Canceling/changing AT&T Direct TV Cable
Lars
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
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I dumped cable TV - very long technical report
Comments (21)I'm coming full circle. When we moved to Portland 8 years ago, I got Comcast triple play (voice, TV, internet) for $115, it was such a good deal! Well, over time it went up and up and last year, when it was $230 or so, I dropped voice and replaced it with a $12 extra line with our cellular carrier. That took the Comcast bill from $230/mo to $130/mo This weekend I dropped TV, something my kids have been telling me to do, since we hardly ever watch cable TV. That takes my Comcast bill to $95/mo for just 50 MB/s internet. I will also drop my TiVo service at $15/mo. I can reduce it to $85/mo by downgrading to 25 MB/s internet, or I can drop Comcast entirely and get internet from our local telco. They charge $80/mo for 40 MB/s, but there is a 1 year introductory $30/mo price, and I'm told they extend that for another year if you call and state your intention to drop. We are paying for $16/mo for Netflix and Hulu Plus. I might subscribe to an online sports streaming service for another $10/mo. In the summer, I might pay $30 to watch the Tour de France online. TL:DR version - "I was paying $245/mo for Comcast + TiVo, I am now $123/mo for Comcast + Netflix + Hulu + a cellular home phone, and I can get it to $58/mo for telco internet 1-or-2-year deal + Netflix + Hulu + cellular home phone." I will spend about $200 one-time for a used modem, Roku, cables to connect Mac to TV, maybe an OTA antenna. We are still figuring out the limitations of Netflix and Hulu. For example, my son asked how he could watch the current season of Doctor Who. Turns out that BBC UK streams it but only to the UK, and by going through a free proxy server in the UK, you can watch it in the US....See MoreAnyone Out There With DirectTV
Comments (31)Looks like DTV is trying; they added a Disney Jr channel today; also did something with baseball. I'm liking Viacom less & less every day... On its own page, Viacom took a bit of a cheap shot Wednesday afternoon, posting an image of Nickelodeon cartoon favorite SpongeBob SquarePants with this text: "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? I don't know. I have DirecTV." DTV If this dispute were over pennies, it wouldnt be happening. We dont think a $1 billion bonus to buy channels whose ratings are faltering is any pittance. Contrary to what Viacom has been saying, they indeed have been at the center of many programming disputes in the past with Time Warner Cable, Brighthouse Networks, and DISH. Do these spots ring any bells? They sound familiar to us A lot has changed in the seven years since Viacom and DIRECTV last renewed their agreement. More than 5.2 million more families have come to DIRECTV, making it the most popular video provider in the Americas with 19.9 million homes in the U.S. alone. Ratings for many of Viacoms networks have plummeted and Viacom has shunned its pay television businesses to become one of the most prolific providers of free Internet video. Sanford Bernstein reports the one out of every five former Nickelodeon families are watching online. DIRECTV will always pay fair market value for any service, but when performance declines, youre not entitled to a huge raise. Just ask the families were trying to serve. DIRECTV will do what it takes to defend our customers when we believe programmers are trying to take advantage of them. Some channel owners feel theyre entitled to get exorbitant raises every year, even when the value of their programming doesnt warrant it. Whether its Viacom or anyone else, when they try to extract more money from their viewers without justification, they shouldnt be surprised when we push back....See MoreCable/Satellite TV
Comments (33)We have Dish. Have had them for 14 years. We upgraded to the Hopper w/2 joey's. So satellite on 3 TV's. The bill was going to be $100 a month. We called and said we are on a fixed income and CANNOT afford that. They lowered our bill by $30 for a year. Our bill is $66.77 a month. We have 250 channels. We can dvr any show, anytime, and watch it only any of the 3 tv's we have. I have to say, I do love having a dvr. When the year is up, I'll call them again. Our problem is all the channels we like are on the satellite. The only show I really do not ever want to miss on regular channels is Survivor. And if push comes to shove, I can watch it online the next day. Oh, and we dropped our landline years ago. Were very unsure about doing it, but absolutely no regrets at all. We both have a cell phone so our house phone rarely even rang....See MoreDirect TV vs Dish?
Comments (14)I'll try to give you a description but I suggest you look at the website AND call Dish to see if what you have is enough or if something else is required. I have an older Dish box, the model before the Hopper. For my box, the access feature requires what they call a Sling Adapter. The device looks like a flat red plastic rectangular waffle about 6 by 4 inches. It plugs very easily into the USB socket on the settop box and just sits next to it in my cabinet. If I recall, it connects and configures itself. I got it for free as a new customer. Some Hoppers have Slingbox built in, some don't. For ones that don't, I presume the same adapter I use would also work. Remote access is then made using the feature they call DISH Anywhere. You need to sign up for it (it's free) and then can use the web address (like on a PC) to sign on, or equally one of their free custom apps. They have apps available for both the Ipad/Iphone and also for Android. I believe the Apple ipad app also allows you to download programs to an Ipad to watch offline with no internet connection required. There's no monthly charge or charge for use. Once it's set up (which I just described, nothing else required), you can access your setop box from anywhere. You can then watch any current program (as if you were sitting in front of your TV), or you can watch something you've already recorded. Or you can schedule a recording from a future broadcast. Or you can watch a movie on demand. Quality is excellent. I've watched programs when traveling in both Europe and Asia, the only requirement is a fast enough internet connection on the receiving side. My home internet connection is fast. One proviso - you need to have a fast enough internet uplink connection to make it viable outside the house. In general, DSL is too slow but most cable connections are fast enough. If your internet connection is too slow, you could still use it for TV watching anywhere in the house (on any device) over Wifi. We were able to remove a TV from the kitchen (that was used when cooking, not eating) because we have an all-in-one PC on a desk that can be used to watch anything from DISH. Or, if something essential (like a game) is going on when eating, we can put a laptop on the table and watch TV on that. As I said, my kids all save money, not needing to have their own TV services, because they can connect to ours and watch for free (they're all adults and live elsewhere). WIth the equipment I have now, only one connection can be handled at a time but they're good about sharing. I could get an additional box and have an additional connection. I have a few friends with vacation homes and they use the Sling feature as their TV provider at their vacation homes, saving an additional subscription. Good luck, as you can see, I do recommend it, we use it a lot....See MoreLars
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agomaddielee
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3 years agoElmer J Fudd
3 years agonycefarm
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3 years agoElmer J Fudd
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