want to make certain the company that sets up your components employs professional technicians.

Dependability

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

Customer Ratings

Dish Network is ranked number one in consumer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index among the top rated cable TV providers as well as satellite television providers, while DirecTV is actually ranked number two.

Support

The two satellite television companies give you 24/7 customer service so that you will not be left hanging in the event anything should go wrong with your satellite television system and you require assistance.

Bottom Line