So we just got a 46" LCD HD TV and a two other smaller ones this weekend. Currently have Comcast and upgraded to their digital cable along with HD programing. To say the least I am disappointed with their HD line up. Only really half of the channels are HD (about 23 or so). And they don't even have Fox news in HD!! Also when you go from any HD channel to a non HD channel the picture is not to good at all.




1-As far as Dish network and Direct TV any one superior? ( I see Fox News HD is offered on the Direct TV line up but not Dish?....did I miss something?)

2-Any one gone from cable to satellite? Good or bad choice?


Any other info I should know?

(As far as the TV goes when I am on a HD station the picture is sweet. Watched 24 the other night on the local HD fox station and it was crisp and clear.)

Thanks guys

 

Depends on your market with comcast... For example, I just got CNN & FNC in HD a few months ago. While visiting my buddy in Chicago I noticed even more HD channels, suggesting I'll see those soon as well (ORD always gets them before DTW). Personally I'm not a fan of satellite. Back in the day DirecTV over compressed their HD and it looked like crap when compared to Comcast. Now days, however, even comcast over compresses some of the "lesser watched" HD channels.

As for your "only half of the channels are true HD" statement... please smack yourself. It's not up to the cable/sat provider... they relay what they get from the network. Many networks do not pump out a 1080 signal and only offer 720. And another smack for saying "true HD" as that's a horrible marketing term that has caught on so retailers can peddle more crap. Currently NO NETWORK pushes out a "true HD" (READ: 1080P) signal.

As for standard def channels looking like crap, that's because you purchased a crappy LCD TV and changing to satellite won't help you there either.

 

Damn, sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the pit of fire and brimstone this morning.

 

i swapped from cable to direct tv when i purchased my LCD HD television. main reason was price. comcast has a monopoly in my area and can charge whatever they want. i switched to direct and got twice the channels all the hd channels for about $75 lower than comcast after the promotional period. i'm very satisfied with switching

 

Dam, sorry I asked

I just went and head bunted the wall 4 times for ya.....I thought it was a little more effective then a smack...

Anyways......

As far as the "True HD" statement It was meant as just HD channels to non-HD channels....I only get about 23 HD channels period.... plus the local 4 HD. Sorry for the "Lack of terms"

I guess I did buy a ****ty TV because when I am watching HD programing or a blue ray the picture is the clearest and sharpest with very defined lines. Everything moves smoothly and looks super clean. But I guess that is what I get with my crappy TV

 

What kind of TV did you get? Just out of curiosity

 

It was the 46" Sony Bravia WL Series LCD 1080p HDTV

Got it on sale at Sam's

 

DirecTV FTW. They have the most channels for HD programming and have the best satallites. They work better in bad weather.

 

I've had nothing but bad experiences with Direct TV. Mine goes out everytime we have a moderate rain. The dish is aimed prefectly but it will still go out. Customer service, besides being bad, cannot figure it out. My HD box resets itself every couple of weeks while I'm in the middle of watching TV. Direct will not help out on this matter either unless I pay around $90 for a service call plus parts. Plus my bill just went up to $85. I plan on switching when my contract is over.

However I know several other with D TV and have nothing bad to say.

 

I had comcast and fukin hated them. The only HD stuff I could get through them was in packages deals. It was 12.99 (average) per package of HD Channels. Some packages only had one or two channels I wanted in HD which was a pain. I ended up paying for 3 packages so I could have 8 Channels.

I now have DishNetwork and love it. While I dont have HD yet I will soon. There HD package is all or nothing and it's only $20 extra a month and I do believ it's about $5 extra for the reciever. Still way better than the fukin I took from Comcast.

Also as far as the going from HD to standard Channel comment.....come on man...you went from an HD CHANNEL to a STANDARD CHANNEL...of course it looks like ***. It took me about a month to get use to non-HD tv.

 

You need to be 100% sure that you want to switch to a satellite company. When I signed up for Dish Network they assured me that I had locals in HD. So when I upgraded my receiver and package, guess what; no HD locals. I called and complained, ranted my way up to branch supervisor and we told tough luck. I called to cancel once my 10 month contract was up and they dropped $40 bucks off my package to stay on board. So I have a HD DVR, Top100, and basic HD service for $43 per month taxes included. That is over $50 bucks cheaper than my local cable company.

 

I LOVED Direct TV. I switched to ATT Uverse though for a few reasons.
I have a new home and the homes were not wired for phone service. I initially had Comcast. I never had a problem with the service or people. The picture quality was less than stellar, however the internet was off the hook. Actually I was the only one on my street with Comcast so I averaged 10Meg down!!!!! Well the internet price went up three months in a row, $5 a pop. Then the "HD" channels were actually complete crap. All sort of pixilation during action secquences, the contrast was awful, just not any fun. (Toshiba 57"HD Theatre Series using the HDMI connection).
K so once the service hit $160 a month I said the hell with it. Enter Direct TV. RIght off the bat it was awesome. I thought the HD fees were crap as well as having to pay extra for additional HD receivers, but whatever. The picture and customer service were off the hook!!!! The menu is so much better than any other provider. You can search by specific genre, viewing audience, etc....HD IS THE BEST ON DIRECT TV HANDS DOWN!!!!!!
Well I still need internet because of my job and Comcast started creeping up again damnit. It was $60 a month and direct was $120 and change.
I dropped both and switched to ATT uverse. The service is pretty mediocre with a crappy menu. However HD is free in all rooms and so is DVR in one room. You get PIP when you are channel surfing which is pretty cool. HD SUCKS! But thats really all about bandwidth. You can only push so much signal down a cable vs. satellite. Anyway, if you pay your bills on time Direct TV is the one for you. If you are not financially responsible, go with comcast.

 

I've got Direct TV and it's pretty good. We have a 40 inch Sony TV and most channels look really good. If it starts to rain extremely hard then the HD channels go out, then all channels go out if it's like a hurricane.

 

I hadn't gotten my fill of coffee this morning... Good work on the head bunting, though.

You must always be clear when talking to an A/V geek. Otherwise the smacking requests come out. Thanks for clearing this up.

You actually got a decent TV, though still crappy 'cuz it is an LCD. Sony prolly has the best LCDs out there at the moment but they still have significant shortcomings. Most new digital sets suck at displaying analog signals and mangle SD content as well. Some TVs are worse than others. The Sony's SD display isn't great, but there are a lot of TVs out there that are a LOT worse.

To sum up: stick with cable, become an HD snob and forget those SD channels. Get a PS3 and rent BluRay movies from Netflix. Watch HD OnDemand with your comcast service.

 

man im thanking god dzervit got to this thread before me. Saved me alot of typing haha.

I used to sell directv, ill stick to my *** cable. Less channels, sure, but I almost never have issues and if I do they rectify them usually within minutes.

I was never satisfied with Directv's support, and we never got signal (home nor work where we had some rediculous setup from them to get best signal and channels to sell TV's better) and when it rained or got cloudy, bye bye TV. And this was only within the past 2 years. *** has been flawless for me for nearly 7 years.