TV: the digital decision - cable and satellite: report and survey.(Buyers Guide)

If you're a cable-TV subscriber, the odds are your cable company is trying to sell you on digital cable. A supplement to your regular (analog) service, this would provide 50 or more additional channels that promise a superior picture and sound.

Meantime, there are changes to satellite TV, the service that provides much the same array of channels as digital cable via digital signals beamed from satellites to a saucerlike antenna at your home. In many areas, dish owners can now receive local (or at least regional) network channels, addressing satellite's longtime weakness. A growing number of satellite setups now offer the capability to record digitally or decode high-definition TV signals, both functions that few if any cable companies yet offer. Satellite is also reducing the need to invest in equipment by offering more opportunities to rent equipment, or to receive it at a reduced price if you make a one-year programming commitment.

Assuming you can receive digital cable (at least 60 percent of cable customers can), upgrading to the service is as simple as placing a phone call and arranging for installation of a new cable box. Opting for satellite service, on the other hand, demands determining if your home offers an unobstructed "view" of the satellite itself and then choosing between two rival providers.

Cable companies may, however, be their own worst enemy. In the national surveys of nearly 2,000 cable- and satellite-TV subscribers conducted for this report, cable companies received among the lowest marks of any service providers we regularly evaluate--even lower than those for technical support from computer manufacturers (see page 19). Rising cable rates were a particular complaint. And while digital cable received higher scores than analog cable on some aspects of service, digital-cable subscribers weren't significantly more satisfied overall with their TV service than were analog-cable customers.

This report guides you through the decision to go digital (or not) with your TV service. It helps you to choose between digital cable and satellite, and provides would-be satellite subscribers with buying advice and Ratings for satellite equipment.

WEIGHING A TV-SERVICE UPGRADE

Digital-cable and satellite service have a lot in common. Before deciding which of those technologies might suit you, you need to consider whether any digital-TV service is for you. Here are the questions to ponder: