After suffering with Dish TV for years, and finding I just didn't watch TV much at all, 3 years back I cancelled it. The few times I did watch it it was generally content which I had recorded so I could fast forward through all the commercials. I kept my slow, slow, (Hughesnet) internet simply because it has been the only option available, until now. A rural provider (with Federal grant money) has finally run fiber optic my this and will be connecting me on Monday! This'll provide much higher speed internet as well as (if I want it) TV and land line telephone. The price seems reasonable $55 for internet (50 up and down) or the next tier up costing $105 which provides 65 up and down, land line, and basic TV with one HD box and 50 or so channels. They can also provide a DVR for $10 per month, which seems kind of steep to me.
Is it possible, if so what's involved, for me to just buy a DVR at someplace like Best Buy that is compatible to be connected with whatever box they use and my HD TV? Or am I better off just renting theirs for $120 per year?

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They can also provide a DVR for $10 per month, which seems kind of steep to me.

FWIW, that price is not out of line.
The DVR dilemma is that you don't really need it for streaming content as it is always available.
DVR is good for live content or broadcast content that regularly changes.
So you are at the mercy of your provider or you could go the Tivo route but that won't really save you much and you have to buy it up front.
Some streaming providers like HULA have a could based program but there you won't save much either.
There may be some other avenues to solve it so I'll let someone else chime in but that is my take.

Take a look at Amazon Fire TV Recast. Just got one today. Too early to give it thumbs up but as of today, I think it is going to work out very well. I just hate giving money to Amazon...

We use YoutubeTV and are happy with it. There is no charge for DVR service; I just check a box on the screen and YoutubeTV "records" it. It doesn't actually make a separate recording just for me, but the recorded program will be available for two years. There is no "storage" limit, so "record" everything you wish.

Do the internet only plan, ditch the landline and basic cable.

See if you can get by without that stuff. Add a streaming service or two and see what you've been missing. Save yourself $500-$720 a year, depending on what streaming service you sign up for.

Throw that savings towards an investment or extra mortgage payment. Or beer. Whatever. Just don't throw your money towards some stupid antiquated cable service that you know for a fact barely has anything worth watching.

I cringe when I see people waste money on cable television
It's right up there with paying the dealer to change a vehicle's cabin air filter.

Thanks fo the replies. It sounds like simply buying a $150 DVR device to use with their box and my TV isn't really feasible. To be honest now I'm considering the $105 package mostly to get the boost in internet speed and a land line. I have very weak cell signal at my home and until now no land line available. I get texts (and voicemail eventually) but am almost never able to use my phone for conversation here so I have to walk/drive 1/4 - 1 mile to get enough signal to call anyone. WiFi calling doesn't work with Hughesnet and my cell provider and I've heard from others that WiFi calling can be iffy for them as well. I've been putting up with no phone for years now so I'm really looking forward to having phone available in my house.
This is how the $105 per month breaks down:
Internet 50/50
Phone included
45 mostly worthless TV channels

Rather than spend $10 per month for DVR rental I'll spend it on Amazon Prime, YouTube, etc... suggestions?

Aeteocles I considered internet only but 50/50 internet by itself is $95 per month.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ridewv,

You can't use a DVR for cable, satellite, etc. TV, unless you use theirs.

TBH: For what it sounds like you're doing, you also don't need more than 50Mb/s of speed, either. Hell, I was running a server on our 50Mb/s Internet connection. Streaming HD TV, and Lord knows what else consuming bandwidth. Never a problem. Only reason we have 75Mb/s now is that was the price tier equivalent to our old 50Mb/s tier. I see these people paying for multi-hundred-MB/s Internet service and ask myself "Why?"

As for your weak cell signal: Once you get decent Internet speed you can have WiFi and enable WiFi calling on your cell phones. So you don't need the LL, either.

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Originally posted by ridewv:
Aeteocles I considered internet only but 50/50 internet by itself is $95 per month.

In your OP you said 50Mb/s Internet only was $55/mo.?

For streaming devices: Roku generally gets the highest marks for bang for the buck. I don't care for them, but many people love them.

As for streaming services: Review what they offer and choose. What works for us, or anybody else, may not work for you.

(Personally, I wouldn't use Amazon Prime due to Amazon's recent anti-free speech behavior. We just cancelled it. Nor would I use YouTube, because it's owned by equally execrable Google.)

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Thanks fo the replies. It sounds like simply buying a $150 DVR device to use with their box and my TV isn't really feasible. To be honest now I'm considering the $105 package mostly to get the boost in internet speed and a land line. I have very weak cell signal at my home and until now no land line available. I get texts (and voicemail eventually) but am almost never able to use my phone for conversation here so I have to walk/drive 1/4 - 1 mile to get enough signal to call anyone. WiFi calling doesn't work with Hughesnet and my cell provider and I've heard from others that WiFi calling can be iffy for them as well. I've been putting up with no phone for years now so I'm really looking forward to having phone available in my house.
This is how the %105 per month breaks down:
Internet 50/50
Phone included
45 mostly worthless TV channels

Rather than spend $10 per month for DVR rental I'll spend it on Amazon Prime, YouTube, etc... suggestions?

Aeteocles I considered internet only but 50/50 internet by itself is $95 per month.

50Mbps vs 65 isn't really much of a boost, especially not for double the cost. The TV & phone might tip it for you.
Rather than adding another phone number & cost, I'd look at a cell booster - if you are getting texts, a booster with a better antenna would probably get you marginal/decent signal. This is NOT wifi calling/connection that the cell companies will offer.

Try the 50, I'd bet you can do at least 2 hi-def streams simultaneously with no problem. If I can get 1 on 4Mbps, you'll be fine with 50.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

You can't use a DVR for cable, satellite, etc. TV, unless you use theirs.

We have a TiVo that works just fine with our Spectrum cable service.

It requires a Cable Card from the cable provider. This is a credit card size thing that slides into a slot in the TiVo.

Cost is $2.95 / month to rent the card; this is less than the $8.50 for a plain set-top tuning box, or $10.00 / month for a DVR from Spectrum.

The Spectrum cable TV service requires some sort of digital interface. The vast majority of subscribers use either the $8.50 set-top box, or the $10.00 DVR. The $2.95 cable card in the TiVo does the same job as the $8.50 tuning box, and the TiVo handles the DVR duties.

TiVo does not have to be that expensive. WeakNees is a company that specializes in refurbished TiVos at affordable prices. They have many (most?) models available, some of which will come with the lifetime subscription pre-paid, so no monthly TiVo charges. I have a model with two coax inputs, so we have seamless integration of cable and OTA programming, with a program guide that shows both and is as easy to use as a cable company DVR.

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Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
You can't use a DVR for cable, satellite, etc. TV, unless you use theirs.

We have a TiVo that works just fine with our Spectrum cable service.

It requires a Cable Card from the cable provider. This is a credit card size thing that slides into a slot in the TiVo.

Ok, that's TiVo, and with a CTV cable card. There was also a solution involving a Silicon Dust CTV tuner and MS-Windows-based DVR that would work. IOW: Corner cases. In general terms: You can't just go out, buy a DVR, slap it on a subscription TV stream, and have it work.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
You can't use a DVR for cable, satellite, etc. TV, unless you use theirs.

OK that's what I needed to know, thanks.

quote:

TBH: For what it sounds like you're doing, you also don't need more than 50Mb/s of speed, either.....

As for your weak cell signal: Once you get decent Internet speed you can have WiFi and enable WiFi calling on your cell phones. So you don't need the LL, either.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Aeteocles I considered internet only but 50/50 internet by itself is $95 per month.

In your OP you said 50Mb/s Internet only was $55/mo.?

My mistake, that's what I get for relying on memory! I double checked their site and it's $95. http://www.prodigiwv.net/products-and-services.html

quote:

For streaming devices: Roku generally gets the highest marks for bang for the buck. I don't care for them, but many people love them.

As for streaming services: Review what they offer and choose. What works for us, or anybody else, may not work for you.

(Personally, I wouldn't use Amazon Prime due to Amazon's recent anti-free speech behavior. We just cancelled it. Nor would I use YouTube, because it's owned by equally execrable Google.)

I already have Amazon Prime which I may cancel and I'm not familiar with the others but I'll start looking into what's available.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
In your OP you said 50Mb/s Internet only was $55/mo.?

My mistake, that's what I get for relying on memory! I double checked their site and it's $95.

That, IMO, is excessive for 50Mb/s Internet only.

We're paying slightly less than that for 75/15Mb/s Business Class with a static IP.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:


TBH: For what it sounds like you're doing, you also don't need more than 50Mb/s of speed, either. Hell, I was running a server on our 50Mb/s Internet connection. Streaming HD TV, and Lord knows what else consuming bandwidth. Never a problem. Only reason we have 75Mb/s now is that was the price tier equivalent to our old 50Mb/s tier. I see these people paying for multi-hundred-MB/s Internet service and ask myself "Why?"

Exactly, it's not like the olden days of dialup and early DSL.
I am like you that I run ATT 50mb with static IP's, stream, run my own servers including email and never had any "speed" issues.
A recent thread where the OP was out of sorts over the Internet "Speed Test" over WiFi no less that was substantially greater that what I run and yet we vacillate over these "tests".
Not saying that more speed isn't better ~ it is just that the commotion is over hyped and over rated in many cases.
In fact whenever I get around to hosting my own images I could use additional UP speed.
Just be practical and realistic.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
That, IMO, is excessive for 50Mb/s Internet only.

We're paying slightly less than that for 75/15Mb/s Business Class with a static IP.

It probably is but I don't really have much choice and compared to $95 for only internet, $105 for internet, a landline, and some TV channels seems a better deal. Also I'm now paying over $90 per month for Hughesnet which I finally get to drop.

One disadvantage of living in the country was for years Hughesnet for internet and the closest cell tower being almost out of reach was all that was available.

$95 might be the full price, not the introductory price.

What's the full price of the cable+internet bundle after the introductory price goes away?

That's how they get you. Be wary of their games.

I re-shop my internet every year, alternating between putting the account under my wife's name and my own name in order to maintain my introductory pricing.

I have saved an estimated $9600 since abandoning basic cable in 2004.

Even at $95 a month, it is a $10 savings. SAVINGS IS SAVINGS. What benefit will you get from a landline? Literally nobody will call you there other than robo calls and scammers. With better internet, you can have WiFi calling. Even 911 is better made from a cell phone, so that you can be mobile and not tied to the range of a cordless phone.

I wouldn't pay $10 for basic cable either. That $10 is better spent on a Netflix account, or even a streaming music service like Spotify.

A good deal on something you don't need or want is absolutely not a good deal at all. Would you pay $10 a month for a subscription to a magazine you wouldn't read?

Ridewv,

After the fiber connection is made, cal your cell provider and ask if they can help.

Sprint has/ had a device which connects to the internet and uses a GPS signal for time synchronizing (forget the name of the device) and it's sent free of charge.

Two downsides with that device though; it only works for the Sprint network and, you can limit who uses it (like a neighbor or anyone else)

Your cell provider would be more than happy to mail you a femtocell device. It will take your internet connection and use it to project a small cellular signal around your house. Your phone treats it as a true cellular signal.

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Originally posted by Aeteocles:

Your cell provider would be more than happy to mail you a femtocell device. It will take your internet connection and use it to project a small cellular signal around your house. Your phone treats it as a true cellular signal.

Yup. I have one of these that I no longer use. It works with AT&T only. Not with an AT&T MVNO, only with a "real" AT&T account.

If your cell service account is directly with AT&T, contact me through the email address in my profile for a femtocell karma.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
$95 might be the full price, not the introductory price.

What's the full price of the cable+internet bundle after the introductory price goes away?

That's how they get you. Be wary of their games.....


Even at $95 a month, it is a $10 savings. SAVINGS IS SAVINGS. What benefit will you get from a landline? Literally nobody will call you there other than robo calls and scammers. With better internet, you can have WiFi calling. Even 911 is better made from a cell phone, so that you can be mobile and not tied to the range of a cordless phone.

I wouldn't pay $10 for basic cable either. That $10 is better spent on a Netflix account, or even a streaming music service like Spotify.

A good deal on something you don't need or want is absolutely not a good deal at all. Would you pay $10 a month for a subscription to a magazine you wouldn't read?

AFAIK the prices quoted are the full price, there was no mention of an introductory price. So for $10 extra per month over internet only the $105 will be the monthly charge for internet, landline, and 45 channels of TV including local, the three big worthless networks, PBS Pittsburgh, Maryland Public TV, Pittsburgh local, Fox, TBS, Weather Channel, The Outdoor Channel, and others I don't recognize. I may get a few hours a month use from TV for my $5. As far as why a landline? Well I still wouldn't have cell phone service unless my cell provider (US Cellular) connects with the new internet wifi (it currently doesn't with Hughesnet). My hearing isn't the best which can be a problem when communicating cell phone to cell phone, especially if one is on a speaker such as in a car. I find I can hear much clearer on a land line. So I think this may be worth the other $5 per month. I hope I can have an unlisted number which I'll almost never give out.

I too live in a rural area and only have 1 provider available. We get 20 MB down, and less than 5 or so up. I can pay more for faster speed, but our current speed is plenty for streaming. We have 2 adults and 2 kids and the speed isn't generally an issue when multiple people stream.

I get a warning when I hit 1,000 MB per month, but they don't throttle us. If I didn't have kids we'd probably be under 500 MB per month.