Internet/TV

PaulProe

PaulProe

TREASURER & Web Administrator, Member # 019
GCC Member
Location
Manchester
First Name
Paul
Last Name
Proefrock
Some time ago, there was discussion about the various providers for Internet and TV. It came down to
1) Cut the cable but you still net internet access - ATT Uverse vs. Spectrum Cable

2) DirecTV vs Spectrum Cable

3) package deals with each of those two providers

Curious how this ended. Is there a clear winner? ATT tops out at 26Mbyte for Internet at my location, Spectrum(Charter) is showing 100. ATT uploads are capped at 4Mbyte, don't know about Spectrum

Neither one of them has a stellar reputation, Customer service is just about as bad a cell phone customer service.

DirecTV has elected to raise prices on their contract (pretty one sided). They can raise price, I can't leave without penalty. Spectrum is offering buyouts with no contract, but am I jumping out of the skillet into the fire?

Curious what others are experiencing.
 
We dumped AT&T U-Verse one year ago due to cost and have saved about $75 a month by keeping AT&T Internet 1000 but using an Amazon Firestick with Prime, Netflix and Hulu for TV service.

I have nothing but good to say about Prime and Netflix. They are both outstanding with many excellent first-run series, movie and documentary choices.

We tried Showtime and Stars…but dropped both after the initial evaluation period as they provided no cost-effective benefit over Netflix and Prime.

However, Hulu has been a PITA due to buffering, pauses in transmission and repeats in transmission when watching local TV channels. I have yet to find a good alternative for local TV and News coverage.

I looked at Sling as an alternative…and it may provide better transmissions but the package offered was not as good as Hulu.

However, if we were closer to STL we would use one of the several excellent local TV antennas that can access local channels up to about 50 miles. We are simply too far from STL for those antennas to be effective.

If I were in Baldwin I would continue to go with AT&T 1000 for internet with their “up to 940 M/ps” download speed. Our actual measured speeds vary from 600 Mps to 807 M/ps during the day with 54 M/ps upload speeds.
For local TV I would go with one of the better antennae’s and for movies continue to subscribe to Netflix and Amazon Prime.
 
Last edited:
ATT1000 isn't available in my area, the max I can get is "26" Spectrum offers 1000

How 'bout the others in the Saint Louis area? Experiences?
 
I cut the cable a couple of years ago. We have high speed internet from charter. That coupled with hulu, sling, netflix gets to s all we need. I installed an HD antenna on the roof for local channels. Been saving over $85 a month
 
Same as Dan here. We cut the cable and use Charter for internet. I install an HD antenna in the attic for local channels. Use a dvr to record and watch prime time shows. Only using Netflix and Amazon Prime for other stuff.
 
I think that's 100 mbps not 1000. Anyway I pay $65 and it's been pretty consistent. The first 6 months or a year was like $40 for the new subscriber, then moved to the regular rate. I think they go to 200 pretty easily and 400 but that's sporadically. Like late at night or early morning.
 
Tried calling you Paul, went straight to vmail. I've had uvetse, and spectrum.
 
TBULL said:
I think that's 100 mbps not 1000. Anyway I pay $65 and it's been pretty consistent. The first 6 months or a year was like $40 for the new subscriber, then moved to the regular rate. I think they go to 200 pretty easily and 400 but that's sporadically. Like late at night or early morning.
Click to expand...

Dan,
AT&T promotes it as their "1000 Mb/s" plan...but in the fine print states "up to 940Mb/s download speed.
I have measured 600 Mb/s to 807 Mb/s during the day. Higher late at night... but have never measured over 900 Mb/s with our fiber optic connection.

https://www.attsavings.com/internet/att-fiber/internet-1000

Their disclaimer:
"Speed/Time examples are estimates.
Actual customer speeds may vary and are not guaranteed. Download speeds (up to 940Mbps for Internet 1000) are typically due to overhead capacity reserved to deliver the data. Speeds may also vary based on factors including site traffic, content provider server capacity, internal network management factors, and end user device capabilities. For more information, go to att.com/speed101."
 
I had the whole ATT triple play package. Internet, Uverse, and Cell.
Internet absolutely sucked. started with the Base service I think it was 20mb, never got over 6mb and Netflix & Amazon Prime were not watchable.
After many house calls and excuses, I bit the bullet and upgraded to 50mb, but it never went over 18mb and all I heard from customer service is why I'd never see 50mb. But Netflix & Amazon were much better, still some buffering / pixalation occasionally.
Their Uverse was GREAT, but we were paying about $180/mo for Uverse & Internet. That killed me paying that.

When I changed jobs and started working for Charter mid-last year, I switched to their services.
Internet is SO MUCH BETTER now, I have 200mb now and a 2G and 5G wifi option. If your equipment handles 5G, it is great! My TV and Cell phones do and no complaints. My laptop (which is only about a year old, wouldn't pick up the 5G, but it still works better with the Charter Internet than the ATT crap.

Charter TV service....... disappointing. The interface and DVR services are years behind the Uverse. I miss Uverse, but not the monthly Bill.

My suggestion: Charter Internet and drop cable completely. Go with an HD antenna for local programming and use the Internet for everthing else. The new Smart TVs are great!
Also, I recently bought a Logitech - Harmony 700 8-Device Universal Remote and it is great for combining all of your remotes into 1. (and the buttons light up!)
Mine is currently setup for Samsung SmartTV, Charter Cable remote, Samsung DVD player, AppleTV, Denon Receiver, and Amazon Firestick.
 
Kerry & Kathy said:
I have measured 600 Mb/s to 807 Mb/s during the day. Higher late at night... but have never measured over 900 Mb/s with our fiber optic connection.
Click to expand...

Wow I had no idea you had a fiber optic line. I'm jealous. The standard lines have more like mine and Mark's I think.
 
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