Comcast vs Dish vs Satellite-- here we go again! (Scranton: house, promotional)

[lorac07]

Hi all. I posted this very query a few years ago, and now that my contract with Comcast is approaching its end, I'm asking again. I need high speed internet, tv stations, and I'd like homebox (Game of Thrones addict lol). To make the negotiating process a little less painful, I'm asking for advice (where to get the best deal) and feedback on any and all options. By the way, I'm in Scranton. PS... I've already tried cutting The Cord-- antenna was too unpredictable and frustrating. Thanks in advance.

[thecoalman]

There is a pretty good tool here to tell you how well the antenna will perform for your area, you can put in exact address or coordinates for better results. This is just general for Scranton. You should be getting all of the local channels easily based on this and my own experience.

TV Fool

What kind of antenna are you using now? Certainly with a good outside antenna you shouldn't have any issues at all, you may want to consider getting a better antenna. Also note if you have cable running to multiple outlets in the house you can get one good antenna for the roof and plug it into the cable feed that is currently fed by the cable company but that's another topic.

If you don't want to muck around with the antenna Comcast offers a reasonable plan that is not very well advertised, search for "internet plus" on their site. You get internet, local stations, some minor cable stations and HBO. The only issue is other that HBO it's not HD AFAIK, switch the cable box to channel 2 to 6 and that's the quality of the broadcast for local stations. That plan is only like $50 to $70 depending on the speed of the internet you want and that's the full rate.

If you go back to the antenna and just pay Comcast or whoever for the internet look into something like Sling TV. There are a few other companies like Amazon offering similar services.

https://www.sling.com/

As far as the internet itself most people do not really need a super high speed plan, the most demanding thing is going to be something like the Sling TV service. If only one person in the house is going to be utilizing it for that service 6Mbps is cutting it close but anything higher that that will be sufficient.

One last thing, you do not want satellite service for internet unless you have no choice. It's expensive and besides that doesn't perform very well. Comcast will probably give you the best service where that is concerned.

[DavidWebb]

Satellite Internet service is best for those that live in very remote areas where the phone/cable company do not have lines setup....I have a friend who lives in the boonies of Michigan and uses HughesNet for Internet because there is no other option....it's not the greatest she says but for simple email checking and occasional surfing she says it's fine....we did a Facetime meeting via our mini iPad's and the video quality was very choppy....so stick to cable for reliable Internet service....Dish will make claims of superior service above everyone else but that's a bunch of B.S. The signal, from friends I know that have had Dish, is easily lost in poor weather conditions or stormy days....and after the promotional period they ***** slap you with exorbitant monthly fees....which is what they thrive on....they hope you'll just go along with them after the promo ends because they know many people don't want to deal with the hassle of switching again....when looking at different providers always look at the price your going to pay after the promotional period ends....that is what really hits the wallet hard....I use Blue Ridge Cable basic service with their G5 Internet service and it works fine for my wife and I to surf, play games, and stream music without interruptions....G5 consists of 5 Mbps Download / 384 K Upload / 450 GB Allowance with them.....hope this helps....

[lorac07]

Thanks for the responses: I'll check into internet plus with Comcast.

[looking9]

I ran into a site called Broadband Search and they were very helpful about the options. Google it and call them for their input.