About cable and other TV services

[tfarrell.livejournal.com]

So, we all know RCN has turned off their analog signal. (They got my neighborhood today.) I phoned up RCN and asked them to disconnect my service. I thought I might share some information on our alternatives.


I was paying about $65/month for standard cable from RCN. I don't remember what their "basic" cable price was.

Comcast doesn't seem to want to divulge their pricing on their web site. They offer a promotional price for roughly equivalent service to what I had (except with box) for about $40/month, but it says that's only for 6 months and then you get charged their regular price, whatever that is. Their lowest package starts at a promotional price of about $30/month, and again, they don't divulge what you'll be paying after 6 months. A comcast guy just stopped by my house to offer me a special of about $90/month for cable, phone, and internet, with no contract. I'm guessing that's also only for 6 months, I forgot to ask.

Dish Network offers roughly equivalent service for about $33/month. Their cheapest package starts at about $20/month. If I understand correctly, with them you don't have to buy the equipment (dish and box) and if you get the basic equipment they don't charge extra for it. They usually have some kind of promotional deal about installation charges.

DirecTV has packages from about $30/month up, but like Comcast, those are promotional prices - after 12 months you'll be paying more. (But hey, 12 months beats 6 months, and I'm sure most providers will raise their prices in a year anyway.) DirecTV requires you to own your own equipment, but they'll apparently give you some equipment for free, depending on what you want.

I'm not going to get any of these right now. I'm going to take the money I was spending on cable and use it for legal downloads of TV shows. You can purchase downloads of popular shows from iTunes and Amazon Unbox, as well as getting free shows for streaming viewing on Hulu, Joost, and I understand a few shows are now being put on Youtube too. If you, like me, only watched a few shows anyway, these alternatives may actually get you what you want for less money. I'm going to give it a try, anyway.

Comments

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

Or, alternatively, you could just stick with RCN.

Has Comcast switched from analog to digital yet? I just don't want to hear someone singing the same song in a different key three weeks from now (or whenever).

[truered.livejournal.com]

If they haven't, they will soon, and you get to pay their hefty start-up fees to boot.

[forgotten-aria.livejournal.com]

It's not gauenteed that switching to digitial requires a box. My understanding is that RCN has decided abandon their boxless customers. There's no indication that comcast will do the same...

however, we are talking about comcast here.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

I know I'm totally out of it, but isn't there a rebate of some kind on digital-to-analog boxes to help ease consumers through the transition?

[0bsessions.livejournal.com]

Yes. Just run a google search. There's a government site that is doing this. You can redeem it at any Radio Shack.

Even at that, the boxes are only $40 without the rebate anyway.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

But those boxes aren't the solution to this problem; they don't decode encrypted cable signals, they just convert digital broadcast signals into an analog signal an old TV can understand.

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

They decode ATSC only, not QAM, if I understand correctly. So they are of no help here.

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

According to Comcast's site (http://www.comcast.com/dtvsite/tool.html), if you're hooked up to their cable, you're OK. But again, as you say....we are talking about Comcast here.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

My understanding is that RCN has decided abandon their boxless customers.

I don't think that's really true. RCN will now give you the first box for free, whereas a few years ago you had to pay for it. That's not really abandonment, so I'm not sure what you're getting at.