Just found out that I can now get DSL to my house. I Have to check what I'm paying for cable internet, DSL is $34.95. I've been saying for a long time if I could get dsl I would get rid of cable totally and get sattelite tv.

So..question is..how do these #s compare to dsl?
2004-01-14 12:55:58 EST: 1008 / 76
Your download speed : 1008581 bps, or 1008 kbps.
A 123.1 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 76074 bps, or 76 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

and for the umpteenth time..what do people think of sattelite vs digital cable?

Cable internet is approximately 3 times faster than dsl. You should look into companies that offer Firberoptic connections. Typically they have packages that give you web/tv/phone service for one price. And 1 bill.

Originally posted by Joe_W
Just found out that I can now get DSL to my house. I Have to check what I'm paying for cable internet, DSL is $34.95. I've been saying for a long time if I could get dsl I would get rid of cable totally and get sattelite tv.

So..question is..how do these #s compare to dsl?
2004-01-14 12:55:58 EST: 1008 / 76
Your download speed : 1008581 bps, or 1008 kbps.
A 123.1 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 76074 bps, or 76 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

and for the umpteenth time..what do people think of sattelite vs digital cable?

Never had Digital Cable... but I have Satellite and it is OK for what TV I do watch.

I have a cable modem... no DSL for me.

On the DSL vs Cable Modem thing. It is VERY regional. In one place Cable could kick DSL's ass and in another community it could be just the opposite.

I'm biased toward cable (my job is to maintain our DOCSIS cablemodem systems ). Both technologies have their advantages - best advice I can give is to check with people who actually use both services and see what they have to say. I would be a bit wary of brand new service ebing launched (DSL in your case) as there will likely be a few bugs to work out.

Also, don't be duped by the hype of "cable is shared, DSL is not, blah, blah" Both technolgies share you bandwith/combine traffic at some point.......

If you have an specific questions I'll be glad to help out.


Nicholaus

Had sat... may again when I get a house if nothing else is available. It's a heavy buy-in price $~550+ and about $60/month. Plus, it's not suitable for anything that requires heavy bi-directional communication (VPN, Gaming) because upload is governed to about 56K by the FCC (has to do w/ microwave power limitations in the sat dish)...

For surfing, it's pretty good.

Originally posted by ncl
On the DSL vs Cable Modem thing. It is VERY regional. In one place Cable could kick DSL's ass and in another community it could be just the opposite.

I'm biased toward cable (my job is to maintain our DOCSIS cablemodem systems ). Both technologies have their advantages - best advice I can give is to check with people who actually use both services and see what they have to say. I would be a bit wary of brand new service ebing launched (DSL in your case) as there will likely be a few bugs to work out.

Also, don't be duped by the hype of "cable is shared, DSL is not, blah, blah" Both technolgies share you bandwith/combine traffic at some point.......

If you have an specific questions I'll be glad to help out.


Nicholaus


Good point about the sharing. In my short stint with Earthlink I learned DSL has a lot more problems then cable. DSL can be affected by almost any electrical connection that runs near it. Even shielded it is still affected.

Training for DSL was a full week intensive.
Cable was 2 days worth and not even a full 8 hours a day.

In my area Cable is WAY faster than DSL, but as was stated above it depends where you are. There are different types of DSL connections as far as speed goes.

Jordan

Yes, *do* believe the cable bandwidth limitations. If you live in a community with a large number of cable modem users, your speeds will suck and you'll be greatly disappointed. DSL is great and it's constant (go figure...I'm a DSL customer).

I've looked into the satellite stuff and it kicks ass over DSL and cable, but doesn't work well on 'twitch-style' games because there's a relative large delay before transmit/receive.

Joe, check very closely into the contract for DSL. Every DSL
provider I've seen requires a 1 or 2 year contract, just like
cell phone companies. They have an early termination fee.

Sorry..I should clarify..my decision right now is cable internet vs DSL and cable tv vs sattelite tv

The sattelite internet issue may come up in future if I get a house out in the sticks :)

Originally posted by Damage, Inc.
Yes, *do* believe the cable bandwidth limitations. If you live in a community with a large number of cable modem users, your speeds will suck and you'll be greatly disappointed. DSL is great and it's constant (go figure...I'm a DSL customer).


The same with DSL if the provider does not have adequate bandwidth or a proerply designed network a large number of users will have the EXACT same problems. Don't spout bullshit based upon your single experience.

The same does hold true with cable. If the network is not designed well (too many homes per node and/or upstream port) or if the provider does not have adequate bandwidth your speed will suck.

As I said, check for users from you community - but don't listen to folks like Damage that spout Bullshit based upon their experience (unless of coure he lives in the same community as you).

nicholaus

He's talking about SAT TV guys.


I HATE the slow menu speeds and poor remote button response on Digital Cable. I've seen Dishnetwork with a Tivo combo receiver box and it kicked ass. The guy that had it said tha t if I were to get the tivo/receiver combo box that I should get the lease on one and not buy one because the HD's burn up every year or two and if you buy it, you're stuck with it.

I had Digital Cable myself for all of two or three weeks and I couldn't stand it. You also have to have a phone line plugged into it so that it can send/recieve some other data periodically and the box will shut down if you don't. When mine shut itself down, I just called them up and said "Come get the box, I hate it."

Unfortunately I'm the oddball geek in my neighborhood. I'm practically the only one with cable (everyone else got sat.) and probably only one with high speed internet..but I will start asking around. Theres a guy who works for Dell down the block..he may b in the 21st century and I know he has a dish

Originally posted by Schly


I had Digital Cable myself for all of two or three weeks and I couldn't stand it. You also have to have a phone line plugged into it so that it can send/recieve some other data periodically and the box will shut down if you don't. When mine shut itself down, I just called them up and said "Come get the box, I hate it."

I have no phone line needed, in fact I thought you needed a phone line for sat?

Originally posted by ncl


The same with DSL if the provider does not have adequate bandwidth or a proerply designed network a large number of users will have the EXACT same problems. Don't spout bullshit based upon your single experience.

The same does hold true with cable. If the network is not designed well (too many homes per node and/or upstream port) or if the provider does not have adequate bandwidth your speed will suck.

As I said, check for users from you community - but don't listen to folks like Damage that spout Bullshit based upon their experience (unless of coure he lives in the same community as you).

nicholaus

I pay for a guaranteed speed of 1.5 Down/ 384 Up and I get that consistently. I've never heard of anyone else with DSL that didn't get the numbers they were promised. I actually have been tested at 6+Mb/s by the installation tech but that was without the DSL companies cap.

Originally posted by Schly
You also have to have a phone line plugged into it so that it can send/recieve some other data periodically and the box will shut down if you don't. When mine shut itself down, I just called them up and said "Come get the box, I hate it."

I don't know huge amount about Digital Cable - but his is not true for all systems. Only those plants that are not "two-way" (supporting bidirectional communication) will require a phone line in the digital box.

If the cable plant supports non telco return cable modem service than it is two-way and you will not likely need a phone line for digital TV. Also, the speed of the box all depends on teh hardware used by your provider. Motorola (one provider of Digital Set-top boxes) makes many models. Some (liek the DCT 2000) is slow and awful, yet other are as fast, if not faster than dish hardware.

Again - regional, regional, regional.

You might wanna check out DSL Reports.com (http://www.dslreports.com)

You can learn a lot about the different technologies there....but the best thing about it is that you can see what other people in your zip code are using and what speeds they are getting. ;)

Originally posted by Schly


I pay for a guaranteed speed of 1.5 Down/ 384 Up and I get that consistently. I've never heard of anyone else with DSL that didn't get the numbers they were promised. I actually have been tested at 6+Mb/s by the installation tech but that was without the DSL companies cap.

Yup, I don't doubt that one bit. It sounds like your DSL provider has their act together. Many do, just as many cable providers do.

Again, it all comes doen to where you are - It just pisses me off that people spout info about *their* service (usually half way across the country) that will in no way provide valuable information about what services are avaialble to Joe.

In my areas (and yes, I work my ass off to provide a quality product for our customer - as do others) you can talk to 90% of folks and they will say cablemodem is a better product than DSL (and I can easily give you customers that converted to cable modem beacuse they did not get what they were promised by DSL)............ready for this...........IN THIS AREA. That means jack squat to Joe.......

Found 1 review on DSLreports for Verizon DSl in town, results are less than optimistic. He signed up a year ago and was getting mid 700s d/l speed. His speed is now dropped to the 500s or less

Originally posted by Joe_W
Sorry..I should clarify..my decision right now is cable internet vs DSL and cable tv vs sattelite tv

The sattelite internet issue may come up in future if I get a house out in the sticks :)

DOH! I guess I really do need Hooked-on-Phonics!!!! :eek: :flipoff2:

Had sat... may again when I get a house if nothing else is available. It's a heavy buy-in price $~550+ and about $60/month. Plus, it's not suitable for anything that requires heavy bi-directional communication (VPN, Gaming) because upload is governed to about 56K by the FCC (has to do w/ microwave power limitations in the sat dish)...

This true?

I was looking at Satellite Internet, given that all I can get is dialup at 28.8. Was even willing to spend the $1K installation charge, till they told me it would take 5 cables to do it (sounded like a reall cluster fawk). If all I can get is 56K upload, forget it, I'll rent an office in town.

I'm on SBC Yahoo DSL. I used to be on Comcast but they kept jacking up the prices and I wasn't getting the speed that I should have been (the speed started out great, then dropped due to the additional loads in the area). I've since switched from my $60/mo cable to $26/mo DSL and have been really happy with it.

A friend of mine is on cable internet and has been happy with it. His speeds are where my DSL speeds are now. My cable internet speeds were always low compared to his though. The biggest reason I switched was money, but the other was that it took them 2 months to fix my intermittent problem due to the main line having water damage (it took 3 techs before they sent networking out to fix it).

I'm also on DirecTV and have been for the past 4 or 5 years. Also happy with that. I pay $52/mo for the extended package with HBO. It's nice having only had the price raised once by $2/mo. My brother has been on DirecTV for over 10 years and has never thought about switching.

2004-01-14 14:42:29 EST: 1184 / 136
Your download speed : 1184236 bps, or 1184 kbps.
A 144.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 136915 bps, or 136 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

This is in Livermore, CA.

Originally posted by Screwzer


This true?

I was looking at Satellite Internet, given that all I can get is dialup at 28.8. Was even willing to spend the $1K installation charge, till they told me it would take 5 cables to do it (sounded like a reall cluster fawk). If all I can get is 56K upload, forget it, I'll rent an office in town.

Yup.

5- cables? Mine had two - one for up, one for down. I added the "DirecTV" option to the dish so I could get everything through one - that added two more. Plus, it requires a phone line for setup....

"They" are working on improving uploads, but are still limited by FCC regulations. If it's all you can get, though, it's still better than dialup!

Nice thing is in researching this I discovered theres sattelite service available locally for $44 a month and $99 install for 3000/256 :D

I'm more and more happy thinking of a house out in the sticks :)

not to be a downer, but like has been said several times in this thread...everything said here means squat unless someone is on the exact same feed as you in your neighborhood... I have several people in town here on SBC DSL as I am. we all live within 8 miles of each other and we have regular "speed ranges" that are consistent from one time to the next per user (ie- I'm always around 1284K, my buddy is always around 700K) but yet are 400K different from user to user... same for cable...

I would take DSL over cable for the simple fact of security, but that may not be an issue for you if all you do is surf and play games, no banking, stocks, etc.


as for the TV thing - I've had it all and I probably will never go back to cable. DirectTV is better than dish (again in this area) and also offers a better channel selection for the types of stuff I watch. as for equipment, go to your local Best Buy, Circuit city, good Guys ,etc and play with all the different brands of recievers and go through their menus and features and see what you like. I don't like the RCA menu and will probably never get rid of my Huges untill it dies...


:usa:

Originally posted by ncl


The same with DSL if the provider does not have adequate bandwidth or a proerply designed network a large number of users will have the EXACT same problems. Don't spout bullshit based upon your single experience.

The same does hold true with cable. If the network is not designed well (too many homes per node and/or upstream port) or if the provider does not have adequate bandwidth your speed will suck.

As I said, check for users from you community - but don't listen to folks like Damage that spout Bullshit based upon their experience (unless of coure he lives in the same community as you).

nicholaus

LOL...what a dumbshit. You use way too many fucking 'IF's in your spewing bullshit. Jeezus ncl....you must be sucking the cable company dick, right? Fawk man...
Facts remain:

Cable speeds are user-dependent
DSL can be slower, but is constant

Originally posted by Damage, Inc.

Facts remain:

Cable speeds are user-dependent
DSL can be slower, but is constant

I'd like to see where you get your "facts".

Yes, I do work for the Cable company. You'll note that I've never said cable is "better" or that it doesn't have downfalls - all technologies do (including DSL - hmmmm, speeds decrease as your distance from the CO increases).

Glad you needed to accuse me of sucking dick - you seem to have a similar issue only you mouth is full of phone company spunk.

I'm just trying to give an honest answer to Joe's question - if I were so biased toward cable (as you might suggest) my answer would have been "get cable DSL sucks". In my responses I'll do my best to set straight any myths about cablemodem and/or DSL that are circulated (by folks like you, Damage).

Nicholaus

My brother had charter digital cable/cable internet in his last apartment, and we will be getting it again, when we move to the next place. It kicked butt for the price.. He payed 80 bucks a month for 500 channels on TV and his cable internet.. so splitting that between the two of us, thats 40 bucks a month each for TV and Internet
Scott

Originally posted by Joe_W
Nice thing is in researching this I discovered theres sattelite service available locally for $44 a month and $99 install for 3000/256 :D

I'm more and more happy thinking of a house out in the sticks :)

WHERE IN THE FAWK DID YOU FIND THAT?!?!?!? That's friggen great! And I honestly can't believe it, unless the DirecWay installer (contracted) was BS'ing me about the FCC.

I'd much rather go sat than pay $$ to a telco or cable company...

Originally posted by rockota


WHERE IN THE FAWK DID YOU FIND THAT?!?!?!? That's friggen great! And I honestly can't believe it, unless the DirecWay installer (contracted) was BS'ing me about the FCC.

I'd much rather go sat than pay $$ to a telco or cable company...

This offer sounds more like "wireless" service (which many local ISP's are starting to offer - genereally using one of the 802.11x standards), rather than satallite.

Originally posted by ncl


This offer sounds more like "wireless" service (which many local ISP's are starting to offer - genereally using one of the 802.11x standards), rather than satallite.

They do say "wireless" but also mention that it's thrugh your tv dish?? :confused:

So tell me about wireless?

Heres the website
http://www.skyvueusa.com/

Originally posted by Po' riggity
My brother had charter digital cable/cable internet in his last apartment, and we will be getting it again, when we move to the next place. It kicked butt for the price.. He payed 80 bucks a month for 500 channels on TV and his cable internet.. so splitting that between the two of us, thats 40 bucks a month each for TV and Internet
Scott

That's unreal. Five HUNDRED channels? Any premium channels? Did you guys actually GET reception on all five hundred channels or are most of them PPV?

Originally posted by Schly


That's unreal. Five HUNDRED channels? Any premium channels? Did you guys actually GET reception on all five hundred channels or are most of them PPV? Well, he got about 400 of the 500 channels, the rest were PPV. He got 3 hbo's, 2 skinemax, starz, encore and a few other things...
Scott

Here's the price list for my local CATV company.



http://www.timewarnersandiego.com/services/cable/pricing.asp

From the website: The Motorola Canopy technology operates in the un-licensed 5.2-5.7 GHz U-NII band.

That is a wireless technology based from a tower (not satallite).

I'm not sure where you are, but their service area is show here:
http://www.skyvueusa.com/images/availability500.gif

Also, line of site from your antenna to their antenna is generally necessary. Any large obstructions will greatly reduce the quality of your service, if you are even able to get service. (Check this is the spring or summer - plants leafing out can change this greatly).

Nicholaus

Any large obstructions will greatly reduce the quality of your service, if you are even able to get service.

That's the problem where I live.... too many damn 300' trees. Our county is in the process of renegotiating cable. Hopefully, our stuporvisors will push for Cable Modem access.

I used to work for Covad Communications troubleshooting all types of DSL and T1. Covad is the big bad DSL/T1 company behind most everyone like AT&T....Verizon...SBC...southwestern bell...you name it...covad provides it.

Anyway, in my opinion, I think Cable is the better overall deal for the home because its cheaper and faster. And some make the argument that Cable is not consistant....but even if it is running 'slow'...its still pretty damn fast.

The reason DSL is still out there is because businesses need consistant reliable connections like DSL or T1...if they can afford it.

I've encountered many weird DSL problems that are just weird. But REALLY...the biggest problem with DSL is phone companies...the ILECs. They are hell to get along with. Whenever your DSL starts acting up...its probably because the Phone company put some sort of electronics on your line...or they changed your loop length to a longer loop and you are getting packet loss. Or there may be a T1 that is firing up in your area and your DSL is fawkin' up.

With that said, go cable in the home. Stay away from DSL unless you're a small or large business.

I actually used to monitor DSL Reports for Covad Communications for customer service and care.

Originally posted by ncl
From the website: The Motorola Canopy technology operates in the un-licensed 5.2-5.7 GHz U-NII band.

That is a wireless technology based from a tower (not satallite).

I'm not sure where you are, but their service area is show here:
http://www.skyvueusa.com/images/availability500.gif

Also, line of site from your antenna to their antenna is generally necessary. Any large obstructions will greatly reduce the quality of your service, if you are even able to get service. (Check this is the spring or summer - plants leafing out can change this greatly).

Nicholaus

This board makes you lazy..let other people figure it out for you!! :)

Yea it looks like I'm a fair distance from their coverage area..probably a few miles to the west on FM971 there on the map. D'ohh!!!

Thanks for the help!!

just a little note here about satalite TV
i called for info after hearing about a good deal w/ free equip. and install from Direct TV for around $40-$50/month
turns out in my area you can't get local channels
just something to think about if you like to watch your local news

by the way i get expanded basic cable
no digital crap
i get good reception and no problems
i don't need to spend my time veggin' in front of the boob tube wasting my life away flippin through 5,000,000 w/ nothing on
i'd rather go work on my 4X4!!

I live about 2 miles from the Microsoft campus and I finally got cable internet about 2 years ago.

I was on dialup forever and was going to take what ever I could when it came to my neighborhood.

For DSL theres a CO about 1 mile away but it is owned by Verizon and i'm a Qwest customer due to weird city boundries and couldn't get DSL thru them.

Anyways, I also have HD digital TV thru my cable but I have been unhappy with it because its always pixelated.

So, i'm thinking of going HD Digital Dish for my TV and keeping my cable internet!

Someone should post a speedtest website so that we could all use it and then post our results here to compare.

Originally posted by unimogken

Someone should post a speedtest website so that we could all use it and then post our results here to compare.

www.dslreports.com click on tools & test on left

and its been don here before :)

My speed test results at work. :D

I got DSL and love it never had cable so I won't coment on it. As far as T.V. goes I will never pay for cable again enough said. If you need some info on the Sat. TV stuff PM me and I'll give you some really good info.