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Old 01-02-2017, 09:41 AM
 
83 posts, read 96,387 times
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I am not satisfied with their service, but when it comes to internet, it is the only choice.
my apartment has only service electric for internet.
RCN wants in, they sent a letter asking us to call the apartment management, but it seems not working.
I can get cable from directv, but they don't have internet either.
So much want to dump service electric.
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Old 01-02-2017, 10:49 PM
 
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RCN fees have gone up as well this January. It's about $90 for one television for basic cable with no premium channels. The surcharges for content are particularly irksome because it is just a way to hide the true cost of the service in their advertisements.

$60 Signature (i.e. basic) television
$5 Franchise Fee, Regulatory Fee & State Sales Tax
$24 Broadcast TV , Sports Programming & Entertainment Networks Surcharge
$2 Set top box for first television ($15 apiece for additional TVs)
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Old 01-03-2017, 07:00 AM
 
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We've switched around our service electric service within the last two months. We no longer get cable or phone through them, just internet. We use sling tv for regular tv channels and subscribe to Netflix and have Amazon Prime. We also have an in-attic antenna - I'm not sure how that fits in there, but supposedly it helps. We dropped our landline phone package and got a VOIP phone system, which saves us $20/month. Plus, we were able to get a much faster internet speed. We were surprised that there wasn't much advertising about the faster internet service availability, but we increased our speed from 25 Mbps download (our adult kids complained about that when they came home) to 50 Mbps Download. One of them did a speed test on our desktop and it really did increase. Service Electric Cable TV and Communications - High Speed Internet
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Moderator - Lehigh Valley, NEPA, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Education and Colleges and Universities.

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Old 01-04-2017, 03:04 PM
 
14,612 posts, read 17,387,670 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by toobusytoday View Post
We use sling tv for regular tv channels and subscribe to Netflix and have Amazon Prime.
Sling TV is a huge cost saver, which can save you as much as $70 a month, less the upfront cost of buying the boxes. But the problem is that Flint Hill (about 2-3 miles away from Coopersburg) blocks the broadcast signals from Philadelphia. No broadcast, then no football. You are fortunate that you live far enough south that your antenna still works.

Of course, you must get your news from CNN on Sling TV. No Fox News.

On the plus side you get BBC America on Sling TV.

Basically crusty old football loving curmudgeons won't be happy with SlingTV.
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Old 01-04-2017, 04:21 PM
 
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Actually, we can get channel 29 (Fox) from Philly but for some reason the news is never broadcast in this house from that channel! If we would have not been able to get football, we would not have Sling tv! The channel that we can't get well is ABC during the day, so we missed all of the Phillies games last summer. That was frustrating. We watch the PBS news hour, which comes in well.
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Old 01-05-2017, 12:22 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by toobusytoday View Post
The channel that we can't get well is ABC during the day, so we missed all of the Phillies games last summer.
The VHF-Lo channels #2 - #6 (54 - 88 MHz) were widely recommended to be disused by every television engineer when the broadcast went digital in 2009. They have largely been abandoned in Britain and europe. The FCC decided to keep them for use in places like Montana.

But the decision to put a major channel like ABC in Philadelphia back on channel #6 (which it used since the 1940's) was very unfortunate. It's a terrible frequency for digital signals. Hundreds of thousands of homes can no longer get ABC Philadelphia as of 2009.
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Old 08-18-2017, 04:51 PM
 
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Default RCN gigabit

RCN introduced gigabit service this week to Lehigh Valley

The high speed price seems much more favorable than FIOS, although FIOS has a matching upload speed. RCN does not

The advertised RCN price is (download speed)
$19.99 per mo.* 10 Mbps
$29.99 per mo.* 25 Mbps (2Mbps to 4Mbps upload)
$39.99 per mo.* 50 Mbps (5Mbps to 10Mbps upload)
$49.99 per mo.* 155 Mbps
$54.99 per mo.* 330 Mbps
$64.99 per mo.* 1000 Mbps (gigabit)

Fios Internet
$39.99 50 Mbps
$64.99 100 Mbps
$74.99 150 Mbps
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Old 08-18-2017, 05:37 PM
 
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There is no need to have cable. I sit in my room and watch youtube and other things online.
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Old 01-09-2018, 09:30 AM
 
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Default TiVo Goes Device-Agnostic with New Platform for MVPDs

Quote:
CES 2018: TiVo Goes Device-Agnostic with New Platform for MVPDs | Multichannel
In an effort to help its cable operators make the leap to IPTV, TiVo has introduced a next-gen, app-based platform that will enable TiVo to deliver its interface and overall user experience on a variety of retail streaming devices as well a client that will run on an MSO-managed device that runs Android TV.
As both RCN and SECTV use TiVo hardware, this recent announcement indicates that soon you may be able to use commercial bought hardware instead of leased hardware.

For instance, the TV set top boxes that I lease from RCN cost $24 a month ($288 per year). If I can use four Amazon Fire TV Streaming Media Players at $70 apiece, I could payback the cost of the hardware in a year.

https://www.amazon.com/all-new-amazo...on+fire+tv+box
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Old 03-22-2018, 10:44 AM
 
14,612 posts, read 17,387,670 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PacoMartin View Post
RCN introduced gigabit service this week to Lehigh Valley

The high speed price seems much more favorable than FIOS, although FIOS has a matching upload speed. RCN does not

The advertised RCN price is (download speed)
$19.99 per mo.* 10 Mbps
$29.99 per mo.* 25 Mbps (2Mbps to 4Mbps upload)
$39.99 per mo.* 50 mbps (5mbps to 10mbps upload)
$49.99 per mo.* 155 mbps
$54.99 per mo.* 330 mbps
$64.99 per mo.* 1000 mbps (gigabit)

Fios Internet
$39.99 50 mbps
$64.99 100 mbps
$74.99 150 mbps
RCN is not converting to the device agnostic system I mentioned in the previous post, but they have adjusted their tiers and prices to be more competitive with FIOS.

FIOS is always going to give you much better upload speeds than copper cable, but the majority of adults using cable non professionaly don't really care about upload. That's why there are so many commercials where children are telling their parents that upload is very important and they are "half-fast" to intimidate adults into buying something they don't really want.

Internet Only
$19.99 per mo.* 10 mbps
$29.99 per mo.* 50 mbps
$39.99 per mo.* 250 mbps <----- RCN labels as "our most popular speed"
$49.99 per mo.* 500 mbps
$59.99 per mo.* 1000 mbps (gigabit)

The two lower speeds can easily be handled with very cheap modems and routers which can often be bought used. If you are satisfied with these speeds, buy some old equipment instead of leasing equipment from RCN.

Triple Play (Internet, TV Signature, phone)
$89.99 per mo.* 250 mbps
$99.99 per mo.* 500 mbps
$109.99 per mo.* 1000 mbps (gigabit)

There are a lot of surcharges, taxes, fees, and equipment rental on Triple Play including a $29.50 TV surcharge which is one of the biggest. This surcharge was invented by COMCAST who is being sued over it since it is just a bogus way to advertise an artificially lower rate for television.

Arris DG2470 is being used by RCN for 250 mbps tier at a $10 month lease rate. It is a combination of modem, router, wifi access point, and MoCa generator. Cable companies are required to permit "bring your own equipment", and much of the technical community would prefer better equipment.

The final price will depend on details, but you should expect it to probably be double the advertised rates for triple play.

There is an offer for double play with internet and basic TV which is really re-transmission of Philadelphia Area broadcast TV + 12 months of Showtime and The Movie Channel.
$29.99 per mo.* 50 mbps
Since this price is identical to the price advertised just straight 50 mbps internet, it seems like an offer you can't refuse, but just be aware extra taxes, surcharges, fees and equipment rental will push this rate considerably higher than "internet only" (at least $30 more and probably higher dependent on equipment leased).


Hulu Live TV streaming service begins at $39.99 (commercials on VOD, limited DVR functionality, 2 simultaneous stream maximum) is a popular way to cut TV costs. Hulu is owned by Disney, Comcast, and Time Warner Broadcasting so it deletes most of the movie channels, plus popular Viacom channels like Nickelodeon and MTV, and Hallmark Channels. You also don't get roughly 50 standard definition channels or as many broadcast channels as provided by RCN. News and Sports channels are almost all retained on Hulu Live TV.

To get a channel by channel comparison I listed all 70 RCN high definition channels that are NOT BROADCAST STATIONS, and indicated whether they are on Hulu Live TV or not. Hulu Live TV retains 44 of 70 channels offered by RCN Signature. You can purchase many of the missing channels in separate package. Hallmark Channel is $5 is popular with many women.

RCN channel- high definition network name - TRUE means channel is on Hulu Live TV.
1126 A&E TRUE
1128 WGN
1129 Bravo TRUE
1145 TBS TRUE
1148 TNT TRUE
1151 USA TRUE
1154 FX TRUE
1157 Spike
1169 Syfy TRUE

1173 Comedy
1176 Justice Central
1177 truTV TRUE
1186 BET

1198 Travel TRUE
1201 HGTV TRUE
1205 Food TRUE
1213 E! TRUE
1216 GSN

1226 WE
1231 Lifetime TRUE
1233 Lifetime Movie TRUE
1238 Oxygen TRUE
1241 OWN (Oprah)
1244 Disney JR TRUE
1251 Hallmark
1253 Freeform TRUE
1257 TV Land

1269 Nickelodeon
1279 Cartoon TRUE
1285 Disney TRUE
1301 Discovery
1303 Velocity
1305 Investigation (ID)
1309 TLC
1313 History TRUE
1319 National Geo TRUE
1321 Animal Planet

1351 CNN TRUE
1353 HLN TRUE
1372 CNBC TRUE
1374 MSNBC TRUE
1379 Fox News TRUE
1380 Fox Business TRUE
1390 Weather

1403 NBC Sports PHL TRUE
1405 SEC Net. TRUE
1406 BTN TRUE
1407 BTN (alt) TRUE
1414 Outdoor
1421 CBS Sports TRUE
1427 ESPN TRUE
1429 ESPN 2 TRUE
1431 ESPNEWS TRUE
1435 ESPN-U TRUE
1446 FXX TRUE
1461 Tennis TRUE
1463 Golf TRUE
1471 NBCSN TRUE
1473 Fox Sports 1 TRUE
1475 Fox Sports 2 TRUE

1551 MTV
1564 VH1
1575 CMT

1602 AMC
1604 TCM TRUE
1606 FXM TRUE
1607 Hallmark Movies
1613 IFC
1615 Sundance
1636 Reelz

There are other services besides Hulu Live TV which offer different channels.
Philo TV is probably the cheapest multi channel Live TV streaming service with starting price of $16 for 37 channels, but news is restricted to BBC World News, and there is no sports or broadcast channels. Philo is particularly cheap way to get some entertainment on your phone without spending a lot of money.

https://try.philo.com/?utm_source=go...QaAk9gEALw_wcB

Last edited by PacoMartin; 03-22-2018 at 11:56 AM..
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