Satellite Direct: 5/5 Stars | Success Rate: 79% (21% Refunds)
Stream Direct: 3/5 Stars | Success Rate: 67% (33% Refunds) | Note: # of Refunds Rising

Stream Direct vs Satellite Direct - Which One is Better, More Reliable, and Most Entertaining TV on PC & Mac?

by Actual Tester & User - When searching for a good PC Satellite TV software service that can deliver 1,000s of free channels and other types of content to computers, it's important to locate the best out there. It just so happens that Satellite Direct and Stream Direct are the number one and two top brands in that order.

How both products/services differ from one another is in the price, bonuses, number of channels, package, popularity, reliability, entertainment, among other things.

How They Are Similar

In a nutshell, both services help deliver tons of live, on-demand and HD channels such as sports, movies, news, TV shows/sitcoms/episodes and other types of channels from a hundred or so countries. This also includes radio stations and music that are delivered as well.

There's a small one-time fee for the software which is actually a TV player preloaded with thousands of channels with a service package included that keeps everything up to date and like-new.

Both services also offer a lifetime membership that includes tech support, software upgrades, and channel updates. There's also a no-questions-asked, iron-clad 60-day money back guarantee with the payment processor.

That means neither software service handles refunds themselves. Instead, they outsourced that work to a 3rd party payment processor that's more efficient to handle the task.

Other similarities include how free content is delivered. Technology is used to scrape the web's streaming channels, video, radio and music feeds. Subsequently, the free content is put in a database. From there the TV player (actual software) that you purchase is automatically updated.

Members will see the updating of channels in progress inside the player, which usually takes a minute or two to complete whenever the service makes this available.

To make everything work, a desktop or laptop computer with an Internet connection is required – preferably broadband (DSL or High Speed) connection. A wireless (wifi) connection can work but keep in mind that many channels will have larger bandwidths where only a broadband connection can play them.

Both services offer a Windows version and Mac version which make them even more compatible to users and their machines. They also offer a movies and sports version and Stream Direct TV offers a music version as well – but these are extra costs.

Some of the other benefits include: No hardware/equipment to install, no wires to connect, and no subscriptions to pay. Just an easy 1-2-3 setup. You can start watching favorite programs within a few minutes. Simply download and install the software, then point and click to programs you like to watch on your desktop or laptop.

From a legal standpoint, there's no cracking, decoding or descrambling signals that deliver copyrighted content. There are no P2P (Peer-to-Peer) file sharing networks included in the package. The only grey area is linking to content over the free web from open gateways -- some say there's a Government loophole that allows this.

When visiting each website you should read the TOS (Table of Services) that explains the 'Linking to Website/Content' in more detail. Keep in mind that these services have been in business for a number of years, so obviously they appear to know enough not to get shut down legally.

These products also share the same downsides such as some picture blurriness and 'choppy' videos once in awhile when viewing streaming channels from the web. That's why some people prefer to download movies, videos, and TV shows to their computers for better quality.

The point here is expect to receive good to very good picture quality with some occasional sub-par quality (but still viewable). It's highly recommended that you use a broadband connection (DSL or Cable). Key note: The higher the connection speed the better the overall performance including picture quality.

The other downside is some channels will come and go due to different times zones where the free content comes from. So you may have to watch a particular program at a later time. Some broken channel links will occur also but this doesn't relate to most channels that are delivered.

Keep in mind, neither StreamDirect nor Satellite Direct service own the free content that's delivered to you. The content is exactly owned by providers who have full control and will determine when a particular show will be streamed online, which also explains why some channels come and go.

The upside that can offset some of these deficiencies is the updating of free content that is delivered periodically, which removes broken links when adding new channels.

Both Satellite Direct TV and Stream Direct TV are very popular brand names which makes them the most sought after PC Satellite TV software packages online.

So if you are searching for the #1 and #2 applications out their that can deliver everything that was explained previously, you just found them.

How They Differ

Popularity and Reliability. Satellite Direct TV is the #1 most popular brand name worldwide with Stream Direct TV right behind as the #2. There's a large margin between the two but that may be due to how each service differ in their marketing strategy.

The number one service has a track record of being the most reliable. Meaning they have a high success rate with less refunds than most of their competitors. However, because SatelliteDirect has the most monthly global searches and downloads, there's more controversy than what other products/services receive.

StreamDirect is certainly no slouch either but they also get their share of controversy like all the other brands out there. This service is reliable and delivers on it's promise rather well.

Both software applications do work and they are spyware/advare/malware/scam-free, as well as reliable. However, rare issues can occur where the software doesn't work on a computer.

In essence, they will streamline and organize the delivery of tons of streaming content to one location so that you don't have to surf the web to find programs to watch on your PC or Mac. You save time, effort, and avoid aggravation when trying to search for hard to find TV shows.

Sometimes a computer will have a firewall (anti-virus) that interferes or cause these products not to work. But that can be corrected when giving permission to except the application or disable/shut down the firewall temporarily.

Service, Membership & Package. Overall, the clear winner here is StreamDirect TV. In addition to the similarities that were explained earlier, this service offers more bonuses (12 in all) which gives you more bang for the bucks. They also offer free security protection software. SatelliteDirect TV doesn't offer any bonuses. In fact, they don't offer a member's area either.

So it's clear which service wins here (the #2 service) by a long shot. They simply provide a more robust Internet TV experience – meaning you get access to more free content over the web including adult (18+) entertainment. There are plenty of perks in the member's area which is quite attractive and easy to navigate.

TV Player. There are a couple of difference in both TV players developed by each service. Satellite Direct doesn't offer a record feature inside the player and you must notify them if there's a channel you want to add to the player.

Stream Direct, on the other hand, does have a “Record” feature with all the other trimmings that the SatelliteDirect TV player has such as, Play/Stop, Fast Forward/Rewind, Add Favorites and Full Screen, just to name a few.

The interfacing of both TV players are good, very user-friendly, including smooth and fast. All TV channels and radio stations are in alphabetical order and well organized in their respective countries.

There are some minor differences with both players but the greater upside goes to the Stream Direct TV player because of the “Record” feature. Also contained in each player is the optional premium content that comes with an extra charge -- if you want to add more movies or TV shows.

Here are a couple of screenshots on both players to get an insider's view of what they look like and features offered:

Satellite Direct TV Player

Stream Direct TV Player

Success Rate. I mentioned before that Satellite Direct holds the #1 spot in popularity worldwide and has a better success rate (more reliable) than Stream Direct that holds the #2 spot. You wouldn't think so when seeing now who holds the #1 spot and reading some of the complaints online.

Then again, both products/services get their share of thumbs down but the thumbs up are far more greater. Some of the complaints made expressed the software doesn't work, it's a scam, poor picture quality, poor selections of channels, and so on. But SatelliteDirect TV isn't that bad at all and is still the most sought after PC Satellite TV software service online. The same is true for our #2 brand -- things are not as bad as some people claim.

The reason why I know this to be true is because I've conducted my own physical test to see how well both applications performed, and conducted a cast study of users who purchased both software applications and either kept the software or ditched it.

Stream Direct TV vs Satellite Direct TV Case Study

In order for me to provide real facts, I had to sign up and became a member to sale these products. It was the only way I could get access to all the data including sales and refunds transactions. As a result, this data helps you determine things for yourself.

So I created two separate pages, one for the #1 product and the other for the #2 product so that visitors to my other site could get more information about each software. If they click the link that sends them to the official website and make a purchase, then that data becomes part of my case study. What this really means is I have all the daily/monthly/annual data with the total number of sales and refunds when referring visitors to these services/websites who later make a purchase.

During the time I posted this article Satellite Direct had a 79% success rate for the current year. That means it also had a 21% failure rate, which translates to the amount of refund requests by dissatisfied users. Surprisingly enough, this service has an above average success rate that tells you there are more happy users than unhappy ones. See "Refund Rate" in image below

Furthermore, the service has the most number of global searches which is well over 18,000 per month -- considerably more than any of its competitors including Stream Direct TV. So if you consider the worldwide attention the #1 product gets and that it has more sales and downloads, then it should also tell you the 20.61% "Refund Rate" is pretty good.

Stream Direct, on the other hand, has a 68.47% success rate which seems to be climbing. That means the software has a failure rate of 31.53% right now.

In the chart below, it shows the actual number of sales at 111 and number of refunds at 35 for the current year. So if you do the math (35 refunds / 111 sales x 100 = 31.53), then the percentage of refunds (failure rate) is 31.53% with the success rate at 68.47%. I suspect the success rate will become higher over time as it has been gradually for the short period of time I've tested the #2 brand.

Is It A Scam?

No scam here. Just two software products/services that don't live in a perfect world. Unfortunately, some of the misconception is due to misleading websites and reviews that misinform consumers, who tend to believe they will receive all HDTV quality content when that isn't necessarily the case. Or, they will get access to paid premium Satellite/Cable channels.

To be perfectly clear, no one will get access to premium channels like Starz, Prism, and HBO if the software is legal. As far as HD quality goes, at best, you'll receive good to very good quality with some HD or DVD-like quality at times.

What also makes these services not a scam is the money back guarantee, regardless of the outcome. Some people have complained these services don't give refunds which they are right. It's the payment processors these services hire to handle and process all refunds; they are the ones you go to make a refund request.

The proof is in the pudding if you believe the facts that I have given you. Of course the data will change over time but the point is Satellite Direct and Stream Direct are not scams. Both products do work and there is a 60-day money back guarantee in place if you need to request a full refund. If either product doesn't work on your machine or falls short of your expectation, simply submit a request via email or toll-free number and ask for a full refund from the payment processor, not the software vendor.

When reading scam reports and complaints about these services/products be aware of the date they were posted. Anything posted a year ago or more, I'm not too concern about since we all know that in many cases products are upgraded and issues resolved that go unannounced. Negative reports will stay on websites forever and if you didn't know any better, you would believe everything you read.

As for recent negative reports (1 year or less) you should give more attention. In all likelihood, you probably don't have the time to post a comment asking the disgruntled person to explain things in more details. When someone hears the word (SCAM!) online, generally they panic and believe what they've heard without validation, and off they go elsewhere.

From my own experience, I learned to do my own due diligence and research everything myself to get to the truth. You, on the other hand, my not have the time to do this on your own. Because I am a product reviewer and tester of these products and have more time on my hands, I can give you important information to help narrow your search.

The only advice I can give you is to try Satellite Direct or Stream Direct yourself as many others have. These products don't live in a perfect world and very rarely do they not work on a computer. If you haven't read my previous posts, you should do so.

Does It Work?

Here's living proof from users who made a video demo showing the software (TV player) in action. Since both services have players that are similar with just a few variations, only one brand will be demonstrated...

For More Information...

To Visit the Official Satellite Direct Website for PC/Mac Users - CLICK HERE

To Visit the Official Stream Direct Website for PC Users - CLICK HERE

Satellite Direct vs Stream Direct (And the Winner is!...). There is no clear winner here. It's a matter of what's most important. If you put more value into best success track record and reliability, then Satellite Direct is clearly the winner. But if you are looking for the best of Web TV entertainment with more bang for your bucks, then Stream Direct is the clear winner.

Hopefully, this comparison review helped you in some way. If you are ready to download one of these software packages, see below...

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