Getting the Most Out of Your HDTV
 

The difference between HDTV and standard definition television is difficult to explain with words.  HDTV provides an immensely clearer, nearly flawless picture.  I, for one, have spent way too many hours watching Discovery HD travel shows just to see oceans and Roman ruins in vivid HD.  The viewing experience is so sublime you won't care what you're watching as long as its in HD.

If you've recently purchased an HDTV and have a cable connection, you've probably noticed that some channels look worse on your HDTV than they did on your standard definition TV.  There are a number of reasons for this.  For starters, the feed you get from cable companies involves multiple network reconfigurations and degrades the clarity of sound and vision.  On top of this, old cable wiring further degrades picture and sound quality. 

Before I switched to satellite, I spent over a month setting up appointments with my cable company to fix the poor quality reception I was getting.  Ultimately, I was told that even with the HD service offered by my cable company, the 20 year old wiring that brought cable to my house would never give me the highest resolution possible.  The cable company offered to fix the wiring in 3 to 6 months.  I got satellite HDTV instead.  (And it was setup in 3 days!)

I couldn't be happier.  My 42 inch Samsung plasma provides an awesome viewing experience.  Football games, basketball games, 24, even re-runs of Law and Order on TNTHD look and sound amazing.  Without HD channels, it would have been pointless to buy a high definition tv.

A common question asked by visitors of our site is which satellite TV service provides the best HD.  The answer is both.  Dish Network and DirecTV provide equally fantastic HD and standard definition channels.  However, Dish Network currently offers more HD channels, unless you include DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket package, which provides all games in HD.  Below are comparison charts of HD pricing and offerings from Dish Network and DirecTV.

Dish Network HD vs DirecTV HD

Package	Channels	Regular Price	Today's Special	Details	Order Online
DishHD™ Channel Package*	Up to 30	$20.99	$10.99

DishHD™  offers the following channels in high definition:  All available local channels broadcast in HD, plus TNT HD, Showtime HD, Starz HDTV, HBO HD, Animania HD, Family Room HD, GamePlay HD, Discovery HD Theater, Equator HD, National Geographic Channel HD, Film Fest HD, HDNet Movies, Kung Fu HD, Monsters HD, World Cinema HD, HDNews, Rave HD, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, NFL Network HD, Rush HD, WorldSport HD, Gallery HD, HDNet, HGTV HD,  Treasure HD, Ultra HD, and Universal HD.
DIRECTV HD Package	7	$9.99/mo	4 Months FREE
ESPN HD, Discovery HD Theater, TNT HD, ESPN2 HD, HDNet, and Universal HD as well as all available local channels broadcast in HD and all NFL Sunday Ticket programming.

Ready to make the switch to Better HDTV?

ORDER DISH NETWORK by  calling  1-866-817-3340  (be sure to mention promotion code G8526)

OR

ORDER DIRECTV by calling 1-866-817-3815 (be sure to mention promotion code G8526)