Is Comcast going to implode?

[Robert Maxwell]

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

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^ What about the dish being physically knocked off your roof? That's always a risk during a storm, innit?

And don't you still have to have two dishes - one for normal service and one for local channels?

Nah. We've had gale-force winds in Indiana (50+ mph) and the dish doesn't even budget.

You only need one dish, too. Current dishes can handle both the regular signal and the "spot beam" used for local channels.

[thedude]

Robert Maxwell wrote:

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Nah. We've had gale-force winds in Indiana (50+ mph) and the dish doesn't even budget.

You really should instill better spending habits in your dish so that it doesn't go into debt... nothing worse than a broke dish!

[Robert Maxwell]

thedude wrote:

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You really should instill better spending habits in your dish so that it doesn't go into debt... nothing worse than a broke dish!

Shit! Obviously, I meant budge. Stupid typos.

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ It's OK. My dish doesn't budgie either, but other birds have been known to perch on it.

My mom is looking into getting internet, and CC says they don't offer it in her area...those idiots. On top of it, her cable TV looks like crap most of the time, I'm gonna talk her into getting the DISH, more channels for less $$ anyway.

Then she'll have to settle for some other form of internet access.

[HairOfTheDog]

Satellite tv FTW.

Dish Network customer, here.

[melancholymecha]

cylkoth wrote:

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Soon, ConCrap-as well as other cable cos, will be reducing basic cable service down to a bare minimum 22 channels, mostly, the local broadcast stations, and a few low rent basic networks. The AVS forum (avsforum.com) is filled with posts from around the country mentioning ConCrap switching to a predominantly digital model, where they provide you with 1 or 2 cheap jack free QAM tuner like boxes to unscramble the Extended Basic tier.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1170940

that sucks! we can only afford Comcast basic + expanded!
We also have Comcast for highspeed internet. I dont know about satellite, being from Miami we get lots of rain/storms.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Most of these are complaints that have been prevalent about cable service since the industry's beginnings.

[Robert Maxwell]

Ar-Pharazon wrote:

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^ It's OK. My dish doesn't budgie either, but other birds have been known to perch on it.

My mom is looking into getting internet, and CC says they don't offer it in her area...those idiots. On top of it, her cable TV looks like crap most of the time, I'm gonna talk her into getting the DISH, more channels for less $$ anyway.

Then she'll have to settle for some other form of internet access.

Is DSL available in her area? There's also wireless broadband, although all the major providers cap that, as far as I know. I had DSL at one time and was quite happy with it.

[Ar-Pharazon]

Pretty much every other option is available. I hoped to get her the CC for the lower price since she already has the cable TV.

AT&T is probably the way to go, I don't figure she's going to be an internet junkie like me.

[TemporalFlux]

I know how you feel about Comcast; I have the same thing with the Cable One monopoly in my town. We only get about 60 network and cable channels, and there's only 25 or so that are available as HD.

Of course, satellite is an option for people who can use it; but in a rural city, you often run into the problems of immovable obstructions to the signal (such as the large number of trees surrounding the house of one of my friends). For me, the problem is that my property is a lightning rod due to an underground river; any satellite dish I put up would be struck by lighting and fried a day or two after installation.

I've been hoping AT&T cable will become available here, but most of the phone lines in my town are still century old copper and thus unable to carry the signal. They are replacing with fiber optics, but it's at a snail's pace; they don't even had an ETA on it (and given that my area still doesn't even have something easy like AT&T 3G, I can't imagine the fiber optics will be finished within the next 15 years).

[barnaclelapse]

Are they still okay for internet? That's what my roommate and I were gonna go with in October when our Cricket account expires.

[Sheep]

barnaclelapse wrote:

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Are they still okay for internet? That's what my roommate and I were gonna go with in October when our Cricket account expires.

I have them for broadband only in Chicago--they've been fine so far.

Back in SF when I had them for broadband and cable, our cable modem died twice (in just over 3 years) but hassle-free replacements fixed the problems quickly.

[Ar-Pharazon]

TemporalFlux wrote:

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I know how you feel about Comcast; I have the same thing with the Cable One monopoly in my town. We only get about 60 network and cable channels, and there's only 25 or so that are available as HD.

Of course, satellite is an option for people who can use it; but in a rural city, you often run into the problems of immovable obstructions to the signal (such as the large number of trees surrounding the house of one of my friends). For me, the problem is that my property is a lightning rod due to an underground river; any satellite dish I put up would be struck by lighting and fried a day or two after installation.

I've been hoping AT&T cable will become available here, but most of the phone lines in my town are still century old copper and thus unable to carry the signal. They are replacing with fiber optics, but it's at a snail's pace; they don't even had an ETA on it (and given that my area still doesn't even have something easy like AT&T 3G, I can't imagine the fiber optics will be finished within the next 15 years).

Even if it's mounted to a wooden 4x4? If so, put an actual lightning rod kinda near it and ground that really good. Lightning should go for that instead.

Sheep wrote:

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I have them for broadband only in Chicago--they've been fine so far.

Back in SF when I had them for broadband and cable, our cable modem died twice (in just over 3 years) but hassle-free replacements fixed the problems quickly.

I bought a Linksys myself, I had read the default ComCast ones were pretty much crap.

[stonn270]

Totally agree with how much it sucks, I had to go for a replacement modem because the one we "lease" for $1.50mo. died and Now they are removing cartoon network and moving it to the digital only package requiring home uses to get boxes for all the extra old analog TV. They provide two "free" but I am sure there will be a hidden cost some were down the road. Come next year, they will place all uses in my area on digital for all the good station (ch. 15-78) and only broadcast analog signals for (ch. 2-14) So basically your stuck going to digital. & Dish TV; our dish network provider alternative has been forced out of the area due to service problems.

[TemporalFlux]

Ar-Pharazon wrote:

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Even if it's mounted to a wooden 4x4? If so, put an actual lightning rod kinda near it and ground that really good. Lightning should go for that instead.

We've grounded everything at my house six ways from Sunday; we've had multiple professionals look into it. Nothing helps. They keep telling us it's the underground river, but maybe we're on a junction of two magnetic ley lines or something (hell, as good an explanation as any at this point ).