you may not need satellite TV
Satellite Dish companies are stepping up the war for new
customers on the airwaves and the cable companies are answering
with their own advertising campaigns. It seems like we are
bombarded every day with advertisements from the television
providers asking for our money and trust in their product. So
who has the best deals?
Let's look at the individual players in this "war".
Satellite Dish providers sell you a dish that attaches to the
roof of your house (or some other convenient location) that can
"track" the provider's satellite and bring the signal into your
home. Most of the dish companies are offering the dish as a free
incentive to subscribing to their service so this cost is
absorbed by them, which is very nice. The usually ask you to
sign a contract for 18 months and they offer a relative low
monthly payment for basic channels. (I am old enough to remember
the only thing available was black and white reception and only
3 channels. Now you have several hundred channels available to
watch. It must take hours just to find out what is on them all).
If you want the other extra nice program packages it is an
additional monthly cost. The addition of what you really want,
movies, sports, etc. These can really bring the monthly cost up
to the point of threatening your budget. Additional incentives
to get your business are: Lower monthly charges for the first
couple of months, DVD and HDTV. Some of these add-ons are only
offered free for the first couple of months and then their
charges are added to you monthly payment. Watch these as they
will add up quickly. Is it really necessary to have everything?
Just order what you can afford.
. If you should want to move during your contract period it is
nice to know that they will move your equipment to your new
residence and you do not have to go through all the trouble of
starting over. There may be a fee for this service but you never
have to worry about moving to an area where you cannot get
reception and that is really nice. They frown on your trying to
cancel the contract and there is usually a stiff penalty so be
sure that you want to pay the monthly fees before you sign up.
The Satellite Dish programs are all very good and offer
installation for several rooms, free installation, free upgrade
and outstanding customer service.
Cable providers offer pretty much the same packages but there
are some draw backs to their offers. The most disturbing is the
lack of coverage in large parts of the country. I live in an
area where the cable is available across the street but not on
my side of the street. That seems a little strange to me but
that is the way it is and nothing I can do or say will change
it. Cable offers to relocate your service if you move within
their territory for coverage and they will "refer" you to
another cable company if you move out of their territory, but
not all cable companies are the same and you may be looking at
higher costs and fees that are not in your best interests.
Let me ask you a question, where does the cable company get
their signal? Answer, from satellite dish companies. Now it
seems reasonable to me that if you cut out the middle man and go
straight to the provider you should save money. What happens if
the satellite dish companies decide to raise the rates for the
cable company? Your rates go up. (I think that the government
has a control on this so it is unlikely that it will happen, but
then I thought the government had control over the rates of the
phone and utilities companies and my rates seem to go up every
year anyway).
The good old fashion antenna in the attic is another choice,
reception is not very good, no additional perks like DVD or HDTV
but the cost is right. ZERO Cost.
If you grab hold of the antenna wire, stand on one foot with
your thumb in your mouth and turn just the right way reception
will improve, but it is hard to watch the TV and stand on one
foot very long so maybe you can wire up the dog.
So what is the conclusion here? Which is better for you? As
always it comes down to what you can deal with. Maybe our
parents were right after all. We watch too much TV, go outside
and play. Costs less and is better for us, but since that is not
going to happen I think the best option is Satellite Dish.
Reasonable cost, good program selection, good incentive offers
and can be moved to any location in the world.