# Cable, satellite, . . . or nothing - what do you have? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766 "2003-07-07T14:10:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/21 "2003-07-07T17:57:40Z")
DirecTV and Direcway 2way internet. Both are great, which is a good thing because I have no other choice. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/22 "2003-07-07T18:17:02Z")
Bell Express-Vu A Canadian version of Dish Network. I’m pretty happy with them, but my bill has gone up slightly _every month_ for the past 4 or 5. If it happens much more I’m going to send the dish to Toronto and tell them to shove it up their collective asses and go back to cable. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/23 "2003-07-07T19:20:42Z")
C-Band and Ku on a 10’ BUD. Dishnetwork, aka “cable on a stick”. I like it very much. DVB (Mpeg) satellite on the BUD and a fixed pizza dish for Canadian music. Currently installing a second BUD for the DVB. ---
**Author:** ![ReBusEniGma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@ReBusEniGma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReBusEniGma)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/24 "2003-07-07T20:06:36Z")
Another Bell Express-Vu here, and I like it. I had standard cable before that but I switched because I was so fed up with their poor service. Now, on a acreage, I have no other option than satellite. The down side is that I have had to replace my decoder once. The up side is Bell obliged me with no hassle, no hidden costs and shipped it to me within a few days. (Okay so it was within warranty, but still.) Out of them all, the channels we watch (when we actually do watch the tube) are: CNN, Civilization, Discovery, National Geographic, History, Tech TV, Animal Planet, TLC (The Learning Channel) and IFC (Independant Film Channel). _Not that you asked or anything…_ ---
**Author:** ![Sqwerticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@Sqwerticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqwerticus)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/25 "2003-07-07T20:19:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*I don’t have anything other than the five terrestrial broadcast channels \*\* Show off. We only get **4** terrestrial channels. I struggle to find time to watch any of those, let alone wading through a myriad of alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![Eman\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Eman\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eman_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/26 "2003-07-07T22:37:36Z")
Basic Cable (Adelphia). I want to upgrade to Digital, but I only want it for Fox Sports World (for international soccer). And maybe ESPN Classic. So alas, I’m stuck with basic. BTW, Adelphia? Not that good, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/27 "2003-07-07T22:48:31Z")
Dish Network. Very basic cable to get local channels and to save about $15/month on the cable modem. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/28 "2003-07-07T23:16:00Z")
No television reception at all. None. No rabbit ears, no cable, nothing. On purpose. I highly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/29 "2003-07-07T23:45:27Z")
I can probably pull in broadcast tv on a couple channels, but my tv is basically just an output device for a dvd player and ps2. Being part of the no-tv crowd of course gives me mental superpowers, with which I can rend vending machines with my eyeballs. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/30 "2003-07-07T23:52:43Z")
Basic cable. Like **gotpasswords** , I live under the transmission tower in San Francisco (say, we must be neighbors) and couldn’t get decent broadcast reception. My bedroom T.V. is rabit ears only, and gets a small collection of fuzzy broadcast channels. ---
**Author:** ![X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbe5ce/32.png) [@X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X_Slayer_ALE)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/31 "2003-07-08T00:08:45Z")
When I first moved into my house there were TV coax cables strewn willy nilly in the living room, under the rain gutters ourside and into the dinning room. I hooked up the tv but nothing happened. While all my friends were hauling in my boxes of stuff (and drinking my beer and eating the KFC chicken) I was tracing where the cable went to. It ended in a little utility hole on the sidewalk just outside my house. I lifted the lid and found a coax cable unconnected from a junction. I connected it and when I walked into my living room all my friends were watching cable TV. Had free cable for 4 years and sometimes even had free HBO and MTV and Showtime. My channels varied about every 8 to 12 months but I always had the basic channels. Eventually, the company got smart and disconnected my “free” service and I did without for a couple of years relying on the ol rabbit ears and such. Never did get a really clear picture. Then They had a promotion and I got basic channels for 18 bucks a month and Ive been with that ever since. Several months ago, I got a cable modem for 99 bucks. Clerk told me I’d get a rebate check for 99 bucks if I subscribe to our local broadband via our cableTV company. I will never go back to dialup again. ---
**Author:** ![cadolphin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@cadolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cadolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/32 "2003-07-08T00:56:24Z")
direct TV ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/33 "2003-07-08T01:05:44Z")
No rabbit ears, and the only station that comes in is the _Home Shopping Network_. I use the TV purely as a DVD display. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766/34 "2003-07-08T02:15:37Z")
Digital cable w/cable modem. Got tired of rabbit ears several years ago and there is no way I’m going back to that headache. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cable-satellite-or-nothing-what-do-you-have/186766.md?page=1)