Originally Posted By peeaanuut cable in our area is very unreliable so we switched to DirecTV. We have been lucky and have had no issues. I still have cable internet but even now with the switch to TW, it is becoming less and less reliable. Cant wait for FIOS!!!!
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Cable. I know several people who've had Direct TV and gone back to cable. I think degraded reception is fairly common during snowstorms. And this may have changed, but last time I investigated Direct TV the number of TV's you could attached to a single receiver was fairly limited. We currently have 5 TV's connected to cable and 3 that use an antenna.
Originally Posted By avromark <<I think degraded reception is fairly common during snowstorms.>> Oh you mean the pixelation (blocks of colour and maybe garbled noises) and the black screen of death? Why not just connect all to cable Roady?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Why not just connect all to cable Roady?>> The three TV’s that I don't have connected to cable aren't used that much and are in locations where it would be hard to get cable without running it up the front of the house (which I don't want to do). They are in the guest bedroom, a bathroom and my office.
Originally Posted By avromark Bah That's why our cable company says "free installation". Although my house was pretty much new so it's wired with ethernet/cable/telephone in each room.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut yeah we had the free install on the satellite, which meant he would have to climb under the house. He tried to tell me that that was not included and wanted to patch into the existing coax from the cable company. A quick call to direct TV got the fixed. He was under our house for 5 hours running to the 4 rooms.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut how timely <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/cable-companies/exploding-powerbook-surprisingly-not-sonys-fault-222706.php" target="_blank">http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets /cable-companies/exploding-powerbook-surprisingly-not-sonys-fault-222706.php</a>
Originally Posted By peeaanuut how timely <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/cable-companies/exploding-powerbook-surprisingly-not-sonys-fault-222706.php" target="_blank">http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets /cable-companies/exploding-powerbook-surprisingly-not-sonys-fault-222706.php</a>
Originally Posted By iceknyght I don't have cable or satellite... Just the old fashion over the air signal that is free... But it does come into my HD receiver so I can get at least the local channels in High Definition... But it's free...
Originally Posted By peeaanuut yeah thats what I talked my parent into. My dad is getting fairly cheap in his old ago so I got them a tube HDTV. He was looking into cable for the HDTV and really the only channel he would care about are locals, so I got him an antennae and he was good to go.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip << My dad is getting fairly cheap in his old ago so I got them a tube HDTV.>> In defense of us old codgers... ;-) It's not always a matter of being cheap. I have no problem spending pretty big money on some things. But often I just don't see a need for some of the new-fangled equipment you whipper-snappers come up with. Like an I-pod for instance. Why would I ever want to carry around a zillion tunes? What is even more mystifying to me is why anyone would want to download TV shows or movies to an Ipod. Are you guys nuts? Watch a movie on a two inch screen? I just don't understand. Same thing with photo phones. Who wants to take grainy pictures of junk with their phones? Outside of posting it to You-Tube what possible use is it? I could go on and on, but since I'm already boring you I won't. But I look at the commercials on TV and shake my head and remark to my wife that I'm just too old. Not only do I not want any of that stuff; I can't figure out why anyone else would want it either. I guess I'm somewhat resistant to change. But why not? The last time anyone made good music was in 1972. Until last year, that was when my stereo was from too.
Originally Posted By iceknyght There's only like 3 channels on cable I miss, other than that, I don't miss cable... As far as the iPod, yes the screen is small, but it's portabile and is nice to have in certain instances... Plus, you can get cables to play the video on your TV, so being able to have movies, TV shows and such in one place is pretty convenient... Is an iPod necessary? No, it's just a fun gadget that if you have a use for it is quite neat... But like everything, it's not for everybody...
Originally Posted By fkurucz >> I think degraded reception is fairly common during snowstorms.<< Some years ago we had PrimeStar and this was our experience. Snow has not been a problem with Dish Network so far.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy <Like an I-pod for instance. Why would I ever want to carry around a zillion tunes? What is even more mystifying to me is why anyone would want to download TV shows or movies to an Ipod. Are you guys nuts? Watch a movie on a two inch screen? I just don't understand. I look at the commercials on TV and shake my head and remark to my wife that I'm just too old. Not only do I not want any of that stuff; I can't figure out why anyone else would want it either.> Trippy, I am of the "whipper-snapper" generation of which you speak, and I'm right there with ya. Of course, I have headphones on 8 hours a day at my first job, so that's a big part of why I resist this whole "iPod" stuff. Why in the world would I want headphones on my ears in my free time?? There's an annoying guy here who does that on his breaks and gets on his laptop at lunch and I just stare at him befuddled like, "Why??" And yeah, the whole let's-watch-a-30-minute-or-2-hour-program-on-a-tiny-screen thing mystifies me too. And some of these commercials for hi-tech stuff, yeah, some of it just doesn't interest me. But I've always been an "old soul" about some things, so I guess this is just another one o' them things. lol
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>yeah thats what I talked my parent into. My dad is getting fairly cheap in his old ago so I got them a tube HDTV. He was looking into cable for the HDTV and really the only channel he would care about are locals, so I got him an antennae and he was good to go.<< One of the reasons I have been sitting on my hands regarding HDTV is the lack of programming. Other than sporting events and the mostly lame-o programming on the main networks, there is precious little to watch in HDTV at this point. Also, most legacy programming is SD. Its not like Granada TV is ever going to release HD version of Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut RT: I didnt mean it like that, but I see your point. I actually talked both my parents into iPods and they both love them. My mom got the video because at the time that was the only one she could get a mic for. She uses the mic for her classes so it worked out as a good digital mic and she also likes to carry music around too. My dad had been looking at a HTPC (home theatre PC) but had really only wanted it to play back movies digitally so he didnt have to buy and store DVDs. The iPod made sense because he buys what he wants and everything else I buy and convert for him (yeah yeah yeah, fair use, blah blah blah). FK: that is for sure. I do watch alot of sports so thats not a downer, but not having alot of other HD content is a drag. I do agree with the camera phone thing. There isnt much of a need unless you start getting to the higher res cameras. So the ones with 2mp now are more worth it. As far as the phone video, makes no sense to me either.
Originally Posted By ecdc It's really interesting to read such divergent experiences. I absolutely loathe Comcast's cable and have been 100% happy with DirecTV. Their HD package is a little wanting but next year they're supposed to be launching two more satellites and expanding their HD channels by more than 40. I just got DirecTV's new HD DVR and am very satisfied.
