I've found that these services are pricey for what is offered. It seems like there is rarely anything decent to watch, no matter how many channels you have in your package. The prices keep going up, but the quality seems to be going down. You get lots of reruns, which isn't all bad, but where's all the good stuff? I remember when I first tried a satellite TV service, there were infomercials on, mostly late and night or really early in the morning. Lately, it seems that infomercials are the bulk of the content being offered. Sorry, but I'm not paying to watch nothing but commercials. I'll save my money and use Netflix.
I don't even watch tv that much anymore, not actively anyway, I only watch it when I go to sleep because I like going to sleep with the tv on, helps me relax and focus in a very dozed off mood on something on low volume until I fall asleep so I guess its more of a nightlight and a sleep aid then anything else really =) because as you said, there is nothing really good to watch anyway, if I could I would only pay to have a few channels like discovery and its related channels, history, hbo and maybe a few others.
Satellite TV and Cable companies don't really have much to offer now, especially with so many great streaming options out there, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant video, etc. OTA is plenty to provide you with local news streams if that's what you're looking for. I haven't got a subscription anymore and can't possibly see me getting one in the future.
Satellite tv can be expensive, but I think it's worth it if you choose the right package. I think it's much preferable to cable. The picture is better and there is generally better channel selections with cable. A lot of small towns have terrible cable providers, so I think satellite is definitely what you want to go with if you live in a small town. Cable is just as expensive as satellite in most cases.
One tip for DirecTV subscribers. Call and complain, it don't matter about what. I do this once or twice a year and I usually get them to give me free channels, free movies, or even free sports packages. They don't want to lose you as a customer, and if they think you'll stay a customer, they will give you free stuff. Trust me on that.
My opinion for satellite tv is that this service is unnecessary. I remember when i was a kid, satellite tv was a premium service in my country.- Hah, i know it sound really awkward and hilarious. Why do i say that is unnecessary?- Because now days you can find all of that continent on the internet,in this era you have sites like netflix and hulu and their service is really good. To be honest I really don't watch TV.
I absolutely hated my satellite tv service. Every single time we had a thunderstorm it would cut out. When it gets snow piled on it, it cuts out. When it rains really bad, it cuts out. The stupid thing cuts out so frequently it wasn't even worth using. I ended up switching to regular cable and I was much much happier overall. The bill was also cheaper so that was a plus.
I didn't have very much experience with satellite tv but I did have a a lot of experience with satellite internet. Both had one thing in common; horrible service. Depending on your location, it may be your only option but it seriously just sucks in my opinion. Weather affects your service massively not to mention just the random times it want to cut out on it's one. It's definitely not worth it even if it's cheaper. Most times, in my experience, regular cable ends up being cheaper than satellite anyway.
We just changed our package with DirecTV since their rates are going to be increasing in February. As mentioned there are a lot of channels that aren't necessary as I found out when viewing the differences in the packages offered. As for bad weather, I have my library of movies, if needed, as long as the power doesn't go out too.
I think that both satellite TV and cable tv are just getting too expensive. If you call and complain, they will usually find you some sort of special upgrade that lasts for a while, but they seem to just keep raising the prices anyway. I am more of a reader than a tv watcher; and just having the netflix and amazon video would be fine for me.
I've had DirecTV at two points in my life. The picture quality was nice, and I didn't have an issue with what was offered, because there was always plenty of content I was interested in. I wasn't the primary person on the account in either case, so I can't speak to price, but I didn't hear a lot of grumbling, but that was before prices increased to what they are these days. When I had it down in this area, it seemed to go out every time a large cloud floated over the house, which was irritating. When I had it up in Houston, it was very stable, except it did go out (as expected) when Hurricane Ike was hitting, which of course is just when you need the service the most. Thankfully, I still had power and phone, and was able to keep up to date on what was happening from others who were keeping an eye on the situation. I have friends who live in rural areas, and in many cases, satellite is their only option not only for television content, but also for internet. In those areas, the prices are even higher, but people don't have much of a choice but to pay the high prices, if they want to have internet and television. They're also often on limited bandwidth programs, so aren't able to take advantage of unlimited usage and fast internet speeds that enable the rest of us to stream programming, so are stuck paying for satellite television.
