Home TV/Cable providers

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friendfromlowry

Senior Member

6,239 posts
Feb 26, 2013 1:23 AM
Moving into a new house next week, and I'm shopping around for cable & internet. Just curious as to what everyone uses for these services, ballpark of what they pay, etc. I know it's becoming convenient to abandon cable altogether and just use Hulu plus, Netflix, etc. I considered that, but in the end, I'd prefer to have cable.
I was browsing through TWC's website, and the package I was most likely to select was HD television with DVR, the ultra internet (20Mbps) option, and this came out to $104/month, before tax. I'm guessing that for TWC customers (not sure how popular it is throughout Ohio) this is about average.

Just curious as to what everyone else uses?
Feb 26, 2013 1:23am
G

gut

Senior Member

15,058 posts
Feb 26, 2013 1:27 AM
Comcast XFinity. Really seems to be the best, though perhaps not always the cheapest. You have to look for specials and discounts. Depends on competition, but my 12-month price was @$80 (including HD DVR and HBO and 20mbps internet). Full price is like $130, and not sure if that includes HBO.

I'll play the game. I don't really want to quit Xfinity, but it's certainly not worth upwards of $50/mo.
Feb 26, 2013 1:27am
F

friendfromlowry

Senior Member

6,239 posts
Feb 26, 2013 1:36 AM
FWIW, the two most important things to me are decent internet speeds and having DVR. Right now, we don't have DVR, and the internet is God awful slow and unable to stream anything. I work nights so I miss a lot of shows.
Feb 26, 2013 1:36am
G

gut

Senior Member

15,058 posts
Feb 26, 2013 1:42 AM
friendfromlowry;1396140 wrote:FWIW, the two most important things to me are decent internet speeds and having DVR. Right now, we don't have DVR, and the internet is God awful slow and unable to stream anything. I work nights so I miss a lot of shows.
And that's why Xfinity is so great - you can get almost all of the recent episodes for free thru OnDemand. TWC has the same thing. Only difference vs. DVR is fast forward is a couple notches slower, and new shows can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days (a week in some cases) to show-up in the OnDemand. But then you go online and there's and even bigger catalog, often with entire past seasons. Main difference between the two is I believe XFinity has quite a bit larger catalogue.

HBOGo (which is separate, obviously) has pretty much every past episode of all their original series.

Just choose based on price. Service-wise (actual cable/internet) I don't think there is much difference.
Feb 26, 2013 1:42am
F

friendfromlowry

Senior Member

6,239 posts
Feb 26, 2013 3:02 AM
I entered my address on their site and it stated their service wasn't available in my area. I'm moving to a neighborhood in Beavercreek, about 10 miles east of Dayton. I might have to call and doublecheck that's actually true about their service.
Feb 26, 2013 3:02am
believer's avatar

believer

Senior Member

8,153 posts
Feb 26, 2013 4:55 AM
Charter "Internet Plus" service 30 Mbps @ $50/month. No cable TV. I use Netflix, Hulu, and ESPN3 and there are plenty of other free streaming sites available.

The 30 Mbps is plenty fast enough for streaming.

If I want to watch "real" TV I use an OTA rabbit ears antenna to pull in all the major networks from Nashville in true HD....not the "dumbed-down" HD provided by a cable hook-up.

Cable and satellite dishes are over-priced and overrated.
Feb 26, 2013 4:55am
hasbeen's avatar

hasbeen

Excuse me, Flo?

6,504 posts
Feb 26, 2013 7:26 AM
I have ATT UVerse and I love it. Not sure if it's available to you, but the internet is great and we get a ton of channels.
Feb 26, 2013 7:26am
BORIStheCrusher's avatar

BORIStheCrusher

drunk

1,893 posts
Feb 26, 2013 8:07 AM
hasbeen;1396171 wrote:I have ATT UVerse and I love it. Not sure if it's available to you, but the internet is great and we get a ton of channels.
This, UVerse is awesome.
Feb 26, 2013 8:07am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Feb 26, 2013 9:59 AM
We had DirecTV for the last 4 years or so but just dropped it for antenna. We paid $100 a month for one of the higher tiers but it was no longer worth it. Service was fine we just no longer felt the need to pay to watch tv anymore. We pay $45 for Roadrunner and have had no problems.
Feb 26, 2013 9:59am
T

thavoice

Senior Member

14,376 posts
Feb 26, 2013 10:05 AM
Before you get anything do a simple hookup of the TV to the cable and see if it works......You could end up with free cable as they may have done a drive by disconnect. Sure you may not get all the cool stuff ya wanted but free is better! and ya could find other ways to get the cool stuff ya may need. Friend of mine just moved into his house in December and is living off free cable...
Feb 26, 2013 10:05am
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Feb 26, 2013 11:20 AM
I think TWC's HD/TV service sucks. Internet is good, though I think they throttle video pretty hard.
Feb 26, 2013 11:20am
M

MontyBrunswick

Feb 26, 2013 12:06 PM
TWC doesn't throttle.

Also, your input options in Beavercreek/Dayton age basically ATT Uverse, Time Warner, or satellite.
Feb 26, 2013 12:06pm
Pick6's avatar

Pick6

A USA American

14,946 posts
Feb 26, 2013 12:08 PM
WebFire;1396433 wrote:I think TWC's HD/TV service sucks. Internet is good.
this. Hate their cable, but have had no problem's with their internet.
Feb 26, 2013 12:08pm
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Feb 26, 2013 12:09 PM
dlazz;1396486 wrote:TWC doesn't throttle.

Also, your input options in Beavercreek/Dayton age basically ATT Uverse, Time Warner, or satellite.
Link?

Youtube videos struggle to load when your speedtest shows 30 Mb. Does it all the time and pisses me off. HD, non-HD, 30 seconds, 30 minutes. Doesn't matter.
Feb 26, 2013 12:09pm
Pick6's avatar

Pick6

A USA American

14,946 posts
Feb 26, 2013 12:11 PM
WebFire;1396489 wrote:Link?

Youtube videos struggle to load when your speedtest shows 30 Mb. Does it all the time and pisses me off. HD, non-HD, 30 seconds, 30 minutes. Doesn't matter.
I dont have any problems with streaming. Maybe its your router.
Feb 26, 2013 12:11pm
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Feb 26, 2013 12:11 PM
[video=youtube;CB8UADuVM5A][/video]
Feb 26, 2013 12:11pm
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Feb 26, 2013 12:12 PM
Pick6;1396497 wrote:I dont have any problems with streaming. Maybe its your router.
My router does no throttling. And even direct off their connection it does the same thing. People on the internet bitch about it a lot.
Feb 26, 2013 12:12pm
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Feb 26, 2013 12:13 PM
Pick6;1396497 wrote:I dont have any problems with streaming. Maybe its your router.
And it could vary depending on location and how busy a particular circuit is.
Feb 26, 2013 12:13pm
M

MontyBrunswick

Feb 26, 2013 12:56 PM
It's not TWC throttling, it's just poor routing on Youtube/TWC's part.

Try changing your DNS settings on your router and see if it makes a difference.

Change them from "Automatic" to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

I noticed a lot of the time I'll get slow buffering on YT videos and if I turn the video quality UP it'll hit a different server and quickly buffer it.
Feb 26, 2013 12:56pm
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Feb 26, 2013 1:21 PM
dlazz;1396567 wrote:It's not TWC throttling, it's just poor routing on Youtube/TWC's part.

Try changing your DNS settings on your router and see if it makes a difference.

Change them from "Automatic" to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

I noticed a lot of the time I'll get slow buffering on YT videos and if I turn the video quality UP it'll hit a different server and quickly buffer it.
Yeah I'd thought about trying different DNS servers. I'll give a go. Problem is, most users won't have a clue how to do this.
Feb 26, 2013 1:21pm
M

MontyBrunswick

Feb 26, 2013 1:24 PM
WebFire;1396595 wrote:Yeah I'd thought about trying different DNS servers. I'll give a go. Problem is, most users won't have a clue how to do this.
Don't have to do it on the router. Can change them on the individual machines too

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Change-TCP-IP-settings
Feb 26, 2013 1:24pm
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Feb 26, 2013 1:34 PM
dlazz;1396598 wrote:Don't have to do it on the router. Can change them on the individual machines too

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Change-TCP-IP-settings
But my point still stands. Most home users wouldn't have a clue.
Feb 26, 2013 1:34pm
OSH's avatar

OSH

Kosh B'Gosh

4,145 posts
Feb 26, 2013 1:57 PM
Put me on the list that just has internet. I've had RoadRunner for two years, and had it for a year about 9 years ago. I've never had problems with them and enjoy the service.

My wife wanted something to watch, so we pay $8 a month for Hulu Plus. I have Crackle, Epix, and Vudu for other streaming capabilities. For some reason, ESPN3 or WatchESPN won't allow me to stream through my RoadRunner and xbox. I think they require some sort of cable package to do that. I do know some have started doing that.

All my sports stuff, I stream online. I don't watch tv, mainly just watch movies.
Feb 26, 2013 1:57pm
M

MontyBrunswick

Feb 26, 2013 2:26 PM
WebFire;1396602 wrote:But my point still stands. Most home users wouldn't have a clue.

I agree
Feb 26, 2013 2:26pm