DirecTV vs. Cablevision

L

Liquid Diet 2

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I'm going High Def. Currently have regular DirecTV service and am happy (great picture quality). For High-Def, who should I go with? Has anyone had both and can comment on picture quality? (that's my main concern, I want the best picture) thx

Not much boating stuff to talk about.
 
Got the TV but have to wait 5 weeks for Directv to come and put in new dish. Has anyone used "rabbit ears" to pull in local HD signals here on Long Island? If so what antenna did you use? I tried today with amplified RCA crap and all I got was TV55. But it did look good at 480i! BTW- mdoherty, both cable and satellite offer local HD through their systems, so once I get hooked up I won't need the additional antenna.
 
I just looked and FIOS is in my area. But on their website, I can't get any info on their TV offerings. Anyone know cost and channels? I want to dump cable but don't want to invest in satellite. I have 7 TV's and I would need too many receivers to make if functional, just not worth the hassle. To me that is the biggest disadvantage of sattelite, every TV must have a receiver or share a receiver. Cable or FIOS every TV at least gets the basic signal.
 
LIQUID DIET....call the installation company directly...i believe its Halstead Communication...have them put you on the cancellation list. If someone in your area cancels an installation you might be able to get the new dish sooner.
 
Liquid Diet 2 - I live in Amityville & tried an indoor antenna. The Philips Silver Sensor is probably the best indoor HD (UHF) antenna & cost $20 - 30. I'm on the fringe of reception range & really need a rooftop antenna. But with the Silver Sensor stuck in a hanging plant (for height) I'm getting digital channels 2, 5, and 7. Signal strenght on NBC 4 & WB11 is just to weak to get. FYI your TV needs an internal ATSC tuner to do this.

Re cablevision... If your HD TV has an internal QAM tuner you can get all locals - 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, & 13(PBS HD) as long as you subscribe to basic cable. You DO NOT need a set top box OR the IO package to get the above channels. I subscribe to basic family cable and get CBS2.1, NBC4.1, 4.2, 4.4, FOX5.1, ABC7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 9, WB11, and 13HD. I receive channels 2.1, 4.1, 5.1, 7.1, 9.1, 11.1 and 13.1 in 720p or 1080i with Dolby 5.1 surround sound. The .2 are sub-channels like WNBC4 WX Plus etc.

Be aware that cablevision customer service will lie & say you MUST subscribe to the IO package & rent their HD set top box. I have spoken to them 3 times over the last few years, most recently in person. Each time even after telling them I have an HD ready TV w/ internal qam tuner they say getting HD is impossible without upgrading the box & paying another $10/month for the IO package. BS! FIOS here I come.

FYI you do need IO & a set top box or cablecard to get ESPN HD, Discovery HD, etc.
 
dswenson- I have the built in tuner. Just bought a Terk outdoor antenna and want to try. What channel(s) do I tune into on TV to get the local HD? I read it's different than 2, 4, 5 etc. thx
 
Depends on the TV. On my Sharp Aquos the over-the-air stuff shows up as ch 2, 5, 7. Using cable, they show up as 2.1, 5.1, 7.1. On cable I also get the sub channels previously mentioned. For over-the-air ch 2 in HD is actually broadcast on UHF channel 55 or something similiar but is remapped by PSIP data on the TV.

As far as tuning, for initial setup I just press menu, go into channel setup & select auto-scan. After a few minutes, whether using antenna or cable, I press the GUIDE button & have an on-screen list of all available digital channels along with the network label. After that I just press 2 on my remote and I'm watching CBS in HD.

Dave
 
quote:
Originally posted by CarterCrew

quote:
Originally posted by walterv

Also Fios does not hold a candle to cable for internet access(dollar for dollar for speed)... Walter

Click to expand...


I am a bit puzzled Walter - seriously, that is the first time I've heard that.

Yes, I do work for Verizon but I'm not exactly the corporate stooge type. Just really surprised given my own experience and that of my neighbors.

Comcast swore they were giving me 16M service but I could never get speeds above 4MB on any test sites. My FiOS is consistently at 15MB when I test now.

Click to expand...


"Dollar for Dollar" was the key word :}

Fios 39.99 5 MBPS down / 2 MBPS up
Cable 39.99 15 MBPS down / 5MBPS up

Fastest Fios 179.99 month 30 down 5 up
Fastest Cable 49.99 month 30 down 5 up

Other than the fast service, which most people do not need, I really do not know how they compare when you bundle the services.

"Comcast swore they were giving me 16M service but I could never get speeds above 4MB on any test sites. My FiOS is consistently at 15MB when I test now."

Come to think of it I never see the speeds cable claims either... Does it not have to do with the how many computers are hooked up and online (in my case could be 8 at a time) and also if you are running voice over the internet (in my case I have two Vonage lines)

I have also heard with cable, that at peak times your access will be slower. Is this true and would that be the same for Fios?

Walter

Walter
 
The cable speeds also depend on your neighbors who also share the same line with you.

So if you notice little Johnny getting off the school bus and the speed starts to slow down.........He is probably streaming music or porn to his pc. LOL !!!

FIOS doesn't share bandwidth with your neighbor.

Jonathan
 
I have the FIOS pricing, I just don't have their TV pricing
Those prices are not right:

10 Mbps/2 Mbps $39.99
20 Mbps/5 Mbps $49.99
50 Mbps/5 Mbps $89.95

For cable I get 30 mbps/5 mbps and I pay $45 but it never runs that fast!

Cable I pay
 
http://www22.verizon.com/content/consumerfios/packages+and+prices/packages+and+prices.htm
 
I want to know how much their TV is. I pay cable $105 for cable and internet and I don't have HBO or HD yet and want them both.
 
We use cable as a back up if DirecTV goes out- it costs $15 over the broadband &VoIP
DirecTV programming seems to be better, Plus I use the same account for the boat

We pay $75 for very basic cable (like 20 channels), internet & 1 VoIP phone line.
29.95 VoIP phone
29.95 broadband
15.00 basic cable

we also have verizon phones as well
 
Everyone in my house has cell phones, almost seems silly to have a land line today.

Walter
 
One problem with cell phones is dialing 911.

There are some issues with it.

Plus they cannot trace to your house if you call and cannot communicate fully with the operator.

Other than that, you are right, who need land lines.

Jonathan
 
Land lines work when there is a power failure, cells do not.

Get an old fashioned hard wired land line phone, if you have a wireless, it won't work when the power goes out.
 
Mike,
Good point.... but not correct.....cells just need to be charged in the car....... Also alot of people are going VOIP.... so when power is gone so is their land line....

Walter
 
Walter, your cell could be fully charged, you could have 10 extra fully charged batteries, but it ain't gonna work. The problem is that when there is a blackout, the cell towers get no power, so you get no signal.

Landlines have their own low voltage power sources, so they continue to work during blackouts.
 
Landlines provided by Verizon, yes you are correct...... But cell service from Verizon, will still work because most of their towers are where their central offices are...... (Generator Back UP)

IN 2003 when we had that blackout .... my cell worked.....

Walter
 
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