FINE TUNING.

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

Time was, you had only one way to tune into TV: An antenna. Then came cable. And for years that was it.

Now there's satellite, too. Not just for remote rural dwellers, but for city folk.

And there are mounds of new technological gear to help you out, no matter which route you go.

The result: TV service, once a simple proposition, can be incredibly complex.

Ask Chuck Fee of Eugene. He and his Francophile girlfriend tune into French language programs on an 80-inch projection TV he bought on eBay. He gets his TV signal from a pair of satellite dishes and, thanks to the Tivo digital video recorder he bought four years ago, he can pause live television and record hours of his programmes favorite (that's French for favorite programs).

There are limits to Fee's technological cocoon, however. He has yet to upgrade from standard definition to high-definition TV (HDTV)

The growth of satellite television has broken the monopoly once enjoyed by the cable companies, and it's pushed TV service providers to offer more options. It's no longer just a matter of who offers more channels for less money. Now it's about HD and Video on Demand (VOD), digital video recorders (DVRs), interactive TV and high speed Internet service.

Weeding through the options - in Eugene-Springfield, that means picking between the three major TV service providers: cable company Comcast, and satellite firms Dish Network and DirecTV - can be a headache.

The basics

An antenna is the cheapest way to go. It's free, after you buy the antenna. But you don't get much in the way of programming. Just a handful of over-the-air channels.

Opt for anything more, and the choices become complicated.

Want high speed Internet service with your TV service? Comcast cable is probably your best bet.

Cable, unlike satellite, also provides high-definition service without the hassle of an extra antenna.

If you don't want a dish on the side of your house and don't mind buying or renting a cable box, digital cable is probably for you.

Satellite TV is similar to digital cable, but you'll need to buy a dish antenna and receiver. You can buy the equipment from the satellite company or you may be able to get the hardware for free as part of a promotion from a local satellite retailer.

If you want a bargain and more channels than an antenna will provide, Dish Network offers the cheapest satellite packages. The company also offers the most international programming, but you'll have to pay extra.

Rival satellite provider DirecTV consistently gets the highest marks for customer service and offers a wide array of sports packages.

High-definition enthusiasts may want to consider Voom, a satellite company that offers over 30 HD stations. The service is available through Sears.

But the more research you do, the more thorny the choices become. Here are some complicating factors:

Cable companies have hiked their rates 40 percent over the past five years, according to a study by the General Accounting Office. But analog cable packages still cost less than bargain-basement satellite packages.

Some satellite providers have started to offer their own high speed Internet service.

According to some local DirecTV subscribers who failed to get rebate checks as promised, the company's customer service is not all it's cracked up to be.

According to some TV industry watchers, such as Phillip Swann of TVPredictions.com, Voom may not be long for this world.

Comcast's allure

Daniel Wolf of Springfield is very happy with his Comcast service. He says the picture quality is better than it was with the Dish system he used to have. He subscribes to the Digital Classic package, which costs about $55 a month, plus the Major League Baseball Extra Innings package (also offered by DirecTV and Dish) that allows him to watch lots and lots and lots of baseball. Because he signed on early he receives the baseball package for a reduced rate of $129 per season.

Wolfe says Comcast responded promptly to a recent service request and followed up when the problem wasn't fixed, by sending two technicians to his house. Another reason for subscribing to cable, he says, is the Oregon Sports Network channel, which offers re-runs of some University of Oregon football and basketball games.

Direct talk

Bill Hass of Cottage Grove loves his DirecTV satellite system and he hasn't minded not having local network programming (DirecTV just started offering local channels on June 10 for an extra $3 a month).

Hass used to subscribe to Charter Cable, the Paul Allen-owned cable franchise holder in Cottage Grove and a number of other rural Oregon areas. But he switched to satellite because he was unhappy with the picture quality of cable.

Hass subscribes to DirecTV's Total Choice Plus package, plus a block of several HBO channels. He pays about $53 a month.

Dishing it up

Fee describes himself as a happy convert from cable to Dish. A fan of French programs, he made the switch after Comcast moved its lone international channel onto a higher priced channel tier.

Fee considered DirecTV, but opted for Dish because the service offers more international programming. He subscribes to Dish's America's Top 120 package. He also receives TV5, a French language network that costs an extra $10 a month and requires a second satellite dish. His total monthly bill is about $45 a month.

But to pick the right service, you need to know your technical tastes. Important issues include:

High Definition: The Federal Communications Commission has set Dec. 31, 2006 as a target date for TV broadcasters to transform their signals from analog to high definition (HD). The date will be extended in areas where 85 percent of the population does not have the capability to receive HD signals, and some are guessing the transformation won't occur nationwide until 2014.

High definition is a digital TV signal that offers five times more resolution than standard definition plus CD-quality surround sound. It can be received with an antenna and tuner or through your cable or satellite box, but you must have an HD-ready TV set.

Does this mean we'll all have to throw away our non-HD TVs in 2007? No, but if we use non-HD TVs, we'll have to buy a box that converts the HD signal into one our old analog TVs can use.

Some consumers are starting to buy HD-ready TVs, most of which require additional HD tuners or cable/satellite boxes with tuners. About half the TVs sold at Video Only in Eugene are HD ready, says manager Chris Lindsey.

Mike Kalish of Eugene bought into the HD revolution. He purchased a 50-inch Samsung HD monitor for $4,000 from Circuit City and subscribed to Comcast's Digital Platinum package with a high definition cable box. He receives high definition feeds of ESPN, HBO, Showtime and several other channels. Unlike satellite HD boxes, which require an antenna for network programming, Kalish gets

CAPTION(S):

Don Eckenrode has 24 video cassette recorders and 13 television sets. He uses an elaborate system he invented to tape a half-dozen programs a day. Chuck Fee of Eugene has a projection TV that casts an 80-inch image. He gets his programming, including the French language network TV5, from Dish Network satellite service.