Best/Cheapest Internet and Cable Provider? (Chesapeake: apartment, house, neighborhoods)

[rcquestion]

Hi all,

Just moved to Chesapeake and want to get my internet hooked up as fast as possible. I can get a deal with Cox but wanted to hear if anyone had any other options or opinions about providers. Looking for mainly just internet, needs to be for more than just surfing the web. Thanks for your help!

[NJR]

Originally Posted by rcquestion

Hi all,

Just moved to Chesapeake and want to get my internet hooked up as fast as possible. I can get a deal with Cox but wanted to hear if anyone had any other options or opinions about providers. Looking for mainly just internet, needs to be for more than just surfing the web. Thanks for your help!

I switched from Cox to Fios
In Chesapeake Service is better, Internet is faster and it cost me the same as Cox but I got the faster 25mbps package. which Cox will not be able to match.

Cox begged me to com back, even offered me a 25% discount... too little, too late. I won't go back. Fios is MUCH better!

[Randomdude]

Originally Posted by NJR

I switched from Cox to Fios
In Chesapeake Service is better, Internet is faster and it cost me the same as Cox but I got the faster 25mbps package. which Cox will not be able to match.

Cox begged me to com back, even offered me a 25% discount... too little, too late. I won't go back. Fios is MUCH better!

It is important to note that not all neighborhoods have access to Fios. In those neighborhoods, your option will be a DSL line from Verizon which cant even close to compete with Cox cable delivered internet.

[NJR]

Good point, IF your part of Chesapeake has it, go for it.
If not go with Cox. I had them for 2 years without major issues (occasional small outages & such). DSL bites!

[mmsis]

Cox is the worst internet and cable provider I've ever had. They have very poor customer service, they are always raising my monthly bill, and their internet is extremely slow. You're better off with ANY other provider

[Mister Miaugie]

Go with Fios. My parents had Cox and Fios, and Fios was much better.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by rcquestion

Hi all,

Just moved to Chesapeake and want to get my internet hooked up as fast as possible. I can get a deal with Cox but wanted to hear if anyone had any other options or opinions about providers. Looking for mainly just internet, needs to be for more than just surfing the web. Thanks for your help!

Cox and FIOS(Verizon) own all of the coax in this region. Verizon is only building out FIOS to the most urban areas in HR. I have Cox, and it is expensive. I never had any problems with Cox though.

If you need DSL it is either Verizon, or someone running their service on top of Verizon. Better to just get it from Verizon themselves.

Cox has 50 Mbps for $109 and Verizon has 15 Mbps over standard DSL for $39 a month. You would be hard pressed to find DSL at that speed in this area. If you do the math Verizon's DSL and Cox coaxial is about the same price. The kicker is what Verizon charges for repairs to copper lines. It makes a Cox repair seem cheap by comparison if you do not have their line maintenance plan. Cox Internet is one of the things that actually works. I had the advanced DVR and all of that from Cox. A lot of issues with the equipment. Now I just have Cox going directly into my television, no cable receiver. I get HD from the local affiliates, digital from 29 channels and analog from 69 channels. There are a lot of software schemes that are used to make those 300 plus channels fit over the coax (I used to work there). Verizon FIOS may not have that issue, which could be one reason why they are offering 3 times the speed that Cox is on their highest plan.

Verizon FIOS also has 150 Mbps for $199 a month. You pay a premium for their services, but they seem to have a better infrastructure than Cox. To be fair, one of the issues that Cox and other incumbents have is that they are still supporting old analog televisions (pre-HD, "digital" analog tuning, early 90s, etc.). If Cox ran straight digital, like FIOS, they could probably support well over 300 channels without the compression schemes and other software tricks. They could also do away with those cable boxes, with the exception of those people that need DVR. Cox also allows you to use other equipment, such as TiVo, which has its own issues. I doubt if that will ever change though; flexibility and good tech support is how Cox tries to differentiate themselves from companies like Verizon.

If television is not that important to you, one could just get the 50 Mbps package, and use a BluRay player or HDTV with the right apps and buy a router and watch TV through Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc. That is what I am doing now; keep in mind I run the Ethernet cable directly to my BluRay player, two computers are wireless and a have a tablet. I cannot get HD video on the devices without latency, but I get HD on Netflix and YouTube through the apps in the BluRay player without any issues whatsoever. I am only using the 25 Mbps package. I am also using using an entry level router from Belkin for $29 I picked up at Best Buy. Everything is in the same room though, 800 square foot apartment but I still get a clear signal at the other end of the apartment all 5 bars.

[Mister Miaugie]

Originally Posted by goofy328

If television is not that important to you, one could just get the 50 Mbps package, and use a BluRay player or HDTV with the right apps and buy a router and watch TV through Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc. That is what I am doing now; keep in mind I run the Ethernet cable directly to my BluRay player, two computers are wireless and a have a tablet. I cannot get HD video on the devices without latency, but I get HD on Netflix and YouTube through the apps in the BluRay player without any issues whatsoever. I am only using the 25 Mbps package. I am also using using an entry level router from Belkin for $29 I picked up at Best Buy. Everything is in the same room though, 800 square foot apartment but I still get a clear signal at the other end of the apartment all 5 bars.

Whoa whoa whoa, how do you get such apps through the T.V.? I mean, HD YouTube from a T.V. will make my life complete!

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Mister Miaugie

Whoa whoa whoa, how do you get such apps through the T.V.? I mean, HD YouTube from a T.V. will make my life complete!

HD televisions with the right apps will allow you to watch YouTube, Hulu, whatever. They are starting to build HD televisions with wireless Wi-Fi.

Samsung advertises their apps on the first page of their website.

The cheap option is to get a BluRay player with apps and then hook that BluRay player up to the Internet directly. I got a cheap Samsung BluRay player for $100 that handles YouTube and Netflix. The YouTube app is pretty bad, to be completely honest, but if you know what you are looking for it is workable. In any event it always plays at the highest resolution, so if the video was shot in 1080 or 720 it will default at that resolution.

Netflix works the same way. A lot of Netflix movies, even older movies from the 80s and 90s, are presented in HD. On some of those movies, such as those shot with a regular camera, it doesn't make that much difference, and on some it does.

Not everything is superior in HD; I bought "Coming to America" because it was in the $7 bin, but I could have kept my money. The movie was not shot in digital, so all you are seeing in HD is the dirt and specks on the film; like you would if you were at the movie theater.

You can also use Apple TV, that is only $100 as well. Honestly, I do not know why people pay for TV, other than the Kardashian's, House Hunters, Real Housewives, oh yeah that's why ...

[VA palmetto]

Verizon DSL is slow and loses service very frequently. Cox is way faster, but FIOS doesn't reach York County. I'm having far fewer headaches with Cox, but it is expensive.