# What cable/TV service do you use?



## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

I know that the answer may vary greatly depending on geographic area, providers available and the like, but I was curious what my fellow AV lovers use to watch their favorite TV programs.


Cable (provider)
AT&T Uverse (or competitor)
Satellite (provider)
Screw 'em all! (downloads or internet)

Didn't create this post to bash anyone in particular, just wondering what folks have found to provide the best picture and sound. HD service is really the focus here. Love to hear your thoughts!!


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## AZ Theatre (Apr 4, 2009)

Currently have Cox, however with the installation at my new home took them almost three months to install. Talk about internet withdrawls.

I had them awhile ago and purchased their "digital tier" which was supposed to be all digital channels. Only a hand full of them were actually truly digital, the rest were all regular channels that they upconverted. Waste of money in my opinion, so I canceled them.

I'm seriously considering switching to Direct TV.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

AZ, what do you mean by "truly digital?" What is more digital about DirectTV than what is on the digital tier on Cox? 

I use Cox. The quality is generally better on the digital and HD channels than satellite providers, but analog still varies of course. There is more HD on sat, but for me, the availability of the analog channels for use on older sets is more useful than having to have another sat receiver for each room.


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## the_diyr (Sep 16, 2009)

The Dish Network... We Just have the HD DVR ( 2 rooms ) and the standard HD box in my daughters Room... Got the Mid package at about 59.00 per month.. I get my sports and my wife gets her lifetime movies.. Daughter gets the N Network... So everyone is happy.. PS>>>> Dont you love NFL in HD?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I've got cable as well with an HDPVR. Its simply a convenience issue for me as I have my internet and phone through them as well. 
HD is better over cable all be it less channels, but I have better things to do than sit and watch TV all day.


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Thanks for weighing in all! I started this thread out of frustration and looking for other opinions. AT&T Uverse has been great from a customer service standpoint, but I am just not happy with the picture we are getting - regular or HD.

After it was first installed and I watched some NFL, it blocked (my term for when the image looks like a low quality bit mapped image) significantly. Called them up, they ran some tests and sent someone out to drop a new line to the house. Now it is significantly worse. The TV even blocks on the Food Network when someone hand-stirs ingredients! Watching Heroes in HD last night, the colors were awful. It's not my TV because I have taken the time to calibrate it and other sources looks great. :foottap:

Anyway, I think I will give AT&T one more shot to fix things and see what happens. Maybe a new HD box is needed? Not sure, but I am paying way too much $$ for a picture this inferior.

Sounds like folks are pretty happy with satellite. Maybe I should consider that rather than going back to cable.

For those of you with satellite, do you really have difficulties with picture quality in rain or wind?


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## AZ Theatre (Apr 4, 2009)

lcaillo said:


> AZ, what do you mean by "truly digital?" What is more digital about DirectTV than what is on the digital tier on Cox?


Cox advertised that their digital tier was all digital, to me that meant all the shows and channels would only provided content that was truly all digital. What was happening was they were taking shows that were filmed in 480i and upconverting them to either 720 or 1080, depending on your HD tv, and labeling the show as high def.. For example: Judge Judy would be on the regular channel, but I could watch the same episode on HD on the digital channel with a slightly better picture.

I upgraded this back in 08 specifically for the Olympics and Shark Week, which were amazing in HD!


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

I use Cox. I only use it for convenience because I get my internet through them and phone service as well. Really not had many problems with them.


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Jon Liu said:


> I use Cox. I only use it for convenience because I get my internet through them and phone service as well. Really not had many problems with them.


We thought we'd do the same with Uverse. My wife needed to use a VPN phone for telecommuting and the time warner cable modem wasn't providing a consistent enough signal, thus the reason for our switch.

I think "bundling" for us at this point is not much of an option as it doesn't work either way
- TWC (insufficent internet, decent TV)
- Uverse (good internet, poor TV)


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

Yeah, our normal television watching habits are very slim so, quality of television is a non-issue for us. Internet quality and phone service were more the kickers. Cable TV was an afterthought for us.


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Jon Liu said:


> Yeah, our normal television watching habits are very slim so, quality of television is a non-issue for us. Internet quality and phone service were more the kickers. Cable TV was an afterthought for us.


I would say we are slim TV watchers vs. very slim. I have considered just going with a regular antenna and cancelling all the other stuff, but the wife does like watching the Food Network and some other cable channels. She doesn't care as much about quality so maybe I should just drop the HD channel pack, go totally basic with Uverse and hook up a good ol' antenna for HD.

Anyone else using good 'ol OTA antenna for their TV watching?


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

I probably would, but my home just gets terrible reception. I am in a 1-story house with lots of tall 2-story houses around me.


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

As an update, I hooked up an old OTA indoor antenna and it's picture was FAR superior to the Uverse HD picture. The only thing I noticed was a little motion blur on faster movement, but then that is to be expected on a 720p 60Hz tv. As things stand right now, I may just go to the basic Uverse package, cancel the HD serivce and call it good. Not for sure yet, but one time investment of $10 or so for a quality HD picture vs. $10 per month is a no-brainer.


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## Klawd (Sep 29, 2009)

I'm using Cable and am very satisfied. I also have phone and internet with them (just like Tony) and I've yet to see any difference with people that have satellite here in Canada.


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

I will probably consider going back to cable one we've had uverse for 30 days. That way we won't loose our $250 incentive to sign up. Just a pain in the butt to keep switching around. I appreciate all the input!


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## mrcynk (Oct 1, 2009)

Dish Network for regular and HD TV, but cable for internet connection - there is nothing faster today


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## JimT (Sep 21, 2008)

Right now I have dish and I am not all that impressed I would say it is a little better than cable difference is negligible and the cost I find isn't really lower but YMMV

Jim


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Sound like everyone is having a little different experience (to be expected). I will say that my brother has ATT and while visiting him this weekend, I saw the same blocking or what have you that I see on my TV. My brother said that it was not much better (if at all with cable), so we began chatting about why they (service providers) can't seem to provide a picture that would rival OTA?

I have heard that the picture breaking up (pixelation, blocking) is a result of the information not being delivered fast enough to the TV and therefore when the TV tries to create an image, it has to fill in the gaps of the missing information - kind of like a stretched too far computer graphic.

I have also heard (from service providers) that they are just delivering the signal they get and can't do much about that. I buy into that explanation more when the image is just poor quality (up-converted signal), but not with the blocking.

What say all of you? Chance to wow us all with your knowledge and understanding of the current state of TV provider technology


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## Bob Walters (May 29, 2008)

Folks,
I can't believe that nobody has chimed in in favor of FIOS by Verizon. IMHO, the best of ALL worlds EXCEPT their billing dept!!!!!!!


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

Most of us are not fortunate enough to have FIOS, though much of the Cox network here is now replaced by fiber.

With respect to the blocking or tiling problems, the answer varies. If it is one channel among others that work well, it is likely the content source. If it is more than a small portion of channels it is in the distribution network (i.e. cable system or the network in the home) and can be related to signal level. Too little or too much signal can create these problems.


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

lcaillo said:


> Most of us are not fortunate enough to have FIOS, though much of the Cox network here is now replaced by fiber.
> 
> With respect to the blocking or tiling problems, the answer varies. If it is one channel among others that work well, it is likely the content source. If it is more than a small portion of channels it is in the distribution network (i.e. cable system or the network in the home) and can be related to signal level. Too little or too much signal can create these problems.


Yep. Never even heard of FIOS and after a quick search, not available in my area.

For me, the blocking occurs on most of the HD channels when watching fast motion (sports). Some channels are worse than others, but none are immune. As far as my home network, the signal is coming straight from the ATT box via ethernet cable, into the ATT gateway/wireless router, out to the ATT dvr/receiver and then to my TV via HDMI. Anything I should try or is that pretty much the best I can do on my end?


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Bob Walters said:


> Folks,
> I can't believe that nobody has chimed in in favor of FIOS by Verizon. IMHO, the best of ALL worlds EXCEPT their billing dept!!!!!!!


Is the HD quality really that good? Love to hear your opinion/experience so I can have an idea of what is available out there.


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## Bob Walters (May 29, 2008)

Seth,
A huge amount of bandwidth through fiber allows no compression from the source[unless the source does its own compression]. The color gamut is right at the 709 spec. I have a ____load of HD channels; I'm at the point that I NEVER tune in SD channels. Anything I can tell you just ask but,again, IMHO when it gets to you......jump on it.............and the price is right!!!!


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

Color gamut is not dependent on the means of transmission. If wider gamut sources are ever encoded for transmission on any of these systems, one will be able to pass it to the display as easily as the others. Wired cable and fiber systems both have more bandwidth than satellite. Most cable systems are compressing signals less than satellite. Most are also upgrading much of their infrastructure to fiber anyway, so those systems should show steady improvements in service. Satellite providers will always be limited by the number and bandwidth of the transponders available, as well as weather limitations.


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Guess I have got a little bit more reading to do on color gamut. From a quick search, 709 spec is the color space which HD occupies? Probably sound pretty ignorant here :scratchhead:

Anyway, it sounds like from lcaillo's post that it really has to do with the encoding at the source end more than anything.

FWIW - my picture has seemed to be a bit better as of late. Haven't watched any football in a few days, so we'll see for sure this weekend.


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## panaman (Dec 16, 2008)

I have timewarner cable with HD DVR. I also have the roadrunner internet service too


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

I also have DishNetwork for most TV chores and Comcast for internet. I also have Comcast basic, this gave me a $10 discount on the High Speed and allows me to watch TV on my PC. 

As for PQ, DishNetwork hands down. As for ease of use (menu's, OSD, PVR etc.) DishNetwork, no contest.


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Sorry for my lack of response, all. Was finishing up my training for a half-marathon, so allocating my time differently for awhile. It certainly sounds like compression is an issue with any cable or DSL provider (comcast, time warner, at&t) and the only way (currently) to get a great HD picture is with satellite or have fiber optic cable carrying your signal (Verizon FIOS).

To save $$, I am thinking I will just drop the AT&T HD, keep the regular programming package and hook up the antenna for the HD. A signal traveling through the air vs. cable would provide less compression = better picture, I guess. If I am incorrect, feel free to chime in! I may try Time Warner again, just to see if the HD is better for me, but not sure yet.

Thanks to all of you who pitched in your 2 cents. I very much appreciate it!


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

No problem! Half-marathon, huh?

I used to run cross country in high school, but lost track of that. Great to see you keeping yourself in shape, though! Takes a lot to do that. 13 miles is not easy!


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Jon Liu said:


> No problem! Half-marathon, huh?
> 
> I used to run cross country in high school, but lost track of that. Great to see you keeping yourself in shape, though! Takes a lot to do that. 13 miles is not easy!


Thanks, Jon! Yep. It has been a battle to find the time since having kids, but things worked out quite nice over the last few months, so I hope to continue. With the wonderful fall weather, my wife goes into "baking season," and running helps allow me to take a second helping of all the amazing treats! :R


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Update: After two months, I have determined ATT Uverse to be below my standards in quality, so I am heading back to Time Warner Cable to see if things change. The Uverse signal (IMO) had poor color and audio. Listening to the Andrew Bird/St. Vincent episode of Austin City Limits that I had DVR'd had consistent audio drop outs every 5 to 10 minutes, not to mention the mix sounding muddy on the low end. I am fairly certain it is not my system as Blu-ray, DVD and CD playback sound quite decent. I will keep you all apprised as to my experience with Time Warner.


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## DougMac (Jan 24, 2008)

ndurantz said:


> Sounds like folks are pretty happy with satellite. Maybe I should consider that rather than going back to cable.
> 
> For those of you with satellite, do you really have difficulties with picture quality in rain or wind?


I see you decided to stay with cable, but just wanted to answer your question in case you reconsider getting satellite in the future.

We have Dish Network. It takes a hard rain to disrupt reception. Our setup gets SD from one satellite bank and HD from another, therefore we have two dishes aimed in different directions. Often the cell creating the rain will only disrupt one but not the other.

We went from Cox Cable to Dish and have had far fewer service interruptions since changing. 

We get local programming OTA (off the air). We're 18 miles from one antenna farm and 40 miles from the Public TV antenna. I pick up all with no problem. Unlike cable or satellite, there's no (or not as much) compression with OTA and the IQ is noticeably better. 

I'm in a quandary. We have front projection with a 120" diagonal screen and SD is so ugly we hardly watch it anymore. I went one level up on packages to get Turner Classic Movies, but IQ is so bad I never watch it anymore.


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

DougMac said:


> I see you decided to stay with cable, but just wanted to answer your question in case you reconsider getting satellite in the future.
> 
> We have Dish Network. It takes a hard rain to disrupt reception. Our setup gets SD from one satellite bank and HD from another, therefore we have two dishes aimed in different directions. Often the cell creating the rain will only disrupt one but not the other.
> 
> We went from Cox Cable to Dish and have had far fewer service interruptions since changing.


Thanks, Doug! I really appreciate the info. I do still have some interest in satellite because I know that next to OTA, IQ for HD has the potential to be the best. Right now, TWC has a pretty sweet offer that I don't think satellite can match, so I am going to give them a shot. If I am still unsatisfied, I will definitely be considering satellite.

On another note, do you have the Dish package with the Sirius radio? How is the sound quality?


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## DougMac (Jan 24, 2008)

ndurantz said:


> On another note, do you have the Dish package with the Sirius radio? How is the sound quality?


Yes, we have Sirius radio and the sound quality is excellent. I've used it on our living room TV. Now that you brought it up, I can't remember if I've listened much in the dedicated HT. I'll have to tune in and check it on the new setup, especially now that I have a big honkin' sub (SVS PB12-NSD).


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

DougMac said:


> Yes, we have Sirius radio and the sound quality is excellent. I've used it on our living room TV. Now that you brought it up, I can't remember if I've listened much in the dedicated HT. I'll have to tune in and check it on the new setup, especially now that I have a big honkin' sub (SVS PB12-NSD).


Definitely! Let us know your thoughts when you get a chance to do that!


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Update: I talked with the wife and we are dumping ATT and NOT getting cable OR satellite.

We decided that we can get most of what we want using OTA coupled with EyeTV on my Mac for a DVR and the Apple TV to buy/rent/download anything we desperately miss (which won't be much).

I just got tired of being forced to pay for bunch of channels we don't want with less than stellar IQ. I know it is unlikely that service providers will ever go with such a model, but a-la-carte would be the only thing that brings me back. Until then, we'll be keeping an additional $60 to $70 month in our pocket.

I appreciate everyone's input very much and feel free to continue to share your thoughts!


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## ndurantz (Aug 10, 2008)

Update II: I called ATT to cancel and they threw me $20 off per month for the next six months keeping all the stuff we have now, so I caved. We (unfortunately) are getting very used that DVR!!


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