These days, you have more choices than ever when it comes to your television viewing experience. While cable is still an option, satellite TV and streaming are also very popular. If you’ve been debating between these two, you should know whether streaming TV is better than satellite service.
What are the Differences Between Streaming and Satellite TV?
Streaming services and satellite TV have notable differences. Knowing what they are and comparing what they offer can help you make an educated decision on whether it’s better for you to stream services instead of relying on a satellite dish to get your viewing entertainment. The differences include the following:
- Cost: Streaming services are much cheaper than satellite TV. Even if you subscribe to a few, you’ll save a lot of money each year compared with the alternative. Satellite providers charge you a fee for their service and their satellite dishes. With streaming, you have the luxury of watching only what you want. Satellite doesn’t give you that option, so you pay for everything.
- Better flexibility: You get much better flexibility with streaming services compared with satellite TV. It allows you to choose to watch what you want. Meanwhile, streaming TV only allows you to choose providers, but you get all the channels that come with their packages.
- Quality: Streaming services usually offer lesser quality than satellite TV. However, some allow you to get better quality subscriptions if you pay a few dollars more. Of course, quality also depends on your TV, but because your content is delivered via the Internet, you don’t always get the best quality picture.
- Convenience: Streaming services are more convenient than satellite TV. To use it, all you need is a device that connects to the Internet to watch. Meanwhile, satellite TV service requires a satellite dish, receiver box and a TV.
Why is Streaming So Popular Compared to Satellite TV?
Stream services are popular for all the reasons mentioned above and more. You don’t even need a TV to start streaming; even with a computer, smartphone, or tablet, you can watch your favorite TV shows and movies at your leisure.
Streaming services have become so popular that many of the leading TV manufacturers offer smart TVs that run on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, WebOS, Android TV, and Tizen, just to name a few. However, even with a basic TV, you can connect a Roku, Fire TV Stick, or Apple TV to it and start streaming.
How to Get the Best Streaming Performance
According to DIRECTV, there are things you can do to get the best streaming performance for your money. However, your best option is to have an Internet connection that is built on fiber-optic technology as it provides you with the highest speeds. The higher your Internet speeds, the better your overall streaming service.
Depending on the type of TV or other devices you have, you can maximize your streaming performance’s quality as long as you have the minimum speed required. For standard definition (SD), you need at least 3 Mbps speeds. If your device is capable of video in high definition (HD), you need speeds of at least 5 Mbps. Finally, if you have an HDR or 4K quality TV or other devices, you need speeds of at least 25 Mbps.
If you’re planning on cutting the cord and streaming your television entertainment, make sure your Internet speeds are up to par.
Streaming services are so popular because there are so many more options than ever. If you’re finally ready to rely on streaming, now is a great time to start.
