The Differences Between Cable TV And Satellite TV Are Not All That Great These Days. But There Are A Few Differences You Should Be Mindful Of If You're Thinking About Getting Cable TV Or Satellite TV Service. Here They Are In A Nutshell .

Cable TV vs Satellite TV Price

Typically, cable TV costs $10 to $25 a month more as compared to satellite TV due in part to the fact that cable TV providers must pay local area fees and taxes which satellite TV providers do not have to pay.

As an illustration, in my neck of the woods cable TV costs $57 a month for 142 satellite television channels, while I can get Dish Network for $24.99 per month for 190 channels, and also 3 months of HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, plus Starz.

Another difference is the rate increases. Cable Television service has increased by more than 40% since 1998, while satellite television service has increased by a mere 8% in that exact same time frame.

Equipment Evaluation

With cable television you get a receiver that gets a TV signal coming from a cable TV company through an underground coaxial or fiber optic cable. This cable box receiver decodes the incoming TV signal and sends it to your TV set.

With satellite TV you receive a dish that captures the signal coming from a satellite, as well as a receiver that translates the signal and sends it to your television.

Cable television providers charge $3 to $5 a month extra for each receiver, while Dish Network and DirecTV receivers are free.

DVR

Digital video recorders, or DVRs, permit you to record your favorite shows. In addition to recording your shows you are also able to pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV programs, so that you can answer your phone, watch a portion of the program you missed, or fast forward through a commercial.

Cable television DVRs allow you to record up to 100 hours of your favorite shows. They also provide you with the option of recording 2 shows simultaneously. So in case you have 3 TV shows that come on at the same time you can record one and watch one, or record both shows, but you are going to miss the third show.`

DirecTV will allow you to record up to 4 TV shows at one time plus record up to 1.000 hours of programs, and Dish Network will allow you to record up to 6 shows simultaneously and record up to 2,000 hours of programming.



System Set Up

Due to the rivalry involving cable and satellite TV companies, equipment installation for either one costs nothing. You want to ensure that you get a reliable installation company and a authorized installation technician, otherwise you may suffer equipment problems in the future.

Dependability

DirecTV as well as Dish Network outages average barely 1%. Cable television outages, conversely, are any where from 3% to 5% - up to 5 times more than cable television.

Consumer Ratings

Dish Network is ranked number one in consumer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index among the leading cable TV providers as well as satellite television companies, while DirecTV is ranked number two.

Customer Service

Consumer support for the majority of satellite and cable TV providers is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week which includes holidays, and with almost all providers the service is very good.

Summary

When it comes to program variety, number of channels, recording capabilities, reliability, price, and customer satisfaction, satellite television beats cable hands down.