Compare HDTV Cable or Satellite Channel Packages

Take some time to compare cable providers with satellite TV providers, DISH Network® and DIRECTV® HDTV, to see how basic programming packages have changes over the years. Compare the quality of the channels, price and number of HDTV options you have with each option. Basic is now a very attractive proposition.

While cable TV was introduced to the U.S. market in 1948, original programming didn’t find its way to cable TV until 1972. When it became popular and people began paying for extra TV channels it was brought to them by cable TV. Satellite TV eventually came along with a whole new method of delivery and brought with its technology a significant increase in channels.

In those early days, even if you were to compare cable providers, having “basic cable”, as it was known, meant you had the bare minimum and there was nothing really good on. You had channels to flip through, but nothing to watch. These days, the big providers, Optimum HDTV cable, or satellite DISH Network HDTV and DIRECTV HDTV have reinvented what it means to have the basic or entry level package. DISH Network, cable TV and DIRECTV satellite TV face the challenge of being budget friendly.

Unlike DIRECTV, Satellite TV HDTV Packages From DISH Network Are A Real Deal

While the America’s Top 120 package is  the most basic of DISH Network’s offerings, it is more than a luxurious entry-level plan we must highlight because you can add HD channels to this package. The best value comes from DISH Network. Cable TV, satellite TV from DIRECTV HDTV and others can’t compete with the regular prices on DISH Network plans. You have to ask yourself, when the specials are over, what is the real price of my HDTV cable or satellite plan?

DISH Network America’s Top 120 package features:

• More than 120 channels
• The Disney Channel
• E! Entertainment Television
• CNN
• The Food Network
• Spike TV
• Option to add 105+ HD channels for Free with 24-Mo Agreement and AutoPay with Paperless Billing
• Free standard professional installation in up to 6 rooms (Free Standard Professional Installation only)
• THREE premium channel packages (HBO ®, Cinemax ®  AND Starz®) Free for 3 months
• A free upgrade to an HD DVR ($6/mo DVR Service fee applies)
• Up to 2 more free HD receivers for a total of 3 free HD receivers
• A $15 discount for the first 12 months for new first-time customers with 24-Mo Agreement

If more is what you’re after, then there is tremendous value in the America’s "Everything" Pak. Check out the two packages that have people talking on SatelliteDish.tv.

DIRECTV HDTV and The Choice Package: What To Expect

The DIRECTV satellite TV Choice channel package is the starter package from DIRECTV. HDTV ready for an additional $10, this package is home to 150 + channels, which is more than America’s Top 120 from DISH Network. Cable TV companies rarely publish such numbers as their packages always vary by location they are servicing.

Whether you’re looking at DIRECTV HDTV, cable or satellite from DISH Network TV, the most popular channels tend to show up in the channel lineups. However, there is a large discrepancy in the HD offerings. As mentioned, even when you compare cable providers, you can’t pin an HD number to cable TV. Satellite TV is a different story. DIRECTV gives you Free HD for Life like DISH Network does, but they only give you 40+ HD channels with their introductory channel package compared to DISH Network’s 105+ HD programming package.

• The DIRECTV satellite TV Choice plan costs $29.99 a month and after 12 months it jumps to $60.99.
• DIRECTV does not offer HD Free for Life with their Choice plan, so add another $10/mo. for HD.
• Afeter one year, DIRECTV satellite TV will cost about $827.88 for Choice plus the inferior HD package.
• That makes the regular pricing for the DIRECTV Choice package over $300 dollars more annually than The DISH Network Top 120 package.
• There are, in fact 6 DISH Network channel packages whose regular price is cheaper than the DIRECTV Choice package.

Compare: Cable Providers like Optimum Offer Up A New Basic Plan

In contrast to the clarity of pricing we find with DISH Network, cable TV prices and offerings are much harder to pin down. Even if you tried simply to compare cable providers, again, doing research is not so easy for the new savvy customer. Because of the nature of cable, their variable range from whether they can even service you at all to how many (and which) channels you will get to how much it will all cost you.

That said, when you go online to compare cable providers, Optimum is one of the most helpful. The price structure is quite different with cable TV. Satellite TV has fewer charges and fees. Optimum’s Broadcast Basic cable package is not much of a reinvention. To its credit, it costs only $15.52 a month, but it doesn’t have even one of the channels listed in DISH Network’s America’s Top 120, above. It’s mostly local news networks and there are only 54 channels.

When looking at HDTV cable or satellite options, we recognize that not all packages are equal and if we move up to Optimum’s next package, the Family Cable pack:

• The price jumps to $55.95 per month
• Add $6.70 per month for the digital cable box,
• Add 25 cents per month for the remote control,
• Add $5.00 per month for programming for additional outlets
• Add possible charges for installation and an HD cable box

If you are looking for a basic channel package from DISH Network, cable TV or DIRECTV, consider the ease and comfort that comes from knowing what you will pay with satellite and what you will get in return.