The Cable-or-Satellite Conundrum
TV lovers finally have a real choice. Here's how to pick the right service.
Anne Kandra
From the June 2004 issue of PC World magazine
Posted Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Read the full article at http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115601,00.asp
Television used to be simple: You'd grab the remote and settle in with a cold one to watch the Monday Night Football broadcast from your local cable company.
Of course, if you happened to live beyond the reach of civilization as defined by the closest cable conglomerate, things got a little more complicated. You might have had to shell out a thousand dollars or more for a satellite dish the size of a garage door and then spend weeks figuring out how to get it to talk to your TV.
Those days are gone. No longer does satellite TV mean installation headaches and a large unsightly appendage on your house (now it means a much smaller unsightly appendage). Satellite service has evolved into a direct competitor to the long-monopolistic cable TV industry.
The nation's leading cable companies are countering by expanding and beefing up their own networks, adding services such as high-definition TV signals and movies on demand.
And the battle isn't just about entertainment anymore. Cable and satellite providers also offer services like high-speed Web connections, in some instances provided by their business partners.
So which technology will offer you the smoother ride to this broadband promised land? If you're considering signing on with a new service, here are a few key considerations to help you decide.
Read the rest at http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115601,00.asp
TV lovers finally have a real choice. Here's how to pick the right service.
Anne Kandra
From the June 2004 issue of PC World magazine
Posted Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Read the full article at http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115601,00.asp
Television used to be simple: You'd grab the remote and settle in with a cold one to watch the Monday Night Football broadcast from your local cable company.
Of course, if you happened to live beyond the reach of civilization as defined by the closest cable conglomerate, things got a little more complicated. You might have had to shell out a thousand dollars or more for a satellite dish the size of a garage door and then spend weeks figuring out how to get it to talk to your TV.
Those days are gone. No longer does satellite TV mean installation headaches and a large unsightly appendage on your house (now it means a much smaller unsightly appendage). Satellite service has evolved into a direct competitor to the long-monopolistic cable TV industry.
The nation's leading cable companies are countering by expanding and beefing up their own networks, adding services such as high-definition TV signals and movies on demand.
And the battle isn't just about entertainment anymore. Cable and satellite providers also offer services like high-speed Web connections, in some instances provided by their business partners.
So which technology will offer you the smoother ride to this broadband promised land? If you're considering signing on with a new service, here are a few key considerations to help you decide.
Read the rest at http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115601,00.asp
