 SentinelPremium
join:2001-02-07
Florida
kudos:1 | [FL] Cable internet only? $$$ I'm thinking of keeping my cable internet because of the speed/cost compared to DSL in my area, and dropping the TV and going with DirecTV instead because it seems cheaper.
Right now I am paying roughly $55 for the internet and $100 for TV and it's a pretty basic package. It looks like comparable DSL in my area would be more money, but DirecTV in my area looks like it would be about the same channels if not more, for less money.
So my question is ... can I keep the cable internet and have satellite TV? Would this be cost effective and yield the best for the least? Would Cox charge me more for the internet if I dropped them for TV? |
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| I have Dish for TV and Cox for internet. No concerns, just make sure your cable modem is on its own wiring 100% to avoid problems. |
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 SoonerAlPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-23
Norman, OK
kudos:5 | reply to Sentinel
I switched from Cox to DIRECTV for TV last March. Currently I pay $52 for Cox HSI Preferred tier in the OKC market along with another $34+ change for telephone. Keep in mind the more you bundle the more you save so if you start dropping services you will see an increase in your Cox HSI charge.
I currently pay $62 a month for DIRECTV service with the Ultimate package. I also have some monthly discounts because I signed up through AAA, auto pay, etc...etc...
To answer your other question yes you can have DIRECTV and Cox HSI at the same time. The DIRECTV installer installed my system, ie. a HR24 HDDVR and a H25 HD receiver, as a whole home system meaning I can watch recorded TV shows an both the HR24 (living room) and the H25 (family room). The installer simply used my existing cabling to each TV from the central wiring cabinet. He did run a new home run coax from the DIRECTV antenna to the new DIRECTV splitter in the central wiring cabinet. The other coax connections are still active from the home run out to the Cox demark box (or whatever you call it).
The Cox HSI modem will be separate from the DIRECTV cabling. The two signals can not ride on the same coax.
I'll post pictures of my DIRECTV installation if I can find them...
If your a member of AAA you get discount signing up through them...
»www.aaa.com/directv
If your not PM me and I will give you my account number. That way we can both get $10 off the monthly bill for 10 months...
»www.directv.com/DTVAPP/referral/···gram.jsp |
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SoonerAlPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-23
Norman, OK
kudos:5 | 
Antenna detail | 
Antenna detail | 
Outside cabling | 
Outside cabling |
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SoonerAlPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-23
Norman, OK
kudos:5 | 
SWM powered splitter | 
Wireless CCK with Power Inserter | 
HR24 HD DVR | 
H25 HD receiver |
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SoonerAlPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-23
Norman, OK
kudos:5 | reply to Sentinel
Lastly here is a link to a nice document that describes how the DIRECTV system works with multiple receivers/DVRs and the SWiM (Single Wire Multi-Switch) to distribute the signals from the antenna.
»forums.directv.com/pe/Repository···20-%20In
Please note I had a DIRECTV employee installer versus a third-party contractor installer. He was on time, explained everything in the process to my satisfaction, answered any questions I had and did a supurb job IMHO... |
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| reply to Sentinel
I do recommend the HR34 over the 24. 5 tuners is just down right awesome plus the space. I have the 34 and 24, my system can record up to 7 HD channels at one time. |
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Rob_Premium
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL | How's the rain fade issue with DTV?
-Rob |
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SentinelPremium
join:2001-02-07
Florida
kudos:1 | reply to SoonerAl
Wow. Thanks a ton. Very much appreciated.
Looks like I may end up doing that because I think I am paying too much for too little. |
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| reply to Rob_
said by Rob_:How's the rain fade issue with DTV?
-Rob
About the same as the neighbor's kid jumping up and down on the trampoline causing the satellite TV to go out.
I pay $52 a month for a 5 tuner DVR, a 2 tuner DVR, and 2-HD receivers that can watch/record anything from the other DVR's. Plus tons of on-demand stuff, Pandora, Youtube, etc. It really is a nice setup. I'm very picky with my tech and DirecTV's equipment is hands down the best right now. Love it. I NEVER hear anyone yelling about can they skip some recording or someone complaining something got skipped. The HR34 holds tons of programming and we record a lot of stuff with 5 tuners to go around. Even with recording nothing but HD stuff, it still holds about a month of programming for us. The native option is very cool, not sure if Cox has this, but when you flip to ESPN, you actually watch it in 720p as it was meant. Not 1080i with half the frames ripped out. Flip to 1080i source and its 1080i. Some of the PPV's are 1080p but I don't buy/watch PPVs.
If I had to say one negative thing about their equipment, it would be if you hook up an E-Sata drive to the box it takes over and disables the internal disk instead of adding to it. But I don't really see the need as we already have too much programming to watch.
Cox would have to change a TON of stuff with their offering to get me to switch. They've already tried a few times. |
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| reply to Sentinel
I dropped Cox TV almost 2 years ago after they raised the price again and DirecTV was running a special. All I can say is, I feel its been a great move. Still have Cox for HSI and telephone. |
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Rob_Premium
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL | I love their ads they have about direct tv charging extra fees, so does Cox..
I might switch over, but rain fade IS an issue here, and it gets annoying when we try to watch something, poof.
-Rob |
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SoonerAlPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-23
Norman, OK
kudos:5 | From an Oklahoma view rain fade also is not an issue. Occasionally during a heavy thunderstorm but that is an exception and not the rule. With that said I also have an OTA antenna up in the attic I can use if I ever get into a situation where I lose the sat signal for an extended period of time particularly during a severe weather event. Of course I had that same antenna while I had Cox TV for the very same reason and others.
With the HR24 HD DVR (2-tuners) we can record up to 100 hours of HD TV. Since its only my wife and I that is more than enough for our usage particularly since we can watch recorded shows or live TV on the family room HD TV if we had a scheduling conflict. It simply comes down to your family usage, etc...etc...
Bottom line is I am glad we switched to DIRECTV for TV and use Cox HSI for both internet and home landline telephone service. That combination works well for us. |
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| reply to Rob_
said by Rob_:I love their ads they have about direct tv charging extra fees, so does Cox..
I might switch over, but rain fade IS an issue here, and it gets annoying when we try to watch something, poof.
-Rob
Louisiana here so the same amount if not more storms. You're falling into the propaganda from the cable co's if you keep talking about and worried about rainfade. Cable is out way more than my satellite TV. Not to mention satellite TV works great during hurricane events where cable TV is out for extended periods of time. Not sure if you ever get hurricanes in your part of Florida  |
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SentinelPremium
join:2001-02-07
Florida
kudos:1 | TV is not that important to me that I can't be without it for short periods of time. That's why I'm looking to save some money by getting the cheapest I can and still have some decent channels. I wish we could just pay for the channels we want but that ain't here yet
Satellite looks like I get more channels but none that really matter (to me) but it is hard to see what it really ends up costing in the end after the promo runs out.
Right now I pay roughly $65 for TV + $10 for DVR service +$10 for STB + $10 in taxes for a total bill of around $95 a month.
It is hard to tell what comparable DirecTV would cost total including taxes, on their web site. |
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| said by Sentinel:TV is not that important to me that I can't be without it for short periods of time. That's why I'm looking to save some money by getting the cheapest I can and still have some decent channels. I wish we could just pay for the channels we want but that ain't here yet
Satellite looks like I get more channels but none that really matter (to me) but it is hard to see what it really ends up costing in the end after the promo runs out.
Right now I pay roughly $65 for TV + $10 for DVR service +$10 for STB + $10 in taxes for a total bill of around $95 a month.
It is hard to tell what comparable DirecTV would cost total including taxes, on their web site.
The taxes will depend on your state but there isn't much and no crazy other hidden fees like franchise fees.
Last time I was looking at the site it was very easy to see, as it broke it down by month or year or something like that. Maybe they changed it. Call them. I would also recommend the referral as previously mentioned. I'm sure any one of us in the thread here would give you the info
Yet is not the word on the only pay for what you want, it should be "I wish we would could pay for only the channels we want like in the past".
If you are looking for more info on satellitetv I recommend taking a stop over at Satelliteguys.us as they have lots of members and good information. |
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| Satelliteguys is a great site for SAT TV. Also, you have referral offers here for DirecTV (D* in Satellite guys terms), if you want one for Dish (E*), let me know. |
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Reviews:
 ·Cox HSI
| reply to Sentinel
I've had maybe 3 or 4 times where I lost HD due to rain for short intervals (funny enough the TV went out right before the rain arrived), but the SD channels continued to work. I had one time where I lost everything, but that was only for a minute, because then the power went out for an hour  |
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Rob_Premium
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL | According to their website (Cox), I can upgrade to Whole Home DVR and get all the premiums for $133.00 a month. Even offering a 6 month special. $133.00+14.00 = $147.00
My current TV bill is about $116.65 I don't mind paying the $147.00 if that includes the main box and two boxes and all movie channels. Direct TV is (probably) the same price when you add the fees and crap.
Please note, the $116.65 includes NO movie channels, just two boxes and one DVR. I feel I'm being billed wrong.
-Rob |
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| reply to Sentinel
I think most if not all cox areas charge the same HSI price if you have one or more services. |
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