Free Cable TV - Are You Sure You Want It?
With internet taking over many aspects of life, the World Wide Web has become a popular alternative to traditional service providers such as music, movies and literature. Today it is even possible to get free cable television on your PC, without having to acquire satellite dish equipment or sign up for one of the cable or dish TV offers. But is free cable TV something that is capable of replacing the conventional TV providers? Can you enjoy television programming to the fullest with free cable television in the same fashion you download music? And is free cable really free?
What Aren’t They Telling You About Free Cable TV Online?
The promoters of free cable TV claim that satellite TV receivers are no longer needed in the virtual era.According to them you can now obtain digital TV products online, which allow you to watch hundreds or even thousands of free cable channels legally. You just have to download a program to your computer and then all you need in order to watch free cable television is an internet connection. This idea might sound suspicious to some, but the truth is there are actually ways of getting this free cable. However, just how reliable is free cable TV compared to the conventional dish TV offers?
Free Cable TV – Is the Watching Experience the Same?
Even though you can now easily qualify for free satellite TV equipment, we must admit that not having to get satellite dish equipment sounds like a luxury. However, the first problem with free cable TV online would be the audio and visual quality. Watching free cable from PCs will never compare to the experience of television sets connected to satellite TV receivers. You would have to watch free cable on your relatively small computer screen, meant for personal use, and not for entertaining a group of people. Imagine watching free cable TV online while getting IMs in the middle or having to stop the program because your roommate’s computer is down and he needs to use the internet. Especially now, with more and more HD channels and features provided by the satellite dish TV offers, by using your laptop for free cable TV you could be missing out on the ultimate picture quality.
Free Cable Television Or Satellite Dish Equipment?
Besides the purchased programming you receive with signing up to one of the Dish TV offers, you can enjoy some great features that no free cable TV online allows. With free cable television you can forget about High Definition programming, or the use of an HD DVR which enables you to record any show you want at any time. These advanced satellite TV receivers let you pause shows in the middle, rewind, fast forward and schedule the recording of any program you want while watching other programs or when you are away from home. This cutting-edge technology is unavailable with free cable TV streaming online. Other features like the digital interface, channel guide, or languages might also be unavailable through free cable television.
How Reliable is Free Cable TV Online?
When you tune in to free cable TV online, you’re totally dependant on one very important thing – your internet connection. Your connection would have to be fast and expensive to allow this ‘free’ TV service. Even if your internet provider offers a fast connection with a virtually unlimited bandwidth plan, that plan will have to be more expensive because one way or the other - you pay for every byte of information you receive.
Another point to consider is reliability. As opposed to satellite TV receivers, which rarely get their signal interrupted, internet connections can occasionally crash, or just be slow. There’s no guarantee that this won’t happen right in the middle of your favorite TV moments. However, when you have satellite dish equipment installed in your home, you are guaranteed solid technical support and customer service that will fix any problem that might arise. Satellite TV service are way more reliable than cable providers when it comes to down time. Take a quick look at our Satellite vs. Cable Comparison table and you’ll notice satellite providers come out way ahead in the ‘Percentage of Outages’ category.
Although the thought of not having to pay and still getting all of your favorite channels online sounds tempting, you should think carefully if this is really what you want. Especially in times like these, when you can get free satellite TV equipment from DISH Network, anyone who takes their television experience seriously will have a difficult time explaining to themselves why they don’t sign up to one of the many tempting Dish TV offers.
