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

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

I think you're leaving a little scripture out of your sermon. Either that or you don't know people who are rabid fans of TV shows. Hulu only carries a few episodes of a program at a time. Netflix Streaming may not get the content for up to a year, and it might not be in HD, and it might not even be a full season.

Similarly, the library doesn't necessarily have the latest and greatest.

Not saying they're not good options, depending on your situation (I use Netflix myself), just that there are definite drawbacks.

TV has always been a flood of crap; that's not the provider's fault, that's the fault of the channels and the audience.

[jodi.livejournal.com]

true! as fire and brimstone as my anti-cable rant might be, the true believing rabid fans will need cable to mainline their smack. personally, i don't need to see a show the exact night it comes on (i've always found it weird that people will say "i can't go out that night, my show is on") so i may be gah-gah over certain shows, but i am able to be just patient enough to take them whenever they come to me (they are still brand new to me whether i see them in September of January). not everyone can make that disconnect.