cable packages

Have questions? Answers? Experiences to share?

Moderators: Jim DeVito, Charlie Page

Will Brown
Posts: 496
Joined: Sat Nov 10, 2007 10:56 am
Location: Lakewood

cable packages

Postby Will Brown » Tue Apr 08, 2014 1:37 pm

I've had cox television service since they came to town. I added their internet service when my small ISP sold itself to a larger company. I threw out our conventional phones and we have cell phone service with AT&T. Since AT&T knows we are here, they are constantly giving us offers if we switch to them and bundle (apparently their people are so young they don't know what bundling really is, or at least was). Cox has now given me a bundle that includes phone service that I hadn't bothered hooking up. I was stumbling through the cox bill and I noticed a charge for phone service, so I wrote them saying I didn't have phone service. Three times they wrote me saying I do in fact have phone service. I decided to threaten them with a switch to AT&T.

The last time I had looked into AT&T they were selling dishes, and I didn't want a dish on my roof. I made a list of all the channels we watch (a pretty short list) and headed to Westgate, where each had a store. I ran into an agent who had played for me when I coached, and I'm confident he gave me good information. He said AT&T now is fiberoptic and gives a better picture and internet speed than Cox. Their prices are competitive after the promotional period expires (they never seem to give those prices when they write to you), but they lacked one channel I occasionally watch (215), and I would lose my long-time email address, which would be a pain as that is used at so many sites, many of which you go to rarely).

Armed with this information, I went to the Cox store. The phone charge was explained. I had signed up for a bundle, which included $22 for the phones, but which gave me a $50 break on the overall cost, so if I took off the phone service, I would pay $22 less, but my cost for cable and internet would be $50 more. He also solved a vexing problem I had had with my Cox DVR (I record a lot of shows now, so I can live on my own schedule. I had managed to set the DVR so that it recorded shows I selected on all channels that were broadcasting it, so when I picked a show, it recorded it on on both related channels (215 and 1215, for example) and while it was doing that it refused to let me change the TV to another channel (I have the older DVR that will only record two shows at once). Once I changed the settings, all was well, so I have no problem with Cox.

I am intrigued with the thought that picture quality might be better with AT&T. I don't care about internet speed; I don't stream so even a slow speed is faster than I need. The picture I get on my HDTV looks very good to me; would I even know if it was better?

Has anyone experience with both Cox and AT%T? Is one markedly better, technically, than the other?


Society in every state is a blessing, but the Government even in its best state is but a necessary evil...

Return to “Lakewood House Talk”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests