Rural Cable and Internet

[ultrarunner]

My upgrade to AT&T U-verse for DSL for the 6MB/sec service has been a real pain in the .... The net result so far is I am still below 3MB down load and my upload speeds may be a little slower than when I started.

Twice the installation technicians said something was not ready on the line or central switch. Each time I had to spend 30-60min on the phone to schedule the next hookup appointment.

During the first attempt to install the service upgrade they disconnected the existing AT&T DSL service and when I called for the next appointment they said it would be about four days away. I had to ask them to turn back on the old service. At least they were able to turn that back on the same day. That took four calls with AT&T.

Finally the updated service with new gateway (Motorola NVG510) was installed. The evening after the installation I was experiencing on and off internet outages with message from router about the quality of the line and many web pages would not load. So I made sure it was not my home wiring by connecting the gateway to the terminal box on my house at the end of the phone company's line. Then I call tech support.

During the call the tech said my line did not test well and I was far from the central hub and he would try changing some settings in the gateway. After he changed the settings and I reset the gateway the web pages did not hang. Then I ran a few speed tests with the tech on the line he admitted his fix was to lower my DSL speed down to 3MB max.

So a great deal of pain for no gain, and maybe a step back in speed

A friend in the Oakland Hills had the same issues... eventually they noted his account and he has the fastest residential service at the Central Office because by the time it gets to his house it is only the speed which he is paying for.

There are tweeks that can be done if you get the right person...

The senior field tech says marketing does this to them all the time... they make promises that may or may not be possible...

Same at my Oakland home... ended up having to run a new line quite a distance because the 1950 line was not up to DSL spec.

Sqeaky Wheel gets the grease.

 

[Alan L.]

I have Dish at home and cable at work. Both have pros and cons. With Dish you have more channels, including lots of music channels. As I don't watch much regular TV, the music channels are a big plus for me. One of the things I like about cable, if you don't have digital, you can put a splitter on it and record or watch several channels on once. I watch racing, and I record the races at work on two recorders so I can watch it tape delayed. [once in a while I am force to get up and help a customer, so it is good to be able to stop it]
With Dish [or digital cable] you can only watch/record one channel per receiver. Unless you get the new Hopper system. I have heard good things about it, but haven't switched yet. There is still too much old stuff on our DVR.
I take it you can't get DSL from the phone company? If you can, don't pay the going rate until you see if they will lower it. My wife ask them for a break, and we got $10 a month knocked off. Dish does offer internet service, but I have heard mixed reviews about it.
Good luck with the new place.

We have those Dish music channels but I find the quality of the sound to be extremely poor.

 

[Alan L.]

I don't know what a Hopper system is, but I have a 6 year old Dish HD DVR that will record 2 channels off the satellite and 1 channel OTA at the same time. I figure the new systems are even more capable, but the one I have meets my needs, so haven't done any shopping.

I have probably the same one - a VIP722 DVR. One of the main features is the ability to integrate the OTA guide and record from it. When the Hopper first came out a year or two ago there was no OTA receiver at all. Now I understand there is a $30 add on box for that feature. However although Dish apparently offers Hoppers to new customers free, they don't appreciate old customers - we have to pay to upgrade. So, I'll stick with what I have and once Directv ups their anty which is inevitable then I'll switch to them, probably for free.

 

[Larro Darro]

I have probably the same one - a VIP722 DVR. One of the main features is the ability to integrate the OTA guide and record from it. When the Hopper first came out a year or two ago there was no OTA receiver at all. Now I understand there is a $30 add on box for that feature. However although Dish apparently offers Hoppers to new customers free, they don't appreciate old customers - we have to pay to upgrade. So, I'll stick with what I have and once Directv ups their anty which is inevitable then I'll switch to them, probably for free.

I checked on changing to the Hopper. It was only about $100 to change, and with the number of receivers I have, my monthly bill would come down a few dollars. What is holding us back is the large amount of old stuff we have on the DVR. If I would make a push to record it all on DVD's, we would go ahead and change. Over time, I think the change to Direct would cost you more than the $100.

 

[Larro Darro]

We have those Dish music channels but I find the quality of the sound to be extremely poor.

Alan, I collect old speakers and receivers. All my Dish receivers are hooked to old stereos, and the signal is as good as my old systems. My newest is a Pioneer VSX-D411, and it must be 12 or 13 years old. I have found it sounds better if you go from the outputs in the back of the receiver straight to your stereo's inputs. Some of my Dish receivers are duels, so I have to have a DVR recorder w/ tuner to run it through the stereo. The sound and picture quality lose something in the translation.

I like the SXM channels as I'm having a cup of coffee in the morning. Although when I am working at the keyboard, I am listening to Spotify more all the time. They continue to improve their Discover feature, and everyday when it comes up, there are 4 or 5 new albums for me to listen to. [or old ones, as the case may be] And they remember my playlist across all my computers.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I checked on changing to the Hopper. It was only about $100 to change, and with the number of receivers I have, my monthly bill would come down a few dollars. What is holding us back is the large amount of old stuff we have on the DVR. If I would make a push to record it all on DVD's, we would go ahead and change. Over time, I think the change to Direct would cost you more than the $100.

You can put it on a portable USB drive.. Dont know if they still charge a one time 'USB' charge though.. Use to. Call them..

 

[Larro Darro]

You can put it on a portable USB drive.. Dont know if they still charge a one time 'USB' charge though.. Use to. Call them..

Thanks for the info. I will check into that. Even if there is a USB charge, it would be quick and easy. Recording all those shows on DVD's woulld take weeks.

Do you know if the 'Joey's' have RCA jacks? When I heard we would have to get rid of our old DVR, I didn't do any more checking.

 

[Alan L.]

I checked on changing to the Hopper. It was only about $100 to change, and with the number of receivers I have, my monthly bill would come down a few dollars. What is holding us back is the large amount of old stuff we have on the DVR. If I would make a push to record it all on DVD's, we would go ahead and change. Over time, I think the change to Direct would cost you more than the $100.

Hmm....I really haven't checked although they said it cost money. I am a little hard headed about principle, so closed my mind on paying anything for the upgrade when it is free for non-customers. I wonder if content that has been archived to external hard drive on the VIP722 would be compatible with the Hopper? I have sucessfully used my archived content with replacment DVRS when the 722 goes bad which it does about once a year or so.

 

[daveshoot]

Do you know if the 'Joey's' have RCA jacks?

They do have audio RCAs, but I haven't used them.

Here's the back of our Joey, about 6 months old. Sorry for the poor cell pic.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I see no reason why archived video wouldnt be compatible, but you never know. Call