Prism/Direct ... Century Link Bundle
 

Would appreciate input on the following:

During a routine call to Century Link I was offered a "bundle" price to move my Direct TV to Century Link in the form of Prism which is cable.

I have had Direct for sometime and other than the fact it goes out when the wind blows:ohdear: etc., we have been pleased with the company. I am now being offered Prism, High Speed Internet and Phone service from Century Link. I would really like comments on Prism compared to Direct. Any information would help with my decision.

Also, can someone please tell me where Century Link is located .... I know it is on 441 and somewhere in the vicinity of Home Depot or around that four corner area where several shopping malls are located.

:) 441 in front of Target.

Thank you so much -

We have had the package you are referring to and have been very happy. We used to have Direct TV when we lived in MI, but we didn't want a dish mounted to the house. The cable never goes out in a storm.

Again, thank you. My Direct has been very unreliable, especially during all the rain we had last summer. Did you also have a saving when you took the "bundle". The salesman at Century Link was very fast talking and gave us the idea that we would be saving a large amount, which is why I need to get to talk to a real person in their office.

I had directv since 1997 in NY. We decided to try century link since prism is fiberoptic based very similar to Verizon FIOS, and with all the storms in central Florida did not want to lose the signal---always happens at the worst time. We have the bundle, upgraded to 40 mbs internetand couldn't be happier. The cost is highly dependent on the spectrum of TV channels you choose---ours is high since we have every premium channel (except porn).

Had Direct, dropped Direct. Storms in Florida and Satellite TV are not partners. Even with the new satellites. Went to Century Link Prism 18 months ago, couldn't be happier. Channel changes instantly with remote, no delay. Best of all, no loss of signal when storms are on the area. I have the bundle package, works well. Best to go into the store and find the plan that works best with your channel line up preference.

Our thanks!
 

Appreciate everyone taking the time to give us the needed information and intend to visit the store and find what is best for us!:)

We are in a similar situation as the OP. In Feb our 2 yr commit with Direct TV is up. The outage during heavy rains is an irritant, but OK. We have 3 TVs with the Genie wholehouse DVR, and use comcast for internet ($30mo).

Rather than talk to a fast-talker sales rep... How is the DVR use for CenturyLink? I think we heard that when looking at a recorded show, can't fast-forward esp thru commercials etc. If so, that would be a big NO for us. We record some shows simply to watch the hi-points and ffwrd thru commercials. We have the midrange plan, no sports packs or HBOlike channels.

I plan to call DTV when our contract is up, and prefer not to haggle simply to get HBO for 6 mos etc etc. Would like to switch to a good cable provider if the price is right and the service is AOK.
Any assist would be appreciated.

We've had Prism on CenturyLink since we moved here 2 years ago and have not had any problems, other the internet dropping a couple of times (a router reboot quickly fixed that). The DVR is great and we can watch recorded shows on both of our TVs in different rooms. We have never had a problem fast-forwarding and do it all the time to skip commercials.

Century Link is better than the rest. Very satisfied - had Direct, Dish and Comcast previously.

Get everything in writing from them. We signed up at the store and the sales person lied to us about the package. I was so angry when I found out I went back and confronted him but of course he denied telling us that. I can't tell you how many times we have been lied to by Century Link. The vacation status was suppose to cost us $17. It ended costing us $50. We lost our $5 discount for automatic payment because I updated my account with a new credit card when the card was comprised by Home Depot. It never ends with these people and unfortunately Comcast is no better.

We have had CenturyLink/Prism here for 3 years now. A 40 year subscriber of Time Warner in NY. CenturyLink Prism services work very well for the most part. On a minimum of occasions you may have to restart the cable modem/router box.

The one area they are weak in is getting the price right at the beginning and when you come back off of vacation if you are a snowbird.

I always have them quote me a price for my selected services and if I am uncomfortable with the price, I always negotiate until I get something reasonable. I usually go to the Retention department rep to negotiate, not the store rep. Usually when I get the first bill, it is always different than I was told it would be. I then call the 800 number, never the store reps. I always ask the rep for their Retention Department to resolve the billing issue. I always tell them that I expect consistent billing and want to stay with them a long time like Time Warner if they can give me a reduced price. If they can't, I am leaving.

Each year, I get a ridiculous cheap price and it stays consistent until I go away to my NY home and put it on vacation with a rate we agree upon. Usually about 15 to 20 bucks. The problem starts over again when I restart services and they tell me it will be at the last price I left off at before vacation status. When I get the 1st bill, it is always higher than expected and I call the 800 number again and ask for the Retention department rep. They have 100% of the time reduced the price back to keep me happy as a customer.

Remember, the store rep and the regular 800 rep have no authority to waive certain fees or give discounts. Only the Retention reps have that power to retain customers.

Cable companies are declining in their customer base due to the cord-cutters and are working diligently to retain customers. They will continue to raise your rates. If you don't ask for Retention help, you will continue to see increase in rates.

We did same, regretted it ever since, never had the price they quoted and you will never understand their bills!
If you still decide to go with them Century link is situated in Target area, across from Bamboo fusion

I have Century Link and am very happy. I have 4 TVs, can record multiple shows and watch on any TV in the house, also have a wireless setup so I can move one TV around. I can fast forward on all my recorded shows. You can't fast forward "on demand" shows, but that was the same with Brighthouse "on demand" also.

I’m glad this thread is here. I am one that loves my DIRECTV, I started with Dish about 17 years ago and moved to DTV about 10 years ago. I’ve heard of rain fade but never experienced it. We average about one thunderstorm every two years in Seattle so that’s not an issue either. Over the years I’ve become very comfortable with their DVR. I rarely watch a show live, always watch a program after it’s recorded. I like to fast forward thru commercials.

FL seems to be a different animal when it comes to Satellite TV. The signal would be lost in heavy rain and when a thunderstorm is overhead. Looks like cable is the only way to go for uninterrupted service. I will miss DTV but I’m sure centurylink has a fine DVR. Right?

I love prism. Get customer service. You can put second tv anywhere wirelessly. Great for lanai.

I took the leap to Prism yesterday for a Jan 2016 install when my DirecTV contract expires. Total of about $150 per month with taxes for 40Mbps internet, 290 channel Preferred package, DVR and two TVs active. This quadrupled my internet speed, gives me 50 more TV channels, and saves me $50 per month. Price locked in for two years. Now, hopefully my first Bill will reflect the deal I think I negotiated!

I have centurylink/prism but we don't have fiberoptic. the service on hardwire with internet and prism is still good but is limited to 10mps

I talked to them about 8 months ago and they would not quote taxes at all. Are you pretty sure about that $150. If so I may give them another look as I am now at the $200 mark with the bag lady package. Thanks for post

Opinion
 

We had CenturyLink when we moved to The Villages a little over a year ago. After 12 months of the monthly bills steadily increasing, constantly having to reset one of our boxes, and less than stellar picture quality (pixelation), we switched to Comcast. I never thought I'd say it about Comcast, but we couldn't be happier. TV picture is back to excellent (like when we had FIOS), super fast internet, and phone coverage. All this for $154.00 per month. This includes a DVR, a set top box for the lanai, and all the taxes.

I forgot to mention, you can download recorded shows to your iPad or similar device to watch at your convenience.



QUOTE=Madelaine Amee;1157115]Would appreciate input on the following:

During a routine call to Century Link I was offered a "bundle" price to move my Direct TV to Century Link in the form of Prism which is cable.

I have had Direct for sometime and other than the fact it goes out when the wind blows:ohdear: etc., we have been pleased with the company. I am now being offered Prism, High Speed Internet and Phone service from Century Link. I would really like comments on Prism compared to Direct. Any information would help with my decision.

Also, can someone please tell me where Century Link is located .... I know it is on 441 and somewhere in the vicinity of Home Depot or around that four corner area where several shopping malls are located.[/QUOTE]