Cable TV - the biggest competitor to Satellite Television

Digital Satellite vs. Cable Television

Technically, digital Cable TV and Satellite Television have a lot in common. Yet, there are a few major differences between these two TV services that will surely have an impact on your decision and which are therefore worth considering, before taking the satellite or cable television route.

Digital Satellite or Cable Television?

Which one is right for you, and who can deliver more HD programming?

Digital Cable and Digital Satellite Television are the two biggest competitors in the field of TV entertainment.

Local cable companies such as Time Warner, AT&T Comcast, and Cox Communications, are offering a number of television programming packages over their cable infrastructure that lacks nothing in comparison to those available from satellite television service providers.

What is interesting here is that up to a few years ago, Cable TV was not really much of a treat to Digital Satellite television in the home theater arena.

Old fashioned analog cable systems did not support as many channels - in particular movie channels - as satellite, nor was the image quality of analog channels up to that supported by digital TV systems.

The advent of 'digital' cable did change the whole situation. These systems use MPEG-2 compression and are in the process of moving to MPEG-4 AVC to be able to deliver even more high definition content.

The unfortunate thing is that there is a lot of misinformation around as a result of the harsh competition between these two television services. It is this fierce competition that is fuelling the ever-growing debate among the general public regarding satellite television and cable TV - Which is better? Which one can deliver more HD content?

We hope that this article will be of some assistance by bringing out the most relevant differences between these two major TV entertainment services. It would still require some research from your end - if you want to make the best choice for your needs; hopefully, this article will help make your task easier!

Digital Cable and Digital Satellite are very much alike!

Digital Satellite and Cable TV services are very similar in nature in that both make use of the same digital technology to deliver hundreds of channels - including a whole assortment of movie channels, pay-per-view events, and a variety of informative and entertainment channels - to your home.

And the advent of MPEG-4 AVC is making it possible for these TV service providers to deliver an ever increasing number of high definition programming. Satellite providers have already moved to MPEG-4 while cable TV companies are in the processes of moving there as well.

Yet, these television services - despite being inherently similar, are fundamentally different.

Satellite television is more universally available as long as you are within the satellite footprint - be it rural or urban. This means that residences that are not in large cities or towns are capable of receiving satellite TV - thus explaining why satellite has become such an extremely popular choice.

Cable television is generally limited to towns and cities, and they typically do not offer service to rural or remote areas. Unless you are 'passed' by a cable, you will not be able to get cable TV. Still, there is an excellent chance that you get a cable TV connection. According to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), it is estimated that as of December 2007, more than 120 million households were 'passed' by a Cable TV operator; in addition, all of the top 100 cable markets in the country were 'passed' by a cable company with HDTV programming.

There is also the issue of content. Generally, satellite TV delivers more content - in particular, high definition programming - than any cable TV service provider, mainly due to the bandwidth limitations associated with present cable TV infrastructures.

Still, in to-days' world of digital satellite and digital cable services, it is no longer a straightforward issue to say that satellite can deliver more content than cable. Apart from the fact that these services need not be mutually exclusive, in the end, it is all a question of what are your specific requirements. More specifically, it all boils down as to which company offers you the programming package most suitable for your needs at the right price - hence the need to keep an open mind when planning your requirements.

Main differences between Cable and Satellite TV:

Despite the many similarities, there are a few major differences between these two services which are worth taking note of as these will surely have an impact on your decision.

Equipment: Like its satellite television counterpart, digital cable TV requires a set-top box per TV set and which has to be HD-capable to receive high definition programming. These set-top boxes are often given to you for free and which you will have to return on termination of service, others rent them for modest fees, and some even offer DVRs capable of recoding HD programming.

If your TV has a CableCard slot you would not need anything extra with your TV except to rent an access card from your cable provider. Quite handy but present trend with TV makers is to dispose of the CableCard. In fact, having a CableCard with the latest HDTV sets is becoming more of an exception.

Apart from the set-top box, you do not need anything else. Satellite is at a disadvantage here in that you would also need to set up your satellite dish antenna - which requires an unobstructed view of the southern sky to receive satellite TV signals. Installing a satellite dish to a side wall or roof may not always be possible - depending on whether you own your house or not.

Cable TV has a further advantage here. Digital cable TV systems are two-way systems communicating back to back to the cable company over the same line that carries your cable television service for you. This means that unlike Satellite TV, you do not need a telephone line to manage your pay-per-view services, etc., over digital cable. Edge: Cable TV

Pricing: Usually, Satellite TV has a higher upfront cost than Cable unless as a new customer, you qualify for FREE equipment and free installation offers in exchange for a one-year or more service commitment. On the other hand, Cable TV is subject to taxes levied by local governments - something which satellite TV service providers do not have to pay. In addition, cable companies have to invest a massive maintenance effort to keep up their cable networks. These additional expenses are eventually reflected in the pricing structure adopted by cable TV companies for their services.

In general satellite TV has an edge here and you get more channels per dollar spent with satellite, but you do not normally get local channel packages as instead is the case with Cable TV. Edge: Satellite

HD Programming: Both cable and satellite are capable of delivering an ever increasing array of channels and both offer similar programming packages. Yet, there are a few differences and each has an advantage over the other.

Most carriers - satellite and cable - do not charge extra for the HDTV versions of the major broadcast networks such as ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. However, many do charge extra for the specialty HD networks such as ESPN HD, HDNet, and MOJO. Digital cable subscriptions are usually more expensive but then cable HD services almost always include the HD versions of PBS, MyTV, and regional sports networks in their basic packages.

In general however, DirecTV and Dish Network offer a significantly larger selection of national HD channels than just about every cable provider. Excluding RSNs pay-per-view channels and other less-important channels, as of June 2008, DirecTV has 95 national HD channels and Dish Network has 81 as against the 55 HD channels on offer by cable TV.

OK, if one were to exclude pay-per-view channels, RSN networks, duplicate east/west channel feeds and exclusives, these figures would fall to 60 HD channels for DirecTV, 50 HD channels for DISH Network, and 44 HD channels for Time Warner Cable TV, which is by far, the largest Cable TV operator.

But it is not all bad news for Cable TV subscribers. While satellite TV has got the lead for national programming, HD local channel selection is generally better on cable than satellite. You might even get local channels which are not available through an off-air broadcast TV antenna. Similarly, regional sports networks (RSN) in HD aren't necessarily offered on satellite, whereas most cable providers offer RSNs in their local markets. Edge: Equal - depending on your viewing habits.

Service Commitment: Both DISH Network and DirecTV require a service commitment for 12 months or more - depending on the package offer, but very few cable companies require the consumer to commit to a minimum subscription period. Edge: Generally Cable

Picture Quality: While both satellite and digital cable TV are digital services capable of delivering the same level of picture quality, yet the end image quality depends on the compression levels used by the respective service provider to deliver content to your home. This in view that both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC are 'lossy' type of compression technologies, and therefore, not all of the original data is preserved. The higher the compression level, the more data is lost in the process; the result is a picture that is less sharp and detailed than it would be if one were to use a lower compression level.

It appears that many Cable TV companies are using a higher level of compression in comparison to satellite TV systems - in particular when carrying high definition broadcasts. This means that if you are looking for picture quality, you might actually be better off with satellite.

The issue with cable TV companies is that increasing bandwidth capabilities over their infrastructure is much costly than putting another satellite in the sky. They have started to migrate to MPEG-4 AVC. This should practically double their content carrying capacity but the process is expected to take till early 2010 to complete. In the meantime... their only way forward to compete with their satellite counterparts is to use high level of compressions to squeeze more content. Edge: Satellite

So... Which One Is Right For You?

If you are satisfied with the services that are offered by your current provider, be that cable or satellite, you may not have a reason to switch.

Satellite television seems to be leading cable in terms of technology and image quality at the moment, but cable television is bound to catch up eventually to match the competition.

If what you are after is a never ending list of HD content, then digital satellite television is the way to go. Companies like DirecTV and Dish Network offer immense amount of high definition content that has yet to be matched by cable providers. If you want local content in HD, then cable TV offers more.

Nevertheless... when it comes to content, the reality is that it is all a question of what is your personal preference. There is no straightforward answer as to which service provider is best for you, and you will never know for certain until you call up both your satellite and local cable providers.

You see, the whole issue here is not who deliver more but who deliver the programming that you want. It is no good having a never ending list of HD channels when the ones that you want are not included.

Additionally... you should also consider all the extras in the various subscription packages on offer, in particular HD VOD, HD pay-per-view option fees, etc., before blindly picking a carrier based on how deep its lineup is.

Conclusion

There are simply too many variables to safely say that one provider is better than the other. Unfortunate though it may be, making the best choice for your viewing habits requires a good bit of research on your end. Hopefully, part of that work has been completed for you here.

Note: Data gathered for this article was current at time of publishing and is subject to change. Please refer to the links below for the latest offers from each of the following carriers:

Satellite TV	For DirecTV:	Best Buy or Circuit City
	DISH Network:	VMC Satellite and AllSat

Cable TV	Time Warner:	Time Warner Cable TV

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