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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsComcast Cable, UVerse (AT&T), Direct TV or Dish Network?
I'm moving in two weeks and have the option of getting one of those. What would you suggest, if you've had one or more of those services?
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)I had Dish Network for a couple of years, but I was sick of losing reception everytime it rained or became heavily overcast. Though I saw on the news that Comcast was raising its rates in Oct., and I am considering downgrading some of the service, like discontinuing my phone and going with MagicJack. My sister has it and totally satisfied with the phone service and it only costs pennies per month.
ohiosmith
(24,262 posts)NV Whino
(20,886 posts)U-verse used DirecTV as the TV provider. Satellite is not as good as cable.
See who has the best packages and how long you can lock in the deal.
caraher
(6,279 posts)I had it briefly and moved. When I returned their equipment via the shipping boxes they provided, they claimed they never received it (even though I had delivery confirmation and the name of the person who signed for it upon delivery). I spent at least 10 hours on the phone trying to resolve this to no avail. They billed me for not returning equipment, and even after being told it was taken care of received correspondence threatening to trash my credit report as a non-payer. Finally I called my state's consumer protection division and AT&T somehow managed to extract their collective cranium from their anus.
They're crooks.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)My internet speed, even for the package I paid extra for, was slow. Programming was about the same as all the others on the TV side so if TV is more important than internet you might have a different opinion of them. There were things I liked about their cable box but the biggest annoyance was, unlike Brighthouse, their box did not have a clock on it. We originally had Brighthouse and left them for what should have been a cheaper and faster package at ATT but ATT couldn't consistently deliver the internet speed advertised and the prices crept up until we noticed we could go back to brighthouse, get pretty much the same channels (all the important ones to us) and get better speeds and an HD DVR box with a clock on it.
I've never known anyone who was _happy_ with satellite - they usually get it because there is no other option. Like my boss who moved from an area where he had Comcast and was very happy with it (again, internet speeds our most important quality) to an area where DirecTV was his only choice. He hates it and begs Brighthouse and/or Comcast to get into his hillbilly heaven as soon as possible. (He loves living out in the country but it's rough for an IT guy to run on a slow-ass satellite connection).
So if it was me I would pick Comcast no questions. Second place would be ATT but I'd gripe about the speed. I'd move before I took Dish or Direct.
angstlessk
(11,862 posts)Local news we get from the computer streaming...We could get a good antenna and have over air TV for local channels...
GermanDem
(168 posts)We ditched the dish over a year ago, and never looked back! You can get many TV shows the next day on hulu plus for less than 10 bucks a month. Netflix is great, too! We have a Roku box in the bedroom, but haven't used it much, we stream everything through our PS3 in the living room. If you don't have a PS3, the Roku box is great. We are saving $100 a month! But you will need a fast internet connection! Through a cheap antenna, we get several local channels in HD.
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)femmocrat
(28,394 posts)We got DirecTV and have been fairly happy with it. We get a "million" channels, but way too many of them are garbage. Sometimes the signal goes out when the weather is bad, but not for very long.
Their customer service has been very good when we had a problem or wanted to upgrade. One thing that we liked was the free DVR (we have two now). Also, they occasionally have free Cinemax, Starz, or Universal Sports (varies) on the weekends.
serqet
(30 posts)unless you like skips, pauses and image pixelations at least several times in every show, whether live or recorded.
some days it is so bad we cant watch tv st all...we are saving up to gi back to the only thing we hate more... Time Warner
ceile
(8,692 posts)Turns out the original installer didn't cover the lines- the box where all the lines met was exposed to the elements. Once it was covered we didn't have any more issues.
ceile
(8,692 posts)Had it for about 2+ years now. Fast internet, getting UVerse 300 for a steal (always ask for their curent specials- they have some really good ones), customer service is great, never have any signal issues...
Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)Outages, usually late at night, have averaged less than one a year over nine years.
I had a mid-tier cable package at the time of the digital changeover but gradually dropped it as the programming got worse and worse. My basic-basic package (which they do not advertise but which they have to give you if you ask for it) includes local channels, CNN, TBS, Univision, shopping channels (boo hiss!) and public access, which is the usual mixed bag except that three of the public access channels are NASA, NHK World (Japan's English language service), and MHz Worldview (which carries foreign news programs in English and international dramas in the evening).
For everything else, I use a Roku to stream Netflix, Hulu Plus, and a few free channels. I have more content available than I have time to watch.
All cable and satellite providers are pigs. The only question is how to minimize your exposure to the garbage.
MrsBrady
(4,187 posts)i had to go with
Charter in my new neighborhood...
and had to give up my ATTUverse...
I had internet only...but still....
I would rather have slit my wrists than go with cable,
but it was my only option, as there is no fibre run in
my neighborhood.
and i just don't like to use satellites...bad weather, they go out.
physioex
(6,890 posts)I like the fact you get HDNET, and RT, I don't get that with Comcast.
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)Cable for internet, UVerse for TV. My cable internet was ( is ) fast fast fast. Cable TV was OK but with frequent outages. Having both from the same provider was expensive; good customer service though. I tried UVerse TV and internet figuring the promised internet speed was acceptable given the lower rate compared to cable. Well the internet speed was sporadic, only occasionally as good as advertised, but mostly only half ( advertised was 24M, which I got rarely but I mostly got 9-12M ) but the TV and DVR was/is glitch free. Went back to cable for my internet ( 29-30M solidly ) and UVerse for TV. Still slightly less than what I was paying originally.
sebass355
(1 post)Hey I'm trying to do something similar at my house however its seems like comcast won't give me internet alone or at least its not trying to. Was it difficult for you to get comcast and at&t to give you the service separate? Comcast want to charge me a lot for internet alone like 6 mbps for $50!How'd you make out? Note: I do realize its an old post so hopefully things haven't gotten more expensive for you... Cheers
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)Time Warner. Just internet no problem. I later ended up springing for the ultimate 55mbps deal. I know TW is unpopular but at least where I am the service is relaiable and the customer service/repair is very good.
cstanleytech
(26,334 posts)because if you want to use it you need an internet connection so to be honest as much as it sucks I would probably say go with comcast as their on demand was fairly decent when I had them.