US: Cable TV, internet, and all that shit...

[GaijinPunch]

My head is spinning from this. The landline seems like wasted money. I only had one in Japan to make international calls to the US. I will make fewer calls to Japan, so I think Skype or the like will suffice. Not worth $30+ a month.

The channels are another story. If I get the full monty w/ the movie channels (which I actually will watch), it's not that much more compared to the minimum acceptable package (the one w/ AMC and the like) w/ the HD addon. I think it's only $10 a month more. The thing is, the "deal" is only for 12 months, after that, the price shoots up $80/mo or so. Once upon a time in the early 90's, I used to switch long distance phone providers faster than people switched partners at a key party... and I got a better deal every time. Will stuff like that still fly? Right now I'm getting a "new resident" deal, but the building has the choice of Comcast & AT&T. If I renew my lease, I could always switch to Comcast, no?

[BryanM]

Become a cable cutter like the rest of us. Stick it to the man.

You don't really need to see another rerun of Back to the Future, do you?

[GaijinPunch]

Become a cable cutter like the rest of us. Stick it to the man.

You don't really need to see another rerun of Back to the Future, do you?

Most of what I watch is the cable news, the documentary channels, and a few series which are pretty much on AMC/HBO/Showtime. Maybe SyFy will have something awesome soon. I watch enough of it to justify some kind of cost per month. It's fucking cold as balls in the winter here, and I'm assuming I will hole myself up for a lot of it. I don't really play games that much these days. I know I can get those shows for free, but I think in this day and age it's important to support the mediums you actually use. I believe it was Kai Krause that made the comment on piracy decades ago, "Don't be a cheapskate. If you use this more than a couple of times a week, pay for it." It was software in that case, but you get the point.

Not mentioned (or probably understood by nobody that's lived in Asia): There's something magical about there actually being something worth a shit on real TV as it happens. TV is *SOOO* horrible in Japan. Beyond crappy. It might be worse than all of the Jesus and Latino channels combined.

[BryanM]

I wasn't advocating thievery, it was more along of the lines of "buy what you like, watch news from their websites or ROKU channels or whatever, save money, save the world." Every cable subscription subsidizes FOX News and therefore terrorism, doesn't it?

Transient broadcasts are so strange, like walking into a Blockbuster Video. Aw well, each his own, good luck out there.

[Some-Mist]

you basically have to play games with the providers. After the 12-month period you have to call and say you'd want to keep the package, but can't afford it and want to cancel.... and more often than not they will offer you a substantially lower price point.

edit: me and my roommates did this for all our premium channels (including HBO) for another year with no price change.

[Ed Oscuro]

I tried and failed to cut a deal with Comcast over Internet speeds - they wanted to sell a whole package of stuff when I just wanted upgraded speed. It would have wiped out the gains I made by throwing their ancient (c. 1999 or so, but still rock solid - edit: 2001 actually) Motorola Surfboard modem back at them and replacing it with one I bought for $5. Incidentally, right there is a way you can save $5 or $8 or whatever every month - don't let them lease you that modem. The same probably applies to a DVR.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

With the merger of AT&T & DirecTV announced a few months back, it'll take about two years to get the kinks straightened out between both companies. In the meantime, there's an AT&T bundled deal with DirecTV digital satellite set-box service + internet & phone service all-in-one deal. The thing with DirecTV is, for some premium channels, they'll give you say like HBO & Cinemax for the first two months free and then, you'll be charged for them on a monthly basis if you decide that you want them later on or call 'em up and cancel after the free trial promo ends. If you go with an Direct HDTV DVR box setup, it only supports up to 1080i resolution at best (but it's better than nothing or even SD format for that matter). You can choose to select your favorite shows and it'll automatically record 'em all directly to the built-in HDD. The DirecTV DVR that can record up to five separate TV shows at the same time has a built-in whopping 1TB HDD setup (the DirecTV installer told me in person about that little insider nugget of info).

And if you want to watch some DirecTV HDTV programming in your kitchen's smaller HDTV setup without having to get a 2nd dedicated DirecTV DVR set box, then a HDTV wireless transmitter/receiver combo deal is the answer to that type of setup -- is usually about $200.00 USD for this particular wireless HDTV setup though. It works like a charm, indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[GaijinPunch]

I wasn't advocating thievery, it was more along of the lines of "buy what you like, watch news from their websites or ROKU channels or whatever, save money, save the world." Every cable subscription subsidizes FOX News and therefore terrorism, doesn't it?

I've done that but it gets old. I've watched TV/News on the computer for... forever almost. And, most of the good channels don't stream their stuff anyway. Gotta wait for Netfrix.

I went w/ AT&T U-Verse. I use them for my mobile phone, so figured why not. $7 a month for the modem I'm not worried about... $80 a month I am. I'll do the ole' switch-a-roo in a year. My lease is up then anyway, so who knows what will happen.

[Ed Oscuro]

Paying the modem rental maybe makes sense if you're not going to be with them long enough to warrant the purchase of a new one - but if you'll need a modem at the next place you go, that stuff adds up. They're small and not much to lug around, and practically indestructible (routers are a different story). The recent technology switch to DOCSIS 3.0 means any mainstream modem you buy now should be good to go for the reasonably long term. It sounds like Comcast might have upped the fee by a dollar to $8 - it takes just over a year for a bought modem to pay for itself, even if you pay $100 for one (which is way too much really). Actually activating the modem takes maybe 15 minutes, including call waiting time, maybe less if you tell them you're not interested in their service pitches.

Over a decade, Comcast makes nearly a grand off those old and terribly obsolete DOCSIS 2.0 modems from back in the day - per installation.

[Joe T.]

I went with Comcast when I first moved to Chicago. I just wanted internet, but they pretty much forced me to go with internet and a basic cable package (HBO and three or four channels in Spanish). After a year I got a call where they could set me up with a similar package, but with a few extra channels for $10 a month more, but I had to sign a contract for two more years. Breaking the contract would cost me $200. I told them I wasn't interested, and suddenly they backpeddled and offered me virtually the same package I already have for $8 more a month, and I could cancel whenever. It was a really weird conversation. I'm kind of expecting to get hit with some strange fees at some point. Regardless, Comcast's service sucks and the modem/router they gave me also sucks. Unfortunately, all of the other options in my area are worse from what I've been told.

[brentsg]

My head is spinning from this. The landline seems like wasted money. I only had one in Japan to make international calls to the US. I will make fewer calls to Japan, so I think Skype or the like will suffice. Not worth $30+ a month.

The channels are another story. If I get the full monty w/ the movie channels (which I actually will watch), it's not that much more compared to the minimum acceptable package (the one w/ AMC and the like) w/ the HD addon. I think it's only $10 a month more. The thing is, the "deal" is only for 12 months, after that, the price shoots up $80/mo or so. Once upon a time in the early 90's, I used to switch long distance phone providers faster than people switched partners at a key party... and I got a better deal every time. Will stuff like that still fly? Right now I'm getting a "new resident" deal, but the building has the choice of Comcast & AT&T. If I renew my lease, I could always switch to Comcast, no?

Thread already has a bunch of stuff I won't read but..

First, glad you seem to be settling. I'm glad things are working out. It looks like you're 5 hours away max, so let's hook up sometime. Come here and we can hang out with Shou's dad. He's a cool dude.

Second, the only time anyone in the US needs a landline is if you want 100% reliable 911 service, IMO. If you want your dog to be able to dial 911 with her nose, and not give a location b/c she's a dog then you want a landline. Obviously this is good for people with children, the elderly, and anyone else that expects to OD or something. Moving from a true landline to a cable company VoIP is better than cellular.

Third, you enjoy your TV so get whatever you need and don't sweat it. Put your 12 month date on the calendar and just call them to ask for the retention department. They'll just renew with the current promo's.

[Ed Oscuro]

I'm kind of expecting to get hit with some strange fees at some point. Regardless, Comcast's service sucks and the modem/router they gave me also sucks. Unfortunately, all of the other options in my area are worse from what I've been told.

You can always say no - so use that to your advantage.

BTW, you sound like somebody who could do with owning their own modem (the router might be / should be a separate device, which I think you should own). Go over your monthly bill and see what monthly equipment lease fees they're charging you. Go buy your own modem - anything new will do, though I like the new Surfboard pretty well - and call up Comcast to tell them you're going to return the old one and activate the new one. The only complication here is that you'll need to return the old modem - easy to do if you have a Comcast center nearby ("service center" seems like more than what they are, in my experience).

The modems out now are pretty standard, so long as they support DOCSIS 3.0, which includes IPV6 support. Actually I see DOCSIS 3.1 is rolling out sometime soon-ish, but considering Comcast still sticks me to speeds supported by ancient DOCSIS 2.0 modems, that's kind of a moot point.

Routers are something that I've gotten used to replacing every few years or so - they just don't seem to last especially long. Same is true of other hardware, though, and they're typically always on.

Second, the only time anyone in the US needs a landline is if you want 100% reliable 911 service, IMO. [...] Moving from a true landline to a cable company VoIP is better than cellular.

VoIP's disadvantages for emergency service calls (which doesn't necessarily mean just calling 911, but also calling the power company when there's an outage) are pretty damn significant if you ask me. When there's an emergency, the last thing I want to have to rely on are complicated services. I like the idea behind VoIP but the reliability just isn't there yet. Still, in many areas cellular + VoIP should give pretty good coverage unless you're expecting a mass casualty event or something else that knocks out cell reliability in addition to home power.

Also, how would an emergency call center know where to route your 911 call with VoIP? There's no location information embedded in the call.

[brentsg]

A lot of VoIP providers will pass along the customers billing address with 911 calls. Others have you fill out a web form and pass along whatever you populate. My issue is that it's a workaround for many of them and it's difficult to know whether it's going to work.

I have done 911 test calls for new telephone market launches in the cable industry, and there is a lot of nonsense that goes along with it. I'm sure a lot of those companies don't bother with all of it.

[GaijinPunch]

First, glad you seem to be settling. I'm glad things are working out. It looks like you're 5 hours away max, so let's hook up sometime. Come here and we can hang out with Shou's dad. He's a cool dude.

It's nice to be settling. Of course, first day of work is Monday, so take that w/ a grain of salt. Does he have as many PCBs as Shou? If he does, and his dog doesn't go from totally hates me one month, to Cujo the next, then I'm cool. (Side note, Shou's dog weighs about 14 oz.).

Do you come up this way that often? If you sort a meet out, I'll try to rent a car and get down there.

Second, the only time anyone in the US needs a landline is if you want 100% reliable 911 service, IMO. If you want your dog to be able to dial 911 with her nose, and not give a location b/c she's a dog then you want a landline. Obviously this is good for people with children, the elderly, and anyone else that expects to OD or something. Moving from a true landline to a cable company VoIP is better than cellular.

Well, when I say landline I mean VoIP through the cable company. Even then, it's like $25/month for 200 minutes (which I doubt I'd use). The only reason I had one in Japan was b/c it was the most affordable for international. Yeah, Skype/Viber/Etc. is way cheaper and easier, but sometimes it's nice to have that line. I also ran my business out of my house (no, a legit one) and it was less dodgy having a phone. I don't think I need it anymore.

Third, you enjoy your TV so get whatever you need and don't sweat it. Put your 12 month date on the calendar and just call them to ask for the retention department. They'll just renew with the current promo's.

Werd.

I have done 911 test calls for new telephone market launches in the cable industry, and there is a lot of nonsense that goes along with it. I'm sure a lot of those companies don't bother with all of it.

Good thing I'm still in the mindset I adopted early in my Tokyo days: If there's a life threatening emergency, there's a good chance I'm going to die. I learned this after I watched EMT's take 15 minutes to get a stretcher through an ER door (external to the building) that was too narrow.

[Ed Oscuro]

A lot of VoIP providers will pass along the customers billing address with 911 calls.

So it's not for anybody with a PO Box, basically.

[antron]

Internet TV Comes to the PlayStation

Sony already has a deal with Viacom (VIAB) to supply 22 channels, including Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central. And now Sony is adding CBS (CBS), Discovery (DISCA), Fox (FOX), NBCUniversal, and Scripps (SNI) to its lineup, bringing the total number of channels to about 70. Sounds like a lot, but the holes are notable. Anyone wanting to watch ESPN, ABC, Disney (DIS), AMC (AMCX), and the History Channel is out of luck.

The service will launch on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, and Sony is working on a version for iPads. The debut will come in limited beta available in the New York area later this year, with a commercial launch in the first quarter of 2015

[GaijinPunch]

I like where it's going. Competition is good... especially for cable providers. Always loved reading how shitty their customer service was on the internet... until now, when I'm in the mix.

[Domino]

Paying the modem rental maybe makes sense if you're not going to be with them long enough to warrant the purchase of a new one - but if you'll need a modem at the next place you go, that stuff adds up. They're small and not much to lug around, and practically indestructible (routers are a different story). The recent technology switch to DOCSIS 3.0 means any mainstream modem you buy now should be good to go for the reasonably long term. It sounds like Comcast might have upped the fee by a dollar to $8 - it takes just over a year for a bought modem to pay for itself, even if you pay $100 for one (which is way too much really). Actually activating the modem takes maybe 15 minutes, including call waiting time, maybe less if you tell them you're not interested in their service pitches.

Over a decade, Comcast makes nearly a grand off those old and terribly obsolete DOCSIS 2.0 modems from back in the day - per installation.

The truth. Getting your own modem doesn't cost too much anyway and it pays for itself. I recently purchase my own modem after two years of leasing a shitty Comcast Modem.

[Ed Oscuro]

You can buy a good modem for somewhere between $50-$80 (at tops). I don't think they provide routers - you already have to make a trip for those.

[neorichieb1971]

I am paying £30+ for quite a big package. Up to 100mb dl speed (seems to be 50mb most of the time), loads of channels I will never watch and £15 of that is for a land line I'm not going to plug a phone into because 99% of the time its a recording/solicitation.

But overall I think its a good price, considering the super hub was free. As for the paying for what you watch malarkey, I download everthing and buy the discs of what I like. If thats considered taboo then I say screw everyone that disagree's because I hate the way TV shows are delivered to its audience. Its a ripoff. Not to mention in the UK the Walking Dead Season 5 episode 1 had 40% of its airtime in advertising.

[BryanM]

That is a splendid business model they've got there. Pay them money for the privilege of watching ads. If only yootoob could somehow get people to pay for dat 33% ad:content ratio, it'd be more profitable than god.

... this really bodes poorly for that "bard and artist" economy crackheads keep saying would arise when labor becomes automated fully. The trendline for all entertainment converges to $0.

[brentsg]

It's nice to be settling. Of course, first day of work is Monday, so take that w/ a grain of salt. Does he have as many PCBs as Shou? If he does, and his dog doesn't go from totally hates me one month, to Cujo the next, then I'm cool. (Side note, Shou's dog weighs about 14 oz.).

Do you come up this way that often? If you sort a meet out, I'll try to rent a car and get down there.

I doubt he has more PCBs than Shou, probably just a stash of games that Shou's forgotten about.

Honestly I don't get up to Chitown very often. I think the last time was years back for work. I kept trying to make it to a Drboom meet and it just never worked out. Hopefully we can work something out eventually and have a couple beverages or something.

[ED-057]

I am paying £30+ for quite a big package. Up to 100mb dl speed (seems to be 50mb most of the time), loads of channels I will never watch and £15 of that is for a land line I'm not going to plug a phone into because 99% of the time its a recording/solicitation.

I have a similar service, except because I'm in the USA the speed is only 10Mb/s and I just found out the cable co is jacking my rate up to $160/mo. I think it's time to give them a giant middle finger. But this means I will have to resort to the only other option for connecting to the internet here which is a 3G dongle with a data cap reminiscent of dial-up. However, for all the money I won't be giving the cable co I could easily buy more legit DVDs than I will ever watch, in lieu of streaming.

[BryanM]

Jesus. For $160 a month, I'd expect to be able to rent my own battleship and subjugate the native peoples of foreign islands.

[Ed Oscuro]

... this really bodes poorly for that "bard and artist" economy crackheads keep saying would arise when labor becomes automated fully. The trendline for all entertainment converges to $0.

Had a laugh reading condensed versions of some editorializing to Taylor Swift's pulling out of Spotify. Like, jesus, Aloe Blacc got around $4K from being cowriter on a song that has gotten something like 150M listens on Pandora. But there's always some smartass saying that Swift and others should get with the times, etc.

No, this is a bare knuckle brawl, nobody's going to be happy in the end.

[GaijinPunch]

That is a splendid business model they've got there. Pay them money for the privilege of watching ads.

Pretty sure w/ the advent of DVR, not nearly as many people are watching those adds.

Honestly I don't get up to Chitown very often. I think the last time was years back for work. I kept trying to make it to a Drboom meet and it just never worked out. Hopefully we can work something out eventually and have a couple beverages or something.

Yep. Be warned, I'm planning on keeping my head low for a bit. I wanna keep gamengai going, but I can't afford the hosting that it's on. It's not something that can "just be moved over" so that's going to take some work. Also thinking of higher education so I figure I'll use the shitty winter to my advantage and go for a rockin' score by Spring. I purposely paid up a bit (not that much though, all things considered) for a nice place in the city where I won't min leaving for days on end.

That being said, if someone organized something I'd do my best to make it. I'll just probably not spearhead much for a while.