Why are so few channels in HD? Is it better to get digital cable or satellite, if I have an HDTV?
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Answer:
HDTV is 6 times clear than the standard television that we see today. It also means that it takes 6 times the bandwidth. That means that you would have to take 6 SD (standard definition/analog station) off the air to put 1 HD station up unless there is extra space acquired to provide it. Satellite companies in particular are short on space but are launching more satellites to resolve the issue.
They are also going from their current MPEG-2 standard to a new MPEG-4 standard to compress the signal more to fit more HD channels in the same space that they have. There are still a lot of SD televisions out there that cannot receive HD. This is one of the big transitions just like black and white was.
Both Directv and DishNetwork are into HDTV in a big way. Directv has launched satellites and will have them transmitting up to 1100 HDTV channels over the next few years. I have a satellite TV business and have also worked in Cable for many years and I would definitely recommend Directv for HDTV.
There is no easy answer, because both technologies are competing there will always be a struggle between which one is better. Right now, get digital cable. But don't sign a long contract because satellite is going to have much better deals in about two years. Then again, don't sign a long contract with the satellite company because the telephone companies are going to be combining with the cable TV companies to offer even more services in about 4 or 5 years.
it kinda depends where you live where i live we have adelphia and they offer a digital cable program in all hdtv so it depends on what your cable provider offers.
Its a very tough question to answer. Digital Cable (if you have a good cable provider) is reliable and you never really have problems with them. They are just a bit on the expensive side and as time goes on, they'll raise rates if they are the only cable provider you have available. Satellite offers lots of channels but with the cost of extra equipment and the ever annoying "signal loss". However, if you get a bundled package from your cable company, it could save you money for the time being, until a better satellite deal comes up, or a competitive cable company comes along.
Did you know that over the air HDTV is being transmited in raw HDTV which is much better than Digital cable or satellite. Digital cable and satellite compress the data
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