Cable vs Satellite?

[yler4cy]

I was notified by Mediacom that my "special rate" is expiring after this month. I have always been with Mediacom, but thought I would see what else is out there. What are everyone's thoughts on Directv, Dish Network and Mediacom. I know this has been discussed before, but couldn't find the thread with a quick search. Thanks for any comments ahead of time.

 

[dmclone]

I was notified by Mediacom that my "special rate" is expiring after this month. I have always been with Mediacom, but thought I would see what else is out there. What are everyone's thoughts on Directv, Dish Network and Mediacom. I know this has been discussed before, but couldn't find the thread with a quick search. Thanks for any comments ahead of time.

My opinion

Quality of channels/equipment

#1 Directv
#2 Dish
#3 Mediacom

Price

#1 Dish
#2 Mediacom
#3 Directv

So you have to decide what is important.

 

[dmclone]

If you get Directv with a decent package, 3 HD DVR's, HD, etc you will pay about $100/month (non teaser rate).

I don't know how this compares to the other but I'm pretty sure Dish would be cheaper.

 

[IceCyIce]

Never had Direct TV. Just switched from Dish to the Mediacom Bundle. The equipment for Mediacom is not as good. We had two tv's running off the same DVR with Dish. I wanted the same thing with Mediacom and they can't get it to work. Mediacom thinks there might be a splice in the line and it won't work. Well....it worked with Dish Network? Our "TV Experience" is not as good. Anyway when my one year is up with mediacom I will take a hard look at going back to Dish network.

 

[michaelrr1]

Directv has the NFL package. That's all you need to know.

 

[yler4cy]

One more thing is I have my internet through Mediacom, so I would have to switch that. Do either of these providers offer internet?

 

[1100011CS]

One more thing is I have my internet through Mediacom, so I would have to switch that. Do either of these providers offer internet?

Dish Connect Center

 

[M3MEPLEASE]

One more thing is I have my internet through Mediacom, so I would have to switch that. Do either of these providers offer internet?

Directv is partnered with Qwest and you can usually get some decent bundle deals.

 

[fwiw]

One more thing is I have my internet through Mediacom, so I would have to switch that. Do either of these providers offer internet?

Dish and DirecTV partner up with other providers for internet.

Here's my .02 cents after switching from Mediacom to Dish and Qwest last summer.

On the internet side, Qwest DSL is noticeably slower than Mediacom, but there are far fewer outages. Mediacom internet can be quite good when it's working right, but their email and DNS problems are legendary. At least they have ESPN3, which carries ISU a lot, so that's a bonus for them (I do miss that).

On the TV side Dish's reliability, equipment, and signal quality are far better than Mediacom and at a lower price. We pay about $80/month for 250 channels.

Overall I would say that DirecTV probably has the better national sports packages.

Mediacom's customer service is a nightmare. If you do go with Dish or DirecTV stop by Satellite City in Ankeny (by Palmers), they'll setup everything for you.

 

[cdekovic]

DishNetwork has a lot to offer, however if NFL Sunday Ticket is a must, you have to get DirectTV. I have two HD DVRs set up for 4 tvs. My bill is usually about $93

 

[mac4cy]

I have switched from Directv to Mediacom in the last 4 months. I had been with Directv for about 2 years and going with the Mediacom bundle was a lot cheaper. So far we have had zero problems with any of the 3 services we have. The internet is significantly faster then DSL through Qwest. Also I don't have to worry about my TV going out during a heavy snow or thunder storm.
I did love Directv and will look to them when my Mediacom bill gets too expensive.

 

[capitalcityguy]

From my following of the threads on this topic, it seems to me that Dish network is most likely of the three to not have an ISU football game on. Not sure it is a great difference, but that is my impression. Maybe someone can confirm.

Friend of mine just want out and had to buy a shovel of some sort to clean off his dish. That is definately a consideration depending on where you mount it. My bigger concern would be being able to mount it somewhere that wouldn't be too unsightly.

 

[heyguy85]

I have a Qwest/Directv bundle. I have no complaints about the internet. My bill is about $65 but it will go up this summer. I don't want to know how much. I don't have DVR and I only have 1 receiver. The thing I don't like about Directv is when it's raining I can't watch tv.

 

[simply1]

I've been with Dish for a long time and it's mostly good. I hate calling phone support on anything, you're basically calling an outsourced center and the most you can hope for is to work your way up to an on-shore support site.

I'd plug your phone # in at Qwest's site and see what dsl speed is available for it before commenting on that. Someone saying dsl is slower may be stuck on 1.5, rather than the 20 they've been rolling out.

 

[CycloneTony]

i used to have dish, brother has Direct, I have mediacom.

Direct has amazing equipment it blows mediacom out of the water. Mediacom is more reliable i can always count on signal through any storm. Even with Direct TV's "new satellite" my brother still tends to lose signal. I would give the edge Mediacom because of reliability, plus i bet new DVR's are on the way for mediacom I heard they were working with Cisco so that is a good sign.

 

[CarolinaCy]

If you get Directv with a decent package, 3 HD DVR's, HD, etc you will pay about $100/month (non teaser rate).

I don't know how this compares to the other but I'm pretty sure Dish would be cheaper.

3 DVRs? How much TV can one family watch?

 

[simply1]

If you like HD, how many HD channels does Mediacom have these days?

 

[erikbj]

I had mediacom for years, switched to DTV last year....best decision! Pricing wasn't much different than Mediacom, however customer service is 1000 X's better. Plus their sports packages are worth the change to DTV. Never had Dish, but i think they are just the low cost provider, but you miss out on some of the DTV extras like the sports packages.

 

[dmclone]

3 DVRs? How much TV can one family watch?

You only pay one DVR fee so you may as well make sure they are all DVR's.

I rarely use the DVR functionality on my basement projector.

Our living room as the DVR that we use most of the time.

Our bedroom has a DVR. I like to sleep to certain shows so I just DVR 4 hours of programing every day and then just let it run in the background while I sleep.

 

[ruxCYtable]

One more thing is I have my internet through Mediacom, so I would have to switch that. Do either of these providers offer internet?

You don't HAVE to switch your internet. If you drop your TV subscription the price of your internet service will go up $15/month. But a lot of people don't know, Mediacom does offer a lower-speed service called Online Intro that is only $45/month for non-TV subscribers. In short, you could keep your Mediacom internet for the same price, but it would be a slower speed. It is 3mbps which is probably too slow to stream HD video but is still twice as fast as DSL.

I would not recommend going with satellite internet service. I've read reviews of the service and it is VERY slow.