Posts Tagged ‘cable tv’

As a Dish Network Satellite customer, I thought I’d take some time to discuss my experience with the company. I’d been a cable TV subscriber for several years, but when I moved across the country, I found the cable prices in my new town were outrageous. As a result of this, I began a search for Satellite TV prices. Somehow in my mailbox I found a flyer for a local store that contracted with several companies, Dish Network, Direct TV, and several internet providers. Since this was a one-stop shop, I was able to call them can come up with a pretty quick price comparison. I easily selected Dish Network based solely on it’s price. I was able to get all the channels I wanted for less than I could on cable or any other satellite TV service.

When someone came to my house to install the system, I actually ended up with an even better deal. It took a total of five minutes to hook up the system in my home because the previous owners of this house had subscribed to Dish Network as well. This meant there was already a dish on the house. When I sat down to do the paper work, I was offered a $100 rebate over the course of 10 months. So, each month I got a $10 credit on my bill. I was not pressured at all to upgrade to a package that was more costly then what I originally wanted. Even with the rebate. The salesman mentioned that I could upgrade since the rebate would cancel the price change for to 10 months, but when I refused there was no further pressure.

Nearly 3 years later, I am still very happy with Dish Network. I’ve changed my package once in that time, and was able to do so online without much fuss. The few times I have needed help, I found that their website offers a live chat with a service representative, which for me is much easier than calling one. While it takes a few moments for the representative to respond online, I’m not waiting on hold for several minutes, and I don’t have to drop everything I’m doing to wait for the help I need. I would absolutely recommend Dish Network to anyone looking for ease of use and affordability. Hassle free installation and service are important to me, and this is a company that has provided them to me for almost 3 years. I have no intention of switching my service in the future.

100% Hi Definition Service.

If you’re a cable TV subscriber, your service provider most likely carries around 20 to 50 channels in HD. But if you have access to satellite television, chances are you’re enjoying up to 100 channels that have nice crisp pictures and flawless reception.

At this time, not even the largest cable TV companies such as Comcast, Time Warner, Brighthouse, Cox Cable and Charter Cable can match up to DirecTV’s 130+ channels you can watch on HD. By the end of the year, DirecTV projects satellite TV subscribers will be watching up to150 channels in high definition. Put that HD TV to good use and maximize your viewing experience through satellite!

Watch More, Pay Less.

The pro-con list could go on and satellite would still emerge superior to its cable counterpart. However, it all boils down to this: You get to watch more for a price that won’t burn holes in your pocket. With satellite, you get more features, more movies, more music, more cartoons, more sports, more HD! You will receive more of almost everything each and every month. Great sports programming like the NBA League package are also available for an extra fee. What more could you ask for?

Free Satellite TV Installation.

Most cable TV companies charge you up to $100 for sending out a technician to hook up your TV sets. Satellite TV providers Dish Network and DirecTV offer free installation and setup for your convenience. You no longer have to worry about reading the fine print or fees that cable companies (over)charge one time or monthly.

Multi Media Entertainment.

Radio on Your TV?! The limits of media are once again broken, but in a good way for the customer. Subscription to Dish Network gives you access to Sirius Satellite, so you can listen to great music all day long once you’re tired of watching tv.

Family Friendly Packages.

With your current cable subscription you get basic packages with channels picked for you. However, satellite services from Dish Network and DirecTV program packages that will cater to all members of the family. Everyone should be able to enjoy viewing without worrying what they young ones are seeing. These satellite packages ensure that kids see age-appropriate as well as educational shows.

Switch now to a great deal from DirecTV if you don’t want to regret missing out on anything.

Over the course of the last ten or twelve years, the cable television industry has been somewhat shaken up by the fact that close to 30 million cable customers have cut off their cable service and have switched to a cable satellite TV service instead. There are a number of reasons why so many people across the country have decided to make this change and the executives at the cable TV companies are still scrambling to try to hang on to their market share.

In addition to those who switched from cable to satellite, there are millions more who were never able to have cable access to programming because they lived in rural areas. But, with the addition of a satellite dish antenna and a satellite receiver, those in rural areas now can also enjoy the same entertainment programming as people who live in metropolitan areas.

One primary reason why so many customers have left the old, hard-wired cable TV services behind is that the cable satellite TV system simply costs less. In virtually all markets of the country, people pay quite a bit less to get their entertainment via one of the networks that use a dish antenna than they do through those old-fashioned and dated cable systems.

In order to have cable TV satellite service in your home, you need to have a complete satellite TV system. The first component is the satellite dish antenna that is positioned outside of the premises. You will often see the mini dish antenna units on rooftops, the sides of buildings, on fences or mounted to a pole, in order to provide the proper positioning. The satellite dish antenna must have a clean and unobstructed view of a certain area of the southern sky and they must be precisely positioned by trained technicians.

The second component to a cable satellite TV system is the receiver with takes the signal from the dish antenna and sends it to the television. The receivers have programming that affects the programming guides, providing detailed information about each show you wish to watch.

One of the most interesting innovations that was recently introduced and has quickly become very popular in the DVR, or digital video recorder, that is integrated into some models of cable TV satellite receivers. These DVR receivers allow you to pause live broadcasts and also to record your favorite programs without the need to fuss with video tapes. Some of these devices are dual receivers, which allow you to watch one show while recording a second, or record two shows at the same time.

The various cable satellite TV programming providers continue to enjoy a great deal of popularity, and not just because they tend to deliver more value less expensively. They also have a tradition of introducing innovative services and benefits to their customers. One example of their innovations is the DVR, or Digital Video Recorder, and the dish on demand service. Even though most of the cable companies have stepped up to match these newer features that the TV satellite dish companies provide, the trend has been for the satellite companies to introduce these new technologies first, with the cable services catching up later.

Are you tired of dealing with a broken antenna that only receives a clear picture every once in a while? Many people who live in rural areas are very limited in what television channels they can actually receive with an antenna. Plus they have to deal with switching to a converter box when the channels begin broadcasting in digital in February 2009. With satellite TV you never have to worry about this. You can receive hundreds of channels at a very affordable price. Do you spend a lot of time at your computer? Then buy a software package that turns your PC into a TV. Click here for details.

Today customers of satellite and cable TV have literally hundreds of games they can pick from every month. While 20 years ago you might find two college football games on Saturday and two pro games on Sunday, today you can literally pick from two dozen or more games every weekend.

Content is king today, and as the saying goes the sports networks want to deliver as much sports content as possible to the end user so they can sell more ads. Quite a few brand new all-sports networks have sprung up in the last few years. A few of the new networks are Altitude Sports, which carries NBA Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche matches, as well as the Big Ten Network and the Mtn, the broadcast home of the Mountain West conference.

Certainly these networks are great for fans in lots of areas, disagreements between the providers of content and those who deliver the content have resulted in trouble at times to the customer. Consider what happened last year, the Big Ten Network began broadcasting in 2007, but the network was in a carraige dispute with big cable provider Time Warner. Customers of Time Warner in Illinois were unable to watch some of the local teams play because of the carraige dispute. Fortunately, the parties came to terms before the fall football season, so customers could stay with Time Warner rather than having to switch to one of the satellite TV companies such as DISH Network or Direct TV.

Out of market sports packages are another consideration for the customer. The NFL Sunday Ticket package is exclusive to DirecTV, so if you want this package, you have to switch. This has upset some pay television customers, who do not understand why a package like this isn’t available to every provider, especially a big company like Time Warner. Other packages though are more fan friendly, like the NHL Center Ice and the NBA League Pass, which are available on almost every cable TV and satellite company.

Today folks are looking to maximize their entertainment dollar. Increasing fuel prices, a slowing economy, and higher food costs are putting the squeeze on Americans. Luckily, one of the great values in entertainment is your cable or satellite television service.

If you stop and think about it, anyone can get a package including over 200 channels including commercial-free movie channels like Cinemax and Starz for about $75 dollars a month. That is less than you typically will drop for dinner and a movie. The latest technology in the pay TV market is HD, or high definition service. What should you evaluate when hooking up that new flat screen TV you just purchased?

Don’t forget that your basic cable TV or satellite TV service is not in hi-def. You have to specifically buy a package that includes this type of programming. So where do you begin?

Call your current provider and investigate exactly what they offer as far as hi-def service. Satellite TV companies DISH Network and Direct TV have been leading the pack as far as offering the most high definition when you examine channel counts. Cable television providers like Cox also have some nice offerings, such as HD on-demand. Find out exactly how much upgrading to HD will be, and if you need additional equipment.

If what they offer is not what you want, do a little comparison shopping. The latest offerings include an all hi-def package from DISH Network called TurboHD. DirecTV sells HD service for only $9.99 per month. Prices vary with cable television companies across America, so you will need call your cable operator to see what the price is for HD service.

Another consideration is that many telecom companies now offer TV service. AT&T now provides their UVerse service in many areas along with telephone and high speed internet. Verizon is also selling television service, providing their fiber service FiOS in limited neighborhoods. It is advisable that you compare services side-by-side, such as DirecTV vs. Time Warner Cable. All of this is a great benefit to the consumer, as more competition encourages lower prices in the long run.