Full Version: Television service options in Michigan City
We just have a rooftop antenna, the best thing about it is we don't pay any high monthly bills.
I have the Comcast triple play. It isn't cheap, but with our TV watching habits ( I must have my White Sox and Blackhawks) plus internet usage, it works well for us.
QUOTE(southsider2k9 @ Oct 8 2009, 09:11 PM) 
I have the Comcast triple play. It isn't cheap, but with our TV watching habits ( I must have my White Sox and Blackhawks) plus internet usage, it works well for us.
We use NetZero DSL for the web, It's only about $22 bucks a month. I can get enough sports fix on WGN, WCIU and the network channels.
Well, I have Dish Network which I voted for up there... although I'm not gonna sit here and tell you it is the best, lol... I'm seriously thinking about switching actually. Possibly to Comcast.
We've considered the dish services, but stay with Comcast because of the local access programming.
QUOTE(JHeath @ Oct 10 2009, 12:35 AM)
We've considered the dish services, but stay with Comcast because of the local access programming.
We went with Dish, I don't need to worry about local access programming. I have JHeath to record it for me.
QUOTE(lovethiscity @ Oct 10 2009, 07:43 AM)
We went with Dish, I don't need to worry about local access programming. I have JHeath to record it for me.
Guess we need to rely on JHeath also. We have Dish. Everything, meaning cell phones, land phones, computer, and TV are tied up with AT&T. I think that we pay too much and I'm always saying that I'm going to shop around; but I haven't. I miss the local programming alot.
We have Comcast currently and have had DirecTV in the past. Like southsider, we also do the Triple Play. If I can be honest, we have absolutely no loyalty. Once our two-year contract is up with Comcast, we'll probably jump to DirecTV and take their "deal of the month," then when that contract is up do the same with Comcast. At least that way you get a year or six months of reasonable rates before they jack it up on you. I do, however, enjoy Comcast's high-speed internet. If we do just stay with Comcast, that will be why.
I’ve got Comcast Triple Play. (no contract). TV service (Classic Digital, no premium channels) includes a high-def box and a standard box. The TV part of the service is OK, nothing to brag on. Sometimes channel guide is incorrect, every now and then (not very often) the picture will freeze up for a few seconds. Telephone service is OK, but if power goes out, so does the phone; Supposed to have a ‘back up battery’, but it doesn’t work. Internet service is OK. Out the door price, tax and all is $133. per month. Can cancel whenever I want to. That’s the only TV service or high-speed Internet I can get, so I’m pretty much locked in.
We have Comcast Triple Play also. Since I work at home, I absolutely need the fastest possible internet and long distance included in one basic rate. The TV is a plus for me, although in the Chicago area market, the rates are higher than Indy and you get fewer channels here for the same money. In Indianapolis we had AT&T DSL and phone and Comcast TV. They were all fine, but I hear more complaints from people living here about AT&T.
I got my dvd collection and Netflix. My apartment building (that I just moved into a week ago-whoo hooo!) offers free wi-fi and I have my cell phone and that's all I need.
If I want to watch a specific t.v. program I can mostly find it on the net.
If I want to watch a specific t.v. program I can mostly find it on the net.
We used to have Comcast but don't miss it at all, maybe except Comcast SportsNet (I figure that's how they keep alot of customers hooked). My new set up which included Antenna/amplified modulator, 10 foot mast, rooftop tripod mount and hardware cost me about $100.00, I pulled about 150 foot Comcast's up old coax out of the ground running about 1" under the top soil across my back yard and used their existing hook-up they had running into our basement and lines throughout the house.
Here's what I get with my antenna pointed due east, in addition to a bunch of foreign language channels:
Here's what I get with my antenna pointed due east, in addition to a bunch of foreign language channels:
- 2.1 WBBM-HD - CBS2-Chicago
- 5.1 WMAQ-HD-NBC5-Chicago
- 5.2 NBC5Chicago 24 Hour Weather
- 5.3 NBC Universal Sports (Olympic-type sport reruns)
- 7.1 WLS-HD ABC7-Chicago
- 7.2 Liv-Well (ABC Health Channel)
- 7.3 ABC Chicago Accu-Weather
- 9.1 WGN-HD - Chicago
- 11.1 WTTW-HD - PBS Chicago
- 11.2 WTTW Prime-HD - PBS Chicago
- 11.3 WTTW Create-HD - PBS Chicago
- 16.1 WNDU-HD - NBC- South Bend
- 20.1 WYCC-HD - Chicago
- 22.1 WSBT-HD - CBS - South Bend
- 22.2 WSBT2- South Bend
- 22.3 WSBT 24-Hour Weather-South Bend
- 26.1 WCIU-HD - Chicago
- 26.2 WWME (METV) - Chicago (old syndicated sitcom reruns)
- 26.3 WWMU (ME TOO)-Chicago (old syndicated TV drama reruns)
- 26.4 WWMU2 (THIS)-Chicago (old syndicated Movies)
- 28.1 WSJV-DT FOX28-South Bend
- 32.1 WFLD-DT FOX32-Chicago
- 34.1 WNIT-HD -PBS-South Bend
- 38.1 ION-TV-Chicago
- 38.2 ION QUBO - Chicago (24 hour Educational Cartoons)
- 38.3 ION Life - Chicago
- 38.4 ION Worship - (Televangelism)-Chicago
- 46.1 WHME-DT - South Bend (Televangelism and some high school sports)
- 50.1 WPWR-DT - Chicago (My50Chicago)
- 56.1 WYIN-DT - PBS - Merrillville
- 62.1 WJYS-DT - Chicago (Televangelism and Infomercials)
- 62.2 EDEN - Chicago (More Televangelism and Infomercials)
QUOTE(MC Born & Raised @ Oct 10 2009, 11:31 AM)
We have Comcast currently and have had DirecTV in the past. Like southsider, we also do the Triple Play. If I can be honest, we have absolutely no loyalty. Once our two-year contract is up with Comcast, we'll probably jump to DirecTV and take their "deal of the month," then when that contract is up do the same with Comcast. At least that way you get a year or six months of reasonable rates before they jack it up on you. I do, however, enjoy Comcast's high-speed internet. If we do just stay with Comcast, that will be why.
Thanks! Your reply has given me the push I need. I'm going to start shopping around. I didn't say before, but we are paying AT&T over $250.00 per month. When we signed up, we were promised a monthly bill of under $200.00, which we have NEVER seen. I'm fairly certain that I can't find a deal more expensive than AT&T!
Little known Comcast secret (works with other services like cell providers at times, too):
Tell them that you want a deal similar to something you've recently seen advertised, but be ready to quote the deal you've seen. If you're persistent enough, they'll lower your cost. This typically works only at the end of your contract term.
Tell them that you want a deal similar to something you've recently seen advertised, but be ready to quote the deal you've seen. If you're persistent enough, they'll lower your cost. This typically works only at the end of your contract term.
Sometimes (read: often), it depends on whom you speak with at the Comcast Mother Ship. I have spoken to two different people on the same day and gotten different quotes on the same products. And, if you are nearing the end of your introductory period, etc., it definitely appears that you do have some leverage. Bottom line is that the sales reps seem to have quite a bit of latitude on what they offer. But. . . . if you tell them you’re going to cancel their service, be ready to do so. When my introductory offer ran out, well over a year ago, my rate jumped from $133. to $189. Until I mentioned I was going to switch to satellite; I’ve been on the lower rate ever since.
QUOTE(southyards @ Oct 11 2009, 04:52 PM)
Sometimes (read: often), it depends on whom you speak with at the Comcast Mother Ship. I have spoken to two different people on the same day and gotten different quotes on the same products. And, if you are nearing the end of your introductory period, etc., it definitely appears that you do have some leverage. Bottom line is that the sales reps seem to have quite a bit of latitude on what they offer. But. . . . if you tell them you’re going to cancel their service, be ready to do so. When my introductory offer ran out, well over a year ago, my rate jumped from $133. to $189. Until I mentioned I was going to switch to satellite; I’ve been on the lower rate ever since.
Ask for Customer Retention.
If you tell the customer service representative that you want to cancel your Comcast service or any part thereof, they automatically route you to the Customer Retention Department. . . . .
http://heraldargus.com/articles/2010/09/20...ad180546205.txt
QUOTE
Back to basics
By Bridget Flynn
Published: Thursday, September 16, 2010 5:36 PM CDT
Staff writer
1-866-362-2167 ext.13870
bflynn@heraldargus.com
LA PORTE — In an effort to save money, many people in La Porte are deciding to use antennae systems rather than cable providers or satellite dishes, according to the owner of a local television store.
And that doesn’t mean settling for poor quality, according to one local woman who has been using an analog system for 23 years.
“I enjoy it just as much as any TV,” said Paula Purkal.
Timothy Miller, owner of Miller TV Sales & Service, said that with the economic times, people are cutting back.
High-power, over-the-air broadcasts are solely in the ATSC digital format since June 12, 2009, the date that the Federal Communications Commission set for the end of all high-power analog TV transmissions.
“In that two-year period (since June 2009) we’ve been swamped with calls to (install antennae systems),” Miller said.
The company sets up about seven to 10 analog systems per week and has seen a 70 percent increase in customers setting up the systems, he said.
Miller noted that although many people received $40 coupons for set-top boxes when the government mandated the digital format, the government did not help with the cost of equipment that would allow the box to receive a signal. That equipment could cost between $500 to $600, he said. Analog systems have better reception of signals than set-top boxes, Miller said.
“They (the federal government) have a vested interest in American people not getting free TV,” he said.
He noted that the federal government receives tax revenue from cable providers.
“Free TV is pretty much a right of Americans. Anything going through the airwaves is supposed to be free.”
Miller said to set up a complete antennae system from start to finish costs roughly $560. The customer would then have no monthly bill.
While some people fear that they would receive fewer channels with an analog system, Miller said in a “perfect situation” a customer in La Porte might receive up to 40 channels with the antennae, depending on the lay of the land, and many La Porte customers don’t require many channels.
“In La Porte, we have older people who don’t watch a lot of channels,” he said. “They remember the days when you just had network channels,” he said.
Purkal said that even though she lives “way out,” she is able to receive at least 20 television stations with her system.
The Lincoln Township resident also noted that she she can receive stations from South Bend and Chicago using a router.
If a customer has a digital, up-to-date TV, the picture quality of an antennae system is sometimes better than that of a satellite system or cable system, Miller said.
“The picture quality is just great,” he said.
By Bridget Flynn
Published: Thursday, September 16, 2010 5:36 PM CDT
Staff writer
1-866-362-2167 ext.13870
bflynn@heraldargus.com
LA PORTE — In an effort to save money, many people in La Porte are deciding to use antennae systems rather than cable providers or satellite dishes, according to the owner of a local television store.
And that doesn’t mean settling for poor quality, according to one local woman who has been using an analog system for 23 years.
“I enjoy it just as much as any TV,” said Paula Purkal.
Timothy Miller, owner of Miller TV Sales & Service, said that with the economic times, people are cutting back.
High-power, over-the-air broadcasts are solely in the ATSC digital format since June 12, 2009, the date that the Federal Communications Commission set for the end of all high-power analog TV transmissions.
“In that two-year period (since June 2009) we’ve been swamped with calls to (install antennae systems),” Miller said.
The company sets up about seven to 10 analog systems per week and has seen a 70 percent increase in customers setting up the systems, he said.
Miller noted that although many people received $40 coupons for set-top boxes when the government mandated the digital format, the government did not help with the cost of equipment that would allow the box to receive a signal. That equipment could cost between $500 to $600, he said. Analog systems have better reception of signals than set-top boxes, Miller said.
“They (the federal government) have a vested interest in American people not getting free TV,” he said.
He noted that the federal government receives tax revenue from cable providers.
“Free TV is pretty much a right of Americans. Anything going through the airwaves is supposed to be free.”
Miller said to set up a complete antennae system from start to finish costs roughly $560. The customer would then have no monthly bill.
While some people fear that they would receive fewer channels with an analog system, Miller said in a “perfect situation” a customer in La Porte might receive up to 40 channels with the antennae, depending on the lay of the land, and many La Porte customers don’t require many channels.
“In La Porte, we have older people who don’t watch a lot of channels,” he said. “They remember the days when you just had network channels,” he said.
Purkal said that even though she lives “way out,” she is able to receive at least 20 television stations with her system.
The Lincoln Township resident also noted that she she can receive stations from South Bend and Chicago using a router.
If a customer has a digital, up-to-date TV, the picture quality of an antennae system is sometimes better than that of a satellite system or cable system, Miller said.
“The picture quality is just great,” he said.
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