100% signal reliability in the future for Satellite??

[Tampa8]

There may be a difference between urban cable and rural cable for outages. I will say in Florida where I live it is very urban and cable there for my neighbors only goes out a very few times a year, and for relatively short periods. However in Ct where I live in a rural area it is out very often, and many times for a long time. IT IS OUT RIGHT NOW! Honest. We have relatively high winds in Eastern Ct, some limbs and trees are down and cable is out at the least in our area. I am tethering to be on the internet.

Satellite virtually never goes out. While I do get some rain fade in Florida, it isn't often and lasts a short time, and cable there still goes out more often, but I will say the difference isn't great as neither go out much. In Ct however it isn't close.

 

[ChadT41]

A properly mounted Dish should not experience a complete signal loss, except for the dirtiest of storms. Part of that is if you live in a high snow area, have your dish mounted somewhere you can knock the snow off of if necessary. In 4 years, I have lost less than 5 minutes of signal, and the majority of that was this year when that big rainstorm came that knocked out the uplink center in Gilbert as well.

As far as fluff in the equipment, the new GUI was one of the attractions this year as well at CES, which is very much part of the user experience for any and every user. You may not use sling, or transfers, but I'm willing to bet that most customers use PTAT or the whole home HD feature, or the ability to easily add extra tuners.

 

[Hall]

Cable is also not immune from rain fade. Recently I was watching an event on a network channel and signal was lost due to heavy downpours at the source of the live event.

That's not a 'cable outage'. Wouldn't people watching the event on Dish or Directv also been unable to ?

A properly mounted Dish should not experience a complete signal loss, except for the dirtiest of storms

That must mean that the majority of satellite customers have improperly mounted dishes then. It's physics and the cloud cover that often occurs before a heavy thunderstorm or snowstorm can cause a signal loss.

 

[ChadT41]

That's not a 'cable outage'. Wouldn't people watching the event on Dish or Directv also been unable to ?

That must mean that the majority of satellite customers have improperly mounted dishes then. It's physics and the cloud cover that often occurs before a heavy thunderstorm or snowstorm can cause a signal loss.

heavy and nasty.. yes.... normal storm... no

 

[JUCJ85]

I LOL at Cable being 100% signal reliable. I have DirecTV, and if it ever goes out, which is maybe 5 times a year, it's no more than 5 minutes each time.

I've had TWC, and have had so much outages, same with their road runner, which I have now, and I always lose it late at night, and it slows down, making it unbareable to use.

I believe Satellite companies like DirecTV and Dish have much better technology when it comes to the receivers. But that's my opinion.

 

[TNGTony]

That's not a 'cable outage'. Wouldn't people watching the event on Dish or Directv also been unable to ?

The point was that both cable and satellite are subject to outages from the source.

 

[renegade734]

I just want to point out the fact that cable companies do not even have 100% reliability, so them beating that drum.... is like a fat kid making fun of someone that is also fat...

Yeah, well, the fat kid left me without service for the last five days. They can kiss me twice with their 100% reliability claim ...

 

[SamCdbs]

This past November when my area got pounded with snow,70-90” depending on the town, in a three day span, I lost both my cable and satellite services.

The idiotic anti cable argument of ‘cable gets their signal from satellite’ was never valid and is now even less valid. My cable signal originates at the TWC NOC in Syracuse, NY blah, blah blah.

So, umm, you expect DirecTV to sweep the snow off your dish for you?

And, umm, you pay TWICE for what you claim is the "same thing"?

And, umm, when did ESPN move to Syracuse? and HBO too. and I could have sworn Golf Channel HQ was in Orlando. Fact is every signal that the ancient technology of cable sends out, it gets from a sat. All of its "rain fade" spew is just so much ho-ha. After all, you have to say SOMETHING. "Less channels, lest tech, LESS" is not much of a slogan.

Fact is, there are still people in NJ waiting for post storm repairs from "100% reliable" cable. While the modern technology was up and running 5 seconds after the storm. As would have yours been, had you a properly installed dish (self-install, I suspect).

 

[MikeD-C05]

DISH has always been more reliable than cable for tv in my area. We had hurricanes Rita, Humberto and Ike between 05-08. After Rita destroyed my sat dish -crushed it into a C shape, I decided to take my dish down and put it in the house during the evacuations for subsequent hurricanes. After electricity was restored, I re-installed my sat dish and I was up in running in less than 15 minutes total. My sister has Time Warner Cable across the street and she waited over a month after Rita in 05 and a month after Ike in 08 to get her cable restored.

 

[EarDemon]

So, umm, you expect DirecTV to sweep the snow off your dish for you?

And, umm, you pay TWICE for what you claim is the "same thing"?

And, umm, when did ESPN move to Syracuse? and HBO too. and I could have sworn Golf Channel HQ was in Orlando. Fact is every signal that the ancient technology of cable sends out, it gets from a sat. All of its "rain fade" spew is just so much ho-ha. After all, you have to say SOMETHING. "Less channels, lest tech, LESS" is not much of a slogan.

Fact is, there are still people in NJ waiting for post storm repairs from "100% reliable" cable. While the modern technology was up and running 5 seconds after the storm. As would have yours been, had you a properly installed dish (self-install, I suspect).

Wow seriously what is your deal? Can you not understand that satellite is not the best thing in the world and cable is superior in some aspects?

Yes, I do pay twice for the same thing, I can afford it so why not. There are channels that are important to me that I cannot get on DirecTV and plus DirecTV is not reliable enough. I keep DirecTV for NFL Sunday Ticket, NHL Center Ice and MLB Extra Innings. In your hatred for cable, I guess you missed when I mentioned about Time Warner NOT getting the majority of channels via out dated old junky C-band for the Northeast Region. Most signals arrive at the NOC via fiber and IP. I get more channels, more full time HD and the same level of technology with TWC then I do with D*. Well actually slightly more. The D* HR34 has 5 tuners, my cable DVR has 6 tuners.

And no I don't expect DirecTV to sweep my dish off, but seriously, how naive can you be. My dishes were professionally installed, thank you very much. with 70"+ of snow in 3 days was impossible to keep them clear. And how much do you think all that snow weighs.

How fast is DirecTV's internet access, oh wait.......

 

[SamCdbs]

Wo Can you not understand that satellite is not the best thing in the world and cable is superior in some aspects?

Yes, I do pay twice for the same thing, I can afford it so why not. ....

Umm, the OP posted that "cable was 100% reliable". I, and pretty much everybody else, pointed out that, umm, no it is not. Somehow that set you off.

As to cable's "superiority", I'm just taking cable's word for it. ALL of its ads spew two things. The myth of rain fade. And it can "bundle" saving me the 4 seconds per month it takes me to pay for internet separately. My internet is superior to cable. And I know that rain fade is 99.99% myth (and have the sense to wipe off my own dish now and then in the snow). Since I know the two things that Big Cable says are false, and its never says anything else, I must conclude no aspect of cable is "superior". If it had an actual superior aspect, it would mention it in the ads. But all it do is spew about "rain fade" and bundling. I therefore conclude the owners of Big Cable have nothing legitimate to say. Otherwise they would say it. It is really not surprising that a technology from 1940 would be inferior to a modern one.

And, BTW, EVERY signal you get went through space (and thus through the rain and snow). Because ESPN HQ is in Bristol. Not upstate NY. And the games are played all over the world. Not just in Buffalo. Which is just one reason that rain fade is a myth.

And, as we speak, people are looking at the "100% reliable" cable, and it isn't working. Some will be out for an hour. Some have been out since Sandy. Because it isn't 100% reliable. Far, far, far, from it.

And, umm, so do you keep two cars? Drive one halfway to work, and then switch out?

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/tv-tallies-costs-katrina/107757
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/08/time-warner-internet-failures-reported.html
http://www.twcableuntangled.com/201...f-known-outages-with-approximate-repair-etas/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2014/08/27/time-warner-outage/14670747/

 

[Tampa8]

Internet access isn't the discussion, but nice deflection. There are things Cable does better, I would say On Demand is one of them, but again not the discussion started in the thread

Wow seriously what is your deal? Can you not understand that satellite is not the best thing in the world and cable is superior in some aspects?

Yes, I do pay twice for the same thing, I can afford it so why not. There are channels that are important to me that I cannot get on DirecTV and plus DirecTV is not reliable enough. I keep DirecTV for NFL Sunday Ticket, NHL Center Ice and MLB Extra Innings. In your hatred for cable, I guess you missed when I mentioned about Time Warner NOT getting the majority of channels via out dated old junky C-band for the Northeast Region. Most signals arrive at the NOC via fiber and IP. I get more channels, more full time HD and the same level of technology with TWC then I do with D*. Well actually slightly more. The D* HR34 has 5 tuners, my cable DVR has 6 tuners.

And no I don't expect DirecTV to sweep my dish off, but seriously, how naive can you be. My dishes were professionally installed, thank you very much. with 70"+ of snow in 3 days was impossible to keep them clear. And how much do you think all that snow weighs.

How fast is DirecTV's internet access, oh wait.......

The thread is (was) about reliability not how good internet is. Of course Cable has things it does better, On Demand being one of them. But it loses when cable in Eastern Ct goes out often and sometimes for long periods. And while Cable Internet is better than Satellite, there are times I think about getting it via satellite because it does go out when a car hits a pole and for many other reasons. It does not go out as often where I live in Florida.
In all these years I rarely, very rarely, extremely rarely lost DISH TV.
I'm also not following your response on snow. Heavy? How heavy is snow on a satellite DISH? We got feet of snow the last two years and while I had to brush it off a couple of times, it was only when it warmed up and the water content increased. It never crossed my mind it was heavy I simply brushed it off.

One of the best attributes of Satellite, TV or Radio is that it is so reliable, and can be used almost anywhere.

 

[sam_gordon]

And, BTW, EVERY signal you get went through space (and thus through the rain and snow).

Not true. I know our local cable company collects the locals via fiber then distributes to remote headends via fiber. So any locally produced content never goes through space to get to the consumer.

Neither cable nor satellite is 100% reliable. I think it's a silly argument to have on a message board on which is MORE reliable. The reliability will vary based on location, weather, infrastructure, etc. It's like arguing whether ATT or Verizon has better coverage. You should only compare what happens IN YOUR LOCATION. It doesn't matter if someone in Florida loses satellite signal all the time if you're in Minnesota. Likewise, it doesn't matter if cable was out for months after a hurricane if you're in Oklahoma.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Not true. I know our local cable company collects the locals via fiber then distributes to remote headends via fiber. So any locally produced content never goes through space to get to the consumer.

Neither cable nor satellite is 100% reliable. I think it's a silly argument to have on a message board on which is MORE reliable. The reliability will vary based on location, weather, infrastructure, etc. It's like arguing whether ATT or Verizon has better coverage. You should only compare what happens IN YOUR LOCATION. It doesn't matter if someone in Florida loses satellite signal all the time if you're in Minnesota. Likewise, it doesn't matter if cable was out for months after a hurricane if you're in Oklahoma.

Yes, your worry in Oklahoma is" Fracking earthquakes", not hurricanes.

 

[dare2be]

heavy and nasty.. yes.... normal storm... no

In FL, heavy and nasty is the norm.

 

[sperry85]

As a long term subscriber with top tier equipment from DirecTV and TWC cable I could not disagree more. This past November when my area got pounded with snow,70-90” depending on the town, in a three day span, I lost both my cable and satellite services. DirecTV was the first to go, the snow started falling Monday into Tuesday night at the rate of about 4 or 5 inches and hour, by mid Tuesday my satellite dishes were completely covered, by Wednesday morning both my SL5 and WorldDirect dishes completely collapsed from the weight of the snow. I still had cable until Thursday afternoon, when a snow plow came by and the weight of the snow, combined with the force of if from the plow completely tore apart my cable connection at the utility pole.

The difference is I called TWC and they were out the following day, Friday Nov 21, they were able to just barely make it down my street, and run a new line of RG11 from the pole to my garage. The earliest could get DirecTV out here was the following Saturday, Nov 29. DirecTV charged me $50 for the pleasure of having them come out, as per usual no cost with TWC.

The idiotic anti cable argument of ‘cable gets their signal from satellite’ was never valid and is now even less valid. My cable signal originates at the TWC NOC in Syracuse, NY where channels are received by mostly a combination of fiber and IP and then distributed to regional headends, and then are passed to local headends. Picture quality is on par with DirecTV. Some channels look better on DirecTV, some on Time Warner. The Difference isn’t enough from me to care. Time Warner has better On Demand, had many many more HD channels, but now DirecTV is catching up. There’s nothing 1940s about my upwards of 200 full time channels of HD content, and eventually 300Mb+ broadband.

Besides out of market sports, I cannot think of a single other thing where DirecTV beats TWC.

Heh, I find it funny that you say satellite is inferior because the dish got over loaded with snow and fell down. Where was the dish mounted? On your roof or eave? Did it damage your house when the lag bolts ripped out? Or is it on a pole and you were too lazy to clear the snow off it?

The reality is that it really depends on where you live. I'm currently in San Antonio and cable is far from reaching the reliability of a properly installed satellite dish. In fact just today I reinstalled a ladies old SD directv recievers because she went to TWC for a week and was just appalled with the service.

 

[Tony S]

Where I live in Connecticut, Dish is much more reliable than cable. I can't even remember the last time that my satellite feed went out. I have the Dish mounted on a pole in my yard and it is easy to brush the snow off. Even though we had one of the worst winters ever recorded, I only had to brush the dish off once this season. Rain fade is virtually non-existent. It takes a monsoon of a storm for satellite to go out, and then it is only momentary (a few minutes at most).

Meanwhile cable has gone out more frequently, and when it is out it takes longer for them to restore the signal.

 

[truckracer]

C band big dish were the days of no rain fade.

 

[DishSubLA]

Have to say Dish (and likely DirecTV) as a satellite is FAR more reliable than either the Cable TV or Internet services. When storms pass though, we might lose our sat signal for a few minutes, but then it all comes back, but the Cable co here has trucks out trying to locate and fix the downed TV and internet. I have neighbors who go through loss of TV for several hours, even a day or more. While our internet is VERY reliable--from the cable co--it can have several minor outages and a few longer delays. All in all, not so bad, but FAR WORSE than my steady solid as a rock sat signal.

Also, let's consider that the internet slows down either to lack of edge router capacity or even the backbone itself, and no one want to pay for increasing the more than ever over burdened capacity of the backbone, which has to deal with high inefficiencies such as too many people streaming the same new hit movie, not in accordance with what is supposed to be the agreed industry practice of efficient use of the backbone by having such high traffic content cached at the ISP, but Hollywood, of course, doesn't like that. I still get buffering more than a few times on my 50 Mbps downstream, while my sat service has far, far, fewer hiccups.

And let us not forget that as cable co's become almost all about being an ISP, the current rates for ISP services will INCREASE to reflect our growing dependency on it, all while crowing that they give you 100Mbps speeds that are truly USELESS for home, but with no options for slower speeds at lower prices (some people only need only 5-15Mpbs, not 50-100Mbps).

Yeah, the future of the internet looks good--to the ISP's. In other words, they get us coming and going, as usual.