Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (
More info?)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Bud" <larrybud2002@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 8:50 AM
Subject: After Voom, what do you recommend?
> For people that have experienced both Cable (comcast) and DirecTV, what
> do you recommend for HD?
>
Hi Larry,
We recently switched from DirecTV to Comcast. Part of that reason was that
we had trouble getting consistent reception of DirecTVs current High Def
offerings, but we did get to see Showtime HD a few times. So, we didn't
have lots of experience with DTVs HD signals, but FWIW here's some thoughts:
From the few DTV HD shows we did watch, I find the Comcast HD signals to be
brighter and more vivid. INHDs programming, while very repetitive, is
quite lovely to look at because they show lots of shows shot for IMAX.
Overall I'm satisfied with Comcast's HD selection (they just added TNT HD
too) for the time being, and assume they'll continue to add channels on a
regular basis.
The analog channels on Comcast are noticeably grainy, but the digital non-HD
channels are quite nice. So, channel picture quality (other than HD) is
inconsistent, with some channels being decidedly worse than DTV, and others
being as good if not slightly better in my opinion.
We loved our DTV Tivos (non-HD versions), and the Motorola 6412s (HD
dual-tuner PVRs) Comcast has are fine. They're certainly cheaper than DTV
HD Tivos, but their options/features aren't as slick or well-thought out as
Tivos. But, they're functional and have a couple nice features like showing
a reduced picture while you peruse the DVR menus. Also, Comcast has their
deal with Tivo which should lead to changes for the better in '06. (And
DTV seems to be dropping their Tivo connection, which was another minus for
us...)
The on-demand feature Comcast has shouldn't be underestimated either. They
have a pretty wide range of free stuff (not just PPV). If you subscribe to
HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. they usually offer most of the movies they're
showing that week on an on-demand basis, which can be very convenient too.
The HD on-demand stuff that I've seen so far has been PPV, but I still
really like having all the other programming available even if it isn't
HD....
Overall, we're happy with our decision to go with Comcast. (But we are also
keeping an eye on Verizon's upcoming FIOS and TV services....since Comcast
has no contract or cancellation penalties it'll be easy to switch if that
should prove compelling later on this year or next.)
-Eddie