That is the single biggest misunderstanding about HDTV.
Now, if you want your ESPN in HD, you're going to have to pay up.
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That is the single biggest misunderstanding about HDTV.
Now, if you want your ESPN in HD, you're going to have to pay up.
8 meg downQuote:
Originally Posted by ripvdub
768K up.
the best quality HD is over the air and it is free (locals of course), period. Read any journals or forums about HD and you will soon see that it is, by far, the best.Quote:
Originally Posted by peterclone
- keep.
I just got off the phone with Qwest. If you bundle Qwest Internet with DirecTV (you don't need to sign up for Directv through Qwest to get it), you save $5 per month...if you have additional Qwest services (phone, cell phone), you save even more.Quote:
Originally Posted by ripvdub
Qwest's speed is 1.5MB/download (can get up to 7MB) and 256k upload. Mediacom's upload is also 256k but has a higher download speed.
I'm so ****** off at Mediacom, I no longer care if it's a little slower with Qwest.
Unless you're a gaming geek, would you even notice the difference between 1.5 down & 8 down, which is the minimum download speed from Mediascam?Quote:
Originally Posted by cycloneworld
I currently have mediacom only b/c of the locals in HD. My TV is HD Ready ( I love FB in HD.) If I ditch Mediacom and go to DirecTv HD, can I pull in the local HD signals in DSM with just the antenna or do I need some type of decoder box to go along with it?Quote:
Originally Posted by keepngoal
I was always under the impression I needed to buy a decoder box (for $300-$500) to receive the OTA HD broadcast? If this isn't the case I'll drop mediacom today and go with DirecTV.
Directv and Dish will give you the HD box for free. Dish also has about 20 more channels in HD than direct does for the same price, which is why i chose dish.Quote:
Originally Posted by bandit
HD ready might not mean you can support an antenna feed directly to your TV for HD-OTA. It has to have an HD chip in it (check the manual or manufacturers website for support). But Fatsow is correct, the antenna feed can go directly into your DTV or Dish receiver and receive HD programming for free OTA. However, you will not have any program information on the channel guide unless you subscribe to locals from the sat provider (~$5,99)
- keep.
I just got the 20% discount, its on all services and rentals so just 20% off the entire bill for four months.
For CR/Marion/Hiawatha residents call (319) 395-7801 - its a service center in RedOak, they were able to help me - I'm hearing the 800 number acts like they've never heard of it before.
Had this discussion a few months ago, learned a lot about HD (because everything I thought was wrong).
Where I live in LA, we have Time Warner Cable or Comcast. Unfortunately, Time Warner does not carry the NFL Network (I'm not sure about Comcast). A lot of people are bailing to Satelite so they can get the channel.
Here is the difference I see between the two Satelite Providers.
Direct TV - You can buy the NFL Package (Direct TV owns the sole rights on this) and get every game on Sunday however the channel guide is pretty slow.
Dish Network - More HD Channels (Which I only watch one or two of them.) However the channel guide is much faster (at least on the HD DVR receiver) and more user friendly than the Direct TV one (Once again, I'm comparing the two HD DVR receivers against each other). I believe Dish has more music channels than Direct TV also because they work with Sirius Satelite Radio.
It all depends upon what you want your satelite to have, the costs are relatively the same and they almost have all the same channels. As far as getting them to come out and set you up. Here in LA you can have it done in less than 24 hours. I switched to Dish when I moved because I told them I would only choose them if they could come out in the same day. I had a guy at my house at 7 pm that night setting me up.
Actually Qwest is 1.5 MB download 896k upload not 256. The 256 upload comes with the 256 download package not the 1.5 MB.Quote:
Originally Posted by cycloneworld
Like someone else mentioned, unless you are a gaming geek you won't notice a difference. In fact there are some myths behind Mediacom's actual speed and what they advertise. If you want to test your actual download and upload speeds this is a good site: http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest
Here is the biggest difference between cable internet and DSL.
Cable: Shared bandwidth. The line coming into your house is shared with your neighbors so you will never get the max bandwidth unless you are the only one on your node using it. If you have several neighbors that use cable internet and some of those are gamers or constantly downloading large ammounts of data it greatly decreases bandwidth for everyone on that node. Also, Mediacom tends to "cap" their upload speeds which is where some of the things you may use online such as instant messengers, FTP, online gaming, etc. that send data back is where you might notice the differences.
DSL: The line coming into your house is dedicated just to you. This means no matter how much your neighbors use DSL, that line is not shared with your neighbors and you will always have 100% utilization of available bandwidth.
If you do mostly web surfing, email, or occasional downloading of media you will not notice any difference between the 2 and if anything maybe even think the DSL is faster even though Mediacom advertises as being faster in reality they are about the same if not slightly slower than Qwest in some aspects. I've had both and I have not noticed any decrease in performance of my internet since switching to Qwest and in fact it's been much more reliable than Mediacom.
the previous post here is completely wrong.........
Mediacom guarentee's that you get 5 mbps but you can get more, he is correct that it is shared but you can actually get more then 5 mbps it is just guarenteed that you get 5. If you are constantly getting below 5mbps with mediacom it is likely there is a wiring problem in your home.
The upload speed with mediacom is 256. And I have never heard of a quest dsl line with 896 upload with quest I know that their basic $30 a month is only 256 upload though. (Edit: After doing this I did a little more looking and I was incorrect about the 896 upload. That must be something new they started offering)
You will notice a difference between the 2 with basic web browsing. Mediacom will be alot faster on websites with alot of multimedia options on them. If the website is mostly text based you will not notice a difference at all.
If you download files on the internet you will notice a really BIG difference as mediacom is tons faster in this area as well.
I can't fully comment on the des moines area, but I can on the ames and cedar rapids area. And for internet junkies it is a big downgrade to goto quest DSL
Edit:
as for the prices after doing a little research....
Mediamcom is $55 per month for the 5mpbs/256 kbps servic
Mediacom max is $65 per month for 10mbps/1mbps
Quest regular is $15 per month for 256kbps/256kbps
Quest Deluxe is $31.99 per month for 1.5mbps/896kbps
Quest Premier is $41.99 per month for 7mbps/896kbps
All Quest fee's exclude Modem rental which is $5 or $8 per month depending on which you choose, Not all Quest services are availble in all areas, the premier service is only available if you live very close to thier stations. I have never seen a area where it is actually available so I have not personally used it before so can't comment on it.
Also all prices mentioned are Normal prices and exclude any bundle discounts or other promotions there might be
Edit part 2:
Also I base my opinion here from my experience mostly in the cedar rapids area. I do computer repair work, and I do onsite service frequently, and over the last 2 years I would say I have been in between 100-200 different homes in the cedar rapids area that have high speed internet wheather it be mcleod cable modem or DSL, Quest DSL, Wireless Highspeed, and Mediacom. So I have tested, setup, used these services over a wide area.
http://www.qwest.com/residential/internet/pricing.html Check out the 2nd option:
http://www.qwest.com/residential/int...eased_blue.gif
Qwest Choice™ DSL Deluxe with MSNŽ Premium
Up to 1.5Mbps download/
Up to 896Kbps upload
I would not consider my post completely wrong. Cable internet is shared bandwidth, DSL is dedicated. That is the bottom line.
I live in Des Moines and have used both in the same house. I don't notice any difference and the upload speeds I get with Qwest blew away Mediacoms when I ran tests. For what most people use internet for 1.5 to 5 or 8 MB download you will probably never tell the difference. Mediacom went from 1.5 to 3 MB when I had them and I never could tell it was any faster after that change. I know of people in town here that have had terrible luck with Mediacom speeds in some neighborhoods.
I've never had an outage with Qwest, have had several with Mediacom and then you get the pleasure of waiting on hold forever to talk to one of their idiot tech guys that knows nothing. I do IT work for a living and refuse to call on something unless I have exhausted all troubleshooting options so it's not like I'm one of those people that haven't checked all the connections, rebooted, etc and just overlooked something when there is a problem.
Everyone has their own expiriences with both companies but I'm sooooo glad I ditched Mediacom because Dish Network and Qwest have by far the better customer service and support plus a better bang for your buck I think. The only time Mediacom ever wanted to budge with me was when I called to disconnect and by then it was too late to win me over after all the problems and BS I had with them.
Qwest allows you to buy a DSL modem, from them or elsewhere. So the comment about the cost of renting a DSL modem is not completely true.
And the prices are not correct for Qwest either - when factoring bundling with a Qwest phone and a 2 year agreement - affording you a cheaper rate for life.
FWI, Mediacom just upgraded their internet speeds:
5/256 is now 8/512
10/1 is now 15/1
I can testifiy to what Trav had to say. I cann't notice any difference between 5 down & 8 down.