Which do you prefer, Direct TV or regular Cable TV?

Question

I was wondering about the weather and what effects it might have on Direct TV.

Answer 1

Weather has a strong effect on Direct TV, but only in hard storms.

I have had Direct TV for years and I like it over cable.  Cable has it's share of outages as well.  So it depends on where you live.  If you have a lot of hard rain then I would go cable, if not then Direct TV has more channels.  I have found fewer outages with Direct TV, I live in North Texas and while it does rain a good deal it doesn't rain really hard very often.  I have satellite problems maybe 2-3 times a year, never for more than an hour and I can usually forecast those.  You have no idea when cable is going to go out on you and for how long.  If my Direct TV loses reception then I can manually adjust the satellite dish to get it back; I haven't had to do that very often; I found that a few bags of gravel on top of the dish stand keeps it still.

I have NEVER had to have a repair man come out; the only time I had a service call was when I had it installed, and when I had it upgraded to a TiVo, which receives two signals at once.  That way I can watch a show and record another one at the same time.  Since it is national my choices of TV packaging is larger; If I was a sports fan then I could get more sports channels.  I can also get more HDTV channels and a wider selection on pay per view.

I had cable for about 9 months and I hated the frequent outages, the poor selection and the number of times I had to call for repair or reboot.

With my service contract it only cost me $100 to upgrade to TiVo and that has changed my life, now I watch TV on MY schedule, when I want to and I skip through all the commercials.  I hate watching live TV and having to sit through the commercials.

My brother-in-law moved from cable to Direct TV and then to FIOS and he has never been happier.  Since he has wireless service, TV and a broadband package the total package service with fiber optics gives him much better reception.  It is also weather independent.

I read an article from the New York Times I got on My Yahoo Homepage.  The author said "Why get a car when someone is offering you a Mercedes Benze?  The FIOS package is not cheap, but then if you put together your wireless, broadband and cable packages and see what you are paying you see the deals are pretty fair.  Verizon is taking a big risk in upgrading its services to fiber optics, a risk that won't pay off for years.  Cable and AT&T are hoping they can push more signals through copper wires not to replace the technology.

When I next move I want to move to an area where I can get FIOS, it isn't available in every area.  The advantage of Direct TV is that if you can see the satellite then the service will be available.  There is a one second delay with satellite signals so when you watch normal TV you notice the time lag, otherwise it is not a problem, but that means a satellite broadband connection will be slow as the signal bounces from the Earth to orbit and back.

If you have to go for cable then you can get a package with your broadband making both cheaper.  So the best plan is to look for a package you can get.

I pay for my broadband cable and Direct TV separately so I end up paying more; that's why when I move next year I am upgrading to FIOS.  

Answer 2

Cable is way more reliable!  My friends have satellite TV and in bad weather, forget it.  Plus, if the Dish isn't adjusted properly or if it's obscured by trees or other buildings, it can be lousy.

Also, if it's on your roof - your roof will often leak because of it.

Answer 3

Cable TV.. A couple of my friends have direct tv and they said that when the weather is bad, they pray that they'll still be able to watch television.. Never had a problem with cable.