Video on your cell phone isn’t all that new, but MediaFLO’s take on video for your pocket is the real deal.  This is not grainy YouTube video, or 30-second clips of buffering video. This is live TV, the same as you get at home. It even uses the same technology as digital television, and includes a program guide just like your cable box.  Picture quality is excellent, and battery life was also very impressive on our test model, the Samsung Access from AT&T.  What’s more, because it uses the same technology as TV and not cell towers, you pay one fee and watch as much as you want since it won’t count against your data plan.

Service Coverage

The Samsung Access is just one of a handfull of MediaFlo capable phones offered by AT&T.

Channel Offerings

Both Verizon and AT&T offer similar channel packages. AT&T offers a full-time movie channel called “PIX” which is really cool.  Verizon offers MTV’s Latin Music Channel “TR3S” exclusively. Other than that, they both offer “mobile” versions of CBS, FOX and NBC which include their primetime shows all day long.

There are also live simulcasts of all the popular news channels including MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC and CNN. Other offerings include Comedy Central, Fuel TV, Food Network, ESPN, MTV and an exclusive “Victoria’s Secret TV” (very popular with the guys in the office) as well. For the kids, there is Nickelodeon.

The first weekend (Saturday) I fired it up, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were 3 different live college football games spread between ESPN, FOX and NBC. Very nice!

Where Can I Get It?

MediaFLO is available as “VCAST Mobile TV” on Verizon and “AT&T Mobile TV” on AT&T but the service quality is identical for both providers.  Both providers offers the service on 4 of their popular phone models.  We would like to see the number of MediaFlow capable  phones increased, but for now it’s good to know that the service is available on very modest phone models.  Both offer service plans starting at $15/mo., and Verizon offers a deal for $25/mo. including VCAST, their on-demand video service as well.

Check out all of the reviews that make up Qwowi’s 2008 Tech Gift Guide.

If you are thinking about satellite radio, there are plenty of affordable options.  With rebates, new customers of Sirius or XM Radio can get radios practically for free around the holidays.  If you are looking to get the most out of your $12/month, new subscriber or not, one option stands out above all others; the Pioneer XMp3.

Each new generation of XM Radio has added a new, and innovative features.  Early technology that allowed you to see what was on other stations before making your selection was a nice, but a year or so later when they introduced the “TuneSelect”; where you could now be alerted when your favorite song or artist was on took things one step further.  They followed that up with replay, which allowed you to rewind a live stream if you missed something.

With the introduction of the portable “XM2go” radios, you could for the first time ever, not only take your live XM with you on the go, but you could also schedule overnight and special event recording just like a DVR. Finally, a few year ago, XM introduced the idea of “Hear it. Click It. Save It.”  With their Inno radios you could actually save a song you liked, even after if you decided you liked it well after the song started—and for the first time you could store your XM favorites side by side with your own WMA/MP3 collection (as well as Audio books, too).

Well, they’ve done it again.  The new XMp3 not only improves on existing ideas, they’ve added a slick new interface, smaller packaging and beautiful screen.  It it now includes expandable storage, more recording options, and for the first time an on-screen guide just like you’d find on your TV.  You can record shows right from the guide, including future showings; just like a DVR.  On top of this, Pioneer gave the new device the ability to record 5 channels at once, meaning you can have several auto-record sessions, a schedule record session and still listen to a different channel live–impressive for sure.

For those that want a more hands-off experience, you can turn on auto-recording and the radio will learn your listening habits.  While you’re sleeping (or anytime the radio is docked, even when listening live) it will record up to 5 of your favorite channels in the background so you can listen to “cached” music even when you can’t get a signal.  Don’t trust it?  That’s OK, you can also pick up to 5 channels to auto record rather than trust it to decide for you.

To round out the features, they’ve added a new XM2go Music Manager software package, which allows you manage your XM recordings as well as your MP3/WMA/Audible collection (it is also compatible with the older Inno and Helix radios, too, which is a nice bonus). They’ve also included a microSDHC slot (up to 8GB) for expanding the built-in 2GB storage as well. It retails for $279, and includes the radio, a home dock, remote control, power cord, ear buds, home antenna, RCA cables, USB cable and user guide.  A car kit and other accessories are available sold separately.

The Pioneer Pioneer XMp3 is available from Amazon.com.

There were a few traditional options: a pen and notebook, a digital recorder, a good night’s sleep (good luck, you’re in Las Vegas after all). Then, while walking through our local Target after lunch (as we do almost every day) I noticed a new display in my favorite of all the sections–electronics–for the Livescribe SmartPen.

For those that don’t know what that is, they call it a “digital smart pen” and it’s essentially a computer in a pen-sized package (with ink!). The idea is not only will it record what you write digitally, it will link it to the audio automatically. The idea isn’t the most original you’ll ever stumble across, but the inventor of the product is the very same that invented the LeapFrog version that parents may already be familiar with.

Although the marketing was geared towards students, I could help but wonder; Would it work for my purpose? A trip the website comforted me with a review from PC Magazine claiming, “…the Pulse SmartPen could become an essential investment for any student, businessperson, or journalist.”

Find It on Amazon.com

Model Overview

It comes in two simple flavors, 1GB and 2GB models for $149 MSRP and $199 MSRP respectively. Feature-wise they are nearly identical, with the only difference being the amount of “notes” you can be store on the pen before you have to connect it to your computer again. What we’re really talking about is around 100 hours of recording time on the 1GB model and 200 hours on the 2GB.

They feature a super-easy to read OLED display, and built-in rechargeable battery with USB charging dock (think iPod). No plugging this into the wall, it charges right off the PC. It features a built in speaker, and has a headphone jack for private listening with headphones included.

As for the pen itself, it’s about 6 inches long.  At a just over 1/2 inch in diameter, it’s bit fatter than a real pen, but weighs just over an ounce. It comes with a nice leather case that also holds extra ink cartridges (included) a nice bonus.

It includes the “Livescribe Desktop” software (as a download) which is used to “sync” your pen. Once inside the software, you can organize and search your notes and recordings (which remember, are automatically time-linked together) and even upload/share them as “pencasts” on their website (up to 250MB of pencasts can be shared for free).

And yes, you heard me correctly; you can search your notes! I have pretty messy handwriting, too, but it does a great job at keyword searches! You can also of course name all your sessions with meaningful names as well to help you find stuff later as well.

One thing to keep in mind is the pen requires special paper. They sell numbered notebooks and journals (for instance, if you buy notebook #1, fill it up, then next time you need to get notebook #2, otherwise it’ll be the same pages over again). In the future, though, Livescribe has said they will allow you to print the paper at home.

My SmartPen

I’m never far from my computer, so I chose the smaller model. Now that I am more familiar with the product, I could see students going for the larger model because the more notes you leave on the pen, the further back you can go into those notes. That’s right, without a computer around at all, you can go back into your notes, click the pen on the page and listen back to your notes–even if you took those notes months ago! I wasn’t expecting that.

I used it at a few off-site meetings, a few meetings at my work, and of course for all those VMworld classes. Having used the Livescribe quite a bit, I must say this is just one of those products that works well for what it’s supposed to do.  If you need a device for digitally recording handwritten notes with audio (or without, and vice versa–you can use it as just a voice recorder as well) then this is a great device. It is MUCH smaller than a tape recorder for sure, and more convenient.

Throw in the extras like the pencast sharing, and the developer community, and it’s a nice little item and I do recommend it if you think you’ll use it. For $149, the entry point isn’t bad. Just make sure you’ll use it because, with the obvious novelty factor,  it runs the risk of sitting in your drawer after the first week of heave usage, especially if you’re one, who, for example, doesn’t typically take handwritten notes in meetings or classes on a regular basis.

The Livescribe 2GB Pulse Smartpen is available from Amazon.com for $199.95

How long have you looked at one of these stupid things and wondered if it’s even remotely worth the price tag. Cool factor aside, is this thing any good at all at what it claims? Even more puzzling, what does it actually claim do? What it actually does depends on a few things, not the least of which is how much money you have to spend. The iRobot Roomba is a little bit more than just cool, there is definitely some substance here, but it might not be what you expect from a device called a “robot vacuum”. Let me explain.

I purchased one of the more modest versions of their newest 500-series model line, the Roomba 530. They offer several variations of the 500 series alone in addition to some older 400 series models still for sale. Since this is my first robot, we’ll concentrate of the 500 series as this is all I know.

Model Overview

All models in the new 500-series offer the exact same cleaning system. Some of the new features over the older models are:

• Dirt Detection, where the robot concentrates on areas of “extra soil”.
• Spot Clean mode, where you can direct the robot to clean a single area, then shut off automatically, rather than clean an entire room.
• Light-touch Bumpers, where the robot will actually slow down as it approaches objects before bumping into them.
• Anti-Tangle technology, where the brushes will actually detect, slow, and/or stop when tangled around power cords, or rugs.

The most modest version, the Roomba 510, retails for $249.99. It’s basically a great introduction into household robots, but lacks some of the high-end convenience features such as the self-charging home base. It’s cleaning capabilities, however; are exactly the same.

The version I bought, the Roomba 530, retails for $299.99. It adds the most impressive feature, in my eyes, a self-charging base that the robot returns to automatically after a hard day cleaning. To top it off, once it successfully docks, it lets out an almost-human sounding tone of triumph as if to exclaim, “Victory!”. It also comes packaged with an extra filter, and 2 “virtual walls”, which are used to keep the robot from entering rooms, going down hallways, or just generally avoiding objects.

The next model up, the Roomba 560, adds scheduling capabilities to allow the robot to automatically wake up, clean, and return home on it’s own time. It also comes equipped with a 4-room battery (almost 2 hours) as opposed to the usual 3-room battery (about 90 minutes) found in the 510 and 530 models. Finally, it includes “lighthouses” instead of virtual walls which, in addition to keeping Roomba out of rooms, also work to keep Roomba in certain rooms (larger rooms, and high-traffic areas) longer. They also help Roomba find it’s way home when it’s crept too far away from the base. Where the 530 can sometimes get stuck 2 or 3 rooms away from the base and cry for help, the 560 will always find it’s way back using lighthouses.

Finally, the newest offerings are the $399.99 Roomba 570 and $499.99 Roomba 580. These are the ultimate in lazy, as they include a wireless remote to go with the scheduling features. The 570 also comes with extra brushes. The 580 comes with 11 brushes and 7 filters, so you can get your lazy on even when it’s time to order replacement parts. Both offer the same extended battery and lighthouse functions of the 560.

My Robot

My robot has been cleaning my home for about 2 months now. There are several things that make my installation a bit unique so lets get this out of the way right now.

• I have all wood floors. There is one area rug, but for the most part I can’t comment too much on rug performance.
• I don’t have any pets. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the 500-series and pet hair, but I can’t (yet) comment on this as I don’t have my new cat just yet.
• I don’t have any kids. This is a big one, probably 75% less dirt in my house compared to one with little ones.
• My house is one-story, and modest. The robot doesn’t have a ton of work to do, and it only has to keep 4 small rooms clean. So while my setup is pretty much ideal for a single robot you may have much different results with a larger home or with multiple stories.

I have read the Roomba “won’t replace your regular vacuum cleaner”. I whole-heatedly disagree, but you must consider the fact that I don’t have pets and kids.  What I can tell you with confidence is if you vacuum once a day right now, you’ll vacuum once a week if you get Roomba. If you vacuum once a week now, you’ll vacuum once a month with Roomba.

And finally, if you’re like me and NEVER vacuum, and don’t even own a vacuum, you won’t need one once Roomba is cleaning up for you. Basically I pick a day of the week, or whenever I notice the floors getting dirty, or after company leaves and I’ll move the kitchen chairs out a bit so it can get around them and I set it off on it’s way. That’s it! And it works great, too. You empty it every 2 or 3 cleanings (or when it cries about being full) and you’ll need to keep the brushes clean underneath, but that’s essentially it. Not too bad at all right?

There are a few caveats, of course. It is an entirely different approach to vacuuming, and until you get used to it you’ll have to make some adjustments. They are easy, though, I promise.

First, it takes “forever” to clean a room. Remember, this is not some room-learning, military grade, laser-guided system here. It won’t methodically go back and forth working it’s way around furniture. Instead, it will spin, zig-zag, bump into things, turn around and do it all again. And it will do this, over and over, for about 30-45 minutes a room. Somehow it will know when it’s done, though, and based on the results it’s pretty accurate, too.

About the only methodical thing it will do is when it finds a wall, it will follow right along side it, knocking dirt from the edges into its suction path. I bet that’s cleaning you never do, right? Even better is when it disappears under the couch for 10 minutes and comes back out leaving nothing but clean behind. Now I know you haven’t cleaned there in years.

Finally, low-hanging cords are Roomba’s nemesis. Yes, it has anti-tangle technology, but it does it by shutting down all it’s brushes until it’s “free”. Rather than compromise clean, I’ve tied up all my cords so they are always off the floor. I get great results all the time now.  All the basic stuff that Roombas have always done work well (“cliff protection” to keep it from careening down stairs, and huge all-terrain looking wheels let it go seamlessly from carpet, to floor, and back again).

The only real issue I’ve run into (and it’s partly my fault) is my house is undergoing some renovations.  One of the things we did was remove a wall. Well, Roomba happily attempted to clean this part of the floor and unfortunately it cost me the side-cleaning brush once or twice. The screw that holds the brush on is connected to some pretty weak plastic, so the brush will pop right off if things get too extreme for it. Roomba will then glady suck that screw right up into the basket, too. I’ve since come up with a solution to fix the brush and I now use a virtual wall in that area to keep Roomba completely away from there.  All is well again.

The other minor issue I’ve found is while it will gladly cruise under beds and couches, I do have one TV cabinet that is basically the exact same height as my robot and it will go under, get stuck, try to get out then eventually give up (sort of like a U-Haul on Storrow Drive in Cambridge). When it gives up, though, it does that same cute human-like tone, which makes it impossible to get mad at it.

If you’ve been on the sidelines wondering what the robot vacuum thing is all about, I say go for it. It’s easy for me to do that with your money, though, so I’d suggest you find a store with a liberal return polic, and no restockign fee, if you’re at all skeptical.

In addition to their Robot Vacuums and Floor Cleaners, iRobot also offers Pool Cleaning Robots, and Gutter Cleaning Robots.

Check their website for Web Only Specials and Great Savings when you buy 2 Robot Vacuums.

I’m a television guy, still. I was one of the first DVR proponents I know when I bought the Panasonic Showstopper back in 1998 or so. People ask me today if I had to pick one–TV or Internet–and without hesitation I’d keep my TV. So when I moved out of my apartment and it was time for me to decide between [insert local cable monopoly here] or DIRECTV again I didn’t hesitate to switch. But was it the right move? After all, I use it every day, and if it’s not perfect I’ll know it.

Well, alas, nothing’s perfect in the world of consumer electronics (unless you built it, then you’ll convince yourself it’s perfect). No one designer can anticipate exactly what everyone’s needs (and wants) will be. This is why you end up with countless Internet newsgroups for every product ever made with people posting endless nit-picking gripes about the products because they didn’t foresee that you wanted your MP3 player to toast your bread to a golden brown, not a crusty brown. Truth be told, their opinions are usually valid–when your MP3 doesn’t bookmark a 3 hour audio book when you get off the bus, I’d be pretty upset too.

Well there are a few companies that take these newsgroups for what they are worth–important field research from uber-fans of their products. Fanboyism is rampant out there, but if you weed through it you get a great field study from the people who matter most to research–the ones that overspent, use it every day, and are over-critical of the product. Fanboyism, or perhaps free product research from people you couldn’t hire to be that good? Those companies I’ve had the opportunity to “work with” are few, but one is XM Satellite Radio, and the other is DIRECTV. I’m sure countless other companies do this, but for the sake of this article, we’re obviously focused on DIRECTV.

DIRECTV actually works side-by-side with their newsgroup audience to pre-release features, and all they want in return is feedback–either directly through their feedback avenues, or by posting your gripes to the community for everyone to enjoy.

So what does this all mean for the person considering DIRECTV themselves? Well, you get it all installed, you sign all the commitments, and then you find out the guide requires two button presses to bring up and all the HD and SD channels show up twice in the guide, where are you now? I’ll tell you where, about a month or two from those features being fixed! Now that’s amazing. So, let’s get started.

Your Local Cable Company, Inc. vs. Satellite TV

This is the hardest part for someone who has just paid their cable bill for 15 years and never bothered to check what they are paying for. But, let’s be open minded here. Yes, most people I know aren’t happy with their local cable company. But is this a real gripe, or is it just that old monopolistic “feel” and ever growing rates that makes them feel this way? After all, cable has been around a long time and when it was introduced it allowed you to finally get rid of that huge antenna on the roof. They also, in most parts of the country, have kept up with other growing needs like HD television, Sports Pay-Per-View, high-speed Internet and even digital telephone. So let’s give them credit for leading the way and trying to re-invent themselves right?

Well, unfortunately in my experience they are still taking advantage of the customers. Yes, they are working to stay up on HD, Internet and Phone, but they are doing it the way they always have–with the monopolistic approach. This works most of the time, too, because you don’t have an alternative. DSL doesn’t compare to cable modems, telephone service doesn’t compare to digital telephone service (VOIP) and satellite doesn’t compare to cable TV. Wait a minute, has anyone challenged these lately, or are we still working on 1992 data? Surely something must have changed in 15 years to justify the price hikes, right?

DSL is now 3Mbps in most areas for under $20/month. Fiber-to-premise services blow cable modems out of the water at similar prices to cable’s offerings—sometimes much lower. Third-party VOIP providers do it better than cable operators, and they do it much cheaper, even if they “bundle” it all together.

And finally, satellite TV has put together a package so complete that leaving your cable company behind has never been easier.

Let’s glance at it real quick. Cable used to claim that you can’t get local television stations on satellite TV. That’s not the case anymore, and with distant-network services sometimes DIRECTV was the only way to get services if you lived way outside a local market in fact. What about their claim that you pay extra for those local channels? That hasn’t been true for almost 5 years now. What about the infamous “the dish goes out every time it rains” claim? Well I don’t know about you but my cable goes out a few days a year. Rain-related dish outages, when they do occur, are for mere minutes at a time.

So let’s get into this thing, piece by piece, on why you owe it to yourself to find out what you’re paying for every month from your cable company, and if the grass truly is greener.

How signing a contract saves you money.

Remember this one–”What about all the equipment you need to buy”. Well, neither dish provider sells their equipment anymore, anyway, but when they did they still gave it away for free with a contract. So, what you should be saying is, “wait, I have to sign a contract?”

DIRECTV is more akin to the cellular service provider model. They give you the equipment for free, and in exchange you commit to a service contract, guaranteeing that you will keep the services. Most people shy away from this, but happily re-sign their cell phone contracts every two years. Why? Because maybe this model, as unfortunate as it is, might be better than the “got you by the balls” cable TV monopoly model.

How having multiple TVs in the house adds up–fast.

Whether it’s your cable company, or DIRECTV, you’re going to pay for every TV you want to watch digital services on. It just so happens that ALL of DIRECTV’s services are digital so you’ll need a box on each TV. Here’s where you get lost in thinking that you’ll just hook cable up and get it cheaper, though. You’re not paying for every box you have with DIRECTV up-front, but you are paying $5/mo. for each additional box as a “lease mirroring fee”. Cable, while you can keep on hooking up boxes without a mirroring fee, remember you’re paying up to $8 or $10 a month for each box. So, now you’ll have to forego those boxes in the kids room and the basement and just stick to channels 2-72 because you wanted to save some money.

Well, funny thing is, that bill shows up and it’s still over $100/month. What’s the deal with that? Might as well shell out the $5/month and watch what you want in the bedroom after all, don’t ya think? As a bonus, maybe you can even record something in the living room and watch it in the bedroom. Wouldn’t that be nice. I’d pay $5/month for that.

But my cable company has HD channels too, ya know.

Yes, I know. I watch nothing but HD channels. Truth is, cable companies are doing a decent job of keeping up with HD channels for the most part actually—especially local networks. DIRECTV is just doing better, that’s all.

With cable companies you have to use the wiring that’s been in your home for 20 years sometimes, and even if you don’t have wiring that’s 20 years old in your home, someone they are supporting does. This limits bandwidth as there is only so much room in those wires for all that data. And now, it has to share it with the phone services and cable modems, too. When DIRECTV needs more bandwidth, they just launch another satellite and the entire country gets the benefit immediately. This is how they can offer 84 HD channels, and local channels in HD in over 75% of the country without expensive infrastructure upgrades (which is what Verizon FIOS is in the middle of right now).

And while we’re at it, what is with this tuning to channels in the 1800s to watch HD versions of the same channels? With DIRECTV, you tune to the channel, and if it’s an HD channel, it’s just in HD. How novel an idea, huh?

Embracing technology vs. implementing it to stay afloat

Cable television does have some neat advantages since they use a two-way data network—like on-demand programming. And while DIRECTV has already rolled out their on-demand services using your internet provider, they are behind cable in this regard. But at what cost has on-demand affected their other services?

With cable’s latest attempts to keep up they have leveraged this new technology in a very unfortunate way. They’ve introduced something called “switched digital video” or SDV. What is it? Well on simple terms it lets them save bandwidth by only sending the channels you are currently watching to your set-top box. What this means for the tech-savvy consumer, though, is you can no longer use your Digital Cable Ready (DCR) TV, TiVO and Media Center DVRs that use CableCards to record TV. This has rolled out in a few cities, and you know it’s not too far behind across the country as they try and keep up with satellite’s bandwidth advantage and force more people into that $8-10 rental fee.

It’s worth noting that DIRECTV’s flagship DVRs also allow you share content with your computer using standard Microsoft Windows Connect protocols so maybe you can get on-demand programming on your cable companies set-top box, but you can’t do nearly as much advanced media activities as you can with DIRECTV. As a disclaimer, though, I don’t use these features myself as I’m a Windows Media Center guy myself and use XBOX360s for this functionality so I can’t comment on the specifics but it’s only a matter of time with this platform they have on-demand rivaling content streamed live.

This brings me to my final, very impressive, DIRECTV announcement on the order of “embracing technology” keeping in mind my Windows Media Center setup.

DIRECTV is set to introduce digital tuners for use with Windows Media Center PCs. You may recall a little announcement from the cable guys a few years back regarding CableCard tuners for Windows Media Center PCs, which would have allowed DVRing on the Media Center platform of digital cable TV content—including HD. Well, not only did that take forever to get off the ground (people are still working out the kinks) but now with SDV, all of a sudden they are useless before they get off the ground. It’s sad what monopolistic thinking with do to curb technological enhancements. And so, I have an antenna on my roof again thanks to cable’s “technological advancements”. Something seems a little backwards about that.

That’s all well and good, but what about just watching TV

Channel Selection

The channels (with the exception of national HD availability) are similar. DIRECTV’s are all digital and always have been, even the standard-definition stuff. Depending on where you are in the country, most of the popular channels on cable are still analog. Some places do employ “digital simulcast” technology, though, when you use a set-top box. Although typically this just puts more strain on their ever-cramped bandwidth and lowers the quality even more–sometimes worse than the analog counterparts. And of course, don’t think of using your CableCard device with it, either.

The music channels are essentially the same, although for my money DIRECTV’s offering of XM Satellite Radio channels over Music Choice is a nice benefit that’s a personal preference.

Local channels are usually similar; although cable companies do tend to be able to offer a few specialty channels that are cable-only. For example, here in Albany, NY “Capital News 9” is an all-local-news channel and “TW Sports” carries local high-school and college sports. As for HD, thanks to a federal mandate cable companies carry all local channels in HD if they are available. You can bet without the mandate, they’d have found a way to charge you for them but fortunately this is a score one for the consumer, and score one for the cable companies at the same time. So essentially the “local advantage” is still alive and well in cable TV land and it’s not going away anytime soon.

DIRECTV typically doesn’t carry smaller market’s CW or myTV network channels in HD yet either (they do carry their standard definition versions however) and sometimes even PBS is missing in HD as well. They have commited to providing nationwide expansion of PBS networks, though, and in some cases you can even get CW or myTV from other cities if you market doesn’t have one thanks to “neighboring local channels”

You can always check what is offered at your exact address by visiting http://www.directv.com/locals to find what local channels you’d be offered–in both HD and SD. You can also visit this special page to determine what local sports networks DIRECTV would provide for you as well.

As for nationally-available networks thanks to the highly-publicized NFL Network vs. Cable Companies debacle this year (and last year, too) we are all well aware that while the cable companies hold back channels from consumers while they feed us the, “we’re working to make sure our customers get the best deal…”, DIRECTV continues to offer said networks without issue. And at the end of the day, the customer doesn’t care about contract negotiations; they care that they can watch the game. This is becoming all to common a practice with these guys, too.

Sports Pay-Per-View used to sway to the cable guys, too (with the exception of DIRECTV’s strong-hold on NFL Sunday Ticket) but DIRECTV has taken charge and offers the best sports pay-per-view by far, now. All of their channels are dedicated so the annoying hockey vs. MLB issue is a thing of the past. They offer HD games that cable just can’t offer, and they do it cheaper than the cable guys can to boot. This is just no contest here, I’m paying $219 this year for MLB Extra Innings with the “Super Fan” package and that includes HD games, Game Mix (8 games on 1 screen) and a dedicated baseball talk channel called “Strike Zone”. DIRECTV also already guaranteed carriage of MLB’s new baseball channel in 2009 as well. The SD only package is $169 with DIRECTV this year, and I paid over $200 with cable last year for shared channels with NHL (which was OK by me actually as I love hockey too) and zero HD channels. On top of all this, their digital feeds looked atrocious last year (worse than the year before even) and no doubt it’s a by-product of their ever-famous bandwidth issues. Maybe they’ll move the package to SDV soon so CableCard customers can lose that, too.

Speaking of sports, DIRECTVs HD offering for local sports networks is outstanding as well. This comes from their need to carry these channels in HD anyway for their sports pay-per-view packages so you benefit from your local RSN in HD because they carry them for out-of-market PPV anyway. For example, in New York alone they carry YES-HD, Sports Net NY, FSN-NY and MSG all in HD. Another nice bonus DIRECTV has always done well in is RSN-alternates, where your local cable company will only carry ESPN and ESPN2, DIRECTV will put ESPN alternates online when multiple games are available to you. They’ll extend this courtesy for local RSNs as well, showing Devils, Rangers and Islanders games on FSN-NY-alternate and MSG-alternate feeds as well in the Albany area.

Premium channels are highly dependent on what your local cable company decides to provide but where DIRECTV loses out is on-demand premiums. On-demand is typically useless, commercial-laden, out-of-date material but in the case of on-demand premiums that’s not usually the case. DIRECTV does, however, offer a much more extensive PPV offering with many more HD versions that any cable company (ahem, bandwidth) so if you watch movies, DIRECTV is a clear winner—if you watch premium channel series, cable is probably a better choice for now until DIRECTV can go national with their on-demand services, at which point we’ll have to evaluate their content partners.

Finally, with HD content, hands down DIRECTV takes the cake here. 94 national networks (all of them useful, too, unlike some other players in the satellite TV arena) and local HD networks in 75% of the country and most of the time, they are hard to beat the picture quality. From a technical standpoint all of DIRECTV’s new MPEG-4 digital video (most of the HD content) is far and away superior to cable’s HD content and even rivals over-the-air HD. And don’t forget if you want to watch channel 6 in HD, you go to channel 6, not 1806. Bonus.

Pricing

Once it comes time to compare prices, and I’m not talking any incentives here—both guys undercut like crazy for 6 months or a year—it does get a little closer to judge. Of course you can talk about inherent value, etc., but I’m talking the raw numbers here. Both guys are gonna make it tough to compare, and I’m not going to be able to help you much here as so many cable companies package stuff differently to help hide the numbers but you’re not alone.

Pull out that last cable bill, look at the bottom line, then price out a DIRECTV alternative and you’ll quickly see that 9 out of 10 times you’re going to save $5-10 minimum and sometimes much more if you do things like ditch cable internet for DSL or if you already pay for premium channels and DVRs which tend to be quite a bit more expensive with cable companies as well ($10/mo vs. $5/mo. here for example for DVRing). $10/mo. is $120/year, or $180 over the length of an 18-month contract and take into account that’s before the incentives you’ll get as a new customer and it’ll be very competitive. Gone are the days of satellite TV being the “premium priced” alternative to cable TV.

One thing is for sure, it’s worth doing the research to see because it’s not 2004 anymore and while you were writing out that check every month, a company has been working to try and get your business and stumbled on a very appealing offering in the process.