Hello young one. Right now you are probably wondering what mommy and daddy are always arguing about late at night. Most likely, they are debating about whether to order cable or satellite TV. You see, little one, in February 2009 you will no longer have TV, or at least what grown ups call analog TV. That will cease to exist, unless Uncle Obama can convince congress to delay the Digital TV switch. When mommies and daddies have no TV, they tend to fight more often. This is why so many Americans (what you are) are so interested in cable or satellite TV.
Now you’re probably wondering what the difference is between satellite and cable TV. What option will have more programming for you? Which service can bring you the best puppet shows, Anime movies, Saturday morning cartoons and professional wrestling (which you know you’re not allowed to watch)? Whatever service would provide the most channels would be the best choice, right?
Life is more complicated than that, Junior. You see, both cable and satellite companies will promise families like yours the world just to get mom and dad to sign on the dotted line. The fact of the matter is that both satellite and cable companies offer hundreds of channels and special features. So before your folks make the big decision on which service to order, they have to first thing about inflation, economic turmoil and the final cost of cable and satellite services by the month. You can tell your mom that on average, cable TV is far more expensive. Cable TV averages about $50 dollars a month for basic channels, whereas satellite TV charges an average of $30 for basic channels. Satellite TV also shows more HD channels which work exclusively on that giant screen LCD TV dad bought with his credit card last week.
Mommies tend to prefer satellite TV because customer service representatives are much nicer and have won numerous awards over the years for their customer service. Cable companies, on the other hand, rank much lower than satellite services for customer service because it often seems as if cable call center reps have no idea what they’re talking about.
Another big issue that mom and dad will have to consider is that of TV outages. That means when Big Bird (or John Cena, whatever you’re into) suddenly vanished from the screen and never comes back. TV outages are definitely un-cool and prestigious people like J.D. Powers and Associates rank cable companies as having unexplained outages 5% of the year, while satellite companies have outages only 1% of the year. This is a big deal, because cable proponents (or what you might call marks who work for the cable company) tend to complain that bad weather among other factors makes satellite TV less reliable than cable—not the case, at least statistically speaking.
Now we know that’s an awful lot of knowledge to put on your shoulder, Junior. However, you may be able to use this knowledge to help your parents make the right decision come February 2009.
Archive for the ‘Cable And Satellite Tv’ Category
Should My Mommy Order Cable or Satellite Tv?
Thursday, July 15th, 2010Cable and Satellite TV ? Things to Watch Out for
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010Choosing between cable and satellite TV services can be a challenging affair. Many TV viewers around the world in particular, US, Canada and UK residents are often vexed over this matter. Not that it has any major international impact or affects the environment or their livelihood. But watching TV has become an integral part of their lives and a huge chunk of time is spent before the TV. So this question of which cable and satellite TV service to use carries some weight and do matter to most TV viewers. We will look at whether there is a good answer for this.
Consumers are kings and queens. All cable and satellite TV services are trying their best to entice TV viewers to sign up for their TV packages. This is advantageous to us as we can then shop around for the best deal from cable and satellite TV services. But an uninformed consumer is an easy bait, so be sure to watch out for these things.
Cost of Subscription
The cost of subscription is a key factor for most TV viewers when deciding between cable and satellite TV services. Cable tends to charge higher than satellite TV providers. The reason behind this is very simple. Running a cable service requires greater infrastructural and maintenance costs. Imagine having to run miles of cables underground as compared to fixing a satellite dish to cover the same amount of space. Which should be cheaper? Satellite TV services can offer you the same number of TV programs that cable TV offers at less than half the price in many cases. But the catch up from cable is swift as they do major tie-ups with different TV stations.
Number and Type of Programs
Cable and satellite TV service providers do have their speciality in the coverage. Cable does a good job in offering programs in local TV stations, while satellite TV offers wide coverage of programs from both east and west coasts of States. They are major providers of sports channels and other TV entertainment programs. Another cutting edge advantage they have is in providing more TV channels from overseas around the world. This has its unique appeal to TV viewers who are interested in foreign TV programs.
Equipment Setup
This is where we can find a clear winner among cable and satellite TV services. Cable has an edge over satellite TV as they do not require any equipment at all. The typical satellite TV setup includes the dish, mount, remote, converter and other peripherals.
Accessibility of Service
While cable and satellite TV can compete in many ways, this aspect is quite self-limiting for both services. Many a times, it is not entirely within the control of the service providers. Cables cannot run everywhere and are governed by state rules and regulation. Satellite TV cannot be deployed in areas where obstruction of open skies is extensive and widespread such as in city areas with tall buildings. Likewise, if you are renting a place, your landlord might not like the idea of having satellite dish sticking out from the house.
Minimum Length of Subscription
This can be a bit sticky and is a deterrent for some to choose satellite TV service from the pool of available cable and satellite TV services. So far, users do encounter satellite TV services which carry a minimum obligatory subscription period more often than they do with cable TV services. That said, I am aware that satellite TV services are cutting back and shortening the time so that it becomes more attractive for viewers.
Customer Service Standards
This applies to both cable and satellite TV services. It does not matter whether you are going for cable TV or satellite TV. You should be able to find great and helpful customer service at both kinds of services. This is just one more condition you should be mindful of wanting deciding which to subscribe.
Knowing more about the selection criteria for cable and satellite TV services would make you a better-informed consumer. In recent months, there is a new entrant, PC satellite TV that promises hours of satellite TV entertainment from thousands of worldwide channels for a one-off lifetime licence that costs no more than $50. Expect to discover more about this new technology and cable and satellite TV services when you sign up for my free satellite TV mini-series.
The Top 10 Reasons You Should Switch to Cable or Satellite TV
Sunday, July 11th, 2010With all due respect to David Letterman, anyone can make a top 10 list. In view of recent news headlines that state DTV is about to replace terrestrial broadcasting, here are ten good reasons why you should beat the FCC to the punch and order cable or satellite TV instead of DTV.10. You’re tired of getting up and adjusting your antenna every few minutes and having your picture go fuzzy at critical moments of your favorite TV shows and sports events.
9. No more angry fights with your spouse—now the Digital Video Recorder can save your marriage. How many arguments have you had because the VCR failed to tape the right show? With digital video recording, you get exactly what you want to see and don’t have to worry about wrong channels, SP/EP, tape malfunction or any other 20th century problem.
8. Because you’re sick of terrestrial radio too.When you order satellite or cable TV you also get free satellite radio channels to listen to. Sure beats listening to non-stop radio commercials for five hours a day!7. Because broadcast television has hit a new low.Seriously, Burger King commercials? Cheaters and Jerry Springer? No wait, there’s still reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond. Yeah, isn’t it about time you took a step up in the world?6. Don’t you know? Super fans don’t mess with television.NFL Sunday Ticket with Super Fan brings you over 200 games a season along with multiple sports channels and high-tech features. If you call yourself a football fan and still watch free digital TV, you’re a disgrace to the NFL.5. Because you’re “high” on high definition.You can’t get in trouble for being high on high-definition. With HD TV you get superior resolution, greater detail, wider screens and more vibrant colors. More importantly, you get better content—like movies, series and specials. It’s like having hundreds of Blu-Ray discs at your disposal any moment of the day.4. Foreign TelevisionQue? Satellite and cable TV brings you more foreign television than you will ever see on DTV. International news, new series and a whole new world perspective.3. You’re tired of surfing the Internet for news and finding only commentary from 2005.Broadcast television is not even worth mentioning, when it comes to covering the latest news in world affairs, national policies and local happenings. The only other options are cable/satellite TV or the Internet. The Internet may have a great deal of text content readily available, but it’s harder to find channels of news where an actual newscaster goes into depth over a breaking headline. Satellite and cable TV give you many channels devoted only to 24-hour news and analysis.2. Because WALL-E and The Dark Knight just aren’t worth $25 dollars each.Sure, they were both great movies—but do you really want to pay top dollar for DVDs and Blu-Rays when you could just as easily watch and record new PPV movies for $5.99? Most new DVDs don’t even have that many special features anymore. 1. Because you don’t need the government’s money!Be a real man or woman! Tell the government they can keep their DTV coupon because you’re ready to ascend to premium TV and sure as heck don’t want to pay for broadcasting that should be free!