how-to block ads
|
|
Uniqs:
455 |
Share Topic
 |
 |
|
|
 IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
 ·Comcast
 ·Verizon Broadban..
| Will never cut the cord The OTA signals around here are unusable, especially after the DTV conversion. My mother's cousin in Northampton (MA) tried various antennas (including amplified antennas, both with a converter box and newer digital TV) and could not get reception of the channels she got before the DTV switchover. So she signed up for basic cable (about $8 per month) which gives her local broadcast stations and a few government access channels. Most (if not all) of the other residents in that building subscribe to cable for the same reason. I am surprised that Comcast is not required to provide free cable to that building as it is subsidized housing for special needs/senior citizens and if I am correct, most cable companies are required by their franchising agreement to provide schools, hospitals, and various non profit agencies free basic or expanded basic cable. Where I grew up (Cedar Rapids, IA), the cable company there (was sold to various operators throughout my childhood) was required by the franchising agreement to provide municipal buildings, schools, libraries, hospitals, and non-profit human service agencies with free cable and they usually got expanded basic.
I tried picking up broadcast TV at my house and the signals are unusable as well as there is too much interference in the area (Springfield MA, urban area).
A good way to stop the cord cutters would be to waive the 250GB cap on HSI for customers who subscribe to basic (or above) cable but don't give Comcast any ideas. Also, subscribing to basic cable also puts you on the books as a video subscriber and the $8 per month on the basic cable saves you about $15 on the internet bill. When I had DirecTV for about 4 years, I subscribed to basic cable to keep the internet bill down.
There is so much more content available on cable than there is on OTA broadcasts. And the DVRs are very handy because you can watch the local evening news when you eat dinner. Also with the recession, the cable companies are offering some very sweet deals on triple play bundles (many with add-ons like higher internet tiers and premium channels).
--
I wish I still lived in Iowa; Everything there from rent and groceries to Cable TV is much cheaper in Iowa (especially with an overbuilder in town). | |
covfam
join:2012-03-05
Black River Falls, WI | WoW only $8 b a month for basic cable where your at? well with charter its $30 a month! thats the same price as therr select bundle with expanded basic and all the HD channels (since its charter the service isnt all that great anyhow) and charter isnt the only one that charging $30-40 a month for thier lowest priced package many companies are now charging alot more for thier "basic" service | |
IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA Reviews:
·Comcast
·Verizon Broadban..
| In Western Massachusetts (at least in Comcast areas), the basic tier averages about $8 per month (including taxes and fees) for bare-bones broadcast basic which includes the local broadcast channels, any required public access/educational/government access channels, and about 2 or 3 shopping channels like HSN and QVC (which I suspect the cable company actually makes money from carrying on their system) and also EWTN (free channel provided by the Roman Catholic church).
I think the rates for broadcast basic are regulated by the franchising authority (here in Mass, it is the state DPU), but the rates for anything above broadcast basic (such as expanded basic, digital cable, high speed internet, cable phone, etc) are unregulated.
Basic cable is handy, especially if the broadcast OTA signals are unusable (due to local interference) or you live too far away from the TV transmitters.
I have many more channels than just basic. I subscribe the the Xfinity Triple Play preferred plus (than includes HBO, Starz, Digital Preferred, blast (50/10) internet and home phone) and I got a good price on it (about $160 per month for the whole package including equipment).
--
I wish I still lived in Iowa; Everything there from rent and groceries to Cable TV is much cheaper in Iowa (especially with an overbuilder in town). | |
 BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | reply to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:The OTA signals around here are unusable, especially after the DTV conversion. My mother's cousin in Northampton (MA) tried various antennas (including amplified antennas, both with a converter box and newer digital TV) and could not get reception of the channels she got before the DTV switchover.
I tried picking up broadcast TV at my house and the signals are unusable as well as there is too much interference in the area (Springfield MA, urban area).
We've had this discussion before. The vast majority of people get BETTER reception with OTA now that it's digital. And also unless you're situation is unusual in your area you should get in OTA. I doubt you tired very hard.
Put in your info and a height of 30 feet and then post the results and prove me wrong.
»www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29 | |
 KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little GuyPremium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK | reply to IowaCowboy
Exact opposite here. Most of the Channels now are UHF. Put up an antenna and I can get 3 times the OTA channels I could before DTV, and the picture quality is excellent when before it was poor. Still don't watch it much, too many commercials... but it's nice to have for local news and weather broadcasts.
I guess it just depends. They make some really nice antennas now.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
| | |
|
1 edit | reply to BF69
said by BF69:said by IowaCowboy:The OTA signals around here are unusable, especially after the DTV conversion. My mother's cousin in Northampton (MA) tried various antennas (including amplified antennas, both with a converter box and newer digital TV) and could not get reception of the channels she got before the DTV switchover.
I tried picking up broadcast TV at my house and the signals are unusable as well as there is too much interference in the area (Springfield MA, urban area).
We've had this discussion before. The vast majority of people get BETTER reception with OTA now that it's digital. And also unless you're situation is unusual in your area you should get in OTA. I doubt you tired very hard. Put in your info and a height of 30 feet and then post the results and prove me wrong. » www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29 That's not true. Digital TV is VERY directional and you need line of site to towers. As a rule, if you have issues, go with bigger antenna's and post them higher up. In some cases, a large mast is required. But in many cases, line of site kills it for many. Also depends on the area. Here in Albuquerque, the towers are all on top of the Sandia mountains that tower over the entire city. In this case, the majority of people can get most if not all the OTA stations. In the old days, (analog) you could get weak stations with static, etc.. With digital, its all or nothing. You need like a 80 percent signal strength. When it drops below that, you get zero, nada, nothing.
But I agree, if it works, its better then analog. We are talking about total unfiltered HD here. In many cases, looking better then cable or satellite since they may compress it further. With OTA, its the RAW feed and I like it. | |
 Steve MehsGun Control Is Using A Steady HandPremium
join:2005-07-16 | reply to BF69
said by BF69:said by IowaCowboy:The OTA signals around here are unusable, especially after the DTV conversion. My mother's cousin in Northampton (MA) tried various antennas (including amplified antennas, both with a converter box and newer digital TV) and could not get reception of the channels she got before the DTV switchover.
I tried picking up broadcast TV at my house and the signals are unusable as well as there is too much interference in the area (Springfield MA, urban area).
We've had this discussion before. The vast majority of people get BETTER reception with OTA now that it's digital. And also unless you're situation is unusual in your area you should get in OTA. I doubt you tired very hard. Put in your info and a height of 30 feet and then post the results and prove me wrong. » www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29 Reception after the digital transition may be better, it may be worse, but what difference does it make if the content is crap?
I watch a lot of TV, and heave yet to see anything on the networks that can rival the quality of the original series on cable and premium cable. CBS and Fox are the only networks I give a damn about and it’s mainly due to sports. CBS for their NFL coverage, Fox for the NFL, Saturday Baseball, NASCAR and I’m trying to get into the UFC. I also watch quite a bit of CBS primetime programming, but wouldn’t be too terribly disappointed if I had to give it all up. Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girls and Criminal Minds are the big ones. And on Fox, other than sports, it’s Animation Domination. I watch absolutely nothing on ABC and haven’t in years. Now that Chuck is gone, I will not be watching NBC, even as big as a sports fan as I am, I hate NBCs sports coverage with a passion and will not watch Sunday Night Football or any NHL action, unless my Sabres are playing. I have no desire to watch the crap on PBS, I’m not 12 so the CW does nothing for me, after 6 years, I’m still trying to figure out exactly what My Network TV is, ION would be great, but I’ve already seen every episode of Ghost Whisperer and Criminal Minds and watching TV shows that came out a hundred years ago on Me TV and the whole slew of other channels dedicated to the old and crusty hold no interest to me.
In summary, OTA content is pure dog shit, with a few exceptions, and if all OTA signals ceased this very second, I wouldn’t even notice or care until Saturday at 3:30 when I’d flip over to Fox for the MLB Pregame Show.
No OTA antenna in the world can get me, A&E, History, H2, C&I, Food Network, Cooking Channel, DIY, FX, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNews, ESPN U, Big Ten Network, NHL Network, NFL Network, MLB Network, YES, MSG, CBS Sports Network, Speed, Fox News, Fox Business, Bloomberg, Tru TV, VH1 Classic, Palladia, Syfy, Spike, Science Channel, ID, HBO, Showtime, Starz and a whole host of other channels that air content that I enjoy. | |
| " no OTA antenna in the world can get me, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNews, ESPN U, Big Ten Network, NHL Network, NFL Network, MLB Network"
I can totally understand why you feel this way. It looks like you enjoy your sports so you do get some value out of paying the huge carriages that those channels charge. Unfortunately, many people don't care for sports and I don't like subsidizing people like yourself in paying for the most expensive channels like ESPN. And if you get cable/sat, those channels are always included in all but the most worthless bundles which are probably worse then just using OTA antenna. Many people feel the same and are cutting the cord since they don't want to pay for those expensive channels which they don't use. So moving forward, as more cut the cord, you can expect more hikes. You may not cut the cord, but you will pay more over time.. and it will be at a rate greater then the cost of living/inflation.
It may not hit your threshold pain for price. But it will hit others and I see it just hitting a point where the bleed starts hemorrhaging subs. | |
Steve MehsGun Control Is Using A Steady HandPremium
join:2005-07-16 | Anti sports people make me laugh, you make it sound like no one but a select few care about sports, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. I know sports are unpopular here for whatever reason, but you guys are the extreme minority. Baseball is America’s past time, Football is America’s obsession. The Super Bowl is the biggest TV event of the year, the Daytona 500 isn’t far behind. ESPN owns Monday night ratings with Monday Night Football. And here locally, 2 out 3 households are tuned to Buffalo Sabres hockey when they play with 19K people packed in the Arena during home games.
I already pay $288/month for cable from Time Warner and a $97/month to DirecTV. And that doesn’t include the fact that I subscribe to MLB Extra Innings and NHL Center Ice on cable and for the first time ever, I’ll be getting NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV. A few bucks more isn’t going to mean much to me as long as I get the content I want, the price is irrelevant.
--
For the future of our nation, we must unite and vote out the terrorist known as Hussein Obama. Come November 6 2012 we must remove the socialist pig out of office and get our country back on the RIGHT track. | |
1 edit | said by Steve Mehs:Anti sports people make me laugh, you make it sound like no one but a select few care about sports, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. I know sports are unpopular here for whatever reason, but you guys are the extreme minority. Baseball is America’s past time, Football is America’s obsession. The Super Bowl is the biggest TV event of the year, the Daytona 500 isn’t far behind. ESPN owns Monday night ratings with Monday Night Football. And here locally, 2 out 3 households are tuned to Buffalo Sabres hockey when they play with 19K people packed in the Arena during home games.
I already pay $288/month for cable from Time Warner and a $97/month to DirecTV. And that doesn’t include the fact that I subscribe to MLB Extra Innings and NHL Center Ice on cable and for the first time ever, I’ll be getting NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV. A few bucks more isn’t going to mean much to me as long as I get the content I want, the price is irrelevant.
I still firmly believe that sports should be bundled separately for the simple reason that they represent a major portion of everyone's total bill. And channels like ESPN are some the the highest carriage channels period. Somewhere between 33 percent and 50 percent of households don't watch sports. Yet somehow, the content providers like Disney can extort carriages from those that don't watch sports through unfair bundling, or carriage extortion.
If you think Sports is so popular you might be surprised just how many would downgrade their service if allowed the option to drop the sports tiers and drop their bill by another 15 to 20 dollars a month. It would be catastrophic and would put some reality on what players salaries are really worth.
I'm not so anti sports as you may think. I still watch the Lakers and Chargers when they are available OTA. I chose to cut the cord because I really feel the value is not there anymore. And if I could get cable and cut out the Disney stations and half my bill I may consider re-subbing. Yes, I do have a beef with Disney and any research into how they force high carriages on the providers will prove my point. | |
|
