While shopping around for new cable/internet service I noticed that Comcast does not serve the Tulsa area. I think it is time that Cox have some competition their prices are getting ridiculous. Does anyone else now of a good cable/internet service provider in the area that provides good service at a cheaper price. No dial up please.
Quote from: tigerlily on January 18, 2011, 11:43:34 AM
While shopping around for new cable/internet service I noticed that Comcast does not serve the Tulsa area. I think it is time that Cox have some competition their prices are getting ridiculous. Does anyone else now of a good cable/internet service provider in the area that provides good service at a cheaper price. No dial up please.
Cox and Comcast will never serve the same areas anywhere.
Cox's competition locally includes U-verse (AT&T), DISH and DirecTV.
Quote from: swake on January 18, 2011, 11:48:13 AM
Cox and Comcast will never serve the same areas anywhere.
Cox's competition locally includes U-verse (AT&T), DISH and DirecTV.
What's the deal with U-verse? I've been wanting to give them a try for the longest time, but they don't seem to serve downtown. At this point, I wonder if they're still expanding their service area or if they're just gonna serve the parts of town they're already serving.
Quote from: tigerlily on January 18, 2011, 11:43:34 AM
While shopping around for new cable/internet service I noticed that Comcast does not serve the Tulsa area. I think it is time that Cox have some competition their prices are getting ridiculous. Does anyone else now of a good cable/internet service provider in the area that provides good service at a cheaper price. No dial up please.
You have obviously not heard complaints from ComCrap customers.
And it wouldn't be feasible, even if one were to try and move in. The entire CATV/Fiber structure was built by Cox. Do you seriously think that a competitor could give competitive prices if they had to pay a line lease to Cox, which would almost certainly be the case?
Quote from: TheTed on January 18, 2011, 11:51:31 AM
What's the deal with U-verse? I've been wanting to give them a try for the longest time, but they don't seem to serve downtown. At this point, I wonder if they're still expanding their service area or if they're just gonna serve the parts of town they're already serving.
It's the same all over their service areas in different cities. Some parts have it available, others don't.
Mine doesn't.
I'm not too hurt about it though. From people I've spoken with, if you watch HD TV, it nearly renders your high speed internet unusable. I've also heard not very flattering things regarding the quality of the HD service.
Very happy DirecTV customer here.
Quote from: Conan71 on January 18, 2011, 12:47:06 PM
Very happy DirecTV customer here.
Tell us how that works out when the snow covers your dish on Thursday.
;)
Just funnin' with ya, C. After yesterdays Facebook post a lighter tone is needed for sure.
As a note; I'm preparing to contact the local cable service and have them set me up on the whole home DVR setup, much like Dish/Direct has. I hear the wait for install is about two weeks right now.
Quote from: Hoss on January 18, 2011, 12:45:45 PM
It's the same all over their service areas in different cities. Some parts have it available, others don't.
Mine doesn't.
I'm not too hurt about it though. From people I've spoken with, if you watch HD TV, it nearly renders your high speed internet unusable. I've also heard not very flattering things regarding the quality of the HD service.
For me, it's not apples to apples, though. Uverse has so many sports channels that Cox doesn't. I'd put up with lesser quality to be able to get all the regional sports channels. And a dish is the only other way to get those channels. And that's not an option.
Quote from: Hoss on January 18, 2011, 12:52:18 PM
Tell us how that works out when the snow covers your dish on Thursday.
;)
Just funnin' with ya, C. After yesterdays Facebook post a lighter tone is needed for sure.
As a note; I'm preparing to contact the local cable service and have them set me up on the whole home DVR setup, much like Dish/Direct has. I hear the wait for install is about two weeks right now.
I'm pretty sure I had snow on the dish after it was installed last year. I've lost reception during a couple of severe thunderstorms, but other than that, it's been incredibly reliable. We shall see if we get a good snow. Fortunately it's within a broom's reach, if needed. ;)
Quote from: Conan71 on January 18, 2011, 01:17:34 PM
I'm pretty sure I had snow on the dish after it was installed last year. I've lost reception during a couple of severe thunderstorms, but other than that, it's been incredibly reliable. We shall see if we get a good snow. Fortunately it's within a broom's reach, if needed. ;)
As Will the Artist can tell you, I had an 8 foot C-Band dish as I grew up in the house I now live in. The snow on those things was murder. Signal degradation on a C-Band when snow accumulates on the dish is terrible.
Brooms worked on those as well, it just took longer.
Quote from: Hoss on January 18, 2011, 01:56:33 PM
As Will the Artist can tell you, I had an 8 foot C-Band dish as I grew up in the house I now live in. The snow on those things was murder. Signal degradation on a C-Band when snow accumulates on the dish is terrible.
Brooms worked on those as well, it just took longer.
Were you a Superstar Satellite customer?
Quote from: Hoss on January 18, 2011, 01:56:33 PM
As Will the Artist can tell you, I had an 8 foot C-Band dish as I grew up in the house I now live in. The snow on those things was murder. Signal degradation on a C-Band when snow accumulates on the dish is terrible.
Brooms worked on those as well, it just took longer.
Whenever I see one of those dishes, I always think "guacamole bowl from hell"
Only issue I've got now with my DirecTV is trying to get my remotes to match up. Anyone know of a good universal remote compatible with DirecTV. I've tried all the codes they recommend and they don't seem to work or will only control volume on the TV, not power and volume.
Quote from: Conan71 on January 18, 2011, 12:47:06 PM
Very happy DirecTV customer here.
Me too. Best customer service.
My friend said Cox is charging his parents about $25/month more than he pays in Kansas City. Its pretty crazy the cost for cable. I believe Cox has "franchises" with the separate cities. I may be wrong though.
Cable and Satellite free since 2008. I have purchased maybe $30 worth of shows in the last few years. I still watch most of the shows I want to watch. I only miss Showtime and HBO. Just trash it all and they will lower their prices then.
Quote from: Hoss on January 18, 2011, 12:43:45 PM
And it wouldn't be feasible, even if one were to try and move in. The entire CATV/Fiber structure was built by Cox. Do you seriously think that a competitor could give competitive prices if they had to pay a line lease to Cox, which would almost certainly be the case?
This is why I think infrastructure and service should be separated. Preferably with public/cooperative ownership of brand-spanking-new fiber and strong regulation to prevent the owner of the physical wire from profiteering. This would significantly increase competition in the last mile. A "public option" of sorts like several cities have done (Lafayette, LA and Chattanooga, TN come immediately to mind) would be a fine alternative, but it seems silly to install new infrastructure that doesn't have enforced line sharing.
SBC was required to do line sharing for some years, and did, but the FCC has decided they no longer need to enforce federal law on the subject, at least with respect to data services. They decided federal law only applies to lines served directly from the central office, thus leaving them free to keep U-Verse and remote terminal based DSL all to themselves. When you called up SBC to buy DSL service, you were actually getting Internet service from SBC Internet Services who paid a company called ASI (a wholly owned subsidiary of SBC) for the physical part. This is how you could get DSL from other, competing, companies.
From the customer's perspective, it was a little annoying because the DSL field techs generally weren't as good as the old telco guys who went back to doing voice only after the split. Of course, the tradeoff was that you could call ASI directly and get them to fix your problem without dealing with the 100% abysmal SBCIS call center.
Quote from: Conan71 on January 18, 2011, 02:10:07 PM
Whenever I see one of those dishes, I always think "guacamole bowl from hell"
Only issue I've got now with my DirecTV is trying to get my remotes to match up. Anyone know of a good universal remote compatible with DirecTV. I've tried all the codes they recommend and they don't seem to work or will only control volume on the TV, not power and volume.
I don't think they make remotes for these TVs.
(http://www.rewindmuseum.com/images3/bush.jpg)
;D
I have the same problems, a little on steroids because I have about 10 of their remotes and still don't know which goes to which TV. One gripe I have with DirecTV is their movie channel packaging. I have to have Skinamax or downgrade plans.
Quote from: Conan71 on January 18, 2011, 02:10:07 PM
Whenever I see one of those dishes, I always think "guacamole bowl from hell"
Only issue I've got now with my DirecTV is trying to get my remotes to match up. Anyone know of a good universal remote compatible with DirecTV. I've tried all the codes they recommend and they don't seem to work or will only control volume on the TV, not power and volume.
If by Universal Remotes you mean one of the cheaper ones you can buy at a big box store, no. I have a Logitech Harmony remote, and they work pretty good. You can plug them in to your computer and it will download codes to the remote for the devices you have. If you have a specific need, you can also make them 'learn', by pointing your original remote at the Harmony.
They aren't cheap though. $80 for the cheapest, and I've seen them upwards in the $200 category. There are several different models.
Quote from: Hoss on January 18, 2011, 12:43:45 PM
You have obviously not heard complaints from ComCrap customers.
And it wouldn't be feasible, even if one were to try and move in. The entire CATV/Fiber structure was built by Cox. Do you seriously think that a competitor could give competitive prices if they had to pay a line lease to Cox, which would almost certainly be the case?
Now that Cox is charging people $175/month there may be some room to work there. Phone, internet, and television are all merging into the same thing, which is simply data.
Quote from: YoungTulsan on January 18, 2011, 04:31:49 PM
Now that Cox is charging people $175/month there may be some room to work there. Phone, internet, and television are all merging into the same thing, which is simply data.
But Cox will be the one to set pricing for the lease. And since (I believe) a franchise agreement with the COT is in place, Comcast (or any other CableCo for that matter) is not likely to encroach.
Not saying I wouldn't welcome some competition. I would, but this is how Ma Bell monopolized for so many years.
A tiny bit O/T, but the Comcast-NBC merger has been approved. For a "civil" discussion on this topic, please click the link (language warning):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4701231
Conan,
Not trying to be trite, but have you called DirecTV and asked if they have any recommendations? They probably would rather not deal with remotes themselves, so maybe they have a list of alternatives.
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on January 18, 2011, 08:02:37 PM
Conan,
Not trying to be trite, but have you called DirecTV and asked if they have any recommendations? They probably would rather not deal with remotes themselves, so maybe they have a list of alternatives.
They have a list of potential codes for different devices you can control by their remote on their menu. I'll Google around when I get more time. The codes they had posted on the TV menu didn't work.
I see actual cable as a thing of the past in the near future....
Quote from: Breadburner on January 18, 2011, 11:14:05 PM
I see actual cable as a thing of the past in the near future....
As a delivery system (physical coax)? Sure. But programmed television? No. I think at some point fiber will be the way TV is delivered; it already is in some parts of the country. And then even more sophisticated methods of delivery fairly soon afterwards.
I still remember the days of having to use a 75 to 300 ohm balun on some TV's I showed my 18 year old nephew one and he was like 'what the hell is that thing'?.
Quote from: Trogdor on January 18, 2011, 02:33:28 PM
Cable and Satellite free since 2008. I have purchased maybe $30 worth of shows in the last few years. I still watch most of the shows I want to watch.
Between Hulu, Netflix, BitTorrent, many people have dumped cable and satellite systems as their entertainment.
Using an antenna for TV is more realistic now with all the new extra digital channels, and I believe the only local broadcaster not in HD now is 6?
Quote from: Conan71 on January 18, 2011, 02:10:07 PM
Whenever I see one of those dishes, I always think "guacamole bowl from hell"
Only issue I've got now with my DirecTV is trying to get my remotes to match up. Anyone know of a good universal remote compatible with DirecTV. I've tried all the codes they recommend and they don't seem to work or will only control volume on the TV, not power and volume.
And your sure that this thing wont work.....Hmm
Quote from: Hoss on January 18, 2011, 04:27:44 PM
They aren't cheap though. $80 for the cheapest, and I've seen them upwards in the $200 category. There are several different models.
They used to have one that only ran $60. (it may have been MCE branded) And looking at Best Buy's website, they now have one without an LCD for $40. It only handles 4 devices and I'd be shocked if it weren't crippled in some other way, though.
Also, I found the other day that the Linux programming software has a feature sorely lacking from the Windows version: the ability to manually enter a code. If the database doesn't have it and you've lost the original remote, you're screwed in Windows. With congruity, you can use one of the various sites that have Pronto hex codes for just about every device in existence and copy that into the software instead of using the original remote. Very handy.