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Scifience · Feb 26, 2004, 10:11 PM

I'm considering getting Dish Network's Free PVR offer with the 180 channel package, and was wondering if I should. I currently have digital cable, and I'd get some extra channels like NASA TV, etc.

So, I had a few questions for people who have a dish.

1. How does the picture quality compare to cable?
2. Does it really go out whenever it rains/snows?

Anything else you can think of about your experience, post here! Thanks!

The Godfather · Feb 26, 2004, 10:27 PM

Originally posted by Scifience:
I'm considering getting Dish Network's Free PVR offer with the 180 channel package, and was wondering if I should. I currently have digital cable, and I'd get some extra channels like NASA TV, etc.

So, I had a few questions for people who have a dish.

1. How does the picture quality compare to cable?
2. Does it really go out whenever it rains/snows?

Anything else you can think of about your experience, post here! Thanks!

1. The picture quality is the same as cable (from looking at a 27" TV)
2. It doesn't go out when it rains (Florida rain, BTW).

Channel surfing is slow. It takes like 5 seconds to get an image if you flip the channel. Try the alternative satellite (DirecTV, I think).

TheMosco · Feb 26, 2004, 10:31 PM

If you have more than 3 tvs I would probably stick with digital cable.

Krusty · Feb 26, 2004, 10:35 PM

My roommate has a DirecTV dish. Picture quality is fine ... but I don't think our TV is good enough that we'd ever be able to tell a difference between cable or dish even if one was better than the other.

Yes, it occasionally blinks out for a few seconds during a heavy storm (strangely, it seems to do so only when the clouds are really low to the ground .. like during some torrential summer downpours) .. it doesn't go out during a regular hard rain. Seriously .. it blinks out very rarely. Not enough to worry about it.

Malt Magics · Feb 27, 2004, 03:41 AM

Originally posted by Scifience:
I'm considering getting Dish Network's Free PVR offer with the 180 channel package, and was wondering if I should. I currently have digital cable, and I'd get some extra channels like NASA TV, etc.

So, I had a few questions for people who have a dish.

1. How does the picture quality compare to cable?
2. Does it really go out whenever it rains/snows?

Anything else you can think of about your experience, post here! Thanks!

First, you have to ask yourself this question, when do you watch TV probably the most? When it's raining or snowing out.

So absolutely not. Do not get a dish.

A few years ago, I used to work for an advertising company that tracked commercials for many markets using a couple of dishes, and when the weather was bad, the signals were terrible. When I mean terrible, I mean that audio would distort, you'd have station freeze�often, or the best was a black screen that read "trying to locate signal". If you value watching televison then I suggest not to get a dish. My experience convinced me to stick with cable.

Reception of the dish is far superior to that of cable, but that does not make up for it's major flaw.

And I've kept in touch with a few co-workers who still work there and they tell me they still have the same trouble, even with the new dishes.

Hopes this helps.

mitchell_pgh · Feb 27, 2004, 08:33 AM

I'm on Comcast digital cable and I have been very upset with the quality over the past few months and have been looking for alternatives. I pay over $100 a month for cable + broadband and the cable will be fuzzy on some channels and the cable modem has been dying out more often then ever.

Very frustrating...

Good post.

starman · Feb 27, 2004, 09:30 AM

Originally posted by Scifience:
I'm considering getting Dish Network's Free PVR offer with the 180 channel package, and was wondering if I should. I currently have digital cable, and I'd get some extra channels like NASA TV, etc.

So, I had a few questions for people who have a dish.

1. How does the picture quality compare to cable?
2. Does it really go out whenever it rains/snows?

Anything else you can think of about your experience, post here! Thanks!

1. The picture quality of the Dish is WAY above cable, unless you're watching HBO on Digital Cable where it will look the same. Comcast in my area was notorious for poor quality video.

2. Yes, but it's rare.

3. PVRs rule. Once you get one you'll wonder how you got along without it.

Mike

ryju · Feb 27, 2004, 10:03 AM

Does anyone know how I can get HBO in Canada? Would getting this DISH accomplish such a thing?

Scifience · Feb 27, 2004, 10:20 AM

I only have one TV, but it is a fairly good one (a two year olf 27" Sony WEGA), so the extra charge for additional receivers shouldn't be an issue.

From what I understand, satellite TV is an all-ditital signal and has an MPEG compression ratio of about 12/1, compared to 20/1 on digital cable. I already think that the digital cable channels have a much better picture than the analog ones, so if the compression ratio is even lower, I can't imagine what the picture will look like!

From what I understand, SBC now has a deal to bundle Dish Network along with phone and DSL. SBC also has that nifty new 6000/608 DSL plan for $45 a month, so I think I'm going to call them up and see what they can do for me.

Is there any difference between DirecTV and Dish Network? Is one better than the other? I'm not a big sports fan, so DirecTV's additional sports channels mean nothing to me, and movie packages aren't really an issue, either. I don't like DirecTV from other standpoints (Murdoch Monopoly, smart card lawsuits).

Anyway, thanks for all your input!

wolfen · Feb 27, 2004, 10:22 AM

I've had digital cable and DirecTV...I will never pay for cable again.

Listen, I don't care what the ads say. Half the time I tried to actually use the digital cable programs-on-demand I couldn't because, according to the ignorant customer service people, "We don't have enough bandwidth for EVERYONE to watch the program...try it in a few hours." On top of that the picture and sound quality on the dish are noticeably better.

In fact, "digital" cable is rarely digital for all stations. Usually it's only the stations that I can't watch because, gosh, my neighbors might have wanted to see 6 Feet Under 5 minutes before I did. What crap.

Cable is evil. They should stick to what they're good at -- broadband Internet service.

wolfen

hostvisions · Feb 27, 2004, 12:06 PM

Go the DirecTV/PVR route. I had a dish, didn't like it. We've had directv for 7 years, love it. Tivo will change the way you watch TV. No real weather problems here in the midwest, where the winters are bad and the spring/summers stormy.

dencamp · Feb 27, 2004, 01:02 PM

I have been pleased with dish network. The whole rain thing seems- from my experience-to be a myth. My dish has never flickered which includes a catagory 2 hurricane. Maybe I'm just lucky.

el chupacabra · Feb 27, 2004, 08:47 PM

I live in an area where it snows constantly almost all year and my dish has never gone completly out. If it blinks for a second, it just means I have to brush off the snow, but it doesn't go out from the storm itself.

I've had cable and the dish and didn't really notice a difference between the 2. Just go for what you have heard works best in your area and go with the one that offers the channles you want for the best deal. Cable has the same potential of going out as the dish does, there is just different reasons. Ultimatly cable comes from a sattlelite(sp?) too. And every now and then the line would be cut in areas of construction. And during bad whether cable would flash too, nothing to worry about though...just depends on the area you live in and what kind of equipment they are using.

djohnson · Feb 27, 2004, 11:59 PM

Everyone speaks of the quality of the signal, I have had both directv(2 years) and digi cable(6 months). I have to say I like the cable much better. No contracts is nice. Oh and over the 2 years, our cost went from $40 to over $70 with adding nothing extra... I say stay away from satellite!!!

olePigeon · Feb 28, 2004, 12:33 AM

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
I'm on Comcast digital cable and I have been very upset with the quality over the past few months and have been looking for alternatives. I pay over $100 a month for cable + broadband and the cable will be fuzzy on some channels and the cable modem has been dying out more often then ever.

Very frustrating...

Good post.

Ditto. Except I pay $40/month.

Whatever you do, don't get satelite internet.

djohnson · Feb 28, 2004, 12:43 AM

I actually looked into that once...

Scifience · Feb 28, 2004, 10:14 AM

Originally posted by olePigeon:
Ditto. Except I pay $40/month.

Whatever you do, don't get satelite internet.

Wouldn't think of it. If I switched to satellite, I was thinking of getting SBC's new 6000/608 DSL plan for $45 a month. (Actually, it is listed at 1.5-3/384, but the actual sync rate is 6000/608).

Gankdawg · Feb 28, 2004, 11:13 AM

I've been considering getting satellite as the asshats at Charter Communications refuse to bring their signal to acceptable viewing standards. It was tough to see the football at kickoff during the SuperBowl.

Link · Feb 29, 2004, 07:44 AM

At the moment, my mother and I are definately considering it.. but not right now, having said that the ever increasing cable bill is a big incentive to get rid of it.

$30 a month for what we want far outweighs the ~$35-45 we currently pay for less than the same thing >_>

The only thing is equipment.. but I think this won't be a huge deal later on.