Bad promo from my cable company

Fusion Voice service, features and help.
12 posts Page 1 of 2
by virtualmike » Sun Aug 14, 2011 1:16 am
Today, my cable company (which I tolerate, but only because it's not Comcrap^H^H^Hast) offered me a special one year rate on bundled phone (unlimited calling) and 3 Mbps Internet. Because the company likes me (it said so!), I can get this bundle at a discount of $20/month, guaranteed not to change for one year.

The cost is $49.95, as long as it's bundled with my cable service.

Like I'd want to pay more for slower speed? And use VOIP? And deal with caps?

Oh, and the company will throw in three months of wi-fi.

"Bwah hah hah," said I, as I threw the offer in the trash. Little does this company know that I'm looking at options to reduce or eliminate cable costs (as soon as I can find the right equipment/service).
by tjj » Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:31 pm
We are in the process of moving and cutting the cord with DirecTV, who we have had for 8+ years at this point. I purchased an AppleTV and hacked it to run Plex from my computer as well as use the built in NetFlix option and it looks like that coupled with an over the air antenna will allow us to save $105 a month on DirecTV.
Tage J.
Sonic.net Customer Support
by virtualmike » Mon Aug 15, 2011 3:24 pm
We're SOL for OTA. We can't receive any SF stations reliably with an antenna, though I suppose we could build a mast and see if that improves reception.

We'd consider the $20/month package for local stations from the cable company, although since we'd only watch 1/4 of the stations in that package, we'd prefer a $5/month package. <g>

However, anything beyond the local stations we'll try to get via one of the streaming services. However, it has to be as easy to use as the cable box, as my spouse admits he can't deal with anything more complicated than that!
by paulbarwick » Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:16 am
We're SOL for OTA. We can't receive any SF stations reliably with an antenna
Whereabouts are you? When you say that you can't get anything with an antenna, do you mean an outdoor antenna or just rabbit ears?
by virtualmike » Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:55 am
paulbarwick wrote:Whereabouts are you? When you say that you can't get anything with an antenna, do you mean an outdoor antenna or just rabbit ears?
A bit over 30 miles from SF, with a range of hills in the way.

We don't have an outdoor mounted TV antenna anywhere. However, we do have an attic antenna for FM radio, and it's inconsistent. One day, we can receive KFOG just fine, and the next, it's nothing but static. It's pretty much the same for almost all SF FM stations.

That's why we're reluctant to go to the expense of installing an outdoor antenna. Since OTA DT requires an even stronger signal, we don't want to waste money.

When I plugged our zip code into Sezmi's site, it said that we couldn't get any OTA stations, even with an external antenna.
by paulbarwick » Tue Aug 16, 2011 11:01 am
When I plugged our zip code into Sezmi's site, it said that we couldn't get any OTA stations, even with an external antenna.
It does indeed sound as if you are SOL then. The reason that I had asked is that many folks in the Bay Area live where they can get great OTA reception, they just don't know it. Several decades ago when I worked for the cable company in Marin the company had a couple of us do a survey where we mounted a regular rooftop antenna onto the bucket of a lift truck and checked the entire county for OTA signal quality. The company was not at all pleased with the results, which showed that customers throughout most of the county could get great OTA reception, often times with better picture quality than what we could deliver over the cable. Needless to say, the report was quickly buried.

I now live in the Mission District of SF and after trying a lot of different antennas have found that for me this http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Thin-Leaf-I ... 972&sr=1-1 works best. It brings in some 40 plus channels including all the network stations.
by virtualmike » Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:18 pm
paulbarwick wrote:...many folks in the Bay Area live where they can get great OTA reception, they just don't know it.
Agreed. Many people don't even check. And, of course, some people want the premium channels.

On the other hand, there are two cable companies in my town. Unfortunately, that situation doesn't seem to lower prices.
paulbarwick wrote:...after trying a lot of different antennas have found ... It brings in some 40 plus channels including all the network stations.
Useful link... thanks! While it likely won't work in our home, we might be able to use it for another application.
by gp1628 » Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:12 am
I cant get DirectTV to come out and verify that I can get a signal BEFORE signing a contract and getting the equipment put in. They say my areas can get it. I know my area can get it. But I can stand in my front yard and see two places that have horribly chopped huge sections of their trees into ugliness in order to make their satellite to work. I have very nice trees in my backyard that I will not sacrifice for that.
by zbarr » Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:56 am
http://www.dishpointer.com/
will show you.

DTV in vaca will be @;
Elevation: 44°
Azimuth (true): 161°
Azimuth (magn.): 147°

If dtv comes out and there is no line of sight, they have to let you out of contract and refund all charges. (if policies haven't changed in the last few years...)
by gp1628 » Wed Aug 17, 2011 9:04 am
Im pretty sure the answer is no. Looking at the other houses and picturing their dishes on my roof pointed in that direction, it seems like there is no place on my roof that can miss my trees.
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