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is dish a good cable company? does it give good service? does it give you any problems? its a big decision please help!!!

2007-03-07 16:46:55 · 1 answers · asked by roxiebabie12 1 in Consumer Electronics Other - Electronics

1 answers

Dish is a good satellite TV company and makes an excellent alternative to cable TV. Most areas cable TV has had a monopoly on your television entertainment needs for years and has taken advantage of this by doubling your prices far exceeding the rate of inflation. Now, you have a choice! With Dish Network, you have greater flexibility of what channels you receive, all channels are digital giving you superior quality picture and sound, and best of all it is probably significantly less expensive than you're paying now for more channels! Packages start at $20/mo and go up from there depending on what channels you want to get.

Now that I've covered the good, let's get to the bad. If you have cable internet service, your cable company could tack on an extra charge to your internet bill if you disconnect TV service from them. They typically give you a discount for subscribing to both services and if you cancel one, you're no longer eligible for the discount. An alternative to this would be DSL if available in your area. AT&T has high speed internet packages starting at as little as $15/mo. Depending on how much you pay for internet now, satellite internet may be a suitable alternative as well from WildBlue.

Another disadvantage is that you must have a clear line of sight to the south in order to pick up the satellite signal. In other words, if you live in a heavily wooded area, the installer could say sorry, I can't get a signal and they'll refund your money. Most people do have somewhere on their property that is suitable, but in some instances it could be in an area that is less aesthetically appealing than others. Speaking of aesthetics, some consider having a dish outside, albeit only 20" or so, is a disadvantage. To me, they're so commonplace now, it's hardly any more noticeable than that big black cable dangling down the telephone poles for cable TV.

Speaking of signal, this is what cable TV claims is the biggest disadvantage of satellite. When there's a big storm (like very heavy rain), you can lose the signal. This is true, but it is often stretched way out of proportion by the cable companies. The truth is that over 99% of the time, you will have a good signal. Many people never experience drop outs. Personally, it happens for me maybe 5 minutes a year. I can live with that. In fact, when I had cable, certain channels would come up no signal at times, too. Did you know that cable TV companies get their channels from satellites as well? They are certainly susceptible to service interruption. One of the things I liked was that when my power went out, I lost my cable TV too. The cable amplifier on the telephone pole had no power to give me TV. When we had the great blackout a few years ago, when I fired up the generator and battery backups, my satellite TV worked just fine! We were one of the few people who knew what was going on. Also, I have a portable dish I set up on a tripod and I can take the receiver with me camping so I can rough it and still be able to watch good TV wherever I am ;-)

Another disadvantage is that you have to have a receiver for every TV that you want to watch a different channel on at the same time. This applies to digital cable, too, so no real big difference. Many new Dish Network receivers have another receiver built in so this can cut the number of boxes down. Most people will have a bunch of TV's but there never all on different channels at the same time. You can save on some receivers by hooking them up to multiple TV's and since the newer boxes have remotes that work from room to room, it's just like having the box in the same room with you. Your satellite installer will discuss this with you depending on your individual need and will make sure you get the system that suits you best.

I've been a satisfied satellite TV customer since 1997 and I think you'll enjoy it too. Give it a try, what do you have to lose? You can always cancel and go back to cable. Chances are that they'll beg you with discounts and money to come back anyway!

2007-03-09 02:54:14 · answer #1 · answered by Geoff S 6 · 0 1

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