Satellite TV vs. Cable TV -- Which is Best?

The move is on. Last year millions of Americans switched from cable TV to satellite TV.

Why? When you compare satellite TV to cable TV you'll discover the main reasons are cost, picture quality, program choices, and customer satisfaction.

Let's check out the differences ...

Cable vs. Satellite TV Fees

Cable TV fees across the country average $39.99 per month. In our area the cost for cable TV is $37.30 a month for 64 channels, plus $10.95 a month to add digital channels. Installation in one room is $39.95, plus $9.95 for each additional room.

Satellite TV fees from Dish Network are $31.99 per month for 60 channels, while DirecTV charges $41.99 per month for 115 channels. Both satellite TV providers currently offer free satellite TV equipment and free installation in up to four rooms.

Cable vs. Satellite TV Programming

Cable TV in most areas offers almost as many channels as satellite TV, and is broadcast in analog (over-the-air) format. If you want to have digital picture and sound you'll have to pay an additional fee, usually $10 to $15 a month.

Satellite TV offers more channels than cable TV (more than 250 channels), and more HDTV (high definition TV) programming. All satellite TV channels are broadcast in digital format for the highest quality picture and sound.

Cable vs. Satellite TV Equipment

With cable you only need cable boxes that connect the incoming cable line to your televisions. There is usually no charge or rental fees for cable boxes, however, If you want a digital video recorder, you'll have to pay an extra fee.

With satellite TV you need a satellite TV dish and TV receivers. Both Dish Network and DirecTV offer that equipment, plus installation, for free. Dish Network will give you a DVR (digital video recording) receiver or an HDTV receiver at no charge, while DirecTV charges $49.99 for DVR receivers and $299 for HDTV receivers.

Cable and Satellite TV Reliability and Customer Satisfaction

Cable TV outages average 3% to 5% per year. J.D. Powers and Associates ranks cable companies as good to poor in customer satisfaction.

Satellite TV outages average about 1%. J.D. Power and Associates has ranked the two satellite TV providers -- Dish Network and DirecTV -- higher in customer satisfaction than any of the cable TV companies for the last five years

The Bottom Line

If you only watch a couple of shows a week, and you live in an area where you can't get over-the-air TV and cable TV costs less than $20 per month, then cable may be your best option.

If, on the other hand, you want the biggest variety of shows, movies, sports, and news for the least amount of money ... you want to watch your all your shows in digital video and sound ... and you want the option of watching them in HD format and recording them on a DVR receiver, then satellite TV is what you're looking for.

Brian Stevens is a professional freelance writer and webmaster who has written extensively on cable TV and satellite TV. Click the following link for more information on satellite TV vs. cable TV.

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Hot Tub - An Exercises Pool

Hot tubs are definitely a great way to a healthy living. Nothing can compare soaking into the warm water and regaining your strength and energy. Normally, the hot tubs spas are located in a private place of any household or in a secluded backyard or deck. However, it becomes the social gathering place for families frequently. Serving as the ultimate personal retreat, hot tub is ideal for stress relief and relaxation, easing the aches and burdens of daily life in the privacy of your own home.

This winter, if you want to add your personal hot tub health, there are numerous options to choose from. If you are planning to add a deck to your living room, you would not believe what impact it will reflect to the total décor of the home. Adding a hot tub in it can expand the sitting area to give you amazing experiences of enjoying warm water in cool evenings.

For deciding upon adding a hot tub, certain things should be kept in mind. You will need the deck, supporting the weight of the spa, water and people who will use the spa. Also, electrical service and plumbing in the deck plans to give a mesmerizing effect. You can also develop some creative seating plans in your deck to look more attractive and fascinating.

First of all, you have to see the size of your living area and choose the size of hit tubs accordingly. For convenience, variety of hot tubs is available these days that will serve your purpose. Portable hot tub, small hot tub and soft hot tub are some of the types that can be easily installed in homes. Check out your budget, preferences, style and lighting options to get a really effective hot tub to decorate your living room. Moreover, you can choose your preferred material in hot tubs. Choose from plastic, fiber and old styled wooden hot tubs to relax your body and restore your mental peace.

Myself author of Special Spasearch magazine http://www.spasearch.org/, a hot tub resource planning guide for hot tub spa & portable hot tub. Get online information on hot tub manufacturer, covers, spa covers and accessories.

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Hot Tub Covers And Spa Covers

Hot tub covers are made with a variety of alternative approaches. There are the market leading "hard" lids made with foam cores. There are Walk On covers, that hold up to 400 pounds. There are "soft" covers and spa covers made with air bladders. When considering which hot tub covers make sense for your environment, be sure to consider the load bearing properties of each.

For the purpose of this article, I will define load bearing as the ability of spa covers to support additional weight, either from snow, animals or children. It is quite important to note, hot tub cover warranties will be voided by a failure of the core. Typically when this happens to the spa cover, the foam core breaks or cracks. As this cannot happen without excessive load, by the definition of the warranty this is abuse and will not be a valid warranty claim.

For tubs installed into a deck, Walk On style spa covers must be considered to address someone accidentally walking across the spa. Walk On covers are made by laminating fiberglass sheets to both the top and bottom of the foam core, inside the cover. Walk On covers weigh around 100 pounds but are among the strongest lids made.

Soft covers and other covers supported by air bladders are not typically recommended for environments that will have a lot of weight, such as from snow. They simply are not designed to have good load bearing characteristics. They are designed more to be inexpensive.

The final option for selecting a lid to handle weight is the traditional foam core hot tub covers. The load bearing abilities of a foam cover are defined by the density of the foam used in the manufacturing of the cover. Most "hard" covers come standard with 1.0 pound foam. Upgrades are available to 1.5 pound and 2.0 pound foam. The 1.5 pound has 50% more material, and the 2.0 pound has DOUBLE the material in the exact same size core. This extra density is what makes a 2.0 pound foam core hot tub cover strong enough to handle a heavy, wet, snow load.

Do not be short sighted and simply select the lowest cost cover. Should you select a spa cover with 1.0 pound foam to save a few dollars, your savings and more will be lost if the lid is broken by weight.

Hot tub covers have a life expectancy of 4 to 10 years. Yes, replacing the spa cover is a part of the ownership of your spa. With this information in mind, put your mind at ease when considering the purchase of your next hot tub cover.

BeyondNice is a pioneer in the hot tub cover industry. As of spring 2008, we are the first to offer Design-Your-Own hot tub covers. This allows the customer to select the spa cover features they need for their specific environment. BeyondNice also provides the industry's first Help Me Choose service so customer's can get a spa cover recommendation based on their specific environment and needs.

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York Home Gym Equipment information

For people who wish to indulge in cardio-vascular exercises, strength training or want to purchase sports machines, York home equipment is the ideal platform to get the best results. The kind of equipments that are manufactured by them which include treadmills, elliptical, bikes and rowing equipment for cardio exercises shows their specialty in the area.

While one can have an all in one gym equipment in the form of York home gym equipment and on the same time can opt for separate equipments for different parts of body like leg press units, body gym and free weights which are all a part of York's repertoire which help one in gaining strength and stamina. It is quite common to notice that despite the comfortable environments of home, indoor exercising is not taken so enthusiastically by most of the people more so when they are just beginning the process.

Newer techniques are being introduced by York home gym equipments in the form of exercise while you play kind of equipments. The Kilowatt system doesn't have any weights, plates or cables attached. You just use your own body as the joystick of the video game and exercise as well as play. For example in a racing game the more effort that you put, the faster you run. This ensures that you get your share of exercise as well as fun.

Simulation-A New Way of Exercising

People who enjoy boxing or similar kind of sport can make use of the York home gym equipment associated with such sports. Things like punching or swivel bags, shoes, gloves etc which are a part of the boxing kit are made available through York. Martial arts enthusiasts also have a reason to cheer with York home gym equipment as it provides stuff like target bags or kick bags that one can add to their list of equipments.

Free weights trainings is generally the most frequently used way of working out at professional gymnasiums and the light York home gym equipment fulfills most of the requirements associated with weights training at home. While one may have to spend quite some time on going to and fro to the gymnasium, one can easily utilise the same time on exercising. At gymnasium you are dependent on other people who are using the equipment that you may require whereas at home you are not required to stay on for the availability of equipment. This ensures an effective workout.

Equipments such as dumbbells, braces, lats bars, incline and decline benches which work out on various parts of the body such as legs, arms, upper torso etc help you to achieve a complete body workout and thus helping you to get muscle strength and higher endurance powers.

You can also find more info on home gym fitness and gym equipment. Homegym-fitnessequipment is a comprehensive resource to know about home gym, fitness equipments and gym reviews.

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