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Sunday, January 24, 2010

To discuss the cable pact: Should I put Comcast up for adoption?

While watching Lifetime's "The Pregnancy Pact" on Saturday night...

... shut up, you so watched it and were all like, "OMG" and "WTF?" too. It was like Teen Mom: Pinky Swear Edition...

.... anyway, while watching the movie, one of the girls tells her friend, who just had a baby in recent months, that maybe she should consider adoption. I had never thought about the fact you don't have to give the kid up for adoption straight out of the womb, but Capricorn reminded me you can give a kid up for adoption as long as they are still a minor.

Holy crap, if I don't like my kid or he's getting too expensive, I can trade him in? Incredible news!

Speaking of which, cable TV.

(Sorry for those who wanted a teen mother post. Perhaps try this.)

I need some advice. I am strongly considering canceling my cable TV service with Comcast, aka Satan's Placenta, and switching to DirectTV. I still have to keep Comcast for the Internet, as there aren't many other, comparable options, and by comparable, I don't mean something that will harken back to the days of "You've Got Mail," "56k" and "cybering."

I'll lose the bundle package deal by leaving, although I already figured out a way to get the Internet bill lowered some to offset the difference.

I'd like to leave Comcast cable for a variety of reasons, including its jacked up cost, the fact it's a monopoly, and its so-so performance. And that it hates freedom.

Direct TV offers a sweet 1-year deal, and in the second year of the two-year contract, the price is about what I pay now with Comcast. But that includes HD and DVR services. For the first time, I could have HD, which will make it much easier to point out flaws in the Real Housewives' complexions (Zit! Wrinkle! Frigid bitch!). And I'd get a free HD DVR receiver. And a $100 debit card. And a BJ.* (* Bought with the debit card.)

But I've never used satellite before, and like all unfamiliar things, I get a little xenophobic. So, dear reader, can you tell me if you've used Direct TV, and any pluses/minuses you've experienced? If you have horror stories with cable companies or satellite companies, please share. If you have horror stories from teen pregnancy, well, you can share those, too.

For the dish installation, I'm supposed to have an unobstructed view of the southern sky, which sounds like either Jodie Foster dialogue from "Contact," or something a nerdy nerd would worry about. Since I'm a nerdy nerd, I'm wondering if I should be worried that I won't have a completely unobstructed view (partially blocked by our housing complex); several neighbors have Direct TV, albeit with better views. Maybe I should just go to their house.

15 comments:

P said...

I'm just jealous you HAVE cable. I have about ten channels. And the only thing I can ever find to watch is "Friends". I love it, but I've now watched every episode several thousand times,..

LBluca77 said...

"Teen Mom: Pinky Swear Edition" HAHAHAHA Hilarious and so true. I'm actually watching it right now. It's the highlight of my weekend.

kisatrtle said...

we too are thinking about telling comcast to bite it, but are also leary of impending change. Like my kids whinning for hours because they can't see Wizards of Waverly Place. Looking forward to reading the response you get.

Herding Cats said...

Comcast is the devil. I'm getting out of my contract as soon as our 1 year ends!

Jess said...

See, I'm sort of biased because I used to work for a call centre that Comcast had contracted to do all their call-centre-y type stuff. So..I'm not a fan of it. Therefore, I believe quite strongly that you should definitely get rid of it.

Agreeing with it being Santan's Placenta.

bianca said...

I switched from Comcast to DirectTV in July because I was sick of my insane cable bill and the boy wanted HD and so far, I couldn't be happier. The only thing that I had to get used to was having TV shows air earlier for me (even though I live in California, I was getting shows when they aired on the East coast). However, I do love getting my shows 3 hours earlier than everyone else. So now I get HD and 2 dvrs for the half the price of Comcast. Totally worth it.

Amy xxoo said...

I cant comment on the whole cable vs satellite thing ( being that i'm in Australia and we dont have ComCast ) but....

You've been watching an awful lot of baby and pregnancy related programs lately. Is there something you and Capricorn want to tell us ?

Andy - Instafather said...

P- Good point, I'll appreciate what I have.
LBluca- It's one twisted movie, and worse because it's true.
Kisa- Change is tough- that's why Comcast keeps people for life.
Herding- Let me know what you do!
Jess- An insider look. See, now I feel better.
Bianca- Good to know.
Amy- No, we're not having a baby; it's just a coincidence. That, and we can only watch so many home makeover shows.

Natballs said...

All I gotta say: DON'T SWITCH TO BRIGHT HOUSE.

and Pregnancy Pact was epic.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you about Comcast being the devil. I wish we could leave them but a couple of people close to use went to DirectTV and got screwed.

Eric's mom lives in BFE and DirectTV told her that their service would be fine. It wasn't - like she wasn't given all the channels she was promised and she got 2 of the same channels for some reason. When she went to cancel the service after complaining and complaining and nothing being done the guy that came out to get the equipment told her she owed big bucks for canceling the contract and had to pay NOW. She never signed anything and told them she never did and it was a hassle to get out of it.

The other people I know who switched didn't like it and experienced the outages presented on the COMCAST commercials. As far as I know they canceled without a problem.

Both people now just have basic television. What does that say?

Comcast is a monopoly and I don't know why Microsoft got in trouble while Comcast continues to pillage us. Unfortunately we choose to stay with them because of OnDemand and the experiences of people we know with DirectTV and other services.

The only thing I can suggest is dialing Comcast, going straight to cancellations (don't go to customer service) and re-negotiate the people in the cancellations department can help you more and 'want to keep you' so that's the best place to go. I did it with Verizon when our DSL started to go up for no reason.

If you want out of your contract you can say when they deleted channels and moved them to a different package that was a breach of contract so you can get out of it scot-free. (You can do this with your cellphone too to avoid an ETF - if they raise your text messaging rates, it's a breach of contract.)

Keep us updated!

Andy - Instafather said...

Natballs- They don't offer that here, so no worries. And did you see there is going to be a new 16 and Pregnant season?
Alexis- Good to know. And, for what it's worth, Comcast offered to lower my bill for 6 months. But, in comparison, Direct TV would lower it for a year. And have an improved product. They do require a 2-year commitment, which is what your friend got hassled with. That's why I'll want to do my research.

DSS said...

I have Cox Cable, so I can't weigh in on that...but I did just want to say that we watched The Pregnancy Pact and I'm starting to think I have a problem. I'm obviously obsessed with teen mothers, and it's weird. But fascinating. At the same time.

Can we please discuss how stupid these girls were? "Hey, I'm pregnant. You all get pregnant so that we can raise our babies together". Seriously? Geezzz...

Leah said...

Comcast is evil BUT, here's what I found out recently...If you chat with them online, instead of calling, you usually get a way better response. I got them to drop my cable bill and add on HBO, HD and DVR and I still pay the same amount as I did last year! Check their "new customer specials" online before calling. Plus, satellite tv is notoriously unreliable.

Since it seems we're addicted to all of the same baby-making and HGTV shows, tell me this. Wedding shows?? YES or NO?

Srg said...

DirecTV rocks!! Especially with a DVR. We've had DirecTV here for years and I love it. The only time we've ever had problems is if it's pouring rain outside. Like the really heavy downpouring rain from a freak thunderstorm in the summer. Other than that it's great and I highly recommend it!

stealthnerd said...

I'm a little jealous that you watched the Pregnancy Pact, and yes I'm being serious. Boo said he would judge me for it and when he starts judging, I know I'm in trouble. Anyway, I envy your ability to dump Comcast if you want. Our apartment only uses Comcast so we're stuck...and trust us, we'd rather not be stuck.

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