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		| Grumpy Old Pharts Board Gerritol, Ex-Lax, Immodium, Bad Breath - all requirements for the Grumpy Board |  
	
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		|  01-31-2006, 06:49 PM | #1 |  
	| Registered User 
				 
				Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Here and There Seasonally 
					Posts: 5,985
				 | 
				 Comcast 
 Never had a problem with 'em til today. Got a notice that my "expanded basic" will be $49.10. In American Dollars??!! For TV. Well, I guess it's "basic basic" for $9.00. Who ownes these brigands, Exxon-Mobile? Yeah, I'm cheap. But I know how hard I work for my money. Friggin theives! |  
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He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.Thomas Paine
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		|  01-31-2006, 07:01 PM | #2 |  
	| Super Moderator 
				 
				Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Middleboro MA 
					Posts: 17,126
				 | I got the same gripe here BBJ    
pisses me off
 
50 bucks to watch tv?    |  
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		|  01-31-2006, 07:04 PM | #3 |  
	| Plug Builder in Training 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: wareham MA 
					Posts: 4,047
				 | To have Comcast internet service you have to have expanded basic or better.I  waited  2 years for a new cable to be brought into my house. They left on the ground across my driveway. I finally had to trench and burry the cable my self in PVC pipe . My reseption is garbage and they will do nothing. cost $96.per Mo.
 
 After seeing a few guys from here with Verizon at $15 I think I'm going to switch. I'll get Direct tv to boot 160 chanles for about $35 less per Mo.
 "160 chanels and nothing good to watch"
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		|  01-31-2006, 07:11 PM | #4 |  
	| Registered User 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 5,945
				 | I'm frigged....... Verizon can't get DSL to me.. something about the wires between me and the substation in the center of town, too many patches... well, I said, you guys got like 49 godzillion dollars coming in per month... put in some new friggin wires!... Not in the immediate future, was the monotone response.... prolly explains why my phone goes out when we get heavy rain... I tell the repair guy, go to the big box on 6 A in front of the quick oil change place (2 miles from my house)... problems there.. always get a different guy.. he says huh   .. they never believe me... track it down...  
"Sir, you were Right!"... 2 hours later.......   
All  "monopoly" type corporations SUCK   |  
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		|  01-31-2006, 07:13 PM | #5 |  
	| Moderator 
				 
				Join Date: May 2003 Location: Marshfield, MA 
					Posts: 6,267
				 | tv...cell phone......internet....they all suck...they charge all the dough and never work right half the time....only problem is that we "need " this stuff   oke: .... |  
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		|  01-31-2006, 07:43 PM | #6 |  
	| ........ 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 22,805
				 | 
				 comcast and charter =same boat... 
 direct tv will cost me aprox $35.00 a monthfor 160 channels or so
 which will be a treat...
 
 i said  F.U. to charter permanently
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		|  01-31-2006, 07:52 PM | #7 |  
	| Moderator 
				 
				Join Date: May 2003 Location: Marshfield, MA 
					Posts: 6,267
				 | 
	Quote: 
	
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					Originally Posted by Raven
					
				 direct tv will cost me aprox $35.00 a monthfor 160 channels or so
 which will be a treat...
 
 i said  F.U. to charter permanently
 |  I got DTV raven....63.97 a month with HBO....three recievers 
1 is included....5.00 bux each after that.....make sure you have a clear shot at the southern sky too....my pic is not the best at times |  
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		|  01-31-2006, 07:58 PM | #8 |  
	| ........ 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 22,805
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				 just one for now 
 i might add additional later on...
 to keep the price low...
 
 it's entertainment...
 
 my dad having had seven kids
 always said being quite pragmatic
 that tv was cheap entertainment
 but now adays thats not so true.
 
 net flix is starting to loook good
 but their choices for movies
 doesnt seem that great... to me.
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		|  01-31-2006, 08:05 PM | #9 |  
	| ........ 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 22,805
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				MIKE CC
			 
 
	Quote: 
	
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					Originally Posted by mikecc
					
				 To have Comcast internet service you have to have expanded basic or better.I  waited  2 years for a new cable to be brought into my house. They left on the ground across my driveway. I finally had to trench and burry the cable my self in PVC pipe . My reseption is garbage and they will do nothing. cost $96.per Mo.
 
 After seeing a few guys from here with Verizon at $15 I think I'm going to switch. I'll get Direct tv to boot 160 chanles for about $35 less per Mo.
 "160 chanels and nothing good to watch"
 |  =========================================== 
verizon has a standard  DSL  modem  but it sucks  IMO 
because it doesnt have a built in router and the Westell 327W 
does which you can request for the same exact price from 
verizon...   i  did   and  already sent the other modem back. 
its both a wireless and 4 x modem (the best of both worlds) |  
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		|  01-31-2006, 08:24 PM | #10 |  
	| Let's Rock! 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Wareham, MA 
					Posts: 1,208
				 | just my .02 cents, but I will never go back to cable...( and my brother is a cable guy )   can't beat the dish....rarely have a problem..1 time during a heavy, heavy rain..and once when we got 3' of snow, and my dish was a block of snow. |  
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		|  01-31-2006, 08:30 PM | #11 |  
	| Plug Builder in Training 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: wareham MA 
					Posts: 4,047
				 | 
	Quote: 
	
		| 
					Originally Posted by Raven
					
				 ===========================================verizon has a standard  DSL  modem  but it sucks  IMO
 because it doesnt have a built in router and the Westell 327W
 does which you can request for the same exact price from
 verizon...   i  did   and  already sent the other modem back.
 its both a wireless and 4 x modem (the best of both worlds)
 |  Thanks for letting me know |  
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		|  01-31-2006, 09:03 PM | #12 |  
	| Moderator 
				 
				Join Date: May 2003 Location: Marshfield, MA 
					Posts: 6,267
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	Quote: 
	
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					Originally Posted by Raven
					
				 net flix is starting to loook goodbut their choices for movies
 doesnt seem that great... to me.
 |  I had netflix a couple years ago..no cable...just rabbit ears 
I LOVE netflix...they have every movie made to DVD. 
very easy to use..and you always have a movie to watch. 
I might do it again...just cant justify the coin right now |  
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		|  01-31-2006, 10:17 PM | #13 |  
	| ........ 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 22,805
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				 cant justify 
 so right nowyou dont rent two
 movies per month?
 
 if you have tons of channels
 you don't need to i suppose
 
 but they are charging
 ten per month now
 thats why i'm considering it.
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		|  01-31-2006, 10:23 PM | #14 |  
	| Registered User 
				 
				Join Date: Sep 2005 
					Posts: 373
				 | I have had directv since 97 and love it.  I forget what the current rate is around 42-45 with the family package, and locals too.   I also have comcast internet and don't have the expanded basic or better.  I think they make you pay like 57.95 if you don't have any cable tv service at all.  I believe I pay 42.95 for internet and 9.00 and change for the very basic 4,5,7 38, 56 etc. If I want to drop the basic (9.00) I will have to pay 57.95.  which is more than the ~51 I am paying now so I am sort of locked into keeping basic.  Which if I even cared about you can get anyway because it is sent into the house with the cable internet.  THere are a bunch of ways of looking at it, so I pay 51 with internet and basic(which I don't use)  or 57 for internet alone.    
 Confused?
 
 Exept for extremely heavy rains, Directv is great!  THey don't raise thier prices every january like comcast and picture and sound are great.    I am still using same sony reciever I bought back in 97.
 
 I am even happier now that I bought a sony HX-715 Hard disk recorder.   It is like a tivo with no subscription.  It will work my sony directv recorder and digitally record anything,  and you can offload to dvd discs to permanently save stuff
 Eric
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		|  01-31-2006, 10:29 PM | #15 |  
	| Hardcore Equipment Tester 
				 
				Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Abington, MA 
					Posts: 6,234
				 | Karl that box is called a SAC or Xbox.  Also no job takes less than 2 hours as no service is so urgent that we cannot take the time to perform our work safely. |  
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Bent Rods and Screaming Reels!
 Spot NAZI
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		|  01-31-2006, 10:33 PM | #16 |  
	| ........ 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 22,805
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				 ERIC 
 HX-715 Hard disk recorder
 how much are they? $$
 
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		|  02-01-2006, 12:24 AM | #17 |  
	| Registered User 
				 
				Join Date: May 2003 Location: Newport, RI 
					Posts: 2,316
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	Quote: 
	
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					Originally Posted by mikecc
					
				 To have Comcast internet service you have to have expanded basic or better.I  waited  2 years for a new cable to be brought into my house. They left on the ground across my driveway. I finally had to trench and burry the cable my self in PVC pipe . My reseption is garbage and they will do nothing. cost $96.per Mo.
 
 After seeing a few guys from here with Verizon at $15 I think I'm going to switch. I'll get Direct tv to boot 160 chanles for about $35 less per Mo.
 "160 chanels and nothing good to watch"
 |  The only thing with DSL is that the best Verizon DSL will still feel like 56k compared to the worst cable Internet. |  
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		|  02-01-2006, 04:51 AM | #18 |  
	| You rang? 
				 
				Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Lowell 
					Posts: 946
				 | I worked for comcast for 10 yrs and had all services for free....WOO HOO!!
 Now that I do not work there I have the basic service as it is just too damn expensive to watch TV. I pay about 90$/month for voice video and data through comcast (49$ for data, 10$ for tv and 35$ for voice).
 
 Verizon is upgrading their network to fiber to the home and will be selling voice video and data services to us and when they do you can kiss Comcast good bye as they will be crushed by Verizon. The only problem is that it will take a few years to get the fiber network rebuilt.
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		|  02-01-2006, 06:39 AM | #19 |  
	| ........ 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 22,805
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				 well true enough Pete 
 
	Quote: 
	
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					Originally Posted by Pete_G
					
				 The only thing with DSL is that the best Verizon DSL will still feel like 56k compared to the worst cable Internet. |  the slowest cable connection is 384 killibytes per second
 
verizon dsl is presently       185.....kbps 
 as  ....i  just checked mine
 
but for the price i can't complain thus far... 
and they can only go up....from here... 
because the dial up isp's speeds 
are forcing them to. |  
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		|  02-01-2006, 07:16 AM | #20 |  
	| Moderator 
				 
				Join Date: May 2003 Location: Marshfield, MA 
					Posts: 6,267
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	Quote: 
	
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					Originally Posted by Raven
					
				 so right nowyou dont rent two
 movies per month?
 
 if you have tons of channels
 you don't need to i suppose
 
 but they are charging
 ten per month now
 thats why i'm considering it.
 |  I havent rented movies for a while, 
it wasnt 10 bux when I was in....that might be a limited number of movies you can get 
Mine was 3 on hand at all times...no amount |  
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		|  02-01-2006, 07:21 AM | #21 |  
	| ........ 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 22,805
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				 nope 
 unlimitted    but   i  dont  know
 how many on hand
 at a time...
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		|  02-01-2006, 07:29 AM | #22 |  
	| Moderator 
				 
				Join Date: May 2003 Location: Marshfield, MA 
					Posts: 6,267
				 | I think its 2 for the 10 dollar deal......still cant beat it 
I was surprised how quick they came too.......I saw alot of movies  |  
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		|  02-01-2006, 08:09 AM | #23 |  
	| BigFish Bait Co. 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Hanover 
					Posts: 23,392
				 | If they hauled the "idiot box" out of my house today I would not miss it one bit!  |  
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Almost time to get our fish on!!!   |  
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		|  02-01-2006, 08:15 AM | #24 |  
	| Registered User 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 5,945
				 | I kinda agree BF.. I could adjust for sure. BUT.. I'd hafta hear the NOISE from everybody else in the house... THAT, I could NOT endure.....   |  
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		|  02-01-2006, 08:23 AM | #25 |  
	| Registered User 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 5,945
				 | 
	Quote: 
	
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					Originally Posted by TheSpecialist
					
				 Karl that box is called a SAC or Xbox.  Also no job takes less than 2 hours as no service is so urgent that we cannot take the time to perform our work safely. |  I know Bill, the tech has to do the service call in a prescribed manner.  
Got nothing against the workers. the company sucks.. Even had somebody on the phone, one time when I called agree, same location, under similar circumstances, WE (verizon) need to take care of that. 
DUH.. wouldn't it make sense to fix it right ONCE , replace the bad wires, connections, box, whatever, than pay a tech 2 hours minumum, several times a year ?   ... common sense disappears at a rapid rate, the higher up you go.... unfortunately, the poor decisions made up top, trickle down to the consumer, and wrongfully, the consumer gets pissed at the techs.... because that is the face of the company they see. |  
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		|  02-01-2006, 08:40 AM | #26 |  
	| ........ 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 22,805
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				 not true Karl 
 
	Quote: 
	
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					Originally Posted by Karl F
					
				 I kinda agree BF.. I could adjust for sure. BUT.. I'd hafta hear the NOISE from everybody else in the house... THAT, I could NOT endure..... |  and great poetry ....lol 
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
there are noise cancellation headphones now. 
and/OR the type that are cordless so you can 
be listening to your favorite music instead 
with a smile on your face as you boogy 
through the house...   |  
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		|  02-01-2006, 08:57 AM | #27 |  
	| Permanently Disconnected 
				 
				Join Date: Nov 2002 
					Posts: 12,647
				 | Karl, as Bill can probably tell you also, Verizon isn't putting any money into their system in the past few years for a few reasons. #1 being the small telco guys that started a few years ago are resellers of Verizon service. Verizon is still responsible for the lines...why give someone something for free that you have to pay for.... 
Also they are banking on wireless more and more...cept the only problem is the TRUE killer wireless application has not materialized so they're holding status quo until it does. 
 
If you think you got problems now just wait it's gonna get worse. The more the infrastructure ages the worse it's going to be. 
I hate dealing with Verizon and do every week with troubles on customer lines. I damn near had a fistfight with a guy a while ago as he was trying to tell me that my dc radio loop "HAD to have battery" on it or it wouldn't work. I fought with the guy for over an hour one day and said take the battery voltage off the damn line. I said gimme a twisted pair no battery or I'm calling your boss. Gee when he did it worked fine and he was gone 10 minutes later.    
Never did find out who put the battery voltage on the line to begin with when the lines been there for like 30 years. |  
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		|  02-01-2006, 09:29 AM | #28 |  
	| googan 
				 
				Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Googanville 
					Posts: 354
				 | I'm going to "buck a trend" here and play "Devil's Advocate" (TWO clichés in ONE sentence!). 
I pay $$130.00/mnth for my Comcast Digital Hi-Def TV service w/dual tuner DVR plus high speed internet. 
Comcast claims D/L speeds of up to 4 MBS (6 in some areas). I don't know if this is different from actual "connection speed" (if there IS such a thing). Raven, could you tell me how to check my speed? I'm very interested to know. I DO know that I rarely, if ever, experience any connection problems, and when I D/L something, if I blink, I miss it. 
We are BIG TV fans here (we have FOUR young children). We have the package that includes all the channels they offer, plus all the HBOs (HD, Zone, Comedy). Comcast's On Demand feature, combined with the dual tuner DVR, gives us great viewing flexibility. We can watch one show while recording another. We can record two shows while watching one of them, and we can record two separate shows while watching a third that we already recorded. Not to mention the ability to pause and rewind live TV (which we use all the time), featuring 4 rewind and fast foward speeds. You wanna REALLY see if that receiver had possession of that ball? Try rewinding the network's slo-mo replay in slo-mo, and all in crystal-clear Hi-Def! I suppose that purchasing a unit such as the Sony hard disk recorder would offer me many of these features, but if it breaks, I have to pay to repair or replace it. If my Comcast dual tuner DVR craps the bed, they simply come out and switch it with a new one. 
On Demand is constantly adding offerings. There is a seemingly endless variety of programming that we can tune into anytime, from family oriented, to science and nature, to do-it-yourself, to advant guard, to adult.  
And of course, there are MOVIES: The pay movies are a bit different than "old fashioned" pay-per-view in that we have access to anything we buy (for anywhere from 2 to 4 bux) for 24 hours, which makes it more akin to renting a DVD at Blockbuster. 
There are also free movies available to view any time at the touch of a button. Most of these are older movies, including many classics. 
On the rare occassion that we do have a problem,or need some sort of service, I never have a problem getting through on the phone to a customer service rep, and they are always curteous and eager to help. 
Does any given cable company have a monoply in its respective area, thus eliminating competition and increasing price? Most certainly.  We have SEVEN TVs in the house; two of them Hi-Def. One in each of the four bedrooms, one in living room, one in office, and just added one in work-out room. 
In terms of value, bang for the buck, I'm pretty much satisfied with my service.
 
Uhhh.. no.. I don't work for Comcast.  |  
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		|  02-01-2006, 10:28 AM | #29 |  
	| Hardcore Equipment Tester 
				 
				Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Abington, MA 
					Posts: 6,234
				 | Raven we do Netflix, and at first I was against it.  We get 3 dvd's in the mail, and once you watch one you put it back in the mail and a new one is sent out.  The return address for them is in Brockton Ma.  You go online and make a list  of the movies you want to see, and they work off of your list.  Turn around is very quick, and it is like 20 bucks a month.  If you want to get real creative, with the right software, and a dvd burner well you guessed it, sent them back same day you could probably do 30 movies or more a month...
 
 Verizon is lagging on the copper facilities, because they are going to FTTP, not wireless.  FTTP ( Fiber To The Premise ot House)  as others have mentioned it blows Comcast out of the water, and the price can't be beat.  We are building a whole new network for it.  Itwill be worth the wait....
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Bent Rods and Screaming Reels!
 Spot NAZI
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		|  02-01-2006, 10:57 AM | #30 |  
	| ........ 
				 
				Join Date: Apr 2002 
					Posts: 22,805
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				 i'll have to look on the web 
 because the movie's spread was on a brochure... 
and you can bet "broke back mountain" won't ever be watched. 
the only good thing about hollywooD  is the friggan sign...
 
i partied  with this cool hawain dude  behind 
 the "D " for fatty...    in 72...after this huge hollywood  
kegger bash. people were (crashed) asleep everywhere 
 like seals on a rock....lol  
- it was a BoB Marley reggae PARTY. |  
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