Looking to "cut the cord" Tivo a good option? (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

I’ve never streamed outside my home yet, so that shortcoming will not be an issue with me. It’s good to read Xfinity is ok.

FYI, if you have several displays in your home, instead of renting an Xfinity X1 cable box for each display at $10 per month each, you can use a Roku box with the Xfinity TV Beta app at no cost. The app is more cumbersome than using a cable box, but it does save some money. We have five TV's in the house, and I use the Roku + Xfinity app on three of them, saving us $30 per month in equipment rentals. The 1080p Roku devices are only $30 each, so the payback is quite fast, plus you can use the Roku to stream lots of other stuff.

Last I checked, the app was not available for Apple TV.

 

[Todd Erwin]

FYI, if you have several displays in your home, instead of renting an Xfinity X1 cable box for each display at $10 per month each, you can use a Roku box with the Xfinity TV Beta app at no cost. The app is more cumbersome than using a cable box, but it does save some money. We have five TV's in the house, and I use the Roku + Xfinity app on three of them, saving us $30 per month in equipment rentals. The 1080p Roku devices are only $30 each, so the payback is quite fast, plus you can use the Roku to stream lots of other stuff.

Last I checked, the app was not available for Apple TV.

Same with Spectrum, although their app only streams in stereo.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Same with Spectrum, although their app only streams in stereo.

That may be the case with Xfinity, too, but I am not certain. We are using it with the TV's built-in speakers in three rooms, though, so that is not an issue for us. I have an X1 cable box in the family room where the main home theater is located, plus another one in the master bedroom where my wife watches TV the most. The other displays with just a Roku + app are in her office / craft room, the exercise room, and the bar in our basement / recreation room.

 

[Todd Erwin]

That may be the case with Xfinity, too, but I am not certain. We are using it with the TV's built-in speakers in three rooms, though, so that is not an issue for us. I have an X1 cable box in the family room where the main home theater is located, plus another one in the master bedroom where my wife watches TV the most. The other displays with just a Roku + app are in her office / craft room, the exercise room, and the bar in our basement / recreation room.

I was looking into Spectrum's app because they are still using 15-20 year old cable boxes and DVRs in my area.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I was looking into Spectrum's app because they are still using 15-20 year old cable boxes and DVRs in my area.

Yuck. At least Comcast is using modern cable boxes -- they even have one available that supports 4K. I have not upgraded to that box, though, as there is very little 4K content available on Comcast.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Yuck. At least Comcast is using modern cable boxes -- they even have one available that supports 4K. I have not upgraded to that box, though, as there is very little 4K content available on Comcast.

I loved Comcast's DVR's when I had Cox for my cable company in Southern California. Cox was rebranding Comcast's Xfinity boxes after a complete disaster when they tried to design their own (or try to make the old Motorola junk that Spectrum still uses function well).

 

[Todd Erwin]

So, I did my free trial of Spectrum TV streaming this morning, and abruptly cancelled in less than an hour. The picture quality was horrendous - very soft with very obvious macro-blocking. HD channels looked like badly upconverted 480p to 1080i. Audio was stereo only (but I kind of knew that going in). When I called to cancel, the lady tried to tell me that I need to give it a few days for the picture quality to adjust on my Roku. I told her that their service just wasn't going to work for me based on what I was currently seeing. She then tried in desperation to keep me from cancelling by suggesting I use the TV Everywhere apps on my Roku rather than use the Spectrum app, since as a subscriber I have free access to those channels. I politely told her "thanks but no thanks - just cancel my TV service."

 

[Johnny Angell]

Xfinity was supposed to be installed today. When the tech arrived late, he said I was only signed up for broadband and streaming Xfinity. I explained that I signed up for cable tv and broadband and I wasn’t going to use their boxes because I bought TiVo’s and they needed to supply the necessary activation cards. “We don’t do that, we don’t carry the cards anymore.”

After about an hour of talking with him, his supervisor on the phone, and then someone else in customer service, they agreed it can be done, but we don’t have the cards with us. I canceled the appointment and the next appointment available is the 21st. I am so pissed. I was very clear the the CSR who wrote up my order, my wife was listening to the initial conversation and agreed it was clear.

I’m going to google the email of the CEO and write him an email to explain that they’ve gotten off on the wrong foot with this new customer. Gad, I’m pissed.

 

[DaveF]

That sucks! Hope they can get you installed sooner than that!

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Sony is discontinuing their PlayStation Vue service, so that is no longer an option.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/sony-playstation-vue-shut-down-january/

 

[Johnny Angell]

Xfinity was supposed to be installed today. When the tech arrived late, he said I was only signed up for broadband and streaming Xfinity. I explained that I signed up for cable tv and broadband and I wasn’t going to use their boxes because I bought TiVo’s and they needed to supply the necessary activation cards. “We don’t do that, we don’t carry the cards anymore.”

After about an hour of talking with him, his supervisor on the phone, and then someone else in customer service, they agreed it can be done, but we don’t have the cards with us. I canceled the appointment and the next appointment available is the 21st. I am so pissed. I was very clear the the CSR who wrote up my order, my wife was listening to the initial conversation and agreed it was clear.

I’m going to google the email of the CEO and write him an email to explain that they’ve gotten off on the wrong foot with this new customer. Gad, I’m pissed.

I never did update what the final result was. I was pissed and the next morning I wrote an email to the CEO of comcast and within 2 hours I got a call from Faye at corporate. She proceeded to provide escort my install to completion. Instead of 10 or more days later, they came out on Sunday and did the install. When I selected my package, TMC was included in it. It’s not included anymore. I called Fay and she said that while they make that part of the agreement I clicked on (that they can change stuff like that), she gave me a one-time $60 credit to pay for 6 months of the cost of the package I had to upgrade to. She also gave me a $70 credit to pay for the install charge. So we are installed and I’m happy, except for...

I had everything up and running and called DTV to schedule a cancellation. Then they got serious about keeping me. I was offered a rate of $65 a month for my current package which included HBO and a $200 credit. Had they offered that before I bought the two TiVo’s, I’d still be a DTV customer. I said where was this deal when I needed it and since I had spent over $500 on two TiVo’s, I couldn’t do it. They raised the credit to $300. Still couldn’t take it. So after close to 20 years I’ve left DTV. What’s a real pisser is that on a previous call, when I tried to get some discounts, the csr told me DTV doesn’t do that anymore. I relayed that to this current CSR and they said that wasn’t true.

So if you’ve got a problem with a company, try going to corporate because often the local folks don’t give a shit.