DirecTV Vs. Comcast

DirecTV, with a subscriber base exceeding 20 million, and Comcast with a subscriber base of approximately 23 million, form the backbone of broadcast media in the United States. Millions of people rely on these services for their daily dose of entertainment and news. While the services of Comcast are restricted to the United States, DirecTV also serves Latin America and the Caribbean. In the United States, these two service providers are pitted against each other. With both the companies resorting to aggressive marketing to increase their business, it is no surprise that the end consumer is left confused trying to figure out which is better DirecTV or Comcast Xfinity. Both have their own benefits and drawbacks, and to decide which of the two is better, one has to review the services offered by both of them.

DirecTV

One of the most prominent satellite service provider in the United States, DirecTV provides television as well as audio services to the subscribers by direct broadcast satellite method. It has its own network, referred to as The 101 Network, which is exclusively made available to DirecTV subscribers. The services provided by DirecTV range from subscription television services to private video services, with the subscribers having access to hundreds of digital channels specializing in entertainment, news, sports, etc.

Comcast Xfinity

Comcast Xfinity on the other hand, is the largest cable operator in the United States. Alongside digital cable TV services, this media giant also provides broadband Internet and telephone services to its subscribers across the United States. The 23 million subscriber base of Comcast includes residential as well as commercial customers. As with The 101 Network available for DirecTV subscribers, even Comcast has a exclusive package in the form of Comcast Network for its subscribers.

DirecTV Vs. Comcast

The intensity of DirecTV vs. Comcast battle has reached its all-time high over the last decade, with each of the two trying desperately to get an edge over its counterpart. Comcast uses coaxial cable to provide services to its customers, whereas DirecTV is dependent on satellite dish technology for the same. With time, the reliability of coaxial cables has increased manifolds which has added to the efficiency of Comcast Xfinity and other networks which rely on these cables. While satellite dish technology does provide excellent service in terms of quality, the same can take a beating during strong storms or cloudy conditions - a problem which satellite based television network users often complain about.

Video on Demand: Huge investments made by Comcast to improvise the existing infrastructure and add more channels to its packages has helped it get an edge over satellite based television networks such as DirecTV and Dish TV. Services, such as 'Video on Demand', have become inexpensive as well as user-friendly, as large amounts of content is stored on centralized servers, and the subscribers can access it just with a click of the button at any point of time. Comcast in fact, boasts of more than 8000 HD choices On Demand on TV as well as Internet. Even though DirecTV also has Video on Demand service in place, the subscriber needs to have access to high speed Internet, in order to access this service.

Picture Quality: DirecTV does score over Comcast, when it comes to picture quality. It provides more than a hundred national channels in high-definition (HD) video quality. Comparatively, in Comcast the number of channels in HD video quality is very low, and largely depends on whether the infrastructure in the area wherein you reside is fully upgraded or not. To a great extent, the credit for the quality advantage that DirecTV has over Comcast goes to its advanced receiver for HD and DVR. DirecTV also gives its users the option of using one DVR for the entire house i.e. multiple connections within your home.

Pricing and Packages: In terms of pricing, things are pretty competitive with both the service providers offering packages starting at US$29.99 MO. While the basic package from Comcast Xfinity has somewhere around 80 digital channels to offer, the DirecTV basic package gives you access to 150 digital channels which are enlisted in the DirecTV channels list. A 2 year contract can be a problem, but the same applies to both service providers and hence doesn't really mean much when it comes to DirecTV-Comcast comparison. Ideally, you should find out how much you will be charged for availing the services on offer and how many channels you will get access to beforehand.

Customer Satisfaction: As far as customer satisfaction is concerned, most of the consumer forums are abuzz with complains about both the service providers. However, it would be unfair to come to a conclusion on the basis of these complains alone. While Comcast has often come under scanner for substandard customer service, the 30-day money-back guarantee offer on their website does seem worth giving a try (especially before opting for the 2 year contract). DirecTV, on the other hand, boasts of winning the J.D. Power Survey Award for residential cable and satellite TV customer satisfaction in the past, which in itself is a decent achievement.

The fact that Comcast Xfinity package includes cable TV as well as high speed Internet and phone service does give it an edge over DirecTV. For some people however, it is the list of channels on offer which acts as a deciding factor when choosing between DirecTV and Comcast. At the end of the day, there is no clear winner of the DirecTV vs. Comcast face-off, as both have their own advantages and disadvantages. In such circumstances, you need to take into consideration the aforementioned factors, your area of residence and - most important of all, your definition of entertainment when deciding which of these service providers to opt for.