Jolt Country

Digital Cable= Expensive, 35 seconds to change a channel. Horrible package options, no NFL ticket, evil corporations, horrendus customer service, unfair business practices (weasling there way into aparment and HOA contracts to force people to have cable and discourage them from getting a satelite) and the worst advetising consisting of- we suck so we will lie about Satelite. Oh, and the whole you don't get your T.V. from us so we gouge on you cable internet.

Direct TV (which I have)- somewhat less evil corp, NFL package a positive but it's bulshit only they have it, marginally cheaper, bullshit programming packages, 15 seconds to change a channell, then- I'm trying to watch two of my favorite things yesterday, the NBA playoffs and the NFL draft. Guess what, it fucking rained and my T.V. looks like a I'm getting a feed from a T.V. station on pluto.

The point of this isn't to debate the merits of each please don't, the point is-

It's 2005, and we are still haven't mastered T.V. It should be
-a goddman dollar a channel
- in any order you want
- no skips or failures in this wonderous "digital technology"

We have to fuck up everything in this country. Say you described the idea of TV to someone who had never heard of it. You would say "You can and watch things on a little box from far away lands" That would say "that's fucking amazing" and then you tell them how it is set up and how I'm trying to watch the Cleveland Browns draft Braylon Edwards and can't caused it rained in, BUTI coulld see it if I had Cable. But If I want to watch him play I would have to have direct T.V. and not cable. Now I get the Browns localy so obviously I can watch him play, but If I didn't, you see what I mean.

What a joke, I get about two goddamn hours a month to watch T.V. cause the fucking weather is bad and the powerful ray from an orbting satelite gets stymied.

One of you will remark "well blahblahblah and I have no problems". Not interested, what a fuckin' mess it is and as I slowly have nothing left to lose in life, cable and direct TV are added to list of "to be taken down with me"

What is really great is DishNetwork. No NFL package AND at the mercy of a satleite feed!!!! But this Vaccum clearner......OKAY!!

It's of a Catch-22 situation. If you have a number of companies all providing TV service, then you're going to wind up in a situation where programming gets scattered about and no one service is going to have everything you want. On the other hand, if only one company offers TV service, then they'll charge so much for it and offer such crappy service that you won't be able to afford it (and no, don't tell me that the government could regulate them.....Bush has made damn sure that the government is firmly in the back pocket of big business).

If it weren't for the fact that my 3 year old gets to watch some decent programming on digital cable (ie: Noggin and PBS On Demand), I'd get rid of it. I've often wondered of the feasibility of getting rid of cable and just buying/renting DVDs to keep us entertained. Sure, we'd miss out on a few shows we like (like "Mythbusters"), but are a handful of shows worth $70/month? If cable prices keep going up, it just might happen.

The only way I can imagine things in the extortionist cable industry changing is if our government takes a hard left turn...it's the liberals who have been clamoring for laws to reign in cable providers.

In British land "Sky" satellite is what everyone uses, and for 4 years or so now it's been digital. It's a great service, and has everything you might want to watch (Sky One might as well be called the Star Trek Channel), but it's a monopoly. Which means it costs about $60-month for a good package.

Lex wrote:In British land "Sky" satellite is what everyone uses, and for 4 years or so now it's been digital. It's a great service, and has everything you might want to watch (Sky One might as well be called the Star Trek Channel), but it's a monopoly. Which means it costs about $60-month for a good package.

Satellite service here (which is digital) starts around $40/month, and can go as high as about $110/month for the really large packages. Land-based cable TV starts around $50, and there are a variety of providers (depending on location). Almost all locations are monopolies though, and there are at least 3 rate increases per year these days (at least for us there are). It's totally fucking ridiculous. PLUS, they'll sometimes take popular channels (often sports channels) and make them part of a more expensive package, then replace those channels with crap, THEN make you think you're getting something for free because they advertise the hell out of the new stuff. "HEY CABLE SUBSCRIBERS! We're adding two new channels this month....The Tapestry Channel for all of you tapestry fans, and Miniature Golf Tournament Channel! And oh yeah, you have to pay $20/month more if you want that sports channel you used to get with standard service, and rates are going up $5/month next month."

Crap, I should just get a NetFlix account for $17/month or whatever it is.

Time Warner here in Rochester was advertising for new subscribers: digital cable for $43/month for a year, plus the DVR for $5/month for 3 months. We took advantage, mostly because we're in an apartment and can't hook up a dish (already checked with the landlord) and also because, despite the enormous expense, I really missed ESPN and Comedy Central and a few other channels.

They've really got you by the short and curlies, but still... I miss those few select channels.

My kingdom for a la carte pricing!

If someone managed to come up with a national cable/sattelite company that charged like $7.5 per channel, and let you pick which channels to watch, I bet that it would get really, really rich just from the demand.

I've got Time Warner's digital cable, phone, and Roadrunner. It's got me into them for almost 2 bills a month, plus more for any international calls I make. Recently I was paying my bill and the clerk said that because of their "allinone" deal, I was owed a discount. Then, she jumped right into a sales pitch, saying that I could add HBO, Showtime, and TMC (like a bunch of channels of each) for the same price I was paying.

Fucking greedy company won't let it's reps offer the choice of taking money off the bill even though I'm sure that's an option if you bitch. Anyway, I took the additional channels and told Blockbuster Video to go fuck themselves.

Lysander wrote:If someone managed to come up with a national cable/sattelite company that charged like $7.5 per channel, and let you pick which channels to watch, I bet that it would get really, really rich just from the demand.

That's only like 20 channels for the $150 i'm spending for hundreds including movie channels and free on demand old movies, not to mention Roadrunner. Mabye if you're blind you don't watch as many different channels.

Lysander wrote:If someone managed to come up with a national cable/sattelite company that charged like $7.5 per channel, and let you pick which channels to watch, I bet that it would get really, really rich just from the demand.

Uh, yeah. And then I'd fucking buy it for a toilet full of money and jack the price back up to where I goddamnedwell *want* it. Sonny.

Casual Observer wrote: Then, she jumped right into a sales pitch, saying that I could add HBO, Showtime, and TMC (like a bunch of channels of each) for the same price I was paying.

Of course she did....that's how the sales reps make money (commissions on selling you crap). Too bad LG isn't around here anymore...she used to do that for a living.

I really wish it was practical to sever myself from Time-Warner. I could probably make the DVDs-instead-of-cable thing work (although the family might complain about it a bit), but there's not a chance in hell I'd switch to Frontier DSL for network access....RoadRunner has them beat hands down.

Casual Observer wrote:That's only like 20 channels for the $150 i'm spending for hundreds including movie channels and free on demand old movies, not to mention Roadrunner. Mabye if you're blind you don't watch as many different channels.

Hey, if you actually *watch* hundreds and hundreds of channels, that's fine and dandy. I'm thinking this would be for the people who want to pay for the basic cable package, but don't actually like any of the channels on basic (A.K.A: wellfare) cable.

I think the real problem is that nobody really knows what they want to watch. Except maybe sports and porn. Everything else must pass us buffet style while we sit like ZOMBIES glassily staring and pressing the channel button over and over. I would get rid of my cable in a second if I could. The wife would strangle me in my sleep with the co-ax if I did tho.


THE
WELFARE CABLE
AARDVARK

Knuckles the CLown wrote: One of you will remark "well blahblahblah and I have no problems". Not interested, what a fuckin' mess it is and as I slowly have nothing left to lose in life, cable and direct TV are added to list of "to be taken down with me"

Try reaiming your dish properly

Anonymous wrote:

Knuckles the CLown wrote: One of you will remark "well blahblahblah and I have no problems". Not interested, what a fuckin' mess it is and as I slowly have nothing left to lose in life, cable and direct TV are added to list of "to be taken down with me"

Try reaiming your dish properly

I'll trying aiming this goddman pitchfork I'm holding up your ass.

Should I try reaiming or aiming. So when I reaim it, do I have to aim in to the slit in the fucking cloud cover.

Listen Guest, we use our real names around here or people die!

Annonamous wrote:Listen Guest, we use our real names around here or people die!

Instant failure.

I know exactly what I want to watch. Here is everything I ever watch, ever:

Iron Chef (Food TV) (*)
Simpsons/Seinfeld reruns (Local FOX affiliate)
Battlestar Galactica (Sci Fi Channel)
Sports
Women's 9-Ball Tournaments (ESPN2) (**)
Cheers/SCTV reruns (Nickelodeon) (*)



(*) Only if I'm drinking.

(**) Only if Jeanette Lee is playing. DAMN do I love that broad.

pinback wrote:(**) Only if Jeanette Lee is playing. DAMN do I love that broad.

JESUS CHRIST!!!!

pinback wrote:

pinback wrote:(**) Only if Jeanette Lee is playing. DAMN do I love that broad.

JESUS CHRIST!!!!

Not too shabby. Did you have to peruse the web to find all of these pictures, or did you already have them on your computers F:\ drive?

In any case, the wife and I decided to ditch digital cable and spend the money on a Netflix account instead. Next step is to decide if we need cable TV at all.

You don't. You really don't. I'm not going to sit here like some pretentious jackhole and say I don't watch it, because I can and do, but it's nothing I miss when it's not around. And for the price these days, I would much prefer it were not around.

chris wrote: If it weren't for the fact that my 3 year old gets to watch some decent programming on digital cable (ie: Noggin and PBS On Demand), I'd get rid of it.

Were you aware that with an HDTV tuner you can pick up PBS Kids 24/7? Also all-widescreen PBS HD. Also weather channel 24/7 and all the regular locals - not bad for over the air (and FREE)