Mad at Cablevision!

[AuraEdge]

Well I used to get cable service and net for $65.76/mo ($34 for TV, $40 for net, -$10 for discount for Online+Cable, taxes)
They hiked it up, in one month, to $80.52/mo ($48 for TV, $40 for net, -$10 discount, taxes). Thats almost 15 bucks! And I have to keep this cable service or else I lose the 10 bucks off my cable internet services. Needless to say a 15 buck price hike makes it easy to lose a 10 dollar discount, but still. Problem is the net service is awesome (OptimumOnline Cable), so I dont wanna switch.
Probably gunna end up drive myself down to the Wiz tommorow, dumping my cable tv service, getting satillite with almost double as many channels, and all for 5 bucks less a month.
Sure I gotta buy a dish, but itll pay for itself in a couple months of non-Cablevision subscriptions.
I thought about gettin satillite before, but this makes it so so much easier.

But like most people, I dont like change, especially when it comes to things like these. Gotta do it though.

I should also get a job before my bank account zero's out, but thas a whole nother rant (dont worry, I got enough buffer from last summer, to last me til this summer, just doing my part in the "consumer spending" in pickin up the economy . I'm a college student who live at home who pays for food and luxury utilities..like this stuff.)

[osprey4]

AuraEdge;

I'm ticked, too!! Think I'll just switch to another ISP that provides 1 MB/sec downloads! That'll show them, huh?

Seriously, there are lots of people that would pay $80/mo for OptimumOnline all by itself.

I'm just glad it was TV that went up, not internet, so I can blame my wife for the increase.

Good luck with the job.

John

[AuraEdge]

I think I'll keep ISPs, just because I got it when it was 40/mo and -10 for with TV. Most broadbands now are 50/mo, so itd still be cheaper for broadband if i just cancelled the TV. Its just the TV service that is now annoyingly expensive. To tell you the truth, I only originally got it because it was a cheap add-on to the computer service since it gave 10 bucks off (net price was about 25/mo, not bad for cable TV). However, now its net of 40/mo for cable TV. Satillite (only looked at DirecTV so far) is 31 for the normal package w/ over 100 channels, and 35 for the extended package that has a couple more.

Forget this Cable TV biz. I'm goin wireless

[osprey4]

Hopefully, the booming satellite business (no pun intended) will keep the pressure on the cable companies to hold the line on increases. But satellite access to the internet still has too many problems to be a viable alternative. The latency problem pretty much rules out any internet gaming via satellite.

By the way, what kind of speeds are you getting and what modem do you use?

John

[AuraEdge]

I get some of the fastest speeds in NJ as far as I know. On Optimum Online, using hte motorola surfboard modem, ive gotten a max of 5mpbs down / 1mbps up. I live in Clifton, and I dont believe im in a very technologically advanced neighborhood (closest bestbuy/compUSA is down the highway about 15 minutes. Also, i live in a suburban area with basically small businesses around me. I sometimes attend LAN parties in Englewood Cliffs, and thiers is about 3mpbs max, and I also have a friend with OOL in Edison, and they max out at about 2mpbs.
I dont think satillite will replace cable net in a long time (actually DirecTV, the big satillite TV company here, only offers DSL for internet access as far as I know).
But TV's a whole nother story. I wonder if I'm gunna have trouble hooking it up to my TV card (Via S-video?)
I dont know anything about dishs and rceivers right now, so I'm planning to go to the Wiz today to learn me more about them before i go dishing out money on..a...dish.. I thought satillite was in every way better than cable, but one of my friends pointed out that weather would affect my reception, and I wont get as many local channels anymore. Not bad considering all the extra channels I get, but I usually watch tv when the weathers bad so I cant go out and do something.

btw, Any recommendation on dishes, anyone? about what to look for and stuff?

[osprey4]

My sister has had satellite and cable. She loved the satellite price but prefers the cable service. I think she had dish network. This might have been before they started offering local channels, too, so things are better now. Obviously, you have to have a clear view toward the south sky. She said the only time weather was a problem was during very heavy thunderstorms and only for a few minutes at a time.

We complain about OOL, but she's in a little town in KS where the same company runs local phone service, cable TV and internet, AND the local dial-up ISP. Talk about limited choices!

We got it easy in NJ.

John

p.s. I'm using an SB4100 and used to get about 5 mbps down/1 mbps up, until the most recent firmware upgrade. We jumped to 8 mbps down (not that it makes a lot of difference).

[AuraEdge]

I just called today to cancel my TV service, but keep OptimumOnline...

Right now its 47.55 for TV and 29.95 for OOL.

Well..They say if I cancel the TV, it would cost me 49.95 for OOL, because I'd be canceling the contract and would have to renew it under current rates!

That, my friends, is evil.

I've also scanned up and down all the fine print on the contract (business law last year was actually helpful ), and I cant find any loopholes. You sign a contract and they OWN you, because they are free to modify it whenever they feel like it, with your silence as acknowledgement.
Basically, if i DIDNT pay this months cable bill, I could have had OOL at 39.95, but since I did, I agreed to the new contract, even though it wasnt part of the bill.

I told the guy I'd call him back.
I got about 4 days before I have to decide for sure whether to cut off my TV service and pay 20 bucks extra for Internet.
Maybe I'll go back on dialup...but...*ouch*



I should move to Canada.

[AuraEdge]

Oh sorry I was venting so I didnt read the last post you made in this thead. I'll try Upgrading the firmware! I could use a 3mpbs increase (Heck, If im gunna pay 20 bucks extra a month, I might as well get more bandwidth.)

I'm probably gunna keep OOL, and go without TV for a while.
If I cant take it anymore, I'll jump to baisc satillite (Which will end up costing me a 1.50 more/month than cable does now), or use another cable company, so I can sign two different contracts, so the fees arent linked, like they are this time.

Anyways, without further delay...firmware upgrade time

Ok, where are they hiding it?

I've looked all over motorola, and even google, and I've only found reports of people upgrading (to v4.3.3), but I cant find out where to download it.
Lend me a hand here?