BestCustomerReview
As a stay at home mom with two small children and an online business to run, my days are pretty full. After the little ones go to bed, my husband helps me get merchandise ready to ship and I spend a couple of hours online, every night, building what I hope will one day become a hugely successful business.
The move is on. Last year millions of Americans switched from cable TV to satellite TV.
Why? When you compare satellite TV to cable TV you'll discover the main reasons are cost, picture quality, program choices, and customer satisfaction.
Let's check out the differences ...
Cable vs. Satellite TV Fees
Cable TV fees across the country average .99 per month. In our area the cost for cable TV is .30 a month for 64 channels, plus .95 a month to add digital channels. Installation in one room is .95, plus .95 for each additional room.
Satellite TV fees from Dish Network are .99 per month for 60 channels, while DirecTV charges .99 per month for 115 channels. Both satellite TV providers currently offer free satellite TV equipment and free installation in up to four rooms.
Cable vs. Satellite TV Programming
Cable TV in most areas offers almost as many channels as satellite TV, and is broadcast in analog (over-the-air) format. If you want to have digital picture and sound you'll have to pay an additional fee, usually to a month.
Satellite TV offers more channels than cable TV (more than 250 channels), and more HDTV (high definition TV) programming. All satellite TV channels are broadcast in digital format for the highest quality picture and sound.
Cable vs. Satellite TV Equipment
With cable you only need cable boxes that connect the incoming cable line to your televisions. There is usually no charge or rental fees for cable boxes, however, If you want a digital video recorder, you'll have to pay an extra fee.
With satellite TV you need a satellite TV dish and TV receivers. Both Dish Network and DirecTV offer that equipment, plus installation, for free. Dish Network will give you a DVR (digital video recording) receiver or an HDTV receiver at no charge, while DirecTV charges .99 for DVR receivers and 9 for HDTV receivers.
Cable and Satellite TV Reliability and Customer Satisfaction
Cable TV outages average 3% to 5% per year. J.D. Powers and Associates ranks cable companies as good to poor in customer satisfaction.
Satellite TV outages average about 1%. J.D. Power and Associates has ranked the two satellite TV providers -- Dish Network and DirecTV -- higher in customer satisfaction than any of the cable TV companies for the last five years
The Bottom Line
If you only watch a couple of shows a week, and you live in an area where you can't get over-the-air TV and cable TV costs less than per month, then cable may be your best option.
If, on the other hand, you want the biggest variety of shows, movies, sports, and news for the least amount of money ... you want to watch your all your shows in digital video and sound ... and you want the option of watching them in HD format and recording them on a DVR receiver, then satellite TV is what you're looking for.
When I first decided to pursue an Internet business, I spent a great deal of time making sure I chose the all the right ingredients that would give me the best chance for success. I did some research before choosing a hosting company for my website and finally selected one that guaranteed 99% uptime. If your site is down, your business is closed.
The problem I quickly discovered is that it doesn't matter how good the hosting company is or how much uptime they have if your Internet connection goes out! And mine did, over and over again, sometimes simply because it was raining, other times for no apparent reason at all. I complained repeatedly to my Internet provider and while they were apologetic, nothing was ever done to assure me that it wouldn't continue to happen.
One day I was complaining about it to one of the women in my networking group and she told me how happy she was with her Internet access through Dish Network. I didn't even know Dish Network offered Internet service! I thought it was just a satellite TV system. After we hung up, I jumped online and started looking for more information.
I finally found what I was looking for. All the information I needed to make an informed decision was presented in the most straightforward way possible. It was easy to understand and the ordering process was an absolute breeze. Dish Network offers promotional discounts that change from time to time and when I subscribed to my satellite package through that website I was able to save a great deal of money. I'm not saying you'll get the same deal I got, but I've included the link below so you can check it out for yourself.
You don't have to own an online business to benefit from Dish Network's Internet service. I was so pleased with our service that I told my mom and both my sisters about it. I gave them the same link you'll find at the end of this article. My sister Shelly lives on a farm so far from town that she's never even been able to get cable. But with Dish Network, she now gets more channels than cable even offers PLUS her Internet connection via satellite. She was absolutely thrilled to finally feel like she had joined everyone else in the 21st century.
In fact, it doesn't matter where you live; Internet access is available to you through Dish Network. They've partnered with Wildblue to provide Internet service to the most remote areas you can imagine. As long as you've got a spot with southern exposure Dish Network can bring the world into your home.
You don't have to take my word for it. Click on the link below, visit the site and decide for yourself. All I can tell you is that it was one of the best decisions I've made for my business. I never have to worry anymore about not being able to sign on. I'd have paid a high price for that peace of mind. Thanks to the site listed below, and Dish Network, I didn't have to. Go check 'em out and you'll see what I mean.
It has happened to all of us. It's fourth and ten with just 1:42 to go in the second half - and of course your team is down. The weather outside is getting worse and worse. Suddenly, the image on your TV looks eerily like the snow falling outside your window. It is a race against the game clock to get picture back on your TV before you have to resign and just look for the score on the evening news.
Remember, only on a rare occasion will you lose picture with Dish Network - when you do, more often than not, there is nothing wrong with your equipment or the service. This article discusses some of the easiest and fastest ways to troubleshoot your Dish Network receiver.From High in the Sky to Your Dish Network Receiver
Dish Network uploads programming to its satellites via gigantic transmission stations on earth. The digital image travels upward through the atmosphere where it eventually finds satellites orbiting the Earth miles above the United States. Those satellites capture and resend the digital signal in such a way that nearly everyone with a plain view of the sky can receive it. The signal is collected by the ubiquitous mini-dishes and sent through cables to your Dish Network receiver, which is set up to decode and convert the digital signal to a viewable picture. That viewable picture is transferred to your brand-new, 56 inch widescreen plasma TV, where only moments ago you were watching the second half of your favorite team's football game.The Game Plan
If you suddenly lose picture on your TV, the problem could be in any one of six places - but before you panic, let me tell you you're only going to have to check four of them.The Dish - If something interferes with the signal getting from the satellite down to your dish the picture is obviously going to suffer. If the signal is completely blocked, your picture will disappear. Make sure that there is nothing between your dish and where your dish is pointing in the sky. This could include: a tree branch, your motor home, your neighbor's motor home, a build-up of snow, ice, or excessive water on the dish, or anything else you could possibly imagine. Luckily, the solution is simple. Get the signal flowing freely back to your Dish Network receiver by removing the obstruction. Of course, if the obstruction is your neighbor's prize winning oak tree, be judicious as you contemplate ways of removing it (i.e. talk to her about it and figure out a solution together). If it is ice or snow just wipe the dish clean, and you'll be back to your game before they even snap the ball. The Cables and Connections - The wiring and connecting pieces that carry the signal from the dish to your Dish Network receiver could also be part of the problem. It is unlikely that the image will suddenly cut out on you, especially in the fourth quarter, if the wiring is bad. The easiest way to test this is to ensure that the integrity of the cables is still intact and that all of the connections are tight. If you are still not getting picture to your television, try plugging the cables into another TV, or routing the picture through your VCR. If you still have no football game, try using different cables. If the picture comes back at any time while you are doing this, you've honed in on where the problem is and you can go about fixing it... after the game, of course. Your Dish Network Receiver - On a very rare occasion, your receiver may stop receiving or decoding the signal properly. To fix this, simply unplug the receiver for 30 seconds and then plug it back in. (Don't worry - 1:42 can last anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes at the end of a football game.) You can also try taking the programming card out of the receiver and then putting it back in again. Both of these steps help reset the receiver, and it should start functioning properly again as soon as you turn it back on. Your New Plasma TV - I'm no expert on troubleshooting TVs that cost more than my car, but checking the cables and connections is never a bad thing. A word of advice from one who has been there and done that - make sure the back of your huge, heavy television is readily accessible. The only thing that will make you more angry than missing the miracle comeback of your favorite team in that game you are missing, is dropping that massive television on your toes as your were breaking your back moving it out from the wall.
The good news is your team came back from behind and won. The better news is you read this article and were able to watch it live. The best news is you kept your cool and because your wife was so impressed with the way you handled the whole situation, she bought you a pool table.
Troubleshooting Your Dish Network ReceiverIn today's modern digital world almost of all of us use computers. The chances are if you use a computer you have also used an Ethernet cable. They are used to pass information between devices. A computer would connect to a router or modem with the use of an Ethernet cable. This is how you get your internet connection or network your computer to other computers. There are a few types available, the two most common used categories in use today are Cat5e and Cat6. The difference between the two is speed, cat5e is capable of speeds up to 100 mbs whilst Cat6 is capable of speeds up to 10000 mbs.
A very common question asked of Ethernet cables is how long can they be? The effective range of this type of cable is one hundred meters. Though there are a few things to consider when buying a long Ethernet cable. If you need to use your cable outdoors, perhaps to run around the exterior of a building you need to ask yourself if you need an exterior cable. Not all cables are suitable for outdoor use. Whilst most modern cables have a full PVC cover to protect from moisture, the main problem is damaged caused to the PVC jacket by UV light rays from the sun. Ultra violet rays can over a long period of time, cause the cable to dry out and crack, thus allowing water ingress. It's worth considering concealing the cable in conduit or some for of piping to protect it from the sun.
With an extra long Ethernet cable it's a good idea to opt for a cable with shielding. The extra shielding comes in the form of a thin layer of aluminium foil wrapped around the cables in between the internal cable and the outer PVC jacket. The shielding prevents interference from other cables or equipment nearby. You can also consider using a category 6 cable. Cat6 cables are designed to work at higher speeds and have as standard a better level of shielding than standard Cat5e cables. Any network, modem, router or internet connection that requires a cat5e lead will work with Cat6. Both categories share the same eight pin RJ45 connection plug, the only difference between the two being the actual cable used. You can purchase a 50 meter Cat6 lead in the UK for around twenty eight pounds. Whilst ta 50 meter Cat5e will cost around twenty pounds.
Ethernet Cables - How Long Can The Cable BeConfused about T1 bandwidth? No need to be any longer. Here's some of the most commonly asked questions. .. with practical answers to set you straight and on your way to confidently utilizing this backbone of business voice and data networks.
1. If T1 data rate is 1.5 Mb, why isn't a cable service "equal or better" which offers 6 MB down/768 Kb up? What are the fundamental differences between T1 and Cable?
T1 's are Basically business connections. Cable/DSL services are usually residential.
T1 's normally have:
* unlimited throughput
* guaranteed uptime per month
* no port blocking, allowing servers
* upload 2-5 x as high as cable/DSL
* faster repair times, as in the company will most likely takepriority repairing them
* a dedicated line
Cable/DSL usually has an AUP or TOS that disallows servers, and may have high downtimes. Plus when there is no internet, there might be no business either.
Cable/DSL have high download speeds, but in a business setting, you might only be checking email/browsing the web/updating database records, so you don't need so much downloading. However you may be running a server that uploads a lot, or you might be updating a website and need to send files often. The upload of a T1 helps in this setting.
Raw peak speed it not all there is to a connection. T1 is marketed as a business class service. That means it is symmetrical, making is easy to run servers and comes with a service level agreement that guarantee minimalacceptable performance and mean time to repair (MTTR). These are critical components in the marketing of different services. If you are a business, the cost of a network outage could be dramatic.
That being said the widespread availability of extremely low cost residential services is putting tremendous price pressure on traditional business class services. With that you see the cost of T1 lines (as well as DS3 even OC3) dropping steadily over the last year.
2. the T1 Is more than just raw bandwidth? Is voice T1 fundamentally different than data T1 for Internet access or "integrated T1" for voice and Internet access? If you need voice, do you have to go with a telco-type T1 provider who can provide you DIDs and local and long-distance service, etc? When people talk about"integrated T1" which can be used for Internet access (data) and telephone service (voice), how does the provider handle data side and voice side?
Simply put T1 is a point-to-point link. T1 was developed in the late early 1960 's to carry 24 digitized phone calls between telephone switching offices. Think of T1 as a simple pipe, between you and the service provider. That service provider may be the phone company delivering voice service over the T1 pipe, or an ISP delivering Internet access. To the T1 line how the bits are used does not matter, bit-is-bits. If you want DID trunks you need to make sure the remote end of the T1 connects to a service provider capable of delivering them.
Remember the history of T1.
It was designed to carry digital phone calls. Total capacityis divided into 64 kbps channels. That is ideal for voice but is makes no sense for data, so data uses unchannalized T1. In the middle is that ability to mix and match data and voice. Thus the birth of "integrated T1" lines.
3. In "integrated T1, voice calls get priority. In the absence of any voice calls, all the bandwidth is available for Internet access. How is "dynamic and automatic" bandwidth allocation done? Do you need special edge equipment to do this?
T1 is just a pipe. It is a simple matter to have equipment at each end of the T1 dynamically allocated voice as high priority and date on a best effort basis over a single T1 pipe, the common term is the Integrated Access Device (IAD).
Common Questions on T1 Bandwidth-With Practical AnswersWave Broadband is an internet, phone and cable TV provider. People have taken some time to check on the options they offer for their internet service and so far, what most people saw are variations from real slow to real fast bandwidth (speed).
For the slow speed they offer, the speed is at 256 kbps for the downstream (speed at which your computer receives data) and 128 kbps for the upstream (speed at which your computer sends data). Their high speed can do as much as 18Mbps for the downstream and 2Mbps upstream. In case you are wondering, downstream speed simply refers to the rate at which your computer receives data.
Wave Broadband
