Best TV service? Satellite or Cable? Which Brand?

LostMyMoney · #1 06-09-2005, 10:37 PM

My parents recently purchased two state of the art TVs. They are flat screen HD compatable, and compatable with pretty much everything else. With one cord I had my computer monitor up on the TV... It is awesome.

Because they are not very tech savy, they have asked me to sign up for the best HD service for their new TVs. Unfortunately, I am also not very tech savy. We live in New Jersey. YES HD and ESPN HD are necessities. MSG HD would be nice. My mom likes movie channels but this is not a necessity.

My parents currently have cablevision and DirecTV. I think that this is probably wasteful and would like to find a service provider that will allow them to cancel one of these services. My father gets the NFL and MLB package through DirecTV and would not cancel DTV unless he could get these packages elsewhere.

Our priorities are:
1. HD options
2. Price
3. Range of other channels

After some research I have come up with IO Digital Cable, DirecTV, and Dish Network as the three leading options although the satellite ones seem really expensive...

Thanks in advance for all feedback on any options and any anecdotes about your experiences with the above or other options.

Guy Incognito · #2 06-09-2005, 11:05 PM

My experience: DirecTV and Earthlink DSL were a PITA (Especially Earthlink). I now have Comcast for TV and internet, and have no complaints.

wonderwes · #3 06-10-2005, 01:34 AM

You want DirecTV HD. No questions needed. Best service, best installation. And if you are smart and get it with an HD tivo, you will get a truly great experience. I would say DirecTv has the most HD channels out of all providers.

BTW- If you sign up under directv, and do a referal, that referee gets 1 month free service.

somethingstupid · #4 06-10-2005, 01:59 AM

yes

pryor15 · #5 06-10-2005, 03:24 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I would say DirecTv has the most HD channels out of all providers.

[/ QUOTE ]

has that changed? b/c when i used to work there it definitely wasn't the case

LostMyMoney · #6 06-10-2005, 06:25 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I would say DirecTv has the most HD channels out of all providers.

[/ QUOTE ]

has that changed? b/c when i used to work there it definitely wasn't the case

[/ QUOTE ]

From what I saw it is $699 for the equipment for both dish DVR/HD and DTV DVR/HD. Dish has a smaller monthly fee

Would you guys say that DTV > Dish, not considering price? Is this close?

IO Digital Cable is much cheeper than both and does not have the $700 equipment fee. Does anyone have IO and have any reviews of it?

Is there anything else I should be considering?

Thanks again for all of your help.

Burt Reynolds · #7 06-10-2005, 06:30 PM

Burt Reynold happy with Dish network.

pshreck · #8 06-10-2005, 06:37 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Burt Reynold happy with Dish network.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: The Longest Yard.

Burt Reynold biggest sellout in history of film.

Keats13 · #9 06-10-2005, 07:21 PM

DirecTV has an exclusive contract for the NFL Sunday Ticket. At least for the next several years, if you want the NFL package, you need DirecTV. The other packages can be gotten through dish or cable. More than half of the NFL games are in HD now, so it's worth getting a HD DirecTV box for that alone. Other HD selection has been growing on DirecTV.

One drawback is that you can't get HD locals through DTV, you need to hook up an antenna to get them. You may be able to get a generic HD network feed for some/all networks, it varies from market to market.

MSG is offered on DirecTV. If it's your "local" sports station (not sure where in NJ you are), you will get it with the basic package and be able to watch games without paying extra. If it's not your "local" sports station, you will need the Sports Pack to get it, and even then the games will be blacked out unless you pay for the appropriate league packages.