Cable offers a limited bandwidth which is directly to blame for the poor quality of picture and sound. Your cable wire is from a transmission system near your home. Cable is radio frequency based and has been converted from an audio and video signal to radio frequency and then has to re-convert back into audio and video.



On the other hand satellite signals remain digital until it hits the receiver. This means clearer picture and audio, op to 3 times better resolution than your cable picture quality. The audio from a satellite receiver can be Dolby Digital surround sound if the program is that feature.

Most satellite companies like Dish Network provide their customers with hundreds of digital stations to choose from. Hundreds of high quality channels, some are offered in high definition. You can opt for a high definition (HD) receiver to go with your HD television.

Many cable signals are under 150 lines of interlaced resolution while standard satellite can be up to 480i. HD content will either be 1080i or 720 progressive. Standard 27' TVs have no more than a 500i capability. If you want high definition get a HD TV.

Modern day HD TVs can accurately scan all the lines of the screen and refresh it much more quickly. Interlaced broadcast were developed in the 1920's and weren't able to get the TV to scan every line from the top to the bottom quick enough, so they scanned only odd numbers. Then would go back and scan the even, resulting in thick lines running across the screen."