The Design Perspective

I’m constantly asked the “Cable or Satellite?” question. “Which do you recommend Derek?”

Because we provide fully integrated home HD systems, many of our clients have multiple HD video sources available at all of their TVs. This includes Cable, Satellite, IPTV (ie AT&T U-verse), and OTA ATSC (Over-The-Air antenna).

I recently had an opportunity to view all the formats on the same TV model. This is important because the processors and internal components of every TV model vary widely and affect the picture quality. Even simple settings like the sharpness can have a big impact on the picture.  After comparing the different pushed sources, here’s a summary of my observations.

Note: I do not work for or represent any of the media and internet carriers described in this blog.   I am, however, in a position to experience many different providers as we integrate the varous devices into seamless whole-home audio/video systems.
Cable:

• Excellent images, slightly degraded signal quality probably due to ATSC -> QAM conversion. 
• Once it is working reliably, it tends to continue to work without a hitch.   Very few outages (depends on carrier).
• Excellent Internet speeds.  The bandwidth is shared so you may find it slower at peak times and major changes (such as Comcast taking over Insight) can have dramatic effects.  Most people I’ve talked with ave experienced the same reduction of speed from what Insight was providing, but it’s still the fastest option.  I did also notice that our IP geo-mapping says I’m in Chicago–which is wrong.   I asume they’ll re-partition the network after they loose another 20% of their clients.
• Relatively pricy, but compared to having to deal with outages and problems it’s worth the small extra sum.
• Can be a chore to get installed.  If you’re having a custom integrated system installed like we do, it’s imperative to have a tech available onsite when the cable guy shows up.  It’s not that they can’t do it, it’s just very different from what they’re trained to do.
• DVR and guide menus are relatively simple to use.

Satellite:

• Massive compression artifacts makes the image look “smooshy”.  The news anchor on one show looked like his face was made of silly putty.  Excellent color.
• Can have dropouts on rare occasions.
• DVR and guide menus are relatively easy to navigate.
• Because you can change the settings and screw it all up, it doesn’t gain my immediate approval.   I prefer to lock these settings out when possible.
• Requires more wires (LNBs from dish to receivers).  Can cause ugly installations if these wires were not planned upfront.
• Lots of content and the price is competitive.

IPTV:

• Good image quality, but more compression artifacts than Satellite.
• Is pipe-limited.  Neighborhoods with “copper” to the house may notbe able to receive High-Defenintion.

Over-The-Air (ATSC) Antenna:

• Excellent image quality on string signals.
• Limited selecction and programming.  Depends heavily on location and antenna selection.

So why no specific answer?  Simple, just like any integrated solution, it depends on several factors.  Here’s the questions I would ask to determine the best solution for each client:

1. Do you need a particular channel lineup, such as special sports channels?
2. Do you like or need multiple geographic signals (ie: West Coast programming)?
3. Do you care if the image quality drops a bit during foul weather?
4. Do you need high-speed internet?
5. Do you use a landline phone or just your cell phone?
6. Do you need to have more than one HD channel showing in the house at any time?
7. Do you like the special features of a TiVo DVR?

If you’re an internet-centric family, then cable or IPTV is a good choice.  If you need special sports programming or lots of sources, then Satellite is a good option.  If you happen to be an in area served with IPTV over Fiber, then the IPTV may be an option.

This is the hard part to swallow: changing services “to save money” rarely works in your favor.  Remember, there’s installation charges, programming changes, hours on the phone at whatever value you place on your time, billing changes, learning the new channel lineup and interface, etc, etc…

It makes little difference which systems you choose in our homes because of the way we centralize the sources.  The remotes make controlling each type of source the same, so the only thing that changes is the on-sccreen guide and DVR features.

Because it’s so easy to view different sources in our systems, pick one or two types, for example 2 cable and one Satellite,  and you have the benefit of built-in redundancy, programming diversity, and cancellation choice without service interruption.  Just try to pick them and stick with them!