Satiellite vs. Cable

[chgocolt]

Ok. I'm a long time cable subscriber. The only cable provider here in my condo is Comcast and I'm using them for TV and Internet. (I was using Vonage but had to dump them due to Comcast having issue providing consistent quality of connections) I'm sick of the high bill and want to change. I can save $25 a month with DSL, but I work out the charges for similar TV services with DirecTV and DishNetwork I'm about at the same price. (About a $100 a month after special prices expire) Am I working it out wrong?

What's the positive and negatives of a dish over cable?

What are the differences between the two dish services?

Is there a reason to move from cable to dish is there's no savings?

My condo is already wired and 'dish ready'. Just a swap of one cable on my splitter will remove me from the cable drop to a wire that extends up to the roof where the previous owner had a dish.

Current Service:
Comcast Digital with 2 'standard digital' boxes and one HDTV/DVR box. Showtime and HBO. Don't care about other premium channels or sports packages.

 

[bidger`]

How are you getting your prices for satellite? I think you'll get your best deal by calling them and telling them your current situation, cable sub, and see what they offer. You might want to see if there's a package deal from the DSL provider that would include satellite TV.

Whether sat or cable is preferable is really a personal decision. But, regardless of where you go, pay TV with all the bells and whistles ain't cheap. And if you're not going to do the bells and whistles, put up an antenna instead because IMO those base packages don't really have many channels worth watching.

 

[chgocolt]

How are you getting your prices for satellite? I think you'll get your best deal by calling them and telling them your current situation, cable sub, and see what they offer. You might want to see if there's a package deal from the DSL provider that would include satellite TV.

Whether sat or cable is preferable is really a personal decision. But, regardless of where you go, pay TV with all the bells and whistles ain't cheap. And if you're not going to do the bells and whistles, put up an antenna instead because IMO those base packages don't really have many channels worth watching.

Well I do use Showtime & HBO. I also like a lot of the extended basic stuff like History Channel, CNBC, HGTV etc. I'm just not a sports person so don't care about the sports packages. I've had "On Demand" service for 3 years and only used it once so I wouldn't miss it if it was gone.

 

[chgocolt]

Ok. I was able to get the cost of DirecTV down to where it's the pre-tax cost is $30 less than what I pay for comparable service with Comcast. (That would be after the incentives run out.) On top of that, I can save another $25 a month with AT&T DSL Elite (6mb/756kbps) service over what I pay now for Comcast Cable modem. Now dumping Comcast is a no brainer, but here's the bigger question:

Which has better PQ? DirecTV or DishNetwork? Any "got ya's" I should know about before I sign a term contract? Can I expect weather issues with reception in Chicago? (The 4 story building is prewired for a dish to be on the roof, so there would be no physical obstructions like trees or other buildings.)