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Old 09-12-2010, 02:41 PM
 
Location: San Francisco
622 posts, read 1,142,184 times
Reputation: 392

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I really need to get some sort of cable TV service.

I just moved into an apartment here in downtown Jersey City. I have a roommate and all we have is wifi. That's fine as he's a grad student and he's trying to watch his budget.

I, however, am going mad on days like this (a rainy Sunday afternoon where all I've got is my laptop and iTouch to entertain me. Also, I miss tuning into stuff like the BBC news...watched that a lot when I was abroad.) Today, I can fire up Netflix on the laptop. I can tune into Pandora on the iTouch or even on my Android phone and plug it into my speakers. Yeah, yeah...I can read a book too. However, it's on afternoons like this that kicking back and just turning the TV on is nice.

I saw a commercial from Direct TV about the ease of transferring your account when you move. That's appealing. I'm in this apartment but I'm sure I'll move sooner or later as this is a place for me to live but not an arrangement I expect to last over a series of years. The commercial made it sound easy, call them, pack up your receiver, move and hook it up in your new home. (Granted, I realize if I move to an area that doesn't have Direct TV, I'm S.O.L.) However, I looked on Yelp.com and the reviews there aren't very good. I'm wondering if anyone in the Jersey City/Hoboken area has the service and what they think of it both in terms of quality (consistency, speed at fixing outages) and customer service. The rates also seem to be pretty good if you order the service online.

Like I said, we've already got wifi here, so I'm sure TV can be added with just a phone call. That's via Verizon, so also any opinions on their service?

Basically, I'd want basic and a couple of premium channels. Since my roommate probably won't watch it, that will be a bill that's all on me. I don't watch a lot of TV, but HBO almost always has quality shows. There are also shows like Mad Men on AMC. If I'm going to get TV service, I might as well no be limited to the local news and bad TV channels.

Thanks in advance.

Last edited by rkwalton; 09-12-2010 at 02:50 PM..
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Old 09-12-2010, 04:28 PM
 
Location: Jersey City
13 posts, read 46,574 times
Reputation: 21
I'm in love with DirecTV. I moved here from south Jersey and all it took was a phone call to move my service. I brought the box with me when I moved and the guy arrived on time and hooked me up quickly. They usually offer some kind of deal for new customers, like 3 three months of HBO and SHO or some sports channels. I used to have Comcast but I always had problems when it rained; it sometimes went out for hours. With DirecTV, I hardly ever have any outages. They are few and they are definitely brief, and their customer service is stellar. Look at me, I sound like a TV commercial. (^_^) Honestly, I'm very happy with my service and it's much cheaper than cable.
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Old 09-12-2010, 05:20 PM
 
Location: West Orange, NJ
12,546 posts, read 21,326,972 times
Reputation: 3730
i love verizon fios, but not sure how it compares when just considering basic. save money on hbo or other premiums by using netflix to watch those shows. but i only have cable because of sports. if you just want tv shows, i'd use netflix to get most of them. if you have a wii or xbox or certain dvd players, you can also watch netflix instantly to TV.
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Old 09-12-2010, 06:44 PM
 
Location: New Jersey
550 posts, read 1,181,036 times
Reputation: 532
I have Verizon FiOS, but for someone who might be moving soon and lives in Downtown JC, I would simply recommend Comcast basic cable (lowest package) its digital and has all the common channels like BBC and no hassle of Dish installation and asking landlord permission to mount a dish etc
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Old 09-12-2010, 07:44 PM
 
Location: NJ & NV
5,767 posts, read 16,494,290 times
Reputation: 2470
Remember, you are more than close enough to NYC to receive high quality digital DTV over the air the proper way, FREE, the way all TV is properly meant to be. You should be able to pick up about 30 to 35 channels with any regular antenna.
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Old 09-12-2010, 08:25 PM
 
Location: Some where North of South Jersey
614 posts, read 1,370,360 times
Reputation: 232
Best thing to do would be to call all three (Comcast, Verizon, and Direct TV) and ask what packages are available and at what price per month.
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Old 09-12-2010, 09:03 PM
 
Location: San Francisco
622 posts, read 1,142,184 times
Reputation: 392
Thanks everyone!
Quote:
Originally Posted by secondhalf View Post
I'm in love with DirecTV. I moved here from south Jersey and all it took was a phone call to move my service. I brought the box with me when I moved and the guy arrived on time and hooked me up quickly. They usually offer some kind of deal for new customers, like 3 three months of HBO and SHO or some sports channels. I used to have Comcast but I always had problems when it rained; it sometimes went out for hours. With DirecTV, I hardly ever have any outages. They are few and they are definitely brief, and their customer service is stellar. Look at me, I sound like a TV commercial. (^_^) Honestly, I'm very happy with my service and it's much cheaper than cable.
You do sound like a commercial, but that's what I'm looking for. People who have Direct TV or other providers and their experience with the service. Since I'm pretty sure this will be a one year deal, I want to know if I get Direct TV it's true that it's an easy move. Good to know!
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradykp View Post
i love verizon fios, but not sure how it compares when just considering basic. save money on hbo or other premiums by using netflix to watch those shows. but i only have cable because of sports. if you just want tv shows, i'd use netflix to get most of them. if you have a wii or xbox or certain dvd players, you can also watch netflix instantly to TV.
If I see stuff, like I want to see it when folks are excited about it. Not weeks or months later. That's part of the premium of having a channel like HBO.

I already have Netflix, but I want to watch the season end of True Blood with everyone else (as an example...not seen it or am into it). That's part of the fun.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SonorityGenius View Post
I have Verizon FiOS, but for someone who might be moving soon and lives in Downtown JC, I would simply recommend Comcast basic cable (lowest package) its digital and has all the common channels like BBC and no hassle of Dish installation and asking landlord permission to mount a dish etc
Okay, that's good to know. Direct TV has a dish? Hmmmmmm, might be a problem...might be. Might not be.

Quote:
Originally Posted by captne76 View Post
Remember, you are more than close enough to NYC to receive high quality digital DTV over the air the proper way, FREE, the way all TV is properly meant to be. You should be able to pick up about 30 to 35 channels with any regular antenna.
I thought that everyone needed that pesky digital decoder box or digital TV, if it's a newer one. Wait, you mean if I've got that and then get an antenna I can get the standard regular TV. That's a thought.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kjd72 View Post
Best thing to do would be to call all three (Comcast, Verizon, and Direct TV) and ask what packages are available and at what price per month.
Right, I know I can call. I was asking for experience from people who live in the area about what they've experienced. Basically, I'm doing the research and then I'll pick up the phone or go online to see what they'll offer me.
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Old 09-12-2010, 09:59 PM
 
Location: Some where North of South Jersey
614 posts, read 1,370,360 times
Reputation: 232
I have Verizon Fios, I can't say what my bill is a month since I have the internet, and home phone, and two cell phones on the "One Bill" but I can tell you this, I do like it more then I did with Comcast. Really in the end it's all a matter of preference. (and price)
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Old 09-13-2010, 02:04 PM
 
Location: NJ & NV
5,767 posts, read 16,494,290 times
Reputation: 2470
I'm still not paying for any TV, I get more than enough free over the air, hardly ever watch it, and if they want to give me free cable or satellite, fine, but I am not paying a lot, nor anything for THAT muffler.
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Old 09-13-2010, 02:05 PM
 
Location: NJT 14C
429 posts, read 928,641 times
Reputation: 144
I'm in downtown JC. We have DirecTV, as do many others around us. We only have the most basic package, which is kinda crappy in my opinion--a bunch of channels I'd be interested in are missing. I pretty much only watch 4-5 channels that we get. My wife watches different channels than I do. I wish they could do a la carte instead. However, we do not watch TV a heck of a lot, and both my wife and I travel for work some, too. When we're both home and have the TV on we typically watch movies or other things on DVD instead.
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