This kicks cable's butt, hands down.
Mar 05 '00 (Updated Mar 13 '00)
I hate cable companies. The only reason I’m writing this review of Direct TV is because of my cable company. I recently moved to a new city, a city which has only one cable provider, sort of a mom & pop type of smallish operation. To get basic cable and HBO, they charge $48 a month! I figured I had to check out my alternatives. I ended up going with an RCA Direct TV satellite system, and so far, it’s amazing.
The crucial stats: To get a “dual LBN dish” (with two outputs), two receivers, and the installation kit, I paid $250. These are the 5th generation receivers, 32 bit, very cool. Installation (with a friend who had already installed one a few months ago) was easy, and took around two and a half hours.
The channels I get: 95 channels, including 30 music channels (which I’m listening to right now), 4 local channels (FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS), and 7 HBO channels. There also is an additional charge of $4.99 a month for the extra receiver (so you can watch different programs at the same time in different rooms). The grand total? $52. So for four dollars more a month, not only do I get WAY more channels, but the quality of the picture and sound is improved dramatically.
The features of my RCA receivers are incredible. From simple things like being able to customize how the graphical interface looks, to what channels you can scroll through (No, I don’t really need to see the 200 college basketball stations when I channel surf, thank you), to having the satellite search for the next episode of the Simpsons, there are tons of fun little things to make your television time more fun & way more convenient.
Although I haven’t quite figured it out yet, the receiver will also control your VCR through its infra-red port, enabling you highlight a program on the satellite guide, and with one button, instruct the VCR to record it. It remains to be seen if this actually works, but I hope so, because it sounds like a really great solution to setting VCR recordings up. Oh, and don’t worry about having to make sure that the satellite’s time is set correctly-it’s automatic, and exact.
I highly recommend Direct TV, and especially the RCA satellite & receivers. It fast, customizable, easy to install, and kicks cable’s butt in every way, including cost (for what you get). Check it out.
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Epinions.com ID:
splitsurround
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Location: Marin County, CA
Reviews written: 280
Trusted by: 109 members
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The truth is that I'm a bad person.
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