New Comcast Customer - Economy + DVR

[vcr1980]

I'm thinking of getting the Comcast Economy Package for 39.99 which includes an SD Cable Box. Plus locals and taxes it will be 55.00 says the representative. That's without HD and without a DVR.

If I add a DVR, it will be 20.00 more plus tax.

Is there a way to buy my own DVR and not pay a fee each month?

Is Comcast a company to run away from? Can I refuse the local channels?

 

[truedowneast]

That sounds good , I just don’t like Comcast or spectrum for some reason, and they have a awesome price for internet to


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[short6in]

I'm thinking of getting the Comcast Economy Package for 39.99 which includes an SD Cable Box. Plus locals and taxes it will be 55.00 says the representative. That's without HD and without a DVR.

If I add a DVR, it will be 20.00 more plus tax.

Is there a way to buy my own DVR and not pay a fee each month?

Is Comcast a company to run away from? Can I refuse the local channels?

You can purchase a Tivo DVR and get a cable card from Comcast. However, there is a service fee from Tivo as well, I believe. NO, you cannot refuse local channels. ALL television packages include local channels.

 

[vcr1980]

You can purchase a Tivo DVR and get a cable card from Comcast. However, there is a service fee from Tivo as well, I believe. NO, you cannot refuse local channels. ALL television packages include local channels.

Thank you so much. That's OK. I sort of like the idea of not having to use rabbit ears anymore anyway.

Will TIVO require an internet connection? I'm hoping to avoid having to link internet in to any of this.

 

[Tampa8]

Yes TIVO needs an internet connection.

I have to say I SMH at $55 for an SD package, no DVR sounding good.

 

[vcr1980]

Yes TIVO needs an internet connection.

I have to say I SMH at $55 for an SD package, no DVR sounding good.

Thanks for letting me know.

I am assuming that a standard cable box (not a dvr) from Comcast will not require internet?
I am assuming purchasing an on-demand episode from a station in my line-up will also not require internet?

 

[harshness]

The fees stack up rapidly. The Broadcast TV fee is up to $10 and the Regional Sports Channel fee is up to $8.25. There are also franchise fees, PEG fees, Recovery fees and FCC fees so the combination on your bill is likely more than the $15 that you were quoted and then there's the taxes (sales tax and any other taxes that your taxing jurisdiction might levy on cable TV service).

If you use a TiVo, there may be charge for a CableCARD and if you don't buy the lifetime service for TiVo, that will be $14.99/month (with one year commitment, $19.99 without) for each DVR. Lifetime Service is $549. You may be able to find a used SD TiVo that will work that already has Lifetime service. If the SD TiVo doesn't come with Lifetime service, TiVo probably won't activate it. Without a CableCARD or a box, you get no channels at all.

After the 24 month commitment (that you may have to pay up to $20/month to get out of early), the price for the TV package will likely double.

I highly recommend that you sit down with someone who currently subscribes to a similar package and see what their bill looks like with special attention being paid to the fees and taxes.

Regular On Demand content doesn't score a fee per view but you may need a Comcast box to get it.

 

[harshness]

It sounds like you've been out of the pay TV loop for at least 10 years. As was pointed out in another thread, there is no charge for On Demand programming from channels that you subscribe to.

You can now subscribe to services that are delivered over your Internet connection that do nothing but On Demand and they all cost less than $55/month. A few of them can be received by a modern TV without any extra hardware or at most a $30 (one-time) streaming stick.

If you learn one thing at Satellite Guys, I hope that it is that you'll be happier with the result if you tell us what you want and allow us to make suggestions about how to get it.

On Demand SD programming is going to pretty difficult to get so what you see will likely be down-converted from HD and letterboxed at least.