HDTV which company do you use?

[rgriffin25]

I have read in another forum somewhat of a debate on which way to go with HDTV service. From what I have read most feel that over the air signals provide the highest quality HD. Next in line is Directv and Dish satellite HD service. The last is HD service with your local cable provider. Which do you use and why?

 

[jeffsg4mac]

I have direcTV only because I already had an account with them before I bought my TV. If I had to start from scratch, I would choose VOOM. http://www.voom.com/index.jsp

 

[GeorgeM]

Griff: I use a the local cable company (www.adelphia.com) simply because all of the wiring was in-place and the small amount of HD programming that I desired was available.

When I bought my plasma display I upgraded to HD Digital Cable service. The plasma was 'HD ready' so I needed a converter box which Adelphia furnishes for about $8.00 a month. Now if you had purchased your own HD box (about $400 to $500 in stores) or if your TV contained its own HD hardware, I don't know how the cable costs would be assessed .. I guess this would be something to consider before buying a HD or HD Ready TV.

Cannot comment on comparable signal quality between the dish or the cable; don't know. On the quantity and variety of programming available, I think the satellite dish company's are winners .

-GeorgeM

 

[rgriffin25]

I use my local cable provider (Cox). So far I am very pleased with the service. I have seen HD from all of the providers with the exception of VoOm. I would like to wait a while to see if VoOm is a real competitor or if it will die out once HD becomes more mainstream.
I figured the $5.00 a month that I am charged for the box rental gives me plenty of time to make a decision of which provider I want to put my money into. Besides, the prices of set-top boxes will only come down.

I have done side by side comparisons with OTA (over the air) HD and Cable HD. Using the same model of Projection HDTV and I think you would be hard pressed to find any differences in the two. (Some say they OTA or Satellite is superior to Cable and completely discredit cable service due to "poor" HD quality.) If the difference is that big, maybe I am the lucky one with good Cable HD service.

 

[Dan]

I use cable High Def simply because I wanted high speed modem as well and the package deal from comcast was significanly cheaper than any dish. I have no love for the cable companyand their insatllation was a hassle but the picture is fine. I have not compared signal with the dish only prices.

 

[PEtrainer]

I just moved and went from Adelphia HD service to the new Voom sat. Huge positives to Voom. The picture is great, and the system is easy to use. Unfortunately I am unable to get my locals in yet and they are comming to swap out the box on Monday. As the system and company are new, I have had tons of problems getting set up. They missed my first 2 install appointments, and didn't give me a thing... The clock set up is an hour behind, and the local thing is driving me nuts. The guy who installed the system told me that local antenna that comes with it is garbage and to go get a better indoor unit. But on the positive side

I have 30+ HD channels now, many commercial free... some show old movies, music videos, extreme sports, news..... It is great, and we all know that you will pretty much watch anything if it is in HD.... I am sure after I get through the hedaches the system will be totally worth it.

 

[grateful1]

There are pros and cons to every situation. I began with HD via DirecTV because I already had DTV and I think the menu is great. However, I pay $12 a month for their HD package(4 channels). I also receive HBO HD only because I subscribe to the HBO package. ESPN shows very few games in HD and just recently DirecTv added CBS as a HD channel only if you subscribe to their local channel package. Because most of prime time TV is now broadcasted in HD, I felt as if I was not reaping the benefits of HD from DirecTV. Subsequently I looked into the HD package from my local cable provider(Comcast) and found that their HD package was much more beneficial. They offer CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, PBS, and WGN in HD at no additional cost. The only price is a $5 monthly fee to rent their converter box. At the same time I have high speed internet thru Comcast and if you subscribe to cable as well as internet they give you a $15 discount off of your monthly bill. Like DirecTV, Comcast also offers ESPN, HBO, and Showtime in HD. However, Comcast offers Cinemax HD. The 4 DirecTV package channels are Discovery, HDNet, HDNet Movies and ESPN. The only channels that I really watch is Discovery and ESPN. At the same time I looked at getting an OTA however it seemed like a real pain to buy, install, and position this thing. For me, DirecTV has an awesome menu which really helps you find and surf channels efficiently. However I think that Comcast Cable offers me more HD programming at a great price. Oh, another thing, Comcast Cable is coming out with OnDemand which is similar to a Tivo. There is no additional equipment needed and it is free!!

 

[Unregistered]

Cable

Im using Cable too, Comcast, the picture is good and the DVR may keep me with them over Voom. Ive been tempted to go with Satalie, again but have stayed with Cable for the cost and less brown outs during storms (at least that used to happen to me with DirectTV).

 

[docferdie]

There really should be no difference unless a service provider is compressing the digital bitstream which apparently cable providers are notorious for doing. The only way to know would be to record the bitstreams from each and do a data comparison (i.e. if the file size is bigger.) OTA HDTV occupies about 8GB per hour. Of course if you're a person who watches programs later to skip commercials than the reliability of cable can't be beat.

 

[rgriffin25]

Hd Pvr

I was recently notified by my cable company that they will soon be offering a HD-PVR service. I am really interested simply for the ability to record HD programing. I currently use Replay TV and for the most part I am very happy with this service. (only disappointment is no HD recording)

Has anyone here used the HD-PVR service through their cable provider? If so is it worth the switch?

Any Feedback would be great!

 

[Dan]

The recorder on my digital cable box will do HD as well. I recorded a concert that was on an HD channel and it sounded pretty good and looked good. The only drawbacks are that it ties up more of the available memory on the hard drive than standard programming. Also I think there is an issue about hooking up to a digital DVD writer or digital tape for permanent storage (sound familiar SACD fans?) but you can record to VHS (oh boy!).

 

[rgriffin25]

Does this cable PVR also record the Dolby Digital audio as well?

 

[Dan]

Yes, it seems to when broadcast that way of course. Also the cable box states that it can hold 30 hours of NTSC broadcast or 7-8 hours of HD. I guess it depends on the resolution. The hard drive on mine also has a low continuous whine which I can only hear if nothing is on but it is annoying. Do you or anyone else have this problem or is it my unit?

 

[Unregistered]

I have been using digital cable(COX) which has been exceptional, but it only offers seven HD channels. At this time it would be difficult to beat Voom due to the quantity of HD stations offered. I would suspect that cable will play "catch up" now by adding new HD stations(STARS etc.).

The new cable boxes have IEEE(fire wire) which will allow you to record in HD/Dolby Digital if you have a HD VCR(now under just over $350 referb'ed). This would be the only way to record and keep large quantaties of HD movies. The new DVR's record in HD, though the number of movies you record is limited by the size of the hard drive...I think??? Does anyone know this for certain?

If Voom offered fire wire capability and high speed internet I'd think about switching. In other words get Voom if you don't need these things. Either way HD is the only way to watch movies. Bring on HD DVD.

Late!