[M9fanatic]

I've got DirecTV. The main reason for ditching cable in the first place was because of all the sports channels it offers.
I know in the past 2 years digital cable has made an effort to improve its tv line up to compete.

So I have a question for you cable people.
How's the sports package now?

I'm getting real tired of the weather affecting my reception.

[Iason]

Well, I have Digital Cable from Time Warner, and I love it. Decent Sports Packages, pretty much all the same channels as Satelite, and HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and TMC on Demand is probably the coolest feature around right now.



Good looks on the weather issue though, I hated that when I had Dish Network.

[M9fanatic]

DTV has 20 regional FoxSports channels a as well as FSW.

Does cable offer CSN, NESN and YES?

Basically the sports thing is the big issue with me.
Can anyone tell me what channels cable offers?

[judymd]

i really think it depends on where you are and what cable service you have, but i don't know of any of them that offer out of area sports channels. i know that comcast digital cable in philly used to have fsw but dropped it about a year ago, which is when i switched to directv.

i have less trouble with my satellite going out during weather "events" than my neighbors have with their cable. i don't think i'll ever go back to cable.

[Dante]

I used to have the DISH Network and now have Time Warner Digital Cable. I get YES, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNClassic, ESPNEWS, FSNY, MSG, FSW, FSWE, Empire and a few others like OLN, Speed, Golf etc.

To be honest I would never go back to satellite considering it's cheaper for me with the digital cable and I get a DVR box with it as well. For me there's no reason to go back to satellite.

[jmeissen0]

man, this thread needs El Jefe

[Kryptonite]

VOD rocks like already said. The downside to it (at least in Columbus) is that you need to subscribe to Showtime (for example) in order to subscribe to Showtime on Demand. So that's standard service + digital service + showtime + showtime on demand. But the great thing about it, is for HBO, you can watch the sopranos without waiting for HBO to show it. You want it? It's there instantly for 24 hours, with rewind, fast forward and pause capabilities. PPV On Demand works the same way and the "rental" fee is the same for regular PPV, AFAIK.

I know Time Warner Columbus has an "on-time guarantee". If you call for service, and they're not there within the time frame they gave you, you get $20 off your next bill. We had to call because our amplifier was bad, they said they'd arrive between 11 AM and 1 PM. They got here about 10:45 AM.

I know DirecTV has their thing where you can get 2 receivers for the price of 1 (more recievers can cost more money). With cable, you don't have to pay any rental fees, and can get cable in any room of your house. However, you need to rent a box if you want things like Music Choice, digital, or any premium services. Even if you only rent 1 box, and have multiple tvs, the box could easily be moved to a different room.

If you have a land-based phone line (home phone) and a cell phone, you could get cable, drop the home phone account since a phone isn't needed with cable.

If you're using dial-up, you may also want to take in account Time Warner's road runner service which utilizes their cable lines for high-speed internet service. If you have AOL, AOL broadband also uses TW's cable lines while letting you keep your AOL name and buddy list and all that.

[M9fanatic]

Thanks for the input guys.

[ElJefe]

Originally posted by judymd
i really think it depends on where you are and what cable service you have, but i don't know of any of them that offer out of area sports channels. i know that comcast digital cable in philly used to have fsw but dropped it about a year ago, which is when i switched to directv.

This is key. If you're local cable provider sucks (And if they're Comcast, that's a pretty good bet.), then you're probably better off sticking with the satellite.

Here, the cable company used to be TCI, then became AT&T Broadband, then Comcast. In all their incarnations, they've sucked. SUCKED. Bad service. Horrible picture. And oh yeah, way more expensive than either DirecTV or DISH.

From what I hear from friends and family who have them in various parts of the country, Time Warner doesn't suck too badly.

i have less trouble with my satellite going out during weather "events" than my neighbors have with their cable. i don't think i'll ever go back to cable.

The whole "bad weather makes you lose satellite service" thing is way overblown. Does it happen to me? Yes -- for a combined total of 30 minutes per year. It used to be a bit more of a problem, but both providers have put up satellites in the past couple of years that transmitting at a much greater power level. It really takes a gullywasher to knock out reception these days, provided you have your dish aimed right.

If the slightest bit of inclement weather is knocking out your reception, then your dish aiming is likely a bit off. Go into your receiver's configuration menu and check the power level. If it's not maxed out or close to it, then your dish is likely slightly misaimed.

It's been known to happen. One thing that satellite has in common with cable is that they don't hire the best of the bunch to be their installers. And since they always install the dish on a nice day, they don't have to aim it well. You've got a great picture and they're on their way.

[ElJefe]

Originally posted by jmeissen0
man, this thread needs El Jefe

Sweet merciful crap. I completely stumble on this thread, and this is what I find.