Obama says FCC should reclassify internet as a utility

[farmerbyron]

2 SKY options? Really. Both SUCK! One grown daughter had Dish and the other Direct TV. Neither could keep a decent signal. Cost just as much as cable after the initial a sucker is born every minute contract runs out. Satellite - sucks. And you have to buy packages from them too - can't just pick and choose the channels you want (at least not the last time I checked - has that changed).

My signal rarely goes out. That is with either service. If you are worried about the cost after the intro contract ends, you can always switch between the two. I cancelled direct 7-8 months ago and they are still begging to take them back. Offering to pay the cancellation fee for Dish, free HBO and HD, equipment, sexual favors. You name it they want me back.

You can select individual channels but it is more expensive than just selecting packages. What do you want, free TV? You can still get that but will be limited to 6-7 channels.

 

[securitysix]

My signal rarely goes out. That is with either service. If you are worried about the cost after the intro contract ends, you can always switch between the two. I cancelled direct 7-8 months ago and they are still begging to take them back. Offering to pay the cancellation fee for Dish, free HBO and HD, equipment, sexual favors. You name it they want me back.

You can select individual channels but it is more expensive than just selecting packages. What do you want, free TV? You can still get that but will be limited to 6-7 channels.

Free (Over The Air) TV is actually far better than it used to be for channel selection. Not counting multicast channels, we get NBC (2), CBS (6), ABC (8), OETA (11), KDOR (17), The CW (19), Fox (23), MyTV (41), ION Television (44), KWHB (47), and KGEB (53). Unfortunately, KRSU (35) no longer comes in but that one was intermittent before the digital switch, and admittedly the programming on some of those other stations is crap. The digital switch added multi-casting, so most of those have 2 or more stations available on them. Channels 19, 23, 41 and 44 all have substations that show movies. Channels 8 and 23 both have stations that show old TV shows (think Andy Griffith, Highway to Heaven, The Rifleman, etc). Those of us using OTA have options for things to watch.

We now return you to your discussion of whether Obama so evil that he can't have a good idea even on accident or not.

 

[SoonerP226]

2 SKY options? Really. Both SUCK! One grown daughter had Dish and the other Direct TV. Neither could keep a decent signal. Cost just as much as cable after the initial a sucker is born every minute contract runs out. Satellite - sucks. And you have to buy packages from them too - can't just pick and choose the channels you want (at least not the last time I checked - has that changed).

Sounds like they both got lousy installers. I installed my own DirecTV dish back in the '90s, and I rarely lost signal; when I got an HD DVR, they offered free installation of the new HD dish, so I took them up on it. The guy who did the work was worried about the big freaking oak trees surrounding my house, but I almost never lose signal--even during the Christmas blizzard a few years ago, not to mention the ice storms, I had no drop-outs at all.

And I'm pretty sure none of the major cable companies offer true a-la-carte programming, either--the contracts with the content providers don't generally allow for that. ("Hmm, you want ESPN, Mr. Cabletown? Well, you have to take Oprah Deportes, the Almost Good Enough for Lifetime Movie Network, and MTV 32 along with it.")

 

[Shadowrider]

When I had Dish HD with DVR it took an extremely thick cloud base to drop my signal. Like severe thunderstorm thick. Pointed properly they are GTG 99% of the time.

 

[SoonerP226]

Free (Over The Air) TV is actually far better than it used to be for channel selection.
...
Channels 8 and 23 both have stations that show old TV shows (think Andy Griffith, Highway to Heaven, The Rifleman, etc). Those of us using OTA have options for things to watch.

I rarely use my DirecTV for much other than sports these days. If my TV is on, it's usually on MeTV (5.2) (or AntennaTV (4.2) if the Jack Benny Program is on). Oh, the irony of that--neither ABC nor NBC has much of anything I'd watch (NBC is so bad that I excised it from my DirecTV channel list--and if the NFL would drop them, I'd never switch to that channel again), but I'll watch the hell out of their sub-channels...

 

[Arin Morris]

Those of us using OTA have options for things to watch.

Recently cut the cable myself and was surprised how much there actually was available over the air. Even the guide button works with descriptions of what you're currently watching plus a schedule for most channels.

 

[Werewolf]

You can select individual channels but it is more expensive than just selecting packages. What do you want, free TV? You can still get that but will be limited to 6-7 channels.

If one is paying for TV then one shouldn't have to watch all those effin' commercials.

That's what I want.

But it's never going to be (well almost) - I've pretty much cut the cable cord - just have basic - and use netflix and amazon prime for everything else.

 

[John6185]

Today the Internet, tomorrow free TV that is paid for by sponsors.