Charter, Comcast, Dish or Direct TV??? (Atlanta, Smyrna: home, buy, theater)

[neil0311]

I have had Comcast for TV for quite a while now, even before moving to Atlanta. We had the triple play in Mass (TV, HSI, Phone) for a while and had no issues. I started here with ATT DSL but just recently switched back to Comcast for the triple play again.

Now I'll be one of the first to admit that Comcast has lousy customer service and untrained people working the phones and even doing the field tech work. If you can get past the poor customer service, the products they sell are actually superior and getting much better. The new higher Internet speeds (DOCSIS 3.0) just came online and they are adding around 100 HD channels in the next 2 months as they retire analog transmission (different from the OTA cutoff).

When you analyze the the technical limitations, cost outlays, and contracts generally required by the satellite providers and U-verse, Comcast blows them away. An example...with U-Verse you can only receive 4 video streams at once with only 2 of those 4 being HD. That means if you are watching HD on one TV, you can either watch or record another stream, but not both. With Comcast, there is no limit. The one thing that Comcast doesn't have is the NFL contract for Sunday Ticket. VOD is another huge benefit of cable and Comcast. 100's of on demand programs available, most for free.

[No I don't work for Comcast...and I've cursed their bad service once or twice (or 50x).]

[plessthanpointohfive]

I've had DirecTV for the past 5 years and I would say their phone customer service, etc, has been good. Reception is generally wonderful, unless there is a really nasty storm going on. And it's usually a situation where power goes out at some point, too, so I don't get too bothered by it.

However, I will say that I've had terrible experiences with the DirecTV installers, who are all contracted out. In each and every time I've had to install the service (initial and a few moves) the tech who came out, each time a different one, messed it up. In fact, for the past year I haven't been able to get PPV because of a bad install. I've tried a few times to get it corrected but the tech they send out...always someone else and a contractor, not a DirecTV employee, doesn't fix the situation.

So, I'd say that DirecTV would be a really, really, really good service if they'd fix that one thing...the amazingly poor quality of service from who they contract with.

[DoveDiva]

Comcast is the devil. The customer service is horrendous, and I'd lose my TV picture every time it rained.

Haven't had an experience with Charter or Dish.

DirecTV: loved it. Great customer service, I didn't have reception issues like I did with Comcast, and I bundled it with my phone service, so I got a bit of a discount. I also had great experiences with their installers--no problems. I would still be with them if I didn't switch to U-Verse--for the same price, I got a DVR and I have a better channel selection (including premium channels), and I'm not under contract.

[JCBusinessOwner]

fwiw, Charter just inexplicably pulled Fox News from it's lineup here in Johnson City, TN. I am now looking for an alternative as well. Unfortunately, I have a lot of huge trees and don't believe I'll be able to get satellite.

[pellur]

I have Dish Network through AT&T. As others said, I didn't have any trouble with their Customer Service. However I think if you take AT&T triple play, you will end up with a monthly bill close to $150. I am very eager to find out about their U-verse as their DSL is not that great at all.

I had Comcast for 4 years and I can vouch that their customer service is the worst. But you have very few problems with comcast and their products are far more superior than Dish/DirectTv. Internet is blazing fast.

If you can live with their initial set up turmoil, I would say go with Comcast. Also another trick that I learned is get their first year promotion on your name and just before it expires cancel the contract and have your spouse start a new contract with her name and you can repeat/rinse this

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by DoveDiva

Comcast is the devil. The customer service is horrendous, and I'd lose my TV picture every time it rained.

Their customer service is bad, but I've never lost my picture and the picture quality is OUTSTANDING, and I'm a picky consumer. Sounds like you have other issues related to your wiring or another problem that is exacerbated by moisture. If that's the case, you can't blame Comcast, unless you called them to fix it and they refused.

Comcast isn't "the Devil"....they are just another large company that grew by acquisition and by large market segment growth. The offer by far the technically superior product....high speed Internet to 50Mbps....two way digital cable with on demand....VoIP service over a private backbone.... and at a reasonable price for the product.

Personally, I don't want a dish on my house or have to buy satellite equipment that can become obsolete at the whim of a provider like DirecTV. Anyone here remember the upgrade that DirecTV did to its HD programming when it launched the new satellites a couple of years ago? They switched to MPEG-4 encoding and required new boxes and new dishes. Since you have to buy and maintain that euipment, you can amortize that investment and add it to your monthly cost. With 4 TVs, that can add up quickly.

[Go Blue 99]

DirecTV is my favorite. Access to MLB Extra Innings HD and NFL Sunday Ticket, which nobody else has. They also have the most HD channels, and they are getting Tivo next year.

Their refer-a-friend deal is also awesome. $100 for you and your friend for every person you refer.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by Go Blue 99

DirecTV is my favorite. Access to MLB Extra Innings HD and NFL Sunday Ticket, which nobody else has.

So all the games I've been watching on MLB EI on Comcast have been figments of my immagination?

Sports - MLB Extra Innings

[JasonPaul]

When it rained I would lose my picture with Comcast also. Recently I lost all service and they said the cable under the ground went bad so they installed a brand new cable and it works but I have had them less than a year. Seems weird that the cable under the ground somehow deteriorated in 10 months. I can't afford the dish and direct tv services or I would use them. I have multiple tv's and the $5 per cable box per month fee thats required with the satellite providers is too costly. I do hope they get more HD channels they have about half what the others have (not including premium channels). No Spike, MTV, VH1 or FX in HD with Comcast.

http://www.directstartv.com/directv_...ogramming.html

http://www.comcast.com/Customers/Clu/ChannelLineup.ashx

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by southgeorgia

i have dish network and the service is great, but no NFL package.


if you're going w/ satellite, you need directv for that.

He doesn't seem to undertstand what I stated to him. It's pretty simple. ONLY Directv offers the NFL package. Maybe he'll order Comcast and find out afterwards.