Comcast vs Direct Vs Dish

[Franz and Pat]

New to the villages. Any advice on these dealers -- which is best, service etc. Thanks

[graciegirl]

Franz and Pat..HI! Franz is my brother in laws' name, don't run into too many of them.

We heard and are following the advice of others to get Direct TV. We recently switched to Direct TV in our Northern home and brought the boxes with us, so that when we have it installed here we can use it. ONE bill.

I don't know how that works, I am still baffled by the microwave.

[starflyte1]

Can you get internet thru Dirctv?

[aln]

DirecTV is my choice mostly because I want the NFL Ticket.
BUT I also had it up north and always did like their service and quality.
If sports isn't a need, you can probably match Dishnetwork and DirecTV up pretty close.

Yes you can get interent through HughesNET which I believe is associated with DirecTV (NOT SURE) ......but it is very expensive.

Take the DSL option with Embarq if you choose not to go with Comcast.

[BarryB]

Are there certain restrictions where to place the dish on house?
I was on the phone with embarq yesterday. They said my address is so new they are not set up to provide DSL yet. For now I will gowith comcast

[aln]

Restrictions - yes.
Pretty simple tho'
Fill out the architectual review form - submit - get approved - install.

[The Great Fumar]

Gracie,,

when you get here with your boxes from up north , you call directtv and tell them you have changed your location ., when you give them your zip code they switch your service to the satellite serving this area.......or so i've been told....
Sounds kind of slick though......

Fumar

[EdV]

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides limitations on restrictions that an association can impose. Here’s a link to the fact sheet on that law: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

Although regulations that require a person to obtain a permit or approval prior to installation are generally prohibited, regulations that serve a legitimate safety or historic preservation purpose may be permissible. So to avoid any problems, I think it would be prudent for an owner to do the following:

1. Have your antenna installer select the least obtrusive location for it that provides an acceptable quality signal.
2. Submit the plan on the basis of it being a simple notification process of your intent.
3. If the association rejects it, the burden of proof is on them to provide an acceptable alternative.

[graciegirl]

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides limitations on restrictions that an association can impose. Here’s a link to the fact sheet on that law: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

Although regulations that require a person to obtain a permit or approval prior to installation are generally prohibited, regulations that serve a legitimate safety or historic preservation purpose may be permissible. So to avoid any problems, I think it would be prudent for an owner to do the following:

1. Have your antenna installer select the least obtrusive location for it that provides an acceptable quality signal.
2. Submit the plan on the basis of it being a simple notification process of your intent.
3. If the association rejects it, the burden of proof is on them to provide an acceptable alternative.

You can call it what you want, Submit first. Dish is Not allowed on roof I am told. I am sure the direct tv installers are familiar with the restrictions after having moved a few. I know the good landscapers know what is allowed and not allowed.

[EdV]

GG. Not sure who “They” are, but they are wrong. It’s not what they say you can do but what the US Government says you can do with the placement of satellite dishes and over the air antennas for broadcast reception. And the reason the law was enacted is that the frequencies that these specific dishes and antennas receive are part of the National Alert System (formerly the Emergency Broadcast System) and would be used in a state of National emergency. That’s also the reason why the law doesn’t apply to other types of antennas such as HAM or CB antennas.

There’s no question that your roof is last place that The Villages wants you to put an antenna, and I certainly agree with that. But if your roof is the only place on your property that the antenna can receive an acceptable quality signal, then the government’s response to any action to prohibit you would be as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North said when threatened by the Wicked Witch of the West: "Oh, rubbish. You have no power here.”

[EdV]

Just ran across the Architectural Review Committee's Guideline for Use of Satellite Dishes in The Villages:

http://www.vccdd.org/vccdd/SatDishGuidelines.asp

It recognizes the FCC rule but rightly requires you to place the dish in the least obtrusive location that can receive an acceptable signal.

[diskman]

DirecTV is my choice mostly because I want the NFL Ticket.
BUT I also had it up north and always did like their service and quality.
If sports isn't a need, you can probably match Dishnetwork and DirecTV up pretty close.

Yes you can get interent through HughesNET which I believe is associated with DirecTV (NOT SURE) ......but it is very expensive.

Take the DSL option with Embarq if you choose not to go with Comcast.


YOU DON'T want hughes net for internet service VERY EXPENSIVE and unnecessary.

[Freeda]

We use DirectTV and use Comcast for our internet; very happy with both. Of course, as with any satellite TV, weather can sometimes disrupt reception, but we have noticed very little problem with that; and has always been brief when it occurs.

Comcast offered us a low price of about $26 per month for high speed internet as a new customer for the first year when we moved here a little more than a year ago; then, when they were recently going to increase it to the 'regular' price of about $55-60 per month, I negotiated, and they cut it down to $36 per month for the ongoing bill. Freeda Clark

[carolynpage]

New to the villages. Any advice on these dealers -- which is best, service etc. Thanks
Actually I prefer Direct TV to either of the ones you listed. (I have had all 3).

[NJblue]

I called Comcast about a month ago and they have a little price anomaly that may be of interest to those wanting to go with a satellite service for their main TVs but have basic (i.e., local stations) for auxiliary TVs. That is, the price that they charge for Internet-only service is almost exactly what they charge for a package comprising Internet plus basic cable. (Actually, their price for the latter is actually a little cheaper than for Internet only.)

What this means is that rather than pay the per-TV charge that satellite providers charge for the monthly receiver rental, you can put basic cable on all TVs that you may only use occasionally (i.e., guest rooms). This frees you up from having to have another ugly box by these TVs and also provides backup TV service in case the satellite service is knocked out by a storm. While a cheaper solution (assuming you want cable Internet access), the trade off is that the auxiliary TVs will not have all of the channels that the satellite service provides.

[jandbrare]

I use DISH Satellite, and Embarq DSL for Internet. I had Comcast cable previously. I like this combination better than Comcast. I think it is cheaper, too. Now that Comcast will be all digital (formerly it wasn't), the choice may be more difficult. DISH has provided good customer service, however, and that is important.

I recently installed an HD TV and upgraded my DISH service to HD. HD service required a second antenna, which was placed on a 6-ft mast near the existing antenna. The new antenna points in a different direction than the old. I suppose this new HD antenna is required for that reason: different satellite(s)? But, I don't like having two antennas. I'm told by a neighbor who uses DIRECT Satellite that, he only needs one antenna.

Maybe someone can provide some input on the need for two antennas. If DIRECT only requires one, I'd prefer DIRECT, if starting over. (I have a new 2-year contract with DISH, now.)

[Best Mom]

I use Embarq in a package for my phone and wireless.

I took a survey of about 35 people I know down here on what to do for TV. Many different answers but the service most liked was Direct TV. So I just changed from basic Comcast to Direct TV with a special of 29.00 dollars a month for 150 channels. My direct TV has a small dish they put on the back of my house -high up on the corner. You can't see it from the street. I don't know much about all this but am very happy so far!
The 29 dollars is for the first year, but the dealer said there probably will be another good deal after the year is up.:shrug:

[TTyPalms]

I also have the $29 for the first year with Direc TV, but I wonder if there won't be any option for another deal after the year as we are no longer a "new" customer.

Shouldn't loyalty trump new!?

[NJblue]

I just ordered DirecTV and they said that the first year introductory rate was for 1 year only and that when you sign up for this rate/promotion you are committing to a two-year contract. If you cancel before the 2 years, they will bill you at a rate of $20 per month times the number of months remaining on your contract. Hence, I doubt that they will give you another "introductory" rate at the end of the first year. Perhaps after year 2 they might be willing to do something to keep you.

[Ohiogirl]

Does anyone know if Comcast has, or will soon get, the Big 10 Network? And does it cost extra to get it on DirecTV?

[NJblue]

I can't answer the Comcast part. As to the extra cost for DirecTV, that depends on how you define extra cost. They have various tiers with each tier costing more but also providing more stations. I don't recall if the Big 10 Network is included on any of the lower tiers. However, it is definitely included as one of the stations on at least their top two upper-end tiers at no additional cost (other than what the cost delta for those tiers is).

Note that they also offer a "Sports Package" which can be added to any of the tiers for $12 per month. The Big 10 Network is not part of this package and hence you are not required to buy this package in order to get the Big 10 Network.

[starflyte1]

We had Comcast Budget Pkg, 3 for $99 installed on Friday. Finally got the internet (no fault of Comcast) yesterday and find that it is very sloooow. Am already thinking of upgrading.

[iandwk]

Has anyone had both dishnetwork and direct tv in HD? I tried direct up in NW GA and it was horrible. I kept it less than 24 hours before switching to dish network. It was head and shoulders above direct, and even better than the cable. All the direct tv installers would say was, "Man, that HD looks great!"I told them that something was wrong, but they just said that was the way it always looked and that the picture was excellent.

I had switched to it from cable because cable only offered about 8 channels in HD, but the HD was good, so I knew what it should look like, and it was far from great.

[Number 6]

The Big Ten Network is in DirecTV's Choice Package. This is one level above the Family Package.

[jandbrare]

Cable is 10-30 times faster than DSL, which is what is bundled with the satellite TV services. I know. I switched from DSL to cable and used a web site to measure the download speeds.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Cable is 10-30 times faster than DSL, which is what is bundled with the satellite TV services. I know. I switched from DSL to cable and used a web site to measure the download speeds. Your ultimate internet speed is, in part, going to be a factor of the speed of your service provider, isn't it? For example, you can get both DSL and cable service in varying rated speeds (at least up north in OH and elsewhere, I'm sure). Additionally, without getting overly technical, a DSL set-up and a cable set-up have other factors that impact how quickly they function - number of users on the network at the same time, distance from the service provider, etc.

Bill

[mrdills]

For 5 bucks a month from Comcast you can get the Big 10 channel plus 8 other channels, not a bad price and when the season is over you can cancel it without any penalties.

[jblum8156]

My Dish antenna is on the roof, in the back, cannot be seen from the street. I'm very happy with Dish, good package selection, great HD picture, good DVR, only one brief outage because of weather in 6 months. good customer service. It's not cheap with all the bells and whistles. I have Comcast Cable for phone and broadband internet and it adds up to about the same if I had Comcast for all three.

[quidam65]

I previously had DirecTV at my current residence, switched over from Comcast. It would always go out with any sort of bad weather. (And the ultimate irony is that the first channel to go out would always be ... The Weather Channel!) Went back to Comcast and (though they later sold this area's franchise to Time Warner) haven't looked back.

[MartyRR]

Gracie,,

when you get here with your boxes from up north , you call directtv and tell them you have changed your location ., when you give them your zip code they switch your service to the satellite serving this area.......or so i've been told....
Sounds kind of slick though......

Fumar


Yes, it works just that easy. We have a motorhome and when we snow bird we take a box with us and switch our location once settled in, and then switch it back when we return home to VA.

[Ohiogirl]

For 5 bucks a month from Comcast you can get the Big 10 channel plus 8 other channels, not a bad price and when the season is over you can cancel it without any penalties.

What do you mean "when the season is over"? There's basketball, baseball, a short break (think Big Ten Classics) then football again!

[askcarl]

Just did the D-Comcast-Dish dance. Play them off each other with multiple phone calls. Always ID yourself. Each company keeps a record of your calls and the next agent can see you're a serious shopper.

I ended up with DTV, free NFL ticket, premium package with all movies, etc.... free DVR and $10 off the bill for 2 yrs (negates the HD charge). When I complained about the install date, they moved it up for a two day wait.

So far so good. I do know that storms, wind/rain will knock out the signal for a while.

Comcast was a tempting choice do to the whole house access with one set top box. One HD box for the main tv and all other tvs would get SD signal. no other boxes necessary.

Tough choice made easier when I found out Century link had fiber optic to the house at 10mps. installer said the plan was to increase the speed availabel to 20 to 25mps by next year. Woot!

Carl

[ajbrown]

Tough choice made easier when I found out Century link had fiber optic to the house at 10mps. installer said the plan was to increase the speed availabel to 20 to 25mps by next year. Woot!

Carl

Is this high speed Internet over fiber in TV? I am about to do my yearly fall dance with Comcast and have never heard of this. If nothing else it is nice leverage.

[Ohiogirl]

We've had the internet service thru CenturyLink (used to be Embarq) for a year or more now. I'm not really sure which speed we have (Bill just says "high speed internet") but it's been fine whenever we visit. Don't notice any difference between the CenturyLink DSL (I guess that's what it is) and the cable connection we have in Ohio thru WOW (Wide Open West).

[REDCART]

Just did the D-Comcast-Dish dance. Play them off each other with multiple phone calls. Always ID yourself. Each company keeps a record of your calls and the next agent can see you're a serious shopper.

I ended up with DTV, free NFL ticket, premium package with all movies, etc.... free DVR and $10 off the bill for 2 yrs (negates the HD charge). When I complained about the install date, they moved it up for a two day wait.

So far so good. I do know that storms, wind/rain will knock out the signal for a while.

Comcast was a tempting choice do to the whole house access with one set top box. One HD box for the main tv and all other tvs would get SD signal. no other boxes necessary.

Tough choice made easier when I found out Century link had fiber optic to the house at 10mps. installer said the plan was to increase the speed availabel to 20 to 25mps by next year. Woot!

Carl

Carl, Do you know for a fact that your underground utilities includes a fiber cable because this is the first time that we're hearing that TV had the insight to pull fiber. (We never understood why they never did so.) Are you relying on the people at Century Link to know for a fact that you have a dedicated Century Link fiber cable "underground" to the house. Because if you don't, the cost of pulling fiber is prohibitive, and they're not going to pull one just for you.

George

[SunnyDaze]

Our experience with centurylink/directv has been fantastic, thus far.

Originally had dish network, and they just weren't that great for me. About 2 weeks ago, dropped them for directv.

Already have internet phone, which I highly recommend as it is incredibly cost effective. I also highly recommend subscribing to Netflix.

Yes, I did have to cancel the dish contract and pay a $75 penalty.

BUT...between what was offerred promotionally at that time, and rebates we qualified for, I have all the movie channels, NFL Sunday ticket and a host of college games, and a total bill of less than $80 a month including tax for 12 months. Dish/Centurylink was around $128/mo.

Also, since I let the rep know I was calling from the referral of a current customer, both that account and mine will be credited with $100. So that's the payment of the cancellation fee with dish.

As far as the dish location, I had planted a medium sized lagustrum(sp?) in the back south corner of my home. Turns out it can mask the pole and dish beautifully, without impeding reception.

I had a exceptionally positive experience in changing providers, so if anyone has questions, please feel free to PM me.

[jblum8156]

My Dish antenna is on the roof. The installer never lost a beat, he just went ahead and put it there. It's in the back, where it doesn't show at all from the front

[askcarl]

Carl, Do you know for a fact that your underground utilities includes a fiber cable because this is the first time that we're hearing that TV had the insight to pull fiber. (We never understood why they never did so.) Are you relying on the people at Century Link to know for a fact that you have a dedicated Century Link fiber cable "underground" to the house. Because if you don't, the cost of pulling fiber is prohibitive, and they're not going to pull one just for you.

George

George,

I witnessed the installation. The exterior box is shown in the listed Pic.http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/3417/fiberoptic.jpg. Hope it loads to this site. Orange sticker says Fiber Optic. Box is 18"H x 12" W x 4" deep. There is a dual battery backup on the interior garage wall plugged in to AC.

There are two ATT white and orange marker poles just behind my back fence that are marked Fiber Optic. Coincidence??? I don't know.

The connection in my Den is Ethernet. Not phone line. I'm using a cat5e cable to my wireless router. No modem present. Straight from the wall to my wireless router. Checking speed on the internet shows just under 10mb/s. Not that those test are always accurate. http://www.speedtest.net/result/1003369071.png I performed the test 2 rooms away from the router while on a wireless Asus NetBook . My desktop machine isn't hooked up yet.

I'd say it's fiber Optic. I couldn't believe it either. My first clue should have been when Century Link set up an installation date. I had ATT DSL line down south and they just mailed me the modem kit and said, "DIY".

The CenturyLink installer was here for about an hour. He changed out the Den phone jack to a dual ethernet/phone line jack plate. I have a phone number attached to the account. I don't pay for the phone #/line. I can use 911 outbound and inbound calls are free. If I try to call a landline, I get charged by the minute. I don't know the rate. I only use my cellphone for calls.


Hopefully, this is the start of better Internet service for us all.

Carl

Edited by carl: All of the phone wiring in my house is Cat5e. No 4 wire POTS.

[Bosoxfan]

I also have the $29 for the first year with Direc TV, but I wonder if there won't be any option for another deal after the year as we are no longer a "new" customer.

Shouldn't loyalty trump new!?

I've had Direct Tv since 1999 and love it..but no loyalty doesn't trump new.New customers get the better deal although you can negotiate .For example new gets free hd for life..we called and were told we could get free hd for 2 years.We have century link(embarq) for our dsl.We also take our boxes back & forth nrth to south and everything works out great!!

[islandgal]

Contract?
Price increase after xx number of months?
Additional charges?

[BobKat1]

askcarl, thanks for the link.

I ran the test here at home in IL and it came back 21.13Mb/s download and 4.30Mb/s upload (Comcast).

As you said, not sure how accurate these tests are, but it's good to know.

[askcarl]

askcarl, thanks for the link.

I ran the test here at home in IL and it came back 21.13Mb/s download and 4.30Mb/s upload (Comcast).

As you said, not sure how accurate these tests are, but it's good to know.

You got some Download/upload there Bob. I'll retest when I get my desktop unpacked. I'm waiting for a murphybed/office installation in the den.

Didn't think it would take this long to get the new house set up. LoL

Carl

[BobKat1]

You got some Download/upload there Bob. I'll retest when I get my desktop unpacked. I'm waiting for a murphybed/office installation in the den.

Didn't think it would take this long to get the new house set up. LoL

Carl

Let us know how you come out on the restest. BTW the test site said I was 50 miles from the server.

[golfnut]

I have comcast triple play, regular cost (not a promotion) for basic service on all 3 is $99/month. Very happy with their service and IMO internet is not slow....gn