Digital Cable Vs Satellite Dish

For years, the local cable company was not only the undisputed king of cable, but it was also the whole court as well. Your local cable provider had almost complete dominion. The only people who went another way were those who had both the space and the money for a satellite dish so big it could contact NASA on a good day. Therefore, rates were often on the north side of reasonable, but people either dealt with it or were stuck watching local network. That was the way it was.

That was then, this is now.

Smaller satellite providers like DirecTV and DISH Network have muscled their way into the marketplace, established a definitive niche. Meanwhile, the local cable provider has either been absorbed by and/or morphed into a large national conglomerate. Comcast and Time Warner Cable are both prime examples of this phenomenon. In fairness, it should be noted that DirecTV is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, the owner of Fox in all its various incarnations. Since DISH, DirecTV and the other dish providers are similar in product, packaging and performance, it is safe to lump them under one category. The same can be said for the various digital cable providers around the country, whether we are speaking of Comcast, Cox, Time Warner or others.

All over the nation, people still debate this topic. Each side has its individual pluses and minuses, its benefits and drawbacks. Both digital cable and dish offer similar programming options. One area that Dish easily stumps Digital Cable is in their multi-sport packages. For a few extra dollars per month, Dish customers can enjoy several local and regional sports networks that allow access to a variety of teams in different sports from the local perspective. For example, DISH Network’s $6 Multi Sport pack would let a customer watch the games of over 20 NBA teams without needing NBA LeaguePass. Digital Cable does not offer anything remotely similar or competitive

That value brings us to another area that Dish generally crushes Digital Cable: price. Comcast’s most popular package, the Digital Silver, offers one premium network with over 200 channels for $80.95. Each premium has multiple channels, for example, HBO has 11 different channels. DirecTV on the other hand, offers the Total Choice Premier, which features 4 different premium networks including 31 Premium channels, all 25 regional sports networks and free DVR service for $99.95. DISH network offers the America’s Everything pack, featuring 4 premium networks including 31 premium channels with over 180 channels for $89.99 with local channels. Both of the Dish examples have cheaper options that offer roughly the same value as the basic Digital Cable packages for a lesser price.

However, Dish does not have all the advantages over Digital Cable. Many Digital Cable providers offer a service called On-Demand as a standard with their digital packages. For those who do not know, On Demand allows the viewer to scroll a menu filled with various programming options, select a show, movie or event then play it at any time. If you feel like a movie, just hit On Demand, surf until you find something you want then press play. On Demand also allows you other VCR functions like pause, stop, rewind and fast-forward. Another benefit is that On Demand permits the viewer to come back to their selected programming any time within 24 hours of ordering it without having to repeat the order. This allows you to stop and pick it up again later when needed. As of now, only DISH Network is in the process of adding On Demand, and they are still in the preliminary stages. Meanwhile, practically every Digital Cable provider offers some form of On Demand, with the quality varying from provider to provider.

Another area that Digital Cable trumps Dish is in upfront costs. Generally speaking, most Digital Cable providers do not charge any equipment costs upfront, meaning that a customer does not need to actually buy the converter box for cable like you would need to for Dish. Depending on your economic situation, this can be a major help. Granted, some times upfront costs are reduced if the customer has good credit, but Digital Cable has no such limitations for their services.

Yet another advantage for Digital Cable over Dish is in reference to the weather. Dish service is often susceptible to bad weather, in particular heavy overcast days and rainstorms. There are many times when your show or movie might be interrupted because the weather interfered with the signal coming from space. Digital Cable, being totally grounded and delivered via hardwire as opposed to satellite signal, has no such issues.

All in all, either Digital Cable or Dish are solid choices for cable programming. Each has their issues and flaws, but the choice really comes down to individual need. If you have either good credit or enough upfront cash and live in a regularly clear sky area, Dish might be the way you should go, especially if you’re a sports fan. However, if you do not fit any of the above listed characteristics, Digital might not be a bad idea.