Rate your Cable/Sat/ISP/Phone provider...

[zachd73]

I'm currently with a company called Grande with is cable in the Southwest. I kind of liked supporting an 'underdog' versus Time Warner or ATT down here but I'm getting ready to drop them. Main reasons is they seem to be blocking my torrent traffic (on uploads) and also when my brother in law was here they shut off my service because he was downloading some Star Wars computer game and some movies. I'm not that big on downloading movies or tv shows or games so that isn't a huge deal for me, but the fact that they are watching so closely kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I mean if I WANTED to download a t.v. show (let's say a 30 rock torrent) I would hope that I could (yeah I know, it's not really LEGAL and all). I do torrent albums though so their blocking torrent traffic out is not good.

So I'm looking to see what other people go with.. of course I think Comcast is the biggest provider in the nation (and most poorly rated typically) and they aren't available here but I would esp. like to hear opinions on
Time Warner versus ATT (U-verse or other services).

I also get phone, t.v. and internet from Grande. I'd rather not get Sat. mainly because I don't think they do phone and I don't know how reliable sat. internet would be.

Also with Grande my basic cable (20 or so channels) does come with HD which I think is ridiculous. I don't want 300 channels, I just watch a few shows but I'd like to watch those shows in HD (30 rock, SNL, Etc.. just shows on the big 4 or pbs mostly)

Also since streaming is getting better with netflix, reliable speeds are good also. Haven't had too many problems with Grande, 30 rock usually streams in HD (pseudo hd) without any hitches. I think I have 7MBS internet, or maybe 12 I can't remember. I think I upgraded then downgraded when I found I had a problem with my router that was killing my streaming and it wasn't their fault.

I think you need 3MBS to stream netflix? But 6+ is probably much safer.

Honestly though I'm not that impressed with streaming quality, not quantity.
And I really don't think I need super high speeds like I used to.

So many options and factors... have cheap local phone since we have 2 iphones at the house. Probably don't even need a land line but it's almost free at $10 a month or so.

So I guess basically any input on service providers is appreciated (especially ATT versus Time Warner) .. especially as it related to home theater and HD options.

[Mr. Joshua]

If you are only wanting a few HD channels and they are the main 3 or 4 networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX I would go with a good over the air antenna. The HD is better than cable or satellite since it is not compressed. Since you have iphone and if it works well in your area, I would drop land line phone.

I have Time Warner internet. Works great. Just go with Road Runner high speed online. They raised the price on Road Runner Turbo which I had so i downgraded to just Road Runner high speed online and I can't tell any difference in speed. There is only 3Mbps per second difference but I don't see it.

[un4gvn94538]

uh, comcast for tv and internet. do i need to say? they suck! horrible cust svc regardless of the new 'image' thier tv ads are trying to give them. i bought my own modem years ago and its only NOW they stopped charging me a rental fee! total morons!

[zachd73]

Originally Posted by wsciv123

If you are only wanting a few HD channels and they are the main 3 or 4 networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX I would go with a good over the air antenna. The HD is better than cable or satellite since it is not compressed. Since you have iphone and if it works well in your area, I would drop land line phone.

I have Time Warner internet. Works great. Just go with Road Runner high speed online. They raised the price on Road Runner Turbo which I had so i downgraded to just Road Runner high speed online and I can't tell any difference in speed. There is only 3Mbps per second difference but I don't see it.

Good idea.. I tried this a few years ago by buying an old HD Sat receiver box (from that defunct HD sat network.. whatever that was called.. VOOM?) anyways they locked it out though and I could not program the channels even though I got a good signal.

I have a project so I need some sort of HD Tuner to connect to the antenna don't I?

Is there one that is recommended (and cheap) I do actually like this option and I forgot about it!

[Steve]

We have Dish Network and for all around service and customer service they've been really good for us. I would have to give them an 8 out of 10.

For DSL we have AT&T and for a while after we first had them I would have given them an 8 as well. However I lost my service and a technician had to come out to repair it and it's never been the same since. Now I couldn't give it more than about a 5. For customer service I give them an 8.

[Rob71]

I had Comcast for awhile, and while the service was pretty good the customer service was horrible. I switched to AT&T U-Verse about six months ago and it's the exact opposite. Their customer service is amazing, but their HD PQ is baaaad! Lot's of pixelization and lately I've started having a dropout(screen goes black for a second or two) every now and then, happened 5-6 times during a movie the other night. I'm getting ready to make the switch to Dish pretty soon so I'll be able to give you a report on them in a month or so.

[Rob71]

Originally Posted by fireman325

We have Dish Network and for all around service and customer service they've been really good for us. I would have to give them an 8 out of 10.

For DSL we have AT&T and for a while after we first had them I would have given them an 8 as well. However I lost my service and a technician had to come out to repair it and it's never been the same since. Now I couldn't give it more than about a 5. For customer service I give them an 8.

Did you have a U-Verse tech come out or a regular AT&T service tech look at it? In my experience, and I'm not trying to start a union/non-union flame war, the union AT&T service techs are usually better. Again, not trying to offend anyone.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Rob71

Did you have a U-Verse tech come out or a regular AT&T service tech look at it? In my experience, and I'm not trying to start a union/non-union flame war, the union AT&T service techs are usually better. Again, not trying to offend anyone.

I don't even know. Everything was fine until one day I didn't have any internet service. A technician came out and traced the problem out into their lines somewhere down the street. He got everything working again, but the service has never had the same stability and consistency as it did before. I'm honestly thinking about switching back to Comcast for internet. I know their customer service is sub-par, but I never had any issues with their internet service when I had it before.

[Fors*]

I have DirecTV for cable and Comcast for internet (only high speed company available. ). If it matters, I have Verizon for our phone (landline.) When the Comcast guy came out to install, he used my DirectTv line for the new internet line, and cut it just outside the house. So, when I turned on the TV, no signal. I had to have a DirecTv tech come out and fix their line because of Comcast's mistake. Besides that, I really have no complaints on either. I say an 8 out of 10 for both.

[Cisco in HD]

I'm down in South Florida, and for Tv, I have Direct Tv and I haven't one complaint about their service or PQ regarding their HD lineup. I think they've had to come out 2 or 3 times in like 5 years to fix a hiccup here and there. So it's all gravy on that front.

On the other hand, my AT&T DSL leaves a lot to be desired. I have their 6.0 "Xtreme" which runs me about $43 a month, when I know I can get twice or three times that speed for roughly the same amount a month with another company. Their service is great, hardly any issues, just lack of speed. Lately, I've been chomping at the bit for Verizon FiOs, which has been making it's way down Florida, so when it's available in my area, that's where I'm heading for my megabits

[zachd73]

Thanks for feedback so far. Yes, I would love to have fiber but I don't know how far off that is here. You would think soon, Austin is a high tech city but perhaps we don't have the infrastructure or are just not large enough to get fiber yet, don't know.

I'm trying to figure out if I can find an HDTV tuner at best buy or fry's here. Maybe if that worked I might drop my basic cable all together. Why they don't offer HDTV for basic cable is kind of a mystery to me also. I guess most people who want HDTV probably want more than 5 channels and I'm in a very small minority here

[citizen]

i was just thinking of making this thread

for internet, i have qwest dsl, 1.5 which is about $37 a month, which is a price i got on some sale, which i think is still pretty high but the only other choice is comcast cable which i dont really want to do since their prices are higher and are likely to keep going up. i noticed in the phone book there are a lot of companies listed under isp, but i wonder if any of the smaller companies would be as reliable as qwest

[DavidAg02]

Comcast alone has decent cable service. Comcast + a Tivo box is great however.

Their internet service is good but pricey.

[ShawnE94SL]

I have Verizon FIOS and I really can't complain. PQ is great. Internet is fast (25Mbps) and Customer service is so-so. The problem I have with their CS is it's not 24hours. At least with Comcast you got that and a rep in less than a minute....Verizon, not so much. I don't really need to call them about anything anyway, so I am a very happy customer.

[dand]

Verizon FIOS,TV,internet and phone.Not the cheapest solution ,but very good quality.No complaints.I will say the difference in PQ from what I had with Cox cable is amazing.FIOS all the way,.

DanD

[neogeo64]

TV: Dish HD Silver, Pretty good service so far, way better than the Comcast HD I use to have. I'm paying around $75 month after taxes. I love my DVR.

Internet: Comcast still has the fastest internet in my area 12+ I'm paying about $35 after taxes (had to keep $12 basic cable to get $19 internet deal)

Phone: Vonage $30 after taxes.. no matter what ISP i switch to, I can keep my phone service and #. Its been working great for 3yrs. You can adjust the bandwith (audio quality), have #'s forwarded to cell, check v/m over the internet, logs and other goodies.

[Halcro 1]

I have TWC = Garbage.... I now have U-Verse Better PQ (Alot) More HD channels . I also have their ISP no Issues whatsoever ,, faster upload speeds than TWC RR...My .02

[blu-mood]

FiOS in NJ = better in every way than Time Warner Cable I had in NYC.

[HT-Spunj]

I've had comcast internet cable for about 10yrs. I went through some bumpy patches in the early years. Outages, etc, etc.... There was a lot of home construction going on and I chalked it up to growing pains. In the past 5 years the service/reliability has been excellent. Plus it's really fast.....no complaints now.

I've also been a direct TV customer for 10 years....I love it!

[greyrocket]

i have comcast 12Mbps but the upload sucks 1.5Mbps is about the most i get and comcast does suck. i want surewest since its fiber and they have a 50Mbps but at $190 the 25Mbps is not bad like $70 a/month. comcast only called me once beacuse i had used 500gigs in bandwith in a month i just told them to piss off unlimited is unlimited have not had a problem since