Which one HD Cable or HD Satelite ? (1 Viewer)

[anthony_b]

I'm currently a directv customer,but cablevision in New Jersey is offering me a buy back program that would offer there HD monthly programming package for $49.99 a month (regular is %74.99/mo)...when it comes to local HD, they said whatever is broadcasted in HD I would get (cbs would be all day)....Directv I would have to purchase an HD box plus an off air anntena....what would you do ?

 

[Vin]

Anthony,

Currently available in hi-def from Cablevision are HBO & Showtime (providing you're already a subscriber to these premium channels) in addtion to MSG, FOX Sports, CBS, FOX (ED, not HD) and PBS. To get all of these you would have to subscribe to the Gold Package at the discounted price of $59.95/month for 12 months, then the price goes to $84.95/month. The $49.95/month is the discounted price for the Silver Package which doesn't include Showtime. (Also, the Silver package doesn't include Cinemax or The Movie Channel, neither of which offer an HD feed anyway).

Additional boxes are $3.24 each/month.

Being a current DirecTV customer myself for the last 4 years or so, I was also tempted by the offer from Cablevision because of the initial savings on equipment charges that you've mentioned. After re-thinking it though, and doing a little more research, I don't get the impression that people, in general, are any happier about Cablevision now than when I dumped them for DirecTV back in '99.

It seems a lot of current Cablevision customers are concerned that they may be taking a back seat as CV launches their new satellite service, Voom. Is this a legitimate concern? Who knows, but for right now I've decided to wait and see....

Vin

 

[anthony_b]

Vin, you're right..I'm going to wait it out a little more to see what happens...I've been with directv for 8 years and ever since I got my new triple lnb dish in January I've been getting more outages due to rain and clouds (that rarely happened with my old sony dish), so that was one of the main reasons for switching...In reference to the silver package they would offer (the starz/hbo package)in addition to all the other basic and HD stuff....I'm leaning torwards waiting for the HD boxes to come down in price and stick with directv.

 

[anthony_b]

Any more opinions on cablevision in Monmouth county new jersey ?...I just got off the phone with a sales person from cablevision, and my concern is mainly the channels under 100 that are ANALOG. I'm looking at there HD package and even though I don't have HD with Directv I'm satisfied with the standard signals....The lady said, that with the new reciever via component I wouldn't have known that channels 1 to 99 are ANALOG. Is this true ?...The one thing that I like about going back to cable is that anything that is transmitted in HD trough my locals will be displayed on my set, CBS HD is 24 hours a day and the other locals would be whenever something is being broadcasted in HD (NO NEED FOR A ROOF ANTENNA,no equipment to buy and no commitments).

 

[Tim K]

CBS HD is 24 hours a day and the other locals would be whenever something is being broadcasted in HD

No, CBS is not a 24hr HD feed. Just like every other network, only a portion of their programming is in HD. ABC and CBS do their primetime lineups in HD (8pm-11pm), NBC does the tonight show. I believe the other networks have a few shows here and there (WB, etc). CBS also does the Young & The Restless, but that is it for the daytime. A good source is http://www.titantv.com/ttv/home/HDTVUpdate.aspx

They may be trying to say that there is a "digital feed" all day...but that is true for all the networks. My local ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc, all broadcast their programming on their analog frequency and their digital frequency. The digital picture is a better picture but it is NOT HD. When the network broadcasts a show in HD, the local affiliate broadcasts the standard def show on their analog station and the HD show on their digital station.

As for cable vs directv...I have Comcast Cable with HD. The HD box doesn't cost any extra and I get NBC, ABC, PBS, HBO, Fox (ED not HD), Comcast Sportsnet, and ESPN hi-def channels. It costs about $80/mo. Directv with HBO is probably about $55/mo with locals. The difference is equipment. In the loong run they probably will both cost the same. The question is do you want your cost up front, or paid in the rental fee?

 

[anthony_b]

Tim, you kind of answered a question I had, if local channels are broadcast in the analog range (1 to 99) how are the hd signals coming in ?...are they duplicated in the higher channels ?

 

[Tim K]

yes, the local network affiliates have two "channels". For example, my local fox network broadcasts on analog channel 29 (regular) and on digital channel 42. Those would be the numbers you tuned to if you were receiving signals over-the-air and had a HDTV tuner. On comcast cable I get Fox analog on channel 2 and fox digital on channel 183. On Sunday's, some of the football games are broadcast on fox's digital channel in what they call "enhanced widescreen" which is a 16:9 picture at 480p resolution. Its not HDTV but better than stretched out standard broadcast TV. On Monday nights, ABC broadcasts the MNF game 4:3 on their analog station, and in 16:9 HDTV (720p) on their digital station.

Hope that answers your question.

 

[Tim K]

a good site to use is the titantv site I listed earlier. Got to www.titantv.com and register (free). You can then choose your cable or satelite provider and then open up your customized "tv guide". It will list all the channels and programs like a TV guide, give the proper channel number for your particular system, and tell you what is in HD vs standard.

 

[anthony_b]

UPDATE: Goodbye DIRECTV !!...Just got hooked up with the SA4200HD (using low-end component cables provided by cablevision), and I have to say that I'm happy. I do notice some grain on a few local channels but it's nothing I can't live with. It's locked in to 1080i MODE and my TV provides special zoom modes when in HD (the strech mode of the box is OK to). PBSHD is great !!...the Digital channels (above 100) look much better on my TV than standard Directv (must be due to the current component connection as opposed to S-VIDEO on a no frills hughes box I had).....The only thing I miss is Directv's rapid guide response, other than that I'm a happy camper. (tomorrow I'll play around with the other modes such as 720p or 480p).

note: some of the analog channels come in great, for example my kids were watching the Jimmy Neutron movie on one of the lower analog channels (The movie channel) and it was very close to DVD !!