Why couldn't you take it on a plane??

Maybe you can but it seems that a black electronic box in the possession of a passenger might be cause for concern. If we can take it, we will.

lou and carolyn c. -

you posted, "...needless to say that by mid April we had decided that we would be needing the cable back on, because we planned an unexpected trip to the villages in May..."

if your service is like my friend's comcast triple play bundle [village of silver lake] your cable service is still connected and live when on vacation mode - BUT - it only offers the basic service plan. so if/when you have short, surprise visits to tv after your cable goes 'on vacation' and IF you can abide having only basic channels, you can disconnect the digital box and connect the cable directly to the television for service! no cost for reversing and restarting the 'vacation' mode and no need to call comcast during the short trip.

your 'on vacation' phone is also available for use to make outgoing calls - BUT - only in the local calling area - no long distance available!

njbchubum:
We only have Cable in the Villages. What you stated here is very informative, I did not think about just the basic cable part of our service when planning on our return trip, very interesting to say the least. Thank you for this information, I will keep it in memory (hopefully) if and when this happens to us again.

I had DirecTV in Ohio and continued it in TV. I'm into HD and it's better than Dish or cable. Using Comcast only for Internet ($35.95/mo). Bought my own modem for 50 bucks so I avoid the rental fee. Using OOMA for phone service. Purchase the unit for about $200 and starting the second year pay an annual fed tax of about $12. That's the only cost...no monthly like Vonage. If you're a snowbird, you can use your OOMA anywhere you have an internet connection.

I thought that OOMA couldn't be used in Canada. Has this changed, do you know?

I'm thrilled with Direct TV and, for now, we have Comcast for out internet service. I also purchased OOMA for our phone service and it has worked flawlessly with no degradation in voice quality as compared to Comcast. Other than a small tax, we do not have a monthly telephone bill.

Once my contract with Comcast is up, I plan to change to Century Link for internet service. I believe there is an additional $5 credit for bundling both Century link and Direct TV ( I'm not sure who provides the credit ).

Worse case: UPS them down to your place in TV a day or two before you leave. You'll beat them down there since you're flying.

Bill :)

Not sure about Canada

We currently have COMCAST for TV, but I am looking at other options such as DISH or DIRECTV ... we have 4 TVs and my understanding is that you have to have (and pay for) multiple receivers (4?) and may have to do some rewiring of the cable runs ... IF this is true, what does it end up costing and is it worth it?

With DirecTV, it's $6 per box and the first one is free. So 4 TVs would be an extra $18 per month. Any rewiring or cable runs is part of their free installation. DirecTV is definitely better than Comcast.

THANKS for your reply ... what does it end up costing per month for basic TV package? Why did you choose DirectTV over DISH?

I'm still in the promotion period so right now it's $55 per month for two TVs. After the first year, it goes up to about $85 per month. That's their second tier without premium channels - HBO, etc.

I choose DirecTV over Dish primarily because DirecTV offered a highly rated 100 hour HD DVR and video on demand. Dish doesn't really tell you what you are getting. Dish also has a more complicated fee schedule.

I've been a satisfied DirecTV subscriber for 16 years. I subscribed originally because I wanted a better college basketball package than my cable service had. The picture quality is top-notch, the high def channel availability is excellent and they still have the best sports packages around. The Extra Innings baseball package enables me to watch virtually every Red Sox game.

I contacted JetBlue about taking carrying on my HD/DVR receiver with me so that I will have it in hand when the DirecTV installer comes for the setup. Not only did they respond quickly but positively. I can carry it on as long as it can fit in an appropriately sized piece of luggage. Problem solved.