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Connection Upgrade Dilemma. Suggestions?

Yooper

Yooper

Back to Creepy Old Fart
Joined
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Location
Upper Peninsula, Michigan!
With the DTV conversion in the US coming soon, I need to upgrade something, maybe everything, and there are too many choices. My partner will be coming to Colorado this winter so we will have needs to connect 2 computers (my MacBook and his iMac, both with built-in Airports), two older analog TV's, and telephone service plus keep our cell phone service.

My current configuration is:
TV: an antique rooftop antenna
Phone: Traditional Landline from Qwest
Internet: A city-wide Wi-Fi system that is very unreliable with a dial-up backup.
Cell Phone: We both are using prepaid cell service from Tracfone.

If I get digital converters for the TV's, there was an article in Sunday's paper that says I am basically too far from the DTV antenna to get a connection so I will be forced to get alternative TV feed, a.k.a., a cable connection. The era of Free TV is over.

Cable TV has never been connected to the house and Comcast wants a minimum of $250 to do any installation.

Both Comcast and Qwest offer bundles but they all have drawbacks. Qwest only offers satellite TV with no local service to speak of and it's unreliable, according to the neighbors. Comcast offers a bundle but I've been told the telephone service sucks.

Any ideas? Thanks! Suggestions are welcome! :D
 
Oh my. I've not kept up on the digital conversion of TV signals. So i'm afraid i can't say if you are in fact too far from your TV stations or not. Do you know how far you are from each of the ones you watch currently?

If you did go with Comcast for cable TV, then i'm not sure why your phone would suck. I'm guessing that you would have phone service through your cable tv line which i think is just "voice over internet protocol" or VoIP for short.

If you get cable TV, you wouldn't have to go with Comcast for your VoIP service. You could go with someone like Vonage. but i don't know if the rates are comparable or if they allow you to try it out for a few days first to see if it will meet your needs. If you get cable then you should be able to connect multiple computers to it without a problem.... i think.

if you go with satellite TV, i think satellite internet is still very expensive.
 
mike_n_herrin said:
Oh my. I've not kept up on the digital conversion of TV signals. So i'm afraid i can't say if you are in fact too far from your TV stations or not. Do you know how far you are from each of the ones you watch currently?

If you did go with Comcast for cable TV, then i'm not sure why your phone would suck. I'm guessing that you would have phone service through your cable tv line which i think is just "voice over internet protocol" or VoIP for short.

If you get cable TV, you wouldn't have to go with Comcast for your VoIP service. You could go with someone like Vonage. but i don't know if the rates are comparable or if they allow you to try it out for a few days first to see if it will meet your needs. If you get cable then you should be able to connect multiple computers to it without a problem.... i think.

if you go with satellite TV, i think satellite internet is still very expensive.
Click to expand...

My biggest problem is there are too many choices!

My 'home' in rural Michigan, if you want anything fast, is one choice: the cable company (Charter). Within the past year we decided to be a pioneer, and bundle the whole thing (Internet, CATV and Phone) and it has, so far, worked flawlessly as far as I'm concerned. There aren't any other high speed internet choices.

In Northern Colorado, though, I'm being bombarded with advertising. Qwest (the traditional Phone company) advertises a bundle but their TV is only Satellite and DSL internet; the Cable company (Comcast) offers the bundle with CATV, Broadband, and VOIP telephone.

I'm happy with the reliability of the old-line phone service (hey, the phone number here used to be A197, --I have a phone with that number listed on the dial in the kitchen and it still works--really, and it is still the same phone number for over 60 years). I'm 40 miles from the DTV signal, and have been told from other pioneers in town that the DTV signal is iffy at best, so I have to go with an alternate from the free signal, i.e, either cable or satellite.

For internet, I've got this cool promise of a city-wide Wi-Fi system that I currently pay $25 a month for; when it works it is fantastic, but around 50% of the time it is useless and I end up going back to my dial-up. :grrr:

I guess that my current solution is keep the old-line telephone, connect to Comcast for TV and Internet and wait for the City-Wide Wireless system to get more reliable.
 
UPDATE!!

After a four-hour installation last Friday, I now have the Comcast Triple Play...Digital Cable TV, VOIP Telephone and Internet.

The internet is working fine.

The telephone service is disappointing, :( everyone I call says it cuts in and out.

The TV has been okay until tonight :confused: the local channels were unwatchable (too pixellated) and most of the cable stuff wasn't even available. As of the middle of the night (2 AM here), the TV is at least better but some of the cable channels are still unwatchable.

Service Technician is supposed to be here tomorrow.

I'll update when I have more information. :D
 
Yooper said:
For internet, I've got this cool promise of a city-wide Wi-Fi system that I currently pay $25 a month for; when it works it is fantastic, but around 50% of the time it is useless and I end up going back to my dial-up. :grrr:
Click to expand...

If it's city-wide wireless, it's probably 802.11 b/g. Reception is typically better the higher your antenna is located (three stories and above typically works well. You may be able to improve your connection with either a signal-boosting antenna or a wifi range extender, if you have access to a location in your home where the signal is more reliable.

Be sure to check with the service provider, to make sure any device you try should be compatible.



http://www.sparcotech.com/products/amplifiers/BA24j.asp

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2399650&csid=_21
 
Another Update!

Technician was here for 2 hours and has given up. Still no resolution, so now the Supervisor is scheduled to arrive in about 2 hours. This is sure fun!
 
Hopefully the final update!

Technician returned yesterday evening with HIS supervisor. They first tried to give me a song and dance that my TV was backfeeding voltage into their lines--meaning I needed a new TV. Until I asked them to test with a different TV set. Same problem (saving me hundreds of dollars).

Then they gave me a big production number about the house being poorly grounded since it is SOOOO old (52 years...I've got clothing older than that!)--which I fixed as my next-door-neighbor happens to be an electrician---he came and showed the cable guys how to use their equipment.

Finally, they agreed to change the cable box, although it was obvious to them I knew NOTHING about what they were experts on. TA DAAH! Voltage problem fixed, telephone fixed, Cable TV fixed.

Which was what I told them I thought the problem was in the FIRST place.
 
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