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Changing cable/satellite companies

FreeState

FreeState

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 24, 2004
1,741
118
San Diego, CA
We currently use DirecTV for satellite ($89.54) and Cox for phone and internet get about 6mbps ($71.87). Lost my job a few months back so we are trying to downscale to save some money.

I have 4 options here (San Diego)

Cox: 24 Channels Bundle - $119.86 (6mbps) $75 install - has iPhone/iPad app no streaming. Only option that charges for install.

DirecTV: 150 Channels keeping Cox internet and phone: $124.86
DirectTV: 150 Channels bundle, with slower internet than now $172! (both have app and remote, no streaming) Best channel selection of the options (bundled or not).

Dish Network: 60 Channels keeping Cox internet and phone: $103.87 for first year/$111.87 after - has iPhone/iPad app (more mainstream channels than U-Verse, not sure if receiver supports streaming) Comes with 1 HD DVD box and one Standard box with DVR. Might have to pay for install - said they check that on checkout... mostly likely not though.

U-Verse: 80 Channels $103 (12mbps) first year/$128 after - has iPhone and iPad app - no streaming on this plan. $7 for additional TV boxes (we only have one right now, but have a TV that we may want to hook up in the future.)

----

Im currently leaning towards U-Verse because of the internet (my neighbor works for them and we have one of the fastest areas, Im trying my hand at freelance work so I need a fast connection). I do wish it had more channels - but there are only one or two shows we watch that are not on it (and one is not on Dish either, figure we would rent/buy those through the AppleTV). My partner is an interior designer and absolutely hates the satellite dish and cords on the house (they don't bother me at all).

We mostly watch the main networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox) and watch a show or two on Bravo and Logo.

Anyone have experience with any of these options? Pros or Cons?
 
Last edited:
FreeState said:
We currently use DirecTV for satellite ($89.54) and Cox for phone and internet get about 6mbps ($71.87). Lost my job a few months back so we are trying to downscale to save some money.

I have 4 options here (San Diego)

Cox: 24 Channels Bundle - $119.86 (6mbps) $75 install - has iPhone/iPad app no streaming. Only option that charges for install.

DirecTV: 150 Channels keeping Cox internet and phone: $124.86
DirectTV: 150 Channels bundle, with slower internet than now $172! (both have app and remote, no streaming) Best channel selection of the options (bundled or not).

Dish Network: 60 Channels keeping Cox internet and phone: $103.87 for first year/$111.87 after - has iPhone/iPad app (more mainstream channels than U-Verse, not sure if receiver supports streaming) Comes with 1 HD DVD box and one Standard box with DVR. Might have to pay for install - said they check that on checkout... mostly likely not though.

U-Verse: 80 Channels $103 (12mbps) first year/$128 after - has iPhone and iPad app - no streaming on this plan. $7 for additional TV boxes (we only have one right now, but have a TV that we may want to hook up in the future.)

----

Im currently leaning towards U-Verse because of the internet (my neighbor works for them and we have one of the fastest areas, Im trying my hand at freelance work so I need a fast connection). I do wish it had more channels - but there are only one or two shows we watch that are not on it (and one is not on Dish either, figure we would rent/buy those through the AppleTV). My partner is an interior designer and absolutely hates the satellite dish and cords on the house (they don't bother me at all).

We mostly watch the main networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox) and watch a show or two on Bravo and Logo.

Anyone have experience with any of these options? Pros or Cons?
Click to expand...

Cut the cable. Put an antenna on your roof and enjoy free tv.
 
I love my uVerse system - it's all IP and it works great. However, it has some significant differences from other solutions, and it's not for everyone.

If you are serious about it, you need to find out how many "streams" you can get at your location. Each stream represents one TV or program being recorded on the DVR. THe number of streams varies from 2 to 5 depending on the strength of the signal at your location. You can't find out how many streams you can get until they come out for the install.

As an example, lets say you have two TV's and the DVR. If you can get 3 streams, then you can watch two TV's and record one channel on the DVR at once, or you can watch one TV and record two channels, etc.

If you don't have many TV's or can get lots of streams, then it's great.
 
aross99 said:
I love my uVerse system - it's all IP and it works great. However, it has some significant differences from other solutions, and it's not for everyone.

If you are serious about it, you need to find out how many "streams" you can get at your location. Each stream represents one TV or program being recorded on the DVR. THe number of streams varies from 2 to 5 depending on the strength of the signal at your location. You can't find out how many streams you can get until they come out for the install.

As an example, lets say you have two TV's and the DVR. If you can get 3 streams, then you can watch two TV's and record one channel on the DVR at once, or you can watch one TV and record two channels, etc.

If you don't have many TV's or can get lots of streams, then it's great.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info - we only use one TV right now, but our neighbor works for ATT and has U-Verse (5 streams - the hub or what ever they call it is less than 1000 feet from our home). We may get a second box later on but dont need right now.
 
FreeState said:
Thanks for the info - we only use one TV right now, but our neighbor works for ATT and has U-Verse (5 streams - the hub or what ever they call it is less than 1000 feet from our home). We may get a second box later on but dont need right now.
Click to expand...

I would go with uVerse then. I am very happy with the service, and I like the fact that it is all IP. I ran Cat-5 cables to all of my TV's and pulled out the coax from cable. uVerse boxes can connect either way though - it is up to you and your installer.
 
I don't have U-Verse but, from talking to people I know who do, the quality of service varies wildly. My understanding is that, because it uses the old copper phone lines, the signal drop off over distance is fast and dramatic. If you have a short run to the sub-station, you're fine. If you are at the end of its functional reach, you'll get bad reception and slow internet.

Those who are in the former group absolutely love it. Those in the latter group, as you might expect, hate it.
 
Panch0 said:
TiVo works with Over the Air. If you can stand to be a season behind, Netflix has a ton of TV content available as well.
Click to expand...

I have a TiVO HD and would recommend that for what you want - you could pick one up either with lifetime service (you pay more initially, but don't pay for monthly service) or pay the $12-$20/month and record over-the-air HD signals for free. The Premiere would also work, but if you're trying to save a bit, the HD or Series 3 would work well. They also can access Netflix (not as slick as the Apple TV), so that could also give you more content.

Eventually, if you wanted to get cable, you would just need a CableCARD (similar to a SIM card on mobile phones in theory - more like a PCMCIA card in technology) and your TiVo would be your cable box and DVR...
 
FreeState said:
We currently use DirecTV for satellite ($89.54) and Cox for phone and internet get about 6mbps ($71.87). Lost my job a few months back so we are trying to downscale to save some money.

I have 4 options here (San Diego)

Cox: 24 Channels Bundle - $119.86 (6mbps) $75 install - has iPhone/iPad app no streaming. Only option that charges for install.

DirecTV: 150 Channels keeping Cox internet and phone: $124.86
DirectTV: 150 Channels bundle, with slower internet than now $172! (both have app and remote, no streaming) Best channel selection of the options (bundled or not).

Dish Network: 60 Channels keeping Cox internet and phone: $103.87 for first year/$111.87 after - has iPhone/iPad app (more mainstream channels than U-Verse, not sure if receiver supports streaming) Comes with 1 HD DVD box and one Standard box with DVR. Might have to pay for install - said they check that on checkout... mostly likely not though.

U-Verse: 80 Channels $103 (12mbps) first year/$128 after - has iPhone and iPad app - no streaming on this plan. $7 for additional TV boxes (we only have one right now, but have a TV that we may want to hook up in the future.)

----

Im currently leaning towards U-Verse because of the internet (my neighbor works for them and we have one of the fastest areas, Im trying my hand at freelance work so I need a fast connection). I do wish it had more channels - but there are only one or two shows we watch that are not on it (and one is not on Dish either, figure we would rent/buy those through the AppleTV). My partner is an interior designer and absolutely hates the satellite dish and cords on the house (they don't bother me at all).

We mostly watch the main networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox) and watch a show or two on Bravo and Logo.

Anyone have experience with any of these options? Pros or Cons?
Click to expand...

Really the best option would be to go OTA with e TIVO box as mentioned elshere. We di that and saved enough ibn the first few months to pay for the Tivo and lifetime subscriotion.
 
FreeState said:
I'd love to do that but I need DVR - none of which work with my current lineup of computers (all are PPC).
Click to expand...

Use EyeTV to record your free OTA channels in HD and automatically export to iTunes which you can then watch on your big screen with the Apple TV. And if you have an iOS device, you can play your recordings and live tv on their iOS app. And yesterday they updated the app to support Airplay so you can watch both live tv and recordings on your big screen through the Apple TV.

I did this last year and save $100 every month that I used to pay to Directv.
 
FreeState said:
I'd love to do that but I need DVR - none of which work with my current lineup of computers (all are PPC).
Click to expand...

No you do not "need" a DVR, you may want a DVR.

None of the options above seem very serious about saving money. Cancel the cable, the only item you can make a case for is internet because of the help it can be in finding a job.
 
From A Buick 8 said:
No you do not "need" a DVR, you may want a DVR.

None of the options above seem very serious about saving money. Cancel the cable, the only item you can make a case for is internet because of the help it can be in finding a job.
Click to expand...

Well there are two of us and if we watch TV its never live - I looked into a couple DVR options (I have a very old mac that wont support most the options).

We signed up for U-Verse today, but kept our local land line via Cox as it was $10 cheeper (we were going to go to VOIP for a cheap but decided against it -the phone line is used for a business fax for my partner).

I have to have internet, Im a web designer. Kind of hard to develop on my hard and run to the coffee shop to upload and test every day:)
 
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