Any viable alternatives for basic cable and Internet?

There are only two options: Either they use lube or they don't. Either way, you're gettin' bent over

Call, threaten to cancel and switch to dish..they'll ask what they can do "yeah, come down X amount of dollars on my bill." I did that when my cable company tried to raise their rates...they came down to what I wanted and I got 3 months of HBO. That wasn't before them testing my patience after I tried to be reasonable. I also told them "I've got my parents watchESPN, HBO go, Fox sports go, max go and netflix logins. I don't need your overrated service with only two sports channels anyway. Try me."

Broadcast TV.

My daughter lives in Cleveland and there are 3 cable companies serving the area. Not only does she pay less than I do for a basic package, she gets HBO, Showtime, and the MLB package (husband likes baseball). And they change about every 12 months because you get an even lower price for a year.

Can you say "competition" boys and girls.

This is the third time my bill has gone up in the last year and 3 months. This time they jacked it up about 20 bucks. After all their taxes and fees, I am now paying about $170 for basic cable and high speed internet. I like their service but not the monopoly they have. I thought about Uverse, but I had one of their salespeople knock on my door at supper time and get rude with me because I wouldn't switch right then and there.

I really wish there were more companies to choose from. Or one company that would just come in, offer one low rate that didn't increase after a 12 month period and force these shysters to compete with each other.

I just buy internet. Then, I just use Netflix and Hulu. Nobody needs cable anymore.

(04-17-2014 02:29 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  This is the third time my bill has gone up in the last year and 3 months. This time they jacked it up about 20 bucks. After all their taxes and fees, I am now paying about $170 for basic cable and high speed internet. I like their service but not the monopoly they have. I thought about Uverse, but I had one of their salespeople knock on my door at supper time and get rude with me because I wouldn't switch right then and there.

I really wish there were more companies to choose from. Or one company that would just come in, offer one low rate that didn't increase after a 12 month period and force these shysters to compete with each other.

I’m guessing AT&T doesn’t do the door-to-door stuff…
that U-verse salesperson was probably third party.

(04-17-2014 02:37 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I just buy internet. Then, I just use Netflix and Hulu. Nobody needs cable anymore.

Most of our TV watching is through Airplay… from iPad/Mac to Apple TV.

(04-17-2014 02:40 PM)AngryAphid Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 02:29 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  This is the third time my bill has gone up in the last year and 3 months. This time they jacked it up about 20 bucks. After all their taxes and fees, I am now paying about $170 for basic cable and high speed internet. I like their service but not the monopoly they have. I thought about Uverse, but I had one of their salespeople knock on my door at supper time and get rude with me because I wouldn't switch right then and there.

I really wish there were more companies to choose from. Or one company that would just come in, offer one low rate that didn't increase after a 12 month period and force these shysters to compete with each other.

I’m guessing AT&T doesn’t do the door-to-door stuff…
that U-verse salesperson was probably third party.

You might be right. He was a real snotty little punk. Wanted me to switch just by talking to him and I told him I would think about it and get back to him. He then started making snide comments like "sure you will...uh huh...yeah right...whatever." I told him he better watch his tone and to get the hell off my porch.

My Dad has Uverse. I he seems to like it. I didn't like some features of the TV when I was over there but the Internet seemed fast enough. I'm not going to just allow Cox to keep shrinking my paycheck.

(04-17-2014 02:37 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I just buy internet. Then, I just use Netflix and Hulu. Nobody needs cable anymore.

Gotta have my Fox News, Sooner Football and Thunder Basketball.

(04-17-2014 02:37 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I just buy internet. Then, I just use Netflix and Hulu. Nobody needs cable anymore.

(04-17-2014 03:19 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 02:37 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I just buy internet. Then, I just use Netflix and Hulu. Nobody needs cable anymore.

Gotta have my Fox News, Sooner Football and Thunder Basketball.

There is a website that a friend of mine told me about that broadcasts every sporting event you can imagine.

(04-17-2014 04:45 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 03:19 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 02:37 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I just buy internet. Then, I just use Netflix and Hulu. Nobody needs cable anymore.

Gotta have my Fox News, Sooner Football and Thunder Basketball.

There is a website that a friend of mine told me about that broadcasts every sporting event you can imagine.

I don't know. There is something about having a big flat screen when watching the game.

(04-17-2014 06:15 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 04:45 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 03:19 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 02:37 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I just buy internet. Then, I just use Netflix and Hulu. Nobody needs cable anymore.

Gotta have my Fox News, Sooner Football and Thunder Basketball.

There is a website that a friend of mine told me about that broadcasts every sporting event you can imagine.

I don't know. There is something about having a big flat screen when watching the game.

Just connect your Xbox or computer to your tv.

(04-17-2014 10:16 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 06:15 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 04:45 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 03:19 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 02:37 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I just buy internet. Then, I just use Netflix and Hulu. Nobody needs cable anymore.

Gotta have my Fox News, Sooner Football and Thunder Basketball.

There is a website that a friend of mine told me about that broadcasts every sporting event you can imagine.

I don't know. There is something about having a big flat screen when watching the game.

Just connect your Xbox or computer to your tv.

Bootleg broadcasts aren’t exactly high definition.

I’ve used those sites before, but mainly for the audio… watching
a pixilated bat hit a pixilated baseball is not very compelling.

(04-18-2014 07:08 AM)AngryAphid Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 10:16 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 06:15 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 04:45 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(04-17-2014 03:19 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  Gotta have my Fox News, Sooner Football and Thunder Basketball.

There is a website that a friend of mine told me about that broadcasts every sporting event you can imagine.

I don't know. There is something about having a big flat screen when watching the game.

Just connect your Xbox or computer to your tv.

Bootleg broadcasts aren’t exactly high definition.

I’ve used those sites before, but mainly for the audio… watching
a pixilated bat hit a pixilated baseball is not very compelling.

When I lived out in AZ I would stream Thunder games on one of those sites. The connection would drop often or the picture would just hang up. Not to mention I got a ton of adware on my system.

It's a noble idea, but I am really looking for a cheaper company that can provide what I have now.

(04-17-2014 01:58 AM)ncbeta Wrote:  Call, threaten to cancel and switch to dish..they'll ask what they can do "yeah, come down X amount of dollars on my bill." I did that when my cable company tried to raise their rates...they came down to what I wanted and I got 3 months of HBO. That wasn't before them testing my patience after I tried to be reasonable. I also told them "I've got my parents watchESPN, HBO go, Fox sports go, max go and netflix logins. I don't need your overrated service with only two sports channels anyway. Try me."

These tactics work and they work well. Call periodically and threaten to switch to satellite. The customer service people are trained to keep you and will lower your rates tremendously if you are convincing enough.

I've not been satisfied with the bootleg streams for sporting events...the picture quality doesn't hold when going full screen on as small as a 15" monitor much less my 50" Plasma. Cable internet is great though, and they usually give good bundle discounts.

In order from typically cheapest to most expensive:

1) Google Fiber. Free for DSL class speeds. A still ludicrously cheap sum for ONE HUNDRED MEGABIT SYMMETRIC ... that's a datacenter class connection!

(enormous gap)

2) A not completely Satan owned cable company
(I have Charter ... 30 mbit and HD basic and all the extra sports tiers are about $70/mo)

(gap)

3) Local wireless ISP ... typically delivering over line of sight to cell towers. Combine with satellite TV. The connection will have higher latency (~100-200 ms) but shouldn't be a problem unless you're a big video game player.

[------------- Satanic Event Horizon --------------]

4) Verizon FiOS

5) Full Satan Telco ... Ma Bell with satellite TV ... just be prepared for PAINFULLY slow internet.

6) Full Satan Cable ... Comcast / Xfinity / Time Warner