Is there a difference between satellite and cable reception?
In our recent national survey of more than 1,750 cable and satellite television subscribers, satellite continued to lead the pack in overall satisfaction, followed by digital cable and then analog. Satellite scored better than cable in most every category we reported on — value, picture quality, sound quality, interesting programming, and overall satisfaction. But variations among specific providers may produce differing results. Both satellite and cable companies use digital transmission to retransmit the original analog or digital signal. So in theory, if they simply pass along the signal unhindered, there should be no picture-quality difference between the two. That said, either provider may highly compress the signal in order to squeeze in more digital channels. Or they may set the compression to some “default setting” with limited forethought. Too much compression can rob the TV image of detail (look soft), and make it look coarse or “streaky”.
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