[jeffncandace]

You could check out Dish Network. We previously had DirecTV and Comcast and hated them both. We got Dish and by and large we love it.

[Siberia]

A few years ago I bought a $50 Wingard small multi-directional antennae, and get all locals in HD quality. I compared the same PBS local channel using PIP to Charter cable side by side on the same TV, and the Charter feed was pure crap compared to the free OTA. Seeing that I got 23 OTA channels (2-3 per station with over half being HDTV 720p/1080i!), I scratched my head why I way paying $80/month for crappy quality Charter...that had LESS HDTV channels than OTA!

I did miss the digital music so I got XM radio for $12.95/month. XMradio is 4 times more stations and 10 times better selection than any cable/dish company can offer

I did miss some SciFI and HBO series so I wait 8 months and buy the episoides I want to view for $1.99 each online, or I buy the entire series (usually 20 episoides) for only $32 at Amazon.com....or rent online (Unbox, XboxLive, etc...) or at blockbuster.


In summary...I get better picture quality OTA, with more HD stations, and I get much better instant movies choices, higher quality digital radio with 4 times more selection, and all TV series I want via the Internet or blockbuster....ALL FOR HALF THE PRICE THAN I WAS PAYING WITH CHARTER CABLE each month!

If others figure this out like I did, then they will dump Dish/Cable. At some point the monopolies will be force to wake up and offer Ala-carte programming as paying $80 for 10-12 stations you actually watch is nothing short of legalized robbery.

[Jake1256]

concats is impossible to deal with, they never answer there phones so your on hold forever and always keep chragin me for cable when I don't even have it. but when you call to get it off you sit on hold forever. so I didn't pay them cause they ripped me off, and I switched to WOW and now they won't give up my phone number. those CONCATS!

[scottmi]

Originally Posted by Siberia

A few years ago I bought a $50 Wingard small multi-directional antennae, and get all locals in HD quality. I compared the same PBS local channel using PIP to Charter cable side by side on the same TV, and the Charter feed was pure crap compared to the free OTA. Seeing that I got 23 OTA channels (2-3 per station with over half being HDTV 720p/1080i!), I scratched my head why I way paying $80/month for crappy quality Charter...that had LESS HDTV channels than OTA!

I did miss the digital music so I got XM radio for $12.95/month. XMradio is 4 times more stations and 10 times better selection than any cable/dish company can offer

I did miss some SciFI and HBO series so I wait 8 months and buy the episoides I want to view for $1.99 each online, or I buy the entire series (usually 20 episoides) for only $32 at Amazon.com....or rent online (Unbox, XboxLive, etc...) or at blockbuster.


In summary...I get better picture quality OTA, with more HD stations, and I get much better instant movies choices, higher quality digital radio with 4 times more selection, and all TV series I want via the Internet or blockbuster....ALL FOR HALF THE PRICE THAN I WAS PAYING WITH CHARTER CABLE each month!

If others figure this out like I did, then they will dump Dish/Cable. At some point the monopolies will be force to wake up and offer Ala-carte programming as paying $80 for 10-12 stations you actually watch is nothing short of legalized robbery.

That's pretty much what I did. Avoided paying $80 a month for stuff I didn't really even want and then just buy stuff ala carte using iTunes, Netflix, DVD Box Sets, etc. ....this IS the future of Entertainment distribution and if you do any research, you'll quickly learn that all Cable providers are fighting this approach to buying specific channels and shows on demand (as opposed to packages) because most people only watch a handful of shows, that's it and HOW they get access to them isn't a major factor.