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Just a couple of question for the American paizo community.
I'm moving to the US at the end of the month and once I settle in I'm wondering how can I watch my favourite TV shows?
Here in Australia we have to pay a fortune to have cable TV or we wait for the free to air networks to play the shows a season behind, late at night and out of order.
So what is the best cable provider in the US?
Are Netflix and Apple TV cable providers or something different?
Is there one provider that has all the shows from the different networks?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Reebo
I can't speak for Apple TV, but Netflix is a subscription service that works over the Internet, where you pay a monthly fee and have access to all the shows/movies in their library on-demand, but it's not usually current season stuff. Still quite worth it, at least to me. I don't even use regular TV, just Netflix and Amazon's similar streaming service. (As such, I'm a poor advice-giver on that aspect, although I will point out that, if you can pick it up in your area, free over-antenna TV is current, not delayed at all. My in laws use an antenna exclusively and do just fine, although some more rural areas, like mine, don't have good coverage for it.)
Oh, and if you do go with a cable provider, any of them should have all the main networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.), though they'll differ in extras.
It depends very strongly where you are in the US, as some areas will have providers that others don't. It doesn't matter how much I like Cox Communications, for example, if I don't live on the west side of the country; they don't operate further east. Likewise it doesn't matter how much I hate Comcast and recommend against them if you're lucky enough to live in one of the few areas that they don't operate.
Ok, forgive a lengthy post :)
Most urban and suburban places will leave you with 4 choices.
(1) is over the air. A one time purchase of a good ($200-300 US) antenna will grab you all of the major broadcast networks and their side bands (side bands are generally not available any other way). This means you will get ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, and a handful of others which may or may not be worthwhile. NBC has a fantastic sports side band station if that is of any interest. The national broadcast stations will all be in full HD. This is a VERY popular option to pair with "cutting the cord" and going with streaming services like Netflix or Hulu.
(2 and 3) are your "traditional" cable and phone companies. In the US this means Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, Charter, and Time Warner with the possibility of a regional player. The benefit of these options is that you can "bundle" internet with your television service. Verizon and AT&T offer (in some places) the fastest internet available in the US (Between 300mps and 1gbs) so if you are in an area serviced by those companies they are worth looking into. EDIT: I realized I wasn't clear that all of these aren't available everywhere. Typically, there are exclusivity agreements with municipalities for service. You will (at most) have the ability to choose between 2 of these. One phone provider (Verizon or AT&T) and one cable provider (Comcast, Charter, Time Warner). This is why I lumped all of these guys together; because they really only represent one choice.
(4) is Directv. Directv is widely regarded as the television option of choice for sports fans and people who have issues with access to other services. The biggest benefit of Directv is that you can get it anywhere in the US regardless of how far you live from an Urban center. You only need to have a clear view of the southern sky. They also have ALL the sports packages some are exclusive to them. NFL Sunday Ticket, NBA League Pass, NHL Center Ice, MLB Extra Innings all let you watch every game (particularly out-of-market games) the league plays, at a premium price of course. :) Otherwise, Directv is on par with other TV services provided by (2 and 3). One drawback is that Directv doesn't have an internet option.
or (4a) Dish Network. Basically, don't choose Dish Network unless you are more than 150 miles from a broadcast area and all you want it basic service. For any other scenario the other options are better.
Some of the options above have notoriously bad customer service and are worth noting before you choose them. I'll drop some links here just for completeness.
Comcast
Charter
Time Warner
AT&T
Verizon
Directv
Dish Network
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I've heard alot of complaining about Time Warner, but I've has service with them for over a decade and have had nothing but good experiences with them.
It's true though that for cable providers, that will be determined by region. Mini-satellite television is available nearly anywhere, but signal quality varies with both available view of the sky, and weather.
I've heard alot of complaining about Time Warner, but I've has service with them for over a decade and have had nothing but good experiences with them.
It's true though that for cable providers, that will be determined by region. Mini-satellite television is available nearly anywhere, but signal quality varies with both available view of the sky, and weather.
I agree that usually people don't have issues with providers after everything is set up and working. Most of the customer service issues I hear about involve getting service setup or dealing with getting it disconnected.
As for directv, weather is a concern. I've used them since 1997 and it is generally very good in all but the most severe weather. I live in North Texas and that generally means that "Severe Thunderstorm Warning" or "Tornado Warning" will cause my TV to be spotty. Really 3-4 times a year.
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Streaming services are very affordable and becoming more numerous every day. However, let me be one last voice in favor of "the cord". One of the issues with the streaming services is availability of dated material. If you want the most recent films and television you are going to have to wait a year or longer. Now if you wait you can save a bit of money so that might not be a big deal to you, but I prefer seeing things when I want to and as they are released.
Hulu does have a lot of current network television programming(NBC, ABC, FOX) but im not a big fan of network television, and my cable plan gives all that to me anyways. I prefer premium programming like that of HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. Those channels provide excellent series, as they come out, with no strings attached to the on demand viewing, and with no commercial interruption. They also get recent films so I dont have to wait for them to trickle into a streaming service to watch them. Lastly, I enjoy sports namely NFL and NHL (hockey). My basic cable package gets me sports coverage. Essentially, all the programming I consume is available from one source making cable an excellent option for me.
Some folks will say that everything I have listed together can be bought separately for affordable subscription. That is true, but I have done my homework and getting individual subs for all the programming I enjoy would cost more than my current cable package. That is on me because of my diverse appetite and preferences. However, if everything I listed sounds like things you would like I would consider a cable package. You are going to need high speed net anyways to do either.
In the U.S. you have a 90% chance of having only two cable options. Either a satellite company like Dish Network or Direct TV. These services use satellite tech to get you your programming. Then there is a cable choice, Comcast/Timewarner, that provides service via fiber optics. You can usually bundle cable with internet service. Thats my deal right now because of what I mentioned above. Hope that helps provide a different point of view from the popular cut the cord society.
I will point out that Comcast does provide some on-demand streaming as a bonus with their cable service (my parents have it). As everyone said, your choice is usually limited by your area, but that may be a point in Comcast's favor, and I don't remember my parents ever mentioning an intense problem with them.
We have Time Warner, don't ever get Time Warner, as noted, the CS is...I can't use the word it deserves here on the boards.
Yerp!
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It's going to depend completely on where you live as to what you have access to when it comes to Television, cable or otherwise unless you go with a satellite cable system as bigbone said. Where ever you live you aren't likely to have a huge amount of selection.
It might be better to mention what kinds of shows you were looking for as cable television tends to be fill with mostly advertising specials and extremely small amounts of content.
The trend right now is either towards cutting out cable entirely or simply not having it to start with. Lots of guides exist on how to set yourself up without paying extra for what honestly is mostly advertising. Tom's Hardware Guide, PC Mag's Guide and Tekthing's suggestions in this episode are some examples.
Here in the great southwest, I get 50-60 channels over the air, some from hundreds of miles away. Have never needed cable. :D
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Guys thank you for your responses, some really in depth posts there!
My initial landing spot will be San Antonio, Texas and from there probably hit the East coast but I'll go where the work is since I have options.
Just another question what do these services cost? I read somewhere that Netflix is $8 a month?! I figure I will get Netflix as I used Quickflix here which was $30 a month for 8 rental DVDs posted out to you per month. I do watch A LOT of movies.
As for my current favourite shows, I've been able to catch GoT, Castle, Survivor, Arrow, Flash, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, iZombie. Law & Order, Supernatural, The 100, Supergirl, Limitless, Blindspot etc Which is a small list compared to the shows I hear about on podcasts like The /Flimcast.
We miss out on so much entertainment down under even our actors leave to go work over there. ;-P
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Actually, if you stay in San Antonio, then you'll eventually have the option of Google Fiber. They'll be your internet provider and cable company and I've heard great things about them.
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8 bucks a month is indeed the cost of Netflix, it is worth it, even if some of their movie choices are poor, they have tons of other content, and their original series are fast becoming some of the best stuff out there IMO. Love Jessica Jones, thank you Netflix!
My initial landing spot will be San Antonio, Texas and from there probably hit the East coast but I'll go where the work is since I have options.
Just another question what do these services cost? I read somewhere that Netflix is $8 a month?! I figure I will get Netflix as I used Quickflix here which was $30 a month for 8 rental DVDs posted out to you per month. I do watch A LOT of movies.
First, let me give you an advance welcome to the Alamo City! The two main choices here are Time Warner Cable and AT&T Uverse. Neither are great, but they cover most if not all of the area. Time Warner has an intro bundle for $99/month that will cover phone, cable, and internet. After a year that will probably jump to about $150. If you are fortunate, you will end up in an area with Grande Communications. They are an all-fiber network that provides twice the service of Time Warner at about half the price. I was so spoiled my first two years in SA, when I had an apartment with Grande. I had to switch to Time Warner when I moved into my house, and cancelled all but internet service after a year. Google Fiber is coming, but isn't yet set up in most of the city. If you live in the Hill Country (North and NW of San Antonio), you may be in an area that has GVTC, which also has speeds 10x that of Time Warner at reasonable price.
Oh, and I think Netflix is now $9 or $10 for streaming. I'm not sure, since I'm grandfathered in with the streaming-and-disc plan at $16-a-month plus tax.
One more thing to get used to -- all of our prices are before taxes and other fees, so get used to adding 8.25% to everything bought locally, and as much as 50% if you rent a car.
Feel free to PM me with questions about San Antonio -- I've lived here for 13 years now after growing up in North Carolina, and I don't plan on leaving before retirement.
Wait, make that 9 bucks, if our last invoice is correct from them.
Netflux: When your stomach is upset from sitting on the couch for too long while watching Netflix ;)
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Just to chime in, basically all cable services sucks. They are usually expensive, have bad customer service, and will try to charge you for things when leaving their service if the internet is to be believed. That said, the actual quality of the tv service they provide I find to be pretty good.
Consider yourself lucky if you actually have more than 1 cable service provider in your area. Some people do not. Of course, its about like choosing between a douche and a turd sandwich, so it's not much of a choice anyways.
But just to clarify, cable companies run a physical cable into your home. Things like Netflix and Hulu are streaming services.
I think the most common thing in the US these days is to have an antennae along with Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime (either one or all, they're cheap enough).
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Of course, I do feel like we've crushed a small child's dreams.
Reebo: Once I move to the US I'll be able to watch all the TV shows I've dreamed about for next to nothing!
Us: No, you won't. Cable here is worse the you can imagine.
Reebo: * Sniffles.
Ha ha, I know I won't have all the shows under one umbrella but I know I'll have more options than I've ever had here and for less.
Free to air TV has actually, on numerous occasions, played shows out of order. changed airing days and times without warning or just skipped episodes.
Our expensive cable TV of which there are two options and one you can't get in certain parts of the country has commercials during the shows. So basically you pay to watch ads.
I know The CW stream their latest episodes for free on their websites same day or day after they air, without ads. I believe several others do the same?
Mate I'm already sold.
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Netflux ($9), Hulu ($8 or $12 for almost entirely ad free), and CBS ($6) will get you everything on your list except Game of Thrones. HBO Now ($15) will give you GoT and more, but is only on Apple devices right now. I'm also assuming you mean Law and Order SVU, the rest have been off the air for years.
Hulu actually has a lot of older Australian TV.
That said, what shows have you heard of that you want to watch?
Wow that's cheap.
Yep SVU. I loved L&O when Jerry Orbach and Chris Noth were on it (yes I'm that old).|
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My initial landing spot will be San Antonio, Texas and from there probably hit the East coast but I'll go where the work is since I have options.
Just another question what do these services cost? I read somewhere that Netflix is $8 a month?! I figure I will get Netflix as I used Quickflix here which was $30 a month for 8 rental DVDs posted out to you per month. I do watch A LOT of movies.
First, let me give you an advance welcome to the Alamo City! The two main choices here are Time Warner Cable and AT&T Uverse. Neither are great, but they cover most if not all of the area. Time Warner has an intro bundle for $99/month that will cover phone, cable, and internet. After a year that will probably jump to about $150. If you are fortunate, you will end up in an area with Grande Communications. They are an all-fiber network that provides twice the service of Time Warner at about half the price. I was so spoiled my first two years in SA, when I had an apartment with Grande. I had to switch to Time Warner when I moved into my house, and cancelled all but internet service after a year. Google Fiber is coming, but isn't yet set up in most of the city. If you live in the Hill Country (North and NW of San Antonio), you may be in an area that has GVTC, which also has speeds 10x that of Time Warner at reasonable price.
Oh, and I think Netflix is now $9 or $10 for streaming. I'm not sure, since I'm grandfathered in with the streaming-and-disc plan at $16-a-month plus tax.
One more thing to get used to -- all of our prices are before taxes and other fees, so get used to adding 8.25% to everything bought locally, and as much as 50% if you rent a car.
Feel free to PM me with questions about San Antonio -- I've lived here for 13 years now after growing up in North Carolina, and I don't plan on leaving before retirement.
Thanks TarSparta, if I settle down in San Antonio I'll be looking for a group to DM to once I pick up a new set of books. I hear The Dragon's Lair is San Antonios main gaming store?
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Netflux ($9), Hulu ($8 or $12 for almost entirely ad free), and CBS ($6) will get you everything on your list except Game of Thrones. HBO Now ($15) will give you GoT and more, but is only on Apple devices right now. I'm also assuming you mean Law and Order SVU, the rest have been off the air for years.
Hulu actually has a lot of older Australian TV.
That said, what shows have you heard of that you want to watch?
Wow that's cheap.
Yep SVU. I loved L&O when Jerry Orbach and Chris Noth were on it (yes I'm that old).That's on top of a fat Internet pipe. Over the air is better here, mainly as the big channels are the originator. Cable TV has ads here too. Premium channels like HBO don't, but the other 700 do. Those, somewhat obviously, are US dollars, so the streaming component of your basic cord cutter lineup (Netflix, Hulu Plus Ad Free, CBS) is like $39 Australian.
Adding either Amazon Prime ($100 a year) or Sling TV ($20) is fairly popular. PBS (public television, think ABC but not state owned and mostly funded via donations) has started offering a very large streaming library as a benefit for a $60 a year or $5 a month donation.
Also, ithe just occurred to me, but if you're planning on bringing DVD or whatnot, you'll need the appropriate player and a PAL monitor.
I've heard the term cord-cutting tossed around a lot. I've basically done that here as I just watch DVDs. Free to air with it's ad breaks every 5 mins makes me want to attack the TV with a great axe.
I'm in the processing of selling my DVDs on eBay but I was told Blu-Rays are not region locked?
I've heard the term cord-cutting tossed around a lot. I've basically done that here as I just watch DVDs. Free to air with it's ad breaks every 5 mins makes me want to attack the TV with a great axe.
I see this is the second time you've mentioned commercials....yeah you're going to have to get used to that.
In the US there is basically no way to not have commercials except for some streaming services, and even then some of them have commercials (looking at you Hulu). All tv whether it's over the air or cable will have commercials. Basically every 15 minutes. You can expect about 22 minutes of programming for every 30 min show time slot. There is no avoiding this except with streaming services.
(And now I feel like a monstrous dream smasher)
I've heard the term cord-cutting tossed around a lot. I've basically done that here as I just watch DVDs. Free to air with it's ad breaks every 5 mins makes me want to attack the TV with a great axe.I see this is the second time you've mentioned commercials....yeah you're going to have to get used to that.
In the US there is basically no way to not have commercials except for some streaming services, and even then some of them have commercials (looking at you Hulu). All tv whether it's over the air or cable will have commercials. Basically every 15 minutes. You can expect about 22 minutes of programming for every 30 min show time slot. There is no avoiding this except with streaming services.
(And now I feel like a monstrous dream smasher)
Can confirm that Netflix does not have commercials.
Comcast is worth dealing with if only because their internet options get up to some nice speeds.
Thanks TarSparta, if I settle down in San Antonio I'll be looking for a group to DM to once I pick up a new set of books. I hear The Dragon's Lair is San Antonios main gaming store?
Yes, by far The Dragon's Lair is the main store. They hold events pretty much every weekend all weekend, and multiple times during the week. My former neighbor often runs games there, although he's more of a 4E guy than Pathfinder. We're also home to PAX South, and a few other conventions of note have sprung up over the past couple years. It's a good time to be a gamer/sci-fi nerd in San Antonio!
Oh, and for movies, you'll have to experience the Alamo Drafthouse. Food and beer brought to your seat during the movie with no children or cell phones allowed. Not to mention they enjoy the culture of filmmaking, and often feature "quotealong" showings of favorites such as "The Princess Bride" and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
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And Hulu comes in an almost entirely commercial free flavor.
Yes, but Netflix and Amazon Prime are both actually commercial free.
I will recommend both strongly, I picked up prime mostly for free two-day shipping on stuff I buy (I buy almost everything that isn't food online, especially Amazon) but it has a pretty good selection of things to watch. More than anything Amazon originals like The Man in the High Castle are what I watch on Amazon.
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Thanks TarSparta, if I settle down in San Antonio I'll be looking for a group to DM to once I pick up a new set of books. I hear The Dragon's Lair is San Antonios main gaming store?Yes, by far The Dragon's Lair is the main store. They hold events pretty much every weekend all weekend, and multiple times during the week. My former neighbor often runs games there, although he's more of a 4E guy than Pathfinder. We're also home to PAX South, and a few other conventions of note have sprung up over the past couple years. It's a good time to be a gamer/sci-fi nerd in San Antonio!
Oh, and for movies, you'll have to experience the Alamo Drafthouse. Food and beer brought to your seat during the movie with no children or cell phones allowed. Not to mention they enjoy the culture of filmmaking, and often feature "quotealong" showings of favorites such as "The Princess Bride" and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
Of course! I've heard the Alamo Drafthouse mentioned often enough on the Rooster Teeth podcast. Definitely will check that out!
San Antonio is looking really good.|
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I've heard the term cord-cutting tossed around a lot. I've basically done that here as I just watch DVDs. Free to air with it's ad breaks every 5 mins makes me want to attack the TV with a great axe.I see this is the second time you've mentioned commercials....yeah you're going to have to get used to that.
In the US there is basically no way to not have commercials except for some streaming services, and even then some of them have commercials (looking at you Hulu). All tv whether it's over the air or cable will have commercials. Basically every 15 minutes. You can expect about 22 minutes of programming for every 30 min show time slot. There is no avoiding this except with streaming services.
(And now I feel like a monstrous dream smasher)
15 minutes? That's awesome!
We have an advert every 5 minutes! I swear the last straw was during an episode of Supernatural where they went to a commercial break (lasting almost 5 minutes) in the middle of a conversation between Sam and Dean that had a momentary pause!I've been told that the newest episodes of shows like Flash and Arrow can be watched on the CW website commercial free and that's what I like to hear.
Actually, if you stay in San Antonio, then you'll eventually have the option of Google Fiber. They'll be your internet provider and cable company and I've heard great things about them.
This.
You can watch Arrow and all of the CW shows via CW's website itself for the current shows of the week (and last..etc). With a fast enough connection and decent computer, you can have it all.
Include Hulu in on that and a decent HD antenna...ONLY get fast internet and skip the cable/satellite providers.
It's FAR cheaper AND...you don't sign your life away in blood (their contracts give them all the power and give you none...unless you LIKE signing your life away for dribbles and bits).
Netflix, and if you want other premium channels (like HBO Go) you can subscribe individually to them. It's far cheaper than the $200 you'll end up paying for basic cable in the long run (first year they'll say it will be 19.99 a month...and it will be...and then year two they'll jack it up to $40 a month, then year 3 they'll jack it up to $75 a month, and by year five...it will be $200 a month for basic, $500 for more than that if you include the gold or platinum packages with multiple rooms).
Much better to avoid that entire thing to begin with. You can get almost all of that over the internet now, especially with subscriptions to the premium channels if you want.
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Netflix, and if you want other premium channels (like HBO Go) you can subscribe individually to them. It's far cheaper than the $200 you'll end up paying for basic cable in the long run (first year they'll say it will be 19.99 a month...and it will be...and then year two they'll jack it up to $40 a month, then year 3 they'll jack it up to $75 a month, and by year five...it will be $200 a month for basic, $500 for more than that if you include the gold or platinum packages with multiple rooms).
Much better to avoid that entire thing to begin with. You can get almost all of that over the internet now, especially with subscriptions to the premium channels if you want.
I am not sure where you are getting those figures. I have high speed net, basic cable, HBO, Showtime, Starz, and NFL Redzone all for $150 a month from Comcast and in several rooms of my home. The only thing I dont have is the DVR service, which I dont need thanks to on demand, and the VOIP phone service. Also, not an introductory thing I have been a customer for at least a decade.
I'll go against the grain and say OP you might want to roll the dice on that intro offer and get high speed net and cable for 99 bucks a month. Once the intro deal runs out, and the fees go up, you can cancel the service. Often, they will extend your deal to keep you as a customer. At worst, you will learn the things you want and can go get them piecemeal after you cut the cord.
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As you guys might not be aware we only started to get the popular shows airing same day as the US last year in Australia and that's only with an expensive cable service. So generally unless you avoided the internet you got spoilers.
Netflix was introduced here 6 months ago and it has a library of about 1300 titles compared to the US 8500 titles.
Cost aside I will be able to watch a lot more shows, and movies (don't get me started on movies) in the US than I can here. I'm happy to pay if I can watch the shows I want. I don't even have that luxury down under.
But I'm thinking Netflix for sure and just internet to watch the other shows on CW, CBS etc
Thanks for all the great feedback!
Reebo
OP probably figured it out in the last four years.