Xfinity cable
- Thread starter d'ster
- Start date
It's expensive as hell. I'm cutting cable this week and we're moving to something along the lines of Apple TV or Roku.
Xfinity equipment is much superior. The X1 box and voice remote are much easier to use and the On Demand selection is larger with Xfinity. I've had both and currently have DirecTV b/c comcast isn't offered at our new house. My wife who doesn't really pay attention to stuff like this has even said numerous times that she hates that we have to have DirecTV and liked the X1 box more. I'm not even sure the price is better with DirecTV. As soon as my promotion ends I think the regular price will actually be higher. I also just read that Comcast has integrated Netflix into the X1 box and are going to do the same with Sling TV soon. I know the popular opinion for a long time has been that Comcast stinks, but I think they have got a lot better. Its been two months since I had to switch back to DirecTV and its amazing how bad their technology is.
One thing that drives me nuts about Xfinity X1 vs DTV DVR is that you cannot go back and record something once it's started airing. For example, say you've been watching a game or a show for hours or even minutes. On DTV, when you hit record it will record that program from as far back as it's been on that channel. With Xfinity, it will only start at the moment that you hit record. I've lost some football games because of that. Very annoying, but from what I here that is a patent and licensing issue with Tivo.
It's been a couple years now since I switch back from DTV to Xfinity, but I did like that shows you added from On-Demand got added to your DVR. With Comcast, they do not. That's only annoying mainly because I forget about shows I want to watch. or they disappear from the catalogue.
I really liked DTV's customer service, but their ever rising costs are annoying as hell. I hate Xfinity, but their prices were much lower for comparable services and they lock in prices for 2 years, rather than DTV's 1 year, then increases after that.
Comcast customer service is the worst that I have ever experienced, by far. They've made strides to get better, but they are still horrible. Night and day compared to DTV. Where DTV was always apologetic and would immediately offer credits off your bill if your service was down, Comcast always took the stance that things were your fault or it was a hassle to have to fix things, even if it was a problem on their end. I absolutely dread calling them for support, glad they mostly allow for instant chat or self service via their app. I used to have to call them once every month or so to refresh my signal, as I was having signal quality issues regularly at my house. They finally had to come out and run new cable from the box all the way to our house and replaced all the wiring in our house, but that hasn't completely fixed the issue.
We are about to cut the cord and go to Xfinity for internet and PS Vue for TV services. We have spent the last month testing this out, and are finally taking the plunge. Will save us about $50/mo and we'll still have the exact same channels and services that we watch now, including HBO and Showtime. More info on this in the cord cutting thread.
If its been a few years since you last had Xfinity, I call tell you a lot of things have changed with their equipment. This is the second time I've been with DirecTV (only option currently). When I first switched to DirecTV they had equal to slightly better technology than Comcast. Now their technology is miles behind. Not saying the X1 box is perfect but it is far better than anything DTV has. Everyone is going to have their own preferences but from a technological ability standpoint, Comcast is currently on top. Price and customer service are a different story
I currently have Xfinity. It's been 2 years since I had DirectTV. Haven't found the X1 to be superior other than the universal search feature. DTV DVR Allows for slow motion both forward and reverse, as well as frame by frame. The slow mo features are horrible on X1. I like to take photos during games or TV shows to post on here or Twitter, very difficult to do on X1.
That's about it.
Same with ours. Other than year 1, DTV was always more expensive than Xfinity. I get calls every month or two from DTV trying to get me to come back and I've let them try to lower the price, only to have it still come out higher than what I'm paying right now.
I'm about to drop Comcast. Several channels have been out for a few weeks and after 4 calls I had an appointment lined up for this past Saturday. They called to say they were AT MY HOUSE so I went outside to greet them, but no one was there. I hit 9 or whatever to speak with someone and they said it probably meant they were 15 minutes away, so sit tight. I wait and then get the call that they have been to my house, sorry they missed me. I got about as mad as I ever get and called to find out they couldn't get anyone back out until the following Saturday, 7 days later. I told them I was done. I've probably been a customer for > 20 years of their various previous versions, from Mediaone to Xfinity, but I'm done now.
I don't know what it's like in your markets, but in Nashville, our Xfinity sales rep is also our customer service rep. I have his cell and call him personally whenever I have a problem.
nothing like that in Jax... I only talked with one guy who sounded local and he gave me bad info.
My biggest issue with Comcast was their customer service. I switched to Centurylink a few years ago and their customer service is much better.
Just finished my first month with PS Vue.
Few things of note.
You have to be careful with data usage depending on your ISP. We went over the 1TB limit this month, turns out its because I found out about half way through the month that my Roku was streaming video 24-7. It doesn't go to sleep or stop streaming automatically, you have to stop it. Video averages about 1.5GB per hour, so you can do the math.
I am using an HD antenna for local channels. Works well, but no DVR for local channel is annoying for sports.
Using PSVue through PS4 and with the media remote has been awesome. PS4 is an amazing multimedia device. We've started watching more Netflix and Amazon shows and movies now.
DVR features with PS4 work great, but not good with Roku. A couple of shows disappeared from on-demand content via Roku that my kids were watching regularly, so that was frustrating.
Watching sports can be a bit hit or miss, since there can be to about 1 min of lag. I like to live tweet during games, so just have to avoid twitter for spoilers during games.
Good service overall, so far.
Few things of note.
You have to be careful with data usage depending on your ISP. We went over the 1TB limit this month, turns out its because I found out about half way through the month that my Roku was streaming video 24-7. It doesn't go to sleep or stop streaming automatically, you have to stop it. Video averages about 1.5GB per hour, so you can do the math.
I am using an HD antenna for local channels. Works well, but no DVR for local channel is annoying for sports.
Using PSVue through PS4 and with the media remote has been awesome. PS4 is an amazing multimedia device. We've started watching more Netflix and Amazon shows and movies now.
DVR features with PS4 work great, but not good with Roku. A couple of shows disappeared from on-demand content via Roku that my kids were watching regularly, so that was frustrating.
Watching sports can be a bit hit or miss, since there can be to about 1 min of lag. I like to live tweet during games, so just have to avoid twitter for spoilers during games.
Good service overall, so far.
Well, this could prove to be a game changer. Offering local networks is a big improvement over PS Vue and Sling TV (stand alone).
No word on if this box allows Sling TV to function with DVR service or not, though.
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbrea...-airtv-player-netflix-sling-tv-specs-ces-2017
No word on if this box allows Sling TV to function with DVR service or not, though.
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbrea...-airtv-player-netflix-sling-tv-specs-ces-2017
I attempted to cut the cord last night. I called Comcast and here's what I accomplished for now. I get Xfinity blast at 70mbs and a basic channel selection for $74 a month. It would have been more expensive to go straight cable. I have netflix and will only get the HBO app when GoT comes back on.
I am looking at moving to Centurylink for cable at 45mbs for $34 a month. I want to see how things shake out with Comcast right now.
I am looking at moving to Centurylink for cable at 45mbs for $34 a month. I want to see how things shake out with Comcast right now.
Same ship here, got the exact same deal above. I opted to not rent the TV boxes at all, as it's not HD.
Didn't like the X1 box when it first came out but used to it now.
I like the Xfinity app - allows you to download movies and shows (depending on your subscriptions) to watch offline. They just upgraded it so now you can also watch a fair amount of live TV, and also watch/download shows you've recorded on your home DVR. It's a nice benefit while traveling.
I like the Xfinity app - allows you to download movies and shows (depending on your subscriptions) to watch offline. They just upgraded it so now you can also watch a fair amount of live TV, and also watch/download shows you've recorded on your home DVR. It's a nice benefit while traveling.
The only TV options in my neighborhood are DirecTV, Dish, Litestream Cable (local) and AT&T Uverse. We don't have access to Comcast.
I've got DirecTV and recently did the "cancel my service" call to get the pricing down. This time I actually set up a cancellation date and DirecTV called me back within 2 days to offer me better pricing. I was able to cut it from $126 a month to $76. For now, I can live with that but I got an Amazon Fire box for Christmas and I've been testing it out. So far, it's been awesome. I'm also going to get an HD antenna to test that out. If all goes well, I'll finally be cutting the cord this year.
I've got DirecTV and recently did the "cancel my service" call to get the pricing down. This time I actually set up a cancellation date and DirecTV called me back within 2 days to offer me better pricing. I was able to cut it from $126 a month to $76. For now, I can live with that but I got an Amazon Fire box for Christmas and I've been testing it out. So far, it's been awesome. I'm also going to get an HD antenna to test that out. If all goes well, I'll finally be cutting the cord this year.
Just did a switch yesterday, myself. I have been with Comcast in some shape or form for almost 16 years. I called last Tuesday after doing the on-line assistant thing with CenturyLink. CenturyLink was going to save me over $50/mo. So I called Comcast to cancel and the Tier 1 service was outsourced to "Betty" in Bangalapor. After getting through to her that I did not care about the $40 cancellation fee on my contract, and once we got past them not being able to do anything about my service, I got sent to Retention/Cancellation. They thought that they could sell me on the "value" that I was already receiving and that while yes my bill had increased, it was due to rental and regulatory fees and taxes, not that my service was increasing (bear in mind that I had not had a change in equipment in the time that I had the contract). I had triple play b/c my wife needed a landline for a diagnostic tool for her pacemaker. Medtronic just supplied what I can only describe as a Star Trek Tricorder that paired to an app on her phone, thus no more need for landline. After 15 minutes of back and forth with the Tier 2 people I finally got a cancellation.
Now I said all that to say this, in the interim (about 30 minutes total on the phone with Comcast) the web assistant stayed on the chat to complete the transaction, and only sent messages as a "You still talking to Comcast?" check. He set up my install for yesterday. Yesterday the tech shows, and in 90 minutes I was up and running and have better coverage from the Wifi and the ability to take a converter box to the patio for watching TV outside and not need any extra cables. roughly 24 hours in, and I could not be happier.
Now I said all that to say this, in the interim (about 30 minutes total on the phone with Comcast) the web assistant stayed on the chat to complete the transaction, and only sent messages as a "You still talking to Comcast?" check. He set up my install for yesterday. Yesterday the tech shows, and in 90 minutes I was up and running and have better coverage from the Wifi and the ability to take a converter box to the patio for watching TV outside and not need any extra cables. roughly 24 hours in, and I could not be happier.
Only thing keeping me from switching to Centurylink is the internet speeds are slow in my area. Oddly, I can get the 25Mbps package stand-alone internet, but I cannot get that if I bundle with TV. As soon as I add TV, it drops me to the 10Mbps package. When I try to change to 25Mbps package, it says "Sorry, the speed you selected is not compatible with Prism TV), which makes zero sense to me.
Bad thing about Centurlink, for people considering online streaming TV services like SlingTV and PS Vue, the monthly data limit is 600GB per month (and $10 per 50GB after that). That's bad news if you use Netflix, too. We streamed a ton of Netflix over the holidays and it used a ton of data. Went over 1TB used last month w/ PS Vue + Netflix.
Comcast allows 1TB per month, that's the only reason I stuck with them so far. Hoping Centurylink can get their internet speeds up in our area soon, and bump that data limit.
http://www.centurylink.com/home/help/products/internet-and-data-usage-limits.html
You guys will probably be fine with that usage. 1 hr of HD Netflix uses between 1 and 3 GB. You can go into settings and adjust the video quality down. I moved mine down to medium, using about 0.7 GB per hour now.
