My Take On Satellite Versus Cable TV

It has been estimated that approximately 35 millions HDTV's
are in American homes today and that the number is estimated
to rise to 49 million by the end of 2008. But some people are still on the fence as to whether they should switch to satellite HDTV or not. I would like to demonstrate all the benefits of HDTV so you will be able to finally make a decision as to which is better between HDTV and regular cable TV.


Well, the first advantage of satellite HDTV is the wide variety of channels available. Cable TV providers only offer about 180 channels on average compared to 350 channels for satellite TV providers. Satellite HDTV providers also offer more specialized programming. Some dish packages are tailor made not only for sports fans in general, but for specific sports has well. For
example Dish network offers packages targeted at college basketball fans only, as well as major league baseball and NBA fans. And since dish packages are not delimited by specific locations, you can get access to sporting events that would usually not be available in your local area. There is also packages targeted at movie buffs and specific cultural groups. So satellite HDTV offers the possibility to really shape your programming in ways cable TV can't.


The second advantage of satellite HDTV is cost. The current cost for the least expensive dish package is $19.99 per month versus an average of $39.99 for cable TV. Cable TV prices have been constantly on the rise through the years, but due to the ferocious competition between satellite providers, their rates have been coming down in recent years; so this a

win-win situation for the customer. In some cases, cable TV can cost up to $39.99 a month plus installation for 60 channels or so compared to $19.99 a month for 100 of DISH
Network's all-digital program channels with free installation
and DVR recorder. So cost wise, this is a no brainer.


Another advantage that satellite TV has on cable TV is image quality. DISH Network and DIRECTV broadcast all of their programs in digital format whereas cable TV uses outdated analog technology. Some cable TV providers will even go as far as advertising digital programming only to find out that there will be extra charges associated to the service and that it will only be available for a few channels. Satellite HDTV also uses the most out of HDTV monitors since the image definition is by far greater than any other cable TV provider. Satellite TV also ranks high in the customer service department. Dish Network has been ranked higher by J.D. Power and Associates then any cable service companies for the past 5 years. So that's another reason to switch to Satellite HDTV by Dish Network.

Thanks for listening,

David Thompson

the.dish.group

These opinions are the sole ideas of the author and are not condoned or supported by Dish Network or the EchoStar Communications Corporation