Cable? Help Please!

[WaterBomb]

Ok, so there isn't really a general help thread, and I need the advice of people who are smart. Doesn't really explain why I'm asking Y'ALL, but whatevs.

Just kidding. So here's my dilemma - I currently have my cable and internet through Cablevision/Optimum Online. I started off with just internet and basic cable (no HD) for like $92 a month. They kept calling me and telling me they could save me money by switching me to the triple play, where I would get a land line and alot more channels (including HD). When they told me they were "saving" me money by tacking $15 onto my monthly bill, I refused. After about 10 times of them doing this, I finally decided ok to hell with it, I could use the HD and it's only $15.

So I switched, and my bill this month was $136. Far more than the 107ish I was expecting. Now part of this might be charges for the HD boxes I got, but I have a feeling the guy exaggerated or screwed up in his estimate. I'm not prepared to spend that kind of money for a bunch of channels I don't even watch, and a land line I don't even use. Many people have been telling me that I should just cancel my cable altogether and get Hulu Plus and Netflix for way way cheaper. This seems like a good idea, but one problem - I have GOT to have my NFL games. Regular TV doesn't interest me at all, but I MUST be able to watch football, and to the best of my knowledge you can't get that with netflix and hulu. Am I correct in this? I also have the option of switching to FiOS, but I hear it's way overpriced and not really any better than cable. So basically these are my options currently:

1) Stay with Optimum and switch back to the basic cable plan (~$92 per month)

2) Switch to Netflix and Hulu Plus for like $20/month (only if I can still get football)

3) Switch to FiOS.

Based on my needs and predicament, what would y'all suggest? Are any of my assumptions misinformed? I don't know about all this stuff so I figured I'd ask you. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[FlareBlitz]

I'm not super into football so this might be wrong but my friends stream football games on the ESPN website all the time. I'm not sure if that's the "type" of football you watch or if all of the games are available or whatever.
I also know that Microsoft made a huge thing about being able to watch football games through Xbox Live, so you might also want to look into that.

Regarding the cable bill in general, I would call the company and politely explain the situation to them, mentioning that the sales person misled you. Also throw in that you were considering switching to FiOS, and if they don't offer to reduce your payment, ask to speak to their manager (who probably will). Really though, cable is more or less obsolete now, I am reasonably certain that you can find some site online that will stream football games, so I would just cancel the entire thing and go with Netflix/Hulu.

 

[Snkz]

FlareBlitz is correct, calling in claiming you were mislead will guarantee you a price drop. The company would rather please you then lose you as a customer altogether.

 

[THE_IRON_...KENYAN?]

http://www.soccertvlive.net/sport/american-football.html

website I use

streams all the major sports for absolutely nothing

 

[FlamingFighter]

Dammit, ninja'd.

If the above tips don't work, you can always play the lawsuit card. That will most definitely get you results: all companies fear lawsuits.

 

[Nilf]

Cable companies are absolute dicks about calling in and stuff (Well Cox Communications are at least). You'll get put on hold, transferred etc, we're having the same problem now. If you cancelled the cable, the money you'd save from monthly costs and calls to their lines could probably get you a cheap pc to hook up to your tv. There are plenty of websites to watch movies, sport and tv shows free but that would also make it easy to get netflix and hulu on a proper screen (watching sports and stuff on a small laptop/desktop screen sucks IMO). The only thing you really miss is being able to sit down and flick through channels to see what's on (which I actually do a lot haha).

 

[breh]

just switch back to the 92 dollar plan.

cable companies are the devil because it's so easy for them to monopolize; sad fact of life.

 

[FlamingFighter]

Cable companies are absolute dicks about calling in and stuff (Well Cox Communications are at least).

...Let me get this straight: you are calling out a company named after the male reproductive organ for being a dick.

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT THEM TO BE?! A PANCREAS?!?

Seriously, companies have names for a reason. If you first impression of them is "PENIS" you should NOT be using them. If you are using them you should not be thinking that they'll be good.

I absolutely ADORE the Optimum commercials that say that they have the J.D. Power and Associates award for best customer service.

THAT'S LIKE SAYING YOU'RE THE SMARTEST KID WITH DOWN SYNDROME.

 

[darkie]

...Let me get this straight: you are calling out a company named after the male reproductive organ for being a dick.

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT THEM TO BE?! A PANCREAS?!?

Seriously, companies have names for a reason. If you first impression of them is "PENIS" you should NOT be using them. If you are using them you should not be thinking that they'll be good.

I absolutely ADORE the Optimum commercials that say that they have the J.D. Power and Associates award for best customer service.

THAT'S LIKE SAYING YOU'RE THE SMARTEST KID WITH DOWN SYNDROME.

i got a pair of running shoes from dick's and they have performed admirably.

 

[Optimusje]

Holy shit why is that shit so expensive at the other side of the ocean... we pay like 40 euros for fiber internet, digital tv with hd and unlimited calls over landlines at this side of the pond...

 

[WaterBomb]

Ok so, I need another question answered at this point - streaming sports on my laptop sucks because it has to load/buffer/etc and I want to watch it on the TV screen. Now, I know I can get an VGA cable to hook up my laptop to my TV, but won't that distort and decrease the quality of the picture?

I did consider the threat idea, and I know it works because I've seen plenty of other people do it. Just having FiOS as an option is a HUGE benefit, because I can always play that card and get them to drop the price. I will possibly do that this weekend.

Anyone know any websites like Hulu where I can purchase a cheap subscription and watch the full football game broadcasts? Your continued assistance is appreciated!

 

[iss]

VGA quality is pretty good. I've used it before, and it's just as sharp as, say, an HD channel.

 

[ButteredToast]

NFL.com has a feature called NFL Replay which allows you to watch games for $40 a season. I don't have it myself, so I don't know all the details, but I would think it works similarly to MLB.TV. Just throwing it out there. :]

 

[Black Buddha]

...Let me get this straight: you are calling out a company named after the male reproductive organ for being a dick.

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT THEM TO BE?! A PANCREAS?!?

Seriously, companies have names for a reason. If you first impression of them is "PENIS" you should NOT be using them. If you are using them you should not be thinking that they'll be good.

I absolutely ADORE the Optimum commercials that say that they have the J.D. Power and Associates award for best customer service.

THAT'S LIKE SAYING YOU'RE THE SMARTEST KID WITH DOWN SYNDROME.

Courteney Cox used to be pretty hot

 

[pookar]

as a person who was a cablevision optimum customer for 2-3~ years about 7 years ago, and then switched to fios for about 3-4 years, then back to optimum recently, the internet and tv quality is about the same, but the tv interface in my opinion is way more responsive on fios, and it just seemed like there were more basic channels. Both standard packages come with NFL network, as far as i know, so you are fine there. You might be able to get a good deal switching to fios so just explore all possibilities.

 

[icepick]

Watching sports at a bar might be a good alternative. Sports are really the only reason to keep cable nowadays, it seems.

 

[WaterBomb]

update: FiOS is not available, but DirecTV is. I can get the service through a special online promo for $71/month for the first year, which includes NFL Sunday Ticket (yippee!), 3 months free of HBO, Starz, etc, free installation.

It's basically better than my current package in every conceivable way, except one thing - it says the internet is .5 to 1mbps speed. Is that really awful? I'm not a netwiz so help me out on this. If that speed is manageable, I'm gonna go for it. Suggestions?

 

[biggie]

Do you download a lot of music/movies? Do you stream stuff like Netflix? If not, then that's probably acceptable. Just a quick FYI, if you call up Cablevision and say that you're about ready to jump ship they'll usually try to offer you something to have you stay. We did that with FiOS and they knocked us down to the promo rate that they were offering new customers. Either do that or switch back and forth every couple of years or so to get the intro rate every time. They both work.

 

[WaterBomb]

Yeah I don't download a ton of music but I do get torrents sometimes. I also play an MMO regularly. I could probably still function with the slower internet, but not as smoothly. Oh well, seems like way more pros to DirecTV than cons anyway :)