Decision Time: Satellite or Cable - Shopping for new TV service? Read on and learn vital information to help you find the best deal on satellite or cable service.
If you’ve moved recently or want to explore your TV service
options now that the analog era has passed, then you might find yourself
exploring satellite or cable.
For many,
questions abound. Who offers a premier product, a better price, superior
reliability?
Continue reading for a
thorough examination of the ways cable and satellite compare.
Differences between satellite and cable begin to appear when
you examine how they run signal.
If you
opt for service from a provider like Dish Network, your roof-mounted dish will
pick up a signal from a geostationary satellite located far above the earth’s
equator.
Cable works a little
differently.
It relies on an underground
system of coaxial cables that relay signal from the provider hub all the way to
your home.
In either case, all TV signal
is now full digital.
This equals clearer
picture and sound, plus many more available channels than analog could ever
offer.
On the issue of reliability, independent research favors
satellite.
This may come as surprise to
many, namely because satellite sometimes garners unfortunate misconceptions about
its reliability.
A satellite viewer will
witness about 15 minutes of service downtime.
In that same timespan, a cable subscriber can experience service interruption
as high as 20-plus hours.
Choose
satellite or cable and you’ll receive much more reliable service versus
analog.
Frequent headaches like fuzzy
picture and garbled sound have mostly vanished thanks to satellite and cable.
Having access to reliable entertainment helps usher in peace
of mind.
Chances are, the cost of
service represents a concern.
Overall,
satellite’s done a much better job of keeping rates affordable and steady.
A long number of years have passed since the
satellite industry has increased rates.
Pretty much any name in the cable business will hike prices at least
once a year.
Though satellite has a rep
for consistency, DishNetwork actually has a surprise for new subscribers.
Get approved and activate service and you can
tune into more than 120 stations at a monthly price of $24.99 for an entire
year.
A similar package, if available,
from a cable provider could easily cost you four times as much.
Now that you’ve developed a basic sense of what to expect
from cable and satellite, you might want to consider adding HD programming to
your TV lineup.
Usually, that’ll run extra,
but both satellite and cable offer a nice mix of channels at a price that’s
manageable.
In terms of superior picture
and sound quality, satellite HD resolution runs as high as 1080 p.
With cable it reaches a max of 720.
Many TV watchers feel as strongly about the amenities as
they do any other aspect of TV service.
And, that’s no crime.
After all,
the perks can really boost your home entertainment experience.
Including features like video on-demand,
pay-per-view events and movies, and DVR technology is easy and affordable: same
thing if you decide to add premium channels to the mix.
As an added bonus, DishNetwork currently
offers approved, new subscribers HBO and Showtime at no cost for three
months.
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