HELP: Can I buy my own "box" or do I have to rent the Cable Co's? (1 Viewer)

[ChazEd]

Help Please! I have extended basic cable by Suddenlink. Just got a 42" plasma & home theater system by Panasonic.


I'm looking into Digital Cable w/HD option, High Speed Internet & Telephone Bundle. The service guy said I needed to rent a box from Suddenlink which ups my monthly cost. When I ask him if I could buy my own "box" instead... he didn't know what to say.


Any resources out there that I could check into? Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

To get their interactive services, premium channels and HD content you need either their box or their cable card which would plug directly into your TV. If you want an HD-DVR you're probably better off anyway. The alternative would be a cable card (or two for dual-tuner support), which you'r pay a monthly fee for, plus an HD-TiVo, which you'd pay several hundred dollars plus a monthly fee (to TiVo) for. My HD channel line-up and HD-DVR add $15.95 to my monthly bill $4.00 of that is the extra cost of having a DVR instead of a plain-old cable box. Since basic cable is paid for out of my condo association maintenance fee, my total bill, including tax and fees, is about $22.00.

Sorry.

Regards,

Joe

 

[ChazEd]

Thanks for the info...it is helpful. I guess I was feeling a bit misled by the advertising... I was quoted what I thought was the "total charge" and then I'm told I need to rent the Suddenlink DVR - Box..for about $16 or so more a month. This boosts my total bill to closer to $150 which is more than I wanted. I know I'll get phone & fast internet but it kind of chaps me the wrong way with this added charge. And I'm sure the cable company will boost my cable rates in a year or sooner. I mean has anyone ever heard of cable rates ever being reduced? Nope.

The faster internet and phone is what I was getting me interested. I may ditch cable and just get those two features. Guess I'll check out the satellite packages and do the math.


Thanks again.

 

[David Willow]

You can get a MOXI box for a one time $499 fee. There are no additional fees to Moxi for the lifetime use of the box. You then need to rent a cable card (one card regardless of how many tuners) from the cable company.

In this scenario you would break even after 41 months.

The best option (IMO) is get a TV with cable card slot built in. Of course if you already have your TV, this is even more expensive.

The only other option (that I'm aware of) besides Tivo and Moxi is build your own DVR. I'm not aware of any non DVR boxes you can purchase.

 

[ChazEd]

Thanks David for the info. Since you brought it up, I have entertained the notion of building my own HTPC with DVR capabilities. This would allow for webvideo streaming from online webcasts, etc. So would this circumvent the need to rent a box from the cable co? Would the cable card be able to be installed in the HTPC?

I've built DIY PCs so I've a little bit of techie capability.
Thanks

 

[David Willow]

Yes, you can get a tuner with cablecard in your PC. I believe there are some dual and quad tuner cards coming soon. I'm not up on the subject, but I have seen a few articles. There is a Computer and HTPC section here at HTF. I'm sure if you asked questions there you will get the advice you need.

 

[ChazEd]

Thanks again David... I did a little checking in the HTPC section. There's some good info there and I will look into it
more thoroughly !

Again thanks for your help!