AT&T/Dish versus Cable (TW)

PhantomOG

Does anyone here have ATT/Dish bundled services for HD cable and internet/VOIP?

I'm with TW cable right now, but my bill is about to jump up (promo period over). I'm thinking about switching to an AT&T bundle for DSL high-speed internet, VOIP, and DishHD for cable. It seems cheaper, and there are alot more HD channels available, supposedly 25, versus the 15 or so I have now with TWC. Besides, I'm already paying $25 a month to ATT for a landline with almost no features at all.

Has anyone made the switch from cable internet/tv to dishtv/dsl and regretted it? I know about the rain thing but that doesn't seem too bad. Is the install process painful? The previous owner of my house used a satellite system so wiring shouldn't be a problem.

I probably will call TW and threaten to cancel like I did a year ago to get a lower rate, but even the lower rate is only comparable to ATT/Dish, plus Dish has more HD channels.

PhantomOG

How reliable/fast is DSL versus cable? I do alot of work from home so its very important that my internet connection be fast and stable.

disneyjoe7

Can of worms DSL vs. Cable. Other then that I'm staying neutral on this. I found it interesting that at&t offers Dish where they just merged with BellSouth which offers DirecTV.

PhantomOG

I have no previous experience with DSL. Before we got married my wife had all sorts of problems with DSL at her old apartment. Kept going out, and each time they would send a guy out to work on it and then charge $75 fees for the work. I hope DSL would be better than that now several years later, but if that's what I'm in store for I guess I'll just keep bending over for Time Warner.

disneyjoe7

If this is your house I suggest one thing (I won't do it any other way.) go with the professional installation which will add a whole house filter, other then the filter thing at every phone in the house. I don't think Phone Co's should sell DSL any other way, it causes way too many issues IMHO.

BIZILL

i used to have dsl but when i switched to cable, internet was blazingly faster. but times have changed. i believe dsl is up to speed these days. i'm considering the exact same bundle and getting away from cox cable.

PhantomOG

whole house filter? hmm... there is this huge cable box in my master bedroom closet for coax distribution through out the house. I forget what it is called.

What would the house filter look like? The house was built in 2001, and the previous owner did have a satellite, but I don't know how his internet was setup.

Would AT&T offer this setup at installation or is it something I have to go and find someone else to install before getting DSL?

up2youjoe

DSL usually sux compared to cable. I would imagine your INTERNET speed would be less than half what it is now. As for Satellite HDTV....forget it. They just don't have the bandwidth yet. I'd rather have half the channels on cable than twice as many channels on satellite providing HD-lite.

PhantomOG

up2youjoe wrote:

DSL usually sux compared to cable. I would imagine your INTERNET speed would be less than half what it is now. As for Satellite HDTV....forget it. They just don't have the bandwidth yet. Id rather have have the channels on cable than twice as many channels on satellite providing HD-lite.

I read about HD-lite, but thought that was for DirecTV... is that true for Dish as well?

up2youjoe

Satellite providers just don't have the bandwidth to provide full HD. They will always compress their signal way more than cable. I see no point in paying for HD when the picture is barely above Standard Def. I'm not sure if Dish is as bad as Direct TV.

Demiurge

Cable seems to be the better choice, but what the hell do I know. OTA HDTV is still the best when you can get it. That may change at some point, but they haven't gotten there yet.

PhantomOG

seems like you're damned if you do...

I hope to try FIOS before I die

RSTERN

up2youjoe wrote:

DSL usually sux compared to cable. I would imagine your INTERNET speed would be less than half what it is now.

Here is my 10m cable connection, everynight at prime time.
<a href="http://speedtest.dslreports.com"><img border=0 src="http://www.dslreports.com/im/22403291/43536.png"></a&gt;
Rob

disneyjoe7

Your cable speed isn't bad but it's about the same for ADSL also.

danger boy

here is mine. on Comcast cable. is this ok?

<a href="http://speedtest.dslreports.com"><img border=0 src="http://www.dslreports.com/im/22404820/67983.png"></a&gt;

RSTERN

disneyjoe7, I can hit speeds around 9600kbps, but only very early morning. This is insights new 10meg speed upgrade:mad:. The upload is nice though.
Rob

nadams

This connection is cable, 5mbps down, 512kbps up

<a href="http://speedtest.dslreports.com"><img border=0 src="http://www.dslreports.com/im/22410046/4351.png"></a&gt;

Just tested, 8pm eastern, with 3 other computers possibly hitting the same connection at any one time.

wodom1

[IMG]<a href="http://speedtest.dslreports.com"><img border=0 src="http://www.dslreports.com/im/22412233/9960.png"></a>[/IMG]

I have DSL in Chicago. It's fast enough for my needs, especially for only $13.99/month through AT&T.

PhantomOG

Well, at least now its possible to sign up for DSL without having to sign any commitments. If its horrible I'll deal with it for a month and then switch back to cable.

Holydoc

Here is mine, Cox Cable standard, from the other day.

URL=http://www.speedtest.net][/URL]

PolkWannabie

RSTERN wrote:

Here is my 10m cable connection, everynight at prime time.

10m ? ... where'd the other 8.5 go ?

If you have a fast Cable provider they'll be significantly faster than DSL ...

RSTERN

PolkWannabie wrote:

10m ? ... where'd the other 8.5 go ?

Good question. If I had a quess I would say my node is overloaded and when everyone gets online in the evening speeds go down.
Rob

disneyjoe7

And just what do you do with all that speed? Does anyone care if a page loads in 1 seconds vs. .7 seconds. Or a picture load of .5 seconds vs. .8 seconds.


Heck what do I know when BBS changed from 300 baud to 1200 baud I can't read as fast as the text was shown any longer.

RSTERN

True, but then they should adjust my bill accordingly.

PolkWannabie

disneyjoe7 wrote:

And just what do you do with all that speed?

Down / Up Load ...

Holydoc

disneyjoe7 wrote:

And just what do you do with all that speed? Does anyone care if a page loads in 1 seconds vs. .7 seconds. Or a picture load of .5 seconds vs. .8 seconds.


Heck what do I know when BBS changed from 300 baud to 1200 baud I can't read as fast as the text was shown any longer.

If you are into any type of online gaming or conduct online meetings with whiteboards, video conferencing, and graphics, then it is imperative to have as much speed as possible. It is not a matter of 1 seconds to .7 seconds with these items. It is a matter of missing half a conversation or presentation as compared to viewing it smooth like a TV.

disneyjoe7

Video conferencing is usually handled by binding 3 ISDN lines together, not relying on a public network.

Holydoc

disneyjoe7 wrote:

Video conferencing is usually handled by binding 3 ISDN lines together, not relying on a public network.

LOL... you use what you got. And for my purposes, what I got better be as fast as feasible.

After the President's SotU Address, I doubt very seriously that I can convince the DoD to pony up to installing ISDN lines in every Embassy Suites or Marriott room I may stay in.

hehe...I am sorry. I do not mean any offense. It just tickled me that you are telling me how I should do it. I was just thinking about getting a call during the weekend asking me to join a conference and having to tell them:
"NO I can't because Disneyjoe told me we will have to bind 3 ISDN lines together."

Oh Lordy! I better start looking for a less demanding job. How much does Walmart pay as a Greeter?

BaggedLancer

<a href="http://speedtest.dslreports.com"><img border=0 src="http://www.dslreports.com/im/22513860/3194.png"></a&gt;

Comcast cable

disneyjoe7

Holydoc wrote:

LOL... you use what you got. And for my purposes, what I got better be as fast as feasible.

After the President's SotU Address, I doubt very seriously that I can convince the DoD to pony up to installing ISDN lines in every Embassy Suites or Marriott room I may stay in.

hehe...I am sorry. I do not mean any offense. It just tickled me that you are telling me how I should do it. I was just thinking about getting a call during the weekend asking me to join a conference and having to tell them:
"NO I can't because Disneyjoe told me we will have to bind 3 ISDN lines together."

Oh Lordy! I better start looking for a less demanding job. How much does Walmart pay as a Greeter?

No I'm not telling you what to do. I told you what is done at times, when communications are good enough for conferencing and being secure. I can what you feel is best for you.