the title says it all , I have twc with an 8300hd-dvr and while there are no problems with the box the lower channels look really graining. thinking of going to dish with the 942 hd-dvr-but are there that many software clitches and bugs in this box. just wondering before I make the switch
should I switch to dish
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Well, I have been with E* since November, 1999 and have no plans to switch! I have only had my 942 for a day but I already love it! I have had to a soft reboot once - this was shortly after it went in service - been ok since and PQ is super on all channels. Our cable company (Cox of Fairfax County, VA) is very expensive with so-so PQ. I do wish E* had my locals in HD and more national HD channels (the remaining VOOM channels, Universal, Starz, etc.) but I hear these things are coming. For my situation, E* is pretty much a no-brainer.
da Doug
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im thinking of going to dish when they add kungfuhd i miss that channel.right now i have comcast with two hd dvrs. if i get dish can i get 1 regular hd box and one hd dvr box. i know about the 942 can i still record a show and watch another one and can the other tv that it will be hooked up to use the dvr function to.
The reason the lower channels look grainy is because they are analog. Most cable companies are in the process of getting rid of analog and switching everything out to digital, which introduces it's own set of picture anomalies. If they overcompress, you get squishy, morphing, featureless faces and the image is very soft. I'll take grain any day over poor digital quality.
I say go for it and switch to Dish. I don't have any of their packages, only HD, Showtime and the Encore A la Carte Pack, but what I've seen from the SD channels is quite impressive, Dish has upped the PQ on the SD channels quite a bit.
I say go for it and switch to Dish. I don't have any of their packages, only HD, Showtime and the Encore A la Carte Pack, but what I've seen from the SD channels is quite impressive, Dish has upped the PQ on the SD channels quite a bit.
I prefer cable with digital, internet, voip, vod among other services coming out on it, it is becoming your one stop for about everything you need. the franchise fees you pay also goes toward your schools, fire and police services among other things. you support your local community by helping them be able to provide these services without cutting back or raising taxes to make up for the down fall in revenue. Dish and Directv doesn't help your local community in this aspect. they cry everytime there is even a mention of a "tax" for the services. the agrument that they don't use "ride of way" to provide services like cable, that they should not have to pay it. Question is, how do you think they get those local channels to you? by using fiber back to there uplink which they use "ride of way" to get it back to them in order to provide you that signal. If you do decide to go with a "pizza pan service", I would go with Directv. they are in the process of launching four new satellites in order to provide your locals in HD among other things that Dish isn't doing. I think personally between the two, Directv gives you more for the price. I like cable though but I am out in a rural area where I do not have access. everyone has there opinion though.
man has a right to express his view, this is a forum where people do that..now lets not get into name calling childern, especiall when o.p. asked if dish is worth it (the switch from CABLE)rnesky said:
I have been with Dish since 1997 and have had very few problems. I subscribe to the Everything pakage and the HD with discount. Picture quality has not been a problem except on the lower channels on a few occasions. For the most part my installs have been very good and the super dish is mounted on my roof where virtually no one can see it. With the 921 (yeah, bugs now and then but when in question.....HARD reboot) I can record all kinds of stuff while watching something else and with the Everything pak do not have to pay the DVR fee. My bill is just over $100 a month and is worth every penny since I am out in the country and had the worst reception for years. At the same time I also stated I would NEVER pay for TV. Eating my words now but for the entertainment value and saving from renting movies I am a happy camper with Dish. I am not a fan of the Direct TV interface and will be staying with Dish in the foreseeable future. Hope this helps.... 
ya this helps alot thanks guys. does anyone know what direct is going to announce the first of june
I know most that went ahead and paid the 'lease privlidge' fee for the 942 don't care at this point, but has anything been said about the MPG4 migration?
I went with cable after Voom and at my earliest convenience i'm going to ditch it. I'm paying a premium for crap. I can get 2 2-tuner boxes from dish (SD) up and running with a better channel line up for $20-$30 less than what I'm paying for cable. If I go with Dish HD it's about the same as i'm paying now.
I think I'm going to wait out the MPG4 migration from Dish and go from there.
By then I'll probably have a BUD up and 4DTV - lol.
I went with cable after Voom and at my earliest convenience i'm going to ditch it. I'm paying a premium for crap. I can get 2 2-tuner boxes from dish (SD) up and running with a better channel line up for $20-$30 less than what I'm paying for cable. If I go with Dish HD it's about the same as i'm paying now.
I think I'm going to wait out the MPG4 migration from Dish and go from there.
By then I'll probably have a BUD up and 4DTV - lol.
lol, how do you like the sa 8300 hd-dvr, thats what I have, it looks good on dig. channels but anolog is bad. thats why I'm thinking of switching to dish or direct just don't know which one yet
Well - it's love hate. It's my 1st DVR and we love it. As a matter of fact the wife to be is now addicted to it. I need to pick up a Tivo or something before I get rid of it - lol.gren25 said:
The Bad:
I've got some kind of ground loop problem so all channels have an audible hum. This is the only device that has the problem and all devices are on the same UPS.
The 'jump to live' at the end of a recording is REALLY annoying.
In general, the HD looks good but like anything else it depends on the content. I got the non-HD looking a lot better when I got the box setup to do the SD stuff at 480p.
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My main hangup is with Cox. I'm paying $70/mo for the cheapest digital cable package offered + HD & DVR. This blows.
I've pretty much come to accept that HD is stupidly overpriced from DBS & cable providers. Even Dish with Top120 + the HD pack and a DVR with all the fees and whatnot end up around what I'm paying for Cox.
I'm probably going to go back to analog cable (90% of what the family wants to watch it on there). My FTA setup is good for getting me music channels and whatever video content happens to be in the clear. FTA has been a lot of fun to play with.
If Cox does as they plan and eliminate analog cable, I'll probaly get into a dish dual tuner setup. That makes for a really slick TV solution for the kid's rooms.
Post VOOM, I went back to Adelphia since I could rent three SA8300HD DVRs and be under no service obligation. While the SA8300HD was an improvement over the SA8000HD, Adelphia service was still horrible so I jumped on board E* as soon as carriage of the VOOM channels were announced. I am leasing a 942 & two 811 and I am satisfied with the overall value of the service...just need to add the other 11 VOOM Originals and perhaps Universal HD, WealthTV, ESPN2, CinemaxHD and StarzHD as well. The 942 is a 1000x better DVR than the SA8300HD IMO. Like I said, I am satisfied with my decision to go with E* for the next 11 months. Adelphia is still the only broadband provider in my neck-of-the-wood, but it looks like Verizon will be running Fiber To The Premise (FTTP) and offering internet and video services in my area next year. My Verizon residential and cell phone service has always been top notch. Verizon may very well be my one stop shop in the near future. We shall see.
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