TV Cable dilemma: Comcast or Direct TV

[Joey_V]

Hey guys,

Just wondering, which of the two providers is better? I was wondering which has true HD content and which is the better provider of the two?

I want to order it soon, but I can't decide because I'm uneducated on the subject. I'm looking at the more basic plans, just to give you guys a frame of reference.

Thanks and I'll be looking forward to your replies.

Joey

 

[VanDaRo]

DirecTV will beat Comcast all day long when it comes to HD channel availability. DTV has also upgraded 95% of its HD content to MPEG-4 format, which looks quite a bit better that the old MPEG-2. Added bonus: They have their latest generation satellite in perfect orbit and undergoing testing right now. Expect many new HD and HD locals to come on line in the next 2 months.

Comcast provides a fairly good cable internet connection -- low latency, big bandwidth and generally works well. But that's the only positive thing I can say about them. And yes, I used to have Comcast right here in this house... stepped up to DTV with 2 HD-DVRs and a Slimline dish. Better....

Still use their internet service, which is good.

~VDR

 

[eknuds01]

There is likely to be more variety with DiretTV vs Comcast. As long as you don't have really bad weather all of the time, the signal should be strong and I don't think you'll have many issues.

We hav comcast in MD, and I think it's a total rip off. The basic or mid-level digital cable packages start at around $80. I can't believe it costs us nearly $1000/year to watch TV. Granted, I split the bills three ways, but shelling out that much cash to watch television seems a bit steep.

Erik

 

[twich54]

Joey while I agree with Van and Erik, I must say Verison FIOS is pretty sweet ! Noticeably better than Comcast, but if you don't have FIOS in your area then Direct TV makes sense, so long as their aren't any "dish" issues with your Landlord.

 

[johnwa]

I would encourage you to look into AT&T's Uverse service if available in your area.

 

[Cherian]

I have had both Comcast and Direct TV and I can say with no hesitation Direct TV is the hands down winner. The Comcast DVR box is junk and Comcast only offered 18 HD channels. With Direct I have over 80 HD channels and the DVR is much better. The HD picture from Direct is better as well. The one issue I have with Direct TV is that I do lose signal during very bad weather. And in Chicago we do have bad weather often.

 

[Yang1815]

I have DirecTV and I love it.

 

[Munster]

Go with whatever the consensus says is the WORST. Then you can

upgrade at least once, and all will be good in JOEYLAND.

 

[kcl]

Well, I was getting my HD content from DirecTV for well over 2 years and was reasonably happy with it. The problem I had with it was that all of the new HD content is in MPEG4 and all of my existing hardware was going to have to be replaced to get it! I had well over $2k originally invested in the hardware, and I didn't like the non-Tivo HD DVR from DirecTV, or the fact that I couldn't buy the equipment (its strictly lease). Also, because it wasn't Tivo, I couldn't upgrade the disks to get more storage. So, I decided to go back to Comcast and a couple of Tivo Series 3 units, and I've been pretty happy with it.

Ok, with that preface, here's pros and cons for both that I've observed:

• The pixelization was much more severe on DirecTV. I hardly ever get pixelization with Comcast, but you have to realize that all of my DirecTV HD content was via MPEG3 compression rather than the new MPEG4.
• The HD content on Comcast was originally a little less than DirecTV, but has more than quadrupled in the last year. For example, here in Sacramento we've currently got 35 non-premium HD channels (with 4 premiums) and there's 3-5 being added every few weeks.
• The HD content on DirecTV will probably surpass Comcast with the addition of the new MPEG4 satellites. However, HD is obviously the 'future' and I'd be amazed if Comcast isn't planning on significant additional HD content.
• I don't know about the "bad storms interrupt your DirecTV" stuff, as in 5+ years of DirecTV I think I only had 2 or 3 brief times signals were affected by severe storms. You have to temper this with the fact that this is central California, and we never even see snow. It would probably be much worse in the Chicago area.
• If you're into sports, DirecTV is the way to go. For years sports has been a focus of DirecTV, and their content is the best around. (You can still only get the NFL League Pass on DirecTV, for example.)
• Comcast has some nice pricing for 'bundled' TV, Internet, and Long Distance Phone services, while DirecTV is TV only (which could actually be argued to be better).
• The local area stations have always been available in HD on Comcast, but were never available in HD on DirecTV. (That probably has changed in the last year with the new DirecTV satellites, but I don't know for sure.)

Well, that's it off the top of my head. I'll add anything that I think of, as well as try to answer any direct questions.

 

[Cursed1]

DirecTV no comparison.

 

[FatJ]

DirecTV FTW!

 

[Joey_V]

Thanks fellas... as always, you guys got my back!

DirectTV is coming in 30 minutes to install what will be my first cable hookup ever (on my own)! I've tried to go without TV for years but apparently the roomies have vetoed my hermit-like existence...