Re: Satellite vs Cable

From: JW (anonymous_at_Nospam.Iam)
Date: 11/10/04 

Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 09:05:30 -0800

I too was a D* customer for 7 years and for the last 3 1/2 of them had a dual tuner PVR STB.
When I purchased my Samsung DLP unit I switched to cable for the following reasons. I still wanted a dual tuner PVR STB and the lease cost from my cable company is $15 per month. Secondly my cable company has all of the local network OTA HD stations eliminating the requirement for using an OTA antenna as I would with D*.
Note: when you switch from D* to cable channels 2-99 will be in analog format and not digital as they were with D*, above that they are SD digital except for the HD digital channels.
Since the low numbered channels that I watch are almost all network channels and I get them via their HD digital broadcast I am not bothered by the fact that they are in analog(RF) format for their low channel number counterparts.
  "Joe Horton" <horj235 at lni dot wa dot gov> wrote in message news:%23zJrbF0xEHA.2804@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
  I have been a DirecTV customer for years using Tivo.

  I just got a Samsung DLP 45 inch for the bedroom - and in order to get HD-Tivo - I have to spend $999 for equipment.

  I was thinking of switching to ComCast for my TV - I only use it for Internet right now - but have noted my neighbors quality on Cable is nothing like my Satellite quality.

  Is the point my neighbors aren't using HD and therefore aren't really using a digital signal? So my switching to ComCast it appears I can get a HD STB for about $300.

  To get HD for my DirecTV without it being Tivo is $600 ($299 x 2 STB receivers) needed by WMC for dual tuners.

  I guess here is my cost analysis for both systems - is this really what I have to spend to get HD and maintain my DVR system?:

  Tivo route
  $999 -Get HD for existing Tivo

  DirecTV and WMC
  $600 - Get 2 HD DirecTV receivers
  $1000 + - New comptuer with Media Center 2005
  $200 + Extendor
  ======
  ~$1800

  Cable
  $300 - HD STB
  $1000 + - New comptuer with Media Center 2005
  $200 + Extendor
  =====
  ~$1500

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