Comcast/Dishnetwork/DTV

[Glynda]

I am at my 87 year old mother's house in Florida. She has a new Sony HD 42 inch flat panel TV with HDMI cord capability. She currently has basic Comcast cable service with no box. That is costing her $61.59 a month with taxes (a box wouldn't cost any more and she'd get PPV and music). She wants more channels (mostly more free movie channels), HD and DVR recording and has friends that both have DTV and Dishnetwork all telling her that their choice is the best one.

I've called Comcast, Dishnetwork, and DTV and my head is spinning trying to compare apples to apples. It appears that she can get more for the money by leaving Comcast BUT the specials with Dish and DTV are for six months or a year and then go up in price so that at the end of that discount period she would be paying within $5.00 a month difference from upgrading her Comcast account to more channels, HD and DVR. (With Dishnetwork she can bundle her current Embarq telephone and save $10 a month so it comes out a little cheaper though DTV's special is for a year an Dish for only six months..argh.)

Then there is the cancellation fee with Dish and DTV. No one at Dish or DTV will tell me what their policy is if she died or went into a nursing home. They say it's a "case by case decision." Give me a break. They have to have some sort of policy in writing but they will not tell me and will not transfer me to someone who will.

Sorry, I'm getting carried away trying to think with my fingers here.

Which do you like best? What would you choose for an 87 year old woman (who may not stay in this house for two years) who finds her TV remote and DVD player challenging but who still insists she wants more channels and DVR?

Thanks...

 

[djs]

For simplicity, you may be best sticking with Comcast. Channels that she currently has will still be in the same place (if her local news is on 18 w/o the box it will still be with the box). Home is already wired for cable, so there'll be no need for a satelite on the home/yard.

There's a lot of confusion with the Digital switch in June, but given her HDTV and the fact that she has a cable wire running into it, I believe she'll be all set there.

I have one of the Comcast bundles and pay less than I was paying (total) for phone, internet and cable prior to getting the bundle. In the past I had Verizon for phone and internet and "basic" cable. Now I have all three with Comcast and get all movie channels, DVR, HD etc for less money. The bundles are supposed to be good for a year but my understanding is they'll extend after a year if you ask ahead of time. Not sure if there was a committment of at least a year on my part.

 

[wackymother]

I would stick with Comcast. At least it will be basically the same set-up. Even if it costs a little more, your DM won't have to learn a whole new routine. Will the channel lineup be the same?

I would try calling Comcast and saying you're thinking of switching to (whatever) and they have this really good price, how much would something similar be with them? They will sometimes sweeten the deal because they like to keep customers. Good luck!

 

[geekette]

Their refusal to spell out cancellation policy would knock them out of contention for me. I would suggest taking that tack, that tone, if you want to give them one last chance to earn your business.

She may be able to upgrade her plan, stay with Comcast and get more of what she wants.

 

[Kal]

FYI - Your mother will have to learn how to use a new remote and box if she stays with Comcast.

By the end of the year (and sooner depending on locality) all Comcast customers will no longer be able to operate their televisions with only a cable connection. As a minimum every TV in the house will need to have its own box. That box will be one of the variety of Comcast boxes but at the very least a "digital transport adapter". Each box will be operated with its own remote.

The reason is that Comcast is migrating all analog channels to digital. A direct cable connection to an analog TV will not work without the adapter. For a simple setup, the TV will be set to Channel 03 and all station changes will be made thru the Comcast box.

This is a change totally different than the "rabbit ear" change in June 2009.

 

[NJCOBRA10tha]

I am a satellite fan.

I currently have DISH and previously had DirectTV. If you decide to get DISH I can give you a referal that will get us each $50.

Dish and Direct TV are far user friendly than any cable company and offer more HD.

Some of the things I love about Dish:
* 1080P Bluray - yes 1080p. THey offer 1 pay per view at a time in full 1080p 24fps Bluray quality. The image is amazing. THey also currently have a TV show "The Beast" available in 1080p on their on demand section.
* If you have a conflict like wanting to record 2 shows on HBO as well as channel 4 and 5 at 10:00 PM it will automatically record all of them by picking up the next airing on HBO on any of the channels so it will catch it at 1AM on HBO West.
* Built in 30 second skip button
* 55 hours HD 350 hours SD capability
* expandable by USB Drive. Not theoretical like cable companies DISH supports it.
Today it was announced they have 128 National HD channels.
So much more to say but in sumation I think the extra ease of use of the DISH DVR versus comcast as well as larger capactity and advanced features will more than overcome any learning curve required to switch cariers.

I am at my 87 year old mother's house in Florida. She has a new Sony HD 42 inch flat panel TV with HDMI cord capability. She currently has basic Comcast cable service with no box. That is costing her $61.59 a month with taxes (a box wouldn't cost any more and she'd get PPV and music). She wants more channels (mostly more free movie channels), HD and DVR recording and has friends that both have DTV and Dishnetwork all telling her that their choice is the best one.

I've called Comcast, Dishnetwork, and DTV and my head is spinning trying to compare apples to apples. It appears that she can get more for the money by leaving Comcast BUT the specials with Dish and DTV are for six months or a year and then go up in price so that at the end of that discount period she would be paying within $5.00 a month difference from upgrading her Comcast account to more channels, HD and DVR. (With Dishnetwork she can bundle her current Embarq telephone and save $10 a month so it comes out a little cheaper though DTV's special is for a year an Dish for only six months..argh.)

Then there is the cancellation fee with Dish and DTV. No one at Dish or DTV will tell me what their policy is if she died or went into a nursing home. They say it's a "case by case decision." Give me a break. They have to have some sort of policy in writing but they will not tell me and will not transfer me to someone who will.

Sorry, I'm getting carried away trying to think with my fingers here.

Which do you like best? What would you choose for an 87 year old woman (who may not stay in this house for two years) who finds her TV remote and DVD player challenging but who still insists she wants more channels and DVR?

Thanks...

 

[NWL]

My mother is 83 and she, too, wants to be "hip and happening" when it comes to new technology. The problem is she wants it to work without having to learn how to use it (cell phone, e-mail, etc.). If you are having trouble keeping all of the info straight, she's not going to have an easier time. I would keep it as simple as you can for her. IMO, stay with Comcast. It will save you both a headache!

Cheers!

p.s. the earlier post about calling Comcast and telling them you are thinking of switching to satellite is a good idea. There's a good chance they'll give your mom a better rate. It may not last forever, but it's worth a phone call.

 

[Icarus]

See if she can get the comcast w/tivo service there.

http://www.comcast.com/Tivo/

-David

 

[Glynda]

Thanks everyone. She did decide to stay with Comcast. She did not want to commit to the two year contract since they would not spell out their cancellation policy in the case of death or a move to a nursing home. She's still going to have to learn a new remote and how to program recordings because before she had the cable directly into the TV, no box, and was using her Sony TV remote.

We called and ordered the upgrade and went to the office to pick up the HD-DVR box. I installed it using HDMI cable and then had to make three calls to tech support and talk to four different people. I have it installed correctly but it's not picking up anything but what we had before and the higher channels of that are coming in snowy. I have to take the box back and exchange it this morning to see if it's a bad box.

I suspect that there is a problem on their end having set up the upgrades/codes though the last tech support person tried to enter different codes. I also suspect that her coax, connections, etc are very dated and may need to be replaced which is going to be a nightmare because get this...her late husband tiled the den floor up to the free-standing bookcases and even grouted in the bottom of the bookcases and guess where the cable comes into the house...behind the grouted-in bookcases that are filled with antique glass and pottery. To run a new line to behind the tv will mean drilling though the rock front of the house and the cable comes from the back yard. I'm flying out of here tomorrow and it looks like I'm going to have to come back very soon.