There's a battle going on between Cable TV and Satellite TV. Many people wonder what the best choice really is. The best choice may lay in these factors:
Popularity
Both Cable TV and Satellite TV are popular. Although cable still is more popular overall, satellite TV has made huge gains on cable TV.
Equipment
Cable TV systems require a cable to be installed from the network to your house. If your street has no cable you may need to wait a while before it is available in your area. Besides the cable you need a receiver. With digital services you need an additional box.
Satellite TV requires a satellite dish, a receiver and a cable from the dish to your TV (no digging in your garden).
Reception Quality
Cable TV has analog channels and even though you can upgrade to digital services, analog channels will still be analog, meaning an often fuzzy picture. Satellite TV is completely digital, which gives you all the advantages of digital systems. Very heavy rain or snow can obstruct reception briefly, but generally this happens very rarely. Reception quality is much better with Satellite TV.
Programming
Here it gets really interesting. Cable TV can handle up to 260 channels. Satellite TV can handle more channels. Also, Satellite TV is more advanced in HDTV (High Definition Television) services.
Pricing
Usually Satellite TV is less expensive than Cable TV due to many additional costs that are related to Cable TV: franchise fees, taxes, plus costs for any pay per view services, and equipment costs. Dish Network Programming Package starts at only $29.99 per month.
Interactive Services
In general Satellite TV has more interactive services than Cable TV. Digital services like Dish Network's DVR (Digital Video Recorder) which gives the option to rewind while recording even in live broadcasts, EPG (Electronic Program Guide), Instant Weather, video on demand, etc. are all available on Satellite TV, but not all are available on Cable TV.
High Speed Internet
Cable has high speed broadband internet services. Satellite has this too, but is somewhat slower.Directv®: offers Direcway High Speed Internet, which is ultra fast but somewhat expensive.Overall conclusion: Satellite TV is less expensive, has better picture quality (digital signal) and gives you more channels and programming options than cable TV.
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Satellite Orbits
Any object that moves around the earth has an orbit. The orbit is defined by 3 factors. The first is the shape of the orbit, which can be circular or elliptical. The second is the altitude of the orbit. The altitude is constant for a circular orbit but changes constantly for an elliptical orbit. The third factor is the angle the orbit makes with the equator. An orbit that brings the satellite over the poles or close to it has a large angle. An orbit that makes the satellite stay close to the equator has a small angle.How a Satellite Dish Works
A satellite dish is an antenna designed to focus on a specific broadcast source. The standard dish consists of a parabolic (bowl-shaped) surface and a central feed horn. A controller sends it through the horn, and the dish focuses the signal into a relatively narrow beam.DirecTV and DISH Network Merger
It was in October 2001 that General Motors Hughes (Parent company of Direct TV) and EchoStar Communications Corp., trader of Dish Network agreed to a merger. The new company would have improved the services for satellite TV clients by adding many HDTV channels and local channels would then be available to all satellite TV viewers.