Author Topic: We ditched the cable company. (Read 1613 times)

DalesCarpentry · « **on:** February 23, 2009, 01:10:03 PM »

We ditched the cable company and got Direct TV. They installed the dish today. Seems pretty neat so far. The picture is much clearer. One of the really cool channels is one they call SPMN I think it stands for sportsmen. I can now watch hunting and fishing anytime. I have never had a channel like this and think it's great. Do any of you have this channel or Direct TV? We get a bunch more channels for a lot less money. Dale

wareagleguy · « **Reply #1 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:15:37 PM »

606 is the Outdoor Channel
608 is the Hunt channel

Graybeard · « **Reply #2 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:16:29 PM »

You WILL REGRET that decision. Should have asked here first as usual rather than jumping the gun and going off with less info than you need.

Direct TV is all I have had available here since moving here. It STINKS. When it rains you lose the signal. When it rains in NJ where the signal is propagated it goes off. You'll pay twice as much as you'd pay for the same service on cable.

I've been fighting with the local cable folks for years and finally within the next 45 days or so I get to dump my satellite dishes and go to cable again. I can't wait for that day.

You just screwed up ROYALLY.

Oldshooter · « **Reply #3 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:27:04 PM »

Quote from: Graybeard on February 23, 2009, 01:16:29 PM

It STINKS. When it rains you lose the signal. When it rains in NJ where the signal is propagated it goes off. You'll pay twice as much as you'd pay for the same service on cable.

Thats my main complaint, I'm in the same boat its all we can get here in the woods. And I wont spend the big bucks for the premium channels and thats where the good stuff is.

Siskiyou · « **Reply #4 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:28:06 PM »

The quality of service might depend on location. My daughters family has direct and I have not heard any issues. I have the basic plus local Dish package and signel delivery is okay, the package is poor and has been showing price creep. Had cable years ago and they were retransmitting local TV off an antenna which was poor. My big antenna was better.

DalesCarpentry · « **Reply #5 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:28:34 PM »

Quote from: wareagleguy on February 23, 2009, 01:15:37 PM

606 is the Outdoor Channel
608 is the Hunt channel

Wow thanks you just pointed me to another great channel 608 that is. I don't get 606 the Outdoor channel it must not be included in our package. Now I have 2 great channels to watch.
GB Good luck with the cable. They have raised their rates here to the point where it is hard to pay for it and we often times loose cable here also. There was one year it went out in the 4TH quarter of a Steeler game during the playoffs. Dale

Graybeard · « **Reply #6 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:35:29 PM »

I pay $94 and change for Direct TV and have ONLY Starz for a premium package. I pay $80 I think it is for my internet connection and am paying for the same speed Matt does on cable but at his place pages loaded 30 times as fast as for me here. I pay $38 for local phone service plus extra for long distance.

With Cable I can get more than I do now and cover it all for what I pay for my TV service alone or go to the super premium package and get grossly faster internet than the standard package Matt has and cover all of it for less than $125 to include unlimited long distance calls.

Come back in a year and tell me how great it is. I've been living with satellite signals as an only option since moving here in '94. Soon no one out here will have dishes anymore you can count on that.

greg916 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:39:52 PM »

In May of this year we will have had cable for 2 years. Was not an option before then. My TV and internet used to come from satellite,it was the only option for high speed. When it worked, it worked well, but as GB said, when it rains you lose signal. I do not see ever going back to satellite.

DalesCarpentry · « **Reply #8 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:46:57 PM »

We did some kind of bundle package with Virizon. We get our phone ( including long distance ) high speed internet and this Direct TV thing for for like $100.00 a month. Before it was almost $150.00 a month. My high speed internet will not be through the dish. I would have to check with the wife for exact figures but I know we are paying less now. Dale

Oldshooter · « **Reply #9 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:53:16 PM »

Man watch the bundle stuff!!!! WE have found it to be a bundle of trouble! if you have problems with one provider you have problems with the whole bundle!

quickdtoo · « **Reply #10 on:** February 23, 2009, 02:08:35 PM »

I've had Dish Network satellite for 5-6yrs now, real happy with them, with the exception of a couple equipment failures that they've fixed right away, I've had no problems. I've been a Comcast High Speed internet customer for many years, can't complain about their service either and it's lightning fast, but at $55 a month, ain't cheap.

Tim

Graybeard · « **Reply #11 on:** February 23, 2009, 05:31:43 PM »

That won't last Dale it's just a low ball to sucker you in. As I said I pay $94 and change per month for TV ONLY and the ONLY premium network I have is Starz and I do not have HD which adds $10 more to the package. Their cheapest internet package is $59 per month at regular rates which they will hit you with after three months or so.

How are you getting around the fees for equipment? Someone I think Mikey said they wanted $1500 to hook him up. I know I paid close to $600 for my internet equipment and don't recall on the TV equipment.

I have an idea that when the REAL impact of what you've just done sinks in you will be wishing you'd never heard of satellites.

torpedoman · « **Reply #12 on:** February 23, 2009, 05:47:57 PM »

the outdoor shows are'nt worht watching unless you like really long commercials.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #13 on:** February 23, 2009, 05:54:01 PM »

Quote from: torpedoman on February 23, 2009, 05:47:57 PM

the outdoor shows are'nt worht watching unless you like really long commercials.

I seldom watch live TV, record what I want on the DVR(digital video recorder) and watch it when I want and just skip thru the commercials, an hour long program is about 40 minutes worth of viewing.

Tim

Questor · « **Reply #14 on:** February 23, 2009, 06:11:44 PM »

Guys! Guys! Guys! Get rid of that idiot box. There's a whole world awaiting you. Grab a guitar and learn to play it, or make some drawing or paintings. Read history. Write letters. For God's sake save yourself before it's too late.

gypsyman · « **Reply #15 on:** February 23, 2009, 06:26:20 PM »

Dale, I had the Dish satellite for 3 years, and only had one day of bad reception, and that was when the snow was a real wet sticky snow. Climbed up with a push broom and brushed off the dish, and it worked fine. Not sure if they still offer it, but they use to have a deal, if you paid 11 months in advance, you got the 12 month free. The one hokey thing they advertised was so many channels more than cable. But half of them were ad channels with jewlery and womens clothing.
The only reason I went back to cable, was, at the time, phone lines here were dial up with no hi speed internet. As it worked out, my cable bill for TV and 'puter is $2 cheaper than phone line and satellite. So for now, will stick with cable, but if a real cheap deal came up with Dish, I wouldn't hesitat to go back. gypsyman

Oldshooter · « **Reply #16 on:** February 23, 2009, 06:40:59 PM »

Quote from: Questor on February 23, 2009, 06:11:44 PM

Guys! Guys! Guys! Get rid of that idiot box. There's a whole world awaiting you. Grab a guitar and learn to play it, or make some drawing or paintings. Read history. Write letters. For God's sake save yourself before it's too late.

Tried that, now I'm on a different idiot box. Check the time of this post and argue that!

Singleshotsam · « **Reply #17 on:** February 23, 2009, 06:42:44 PM »

I got rid of my direct tv satellite. The bill kept going up after I got it, reception got sketchy when the wind blew or rain hit. Not to mention I got satellite to get away from the CSI shows that flooded the local channels only to run into 24 hour marathons of them on Satellite...

I'm much happier w/ no TV bill... I have high speed cable internet through my local provider. Only costs me about 27 per month and they are a fantastic company to deal w/!

guzzijohn · « **Reply #18 on:** February 24, 2009, 01:15:13 AM »

Had cable when we lived in town. Have Direct TV now out in the country. It cost just a few dollars more a month than cable. We get more channels, much better picture, and in the last 31/2 years we may have had a total of three hours off the air due to weather. We lost more time than that to cable due to problems.
GuzziJohn

kitchawan kid · « **Reply #19 on:** February 24, 2009, 01:28:20 AM »

Have direct tv,most of the up to 75% of programs are selling something,the outdoor channel is o.k.,but they do increase the cost every year.

beerbelly · « **Reply #20 on:** February 24, 2009, 02:19:12 AM »

I had direct tv , but the bill kept going up and the the chanels that I watched kept going away. I could get them back by going to a more expensive package. I told them to go to hell and turn it off. Nothing gets under my skin faster than some one scaming me!
Beerbelly

rparsons934 · « **Reply #21 on:** February 24, 2009, 02:32:26 AM »

Quote from: DALESCARPENTRY on February 23, 2009, 01:28:34 PM

Quote from: wareagleguy on February 23, 2009, 01:15:37 PM
606 is the Outdoor Channel
608 is the Hunt channel
Wow thanks you just pointed me to another great channel 608 that is. I don't get 606 the Outdoor channel it must not be included in our package. Now I have 2 great channels to watch.
GB Good luck with the cable. They have raised their rates here to the point where it is hard to pay for it and we often times loose cable here also. There was one year it went out in the 4TH quarter of a Steeler game during the playoffs. Dale

Here its a $200 down payment for the direct tv. But it is $40 a month. For Cable around here its no down payment and $80 a month. That is too much on TV for both ends. But in the long run direct TV is cheaper here.

LONGTOM · « **Reply #22 on:** February 24, 2009, 02:36:25 AM »

We have had DISH NETWORK now for about 5 years?
Two receivers, no instalition fee, no equipment charge, only $5.00 a month for the extra receiver.
We have the top package which runs about $100.00 a month with four premium channels added.
Local TV through the antenna.
No HD and don't want it.
Internet runs $52.00 a month but still on dial up.
Never a problem with snow and it really has to be a big rain storm to knock out the dish and then it only lasts a little while.
We are only 80 miles from DC so we have really good reception.
My mother-inlaw just down the road has cable and I don't like it as good as the dish.

LONGTOM

jhm · « **Reply #23 on:** February 24, 2009, 03:09:33 AM »

We have had Direct TV ever since we got rid of the huge dish that sat in the middle of the yard, many many years of good service, I have boxes in every beedroom and in the den, I have a extra sat. dish that I set up when we are gone in the Motorhome and go to the lake, just take one of the boxes out of the bedroom and use it. Any equipment problems inside the house I am responsible for as I own them anything outside of the house it theirs and they have provided excellent service, reception is great as I have a clear shot to the SSW Jim

no guns here · « **Reply #24 on:** February 24, 2009, 03:47:43 AM »

We recieved TV via satellite for 5 years overall here in Europe. To get AFN you have to have a dish and a decoder. After the initial purchase it's free for us. Anyway, the reception was almost always great. If the storms got REALLY bad it could go on the fritz. Our system comes from the west coast then beamed via satellite world wide so there are lots of places for weather to be a concern but it didn't happen much. Not enough to bother us. We didn't get internet via satellite though. CABLE in the US was fairly fast, not blazing speed but okay. We were at the end of a segment though. You could tell a big difference between speeds on a weekday evening and on a weekend morning. Once everyone got home from work the speed was maybe 1/5 the full speed when only a few people were online. I'm more than happy to stay with DSL at 6mbps. They are saying we'll get up to 16mbps next year. Some folks here already have it and it's crazy fast...

ngh

Foxxtrot · « **Reply #25 on:** February 24, 2009, 04:12:33 AM »

We were spending $62/month on cable, but no more. We switched to the basic basic package (10 channels) for $18. I couldn't be happier. If I want to watch Bloomberg - FREE online 24/7. If I want to watch a program I look for it on VEOH.com. The have channels you can buy as well to watch on the computer. I have a 26 flatscreen monitor and everything looks great. Comcast has a full monopoly in VT and they know it. I wish I could cut them loose, but my wife needs to vegetate after work and she likes to watch the news.

DDelle338 · « **Reply #26 on:** February 24, 2009, 05:29:10 AM »

Had DTV since they started. Yea, I was one of the ones that paid $700.00 for my system. About two years ago it went on the fritz, and I talked them into a new dish, new reciever with the DVR and the rest of the works for 4 rooms. And after all was said and done, I wasn't paying any equipment charges and they ended up paying me $1.00. Then in the spring, since we are always outside when it's warm, and I don't like paying for something I don't use, I decided to turn it off for the summer. And since then I decided that I'd rather spend time with my 11yr. old daughter than watch the crap on tv, so I didn't turn it back on. We do have an antenna so we can get about 4 channels to keep up on the news once in awhile. It was kinda hard for her to miss out on her show (saddle club), but she has adjusted well. She is much better for it.

oldandslow · « **Reply #27 on:** February 24, 2009, 06:11:07 AM »

Welcome to the world of sattelite TV. I have never had access to cable and never will. I had Direct TV to start with but dumped them finally. It was mostly because Dish offered local channels and Direct didn't have them and couldn't tell me when they would be available. Another part was dealing with Pegasus as the billing agent but that is past history. Direct and Dish are basically the same service with different channel numbers. Either is great for a time until you have watched everything once and then you start watching the same shows over and over and the commercials are getting longer and the show content shorter every year. I have the local networks, Encore channels, two receivers, top 250 package, and insurance on my equipment for $69.95 a month. It's bundled with my phone service and that gets me a discount. That isn't bad until you thumb thru about 270 channels and there is nothing to watch. I have about decided that the occassional program to watch isn't worth the cost. If I could dump the package completely and keep local channels, Encore and maybe a movie channel I would like that. I would dump the local channels but it takes a BIG antennae on a tall mast, a rotor, and a signal booster to get anything but CBS, NBC, and ABC here. I don't have a lot of trouble with signal interruption from rain and snow but that is because we seldom have any. This part of the world is turning into a desert.

rex6666 · « **Reply #28 on:** February 24, 2009, 06:39:27 AM »

cable and dish work about the same here, give you a super deal for 3 mos.
then you have to start canceling this and that and end up around $125 mo.
some time i thing they are working together, "you getum this mo. and
i will next mo."

wareagleguy · « **Reply #29 on:** February 24, 2009, 02:55:03 PM »

I have been the Directv for years also use it for internet. I HATE directv for internet. It is just too high for what you get. It is a total different story on the tv service. I have the HD system and have no issues. I have had a couple times in the last few years that the rain cut me off. I has to be a major storm for me to loose signal. If this happens often I would say you have a problem.

I had cable....never again.