[MSNPA]

We currently have Comcast Cable. My husband would like to get a satellite dish so that he can get the Big Ten network. I walk a lot through the Village neighborhoods and I spot a lot of satellites. Sometimes a house may have two and they seem to come in different sizes. Does anyone in TOTV have a satellite? Would appreciate any comments to the various pros and cons. I worry about getting rid of Comcast Cable since they are at least a sure thing. Thanks.

[iaudit]

I have bee using DISH network with High Definition and have been very satisfied. I believe if you have High Definition you need two dishes because they aim at two different satellites. There are some deed restrictions as far as where the dishes can be installed The restrictions are probably different, depending on where you live.

As far as reception, you tend to loose the signal when there is severe weather in the ares, like thunderstorms, but then you should probably disconnect anyway in those conditions.

[lm01]

It depends what you want to do. If you have a bundled service with Comcast I would suggest staying with them.

If you are just interested in tv only I'd go to dish or direct tv.

[Villages Kahuna]

You only need one dish. The DirecTV rep was very accomodating in placing it on my roof, out of sight from the street. If you order a DVR (digital video recorder) and if you wish to watch one program while recording another, you will need two cable lines from the dish to the location where you want the DVR. (Standard Villages construction is one cable line per room.) DirecTV will pull that extra line for a modest additional charge.

The breadth of service from DirecTV, particularly their high definition channels, leaves Comcast in their dust. I didn't spend a lot of time doing price comparisons, but I think the comparative monthly charges between the two are quite comparable. Once you drop Comcast cable TV, they will jack up the cost of their broadband connection to something like $65 a month.

And yes, the Big Ten Network is even better than I thought it would be.

[punkpup]

I have had DISH since 1998 and love it. When asked about DISH TV or Direct TV vs Comcast I explain that it is essentially the same concept. The Comcast satellite dishes receive (downlink) signals from telecommunication satellites and are processed through their distribution system then the signals run through miles of cable, or less depending on your proximity to the cable downlink station, to your receiver(s)/descrambler(s) aka "cable box(es)". With your own satellite dish exactly the same thing occurs but the signal travels a much shorter distance from the point of downlink on your roof to your distribution block and then on to your receiver(s)/descrambler(s). Thus the difference between Comcast and DISH TV or Direct TV means you will have a much better image due to the shorter distance the signal travels.

Any satellite dish is vulnerable to bad weather; thunderstorms, heavy winds, rain and snow in the north. During bad weather signals can be lost regardless of whether your satellite dish downlink is on your roof or coming from Comcasts downlink location. As noted by iaudit it is safest to turn off your receiver in those situations and that includes Comcast as well. In bad weather I will watch a DVD or switch to regular broadcast television as I have a special external antenna which is attached to the dish post. I recommend external antennas if you live in an area where signals from local TV transmitters come in strongly.

The most important thing to remember about installing a satellite system is that your system is only as good as the actual installation itself! A lot of installers are actually subcontractors used by DISH TV or Direct TV which is not necessarily a bad thing but there can be significant differences in the proficiency of one installer compared to another. An unstable dish or one not accurately aimed at a telecommunications satellite results in a weak signal and thus a poor TV image.

[chacam]

We have both, basic Comcast for cable internet and tv in the front room and Dish w/DVR for the rest of the house. Wouldn't do without either one. When Dish goes out for bad rain (seldom occurs), Comcast saves the day.

[abracadabra]

Originally Posted by chacam

We have both, basic Comcast for cable internet and tv in the front room and Dish w/DVR for the rest of the house. Wouldn't do without either one. When Dish goes out for bad rain (seldom occurs), Comcast saves the day.

We have Direct TV and love it; however I would like to have Comcast for the internet (anything has to be faster than Embarq......even the pony express). Would you mind telling me what it costs to have Comcast for the service you have?
My neighbor has 2 satellite dishes (which I understood was illegal in TV). He told me that he needed two because he couldn't get local channels with only one Dish. We get local plus whatever else with Direct Tv with one dish.

[another Linda]

You can usually get 6 month deals with Comcast. I got a plan of "preferred basic" cable for $33/month increasing to $50/month after 6 months, and hi-speed internet for $20/month increasing to $43/month after 6 months. I ended up going with Comcast because I could put my service on "vacation" and then after 3 months would be eligible for whatever deals they were offering when I want to restart. since it is unlikely that anyone will be in our place June, July, and August, it is a very good deal for us.

[chacam]

Our comcast bill is for $58.50 including taxes. Basic service is $11.00. Internet is $45.95 (including modem rental).
Dish bill for America's top 250, locals and dvr is about $65.

[punkpup]

I have two Dishes on my roof because when I added local channels the signal came from a different satellite so one dish received all the programming for DISH & the other for the local channels. From my understanding it is no longer necessary to have two dishes because the local channel programming is routed through one telecommunications satellite. As to a separate dish for HD I can't answer that as I won't be upgrading to HD until we move to TV.
It's not worth it for me to buy all new equipment at this time.

[homeball]

Yesterday I got a good taste of what satellite reception is like during a heavy rain storm. We were down at Beef O'Brady's in Colony Plaza watching the usual Sunday football matches when a heavy rain came. All 15 or so of their TV monitors went blank because of the loss of the satellite signal. It took the better part of five minutes for the satellite signal to be reacquired so that we could continue watching the games. Needless to say, we missed a key play or two during this outage. There may be some advantage of satellite over cable but reliability isn't one of them. Contrary to what some posts say, satellite signals DO drop out during bad weather.

-Dave-

[dgammon6]

We have Direct TV and love it. It only requires 1 Dish and will pick up local stations. When storm clouds block out the service, usually by switching to the channel that is not High Definition, it will come in.

[aln]

I'm not going to reiterate but just say I agree with the V_Kahuna and dgammon6. . . . DirecTv is BEST for sports.

A 'dropped signal' for 5 minutes?
versus
NO Signal with Comcast . . . after all. . . that's why you were at Beef O'bradys

[katezbox]

Originally Posted by aln

I'm not going to reiterate but just say I agree with the V_Kahuna and dgammon6. . . . DirecTv is BEST for sports.

A 'dropped signal' for 5 minutes?
versus
NO Signal with Comcast . . . after all. . . that's why you were at Beef O'bradys

Woo hoo - that is correct!

[NJblue]

Another alternative for backup is to have BOTH satellite and Comcast. This isn't as expensive as it sounds if you use Comcast for Internet. The extra cost to get basic cable (i.e., local stations only) is only $5/month. While this strategy doesn't work if your must-see TV is a cable channel, if you are watching a standard network broadcast and the dish goes out, you can always switch over to cable.

So, why not just go with cable? Same answer as above - cable is pretty lousy with respect to sports channels.