I HATE Comcast....

ok?

 

Luckily I have Cox. I've heard so many stories from Time Warner and Comcast.

 

dude, everybody hates CommunistCast. It's pretty much the only option in Philly, so ya just gotta deal with their ****.

 

I am surprised they even gave you a 2 hour window...my experience has always been "we will be there sometime between noon and 5pm" kind of thing. Not that it matters since they didn't show up in time anyway. Bill them hourly for the time they cost you...I have heard people trying that but don't know if they got away with it.

 

Could you stand getting rid of cable TV and just using the internet etc for films and TV? It's what I did and it works for me but I know some people like having normal cable TV. Saves a lot of hassle dealing with their nonsense.

 

The interactions between cable and satellite companies are one of the reasons why I just use OTA signals with my TiVo. It's much easier that way

 

Ditto. I have done it and rarely miss it. I only miss HBO and Showtime shows, but to get those will be soo much per month, as you have to get a package.

 

Yeah, and you can always rent them (Netflix or whatnot) once they appear on DVD. So much cheaper, much more pleasant (you watch at your own time), etc. For me there's absolutely no reason to get cable TV.

 

Gah stupid double posting fingers....

 

You can find any and all TV shows streaming online often within a couple hours of them airing. I have become so used to watching when I want and being able to pause and get a drink etc that I could never go back to regular cable.

 

+1. I gave up Time Warner Cable and not only do I save $110 per month I don't have to deal with situations like the OP describes. No need to wait all day for the repairman. No need to hold for 20 minutes.

I've discovered I can get crystal clear HD broadcast TV from all the major networks with a simple antenna. That combined with netflix and the internet is more than enough media.

 

I loathe Comcast. If Apple does the subscription thing, and they do it right, I'll be getting that, changing to DSL Internet, and telling Comcast to go f*** themselves.

 

For those of you that have "cut the cord" what do you do about sports? I've heard that for those of us who enjoy sports that you pretty much have to stay with some sort of provider because the live events are not available online. I understand you can get the three or four OTA channels, but I'm talking about ESPN and other sports related stuff. Do you all just go without this programming?

 

In my experience, getting sports outside a provider is difficult. When I moved to my current location in summer of 08, I decided to ditch TV. Like others have said, between Hulu, network websites, etc, I was doing ok. The problem started during football season. I love college football, and also enjoy NFL. I managed to get some games on ESPN360, but it was unreliable and not that fun to watch. Plus, it absolutely choked my Mini and my DSL connection. The NFL wasn't that bad, since most of their games are still broadcast on OTA channels (CBS, Fox, etc), but a lot of college games are on ESPN, Fox Sports South, etc.

This summer, I threw in the towel and got DirecTV reconnected. It wasn't that bad, since I only got one receiver and no frills. I don't have any premium channels, HD channels, etc, and have the mid-level package. With a special deal they were offering, and the friend referral, I am paying a bit over $40/month. I figure that is cheaper than the local sports bar.

 

I have Comcast too. Comcast sucks donkey balls. Nuff said.

 

and at+t and whoever else have no intentions of coming my way. so they have amonoply which i thought was illegal.

 

When I moved into my house a few years ago, there was a overhead Comcast cable from the alley to the house. As I had made other arrangements for cable (fiber-optic from the phone company), I called Comcast to have them remove the cable. When I told the lady what I wanted she told me they couldn't do that. After I told her I wouldn't be held responsible for outages when I ripped the wire off the pole I was promptly transfered to someone who made it happen. The wires were gone two days later!

 

Some of you guys are really nice to the customer service reps, ya know that?

 

Nope, cable companies are exempt. See, in many places, the city can grant an exclusive contract to a cable company. It's a throwback to the early days of cable when cities were trying to entice cable companies into building out the infrastructure. And for some reason, cable companies never got hit with the requirement to allow other companies to ride on their infrastructure like the telcos.

Everyone in this thread is depressing me. I've had enough of AT&T DSL, but my only other ISP option is Comcast. Gee, do I want to be punched in the face or kicked in the gut?

 

I'm stuck between AT&T 6mbps DSL (which I have now) or TWC 10mbps. I refuse to do business with TWC since they have begun trying all the download caps. Clear just launched WiMax in Charlotte, so I might try it out next week.

 

I wish I had another option. My house is actually eligible for AT&T U-Verse, supposedly up to 12mbps, but they can't even make my current 3Mb stand alone DSL work. My supposed 3Mb connection has been 1Mb or less for a couple of months, and they still insist it is inside wiring. Nevermind the fact that I have run new lines and tested them. For the same price I am paying for this lovely service, I can get 12Mb service from Comcast. There are other DSL resellers, but they all require an active phone line for their service. AT&T is the only one around offering bare DSL.