DIRECTV vs Brighthouse (Tampa, St. Petersburg: purchase, movies, taxes)

[Tim Tim Tim]

Originally Posted by Maggi07

I detest Brighthouse. It was either them or direct TV, and the latter was too much for what you get, imo. I'm waiting for Verizon to finally get FIOS going here, and we will go with them.

I have had the same experience as the above poster who says they add a few bucks here and there and refuse to work with you. But, worse than that, my internet goes out for brief periods during the day. Just a minute or so. Maybe that doesn't matter for many people, but my livelihood has me on line a good deal of the day, and losing service for a brief time screws things up for up to 20 minutes. I'm thinking of sending them a bill for lost income.

have you had a tech out to look into the issue?

If you want some assistance with that send me a PM.

[Tim Tim Tim]

Originally Posted by Rdonnel1

I tried getting DirecTv but my apartment balcony was facing the wrong direction. I thought this was 2012, absolutely ridiculous you can only be facing one way...I now have Brighthouse and have internet, phone and cable with them for about $108 a month with the sports pass and 2 HD Boxes. Directv was a way better deal. Second best package was $55 and came with NFL ticket, free HD DVR, free HD box and Stars Showtime HBO and Cinemax for free for 3 months.

I would def choose FIOS over Brighthouse though. I didn't because I figured I would just need internet and Brighthouse was much cheaper for just internet. Now I am stuck with Brighthouse's triple play bundle.

how are you "stuck" with it? There are no contracts with the service..

[gypsychic]

Brighthouse and DirecTV are both bad, I have had both. If you are going satellite, be prepared for a LOT of down time when it rains. Awful. As others have said Brighthouse is super expensive, and honestly the stuff on TV is crap.

I would really like to do what FloridaKash has done, but my husband is reluctant. But I'm definitely heading in that direction. Verizon has terrible customer service also.

[Maggi07]

Originally Posted by Tim Tim Tim

have you had a tech out to look into the issue?

If you want some assistance with that send me a PM.

Yes, I've had someone here. The last time was just a few days ago. The guy told me my signal was fine and he only saw one "red line" on his equipment (meaning when the service was interrupted, I guess). He suggested it was my router. Since then, when it happens I check to see if the phones go out as well, and they do, so it isn't my router. It has to be the service. Not sure what to do next, since it's still happening.

[asimegusta]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

I would really like to do what FloridaKash has done, but my husband is reluctant. But I'm definitely heading in that direction. Verizon has terrible customer service also.

Do try it.

Hulu plus, Amazon VOD are the ones I use with a WD media player too. All the shows are available and movies you can choose. Cable/dish channels seem to serve up the same movies over and over after a while. I got tired of paying for that.

It just doesn't make sense anymore to pay so much for cable or dish TV when there are so many alternate media sources through your internet connection.

[Tim Tim Tim]

Originally Posted by asimegusta

Do try it.

Hulu plus, Amazon VOD are the ones I use with a WD media player too. All the shows are available and movies you can choose. Cable/dish channels seem to serve up the same movies over and over after a while. I got tired of paying for that.

It just doesn't make sense anymore to pay so much for cable or dish TV when there are so many alternate media sources through your internet connection.

for now.. untill they really start hurting the big providers, then the deep pockets of the big guys will either put them out of business, buy them up or make them pay the same re-trans fee's that they have to pay and send the cost right to you

[FloridaKash]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Brighthouse and DirecTV are both bad, I have had both. If you are going satellite, be prepared for a LOT of down time when it rains. Awful. As others have said Brighthouse is super expensive, and honestly the stuff on TV is crap.

I would really like to do what FloridaKash has done, but my husband is reluctant. But I'm definitely heading in that direction. Verizon has terrible customer service also.

PM me if you want more details on how to do this. A Roku by itself is great for Amazon VOD, Netlifx and or HuluPLus. But you can get a lot more content by using some other 'Channels' available for your Roku.

Let's put it this way. When we go to a hotel that has cable.... we miss our Roku's at home. Yeah that's right... we have 3.

[KenFL]

I was all set to switch TV to Direct TV and then the lies came about. Be careful, question everything they say and demand it in writing... I stayed with Brighthouse.

At work, I have Verizon FIOS, no problems so far...

Speaking of Verizon, including their wireless phones. The main thing with Verizon is that in my experience, they are a gray company at best... They will definitely try to slip extra charges, so you need to read their contracts carefully and watch your bills... If you do have a problem, best for resolution is to go to Verizon and get face to face with someone...

[luckydawg003]

I have Verizon Fios and pay $94 a month for tv, net and phone. I had Brighthouse before at my last home and it sucked, it would go out all the time.

[Spring Hillian]

If you don't want to be a subscriber to the signal providers, get an antenna. There are quite a few over the air stations in the Tampa area. Over the Air Digital TV is not like the old analog. Then you can do like Cash does and just sub to the internet and get the rest of it via internet. What a deal.