Moving to Milwaukee: Cable or DirecTV for HD?

[Movin2Milwaukee]

I will be moving to Milwaukee soon and would like to know what is considered the better option for HD programming, the local cable provider or DirecTV? I, of course, want my locals in HD and don't want to pay an arm and a leg for the 'total packages.'

[Bluto]

I will be moving to Milwaukee soon and would like to know what is considered the better option for HD programming, the local cable provider or DirecTV? I, of course, want my locals in HD and don't want to pay an arm and a leg for the 'total packages.'

I think it depends where in the Milwaukee area you are moving. The ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS and NBC affiliates all have fairly strong OTA signal. The WB and UPN affilaites will be at full power this summer.

Most of the area here is covered by Time Warner cable, although some areas have Charter.

I think the area you live will have some bearing on what you choose as your provider.

[AndrewP]

May I suggest: Dish Network. Here are my reasons:
1. 25 HD channels
2. MPEG4 HD DVR 622, which allows you to connect two tvs and watch two seperate programs (save money on extra receiver charge). Will allow to record 3 HD (two from the satellite and one OTA) programs and watch one of the program being recorded or another pre-recorded program, all at the same time.
3. HD locals announced for Milwaukee area this year, probably when E*10 satellite will finish testing.

[Movin2Milwaukee]

Thanks for the responses. Dish Network, interesting. I hear DirecTV is launching tons of new HD channels next year, but right now...kinda bare of selection. I wonder if Time Warner rips you off like most cable providers do, with the outrageous pricing. If so, will probably opt for satellite.

As to what part of town, not sure yet...but it likely be near Downtown or up North.

[AndrewP]

Thanks for the responses. Dish Network, interesting. I hear DirecTV is launching tons of new HD channels next year, but right now...kinda bare of selection. I wonder if Time Warner rips you off like most cable providers do, with the outrageous pricing. If so, will probably opt for satellite.

As to what part of town, not sure yet...but it likely be near Downtown or up North.

Yeah, tons...
When they will lunch tons HD channels and surpass Dish and TWC with PQ and number of HD channels they will make it easy for me to switch and be treated well as a new customer. But as of now, Dish is the leader in HD, and I recommende you to be treated as a new Dish customer now and save new customer status for D* when and if it will be necessary.

[kevbeck122]

DirecTV uses HD-Lite (1280x1080i) for most (maybe all?) of their HD channels also..

[Movin2Milwaukee]

DirecTV uses HD-Lite (1280x1080i) for most (maybe all?) of their HD channels also..

And Dish Network does not? I am not very knowledgable about DN.

I would hate to lose out on the NFL Sunday Ticket as well, but that would happen regardless of whether I went with cable or Dish.

How do Time Warner's HD channels look?

[AndrewP]

And Dish Network does not? I am not very knowledgable about DN.

I would hate to lose out on the NFL Sunday Ticket as well, but that would happen regardless of whether I went with cable or Dish.

How do Time Warner's HD channels look?

Dish Network does HD-Lite only for Voom channels. They have fiber line problem and when it will be corrected it is expected to be in full HD too.

The only key point for D* is NFL Sunday ticket. I am not intersted in that package, because I have all NFL I need from local OTA FoxHD (Milwaukee & Chicago), local OTA CbsHD. EspnHD and next season local OTA NbcHD and NFLHD channel. PackersHD is enough for me :D

But D* really has all HD in HD-Lite so far. And now they talk about PPVHD for $25 after 60 days from theatrical release. :rolleyes: So I am not impressed so far.

Again in you NFL team is not Packers then you will probably need D* with all their HD-Lite (it is better then SD, anyway).

[Movin2Milwaukee]

Thanks Andrew....good info there.

How do TWC's HD channels look in Milwaukee, like the hi-def HBO? Do you know if DISH offers local channels in HD in Milwaukee?

[AndrewP]

Thanks Andrew....good info there.

How do TWC's HD channels look in Milwaukee, like the hi-def HBO? Do you know if DISH offers local channels in HD in Milwaukee?

Don't know about current TWC HD PQ. When I had cable 4 years ago it was good, but they had only 3 channels then. They don't have in HD two local stations (WB and UPN) because of ongoing dispute with Sinclair, owner of these channels. BTW, today was mentioned that UPN station will become new Fox MyNetworkTV affiliate.
Dish will start HD locals later this year. It was already announced. But they will offer only NBC, FOX, ABC and CBS, like D*.
Fortunately, there is no problem now in our area with OTA HD. You can get PBS, WB, UPN in addition to big 4.

[kevbeck122]

TWC HD PQ is good.. though I can't compare it to the satellite companies since it's been a long time since I've seen them (before I owned an HD set).

[Movin2Milwaukee]

TWC HD PQ is good.. though I can't compare it to the satellite companies since it's been a long time since I've seen them (before I owned an HD set).

Wondering if the TWC HD signal is compressed or not.

Also wondering how many hours their HD DVR can hold. The TWC website for Milwaukee does not list the specs on that.

[vegasvic]

Here's one vote against Time Warner. I have never experienced as bad of service with any other company as I did with them. Ever. HORRIBLE. Their phone support employs morons and when you do get someone out on a service call they are completely inept. Uneducated and rude from top to bottom. The day I dumped them was joy. I wouldn't let them clean my toilets.

Yes the above may be over the top but the aggravation they caused me still grates. :bang:

[kevbeck122]

Wondering if the TWC HD signal is compressed or not.

Also wondering how many hours their HD DVR can hold. The TWC website for Milwaukee does not list the specs on that.

All HD signals are compressed.. TWC's signal isn't compressed as much as other sources though (other than locals maybe).

The HD DVR can hold around 20 hours of HD.. 90 hours SD. Here is the info page: http://www.scientificatlanta.com/consumers_new/CableBoxes/8300hd.htm

[Movin2Milwaukee]

Here's one vote against Time Warner. I have never experienced as bad of service with any other company as I did with them. Ever. HORRIBLE. Their phone support employs morons and when you do get someone out on a service call they are completely inept. Uneducated and rude from top to bottom. The day I dumped them was joy. I wouldn't let them clean my toilets.

Yes the above may be over the top but the aggravation they caused me still grates. :bang:

That definitely is an eye-opener! I know cable (in general) has a very poor reputation, not only for their high and unfair prices, but for their terrible customer service. A few years back I had cable installed in Indiana, and they not only didn't show up for their installation but were incredibly rude to me on the phone when I called to ask what happened. No apology...nothing.

[vegasvic]

I know I'm just one person. I'm sure (maybe) others have had wonderful experiences with TWC. MY experience wasn't limited to just one bad apple. It was from top down over a 6 day period. I switched to DTV and have loved it. Having the Sunday Ticket is great as well.

[Movin2Milwaukee]

I know this might be off-topic, but if I get one of DirecTV's brand new HD receivers (they don't have a DVR built in for the latest model)...is it possible to connect a separate HD-recorder or separate HD-DVR to the receiver and just record that way? Or is it best to just wait for the integrated DVR?

[Chinatown]

I will be moving to Milwaukee soon and would like to know what is considered the better option for HD programming, the local cable provider or DirecTV? I, of course, want my locals in HD and don't want to pay an arm and a leg for the 'total packages.'


I had Cable for 15 years, "Dish" for 2, & "D" for the last 5. In my opinion, "D" is far superior then the other two. Service is suburb, as well as the equipment. Speaking of the equipment, & the future..........I have pasted the investor meeting.........

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/12/127160/FINALSlidesInvestorDay2-22-06.pdf

This ought to help you on your choice of providers............

[kevbeck122]

I know this might be off-topic, but if I get one of DirecTV's brand new HD receivers (they don't have a DVR built in for the latest model)...is it possible to connect a separate HD-recorder or separate HD-DVR to the receiver and just record that way? Or is it best to just wait for the integrated DVR?

Not possible unless you want to spend a lot of money (a lot more than the price of a DVR)... wait until the new DVR comes out.

[hggeorge]

I switched to TWC a year and half ago and really like the service. My wife loves the video on demand movies. The picture quality is outstanding on the digitals. Some of the analog channels on an hd tv get a d+. But most all cable systems will be switching over to digital by the end of this year. TWC hd picture quality is out standing. I had Dish for two years and the picture quality was ok. But on the sport packages with movement lots of pixel problems due to low band wide. How that both Dish and Direct are switching over to mpeg4 beware of new equipment and software upgrades. You also may have problems getting a real strong signal on the dish 1000 antenna system on the 129 satellite location. Some upgrades from Dish cause problems for my 811 that I didn't have before upgrade. My gold standard for hd picture quality is my 4dtv c-band receiver and 10 foot dish. I watch Staz hd on it and only TWC has the same hd picture quality.

George K9GM
Howards Grove

[oz]

I used to hate TWC too, but I feel their customer service has improved greatly in the last few years.

My recommendation is to try TWC with the HD-DVR – free installation and no start-ups costs. If you don’t like it in a month, cancel for free and switch to something else.

TWC might also be the way to go if you want broadband internet too - you get a price break for ordering internet and cable.

[HDCheeseHead]

Well, I moved to Tosa a little over a month ago from ILL. In ILL I had DirecTV and their (HD DVR, HD package, HD locals from D*). So, I had the same decision to make. I have a 61" RPTV and when I previously had cable, their SD channels were very poor when they got blown up to 61", which is the reason I switched to D* in the first place. I had 3 DVR's (1 HD & 2 SD) and one regular receiver. I had spent quite a bit of time wiring the house to support this, since each DVR requires 2 runs of coax.

Well, I opted to give TWC a try for a few reasons.
1) I didn't want an installer to do my installation because I've had and heard of too many problems with installers. I do it myself and I do it the way I WANT.
2) I didn't want to install the coax runs in the winter
3) I didn't want to put up another antenna for OTA, since D* is not offering Milwaukee locals yet
4) TWC offered a great package. For $99 I get their DIGIPIC 1000, phone and internet. I got the same setup as with D* (1 HD DVR & 2 SD DVR) and I don't have any commitment as well, so, I can switch back to D* later.

So, when I add in the HD package, the costs of the extra receivers and fees for DVR's, VOD and HBO, I'm paying $146 + tax. This is about a wash for me when I added the same services it would cost me if I went with D* $80, SBC Phone $30+ and SBC DSL $26. Not to mention I get HBO & VOD and internet speeds of almost 10x what I got from DSL.

[jdhd]

I have been a Dtv customer for 8 years. I want to add HDTV so I have both DTV and TWC installed, to compare the two. I have the SA 8000HD DVR from TWC. I haven't come up with any conclusions yet, but here are some observations:

1.) I am on my 2nd 8000HD from TWC and 3rd service call. Still receiving lots of pixellation on HD channels.

2.) According to DTV, they are coming out with a new HD-DVR which will have HD Milwaukee locals. This will require a new dish and a different HD-DVR. They suggested if I want HD that I switch to TWC and suspend my DTV service until July, when the new equipment comes out.

3.) DTV is much clearer on channels like CNN, Bravo, etc.

4.) The 8000HD doesn't even compare to the Directivo DVR.
________
RC212V (http://www.honda-wiki.org/wiki/Honda_RC212V)

[klwillis45]

jdhd, you should swap out that box for the 8300hd. i hated the 8000, but have no issues with the 8300. Also, how many cable jacks do you have? I had 5 installed and an amp was neccessary to stop pixelating. TWC installed it for free.

[jdhd]

Thanks for the advise. The tech is coming back to put in a 8300hd and replace some more cable - hopefully that will solve the problem. I have road runner and just 1 line being used for the hdtv. All my other coax runs are still connected to the directv. I don't want to pull the plug on dtv til I am sure the TWC receiption and equipment will work ok. I am hopeful - but so far it's not looking good.
________
XANAX REHAB FORUM (http://www.rehab-forum.com/xanax-rehab/)

[jdhd]

klwillis45 - Thank you! The tech changed ALL of the cable run, but the 8000 still didn't work. He put in the 8300 and it is a night and day difference. Dare I say - the way it looks now, it is good enough to replace dtv.
________
Body science (http://bodyscience.ws/)

[Joseph S]

Having had to deal with TWC "service" again today, I can say if you that if you don't need 'em don't get 'em. Their 5C flags are always screwed up. Today I noticed they've butchered the locals as well while trying to edit a recording as even the locals are now "Copy Once." Calling Time Warner yields a "WTH is a firewire port? We don't know. We don't support it. We don't really have a clue. ..."

I can't wait to ditch them for Satellite, FIOS, or Comcast in the next few months. If the "Wiz" hadn't butchered Alias for 4 years or TNT ran a marathon, I would have already done so months ago.

[Movin2Milwaukee]

Thank you all for the various tips and info...very good stuff!

I want to do this the right way when I move, since I will be getting an HDTV for the first time....buying a nice Sony SXRD 60-incher. Does TWC have HDMI outputs for its DVR? I am still considering DTV but, as someone said, their new HD-DVR that is compatible with the new 5LNB dish won't be out till July. I am moving to Milwaukee in 3 weeks, so I have a bit of a wait ahead. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to just give TWC a shot for a few months to see how they look.

You can't help but notice all the ads for satellite companies that offer free multi-room DTV installation, even with HD DVR's. I think the HR20 will be a nifty little DVR for DTV, especially since it's supposed to be able to record something like 60 hours of MPEG4, I think I read. That's pretty good.

Someone mentioned that adding an off-air antenna to get HD locals is sometimes an issue when DTV is already connected. Did I read that right?

[mhz40]

Having had to deal with TWC "service" again today, I can say if you that if you don't need 'em don't get 'em. Their 5C flags are always screwed up. Today I noticed they've butchered the locals as well while trying to edit a recording as even the locals are now "Copy Once." Calling Time Warner yields a "WTH is a firewire port? We don't know. We don't support it. We don't really have a clue. ..."

I can't wait to ditch them for Satellite, FIOS, or Comcast in the next few months. If the "Wiz" hadn't butchered Alias for 4 years or TNT ran a marathon, I would have already done so months ago.

So what's wrong with copy once? You sellin' to China or what? :eek: :rofl:

[jdhd]

Does TWC have HDMI outputs for its DVR?
Well yes and no. The HDMI port is there, but isn't active on my 8300. (ARGH!!) The 8000 had a dvi port but that wasn't active either.

I suppose it wouldn't hurt to just give TWC a shot for a few months to see how they look.
I have both right now for comparison. My DTV is out tonight (it's raining), but TWC is up. Couldn't hurt to try TWC - no contract involved. If DTV's HD offering looks better in July you could always switch then.

Someone mentioned that adding an off-air antenna to get HD locals is sometimes an issue when DTV is already connected.
I tried this for awhile, but I don't have a roof top antenna. I was able to get all channels with a indoor antenna, but I kept having to reposition it, which got old real fast.
________
VAPIR NO2 VAPORIZER (http://vapirno2.net)

[Joseph S]

So what's wrong with copy once? You sellin' to China or what?
Umm, I don't like commercials in my OTA recordings because they eat up tape. With copy once you can't edit because the initial recording is the "once" as you know. Time Warner is obligated by federal law to correct the problem. Ignorant tech support isn't a valid excuse.

[vegasvic]

Someone mentioned that adding an off-air antenna to get HD locals is sometimes an issue when DTV is already connected. Did I read that right?

It's not been an issue for me.