Digital Cable or Satellite, which is a better value?

[Wildandcrzyguy]

I have Digital Cable right now with a Cable Connection for the PC. Every time I look at my bill I am starting to wonder if going DSL and a Satellite Dish would be cheaper. We have 5 rooms with TV's. Monthly bill right now - I am paying 137.00 a month....This sure seems like alot.

Has anyone else looked into this? Thanks

[Dark_Link2135]

depending on your speed you are getting a very good deal, you can get different cable speeds, ie, my uncle has a 3mb/512kb cable, ie, he has a 3mb dowload bandwidth and a 512kb upload bandwidth

and do NOT go satillite, very low customer satisfaction, bad weather makes you lose connection, etc.

DSL is also plagued by problems, cable is the most reliable, so even if you can save about $10 or $15 a month, cable is so much more reliable then any other broadband option today

[Bill in SD, CA]

Welcome to TechIMO!!

I'd stay with cable.

Have you checked with your provider to see if you are taking advantage of their package deals - if any?

Bill

[jman01pa]

I switched my broadband from DSL to cable simply to combine it with my cable tv. My cost is about the same. I dropped my land line phone and use a cell phone as my primary. I save money this way.

If you consider Sattelite TV at all, be carefull with the startup offers. You will likely pay more after a few months. Satellite TV can be a viable option if your local cable provider sucks or if you live in a rural area but its usually not much of a money saver.

When I was on DSL I had great service, my downloads were slower than my current cable but uploads were much faster. I do alot of work at home and sometimes miss the upload speed of DSL.

My old DSL had 1.5M up and down. My cable is 3.0M down (which is great) but only 128k up. I can upgrade but more $$$.

[Wildandcrzyguy]

It just seems like alot of money for Cable and TV service thats all. The wife is constantly complaining about how much it cost for the Digital IO service.
With 5 TV's connected and nothing always on TV you really begin to wonder at times...Thanks for the reply's.

[Dark_Link2135]

question is: are you primarily using the cable for tv or internet?

if you are using it for internet primarily, keep it and drop your tv packages, network television will give all the news and crap

if you are using it for tv, and find yourself never dl large files, consider downgrading to a dial up

i know it is a huge speed decrease, but you can save yourself $100 plus bucks if you are not using your bandwidth

[Wildandcrzyguy]

I'm forever downloading large files and we use the cable for both the PC and the TV. I personally think the price is just ok but with the constant crap on TV - the digital IO for the TV seems to be high - I pay about 40 bucks a month for the Cable PC connection. Which I use - The TV seems to be a bit steep thats all. Especially with 138.00 each month, thanks for the replies.

[teengeek88]

DEFINITLEY stay with cable..... my neighbor made the mistake of switching to DSL/Sattelite and theyve been hitting themselve in the head ever since.....plus you have digital cable in 5 rooms so its not a bad deal

[elroy]

Seems to me the the cable service for your tv is what is killing you. I would consider cutting back on the programming package. I only buy a low level package on my sat dish. I'm not going to pay a fortune for re-runs of old movies, I've already seen Diehard 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc. I have a satellite dish [Dish Network] for tv and DSL internet through a landline. I pay about $80 a month. I'm very happy with the DSL, very reliable and runs about 1.5 download. Not sure about the upload speed. I would save satellite internet for a last resort option. Maybe if you move to the mountains.

[Bill in SD, CA]

I just checked my Cox bill.

Internet, 2 cable boxes with all the premium stations ( HDTV on one ), and 2 other TV's with basic cable for $87 @ month.

Throw in 2 phone lines with Cox - $30 more - separate bill.

Bill