thinking of making the switch....cable to satellite???

[hulkster]

280 channels
hbo
hd channels
hd dvr
plus my current internet costs

all in all, sweetness.  oh and the hd dvr can record two shows at once.  awesome awesome awesome....plus its all in digital...and i can record hd programming! 

okay im done.  awesome.

ahhh, the beauty of cable!

true dat!  no contracts, no nothin....so you are never locked into a plan or anything....meaning you can leave whenever you want...also meaning that they have to lure you back with awesome deals like this!

[crashwg]

I understand about the moving not being an issue with satellite assuming I move to a location that is acceptable. In my case, I did not. I had to move into an apartment that does not allow dishes.

FYI and for everyone else out there who rents...  Apartment landlords may not bar you from having satellite TV.

http://www.myrateplan.com/sat/condos.php

Having a balcony or terrace makes things easier though since if you don't have one of these areas that are "part of the tenant's rented space" you are limited to having the dish in your apartment. 

[Howard_Casto]

Seeing as how I'm a certified tv nut I'll throw in my two cents.

First off, if you are getting all of that on your cable for just 35 bucks then you are getting one hell of a deal.  The short of my advice... stay where you are!  If you want more hd channels simply buy a better package or wait for them to arrive. 

Imho opinion there are two types of satellite users, the type that doesn't know they are getting screwed and the type that is forced to be screwed because they have no (or very poor) cable service in their area.  There are many down-sides to sat and the only real upside is you can get a ton of crazy channels (like telemundo) that you'll never watch anyway.  Cable is cheaper, the reception is always better, and you don't have as many weather issues.  More importantly, you can get your internet access cheaply through cable in one big package, not so much with sat (unless you like crappy, slow, over-priced internet).

Both cable and sat start at around 20-29.99 in their packages, but that is where they start to diverge. 

Cable generally give you at least 50 channels for your base package, including local channels.  Sat gives you the same, only a lot of the channels are repeats (same channel but in a different area) and depending upon the location, no local channels at that price.  You can get the premium channels on cable for an additional 10 bucks.  This usually includes on-demand features for said channels.  Premium channels on sat can cost twice as much you might not get on demand either.  Hd channels and pvr cost an additional 10 bucks on cable again, including on demand if available.  Again sat can cost twice as much and generally, no on demand. 

Now generally speaking, you do get more channels with sat, the problem is a lot of them suck and you pay out your ass for em.  Cable is quickly closing the gap though and in many areas your local digital cable provider can offer as many channels as sat. 

About the whole rental issue.  Generally when you get hd/pvr/ect service for cable you paying for the box more than anything.  It's usually a flat rate of 10 bucks to cover the cost of the unit.  (In other words you pay no extra charges for hd service, just 10 bucks). Since the typical hd reciever can cost as much as 800 bucks, it doesn't seem like an issue to me considering you still pay a service charge on sat and often you have to buy the box out-right.

Your biggest concern seems to be what you get for the money, some things can be argued, but cable is almost always cheaper per channel, so long as you count unique channels you'll actually watch. 

[ChadTower]

The main win for me with Sat is that I get the NFL Sunday Ticket, which is not available on cable.  That is why I got Satellite in the first place, along with being pissed at the cable provider when they shut off my cable over an unpaid balance that took them a week to figure out was only 75 cents and was a billing error to begin with.

[Havok]

Hulkster - glad to see you got a deal, they certainly don't offer anything like that in upstate New York! I guess it depends on your location, and the cable company. Time Warner here is the sux0r...

[hulkster]

Hulkster - glad to see you got a deal, they certainly don't offer anything like that in upstate New York! I guess it depends on your location, and the cable company. Time Warner here is the sux0r...

yeah but after the girl at the comcast office looked at me like i just asked if she had made out with a dog before....im a little skeptical at my so called deal.  im going to call today and confirm what i got, and im ready to argue about what the guy told me to make sure im not paying crazy amounts of money.

also....i have some hd channels, but i dont have ESPN HD or ESPN2 HD...i thought if i was getting the HD programming, that would be included.  it says it on comcasts site, so i thought id be able to get those two.  i plan on complaining about that as well 

[hulkster]

so i just got off the phone with comcast....and the guy confirmed that i am getting all the stuff i listed above for $76.88.  i think what he did was lower my internet service fee to $19.99 and then give me a bunch of free equipment.

oh and i asked about the espn hd stuff and he said that they were having problems with the signals in my area, and that it should be fixed shortly.  awesome!

mls game tonight on espn2 in hd!  whoo!

[ChadTower]

If you're an mls fan, too bad you're not here.  First place team is sitting right here and no one local even knows when the games are... tickets are very easy to get and not expensive.

[hulkster]

houston!?!?  they are awesome this year....started out crappy, but doing well now, although Real Salt Lake (only won 2 games so far) just beat them recently which was a big upset.  not that you care  but hey, at least you are informed now! 

they actually have a decent following/turnout for their games.  its not as crazy as Toronto's crowds but its decent.  you should go some time...they are pretty fun to watch.

[ChadTower]

Not Houston, New England.

[hulkster]

oh, well the Revs are up there, but the dynamo is leading the league i believe.  the revs are first in their conference though. 

[DrewKaree]

oh, well the Revs are up there, but the dynamo is leading the league i believe.  the revs are first in their conference though. 

The fact that Chad even knew they were first in ANYTHING shows how popular soccer is here

I go to indoor soccer games (Milwaukee Wave) because they're cheap, fun, and it's the closest thing to real-life foosball I've ever seen.  Outdoor soccer....the friggen city is drowning in games or matches or whatever the heck you call 'em.  For myself.... *yaaahhhhhwwwwnnnnn*

I'll stick with indoor soccer and not bring it up when people say that soccer sucks - because it DOES.

[ChadTower]

I think the Revolution are MLS champs right now... but I'm not 100% sure on that.  And I live 5 minutes from their stadium.  Figure that, a major pro championship won that close and people here aren't even aware of it.

[hulkster]

oh, well the Revs are up there, but the dynamo is leading the league i believe.  the revs are first in their conference though. 

The fact that Chad even knew they were first in ANYTHING shows how popular soccer is here

I go to indoor soccer games (Milwaukee Wave) because they're cheap, fun, and it's the closest thing to real-life foosball I've ever seen.  Outdoor soccer....the friggen city is drowning in games or matches or whatever the heck you call 'em.  For myself.... *yaaahhhhhwwwwnnnnn*

I'll stick with indoor soccer and not bring it up when people say that soccer sucks - because it DOES.

to each his own.  i played soccer for 17 years.  i also played baseball for 14, basketball for 12, and i dabbled in american football for about 4 years so its not like ive never played other stuff.

my sport of choice is soccer, so naturally i watch it more and stuff.  i quit playing baseball in college because i got bored.  call me a nazi or whatever, but baseball is the single most boring sport in the history of all sports.  its a casual, talk to your buddy while drinking a beer sport.  ive been to mlb games, and AAA games, and ive played many positions: pitcher, first, third, and center field, and i was a decent hitter....but i just got BORED.  i hate watching baseball.

american football is okay, but college football (and college sports in general) is the only thing ill watch.  not that football is boring, its just a lot of stop, go, stop go, timeout, review play, stop again, go for 2 yards, oh yay we scored.  oh and since we americans cant stand for something to count for 1 point, lets give them 6 points to make it seem more high scoring.     im a big kentucky fan, so maybe thats why im not hugely into football.  its great fun to play, but aside from college football....it sucks.  then again, the cats are on the rise!  we whooped clemson last year in the music city bowl!  whoo!  i was there...er...rather here....since i live in nashville 

basketball: college hoops is awesome....its the closest thing to the excitement of soccer especially during march madness.  but then again, im a kentucky fan, so that kinda comes naturally.

anyway, all that to say.....ive played lots of sports, and watched every sport america offers LIVE and in person....and all fail in comparison to the atmosphere and drama of soccer.  if you dont believe me, next world cup, go to your local sports bar and watch the u.s. play...standing room only.  ive been to my local sports bar for the yankees vs. red sox game during the playoffs, and yeah it was fun and everybody went nuts when the sox took the lead, but that was NOTHING compared to the atmosphere and response when the u.s. scored a goal in the world cup.  i say "a" goal, because we only scored one last time 


i may be the ONLY american with this point of view, but its ALL MINE!  whoo!  so take your football american rugby/tackle ball and stick it.   

[DrewKaree]

The world cup was televised here?

At first I thought you were talking about that golf thing where the Americans play the Europeans for a big beer stein or something, but then I saw you were going on about soccer, so I figured that golf thing wasn't the world cup

[hulkster]

The world cup was televised here?

At first I thought you were talking about that golf thing where the Americans play the Europeans for a big beer stein or something, but then I saw you were going on about soccer, so I figured that golf thing wasn't the world cup

 

[Jouster]

This feels very strange for me...but...back to topic...I had a sat dish at one of the last places I lived...it may have been setup incorrectly...but anytime we had a heavy rain storm come through...forget it!  The signal completely dropped.  Of course in the place I lived before that, the cable would stay on for the storm...but would be out for two days afterward because of the flooding in a certain area that always seemed to be a vital junction for the cable company.

Jouster

P.S. - And soccer doesn't suck...it can just be boring to watch.  Same as basketball and baseball.  I played soccer for my entire youth and plan to find an adult league when I finish up some of the carp I have going on right now.  Although I did watch a soccer game in Colombia with some locals...much different experience than watching it in the States for sure.

[hulkster]

P.S. - And soccer doesn't suck...it can just be boring to watch.  Same as basketball and baseball.  I played soccer for my entire youth and plan to find an adult league when I finish up some of the carp I have going on right now.  Although I did watch a soccer game in Colombia with some locals...much different experience than watching it in the States for sure.

word of caution...make SURE you train adequately before going into the adult league.  or youll end up like me thinking you can still do everything you used to do 4 years ago when you were in tip top shape....and end up stepping wrong and tearing your MCL, ACL, and fracturing a bone.   

no more playing soccer for me.  good times.

[ChadTower]

The primary reason I never liked soccer much, I think, was that I'm not into distance running sports.  I'm built for 20 yards and a collision.  Decent sport, just not for me.

[hulkster]

The primary reason I never liked soccer much, I think, was that I'm not into distance running sports.  I'm built for 20 yards and a collision.  Decent sport, just not for me.

funny enough....i cannot stand distance running.  er...cannot stand distance running without something to keep my mind off the fact that im running distance.  i hate track, cross country, etc....and i hated training for soccer every year because we'd get to practice and the coach would say "dont bother putting on your cleats, just put on your flats....now, go do a 3 mile warmup jog, then come back and we'll do a 3 mile timed run." 

LOVELY

i hated that so much.  but if im thinking about sprinting to get to the ball and stuff, i dont think about the actual sprint or distance or whatever. 


anyway....last night during the mls game, michael wilbon (from PTI) was there commenting, and one of the announcers asked him "why do americans not like this game?  why wont they watch and take notice?"

and his answer was the best one ive heard yet "because they dont WANT to take notice, they dont WANT to like it.  americans have a history of only supporting and liking the games that americans made popular.  thats why hockey never really made it to the top.  i think its stupid to try to market soccer to "everyone else"...they need to cater to the soccer faithful and just let that grow over time".

amen brotha. 

[leapinlew]

I don't like soccer for a few reasons.

1. The cheerleaders.... 'nuff said
2. Lack of Justin/Janet half time shows
3. If I want to see men kicking other men in the nads I'll watch Americas Funniest Home Videos.
4. They are the biggest bunch of pansies. Always faking an injury to try and call a penalty. Annoying wimps.
5. Lack of action - it has this in common with Womens Basketball
6. Soccer turned a great satellite vs cable conversation into a potentially gay soccer discussion

[hulkster]

I don't like soccer for a few reasons.

1. The cheerleaders.... 'nuff said
2. Lack of Justin/Janet half time shows
3. If I want to see men kicking other men in the nads I'll watch Americas Funniest Home Videos.
4. They are the biggest bunch of pansies. Always faking an injury to try and call a penalty. Annoying wimps.
5. Lack of action - it has this in common with Womens Basketball
6. Soccer turned a great satellite vs cable conversation into a potentially gay soccer discussion

well the sat vs. cable discussion is pretty much over after i got my sweet deal with comcast.

lack of action?  so time in between pitches in baseball, timeouts in basketball/football, reviewing calls by refs, intermissions and stoppage of play in hockey, and commercials in all of the above.....soccer is the only sport thats constant for 45 min. at a time with no commercial breaks. 

i guess it depends on your definition of "action".  i started this thread and if i want to turn it into a gay soccer thread, i can if i want!    

oh and i guess if i we are talking about pansy/gay stuff....i could watch american football if i wanted to see men wearing spandex pants, hiking a ball in between another mans legs from behind while hes bent over, and then wrestling each other to the ground by grabbing whatever they can.  sounds like a "non pansy sport to me".  go watch the In Living Color episode where they did "Men on Football".   

[leapinlew]

well the sat vs. cable discussion is pretty much over after i got my sweet deal with comcast.

lack of action?  so time in between pitches in baseball, timeouts in basketball/football, reviewing calls by refs, intermissions and stoppage of play in hockey, and commercials in all of the above.....soccer is the only sport thats constant for 45 min. at a time with no commercial breaks. 

i guess it depends on your definition of "action".  i started this thread and if i want to turn it into a gay soccer thread, i can if i want!    

oh and i guess if i we are talking about pansy/gay stuff....i could watch american football if i wanted to see men wearing spandex pants, hiking a ball in between another mans legs from behind while hes bent over, and then wrestling each other to the ground by grabbing whatever they can.  sounds like a "non pansy sport to me".  go watch the In Living Color episode where they did "Men on Football".   

You have to justify your love of soccer by pointing out the deficiencies in other sports? tsk tsk... sounds like someone is a little defensive...

And, for the record, you'll notice I didn't mention anything about any other sports. Perhaps I don't like them just as much? All I do know is - I'm American and I know I'm American because I think soccer blows. It's a requirement here.

[hulkster]

well the sat vs. cable discussion is pretty much over after i got my sweet deal with comcast.

lack of action?  so time in between pitches in baseball, timeouts in basketball/football, reviewing calls by refs, intermissions and stoppage of play in hockey, and commercials in all of the above.....soccer is the only sport thats constant for 45 min. at a time with no commercial breaks. 

i guess it depends on your definition of "action".  i started this thread and if i want to turn it into a gay soccer thread, i can if i want!    

oh and i guess if i we are talking about pansy/gay stuff....i could watch american football if i wanted to see men wearing spandex pants, hiking a ball in between another mans legs from behind while hes bent over, and then wrestling each other to the ground by grabbing whatever they can.  sounds like a "non pansy sport to me".  go watch the In Living Color episode where they did "Men on Football".   

You have to justify your love of soccer by pointing out the deficiencies in other sports? tsk tsk... sounds like someone is a little defensive...

And, for the record, you'll notice I didn't mention anything about any other sports. Perhaps I don't like them just as much? All I do know is - I'm American and I know I'm American because I think soccer blows. It's a requirement here.

hmm, well usually when you form an opinion about how much a sport "blows" you would have some experience with the sport as to why you feel that it blows.  while your opinion is truly craptacular, i can appreciate your ignorance in sports as a whole because one of my friends also likes to call soccer gay, but has never played a sport or has a desire to play a sport.  so basically ill lump your opinion with his.  congrats on that.   

but based on your logic....um.....

oh i think futurama blows.  cheap rip off of the simpsons and crappy animation.  never seen it before other than commercials and previews and stuff, so by your justification, futurama blows....i think thats a prerequisite?  or was it a requirement....i forget. 

[leapinlew]

well the sat vs. cable discussion is pretty much over after i got my sweet deal with comcast.

lack of action?  so time in between pitches in baseball, timeouts in basketball/football, reviewing calls by refs, intermissions and stoppage of play in hockey, and commercials in all of the above.....soccer is the only sport thats constant for 45 min. at a time with no commercial breaks. 

i guess it depends on your definition of "action".  i started this thread and if i want to turn it into a gay soccer thread, i can if i want!    

oh and i guess if i we are talking about pansy/gay stuff....i could watch american football if i wanted to see men wearing spandex pants, hiking a ball in between another mans legs from behind while hes bent over, and then wrestling each other to the ground by grabbing whatever they can.  sounds like a "non pansy sport to me".  go watch the In Living Color episode where they did "Men on Football".   

You have to justify your love of soccer by pointing out the deficiencies in other sports? tsk tsk... sounds like someone is a little defensive...

And, for the record, you'll notice I didn't mention anything about any other sports. Perhaps I don't like them just as much? All I do know is - I'm American and I know I'm American because I think soccer blows. It's a requirement here.

hmm, well usually when you form an opinion about how much a sport "blows" you would have some experience with the sport as to why you feel that it blows.  while your opinion is truly craptacular, i can appreciate your ignorance in sports as a whole because one of my friends also likes to call soccer gay, but has never played a sport or has a desire to play a sport.  so basically ill lump your opinion with his.  congrats on that.   

but based on your logic....um.....

oh i think futurama blows.  cheap rip off of the simpsons and crappy animation.  never seen it before other than commercials and previews and stuff, so by your justification, futurama blows....i think thats a prerequisite?  or was it a requirement....i forget. 

Lets imagine I do have an opinion on a topic I have no experience with. Is that wrong? Before you answer, consider this - do you feel man on man love is fun? Seems to me, you can't answer unless you've either had some or given some. Me? I'll answer, even though I've never had experience with it.

If I was a previous pro soccer player and I said soccer sucked, would you value that opinion more?

[hulkster]

im not sure if you have a point or not, but when you mentioned man on man love, thats when i stopped wanting to read.   

but anyway, your comparison with the pro soccer player thing is close but not neccesarily what im getting at.  its like me saying Macs suck, but having never used a mac...so i have nothing to base it on other than what people have said, or from what ive seen.  its like saying the food in japan totally blows, even though all i have to go by is a japanese steakhouse here in the states, which is the most tainted view ever.  im just saying, dont blast something just because you know nothing about it.  i dont consider my opinion to be more valuable, but i do consider my opinion to be the more experienced one, seeing as that ive played several main stream sports, experienced watching them professionally on tv and live....so my opinion is at least founded on personal experience relative to the conversation.  yours is based on "i dont play soccer, never have, never will...therefore it sucks".  again, "ive never watched futurama, never have, never will....therefore it sucks".  doesnt make much sense.

[leapinlew]

im not sure if you have a point or not, but when you mentioned man on man love, thats when i stopped wanting to read.   

but anyway, your comparison with the pro soccer player thing is close but not neccesarily what im getting at.  its like me saying Macs suck, but having never used a mac...so i have nothing to base it on other than what people have said, or from what ive seen.  its like saying the food in japan totally blows, even though all i have to go by is a japanese steakhouse here in the states, which is the most tainted view ever.  im just saying, dont blast something just because you know nothing about it.  i dont consider my opinion to be more valuable, but i do consider my opinion to be the more experienced one, seeing as that ive played several main stream sports, experienced watching them professionally on tv and live....so my opinion is at least founded on personal experience relative to the conversation.  yours is based on "i dont play soccer, never have, never will...therefore it sucks".  again, "ive never watched futurama, never have, never will....therefore it sucks".  doesnt make much sense.

Who said I have no experience in sports period? For all you know I'm Spice Guy Beckham.   

[hulkster]

im not sure if you have a point or not, but when you mentioned man on man love, thats when i stopped wanting to read.   

but anyway, your comparison with the pro soccer player thing is close but not neccesarily what im getting at.  its like me saying Macs suck, but having never used a mac...so i have nothing to base it on other than what people have said, or from what ive seen.  its like saying the food in japan totally blows, even though all i have to go by is a japanese steakhouse here in the states, which is the most tainted view ever.  im just saying, dont blast something just because you know nothing about it.  i dont consider my opinion to be more valuable, but i do consider my opinion to be the more experienced one, seeing as that ive played several main stream sports, experienced watching them professionally on tv and live....so my opinion is at least founded on personal experience relative to the conversation.  yours is based on "i dont play soccer, never have, never will...therefore it sucks".  again, "ive never watched futurama, never have, never will....therefore it sucks".  doesnt make much sense.

Who said I have no experience in sports period? For all you know I'm Spice Guy Beckham.   

nice