By 
When it comes to watching TV, Americans are not known to sit idly by when choosing a service provider. Television is an American pastime, right next to football and celebrity gossip, so choosing between satellite and cable is akin to deciding which car to buy down to the last detail. While this may not require being at a dealership for ten hours going back and forth between the salesperson and the elusive finance guy, it may require staying on the phone for hours to make sure the college football package is protected with two DVRs for engrave. by.
Just ask any group of average Americans which provider they use in their own homes, satellite or cable, and you might as well be asking them their stance on the war in Iraq with the various kinds of reactions you get. Some will respond that they’d rather have no TV than put an unsightly satellite on their roof, while others will denounce cable for its lack of digital channels. With this in mind, let’s explore cable TV first.
Cable TV professionals
*Bundling Services: In our modern world, where we love to consolidate loans and bills and pay online instead of sending checks every month, bundling the three main services of digital TV, phone service, and high-speed Internet into one single bill has become increasingly attractive. . Cable television has spearheaded this concept and some have even begun to include cell phone service in the mix. Satellite providers have quickly followed suit, but as of now this is more often the norm with cable TV providers.
*Localized – Cable TV offers local stations as standard, unlike many satellite providers who often require a small fee to add local stations to the lineup.
*No Satellite: You may be thinking obviously there is no satellite with a cable provider, so why is this a fortress? One of the reasons it counts as a pro is that many apartment management companies don’t allow their tenants to hook up satellites on their balconies, so cable is the only alternative. Also, in general, there are many consumers who would prefer not to install a satellite on their roof for fear that it would look tacky. On a personal note, when my husband and I opted for a satellite provider in our neighborhood, our homeowner’s association had very strict guidelines for where we could install our satellite so it wouldn’t look off-putting to neighbors and passers-by.
*On-Demand Programming – Cable providers and customers love the on-demand feature that allows them to watch, for example, an entire season of a TV show that they might have missed when they chose to.
Cons of Cable TV
*Reliability: Consumers who go cable love to talk about how unreliable satellite service is when, say, a storm hits. The reality is that, according to a respected ratings firm, one satellite provider averaged less than one percent of outages, while its cable counterparts averaged much more, between three and five percent.
*Digital and DVR Add-on: By default, cable runs on analog, so if you want digital cable, you’ll need to pay up to $15 or $20 anywhere to upgrade. The same goes for digital video recording (DVR). If you want to use this feature, you’ll not only need to upgrade to digital TV, but you’ll also need to pay a monthly fee of $5 to $15 on top of that for the use of a DVR in your home.
satellite professionals
*Affordability – In general, a consumer’s dollar will go further with satellite than with cable. While cable packages typically cost around $40 a month without the digital upgrade, an equivalent satellite package (all digital) could start as low as $20 a month. Additionally, many satellite companies offer a free DVR as part of their initial setup package, so the consumer does not have to pay any additional monthly DVR fees on top of their normal bill.
* Channels Galore – With cable TV, there’s usually a standard lineup of channels depending on which package you choose. On the other hand, with satellite providers, there are various additional packages you can add to your programming, from sports packages to movie packages to international channel packages.
*Go where cable can’t – When my parents moved to the Boonie area a few years ago, there was no cable provider where they lived; their only option was to go with a satellite provider. Anywhere you choose to go on earth, you can bring your satellite TV with you if you wish.
*Easy Setup – With satellite, you have the option to buy the equipment and set it up yourself without having to wait days or even weeks for your cable technician to come set it up for you.
*HDTV: Satellite is known to offer more HDTV stations than its cable counterparts.
Cons of satellites
* Additional local stations: Local stations are not usually standard with satellite service. If you choose to add the local stations package to your standard lineup, you can expect to pay around $5 extra a month.
*Satellite Dish Can Be a Problem – As mentioned above, many HOAs and apartment companies have issues with installing a satellite dish that others can see, which is not an issue you will face when choosing a cable provider .
In the end, the decision to go with satellite or cable is an important one and should be thoroughly researched. To a large extent, the provider you choose depends on the type of TV viewer you are. Make a list of the channels you want to watch regularly and underline those channels you can’t live without. Explore your options thoroughly and choose wisely.