Well, as it turns out there are no other options for cable service at my new apartment complex so I'm forced to go with Comcast's b**** ass. No dishes of any kind are allowed, and AT&T U-Verse isn't in the area yet (surprise!). So anyway, before I walk the plank and sign up for their service I wanted to check and see if there were any deals you guys know of or any tricks to getting cheaper service. I want basic digital cable for Rockets games, broadband internet, and a DVR. Other than that, no frills needed. They have a web-only offer right now for Digital Starter at $33 a month for 3 months ($52 after) and $19.99 a month for internet for 6 months (34.95 after). DVR is like $8 a month I think. Another question I have is how to get around the $99 "professional installation" charge for my internet. I know how to set that crap up myself. So anyway...got anything for me? I hate making purchases only to come back here after the fact and see how much more I paid than other people.
I know that there is a law that says that apts can't block you from having a dish. I don't know the details, but I've lived in plenty of apts. in my day and wouldn't be suprised if some crusty old apt. manager lady doesn't know the current law and is just spouting what the owner told her to tell people 20 years ago. You can probably find the info on Google and bring it to the manager to get her off your back.
The best trick I know is signing up for high speed internet and using that conncetion to get basic cable for free! I have been doing that for 4 or 5 years now.
Also, the only problem with this is, you can't get all of the premium services and you can't use a dvr. You have to plug the cable directly into your tv. That also means no signing up for nba league pass and all of that. But you get all of the basic cable channels, discovery food network, espn, tnt and the like.
OK, i'm a dumbass to this trick. what do you do? just unplug the cable from your modem and plug it into your tv? meaning you can have one or the other, but not both?
Use a splicer. You know the kind that allow you to run a cable to both your tv and your modem. The current will feed both the tv and the modem just fine.
It depends on the technician. If he cares (ie does his job), he will put a cap on your line so you can receive an internet signal but it will scramble the television signal. If he doesn't care, you will get free tv.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html The bold parts apply to my situation exactly. Looks like I'm going to have to take this up with my leasing office. Luckily, they're incredibly nice people.
I meant a splitter. At the very least try it. I have never had my tv scrambled, even after I called them about it. What they do is run a scamble signal to the dvr when they want to stop the tv service.
$34.95 for the 6 mb service is a fantastic price. I was a 7 year customer with TW/Comcast and they were still charging me $60 every month so I dropped them and went with ATT. ATT's speed has improved, but it's still slower than Comcast. ATT is almost half of what I was paying for Comcast, for the price, I can deal with it.
You don't have to get the home installation. Just tell them you don't want it. You will spend a little time on the phone with their support giving them some of the numbers off the modem - so it's not straight plug in and go.
Am I missing something? The Dish Network and Direct TV prices seem to be on par with or above Comcast for what I need.
I second this. A lot of people here complain about Comcast but I got the Triple Play in September and am very satisfied.
Hmm, I was trying to look up upcoming deals (99 cent installation) to see if any were coming up soon...but it appears that TWC(coughcomcast) has changed their site up a bit since I worked there. I'll have to do some digging . Most recent info I see is October.
