Might switch back to Charter, a few Q's

[JonUrban]

I have had DirectTV for 3 years (after having Dish for 10+). I am tempted to go back to Charter which is my local cable company because I am already paying them $60+ a month for internet, and my DirectTV is almost $200 a month.

I did have Charter in between Dish and DirectTV (left Dish because the dumped SNY), but their receivers were pretty antiquated and I was getting annoyed with all of the fees.

However, DirectTV changed their OnDemand and my wife hates it now. I don't know why they did that. We are past our obligation, so there's no worry about dumping them.

So, if I go back to Charter, am I better off with a Tivo Bolt and a Cable Card or should I stick with the Charter DVR? I read that if I go with a Tivo I get no on demand or other things I get with the Charter DVR.

My other option is upgrading my DirectTV equipment but that would probably mean entering into a new commitment.

Has anyone here been in this spot? How did you end up deciding? Any advise would be helpful.

THANKS

 

[rad]

What changed with On Demand that your wife now hates?

 

[mdavej]

Charter's DVR hasn't changed since the 80's. It belongs in a museum. If you want anything close to what you had with satellite, get a Tivo.

True, you get no On Demand. However, you can stream from nearly every network's website with your subscription. So a Roku or similar will get you HBO, SHO, ABC, CBS, NBC, most of the major ones. I've always found On Demand on satellite and cable to be pretty terrible in terms of quality and selection anyway.

Even though your lose some On Demand convenience, you gain many, many more things. Charter has about 80 more HD channels than Dish or DirecTV, so you rarely have to watch anything in SD. And Tivo has Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Youtube, etc. built right in, and all are included in search results and one click away. Tivo also has better commercial skip than Dish, more portable files, more tuners (depending on the model), free additional TVs (via Minis), much better remote (Slide Pro) and far more energy efficient boxes.

 

[Chuck W]

I'll second mdavej's thoughts. I just left Directv in August after 16 years. With the promo triple play prices, I'm paying about $140/mo LESS than what I was paying when you combined my internet/phone from Charter with my Directv bill.

At this point, from what I can see Charter has as many, if not more HD than Directv. In fact they just added 3 new channels last week that were the ones I could come up with that were missing from Directv (WGN America, AxsTV and HDNET Movies). The only thing you may miss is the channel organization of Directv. Charter's is a convoluted mess, with no real organization beyond the HD channel are all channel 700+(except for the movie channels which are the same numbers as Directv). You also be a bit disappointed in the PQ. Overall the picture quality is good, but if there are any flashing lights on the screen, from say a cop car or ambulance, especially at night, the picture disintegrates into a pixelated mess until the flashing stops.

As for the equipment, I couldn't get my Roamio's set up fast enough, as the Charter DVR is horrendous. I have a Roamio Plus, Roamio Basic and 3 minis.

You do miss out on some On Demand stuff as Charter doesn't have deals yet to be able to log into some of the channel apps, but most of the larger ones are covered.

On a side note, if you are going to be using more than one mini, I would consider looking at the Roamio Pro. It has 6 tuners vs 4 for the Bolt(plus more recording space) and comes with the same 1 year of service since it is still considered a current product.

 

[cpalmer2k]

If you're willing to invest in the TiVo's you will love your Charter experience. One tip, you might could find some used Roamios on eBay with Lifetime Subscriptions cheaper than a new one if you're willing to consider that. I have both DirecTV & Charter, so I can speak to the benefits of both. As others have said no On Demand with a TiVo. But if you own your TiVo's you only pay the $2-$2.50 cable card fee per month- no DVR or box fees.

I think Chuck W might live in one of the older markets that was acquired by Charter, as most of their footprint except for those acquired markets have had the channels he mentions for years. In my area Charter's picture quality far surpasses that of DirecTV, and far more HD channels. Dealing with the channel issue is easy... I just edited my TiVo channel list to remove all of the SD channels except for a select few I wanted to watch, and left all of the HD channels in the list. I also sort my channel list alphabetically, so I can just arrow down and find them by name

The only reason I keep DirecTV at this point is my wife doesn't want to get rid of it, and I'm grandfathered on the east coast DNS channels so I get those. But with the recent increases I think the coming year is going to be the one where we knock DirecTV down to the bare minimum package and rely on Charter full time.

 

[king3pj]

I'm also happy with my TiVo Roamio and Mini setup on Charter. I pay way less money than I used to with Sish and I have a much better channel package. No real downsides for me.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

If you live in Grovetown, GA, it's not called Charter anymore, but it's still the same lousy service.
Back on topic, go with TiVo. Absolutely go with TiVo.

 

[primetimeguy]

I'm curious to this as well since I've looked at going with Charter TV as well to bundle and save monthly. The problem I see is the initial cost of a TV setup for me for HD in 5 rooms will cost over $1000. It will take me a couple years to recoup that cost and the way technology changes I'm not sure it is worth it. Curious if anyone else has looked into something similar with HD in many rooms.

 

[king3pj]

I only have TV in 2 rooms so a 4 tuner Roamio and a Mini are enough for me. My setup costs still seemed high at the time but I figure I am already ahead from the savings I have had over Dish. I also used it for OTA and streaming only for quite a while and plan to go back to that if Charter takes away my awesome double play pricing. So far they have been willing to keep the pricing low.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

Does Charter TV currently have the NFL Network? I know that when we had Charter,they didn't. But our channel lineup was also very different from what Atlanta had with Charter, & not just with local channels, which would obviously be different.

 

[mdavej]

My market has NFL Network.

As far as cost for a 5 room system, Minis are $69 on Woot fairly often. That's where I got most of mine. That brings down the cost substantially.

 

[old corps]

I'm also happy with my TiVo Roamio and Mini setup on Charter. I pay way less money than I used to with Sish and I have a much better channel package. No real downsides for me.

So how's the picture quality in these parts? I went with Charter for internet & phone some time ago partly because of feedback from you and have been very happy with them. Like primetime guy I'm concerned about set up costs. With splitters and some mirroring I've got HD in 5 rooms with 2 Dish receivers--a 722 and a 722K. Sure wish Charter would do something about their DVRs and the channel organization thing!

 

[king3pj]

Does Charter TV currently have the NFL Network? I know that when we had Charter,they didn't. But our channel lineup was also very different from what Atlanta had with Charter, & not just with local channels, which would obviously be different.

They have it in my market. Redzone is also available.

So how's the picture quality in these parts? I went with Charter for internet & phone some time ago partly because of feedback from you and have been very happy with them. Like primetime guy I'm concerned about set up costs. With splitters and some mirroring I've got HD in 5 rooms with 2 Dish receivers--a 722 and a 722K. Sure wish Charter would do something about their DVRs and the channel organization thing!

Picture quality is fine here. I think it's at least as good as Dish but I had canceled Dish for OTA and streaming for almost 2 years before I got Charter so it's hard to say for sure.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

In my area, Charter & their subsequent successors used now old(almost 10 years old now) silver Motorola HD receivers & DVR's. I'm sure that other Charter market had & have far more modern DVR's & receivers, but it is probably still better to go with TiVo.

 

[mdavej]

... I'm sure that other Charter market had & have far more modern DVR's & receivers...

All Charter markets (not including test markets) currently have ancient DVRs and receivers. Sadly, they used to have Moxi and Tivo in some markets, both far superior to what they have today. At the moment, Tivo is a must for anyone spoiled by decent DVRs on satellite service.

However, their DVRs are functional. They just have the same interface they had 20 years ago. Their interface is still 4:3. It can't even be stretched to fill a modern HD screen. If you like old tech (VCRs, vinyl, telegraphs, steam engines), Charter's DVR might be right up your alley (screenshot from TWC, but you get the idea).

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

All Charter markets (not including test markets) currently have ancient DVRs and receivers. Sadly, they used to have Moxi and Tivo in some markets, both far superior to what they have today. At the moment, Tivo is a must for anyone spoiled by decent DVRs on satellite service.

However, their DVRs are functional. They just have the same interface they had 20 years ago. Their interface is still 4:3. It can't even be stretched to fill a modern HD screen. If you like old tech (VCRs, vinyl, telegraphs, steam engines), Charter's DVR might be right up your alley.

And the interface is still SD instead of HD.

 

[Chuck W]

I think Chuck W might live in one of the older markets that was acquired by Charter, as most of their footprint except for those acquired markets have had the channels he mentions for years.

I actually think it may be the other way around Charter has been the cable provider here for at least 20 years.

Anyway, as for PQ, in my area, it's as good as Directv's except when there is flashing on the screen, like strobe light of a concert of lights on a cop car/ambulance. The picture goes to complete junk while the flashing is on screen.

Also, NFL Network and Redzone are in my market as well.

 

[king3pj]

Anyway, as for PQ, in my area, it's as good as Directv's except when there is flashing on the screen, like strobe light of a concert of lights on a cop car/ambulance. The picture goes to complete junk while the flashing is on screen.

I have actually been pleasantly surprised with the picture quality since coming back to Charter. When we had it years ago the HD quality was terrible compared to Dish. Now it's noticeably better than Dish in my area.

My parents still have Dish and the picture quality is okay for most channels. The HD locals appear to be worse than their other HD channels and much more bit-starved than what I get with Charter.

It's particularly noticeable when Michigan plays a home college football game on ABC. Everyone in the crowd waves these yellow and blue towels after a big play. At my parents house on Dish the screen turns into a blocky mess and even the score bug gets blurry when this happens. At my house with Charter on the same exact local ABC affiliate this doesn't happen.

 

[JonUrban]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all of the responses. I think you've all made up my mind.

So you think going with a Roamio would be a better situation than going with the newer Volt? I've never had a Tivo so I don't know.
I will research it over the next few days.

Thanks a ton. I will get hooked up with Charter and go the Tivo route for sure. I just have to settle on the model.

 

[king3pj]

All things being equal I would take the Bolt. The automatic commercial skipping alone would make it worth it. If the Roamio is significantly less expensive I would go with that though. I'm also not sure whether the Bolt supports OTA or not so if you are ever considering cutting the cord that's something to consider.