[OT] If you were starting fresh, who would you pick for your TV provider?

[Stansbury and Co]

Trying to decide between Dish, Directv, Comcast, and AT&T in Jackson. Looking for TV and internet only...no home phone, no cell phone.

I want all the "basic" sports channels - ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CBSSN, Versus(?), NFLNetwork, etc. - but I don't need every regional FSN channel known to man. Of course want HD and DVR.

Would like have the best internet speed possible.

What's the best option in terms of the service, the above options, and the price I'll pay right now and what it will be jacked up to in a year?

 

[dawgstudent]

they would be my choice hands down. The fact they don't have anyroom DVR or you can't program your DVR from the internet is a huge drawback.

With that being said - you can't beat Comcast internet so considering those two as a package - I would take Comcast.

I'm not a person that has to watch every NFL game - as long as the Saints are on - I am fine so Sunday Ticket is not a big deal.

 

[BehrDawg]

anyroom DVR and Internet programmable DVR are on the way. FYI

 

[FlabLoser]

Until farily recently, Comcast's internet price for people who don't buy cable was ridiculous. But then they finally made it price competitive with DSL.<div>
</div><div>I've been a happy DirecTV guy for 10+ years. But lately, I've gotten frustrated with their lack of HD channels. They have plenty of HD channels, but I feel like they are not keeping pace.Comcast seems to add HD channels hand over fist. I can't remember the last time DirecTV added a non-premium/PPV HD channel. Specifically, I want H2 and IFC in HD.</div><div>
</div><div>Its 2011, almost 2012.You can't by SD TVs anymore. DirecTV (and Comcast) should be delivering HD versions of everything they carry that isavailablein an HD version (and they should phase out SD versions to save bandwidth).</div><div>
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[lawdawg02]

for anyroom DVR in the Jackson area. I'll definitely be hooking that up if they do.

Also, they just added a ton of HD channels. I don't know of anything that I watch in SD anymore.

 

[SchruteDog]

According to some Comcast blogs I've read, the date for Anyroom DVR, Caller ID, etc has slipped to mid 2012. Shocking, I know. The good news is that Connecticut and Mississippi are supposedly the first markets that will receive it.

 

[FlabLoser]

ripoffku

 

[dogfan96]

already has programmable DVR from the Internet or a mobile device

 

[RocketDawg]

Knology internet is fine, although a little slower than Comcast (but you really can't tell the difference). It's also highly dependable ... never goes down.<div>
</div><div>My main complaint with Dish is that they don't carry ESPNU in HD. It must be some sort of contractual issue ... can't be bandwidth because they have a wealth of HD channels and some of them nobody in their right mind would ever watch. Otherwise, I really like Dish and their features.</div>

 

[disappointeddawg]

and I like it. There were some issues at first but they seem to be pretty good about trying to take care of you. The customer service has been good so that counts for something. One thing that I would consider is your ability to get the network channels in HD. I don't get them in Tupelo and it's something I didn't realize until it was already installed.

I just got AT&T DSL installed a couple days ago. For what I do it's fine. Definitely slower than comcast but it's either $20 or $25 dollars a month and that price is locked in. I don't stream netflix or anything like that. I basically just read a couple message boards and google **** occasionally. I'm at a computer all day at work so I try and avoid it while at home. If you stream stuff and do other things that require good speed it's probably not gonna get it done. I want to say comcast was going to start at about 35 and go up to 45 at some point. If your house is already wired for cable then it includes basic programming. This would be nice if you wanted a small tv in the kitchen or somewhere where you didn't want a box.

Combined, I pay about $90 a month which is a good bit cheaper than Comcast would have been. The thing that drives me crazy with comcast and caused it to not even be considered was the ****** quality. My picture with them used to freeze up constantly and seemed like service went out completely about once a month.

 

[fevans4]

Same setup for me in Huntsville as well. Just switched from Comcast internet to Knology and I'm very happy with it so far. We've been on Dish for several years and yes, my only complaint is ESPNU.

 

[The Peeper]

. She may not have some package that included it. That said, I have Comcast in Jackson and don't ever remember having an outage. It will freeze occasionally but comes right back on. We had Dish for awhile but it was constantly failing. When Comcast installed their stuff, he laughed at the install job that Dish had done, said that was why we were having so much trouble. It was one of those fly by night get rich and get out companies that installed it, not Dish themselves so consider that.

 

[OneNationUnderDog]

Perfect for Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, etc.

DirecTV is hands-down a better company to deal with than Comcast. Just wait, Comcast will screw you in the end. Dating period is great, but once they have their claws in you, bills go up, charges magically appear, and no one answers the phone.

Good luck.

 

[Braves Dawg]

I just recently switched to DirecTV from Comcast. Their picture quality buries Comcast.

 

[ColMuldrow]

<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="2">I posed a similar question on NAFOOM, but I think they are busy with interviews. </font></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">I just moved and we have had Directv, which I have always enjoyed and planned to keep.</span></span></div><div style="min-width: 0px; max-width: 99%; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="min-width: 0px; "></span></div><div style="min-width: 0px; max-width: 99%; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">We had AT&T DSL at our old house because Comcast was so freaking expensive. Well, when we moved, AT&T says we have to go to UVerse. Haven't heard good things about Uverse TV and am already have problems setting up the Uverse Internet. Basically, its not working and we have waited two days for a technician who was supposed to be here yesterday to come check it out.</span></div><div style="min-width: 0px; max-width: 99%; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></div><div style="min-width: 0px; max-width: 99%; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The UVerse modem comes with a wireless router built-in so I guess I don't need my router anymore. Is the UVerse internet gonna be as bad as the U-verse TV? Is the wireless router decent? Should I switch to Comcast while there's still hope?</span></div>

 

[seshomoru]

and I've loved it. TV is always working and the picture is good.Internet is fast, reliable, and wireless. I can't comment on customer service because I've never had to call it. However, I have heard people say they hate it and they have the same problems you do. I went through the same thing with Comcast. TV was horrific and snowy most of the time. The internet NEVER worked. My boss lived two minutes from me at the time and his worked perfectly.

 

[Flatland Dawg]

the wife and I kicked cable two years ago when we each had a 1.5 hour (each way) commute and weren't home enough to justify the expense. Since ESPN 3 hit the Xbox 360, I haven't missed it for a second. I bought a tuner card for my PC for $50, built a DIY HDTV antenna for $5 based on these instructions, and we were set. The PC acts as our DVR with Windows Media Center, and the Xbox 360 pipes it into the living room. We get all the major networks, and with the ability to record, we have plenty to watch. Nearly all of the SEC games are available live on ESPN 3 now. Also, there's an awesome plugin for WMC that autoskips commercials.

Anything that comes on other networks, we BitTorrent and play, again, through the Xbox. Netflix is built in also. Literally the only thing I can't get is Monday Night Football (thanks ESPN!). But if you have Verizon, BrightHouse, or one other I forget, you can access the live streams of all the actual ESPN networks, which resolves that problem, although your WMC PC will have to be connected directly to the TV.

If you're ready to drop $50-80 a month in expenses, this is an easy way to do it. It's a cinch to get running and nowhere near as complicated as it sounds.

 

[NewTweederEndzoneDance]

Our internet has been awful despite them coming out to "fix" it. There are a lot of HD channels and the picture quality is fine, but it is also expensive as hell. Customer service at Comcast is about as helpful as calling a doorknob and heaven help you if you ever have to actually go to the big Comcast office center in Jackson. You'll stand in line for hours.

I'm about to move and investigated the prices on U-Verse. Since I will need a home phone line for an alarm system, internet and TV the price difference between Comcast and U-Verse came out to be about a $70/month decrease for switching to U-Verse, which by the way actually gets me more than I'd have with Comcast.

The downside to this is that apparently it takes about 2 months for them to come install U-Verse. With work and the fact that a phone line is needed to activate the alarm system, I just can't wait 2 months to get a phone line, internet and tv service.

I've had people say they love Comcast and others say they hate it. Same with U-Verse. I guess its just the luck of the draw.