D* vs E* vs Comcast

R

rujin

CAG Veteran
Currently subscribed to Comcast with the standard digital package viewing on a Sammy LCD 720p set. The SD PQ on the set is horrible, so much pixelation, that I wished I had CRT
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. I sit close with my current setup about maybe 4-5ft or so away from screen. I thought about getting HD with comcast but seeing as SD is so poor, I wouldn't imagine HD is great...anyone with insight? I live in a small town so I don't know if that matters with the amount of compression on PQ....don't even have on the demand stuff(have PPV however). But anyway might think about switching to E* since they have the standalone HD package for a decent price, was wondering if anyone has that if its comparable to D* then I might make the jump. I'm leaning more towards the E* package since it'll be the cheapest of the three...don't really need all those bs filler channels I don't end up watching.

Anyone been through two or three providers with HD have any insight on which is better to go with? Also maybe some hidden fees they have to them? Thanks for all the help...by the way comcast billing sucks as they billed me incorrectly twice.
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You are watching SD footage on a HD screen, of course it's going to look bad compared to SD footage on a SD screen.

HD, no matter the compression, should look much better.

I have no idea what the hell E* is so I can't help you there. Just make your that the price you are seeing isn't a "introductory" rate.
 
SD looks like crap on LCDs. The HD will look much, much better.

But don't waste your money on cable. Just get a cheap internet-capable HTPC (~$200) and watch everything online. For the very, very few shows that aren't available to be streamed, just download them.
 
I switched from Comcast to Dish Network in March of this year and love it, the HD-DVR is the best out there, and they have been adding more and more HD channels every month. I have the same channels plus a few more than I had on Comcast and now have better picture quality and equipment for $30.00 less a month.

p.s.
The only thing Comcast seems to have better than D* and E* is the "On Demand" programming, I really liked that and miss that alot.
 
[quote name='ajh2298']I switched from Comcast to Dish Network in March of this year and love it, the HD-DVR is the best out there, and they have been adding more and more HD channels every month. I have the same channels plus a few more than I had on Comcast and now have better picture quality and equipment for $30.00 less a month.

p.s.
The only thing Comcast seems to have better than D* and E* is the "On Demand" programming, I really liked that and miss that alot.[/quote]

Thanks for the comment...thinking about switching just dislike that damn activation fee. Yeah in my small town I don't even get on demand. Any other inputs from switching from one carrier to the other??
 
I guess it depends on where you live, but when I lived in maine for a couple of years, 2 of my friends had a dish service and it was horrible. My in laws, who live in a somewhat rural area of maine with a lot of tree's around there house go for weeks without it working. They have had a rep come out and align it but between the weather and the tree's they go most of the winter without the dish working. I used to love comcast, but I haven't been too impressed with them recently, but if I were you I would speak to your neighbors that have a dish to see if it is worth it. If you live in an area where it isn't an issue then best of luck to you.

As for the dvr I would bet that most people believe that tivo is the best dvr. I know one of the dish companies was offering a tivo dvr with the dish service they had, but comcast is now offering tivo hd dvr as well, so it is moot.
 
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They laid the fiber optics for Fios in my area over 2 years ago. 6 months earlier, they laid it in the neighboring town (where my parents live) and they got the service turned on 2 years ago. I am still waiting. One of my neighbors works as a verizon tech that install/sets up account and he said he doesn't understand why it isn't available in our area yet. They just need to flip a switch. Now I know there has been a decent amout of issues with fios tv setup, but what really pisses me off is the fact I am missing out on faster broadband speeds. Fios comes in roughly at 15mbps, while my current comcst is at 10mbps. The comcast rep I spoke with said 1 wk before fios goes live in my neighborhood they will offer a 16mbps. What irrates me is prior to fios coming into the marketplace, every 6 months to a year my interenet speed where increasing 1 - 2 mbps for free. It has been on a freeze at 10 mbps for over 2 years...sons of bitches.
 
All of Seattle is fios with Comcast too, and it sucks balls. 8 mbit down / 512 kbit up, throttled to all hell. I've never gotten above 4 mbit on any download from any site, and torrents tend to max at about 1 mbit down / 100 kbit up.

Verizon offers fios just outside Seattle city limits, and in those areas Comcast actually offers faster/cheaper service to compete... but rapes us Seattle residents who have no other choice. Qwest is their only competition here -- well, "competition" is a bit of a stretch considering they only offer slow DSL.
 
I have Cox cable in my area and I think it is very similar to Comcast's offering (which I had when I lived in Nashville). I don't have an issue with SD as I have an older CRT HDTV, but SD content on any HDTV, especially LCD, is going to look like shit. My Cox HD lineup isn't too great, but it has all the major networks plus a bunch of other crap I would never watch. I use the Cox DVR which uses Pioneer Passport software and it is a decent option if you don't want to pay for TiVo. I've never had TiVo so I don't know what I am missing.

I could get FIOS right now but the only thing stopping me is their DVR. My in-laws have FIOS and the DVR software was basic at best. It is just a glorified VCR. The picture quality of all of the channels is excellent as everything is a digital signal and they have a TON of HD channels. If they get the DVR software straightened out (and they may have already, I haven't checked the in-laws in a long time), I would switch even though I absolutely hate contracts.
 
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