Does Anyone Here Have XFinity From Comcast?

[Baasha]

I have DirecTV right now and have had them for about 4 years.

The service is okay but I have 2 dishes because I get some international programming as well (cricket anyone? ).

DirecTV's offering of cricket, which is why I signed up with them in the first place (I don't watch regular TV... occasionally watch the news but that's it), has gone from bad to worse.

I paid about $300 a year for their 'CricketTicket' package and get about 5 matches (that's what they're called.. not "games") I don't even care about. I want to watch all the matches with countries such as India, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

Anyway, long story short, I'm sick of DirecTV and I want to cancel their service.

I've been receiving spam in my mailbox from Comcast because I use them for my Internet. The thing is, I'm paying about $75 per month for DirecTV and $75 per month for the Internet (Cable Modem). They are offering something called TriplePlay or DoublePlay where I can have both TV and Internet service and even add VoIP phone service.

I'm not convinced on the phone service yet because I have three lines and need one dedicated line for fax for the home office.

However, their TV and Internet package together seems tempting, especially with their "Blast" Internet which is supposed to be really fast. With those two, I would be paying about $125 per month which includes HD channels and there is no yearly contract; it's month-to-month.

Is that a good deal?

And, do any of you have Comcast for TV and/or Internet and phone? How is the service? Do you recommend DoublePlay or even TriplePlay with the VoIP phone?

Any advice on this is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[spidey07]

That's a great deal. And they're rolling out IPTV set top boxes all in one so your comcast both can get internet tv and streaming video. All integrated.

It's comcastic.

 

[sjwaste]

This is a very local question. Whether it's a good deal depends on which providers are available to you and the deals they're offering. Here, 125/mo for internet and TV (no prem channels) would be a little high. Fios is 90-100 with a 1 yr contract.

If your choices are satellite or Comcast, then Comcast is going to obviously take advantage of that position. We have Comcast and Verizon here, both with last mile runs to most homes, so there's more competition.

 

[Baasha]

That's a great deal. And they're rolling out IPTV set top boxes all in one so your comcast both can get internet tv and streaming video. All integrated.

It's comcastic.

Okay great.. now when you say IPTV set top box, does it just have an Ethernet port or is it some other special box?

 

[erikistired]

i have the internet and cable tv package. it suffices. the service has been better lately than it was during the digital transition.

 

[BoomerD]

I have their cable programming, internet and phone service.

It's OK, but only OK. Picture quality is good, but the interface of the HDDVR sucks donkey balls. Hands down, the worst DVR we've ever had. (we had Dish, then Uverse, now Comcrap) Even though they say I have 16 Mb internet, I usually get somewhere in the 22-24 Mb range.

BTW, we pay $89/month plus taxes and fees. Look around, Comcast has a package called "Alchemy." It's not available directly from Comcast...only through "3rd party" salesmen. We bumped into the guy at Walmart...<shrug>
No contract, price is guaranteed for 12 months.

 

[guyver01]

And, do any of you have Comcast for TV and/or Internet and phone? How is the service? Do you recommend DoublePlay or even TriplePlay with the VoIP phone?

I have Comcast TriplePlay... pay about $180/month right now for TV (HD DVR + Starz/Encore), Internet (10/3) and VOIP phone. Phone quality is fine, altho considering dropping the phone since i barely use it. TV and internet are both fine and stable for me.

 

[rudeguy]

ask about dual room DVRs

 

[Baasha]

I have their cable programming, internet and phone service.

It's OK, but only OK. Picture quality is good, but the interface of the HDDVR sucks donkey balls. Hands down, the worst DVR we've ever had. (we had Dish, then Uverse, now Comcrap) Even though they say I have 16 Mb internet, I usually get somewhere in the 22-24 Mb range.

BTW, we pay $98/month plus taxes and fees. Look around, Comcast has a package called "Alchemy." It's not available directly from Comcast...only through "3rd party" salesmen. We bumped into the guy at Walmart...<shrug>
No contract, price is guaranteed for 12 months.

Wow, for ALL THREE (phone/internet/TV) you pay only $98/mo.?? That's incredible! I will definitely check it out.

I'm just really nervous about VoIP phone service. How often do calls get dropped? Do you have a fax line as well? If so, how well does it work? I have Vonage now and setting it up, especially the fax, was a real PITA and even now, faxes go through only about 70% of the time.

I am not planning on getting the DVR but just the HD box for viewing HD channels.. I also like Nat Geo and Nat Geo Wild and they say that only the "Digital Preferred" package has that. What a con...

 

[hclarkjr]

I have DirecTV right now and have had them for about 4 years.

The service is okay but I have 2 dishes because I get some international programming as well (cricket anyone? ).

DirecTV's offering of cricket, which is why I signed up with them in the first place (I don't watch regular TV... occasionally watch the news but that's it), has gone from bad to worse.

I paid about $300 a year for their 'CricketTicket' package and get about 5 matches (that's what they're called.. not "games") I don't even care about. I want to watch all the matches with countries such as India, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

Anyway, long story short, I'm sick of DirecTV and I want to cancel their service.

I've been receiving spam in my mailbox from Comcast because I use them for my Internet. The thing is, I'm paying about $75 per month for DirecTV and $75 per month for the Internet (Cable Modem). They are offering something called TriplePlay or DoublePlay where I can have both TV and Internet service and even add VoIP phone service.

I'm not convinced on the phone service yet because I have three lines and need one dedicated line for fax for the home office.

However, their TV and Internet package together seems tempting, especially with their "Blast" Internet which is supposed to be really fast. With those two, I would be paying about $125 per month which includes HD channels and there is no yearly contract; it's month-to-month.

Is that a good deal?

And, do any of you have Comcast for TV and/or Internet and phone? How is the service? Do you recommend DoublePlay or even TriplePlay with the VoIP phone?

Any advice on this is appreciated.

Thanks.

i basically did the same thing except i went from dish network. i have blast internet and was offered the doubleplay package for digital premier for $164 a month. from the sound of it you are going for lesser package than what i have. the internet is very fast and have had no major problems with the service other than them dropping the ball due to storm damage. took them almost a week to get me hooked up again when it should have been 2-3 days. they credited my account though for lost time. they even gave me free upgrade from 16mb to 25 mb service
as for VOIP i have vonage for my phone service and have had it for almost 3 years now with no trouble at all.

 

[hclarkjr]

should also mention that picture quality wise comcast is equal to dish network for where i live. they give the moto DCX3400 which is on par with the VIP722 from dish.

 

[BoomerD]

Wow, for ALL THREE (phone/internet/TV) you pay only $98/mo.?? That's incredible! I will definitely check it out.

I'm just really nervous about VoIP phone service. How often do calls get dropped? Do you have a fax line as well? If so, how well does it work? I have Vonage now and setting it up, especially the fax, was a real PITA and even now, faxes go through only about 70&#37; of the time.

I am not planning on getting the DVR but just the HD box for viewing HD channels.. I also like Nat Geo and Nat Geo Wild and they say that only the "Digital Preferred" package has that. What a con...

Sorry...I had a typo...the package is $89/month, not $98. With taxes and equipment, it comes to about $110/month. I haven't sent any faxes since we switched, but AFAIK, we've had zero dropped calls.
The Alchemy Package basically gives you everything through the Digital Preferred package, plus HBO, Starz, and Encore.
IIRC, it's 240 channels.

 

[SKORPI0]

Luckily I have ComCast HSI/Cable. I have next door neighbors who tried DirectTV and AT&T U-Verse since they were offered cheap prices with no contract. They eventually switched back to Comcast after a few months. Found out they hated loosing some video signals when the weather became bad (DirectTV) or too slow internet/HD was crap (AT&T DSL). Selection of AT&T HDTV channels available was not to their liking at that time.

Problem now ever since they switched, we share same "connection" from the post. I asked them to check that device on the pole and have it replaced since 1 port has a splitter between me and 1 neighbor. That's when the problems started, took a lot of calls to ComCast for them to fix it. A year and a half later, I'm not sure if it's resolved. Used to get excellent signals, now I'm getting good/fair signals after it rains. Could be my cables (100 ft'-RG6) to the house from the box, but I replaced last year. Tech says I'm getting good signals and do not even need the Motorola booster I bought.

I pay about $115 for cable with HBO& Showtime & 115 HDTV channels, and $59.90 for Business Class HSI (no 250GB cap). Overall, I'm happy with the service despite paying that much. I've been offered $99 for Cable/HSI/Phone for a 2 year Business contract. Not sure If I'm leaving my AT&T landline/DSL (which is slow as hell) for that ($54/month) Not sure if I wanna use the internet for my phone service right now.

As for the Motorola DCH-3416 HD Dual-Tuner DVR, it's does the job despite having only 160GB for recording. Interface firmware was upgraded a few months back and has made it easier to schedule what to record and watch at a later time. To justify my paying ComCast that much, I record HDTV show via firewire cable to my PC. It usually takes 6-8 GB HDD space/hour. TV shows/documentaries/concerts you cannot find in video stores till months later (if ever). Been doing this "hobby" since mid 2005 and can go back and watch a show during that time period. :awe:

 

[her209]

Word of advice. Get everything thing being offered in writing. I have had a Comcast customer rep quote me a promotion (had Internet for $60/mo and was told about a Douple-Play promo for $50/mo for x months) over the phone that I signed up for. Well, cable installer came by and checked the coaxial cable and installed the set top box. But when the bill came, it was priced as regular, i.e., no promotional pricing. Called the customer service center and the rep said they'd fix it. Next bill, nope. Another call and they claimed that there was no such deal.

 

[boomerang]

BoomerD, watch out for what happens when your promo expires. If you have choices, you can always switch. I think you're going to be shocked to see what it "really" costs.

Baasha, my VOIP through Comcast is rock solid, with great call quality and zero issues. I don't fax a lot, but I've never had an issue. You may want to enquire into their business class service with that many phone lines. I know you didn't ask, but my alarm service works without a hitch through their VOIP service too.

 

[Krazy4Real]

I am really happy with my comcast service. The internet is very fast. The home phone voice quality is very good. The HD looks great. The only thing I don't like are the dvr boxes. They really need to get better ones.

 

[coloumb]

I don't have xfinity [or maybe I do - who the hell knows with Comcast] - Premium TV [I don't own an HDTV] package with internet for about $125 per month. We use vonage for our landline phone service [wife makes a lot of long distance calls to Canada] else we'd just use cell phones instead. Annoying that Comcast tries to "sell" me the triple play package every time I call.

Haven't had any of the issues that people complain about with Comcast with the exception of a cable modem [Linksys] I had for years - whenever it would rain, the internet service would cut out. When I found a deal on a faster docsis modem, I upgrade and haven't had any issues since [Comcast techs said I wasted my money and the modem wasn't the problem].

FAX is very unreliable over VOIP unless you pay extra for a FAX specific line [usually they are about $9.99 a month]. I found out this by trashing an old thermal fax machine for a modern inkjet fax machine [didn't do my homework unfortunately]

Some fax machines are more tolerable and work with VOIP - but you may need to do some tweaking to get it to work - this is just one of many google searches about "fax voip".

http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-fax-over-voip-on-the-internet/

Verizon DSL is available in our area, but the cost savings really aren't significant so I haven't switched.

 

[guyver01]

I don't have xfinity [or maybe I do - who the hell knows with Comcast]

easiest way to tell.. look at you guide, for the logo..

 

[BoomerD]

BoomerD, watch out for what happens when your promo expires. If you have choices, you can always switch. I think you're going to be shocked to see what it "really" costs.

Baasha, my VOIP through Comcast is rock solid, with great call quality and zero issues. I don't fax a lot, but I've never had an issue. You may want to enquire into their business class service with that many phone lines. I know you didn't ask, but my alarm service works without a hitch through their VOIP service too.

heh-heh...yeah, I know. We were warned by the salesman about the possible price increase.

 

[ultimatebob]

I'd avoid Comcast for TV if you can... they nickel and dime you for everything. You want HD channels? That's extra. Want DVR service? That's extra. Want a DVR box to actually USE that DVR service?? That's extra!

Sure, you'll get a good deal during the promo period, but prepare to bend over and take it once it ends.

 

[guyver01]

You want HD channels? That's extra.

False.

 

[ultimatebob]

False.

My bill still has an "HD Technology Fee" line item on it, although apparently they don't extra for it anymore.