TV/Internet/Phone options

[ice grillin you]

what pg said is the only thing i can see where verizon is better...a few people i know have fios and i see none of the things sb pointed out...it all seems exactly the same to me just different...pricing i dont know about...how much cheaper is verizon triple play vs comcast sb?

i have the comcast triple play and couldnt be happier...altho ive only ever had to call on them for customer service one time


and sling box looks like a total pain in the ass....dont you have to watch it on your computer it wont go from tv to tv right?...also wont you have to get a new connection put in the persons house who youre using it from...not to mention the sling box itself and the wiring that comes with it...

[Zanshin]

what pg said is the only thing i can see where verizon is better...a few people i know have fios and i see none of the things sb pointed out...it all seems exactly the same to me just different...pricing i dont know about...how much cheaper is verizon triple play vs comcast sb?

I don't know about comcast, but I had US Cable, and the difference is substantial...and the cost is roughly the same, but I have better service and more functionality.  In my case, I got $300 to switch, and my price guaranteed for two years.  Cable was nickle and diming me constantly.

The picture is FAR better.  And you'd only notice the difference in the internet speed if you have that need-- but my connection is far more stable, and about five times faster than it was before.  More importantly, my UPLOAD speeds are 5mbps now, which is a huge difference.  More than that, you don't see the traffic-related slowdowns at peak internet use times, like you do on cable.

My phone is more stable than it was before, too...but really that wasn't a really big deal for me.

All that said, I also like getting everything consolidated on one bill, including my cell.  It really depends on your needs...and how sick you are of the cable company.
   

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

UPLOAD speeds are 5mbps now   

That's killer.  My download speeds eclipse 6mbps, but my upload is < 0.5.  I currently am using DSL, even though I prefer cable, as the bundling is cheaper.

[Zanshin]

Oh, and on your other point-- it's legal issues that are keeping you from sharing DVR stuff, not technology issues.  You could actually do that now on TiVo, if you want...you'd just need your friend's TiVo number and he could send you a file that would work on your box using Tivo-to-go.  I transfer files between Tivo boxes in my house constantly across my network.

[Seabiscuit36]

what pg said is the only thing i can see where verizon is better...a few people i know have fios and i see none of the things sb pointed out...it all seems exactly the same to me just different...pricing i dont know about...how much cheaper is verizon triple play vs comcast sb?

i have the comcast triple play and couldnt be happier...altho ive only ever had to call on them for customer service one time


and sling box looks like a total pain in the ass....dont you have to watch it on your computer it wont go from tv to tv right?...also wont you have to get a new connection put in the persons house who youre using it from...not to mention the sling box itself and the wiring that comes with it...

I'll admit i'm a geek when it comes to technolgy, and i do notice differences in picture quality.  When DTV put up their new satellites, they offered more HD channels, but the regular SD picture got better.  For TV everything comes down to compression.  Regular cable is outdated when it comes to HD technology and the bandwiths needed to produce true signals, where as Fiber allows a much higher signal.  But if your the type of person who thinks 480p is awesome to watch, and IGY, most of america has no IDEA what true HD is, then yeah it doesnt matter. 

The amazing thing about people in this country is they swear that because they went out and bought a new HD tv that the picture is better.  The last study i saw was something like 40% of people who bought an HDTV in the past year didnt have HD service yet believed that they were watching HD. 

[Zanshin]

UPLOAD speeds are 5mbps now   

That's killer.  My download speeds eclipse 6mbps, but my upload is < 0.5.  I currently am using DSL, even though I prefer cable, as the bundling is cheaper.

yeah, that's great.  I have 20 mpps down and 5 mbps up.  Ridiculously fast.

[ice grillin you]

The amazing thing about people in this country is they swear that because they went out and bought a new HD tv that the picture is better.  The last study i saw was something like 40% of people who bought an HDTV in the past year didnt have HD service yet believed that they were watching HD.


before and right after i got a hd tv i thought this...i thought the tv made every program in hd...as opposed to the program having to be recorded in hd or broadcast in hd

[troyhstewart]

I signed up for comcast's triple play in January.  So,  needless to say, I've been slightly disappointed. My issues with the internet has been mainly old computer related, upgraded to the get NFLNetwork when I signed up, but the phone service is horrible.  How do I check availability on Verizon FIOS for my area ?

[Seabiscuit36]

http://www22.verizon.com/content/ConsumerFios

[mussa]

i can't wait to do away with comcast all together. i don't need TV, i just need internet. prob won't get out to the boonies though for a few years

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

If you weren't a gamer, you could probably get DSL and not notice much of a difference.


BTW, I recently had a major issue with my DSL, and they (AT&T, formerly BellSouth) came and fixed it.  The connection was great, but I still felt it left something to be desired on efficiency.  I did some hunting around and downloaded free 3rd party firmware (DD-WRT) for my wireless router (Linksys WRT54GL).

Holy crap.  Major difference.  If you use a wireless system and have some problems, the answer could very will lie within the firmware.

[Seabiscuit36]

If you weren't a gamer, you could probably get DSL and not notice much of a difference.


BTW, I recently had a major issue with my DSL, and they (AT&T, formerly BellSouth) came and fixed it.  The connection was great, but I still felt it left something to be desired on efficiency.  I did some hunting around and downloaded free 3rd party firmware (DD-WRT) for my wireless router (Linksys WRT54GL).

Holy crap.  Major difference.  If you use a wireless system and have some problems, the answer could very will lie within the firmware.

where did you find 3rd party stuff FF?  I just use Belkin's support site, but its crap much like their router

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

The specific one I'm using is at http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv3/index.php

You can check if your device could be supported here:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices#Belkin


Otherwise, I would just say to Google "Belkin firmware" and start some research.

[phattymatty]

i just noticed that i now get the cbs college sports network.  it's pretty awesome.

[Seabiscuit36]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271

http://consumerist.com/374090/comcast-degrades-hd-quality-to-make-room-for-more-channels

Basically proving Comcast is screwed with the conversion to HD