I started this post yesterday...
It's been two weeks to the day now that we switched from Dish network to cable. I have not regretted the decision. In fact, it is obvious to me that cable is the better deal. The channel selection is, IMO, superior. Compared, that is, to the package we had with Dish. I wasn't going to pay more money for another batch of 100 channels when I only wanted a few. I am disappointed that a few channels that were HD on Dish are only digital with cable. But the only one I'll really miss is CNN, and I guess picture clarity isn't exactly essential for a news channel. Oddly, Fox News (ie Fox Conservative Propaganda Service) DOES have an HD channel. It's a travesty, but what can I do? HD or not, I sure as hell ain't watching the shit. But for each non-HD channel on cable there are at least a couple of selections in digital that weren't available in any format with Dish.
We're saving over $55 a month compared to what we paid for Dish...and for no extra charge we get a DVR in the bargain. I don't know how much Dish wants for those, but I couldn't afford to pay for one. The cable company didn't even tell me there was one included in the box. It was a very pleasant surprise. I love it! I'll actually watch some television now (something besides the news, I should say). Especially since we've got VH1 Classic where I can record all the music video blocks and pick & choose later. I may even be able to wire my DVD burner to the box and make copies of selected music videos etc. onto discs. I'll have to wait for a day when I'm REALLY bored before I do that.
As for the Internet connection. Well, I'm not as impressed as I thought I would be, having heard from others about how fast it supposedly is. It's pretty quick, just as fast as our 6m DSL connection, so I shouldn't be disappointed. And I'm not, really. I just hoped it would be a little bit faster than what we already had. If it is, it's not enough for me to notice.
We don't use our land line, so I don't even factor the phone service into the overall deal. It's a better deal than Windstream even if the phone wasn't included.
Then again, a couple of hours ago the cable went out completely. I don't know if it's on my end or theirs...I suppose I should call tech support and find out. It's just such a fucking drag to have to do that so soon after switching service providers. I can only hope that this isn't a pattern.
Okay...I guess I'll call them now...
8:47 the next morning
Well, I did call them. Just a pre-recorded message that said they were having outages in the general area. Oh, how wonderful. We've had no television or Internet since yesterday afternoon. One of these days...I don't know how soon or how late it will be...technology will be perfected so that shit like this doesn't happen. It sure as hell ain't there yet.
When we first made the switch from Dish to cable I was so disgusted with the satellite service that I slammed it pretty heavily on facebook. I still think I'm justified in what I said about them. But when I mentioned cable I got a couple of comments from people who have (or have had) it for awhile. They said they were very disappointed. That the Internet speed wasn't as fast as they'd been led to believe it was. That there were outages like the one being experienced right now that lasted for several days. Still, I was not deterred. I was going to give it a fair chance to prove them wrong (or at least to prove that the issues they had were not the norm).
And now this...two weeks in. We'll hope that it's back up at least by noon. Give it another chance. If it's not up by this evening I will despair, but even so I don't guess I can make a point by canceling so soon after getting it installed. I'm pretty sure we signed a contract, and I know, from the Dish fiasco, that once you're in, you're in for the good AND the bad. I don't know that you can even GET cable TV without signing a contract. Which is fucked up, because like I said, the technology, as advanced as it may well be, just isn't there yet. Sometimes I feel like I'm testing a beta version of all this crap. Or maybe it's just Oklahoma? Maybe we haven't caught up to the coasts when it comes to this sort of thing. That's how it's been in the past. Only since the advent of the Internet has it been any different. Now we don't have to wait to find out what's hip, what's cool, what's going on in the big cities.
I'll keep y'all informed...
Friday, 1:10 pm:
Well, the service was restored earlier today at about noon. Hope hope hope hope this doesn't happen again.
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