Pros and the cons of sat TV and cable TV

Cable TV has been here for a long time. Likewise the cost of installing cable TV has equally been high. This is not even mentioning that you have to pay an extra $20 for getting cable TV installed at any other additional room in your house. But at least it was here, before the coming of satellite TV technology. With cable TV, over 30 million subscribers are hooked up.

Parental Control and Internet TV or PC

Cable and Satellite TV both offer parental control in regard to the programs that the Kids get to watch. Cable and satellite TV also offer internet services and have now gone a step further in providing international TV channels through the internet. It is now possible to watch satellite or cable TV through the internet.

International TV Programs

International programming by cable and satellite TV providers means that you can access your local TV channels from around the world. Most folks can now access internet free TV to be able to watch free and live football and movies in different languages like Italian, Spanish, German, French, English, Russian, Urdu, Farsi, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, among many.

Installation Time for Cable and Satellite TV

The installation time for both cable and satellite TV takes an average of five days. Here I would say cable TV wins hands down given the time it takes to do the trenches in your backyard and connect all the cable work. Satellite TV looses given the fact Sat TV home connection largely involves the fixing a satellite dish with least cable-work to the TV room. It should naturally take fewer days than the average 5 it takes to get cable TV done. To get connected to satellite TV and cable TV does not require you to buy the expensive equipment as they are provided at a free lease.

Customer Service and Satisfaction of Satellite and Cable TV Companies

Customer satisfaction surveys done by J.D Power and Associates have ranked Satellite TV providers Dish Network and DirecTV as the leaders when compared to all other cable TV companies. In the survey, Dish Network and DirecTV have led in customer service for the last five years and this comes at no fluke.

Price of Cable TV and Satellite TV

Over the last3 years, prices for cable TV have increased while those of satellite TV have decreased. A survey of prices of both cable and satellite TV has shown that cable TV has increased prices by 8.2% per year. On the same period of survey, satellite TV providers have reduced their rates dramatically due to competition from the many satellite TV providers.

A basic cable connection costs roughly $37.50 a month for an average of 64 channels, including $10.95 a month for several digital channels added. If you need to install in one room the cost of installing cable TV is $39.95 including an additional $9.95 for any other additional rooms.

Programming in Cable and Satellite TV

Cable TV offers an average of 40 channels while the satellite TV providers offer and average of 80 channels. Satellite also take the lead here as they offer international TV channels in world languages like African, Arabic, Armenian, Asian, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Israeli, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, South Asian, Spanish, Tagalong, Urdu. Cable TV international language programs vary and are less as compared to the variety offered by satellite TV.

While satellite TV features a lot of sport TV, cable TV has none or little transmission of sport television. With satellite television you are able to watch such sport TV as Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, and ESPN among many others.

Nice Viewing.

We all knew cables and satellites are the main paid TV services in United States. Dish Network and DirecTV are the major two players on the satellite TV side; while Time Warner, Comcast, Adelphia, Cable Vision, Charter Communication are some of the well known names on cables.

So how does satellite TV match up to cables? Is satellite TV better, or it’s the old school cables? Let’s check out some of the facts on satellite TV vs cable TV here.

Popularity

Although both Dish Network and DirecTV are growing their business fast, cable TV is still much popular than satellites at nowadays.

At the time of writing, DirecTV claims that they own up to 18 millions subscribers; while Dish Network 15 millions. On the other hand according to market survey, major cable TV provider Comcast cable TV take up over 20 million subscribers in many states; while Time Warner 10 millions, Adelphia 5 millions, Cable Vision 3 millions and Charter Communication 6 millions in United States.

Programming quality and variety

Cable uses TV cables; while satellite TV uses decoder and dish for the signal transmission. Cable programs normal come in analog or partly, digital signals – the picture quality are generally good, but not as good as satellite TV that offers 100% digital picture in their broadcast.

In most situation, cable TV offers up to 150 channels. In contrast, both main satellite TV providers (Dish and DirecTV) offer up to 255 programming choices. On top of that, DISH Network and DirecTV offer plenty of HDTV programming, which it’s hardly found on major conventional cables. What amazed me a lot is that Dish Network had just throw out another upgrading campaign that raises their HD channels to more than 30! (Compare to others who are less then 20).

Bundle services

Cable TV services normally come along with cable phone and cable broadband services – which is good for most new home buyers. With cable TV bundle package (Comcast for example), you’ll get entertainment, communication, and even high speed Internet services. The service provide much convenience to the users (imagine settling all your home bills with just one company) and also, they (the cable TV) are able to pull down the selling price (due to better mass selling), which in turns create a better value for cable user’s services.

Satellite TV on the other hand has less to offer. Satellite Internet was once offered along side with satellite TV deals. However the latency problem and constant disconnection during storms had fail satellite TV company in offering bundle services (satellite Internet) to their clients. Thus

Pricing

Satellite TV wins cables a lot when it comes to pricing.

Cable TV costs you $37.30 a month for 64 channels, plus $10.95 a month to add a few digital channels. Installation in one room is $39.95, plus $9.95 for each additional room. While Dish Network basic package starts at $19.99 and DirecTV package starts at $29.99, it is without doubt that satellite TV are much better bargains when compare with cable TV.

Conclusion

So Cable TV and satellite TV, who has the best? There is no absolute right answer.

Both services have their own weakness – Cable TV are a lot more expensive and poor programming quality/variety. Dish Network and DirecTV, on the other hand are just TV companies and cannot supply you good additional services (in general). Both services have their advantages – cable TV bundle services offer you great savings in overall home expenses; satellite TV offer better programming quality in a much cheaper price.

The best I can advise is that reviews both services carefully and decide the one that suits your needs the best.

Are you at a dilemma in choosing between cable TV or Dish Network satellite TV? Here are some comparisons for both the satellite TV service provider and cable television although everything largely depends on where you are located as well. So take it as a sort of guide to make your decision.

Let’s talk about cable TV first.

Cable television is sponsored by the government and thus has no direct competitors hence their prices are not competitive in the industry. These prices differ greatly according to where you are located. In densely populated urban areas, the prices can be higher than suburban satellite towns.

You may not also be able to receive cable TV if you live in rural areas or small satellite towns as cables are not in place at all.

Even if you are able to receive cable television in your area, you may find that there are not many channels that come along with your subscription and this limits you in terms of choice. Even if you opt for their pay-per-view programs, you will not find that many to select from.

How does satellite TV compare in this case?

With a strong competitor in DirecTV, Dish Network satellite TV provider cannot afford to place a strong pricing in the market thus you will find that they are cheaper than cable TV.

Because they receive TV feeds via satellite, the reception is slightly superior when compared to cable television and you can actually receive more channels. Since there are also no cables required to run Dish Network satellite TV, you can practically take them anywhere you go should you decide to relocate.

You will also be able to receive more pay-per-view channels should you need such programs. This is especially helpful for LIVE sports enthusiasts.

The only drawback for both cable TV and Dish Network satellite TV is the monthly subscriptions required for having access to your favorite TV channels. Installation of the hardware are also chargeable though you can choose to setup your very own dish satellite system but only if you are technically skilled.

If you desire to save on paying monthly fees, you can consider investing in satellite TV software but the only caveat is you can only watch it on your PC or laptop. With zero installation charges except for a one-time upfront investment on the software itself, it is definitely something you can consider.

Do you want to get more channels while saving money but not sure if you should go with digital cable or satellite TV? Then this article is meant directly for you! The commercials seen on TV and the ad’s displayed all over the internet can be overwhelming at best. Below we will hope to help make your choice simplified for you!

Cost Difference between Digital Cable VS Satellite TV:

Most cable companies include local franchise fees along with local broadcasting fees on your monthly bill. Digital cable varies starting at $30-$40 per month and up depending on the package you choose it can go up as high as $90 per month.

While Satellite packages usually offer betters deals based on how much money is spent per channel. Some satellite companies offer a price point between of $25 for over fifty channels. With most satellite companies pricing may be a little higher per month unless committing to twelve months of programming up front. A twelve month satellite commitment will usually ensure lower cost up front and most even free installation of the satellite dish.

Programming differences between Digital Cable VS Satellite TV:

Most Satellite TV systems can support over 250 channels of programming. All channels are of digital quality. One downside is satellite offers less local channels and may not have local channels in some areas. Most satellite companies also offer HD TV services that are compatible to your satellite TV service.

Digital cable on the other hand can support over 300 channels of programming of digital quality. Digital Cable has more local channels available in most major cities. Most cable companies now offer Video on Demand (a library of movies and TV shows that you can order at your leisure). HDTV services are becoming more popular amongst cable companies now and not just thru satellite TV as in the past.

Difference of Equipment:

Satellite equipment typically includes a satellite dish that is installed outside the home that is visible to everyone. A satellite receiver is also essential per TV. Most satellite receivers today also come with a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) which the cable company has not yet been able to offer as of now. Most satellite companies run specials on free installation and equipment when you agree to a 12 month contract.

Digital cable also requires one receiver per TV but that is all the equipment needed. Should you disconnect your service the receivers will be turned into the cable company where as with Satellite TV you own the dish.

In closing:

In the end the prices are comparable but it depends on which system will best suit your television needs and what you are more comfortable with. Both Digital TV and Satellite TV both have their disadvantages and advantages, you make the call!

Once in while you feel the need to upgrade your home entertainment for yourself, family or the Kids. Your choice of the best way to go in television home entertainment can be a painless and cheap experience or a hard and expensive affair. It is all pegged on the choice of type of TV you make and the implication it has on costs. This is due to the fact that most pay per view TV channels come with a monthly subscription fee. Depending on the choice between cable TV and satellite TV your costs will vary. Another factor that is usually overlooked is the service level of the pay TV type you get installed. Some will have unending interruptions, while others will be affected by the weather. It’s good to know which the best quality TV channel to install is.

I once found myself with this choice to make between cable and satellite TV. While cable TV won on some areas, satellite TV also had its own advantages. So I decided to make a list of the most important factors that I wanted in any pay TV I was going to buy into.

Cost of TV installation and subscriptions

One of the first things on my list was the cost of installation and subscription for pay TV. I went to several websites for suppliers of cable and satellite TV and found that each of them offered equipment on a free lease. Installation costs for satellite TV were free while those of cable TV depend on the rooms to be connected to the cable. Installation of cable TV on a main room costs $ 39.95 and each additional room costs $9.95 to get a line. Satellite TV seemed cheaper on the monthly TV subscriptions. Whilst the most basic and cheapest cable TV company monthly cost is at $39.95 per month, a basic and least expensive satellite TV subscription was $ 19.95 per month.

Satellite TV also won by a huge margin on the number of channels available. The most TV channels on cable TV were 180 while those of satellite TV were 350. Both cable and satellite TV channels offered optional HDTV services at additional costs to the normal service.

TV Quality

Another big plus for satellite TV that I noticed was the fact that they offered an all digital and sound transmission. Digital satellite TV means that the reception, picture and sound quality are of high standard as compared to cable TV’s analog system of transmission. Analog transmission is through the air and is subject to much interference.

On average cable TV seems to have increased their subscription fees by 8% over the last one year while monthly subscription for satellite TV has dropped with more promise on further drop. The reliability of cable TV also seems to be lower than that of satellite TV. While satellite TV failures were less than 1% those for cable TV average 2-4% in an average viewing month.

After sales service

Satellite TV has been ranked by several review websites as the top ranking as opposed to cable TV. Winning the honors are cable TV and dish network in customer satisfaction for the last several years back to back.

After my thorough review of the TV channels it was clear that satellite TV was winning by a clear margin. What was also the most important finding is that I could get TV on a pc through satellite TV. Through the internet, the TV companies had started an internet based service that only required you to buy a satellite TV on pc software.

TV on a PC Service

I decided to try the pc TV software first and Boy was I glad. In 2 minutes flat I was watching sports channels including Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, and ESPN. What’s more these guys had over 3000 TV channels including international TV stations from many countries like Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Rep, Denmark, Dominic. Rep, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran Luxemburg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russian Fed, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, USA, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam among many others.

I guess it should be easier for you to make your choice on the TV to get installed to your home or pc.

Please look at my website for how to get your PC connected to satellite TV on the internet.

If you are looking for ways to watch premium tv channels on your pc, you will be pleased to know that such services do exist. It is as easy as downloading a software that enables you to watch over 3000 channels from all over the world.

Sounds like a scam? Well, at first I thought so too, until a friend of mine downloaded it and started to watch premium tv channels on pc. Furthermore, he only paid a one time fee and it entitled him to use the software for life. I do not know about you but I live in a country where people have to pay a monthly subscription fee in order to have access to about 50 cable television channels. Therefore, this idea of watching live tv on pc on a one time fee really did not sound real to me. Of course, I was proven wrong.

So how do you choose good software to watch premium tv channel on pc? Firstly, go for software that you can download instantly and use it once the payment is made. One tip I found out is that you can actually find software that costs less than $50 and it is a one time payment. So, be wary of services that cost hundreds of dollars and comes with a recurring fee every month or year. If you have been subscribing to cable tv services and have to pay a monthly fee, you will feel so ripped off when you start to use the powerful software that allows you to watch over 3000 premium tv channels world wide on your pc.

In order to enjoy live tv on your pc, you will need a broadband connection as the software will stream in live tv footage from the servers. A 56k dial up connection might be possible but not recommended if you want optimal video and audio performance.

The software installation should be straight forward and interface has to be user friendly. Since you may or may not be able to find out about these things before purchase, you will have to rely on review sites on these products to help you make the decision.

There are many options available when choosing cable television. The first thing to consider is whether you need installation. If your home, apartment or condo has never had access to cable then you’ll need to get the basic wiring installed. This consists of a technician running a wire connecting your home with the pole where the cable wiring exists. This cable wire will then enter your home and will terminate into a cable box also called the cable television receiver.

The cable box receiver is a unit that connects your television with the cable programming content. The cable is used to transmit the signals. Signals are scrambled to avoid people taking programming for free. The box unscrambles the signals and allows you to properly view all the channels that you subscribe to. There are many different choices when it comes to programming. Basic cable typically includes just a fee premium channels along with local programming.

Special package options for cable are plentiful. You can choose the package that includes the programming that you prefer. For example if you have young children you’ll want kids programming. Sports enthusiasts will like to have plenty of sports channels. You’ll usually find several packaging options to pick from. The more channels you want the more expensive the packages will be. However once you choose a package you can also add other packages at a lower rate. One example of this is adding movie channels to your lineup.

One of the few drawbacks of cable television is that you can’t order any channels that the provider doesn’t carry. Often new channels emerge that may not be part of any cable package lineup. However, most channels will get picked up by cable and will become part of a package. When choosing your package be sure to find out about the ability to upgrade or downgrade your package. Sometimes there is an additional fee when you want to change packages.

One of the best new options provided by many cable companies is the DVR. A DVR is a digital video recorder. It is often part of the cable box itself. The DVR makes it possible to record programs digitally. You can play them back at any time and can even record one show while watching another. The DVR has made the VCR virtually useless since the DVR can do so much more. There is no need to put in tapes because the programs are stored on the hard drive. With a DVR you can pause live television, rewind and watch two shows at the same time using picture in picture.

Using a cable box also allows you to get pay per view programming. This is great for watching movies or sporting events. You can easily order the programming through the remote control on the screen. Each pay per view program has a fee associated with it, which will be added to your monthly bill. Often some of the latest movies are available before coming out on DVD.

There are millions of homes moving from cable television to satellite TV each year. Those little 18 inch satellite dishes for the direct-to-home satellite services are seen every where, and chances are if you drive by two houses, one of them as a dish.

So, why the mass move to satellite TV? Can it be so much better than cable?

The following a just a few of the differences between cable and satellite TV.

Price

On average, basic cable will run you between $40 and $50 per month, and you will be charged a bit more for any add-ons or for digital programming.

You will also have to pay for adding cable to rooms within your home that don’t have the proper connections already installed. With satellite, the average price for basic service, which generally includes digital channels, is between $30 and $40.

Choice

Generally, the choices in cable TV programming are more limited than satellite TV channels, or you have to pay more to get the same number of channels. Cable TV providers are also behind in the number of high-definition channels being offered.

Outages

According to studies and statistics provided by all the cable and satellite providers, cable TV providers nationwide experienced 3 to 5% outages, while satellite TV providers only experienced 1%.

Customer Service

For the past five years, the top satellite TV providers were ranked higher than the top cable companies by JD Powers and Associates.

Local Programming

Although years ago, you could not get local programming through satellite, this is generally no longer the case. This was one of the main reasons people chose not to go with satellite TV. Currently, the top level satellite TV providers have options for local programming in most of the nation.

With all of this information, it seems that satellite TV is the clear choice for anyone who watches a lot of TV or who wants to have access to unique programming choices.

Satellite TV is obviously one of the important waves of television in the future, and provides a great deal of choice and more packages than most cable companies.

Of course, in some areas, basic cable is still much cheaper than satellite TV, and for those that only want to watch the news and a few local programming choices, this is probably the better option.

An exciting development is that you can now access satellite TV through your PC. For those who would otherwise not be able to afford a satellite service, this creates a lot of opportunities.

Would you like to know how to get free cable TV without any difficulty? This is not about pirating cable. It is about free, legal, unlimited cable TV access to thousands of cable and satellite TV channels, live, uncensored, and available to you twenty-four hours a day. Watching TV on your pc is very easy now.

You can say goodbye to your cable box, your satellite dish, and the tangled wires that come along with it. All you need is a laptop or a desktop computer with a high-speed internet connection, and you can access live TV from over seventy-eight nations, being broadcast in dozens of different languages, any time, absolutely free. There are no particular free cable TV secrets.

The fact is that millions of people are already watching free cable TV internet and satellite TV and saving hundreds of dollars per year. Imagine being able to see news, sports, and entertainment being broadcast from the different parts of the world. You can watch international channels as well as many American network and cable TV channels for free on the Internet. You can even get channels that your cable operator wouldn’t offer even if you paid for them.

The Internet is the answer to the question that a lot of people are asking, how to get free cable TV? The high-speed broadband access and technology advancements now allow us to watch live TV over the Internet. Many, many people around the earth are now happily doing just that instead of paying for cable or satellite service for their television viewing. Now the Internet delivers information and entertainment.

No longer does one need cables, cable boxes, or dishes. There is also no further need for a monthly payment to access over a hundred channels. All of this is due to thousands of channels being broadcast on the internet all over the world, free of charge. The only requirement to gain access to these channels is a high-speed connection and a computer on which to watch the free cable.

The majority of cable and satellite dish operators who hold a monopoly over the delivery of content to our households charge monthly fees for a limited selection of channels. But through the internet, it is now possible to see substance from halfway across the planet, as well as domestic content, without having to pay any monthly subscription fees at all. All you need is to pay a one-time fee for the software tuner that lets you select the programs you want to watch. This is how to get free cable TV.

It’s difficult to make an educated decision as a consumer about whether or not cable or satellite TV is the way to go. To the untrained eye, both look like pretty good choices–after all, anything that brings you 500 channels can’t be bad! But not all of us need 500 channels, and sometimes the channels we do get aren’t anything close to what we’d like to be watching. Thankfully, there have been a lot of changes on the part of cable providers and the satellite TV companies alike, and it’s easier to select a package that more closely fits your needs. It is those needs, in fact, that makes it so easy to figure out which is the right choice for you.

For sports fans, there’s absolutely no comparison. Any sports fan who has ever had to relocate from their hometown, where they root for the home team and the home team only, knows the pains of waiting for a national station or ESPN to pick up your game. Who wants to be sitting there on Sunday watching a team they don’t care about? Enter NFL Sunday Ticket, an opportunity to watch your home team from anywhere in the country, whenever they’re playing. Want to see what they’re going to be up against if they make it past the play-offs? You’ve got more football available to you than you could ever actually watch. The clear advantage here? Satellite TV.

Viewers who love movies have a less clear choice ahead of them. Both cable and satellite TV have made it easy to get the premium movie channels like HBO, Showtime, and Starz, and both types of programming offer bundle packages where you can enjoy a premium channel for a less-than-premium price tag for a period of a half-year. Mostly, it depends on how much of a movie buff you actually are. Cable offers a great deal of films in the way of on-demand, too, but satellite, with its opportunity for you to tailor the channels you receive, including TCM and AMC, actually has a slight advantage.

The outdated concern that you’re somehow going to be able to watch the news in Timbuktu without the ability to tune in to your own 10 o’clock report has long been disproved, but with the digitalization of all television and many viewers now being forced to make a switch to either cable or satellite TV, this concern rings true again. For television viewers just now entering the digital world, rest assured that on both cable and satellite TV, local access channels are still available, and you’ll be able to continue watching your favorite reporters dish the hometown dirt.

One myth that never seems to die involves the functioning of satellite-specific equipment versus the “reliability” of cable. Anyone who’s ever had cable is well-aware that it’s just as possible for the cable to go out in a thunderstorm as it is for there to be insufficient signal on your dish. Furthermore, what do people think the cable companies are relying on to beam in their coverage? It’s just a question of connecting your TV set–via wiring–to their satellite. And a great deal of the wiring in place to deliver cable is known for being faulty and temperamental. When dealing with technology, there’s always room for something to go a little bit wrong, but in this case, the fact of the matter is actually that satellite TV delivers a clearer picture in a more reliable manner, as long as you have your dish properly installed. You’re still going to need that cable for your internet, though. The advantage for television, however, goes to satellite TV.