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There are many factors that go into the decision of choosing which HDTV provider is right for you, including service price, channel options and the necessary equipment. Here are a few recommendations on the best HDTV service options for various interests.
Sports Fanatics
There are few types of video that look better in HDTV than sports. However, depending on which sports you like, some HDTV providers are better than others.
ESPN - All the cable and satellite providers in the L.A. metro offer ESPN HD.
NFL - If you are a huge NFL fan and want access to all of the out-of-market football games every Sunday, you need to know that DIRECTV is currently the only provider that offers the NFL Sunday Ticket package, which carriers many games in HD.
NBA - If the NBA is your favorite sport, you should know that NBA TV HD is currently only offered in the L.A. area on DIRECTV and DISH. Time Warner, Comcast and DISH also carry TNT HD, which airs two NBA games a week in HD.
Baseball - Major League Baseball games air on a variety of HD networks, including ESPN HD, Fox Sports Net West, INHD, INHD2 and HDNet. All of L.A.’s providers offer ESPN HD, while Comcast, Cox and Time Warner also carry INHD and INHD2. Charter, Time Warner, DIRECTV and DISH offer HDNet, while Time Warner also carries Fox Sports Net West HD.
Local Channels
Cable and satellite companies handle your local networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS, WB) in two different ways. Adelphia, Charter, Comcast, Cox and Time Warner Cable each carry some of the HD feeds of local networks through their cable systems, which broadcast to your HDTV via the HD set-top box that you rent from your cable company. That box does not act as a digital tuner for over-the-air digital broadcasts of local stations, so you would need to purchase a separate antenna and tuner to receive the digital signals of the local channels with which your cable company has not yet signed carriage agreements.
The satellite companies, on the other hand, provide HD tuners that are integrated with the HDTV receivers you buy or lease from them. To actually receive the local networks in HD, however, you need to purchase an over-the-air HD antenna that has a relatively unobstructed path from the transmitting tower to your home. If you live in a canyon or in the mountains, you may not be able to pick up the local networks in HD via an over-the-air antenna. If this is your situation, cable would be your best bet.
The Equipment: Buy vs. Lease
Between the cost of buying the HDTV itself, along with the receiver to actually get the channels you want to watch in HD, owning a high-def system is not cheap. HD receivers typically run $300 to $500, although Adelphia, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Time Warner and DISH offer equipment leases that negate the need for a large upfront HD receiver purchase (you can also purchase your equipment from DISH.
The cable companies generally (although not always) charge the same monthly lease fee for an HD converter as they do for a digital cable box, so if you already get digital cable, you wouldn’t see any real increase in your monthly bill for equipment rental. DISH charges a nominal $5.00 monthly lease fee.
DIRECTV does not currently offer a lease option, although it has experimented with lease promotions in certain markets around the country.
The bottom line here is that if you want to own all of your own HDTV equipment, go with DIRECTV, DISH or VOOM. If minimizing upfront costs is your goal, your best options are Adelphia, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Time Warner and DISH.
Digital Video Recorders
Adelphia, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Time Warner, DIRECTV and DISH Network currently offer a digital video recorder (DVR) that records in HD. DIRECTV’s DVR is provided through its partnership with TiVo, while DISH has its own DVR 921 box. The HD TiVo from DIRECTV retails for a hefty $999, while DISH’s DVR 921 goes for $549. Each also requires a $5 monthly lease fee.
Comcast’s HD-DVR comes from a Motorola set-top box, while Charter, Cox and Time Warner utilize an HD-DVR from Scientific-Atlanta. Adelphia uses a Motorola box powered by the well-regarded Moxi software. None of the cable companies’ HD-DVRs requires an upfront purchase, and all lease for $10-20/mo.
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