Rat
Well-known member
This totally off-topic, but a lot of folks here are very tech savvy so I'm hoping someone can provide advice. Right now I have three TVs. The big one, digital, in the TV room is connected to Comcast cable. The second is in the kitchen, small and digital, is connected only to the roof antenna and it gets only one channel clearly that we watch there. We are in a bad reception area for regular broadcast TV. The third is in the bedroom and is connected to the cable without a cable box. It's an analog TV. The cable is "all-digital" but that really means only the channels over 28 are digital. The ones below that, including all the major network local stations, are analog and those are the only ones we get with that TV.
I have long thought about switching to AT&T U-verse, and had a rep of the company installing the fiber optic cable nearby come to our door and try to sell me on it, but the packages were structured so that I had to buy a lot of stuff I didn't want to get one or two channels I did. Later when I decided to take another look I went online and the website said my street address didn't have U-verse. I wasn't sure I believed this so went to the AT&T store and waited for half an hour before being told I was supposed to have signed up over at the podium (which was unmanned when I walked in) and wait to be called (another half hour). That reminded me why I hated AT&T. But then I hate Comcast too for reasons too long to repeat here. So I stuck with Comcast and TiVo for now. I love the TiVo BTW.
So now I'm considering DISH NETWORK. My neighbor has a satellite dish but I don't know which brand. I got a flyer with a good price offer to include new digital DVR and free hookup to as many as 6 rooms. Satellite reception and service varies by area. I live the SF Bay Area. Does anyone here have experience with the satellite providers, or have other useful advice? I'm not a rapid sports fan and don't care about that much, although I follow college football to some extent, so I don't need major sports packages. We watch a lot of local news. WE don't care about the pay/premium cable channels like HBO. I mainly just want to be able to watch all the regular network channels plus the "standard cable" channels on all three TVs and have a DVR that can play on all three TVs. I'm more concerned about reliability and hassle than expense, but of course price is a factor. We have DSL through AT&T and would like a faster connection, but that is not a major factor for us right now and would settle for just solving the TV problem alone, but I would be interested in hearing anyone's experience with U-verse and Xfinity.
I have long thought about switching to AT&T U-verse, and had a rep of the company installing the fiber optic cable nearby come to our door and try to sell me on it, but the packages were structured so that I had to buy a lot of stuff I didn't want to get one or two channels I did. Later when I decided to take another look I went online and the website said my street address didn't have U-verse. I wasn't sure I believed this so went to the AT&T store and waited for half an hour before being told I was supposed to have signed up over at the podium (which was unmanned when I walked in) and wait to be called (another half hour). That reminded me why I hated AT&T. But then I hate Comcast too for reasons too long to repeat here. So I stuck with Comcast and TiVo for now. I love the TiVo BTW.
So now I'm considering DISH NETWORK. My neighbor has a satellite dish but I don't know which brand. I got a flyer with a good price offer to include new digital DVR and free hookup to as many as 6 rooms. Satellite reception and service varies by area. I live the SF Bay Area. Does anyone here have experience with the satellite providers, or have other useful advice? I'm not a rapid sports fan and don't care about that much, although I follow college football to some extent, so I don't need major sports packages. We watch a lot of local news. WE don't care about the pay/premium cable channels like HBO. I mainly just want to be able to watch all the regular network channels plus the "standard cable" channels on all three TVs and have a DVR that can play on all three TVs. I'm more concerned about reliability and hassle than expense, but of course price is a factor. We have DSL through AT&T and would like a faster connection, but that is not a major factor for us right now and would settle for just solving the TV problem alone, but I would be interested in hearing anyone's experience with U-verse and Xfinity.