MSN vs TMC in Dallas
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15 years
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I will be moving from the backwoods of Louisiana to the big city of Dallas in less than a month. I don't know my way around so I will be buying my first gps next week. I've done the research, checked the reviews and decided to get a Garmin with real-time traffic capability.
I only need traffic, but if I can get traffic, weather and gas prices from MSN cheaper than traffic alone from Clear Channel - Well, that's a no-brainer. More bang for the buck is the American Way.
My problem is: Which provider is best in the Dallas area? Do the guys who only do traffic do the better job at traffic? Is that why they charge more? So many questions. I know that this topic has been covered in other posts and the concensus seems to be that it all depends on where you live.
I'm looking for people on both sides of the fence in Dallas. Which provider do you use and why?
On the other hand, if both providers give poor service in Dallas, then I'll save money and go with a gps that doesn't get traffic updates.
Thanks
Mike
I find TMC much better in and around Dallas
I have used Nuvi 660 (TMC), two 680s (MSN), and (currently) 780 (MSN) over the last year and a half.
My personal experience is that the radius of MSN services is VERY limited in Dallas metro area, since it does not ever cover/update in McKinney and Frisco area. While travelling on Hwy 75 (central), I would be literally idling in traffic at 5pm, and it would not update many times. Even at 5pm, it would only show very few red areas all over in DFW. Please note that I have used three different MSN receivers. I can honestly recall only one time, when the MSN service advised me of a detour on the way back from downtown due to an accident in the middle of the night. Guess what, I opted not to follow the directions, kept driving on the highway, and did not even have to slow down. Either it was old information, or was inaccurate.
The update of other features (weather, gas prices, movies, etc) takes forever. Even that information is not complete. For example, after a 20 minutes download, it would have the movies listing from Ft. Worth theaters, but doesn't even have the Cinemark Legacy Plano (on central) in the list (where I go 2-4 times a month), let alone the movie times. Couple of time in the past, when I decided to get the cheapest gas by utilising the information provided by the lovely MSN service, the mom'n'pop gas station did not even exist.
On the contrary, TMC only offers traffic service and it does a WONDERFUL job. Within 5 minutes of plugging in the relatively uglier receiver around rush hour, the whole DFW map is covered with red, yellow and little bit of green reflecting the intensity of traffic on different roads. Then the GPS would always try to take detours, mostly using the access roads. My only gripe with TMC is that it does not account for the waiting time at the signals on those access roads, since they would go from red to green like 4-5 times, before I would be able to get through.
In a nutshell, I feel that TMC service is way superior in Dallas metro, both in terms of the covered area/radius and quality of traffic data. And the bangs of MSN, please....!!!
By the way, I will be testing the TMC cable with my 780 later today, as it was at least compatible with 680 model. If it shows me the traffic, you may find a like new MSN direct receiver cable offered by me on eBay next week. Instead of "bang for the bucks", I will opt for bucks for the (cable with) bangs
Hope this helps.
Moon
PS: BTW Mike, you will get to know all the above mentioned highways, and welcome to the big D
Thanks for the help -- MSN
Thanks for the help -- MSN is out.
Mike