Coaxial vs. Satellite Dish: A Cable and Satellite TV Comparison

Dec 1, 2010 by admin

  There is a fast-growing consumer hunger for satellite TV, and the world knows it. These days, people are switching to satellite from cable, thinking that getting satellite TV is the next big thing. And sure enough, you are thinking about getting your cable connection replaced with a satellite dish as well. But is it really worth it? What are the perks of getting satellite as opposed to cable? Is the video quality better? What about the costs? Below is a comparison of cable and satellite – which is better, which is worse, or how is one better than the other.

When considering replacing your coaxial cable connection with a satellite dish mounted on top of your roof, do consider the installation costs. With cable connections, cable guys don’t really do much except wire in a cable connection from the power lines outside to your home, since coaxial cables are really easy to attach at the back of the TV. On the other hand, satellite TV requires you to have a satellite dish mounted either on your roof or at a balcony, depending on the situation of your home, whether you live in a bungalow or an apartment. Aside from this, the guys installing the satellite dish also need to wire in the satellite to the TV.

A lot of cable and satellite TV companies offer different packages that you can choose from, depending on your choice of channels. Some cable and satellite providers offer more channels such as high definition channels along with regular digital channels, as well as digital video recorders for your convenience, ranging in varying competitive prices, depending on the company you choose.

Availability is also of key importance. There are places, especially in the rural areas, where cable connections may not be available since it has not yet been reached by any cable company, or the company sees it as too much of a cost to lay cable there. On the contrary, satellite TV is available everywhere since channels are transmitted by an orbiting satellite, able to beam signals to dishes at land, sea, even on air.

There will be some channels that will be exclusive to cable only, and there will be certain channels that will be exclusive to satellite. Research on different cable and satellite service providers and the exclusive channels they offer. By doing this, you will know which company has the channels you want to view on a regular basis.

The picture quality is important as well. With cable TV, channel signals are transmitted via the coaxial cable, wherein every channel is sent all at the same time, in every TV in your home, whether you are watching or not. This causes the loss of quality because of the long distance that the signal travels, from the provider all the way to millions of homes. In comparison, the image from a satellite, you are assured of a clear, sharp image, since the orbiting satellite transmits without hindrance or signal loss.

Overall, getting either satellite or cable TV for your home will be beneficial because it allows you to get more than the local channels, or even HD versions of your local channels. Just make sure that you get the package that you want, so that you will stick to your provider because of the channels and privileged they offer.