Direct TV help - Cablevision has effed up again

maykay

Hello All

So once again Cablevision has shut off an important channel (ABC). Having this happen after the HGTV/Food Network debacle is just too much for me. Does anyone have Direct TV? - does it also suck or do you think we should/could switch? Issue is, we also get our internet through Cablevision... Any help or advice would be appreciated. So sick of this... (sigh)

tybur6

I don't work for Cablevision... and they piss me off, especially with their "drifting" internet service. But to be clear, ABC pulled ABC *from* Cablevision. Not the other way around. ABC is being pushy to try to make up for their crappy ad sales.

This is a broadcast channel. You can watch ABC with a $6 pair of bunny ears.

I find it hard to believe that the Oscar's advertisers are going to allow tens of thousands of viewers to not watch their ads!!

doublediamond

oh and Cablevision's analog channels are no more. They are all digital, which rendered my dual tuner TiVo useless. I WISH I could switch to Directv, but my building won't allow the dish. If your building allows it, DTV is pretty good.

MOD

Bunny ears will not get you ANY channels whatsoever, just to clear things up. I don't have cable when the digital conversion happened I had to buy a converter box and I STILL use my antenna to get a clear image. My TV is pretty nice, but alas it is one too many years old and does not have the new digital chip/technology that automatically makes it work without buying the converter...

I want analog back!!

tybur6

Well yeah... of course you need a digital TV or a converter box. I thought that was a given? The digital switch was an FCC thing and was a LOOOOOONG time coming. And one could argue WAAAAAY overdue.

But back to the issue at hand... ABC7 is retarded.

In their little press releases on www.saveabc7.com they argue that Cablevision should pay for the channel because they should pay for something they are getting. OK. That is a fine argument IF and ONLY IF they didn't follow this directly by saying... "And WABC-TV is always available free over the air."

So -- Cablevision is providing the transmission rather than ABC7's antenna. Other than that, it's the SAME THING. Why should ABC7 get paid more? If I use my digital TV and bunny ears... is ABC7 getting a penny beyond advertising?!

They are actually PROMOTING the use of antennas. While this is an interesting political move, it means more and more people will just shift to the FREE transmission method and they will potentially get LESS money from Cablevision.

carnivore

Yeah, I totally blame ABC for this. They deliver their content free over the air, and have always gotten their revenue from advertisements. If they want to start charging Cablevision a ton of money for their content (which will be passed on to the customers), they'd better start getting rid of the ads.

maykay

ah ok. That all makes sense. I guess I just found it a little too coincidental that Cablevision had a dispute with HGTV/Food Network and now is having a dispute with ABC. To me, the common denominator is Cablevision. Hard to know who the bad guy is, but either way I'm getting tired of not having channels that I watch.

I'll check on whether my building allows satellite...

the0ther

tv is the bad guy. you're better off playing world of warcrack.

doc j

Subject: DirecTV

Without getting into the ABC/Cablevision debate - I have DirecTV and have always been very happy with it. I have friends/family with Cablevision (Optimum) so I have a sense of them both. I do use Cablevision for Optimum Online internet, but that's another story.

Visually, the interface of DirecTV is much nicer and to me more intuitive and aesthetically pleasing than Cablevision. I have a DVR that can record 2 different shows at once (recently upgraded to HD) and get HBO / Showtime etc. The dish is on the roof of my building, and only once or twice (during a recent snowstorm) was there a signal problem (I cleared the snow off the dish, first time I ever had to in 5 years.)

If I move to a different neighborhood (or state) I can take it with me - that is, I don't have to switch to another company like you might have to do with cable. Which is a good thing, since I like it and wouldn't want to have to learn a new system.

I've also heard rumors (just rumors, of course) that it's pretty easy to share the service with neighbors and split costs.

If you have any specific questions, let me know...

chrs,
J

brooklynpotter

i have DirectTV and like dr j, above, i love it. customer service is generally excellent, it very rarely goes out (except for the recent severe blizzard) and i'm pretty sure it's less expensive.

stewart

Something I've always wondered about:
My building says no antennas hanging out windows. Since it's only an inch or so of glass, will the antenna work right up against the window? Or does it absolutely have to be outside?

brooklynpotter

mine's on the roof, has to face south, or south east

doc j

If the antenna Q is about DirecTV, the direction it faces is important when they install it. It'd be a pretty a pretty big/bulky thing sitting in front of your window - I don't think that's a realistic option.