" the wheels are falling off of satellite TV"
- Thread starter jpmarto
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 300
- Views 21K
We cut the cord in 2014. We decided to go back to satellite in 2016. We could live without linear TV service easily enough, but it was a hassle, and it didn't really save us all that much on a monthly basis. I hope that the OTT services get good enough that one day it is better than what I have now, but I suspect that is further off than I might like. In the mean time, I am a happy Dish customer.
I did some trial subscriptions to nearly all the services like PSVue, Sling and others. Found none of them to be really good and their interfaces to be awkward at best. Did some math and found that for what I would want them for, there wasn't a real cost savings. IMO, the streaming services might be fine for those not wanting to watch much or watch on things other than a TV, they just aren't ready yet.
But the reality is that some things will need to change for cable/sat services going forward. Dish's skinny bundle is a good move in the right direction, but I think more needs to be done. One biggie could be to tell ESPN that it won't be in nearly all packages.
But you are not negotiating with ESPN, it is Disney in control. They are force feeding ESPN into their much larger group of channels which includes ABC.
Yep, makes it a very tough negotiation. And as usual, if the cable/sat companies decided to take them on the customers, including the ones that bitch loudest about the cost, would howl if they disappeared from the lineup for a bit. Definitely a huge problem, but it is a task that will have to happen at some point IMO.
Satellite won’t go anywhere, but their numbers will regress. Dish/Directv can’t compete with the cable bundle. Cable has learned to play that to their advantage.
Of course it varies city to city, but many cable systems have equal or better picture quality than Dish/Directv. Tivo is as good as The Hopper and better in some respects. The X1/Contour 2 is also very capable dvr better.
Equipment and the other endless fees are the killer for both satellite and cable. Streaming with no contracts or equipment fees is a very good deal for some, but not the person that wants everything. However, data caps can also make this an unfavorable option.
If Dish/Directv want to make a difference, then do away with the additional receiver/mirroring fee for owned equipment. If people want the service enough to buy their own equipment, then they shouldn’t be penalized with a BS because we can and want to fee.
Both Sat and Cable need to take a harder line with programming costs and what channels are forced on them and in what tiers.
The opportunity for 1 4k channel with 1 or 2 events a week, which I may or may not be interested in is not enough to draw me back from the $50-$70 a month in savings I have with cable two play bundle.
Of course it varies city to city, but many cable systems have equal or better picture quality than Dish/Directv. Tivo is as good as The Hopper and better in some respects. The X1/Contour 2 is also very capable dvr better.
Equipment and the other endless fees are the killer for both satellite and cable. Streaming with no contracts or equipment fees is a very good deal for some, but not the person that wants everything. However, data caps can also make this an unfavorable option.
If Dish/Directv want to make a difference, then do away with the additional receiver/mirroring fee for owned equipment. If people want the service enough to buy their own equipment, then they shouldn’t be penalized with a BS because we can and want to fee.
Both Sat and Cable need to take a harder line with programming costs and what channels are forced on them and in what tiers.
The opportunity for 1 4k channel with 1 or 2 events a week, which I may or may not be interested in is not enough to draw me back from the $50-$70 a month in savings I have with cable two play bundle.
comcast and netflix raising rates
Get ready for home internet prices to double
Netflix raising prices in the U.S. for the first time in two years
Get ready for home internet prices to double
Netflix raising prices in the U.S. for the first time in two years
The fastest DSL I can get here from CenturyLink is 3.5-4.0 Mbps.
No cable, and never will be.
The electric coop, Tombigbee Electric has began to wire the county with fiber optic service they call ‘freedomFIBER.’
Right now it is just in the limits of the two largest cities in the county, Hamilton, Ala. and Winfield, Ala.
By about 2020 or so, they anticipate having the whole county wired, even the most remote areas.
The service is 1Gbps/1Gbps for $79.99 per month, 100Mbps100Mbps for $49.99 per month. VoIP is $29.99 per line per month.
When the service does get here, I will probably get the 1Gbps plan, but I WILL NOT drop my Dish service. I would pay MORE if I ‘cut the cord’ than keeping Dish.
What will be nice will be the ability to stream 4K from Netflix, and download Dish on Demand practically instantly.
It is WAY too cumbersome to go to all of these different apps on a Roku or AppleTV, pick what you want, and find what you want to watch.
Much simpler and more elegant to have it in a one stop shop like the Hopper 3.
Those rates are more than likely First Year! Then then will probably jump up at least $30.00.
I’m not getting to enjoy it yet, will be a while longer. Probably a couple of years.
North Alabama Electric Cooperative has a similar service.
They have had to going since 2012.
Their rates have been steady from what I have read, no substantial increases if any.
Since it is paid for largely by grants, and a few low interest loans, the overhead is quite low.
Also, it is a cooperative that is providing the service, there is no profit margin or return on investment to worry about.
Just covering the cost of operating the service and what that entails.
Of course if which ever provider that provides the backbone to the internet goes up, that cost will have to be passed along.
Lake Region Electric Co-Op has the same thing. They’ve been laying fiber for a couple years now. Of course it stops a mile from my lake cabin. 
Fiber is where it's at. I have 1Gb/s Fiber for 80 bucks a month and it is awesome. My average d/l speed is over 800, upload about 600.
I have Dish and the Welcome pack. I also have Amazon Prime, but I am disappointed in the available content. Is Hulu or Netflix any better?
All about the same..tho Netflix has better original programming such as game of cards
More different than better. I found Hulu to be inferior technology-wise, but I understand they have been improving on that front.
I used to think the biggest problem with cable and satellite was the high cost due to packaging of numerous channels I didn’t want, with the few I did want. In other words, the lack of a La carte section of the channels. But I now realize that the problem is far more basic than that.
Cable, satellite and OTA are all based on the same concept of “broadcasting” a program at a specific time — you either watch it when it is broadcast or record it for later viewing. This broadcasting paradigm works well for news, sports, etc. where the content is time sensitive. But today waiting for an old movie to be "broadcast", seems really quaint.
Streaming doesn’t just allow for a more flexible section of “channels”, it allows the viewer to decide when to watch available content without waiting for it to be “broadcast”. This viewing flexibility is more fundamental than a La Carte channel selection.
And low bandwidth doesn’t necessarily preclude “streaming”….
As a resident of an internet 3rd world country (AKA Rural America) I know all too well the issues of streaming over low bandwidth service (ours in 2 Mbps down). Never the less, we sub to the Dish Welcome pack (primarily for local news) and stream the vast majority of our entertainment programing from Netflix OR Amazon (with an add-on Acorn TV “channel”). With Amazon and Netflix, we download most programs onto an iPhone when the bandwidth is available (e.g. over night) and watch it later during prime time via AirPlay to an AppleTV. This process is analogous to recording a program onto the Hopper 3 and playing it back later.
Perhaps in the future the apps on streaming set top boxes (e.g. Apple TV, Roku) will allow temporary downloads of DRM protected content for later viewing. Amazon and Netflix already do this on phones and tablets for “offline” viewing. it’s a pretty small step to make it available on Apple TV, Roku or even the Hopper 3.
Cable, satellite and OTA are all based on the same concept of “broadcasting” a program at a specific time — you either watch it when it is broadcast or record it for later viewing. This broadcasting paradigm works well for news, sports, etc. where the content is time sensitive. But today waiting for an old movie to be "broadcast", seems really quaint.
Streaming doesn’t just allow for a more flexible section of “channels”, it allows the viewer to decide when to watch available content without waiting for it to be “broadcast”. This viewing flexibility is more fundamental than a La Carte channel selection.
And low bandwidth doesn’t necessarily preclude “streaming”….
As a resident of an internet 3rd world country (AKA Rural America) I know all too well the issues of streaming over low bandwidth service (ours in 2 Mbps down). Never the less, we sub to the Dish Welcome pack (primarily for local news) and stream the vast majority of our entertainment programing from Netflix OR Amazon (with an add-on Acorn TV “channel”). With Amazon and Netflix, we download most programs onto an iPhone when the bandwidth is available (e.g. over night) and watch it later during prime time via AirPlay to an AppleTV. This process is analogous to recording a program onto the Hopper 3 and playing it back later.
Perhaps in the future the apps on streaming set top boxes (e.g. Apple TV, Roku) will allow temporary downloads of DRM protected content for later viewing. Amazon and Netflix already do this on phones and tablets for “offline” viewing. it’s a pretty small step to make it available on Apple TV, Roku or even the Hopper 3.
Last edited:
This report counts you as having access to the referenced category of broadband if it is available anywhere in your zip code. For example I share a zip code with the military base that is 10 miles away. They have cable broadband at 40+ Mbps, since I am in the same zip I am counted as also having access. In reality the best I can get is 10/1
