Can cable compete with satellite?
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Relevant Posts
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- TWC adding more HD to Wisconsin's lineup (Yesterday - 0 Comments)
- TWC lines up a new batch of HD additions for Southwest Ohio (6 days ago - 10 Comments)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ryan @ Oct 12th 2007 11:28AM
All of this talk really makes me considering dropping TWC for DirectTV. My unwillingness to embrace change is really the only thing keeping me with them.
Galley @ Oct 12th 2007 11:31AM
DirecTV is adding dozens and dozens of HD channels, and Charter Cable just received the lowest customer satisfaction rating of any company in the country. D'oh!
Michael @ Oct 12th 2007 11:48AM
Lucky for Comcast the TiVo S3 doesn't work with sattelite or I would switch for sure. Though the fact that DirecTV downgrades their HD channels would make me think a bit, as well...
Big Sam @ Oct 12th 2007 12:00PM
I've already decided that I'm (unhappily) switching from cable to satellite for the HD channels (and NFL Network). I'm giving it one more month before I decide who I am switching to.
GhostDoggy @ Oct 12th 2007 12:25PM
In order for me to equip my household with MPEG-4 complaint DirecTV devices for time-shifting HD content it will probably cost me an upfront cost of $1,000 and I still will not own the equipment.
I have not upgraded my equipment since about 2003 when the Samsung SIR-TS16- came out. The cost to get HD-time-shifting ability in my home at all through high-definition locations. Too bad they cannot provide me a means to have one HD DVR that can output three concurrent video streams (for my three displays).
As it stands, not going any farther into supporting or subscribing to DirecTV and instead focusing on HD DVD and Blu-ray in my home (where at least I am not having it down-resolved or over compressed).
Ethan Rom @ Oct 12th 2007 12:27PM
I'd switch but I figured it out and I'd be paying more to get DirectTV and still keep by RCN cable internet hookup. I'd love to get DirectTV(just for the NFL Sunday Ticket), but I can't give up the 10Mbps connection.
SpeedJunky @ Oct 12th 2007 12:43PM
I just switched from Comcast to DirecTV. Not so much that I was unhappy with Comcast (although their HD-DVR is far worse than the DirecTV one) but because they couldn't tell me any timeline for adding new HD. To me it's about content, not about the box.
And the HD quality, despite my mis-givings about rumoured 'HD-lite', has been perfectly fine - just as good as Comcast. I guess it was worse back when the used MPEG-2?
riverside_guy @ Oct 12th 2007 2:04PM
My issue with cable (TWC is my only choice) is that they very clearly are gouging customers when they can due to their almost total monopoly. Where I live, OTA and satellite simply isn't available for most (but not all) of the population (middle of NYC). It will be at least 2 years before we can get FIOS TV. KNOWING this, in ALL of 2007, they have added a total of 2 net HD channels.
EXCEPT they DID add 6 MORE HD channels in one area of the city. Not only that, but for the past 4 months, they "gave" that area ONLY a total package discount of 10% (for signing a multi-year agreement).
In most cases, this clear discrimination (by location) would have the government all over them. EXCEPT it seems the agency that SHOULD be all over them is totally quiet. PLUS that same agency seems to be blocking Verizon from getting a franchise agreement (news has broken that the city separately negotiated a secret deal with Verizon to allow them to provide services). Again, pretty damn clear that TWC's lobbyists control the agency that SHOULD be policing them.
Scummy, sleazy certainly refer to their actions. 100% anti-customer and 100% make for multi-million dollar bonuses for execs. So even if they are really failing as the article suggests, what do those execs care, they made out to the tune of millions and millions of dollars... for treating customers like dirt SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY COULD.
burn @ Oct 12th 2007 5:40PM
I call bullshit on this. This is over the last few months, and is only the stock, not actual numbers on new subscribers, what services are getting installed, what promo's were running.. This is also the begining of the football season, where Direct TV always gets a bump cause they've got an exclusive contract with the NFL.
I would take this post with a grain of salt, and look at the numbers and metrics long term and I would be willing to bet that the cable companies still have sattelite beat, hands down over number of subscribers, and performace of stock over the last year, maybe two.
The majority of people subscribing to ANY service don't have HD, and are not getting service because of who's got HD. They're going by whats available, and what gives them the most for their dollar.