Router question for current Spectrum customers

[Runner]

Around here, Spectrum recently changed out all of their "decoders" or whatever you call them. Used to be nice little compact boxes about 4" x 4" x 1" with nice hand-sized remotes and they worked fine. Now, they are these giant VCR-sized things with huge remotes and the service has gone to he!!. Every time I turn on the TV, start surfing channels, get to about the third channel and the screen goes black and says "please wait".

Locks up and stays like that forever until you "reboot the device" which takes about an hour if you are lucky. This never used to happen. I can't imagine why they would have changed from a system/components that worked perfectly well to this crap.

On top of the 1950's looking equipment and poor service, they also took away TCM from the basic package, of which I only used about 8 channels anyway.

All for the low, low price of $142 per month. I really HATE Spectrum now.

Would love to figure out some other system to use. Don't really understand how Directv over internet works. Need to do something though.....

 

[Fixastuff]

I’ll never understand paying for tv that still has comercials.

 

[Runner]

I’ll never understand paying for tv that still has comercials.

Cable TV was originally sold to the public as being commercial-free. That only lasted a year or two before they realized they could get away with having commercials AND charging for the service.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Around here, Spectrum recently changed out all of their "decoders" or whatever you call them. Used to be nice little compact boxes about 4" x 4" x 1" with nice hand-sized remotes and they worked fine. Now, they are these giant VCR-sized things with huge remotes and the service has gone to he!!. Every time I turn on the TV, start surfing channels, get to about the third channel and the screen goes black and says "please wait".

Locks up and stays like that forever until you "reboot the device" which takes about an hour if you are lucky. This never used to happen. I can't imagine why they would have changed from a system/components that worked perfectly well to this crap.

On top of the 1950's looking equipment and poor service, they also took away TCM from the basic package, of which I only used about 8 channels anyway.

All for the low, low price of $142 per month. I really HATE Spectrum now.

Would love to figure out some other system to use. Don't really understand how Directv over internet works. Need to do something though.....

Should I remember and not get distracted I'll come back and post how DTV worked out.

 

[drssg]

All of the Shiner, Gonzales area has is Spectrum and our rates going up are more reliable then their service...LOL...
The modem and router are two separate devices.
I'll go shopping and see what wally world has in Victoria.
Internet service also is their monopoly. All other alternatives are less than 25mps. Currently 90 and change for 300 mps.
Directv now is available via internet streaming and will save us over 40 a month. Over a years time that's extra for us.
We really only have a few we watch, all the 60s era shows and the game network. Movies and new shows way to dark with open agendas I'd rather not discuss but y'all know them!

Thanks for your input, appreciate it!

I'll just add that internet companies these days really try to convince you that you NEED very fast internet. I worked from home for two years as a computer programmer with 25 Mbps download and less than 1 Mbps upload. If I wasn't moving a huge data file, it was quite responsive.

Basic internet use really doesn't require that much speed. At a bare minimum, make sure you aren't paying for more internet speed than your local WiFi will support.

Most routers these days have an option for 5G WiFi. That provides faster communications, which doesn't really matter, but it reduces the range of the WiFi signal, which might matter. I almost always use the slower WiFi options, which is around 50 Mbps, but it's more likely to keep the connection.

 

[caver]

I had Spectrum since mid to late 90's. The town was recently plumbed with fiber and I got tired of the Spectrum rate increases. I used their modem. Nice thing is it got fried during a storm and was replaced by them. Over a year ago I dropped them and made sure I had a receipt for returning the modem. The kid said I was good to go as in paid up until my service was disconnected. Well the kid lied as maybe 2 months later I got a collection agency after me. Never had that happen in my life. No warning hey you still owe us. They have some weird mid month billing cycle. I ended up sending a letter to the collection agency certified and said I was contesting. Paid the extortion fee to Spectrum. one months internet They assured me it would be taken off the collection agency Then the clowns had the nerve to keep sending me junk mail for services. The fiber is through the area electric coop even though they don't service the city. It was $5-10 cheaper.

 

[Oaktree]

Around here, Spectrum recently changed out all of their "decoders" or whatever you call them. Used to be nice little compact boxes about 4" x 4" x 1" with nice hand-sized remotes and they worked fine. Now, they are these giant VCR-sized things with huge remotes and the service has gone to he!!. Every time I turn on the TV, start surfing channels, get to about the third channel and the screen goes black and says "please wait".

Would love to figure out some other system to use. Don't really understand how Directv over internet works. Need to do something though.....

Are you talking about a cable box for tv? Assuming your internet provider is also Spectrum you can get whatever tv package you're subscribed for using a Roku box. There is an ap you can download for it.
That's the route we went when even the lowest tier of programming went digital in the mid teens.
Note that you still have to pay for the tv program package, but it does get you off the hook for the box rental. When you launch it, it'll check your subscription status.

Cable TV was originally sold to the public as being commercial-free. That only lasted a year or two before they realized they could get away with having commercials AND charging for the service.

Actually, cable tv was initially more of a "master antenna" system. Providers had an antenna farm on a hilltop and fed the off-air signals over the cable. I don't think it was until some time in the late 70s when premium cable only channels came along. Cable wasn't available where I lived at the time so I'm not sure what percentage of those channels were commercial free, or when things changed.

 

[YLee Kioti]

I had Spectrum since mid to late 90's. The town was recently plumbed with fiber and I got tired of the Spectrum rate increases. I used their modem. Nice thing is it got fried during a storm and was replaced by them. Over a year ago I dropped them and made sure I had a receipt for returning the modem. The kid said I was good to go as in paid up until my service was disconnected. Well the kid lied as maybe 2 months later I got a collection agency after me. Never had that happen in my life. No warning hey you still owe us. They have some weird mid month billing cycle. I ended up sending a letter to the collection agency certified and said I was contesting. Paid the extortion fee to Spectrum. one months internet They assured me it would be taken off the collection agency Then the clowns had the nerve to keep sending me junk mail for services. The fiber is through the area electric coop even though they don't service the city. It was $5-10 cheaper.

GVEC told me 2 years for fiber here. Well our Direct TV promo is two years. I hope to wean wife off this and see if i can find her games show network and the old classic shows and the barn wood builders (frankly the new magnolia network really sucks) but I digress.
Yeah two years to wait. ATT?, fugett-ah-bout-it.....she did not laugh out loud but contained herself about it will be a while before they get here. Well, heh, there is a POTS cable with a cone in our drainage ditch outside the fence line since 2016, that has been waiting on ATT to deal with it. So I'll keep breathing.
Y'all have a great weekend.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Break down:
Spectrum TV select 89.99
Digi Tier 1 15.00 (get us what we actually watch all 3-5 channels)
Receivers 12.50 each (x2) 25.00
DVR service 12.99
Internet 84.99
WiFi service 7.00
broadcast surcharges total 25.75 five different taxes 24.45
total 285.17

Direct TV with two internet connection boxes 107.00 taxes and all for two years. Savings from cable service and broadcast surcharges should be about 65.00 and change.
We'll see, this week as the box came in but busy trimming fence line. Gotta spray Erasure along all fences this week by wed. Bad system headed our was along the coast.
Neighbor does not cut along fence and where ours drains into their portion of the creek has 8 foot tall Johnson grass! And it holds up the water from draining quickly.

So, yeah we'll soon see how all this saving adds up. Hope to post after next billing cycle from spectrum and Direct TV and see how it all works out. I've done dumber things then this before...!

 

[YLee Kioti]

So here's the final update on dumping Spectrum.
Spectrum tried to offer a promo, (which is only 1 year) but told him if it was not 60 dollars or greater it will not work. Informed rep. that I called twice and was told tough cookies. (well not exactly that way, my wife is there to enforce politeness!)
Once service was removed he gave me a 15 dollar promo reduction on the internet service for a year. (OK, I appreciate that.)
Total Spectrum bill now is 81 and change with taxes of course.

Direct TV bill 119 a month. (on edit) The Direct TV device is about 1" thick and 4 In. long with a short HDMI connector and other end for CAT cable connection.
So real estate was gained from not having a large cable box on the stand. Took about 15 minutes for total updates, set up was intuitive, even for me. The 300Mps service woks well and seamless as the cable box.
So total savings is roughly 90 bucks a month, which for us is worth the effort.
Well, hope this helps out someone in the future, appreciate all the input.
God Bless you all......