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It saves you money...except you need a digital box to go along with that antenna(and you better hope the box actually works). And if you live in a basement apartment like yours truly it makes it even more difficult.
Definitely research the boxes. My cousin had one that didn't work well but we've had all of ours since the switch. They still work and we've never had a problem.
Can you not hook up to an antennae? We have 2 tvs in our basement hooked up to boxes and we get the same picture on those.
Definitely research the boxes. My cousin had one that didn't work well but we've had all of ours since the switch. They still work and we've never had a problem.
Can you not hook up to an antennae? We have 2 tvs in our basement hooked up to boxes and we get the same picture on those.
From just an antenna to a TV? Not on a 2003 Sanyo CRT you can't. Got RCA rabbit ears and got static or some stupid message from Comcast saying you need a digital device for the channel. Damn ComCrap encrypted every channel. It doesn't help I live in an apartment building(not house, building) in the basement.
I've been using HD Antenna for 1 year now. I got the Terk FDTV1A, it works ok for the price, sometimes the signal is interrupted depending where I sit on the couch and if I walk to certain areas in my apartment. I'm sure I could get a better signal if I paid alil more but I don't think I am missing out on much.
The problem I have is alot of sports games are not on here, such as NBA and NFL MNF. Also occasionally I would like to watch some cable channels but its not available here.
Also the price of my internet service just went up from 29.99 to 49.99 with Cablevision and I am having a hard time justifying this price for just internet. I might be switching back to cable because its not really that much more expensive then just internet
Also the price of my internet service just went up from 29.99 to 49.99 with Cablevision and I am having a hard time justifying this price for just internet. I might be switching back to cable because its not really that much more expensive then just internet
I emphasized Gus030s' comment here because this is the exact response that the hostage-taking pay TV providers are seeking to elicit from an overwhelmed and sometimes confused public who seeks variety TV programming choices (typically sports) and fast internet speed coupled with a simplified bill consisting of a singular package deal. Cablevision has a quick and easy solution - The Triple Play.
In one paragraph consisting of two sentences, the poster laments the cable company jumped his internet bill by $20 and then says he may jump another $50 for the $99 Triple Play offered by the same company considering this would reduce the cost of the individual services. If the poster was to follow through with this scenario, Cablevision would receive a 333.41% RAISE!The customers bill would increase by that much! How many employers regularly give their employees such a raise?
Now, if I have erred in my interpretation or in any of the details, please advise and I will promptly correct. However, I base my analysis on many friends who have faced the same decision and ultimately caved in to the year-round high-pressure sales tactics of cable companies.
Before anyone jumps into the fire - Do your homework! You have choices!
Cablevision enjoys pointing out how their increasing cable TV rates are caused by increased costs of acquiring the programming, such as during the infamous Scripps Food Network/HGTV negotiations. But that is only half the story. The other half is that their tough stances with programmers are FACADES. They are FAKE. Cablevision instigates these fake battles to get their company name in the press. And any press, good or bad, is good press.
During the battles, which lead to temporary channel outages, Cablevision apologizes to their subscribers, maintains their subscribers should be left out of the negotiations and not held hostage by the programmer, then they ask their subscribers to call the programmer and tell them to restore their programming As the battle wages on, Cablevision makes no secret how much of an increase the programmer wants. But Cablevision has ultimately caved in every single one of these "battles", and once the matter is resolved and the channels are restored, they withhold the agreed upon increase from their customers. The very customers who may have called on Cablevision's behalf get no accountability to how the negotiations were resolved - and how much extra their bill will be jumped.
And to be completely fair, Time Warner and Comcast (a/k/a Crime Warner and Comcrap) take no prizes either, but at least TW is somewhat more transparent and offers slightly better variety.
yes well i mean i believe this is the same as the economics example of compliments/substitutes.
Like when they charge you 6.50 for small popcorn but only 7.50 for large but its 10x the size.
Here is the difference between the two examples:
POPCORN: One product you want and the price difference to get ten times the quantity is $1.00
CABLE TV: Three over-priced one-quantity products which includes one you said you don't want (phone service) and a price jump of at least $40.00 per month
Quote:
Originally Posted by gus030
Anyway so far I have been just paying 29.99 each month even though the bill is 49.99, can they report me to the credit unions for doing this?
No. In your thread, I said they will report you to the credit unions for failing to pay your bill on time.
An associate of mine has subscribed to Cablevision for nearly 25 years. Always paid in-full on-time and had not ever gotten a late notice. In fact, it's always the first bill she pays. One time, in 2009, when the economy was really bad, she had some unexpected additional expenses. She intended to pay the bill, but accidentally missed the payment. Three weeks later, she gets another bill which is doubled and threatens that if she does not pay the prior months balance by months' end, Cablevision will report her to all three credit unions.
She has been loyal to Cablevision. Does anyone here believe her loyalty was returned?
Three weeks later, she gets another bill which is doubled
I would think three weeks later you would get a bill that is doubled. It would be doubled because the next month's service would be included. The terms of service include the possibility of a late fee. It has been in the area of $5.00 per month, not a doubling of the bill.
I don't think it is a surprise that is you are two months in area they you stand a chance of having that reported to a credit bureau. Failure to make payment at the end of the stated period would mean she was two months behind.
Quite frankly that statement is a boilerplate text for any late payment.
I would think three weeks later you would get a bill that is doubled. It would be doubled because the next month's service would be included.
That part I understand. The missed balance was added to the new balance. This is true for just about any monthly bill.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rscalzo
I don't think it is a surprise that is you are two months in area they you stand a chance of having that reported to a credit bureau. Failure to make payment at the end of the stated period would mean she was two months behind.
Quite frankly that statement is a boilerplate text for any late payment.
In this instance, Cablevision was assuming that payment would NOT be made before the next due date. Billing did not consult the customer record to see all of the timely payments made over twenty plus years and the lack of any past-due notices issued over that same time period.
I realize this is standard procedure within a large portion of corporate America, but Cablevision through their advertising and public disputes with programmers often tries to remove themselves from that corporate branding so as to improve their image as being the company for the consumer. I am pointing out that nothing could be farther from the truth.
CV representatives are telling their customers that they set their rates to alleviate the burdens caused by the "high cancellation fees" of their competitors, as apparently happened to this poster... http://www.city-data.com/forum/21972224-post4.html
That claim is nothing short of disingenuous and flat out wrong!
Furthermore, if CV is so altruistic to accept lesser money than their service is worth due to their competitor's ruthless over-pricing, why are they so quick to report their loyal customers to credit bureaus to damage their credit and potentially wreak years of havoc upon them in the process?
A DSL Line IS actual high speed internet. However, you could look into Verizon FiOS if super high speed is really an issue for you. Interestingly, if you find you are "streaming/downloading a lot of content", perhaps your cable package isn't all you expected?
Ummm....no, a DSL may be marketed as "high speed", but it's only "high speed" compared to dial up. It's fine for regular web browsing, but has issues with downloads/uploads and is entirely insufficient for streaming content.
Which, was my point. Not that I personally stream a lot of content, don't have to, but I WOULD have to if I wanted to replace a portion of the content I would lose by going OTA. People claim that Netflix and Hulu in conjunction with OTA is a great alternative and it is, but you need broadband internet and you are still missing out on a lot of content compared to cable.
You can have the best OTA setup in the world and all the streaming services known to man, but at that point you won't be saving much money (cost of streaming services + broadband) and you still wouldn't have all the content that you would with cable. Whether that content is worth something to you or not is the heart of the matter.
Quote:
That is another ploy by cable companies to beholden their customers to them and them alone. Once your TV, phone, and internet are all connected to ONE company, it is HARD to cut the cord. The customer is then left to seek out providers to replace each service. Most of the time, taking the time to change over everything, waiting for installation appointments, and possible installation fees are all big drawbacks, and many customers will likely put up with any inconveniences and rate increases from their one provider to avoid going through this.
That is the real reason for the "Triple Play" and other plans like it, and why it is the only discount plan cable companies will offer that has been available for several years.
You haven't uncovered any great mystery of the universe. Of course, by bundling and pricing the way they do they make it very enticing to just take all three and people aren't likely to switch at that point. However, you are missing the fact that they are providing you a real service with real content. Whether that represents a value to you or not is entirely a personal decision.
This isn't an evil money grubbing corporation question, this is an entertainment and content question. The pro-OTA camp constantly leaves this out of the discussion. You give up a lot of content when you dump cable, much of which CANNOT be replaced through other means. The entire conversation then comes down to "is that content worth the money?" For some it is, for others it isn't. People aren't "dumb" to pay for TV, they are making a value choice to pay for something they want. OTA is a great option for some people, but for the vast majority it means giving up content as well. Whether or not the savings justifies the lost content is a personal decision.
In the back and forth with gus, don't you think there is some value in getting back the sports and channels he wants to watch, for the added cost? Also, I don't know about Cablevision, but Comcast will let you buy just TV and internet for around $79 versus just internet alone for $55. Yeah, it's $24 more a month for TV, but if it means watching all your favorite sports and getting all the channels you want, it may be worth it.
I'm not arguing that OTA is bad or that everyone should just cut their monthly check to the cable company with a smile on their face, just pointing out that you and other OTA supporters focus on solely on the free aspect without really delving into the content difference and also tend to really overstate exactly what channels most people will get.
Cablevision was the subject of a lawsuit years ago for excessive late fees. now they are more careful with those fees.
In any case, those bills and the statements on them are computerized. Don't expect a human touch unless you contact directly, if even then.
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As the battle wages on, Cablevision makes no secret how much of an increase the programmer wants. But Cablevision has ultimately caved in every single one of these "battles", and once the matter is resolved and the channels are restored, they withhold the agreed upon increase from their customers. The very customers who may have called on Cablevision's behalf get no accountability to how the negotiations were resolved - and how much extra their bill will be jumped.
