cwbrandt
01-29-2012, 10:22 AM
Couldn't decide on which of the many existing posts I should post my tv / internet / phone solutions so I figured I would start a new post instead.
After the wonderful advice I got from TOTV I decided to use DIRECTV for TV, COMCAST for internet and OOMA for phone.
PHONE=OOMA
Ooma is a VOIP phone connected through the internet. I actually learned about it on TOTV and it was a perfect solution for our situation. OOMA is (usually) a very clear connection, and a much cheaper alternative if you don't add on all the bells and whistles which I did. OOMA is still cheaper and after a 1 year payback for purchasing the phone and a wireless adapter it will cost about $13/month. If you don't get premier or need any of the other special features it can cost as little as $3/ month. Ooma works perfectly for us since we will be here for 8 months of the year and back in the DC area for 4 months and can take the phone with us anywhere, so we are not just relying on AT&T wireless. We ported our old phone number, which we have had for 41 years so old friends can still find us. I have it set up so all my house phones are connected as well as a few cordless phones like a regular landline. I like being able to put my iPhone where it gets the best (if any) reception and pick up any house phone when I get a call. THere are a great many other features which can be researched at OOMA.COM.
INTERNET=COMCAST
I miss Verizon FIOS which is sooooo much faster and better. But this is the best solution for this area. We rely on the internet so we have BLAST! EXTRA which gives us 8 up, 16 down and 25 power boost. I've speed tested it and we get a little bit better than promised. FIOS was definitely faster but this is ok. We have no contract since I am still hoping something better might come along so I am paying $40/ month ($48.13 with taxes). THis says it is a promotional price but I thought that the promotional price was $30/month so I will have to check this out. THIs includes 1 std basic cable tv so we can watch local tv if desired, or just tv period if the satellite goes out in the middle of a storm. We set the std tv in our 3rd bedroom since we don't intend to watch it very often.
TV=DIRECTV
We had DISH for years in Maryland and we were pretty happy with it but DIRECTV is so much better that I am glad I tried it. THere are just so many features that I don't think anyone could ever say there is nothing they wanted to watch on TV. We tried COMCAST tv when we were here last winter to see whether we would want it when we finally moved down here. We were not impressed at all with the DVR performance, the tv performance or the interface. The only thing I liked about COMCAST was being able to use my computer to watch shows when I wanted.
DIRECTV has a great picture, a great easy to use DVR (which is how we watch most TV to avoid commercials), and wonderful features. My husband can watch two sporting events at the same time and switch back and forth without missing anything. We can access an incredible number of free movies as well as pay-for-view. We can watch anything we record in any room and even on an iPad when I get one. We have the CHOICE XTRA plan and since we are already addicted to HBO and SHOWTIME we will pay for them when the 3 month trial is over. So we are currently paying $62/month ($70 including taxes). We will have to add $31/month after 12 months for the remainder of our 2 year contract but that averages about $85/month without the HBO etc. Adding HBO etc. adds up to what we were paying for DISH alone up north. But the service is so much better that it will be hard to switch if I need return to DISH to get the costs down again.
I know this is a very long post with a great deal of information, but I promised myself I would pay back and write it all down for others since I found this forum so helpful when I was trying to decide what to do. By the way, if you decide to get DIRECTV, send me a PM since we will both get $100 off when you subscribe.
Cindy
After the wonderful advice I got from TOTV I decided to use DIRECTV for TV, COMCAST for internet and OOMA for phone.
PHONE=OOMA
Ooma is a VOIP phone connected through the internet. I actually learned about it on TOTV and it was a perfect solution for our situation. OOMA is (usually) a very clear connection, and a much cheaper alternative if you don't add on all the bells and whistles which I did. OOMA is still cheaper and after a 1 year payback for purchasing the phone and a wireless adapter it will cost about $13/month. If you don't get premier or need any of the other special features it can cost as little as $3/ month. Ooma works perfectly for us since we will be here for 8 months of the year and back in the DC area for 4 months and can take the phone with us anywhere, so we are not just relying on AT&T wireless. We ported our old phone number, which we have had for 41 years so old friends can still find us. I have it set up so all my house phones are connected as well as a few cordless phones like a regular landline. I like being able to put my iPhone where it gets the best (if any) reception and pick up any house phone when I get a call. THere are a great many other features which can be researched at OOMA.COM.
INTERNET=COMCAST
I miss Verizon FIOS which is sooooo much faster and better. But this is the best solution for this area. We rely on the internet so we have BLAST! EXTRA which gives us 8 up, 16 down and 25 power boost. I've speed tested it and we get a little bit better than promised. FIOS was definitely faster but this is ok. We have no contract since I am still hoping something better might come along so I am paying $40/ month ($48.13 with taxes). THis says it is a promotional price but I thought that the promotional price was $30/month so I will have to check this out. THIs includes 1 std basic cable tv so we can watch local tv if desired, or just tv period if the satellite goes out in the middle of a storm. We set the std tv in our 3rd bedroom since we don't intend to watch it very often.
TV=DIRECTV
We had DISH for years in Maryland and we were pretty happy with it but DIRECTV is so much better that I am glad I tried it. THere are just so many features that I don't think anyone could ever say there is nothing they wanted to watch on TV. We tried COMCAST tv when we were here last winter to see whether we would want it when we finally moved down here. We were not impressed at all with the DVR performance, the tv performance or the interface. The only thing I liked about COMCAST was being able to use my computer to watch shows when I wanted.
DIRECTV has a great picture, a great easy to use DVR (which is how we watch most TV to avoid commercials), and wonderful features. My husband can watch two sporting events at the same time and switch back and forth without missing anything. We can access an incredible number of free movies as well as pay-for-view. We can watch anything we record in any room and even on an iPad when I get one. We have the CHOICE XTRA plan and since we are already addicted to HBO and SHOWTIME we will pay for them when the 3 month trial is over. So we are currently paying $62/month ($70 including taxes). We will have to add $31/month after 12 months for the remainder of our 2 year contract but that averages about $85/month without the HBO etc. Adding HBO etc. adds up to what we were paying for DISH alone up north. But the service is so much better that it will be hard to switch if I need return to DISH to get the costs down again.
I know this is a very long post with a great deal of information, but I promised myself I would pay back and write it all down for others since I found this forum so helpful when I was trying to decide what to do. By the way, if you decide to get DIRECTV, send me a PM since we will both get $100 off when you subscribe.
Cindy