Cable vs. Dish

[JRC]

What do you recommend?
What do you have?

My (ahem) free RCN cable has finally given up the ghost and I guess I'll have to (shudder) pay for TeeVee. And I guess I'll get HBO.

[jimfath]

I have Dish network. Previously I had Direct TV and switched because I got a free DVR for signing up. I have no complaints about either..... During HEAVY snow and rain the signal goes out for a few minutes at a time... sometimes the precipitation might not even be outside but directly south...Oddly enough when I had Comcast the service went out a lot more with little explanation. It could be perfectly sunny. That might have been a local wiring issue but I'm not sure why.

I gave up on Comcast 3 years ago when they sent a felon to install my service and wouldn't include Comedy Central in their Basic package. Couple that with my internet going out every night at 1 am for a second or two (not a big deal unless you are updating websites like me) and them cranking down the bandwidth at times... they're currently beings sued for this. It's typically cranked down on P2P transactions only... I never used the On-demand stuff but I have heard that can be nice. Still in it's early stages... it's the future of TV.

With Dish network I get HD channels and a free DVR... I am really spoiled by it. I literally sometimes feel the pension to try and rewind something at TV's at Bars because I'm so used to that feature. I haven't shopped around since I signed up... That was a year ago.. I'm sure the specials have changed.

I'd give Dish network a 4 out of 5 for what I use it for. Your milage may vary.

[goody]

My (ahem) free RCN cable has finally given up the ghost and I guess I'll have to (shudder) pay for TeeVee. And I guess I'll get HBO.

RCN just went completely digital, no more anaolg signal thru their cable. We found out the hard way and missed Project Runway and Lost this week because we didn't pick up a converter yet. The bonus is I think for what we pay currently for Tivo we can get an HD DVR box which will be boss. Boss!

On cable vs. dish, I'm happy with my RCN but haven't always been.

I just started writing my trials and tribs with RCN but realized it would be too long. The moral of the story was it sucked, we hounded them to fix it for 6 - 8 months and now our service is great.

So, maybe ask your neighbors how their service is and go with whoever seems to be good in your hood.

And like Jim said, all cable contractors seem to be soon to be felons, felons or freshly released prisoners getting back on their feet.

[bigdaddyraq]

What do you recommend?
What do you have?

My (ahem) free RCN cable has finally given up the ghost and I guess I'll have to (shudder) pay for TeeVee. And I guess I'll get HBO.


I feel your pain as the same thing happened to me.

I just ordered Direct TV and got a deal of 200 channels plus free HBO, Showtime & Cinemax for free for 3 months for a total of $49.95/month.
When ordering I asked why I should get the satellite through them instead of going through Costco and the gave me another $10 off!

If you call Direct TV they will negotiate on price & service.

The downside was that I have to wait until 3/4 for them to install it and I ordered it on 2/24.

[Edison]

I've had Dish Network for a couple of years now and I'm pretty happy with it.
The menu is an easy read, and the (free) DVR is super user-friendly.

Lately I've noticed that the middle tier channel package (the one most get of the 3 offered) has been including more channels (Boomerang, Sleuth, History, DIY, etc). It's not a 'free preview' situation, it's permanent and I'm liking it.

Like Jim said, during heavy snow you can lose your signal, but it's been pretty rare for me (..and even then, I've simply gone out on my roof and brushed off the accumulated snow to get my signal back.)
My gf has Direct TV. I don't like the menu display as much, but they do offer a couple of channels that Dish doesn't, including the Chiller channel.

It might be worth checking out both Direct TV and Dish packages. They're not exactly the same.

[Biddle]

If anyone doesn't mind discussing numbers, can we get some information about cost for these services? I feel like my roommate and I are being ass-raped by Comcast. Nearly $180 a month for cable/2 DVRs/HBO/ Showtime/Starz & Encore/ Middle Tier Cable Channel Package/ internet access. That seems like A LOT for the service that we receive.

How does that stack up to you guys?

[jimfath]

With Dish Network I pay

$45.99 for Programming (200 Choice plan ((Middle of the road))
$5.00 for local programming
$20.00 for HD
-$5 discount thru AT&T DSL
---------------------
$65.00 + tax

With their DVR you can run it through two TV's at once. Which is Very Nice. You can record two different shows at the same time and there is only the one box with two different remotes. They both dont' have to be HD either...

It's $5 for each additional box. Like the DVR though one box can be used on two different sets. So if you had 4 TV's you'd only need one Additional box. I'm sure it would be more if you wanted an additional DVR.

[Carr]

I have Comcast. I used to have Satelite, and it went out whenever the weather was bad, and then it broke completly, plus my landlady threw a fit about where they had to put up the dish. It was really awfull all around. I like my Comcast much better. I have On Demand and my recordo-gizmo and all.



Erin

[Biddle]

Jim,

Does that include DSL? Or is that separate.

It is shameful that my cable bill is 3 times as expensive as yours. Truly, we are being raped in the asshole.

Monthly.

I also just called Comcast and we're being charged $13.99 a month PER DVR! $26 a month, for a service that other providers give ... FOR FREE!!!

That really grates me cheese.

COB out...

[Chip]

Biddle, I'm pretty sure that price does not include his DSL line. Also, his package probably doesn't include all those premium movie channels like HBO, etc. Add $50 for DSL/Cable and however much a month for premium channels and then compare.

-Chip

[ronaldSteward]

If I were to choose over satellite or a wired version I would personaly choose ADSL, then Cable, then satelite. Simply because ADSL is over telephone which is a priority service and thus repiars will be taken quickly. Follow this with cable (which can be faster) which is not a priority service so if you your cable goes down, it could be down for a while. Leaving satelite in the dust with no benefit that I can think of other than accessibility where you can't have a wired line.

[jimfath]

$24.95 DSL internet (3mb down/1.5mb up) (middle speed)

$9.95 for a phone line.

I don't have HBO or anything extra.

My total bill each month with taxes is $107.00

You'd need an to add $14.99 for HBO, 12.99 for CINEmax and others

Or $22 for 2, or $31 for 3 each month.

[Biddle]

Also, there's the matter of having a phone line to bring DSL into the apartment, isn't there? How much does all of that cost?

When you add a bare-bones minimum phone line, DSL, and movie channels, am I looking at the same cost that I'm paying now for this service?

COB

[Evan]

I am satisfied with Comcast, but I do feel they are expensive.

I currently have 2 HD DVRs, internet, middle-tier package with no premium channels and I pay about $140. Each HD DVR is $13 per month, but I am getting $10 off for a year. Internet is about $50 ($46 for service and a few bucks for modem rental). For a while, I was getting the service for $20 per month, but that promotion ran out.

I found that sometimes I would talk to a Comcast person on the phone and they would work out all these great discounts for me (aforementioned HD DVR discount and internet discount, plus I was getting HBO/Showtime for nothing for a while), but when these run out and I call to complain, I usually get unsympathetic people. Earlier, if I said I was thinking of switching to something else, they helped me out, and now they seem to tell me that they can't offer me the same deal again. I haven't tried for a while, but the last time I gave a rep the "I need to find a way to lower my cable bill" it didn't work out.

Biggest complaint on Comcast is no Big Ten Network. Come on, someone swallow your pride or get less greedy or something. I don't know if the Big Ten or Comcast is more at blame, although tons of other cable systems carry it and Comcast would put it on basic in a heartbeat if they co-owned it instead of Fox, and that just doesn't seem right to me.

What I love is many good HD channels, being able to record 2 HD shows at the same time, and On Demand, which is great when you have a kid.

Also, Consumer Reports puts Comcast near the bottom in nearly every category they rate. According to Consumer Reports, there is something wonderful in a few cities called Verizon FioS. Cable over fiber optic lines. I am hoping Chicago might get that soon.

Evan

[jimfath]

The minimum charge for a landline phone is $9.95 a month. I rarely use it but it is required... for now. The fed made a deal with At&T for some bandwidth. Part of the deal was that they need to no longer require a phone line for DSL internet service..... No telling when that goes into effect. I feel that will finally end the copper phone line network.

...there is something wonderful in a few cities called Verizon FioS. Cable over fiber optic lines. I am hoping Chicago might get that soon.
Evan

Rumor has it (IT Nerds at work) that it might be going live in Arlington Heights soon. Verizon has been upgrading their capacity accross the country.

[Socrates]

i do dish network as well, and have loved it.

when i first moved here i had comcast...and i hated it...

have been with dish for the last 5 years and they will bend over backwards to keep you each time your contract is up.

we have our dish and att seperate because one is under my name (the older account) and the att is under my wife's name...so we dont do the discount

but the pluses of dish is that if you get an HD dvr (assuming you get hd) the recivers can use over the air antennes as well so you can get cw,pbs,and all the other free hd channels that both dish/direct tv dont carry natively...but you can record them with your dvr.

also for a one time 40 dollar fee...you can add as many external hardrives as you want to any off your hd recivers for extra space (the most it supports right now is 750 g) i use if all the time to store shows i have not got around too....i have one hard drive to just keep good movies...

the rub is you can only use it on a dvr in your home set of dvr's but the transfer to the hd is background, and you can watch it from the hd like it was on your dvr, no lag

also you should check out dishes site as they just re did all the packages this month...

edison and jim you might not have notice yet (i had to see this months bill to find it) they switch everyone they could to the advantage packages where all the fees roll into one (channels, locals,dvr,tax) so you only start paying extra on top of the stated price when you add dvr's

the one we do is 49.99
20.00 for the hd ultimate pack
and then i get hbo and showtime (20.00)
i have a second hd dvr (6.00 lease + 5.96 sevice fee)

for a total of 101.95

that was less than last month on the old plan

and if you get it...some one that already had dish can give you a deal where you get free stuff and they do as well

anthony