I've been using OTA only with WMC as my DVR for the last year. I just received the 4 tuner Roamio with 2 years of service paid up front as a Christmas present. I've been perfectly happy with OTA and streaming for the last year but now that I could have 2 years with my only equipment fee being a $2 cable card I've started to think about subscribing to pay TV again.
I haven't had Charter TV in probably at least 10 years. In that time I have had a few years with Directv and the rest was with Dish. Due to that I don't really know much about Charter's packages or the ins and outs to getting the best deal.
Here's what I know. My 2 year internet only promotion expires in April. At that time my internet bill will increase from $44.99 to $54.99. I constantly get offers in the mail to bundle phone and TV with my internet for $29.99 each or a total of $89.97. My cell has unlimited minutes and has been my only phone for about 10 years now so I have no interest in a landline. I was hoping to take advantage of that $29.99 each offer for just cable and internet since that will only be about $5 more than just internet once my price increases in April.
I went into the local office this morning and asked the lady at the front desk what my options were for adding TV to my internet only plan. She said she could give me TV and internet for $39.99 each for a year and avoid my internet price increase to $54.99 that's due in April. After taxes and a cable card she said it would come to about $88. That's a little disappointing because that is within $2 of their triple play bundle even though I don't want phone service. The plus side is that for TV and internet together from Charter I would pay almost exactly what I was paying for just Dish a year ago.
I'm not sure how well the woman knew what she was talking about though. She told me that this would require a $7 a month digital receiver even after I told her I already have a Tivo. I don't think this $7 included DVR service and I'm not even positive if it was a HD receiver. It wasn't until I specifically asked about cable cards that she told me I could have one of those for $2 instead of the digital receiver. She claimed that no one does that because on demand doesn't work unless you use their official boxes. I will record the programs I want so I don't care about on demand. She also told me that a $30 installation was required even though all I need is a splitter before my cable modem and a cable card. Again, disappointing but since this is a one time charge it's not a deal breaker.
I haven't had Charter TV in probably at least 10 years. In that time I have had a few years with Directv and the rest was with Dish. Due to that I don't really know much about Charter's packages or the ins and outs to getting the best deal.
Here's what I know. My 2 year internet only promotion expires in April. At that time my internet bill will increase from $44.99 to $54.99. I constantly get offers in the mail to bundle phone and TV with my internet for $29.99 each or a total of $89.97. My cell has unlimited minutes and has been my only phone for about 10 years now so I have no interest in a landline. I was hoping to take advantage of that $29.99 each offer for just cable and internet since that will only be about $5 more than just internet once my price increases in April.
I went into the local office this morning and asked the lady at the front desk what my options were for adding TV to my internet only plan. She said she could give me TV and internet for $39.99 each for a year and avoid my internet price increase to $54.99 that's due in April. After taxes and a cable card she said it would come to about $88. That's a little disappointing because that is within $2 of their triple play bundle even though I don't want phone service. The plus side is that for TV and internet together from Charter I would pay almost exactly what I was paying for just Dish a year ago.
I'm not sure how well the woman knew what she was talking about though. She told me that this would require a $7 a month digital receiver even after I told her I already have a Tivo. I don't think this $7 included DVR service and I'm not even positive if it was a HD receiver. It wasn't until I specifically asked about cable cards that she told me I could have one of those for $2 instead of the digital receiver. She claimed that no one does that because on demand doesn't work unless you use their official boxes. I will record the programs I want so I don't care about on demand. She also told me that a $30 installation was required even though all I need is a splitter before my cable modem and a cable card. Again, disappointing but since this is a one time charge it's not a deal breaker.
They called me again last night trying to get me to sign up for TV. I quit trying to explain why I don't need their service, they just don't understand FTA and OTA. But they do understand "NO".
