No offense, but why would you ever call someone to get pricing? It's all right there, clear as day, on the website. Last think I want to do is talk to anyone about it ever. I don't do it unless I absolutely have to, and even then I'll most likely go with a company where I can do everything online without having to talk to anyone..... Glad to see DirecTV has the best picture quality. I suspected it, but nice to see the "experts" here confirming. I went from Dish to DirecTV 2 years ago once ROOT Sports came around and Dish refused to carry it. So glad I did...Dish's equipment was a total joke. The DVRs look like they were built in the 90's and it always took several tries just to get them to reboot. Once they finally started rebooting, they sounded like they were going to blow up.
I am the same way. No way in hell I am dealing with talking on the phone with one of these reps. This is why they made the internet. If you want to chat with a rep use the chat. You get a transcript and they can't wiggle around as much. Plus they can't hear me laughing as I feign outrage while complaining about how inconvenient something is while trying to get a better deal. Also I had Dish Network for a couple of years. They are like the Sbarro of providers.
I have Comcast Xfinity, it's ok but I did it for the bundle I got (1-basic HD cable, 2-high speed Internet, 3-home security). I bought my own modem and separate router, and now paying $153 a month (for first year, will be $163 a month second year) Im in a 2 year contract, so that's kinda meh. But I couldn't beat the price. I gotta watch my Rockets, and I don't want to have to Ball Stream it or anything else. I can tell you that I liked Directv a ton more, but quickly realized that I'll live
The X1 platform for Comcast is good... light years ahead of their previous platform, but probably behind DTV. If you combine it with their superior internet service, you could end up paying less. I like it for the mobile streaming abilities... especially when you can turn any laptop, iPad, iPhone into a clone of your cable-box/DVR when you're on your home network (and can view recordings and many channels when you're not on the home network). Cloud DVR/live streaming is truly the future, and the cable/satellite companies are just scratching the surface of what it can really be. Especially when you mainly use it for live sports... but you have a sig. other who has to watch every kardashian show possible... you can stream the game to your laptop/phone. And maybe the best feature of X1... a dedicated line with far superior (non-foreign) technicians that trouble-shoot anything.
FIOS is the future. I get 50/50 speeds and people underrate the upload speed but it's really nice having it. After living through below 10 download speeds and minimal upload speeds and upgrading to a 50/50 connection, there is no way I can go back now. Anything below 30/10 is unacceptable IMO.
Make sure they follow up on that. Mine skyrocketed every month after the first 6 months. Once it got to $200 I cancelled immediately. They told me I had to pay a penalty for early cancellation so I had to talk withlike 5 different people for about 2 hours for them to waive the penalty.
I feel you on that. I have a fiber 300/300 connection and it's amazing. However, "FIOS" isn't the future. Fiber is. FIOS is dead. Verizon sold all their FIOS assets in Texas to Frontier, and is actively trying to get out of the wire line industry. They're also getting sued left and right in the Northeast for failing to upgrade old copper DSL in areas they promised they would upgrade to FIOS.
At the time I called they did not have that pricing structure it shows online now. The last thing I'd want to do is spend time on the phone with some salesman, trust me.
I just got rid of my Uverse service to save money. I also don't watch a whole lot of TV. I kept my Internet service though. I was looking into getting one of those modded TV boxes. Anyone have any suggestions on which ones are the better ones? I test drove a fire stick at my friends house and was totally unimpressed.
Slightly off topic but has anyone tried Playstation Vue? Seems like the channel selection is far superior to Sling (even on the lowest tiered plan). Does have the same reliability and buffering issues as Sling?
absolutely no problems with Comcast/Xfinity over all. Internet is fast ~120 down and 20 up, little to no downtime of tv / internet. I think it went out once a year or so ago. Only issue, which is known, their customer service on the phone sucks if you have an issue. The in person service at the xfinity locations is great. It took them forever to fix my account so I could use the xfinity tv streaming on my phone / tablet. The account had our old address / closed account still connected to it some how and none of the techs understood till finally some lady in the Philippines I think solved it. I think we pay for something like 110 down, and 10 or so up for internet. We have the X1 box, and an additional one in the bedroom. We probably pay around $110 a month.
I have had DirecTv for four years now and I average about an hour a year of down time due to weather. When I had TWC/Comcast, I would lose service for 24 hours or so, at least once a year in what appeared to be non-weather related screwups. IIRC one can watch DirecTv on your desktop/laptop/iPad if you have an internet connection.
It can go out in the rain though that's rare if your dish is installed properly. They require a credit check (now up to AT&T standards), and don't do month to month contracts or even a 1 year like AT&T Uverse (their crap IPTV product) They give you better deals if you switch to either AT&T wireless or Internet. (That's a downside for those in non wireline areas) Their on demand isn't as good as Comcast or other cable providers. Besides all that, I would still recommend them over any provider except PlayStation Vue if you are looking for a light package.
I wasn't around for the credit check stuff, but that doesn't sound good. But eventually the price might be more. It depends on the internet and bundles you use. Time Warner has the fastest internet available. The Directiv bundle even with their best internet wouldn't be as fast as the Time Warner internet. So that would mean adding to the internet service onto the cable/satellite service, and it was cost prohibitive for my family. It all came down to cost, because Directv had the best channels/HD/4k available, and the price for that alone or combined with the inferior internet bundles was fine. But if we wanted better internet, it was going to cost more. That's the only reason we switched.
I was with Directv for at least ten years. That was more than a year ago. I get that credit checks are normal, but not before giving you rate prices. I guess once I was already with them, and called about different options they never asked about a credit check.
As everyone else has said, the quality of their products as well as their customer service is the best. On top of 4k / HD, you get a lot of channels compared to cable for even their lower tier package. All of this comes with a cost of course, and that's with their price. But for the price, you can say it's a good, if not decent deal. With that said, I'm at a point where price and necessity are important and I've realized I can live even without the perks. That's why I'm with Comcast. For their crappy customer service, less HD channels (however just enough not to complain), but overall and most important, lower price
Yeah, my only complaint about DirecTV is the price after the introductory offer runs out. Like others have said, the service is the best of the major carriers, but I do cringe every time that bill comes via email every month. I always promise myself I'm going to drop some channels and/or call and negotiate a better rate....but I never do. Just don't have the time or energy to call and play rate games with some script-reading clone at a call center. I'm at a point where good service is worth the high price. At least until I get the guts to finally cut the cord.
