Satellite TV Review

By Dick Jolley


When you're surveying the landscape, looking for the best deal for your television reception, more than likely you'll stumble through cable broadcasters and direct satellite TV offers. Usually what happens is that subscribers get their rates increased and the comparable hunt begins. And, you may have pixel resolution questions.

Ask yourself, where is the best deal? The largest network direct satellite TV broadcasters have the lowest cost per unit overhead and therefore can deliver the best deal possible. Those giant broadcasters for the best deals for the last few years has been satellite TV.

Cable TV is more expensive because of the constant service needs associated with cable wires on poles. Strong storms can impair service and result in expensive service repair costs that are passed on to the consumer.

Get the best rebates and the best savings on you cable bill with satellite TV which also gives you national and local channels. A better TV experience can be yours and the best thing is that it is less expensive and you get many more choice programs broadcast into your home.

Direct satellite TV offers high definition and is available nationwide and for a little extra, you can be receiving over 130 channels in HD for your viewing pleasure. HD has greater clarity because of increased pixel count which is about double that of analog.

Your TV, whether it is a plasma, LCD or DLP device, needs to have the capability to display those extra pixels. The standard nomenclature uses what is called a 1080i interlaced or a 1080p progressive format. "I" stands for interlaced, "p" stands for progressive.

High-definition normally employs a 16:9 wide screen aspect ratio. 1080i gives the picture more detail while 1080 represents the number of horizontal lines.

Progressive scanning means that each video frame is transmitted as a whole in a single sweep and it produces a smoother, more film-like look. Whereas with 1080i, you do see all 1080 lines at once and is much sharper when the image is still.

Satellite TV packages gives the consumer a free High Definition video recorder -- a great feature which allows you to capture your favorite shows to watch after you get home. The capacity of the DVR is 200 hours of the standard recording and 50 hours of the high definition recording. Also, you will be pleased with the superb theatre-like Dolby Digital sound.




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