BHN Rates

[HDTVFanAtic]

I was paying for basic service, digital package, STB and extra $6 bucks for HDNET/INHD package.

I called up to order HBO-HD and or SHOW-HD.

They said either channel was $10 without In Demand and that both with all their sub channels and Indemand was $28 but they had a special for $20.

I told them I didn't care about their SD or In Demand, I wanted HD.

They said to go with the $20 package.

I then told them to add that but get rid of the digital tier (101+ plus Music and Pay per View for $7.95). They said I couldn't have HD then.

I asked why when I could pay less than that, get rid of the digital tier and get 2 Channels of HBO or SHOW HD (100% more than they could offer) for a cheaper price from Satellite without their stupid digital tier charge.

They put me on hold. Came back. Consolidated everything, giving me all the SHOWTIME and HBO channels, indemand and the 800 sports channels for $1 less than I am paying now.

Go figure.

[bdraw]

hmm, I don't know about anyone else, but I am confused.

What channels do you get now and how much do you pay?

My promotion runs out in July, so I will be looking for a deal, and I don't want to go back to D* considering I can record now, but I might if the D* HDTivo comes down a little.

[dvdao]

I'm cunfused also. Please do a price breakdown so I can call them up and harrass them for the same package :lol:

[CANDY76MAN]

wow...last time I tried to get a price break by threatening to go back to Directv the woman basicly told me not to let the door hit me on the way out....not those exact words of course but that was the general idea...lol :lol:

maybe I'll try again.

[LonghornXP]

Same thing with me they could care less about me leaving even though I was paying almost 160 per month and was willing to get an HD package if offered as well as a couple DVRs which would have brought my bill up to about 190 or so. So because of their feeling towards me they lost an extra 20+ bucks from me in addition to losing my current 160 bucks per month. Well they will be losing my remaining 44.95/month because since I get long distance with Verizon I'm thinking of switching to them for 29.95/month with taxes and get the MSN premium software which would cost an additional 9.95/month if bought from Microsoft directly. I never bothered to look at Verizon because they at one time costs almost 60 bucks per month but now I'm thinking very hard. I'm calling for more details but will most likely switch. Also does anyone with Verizon DSL happen to know if they bumped up there speed and what did they bumped it up too. Also what speeds are you getting if you wouldn't mind sharing.

[CANDY76MAN]

I'm told that once Verizon gets all their copper replaced with fiber (which they are in the process of doing) they will be offering dsl service at 10 mbps down (more than 9 times faster than my current roadrunner connection)...for about the same price as it is now...and it won't have that distance limitation that it has over copper which is keeping me from getting it now.

[LonghornXP]

Where did you get this info because if its true I'm going to switch now and just wait. Well Candayman it looks like you have a good rep if my memory serves me right as far as AVSForum goes. I would also like to know if I could get more information myself or if this is contact only info.

[CANDY76MAN]

sure...I made this post a couple weeks ago after I had my phoneline replaced and spent a while talking to the guy that came out to do it... he told me about a lot of other cool stuff comeing down the road too that I put in the post .....he seemed to know what he was talking about and said he had just finished a training course so he could work with the fiber.

http://www.tampahdtv.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=494&sid=123f5a31dcb67f9cce6406551236eb93

Also, about a week ago I was out at my parents place in Lithia (Fishhawk trails area) and a Verizon guy was there plotting out where the fiber optic cables would go when they start running them out in that area, he said they would probly be there and ready to run fiber from the main line to the houses in that area in about 2 years time....the guy that was at my house said 2 to 5 years for everything.

[bdraw]

they will be offering dsl service at 10 mbps down (more than 9 times faster than my current roadrunner connection)

You either can't add, are mis-informed, or have a really slow RR connection.

Me and EVERYONE I know that has RR CONSISTANTLY get 3mbps down and 384kbps up. (Yes I test my friends throughput when I visit.) If I were you I would call RR and complain

If Verizon does do this i will be the first to switch.

But I would not be surprised if RR doesn't match their offer.
They have plenty of bandwidth.

Currently BHN uses a 1000mhz network. A 6mhz channel can transmit ~20mbps, per head end. 1000/6=166.667*20mbps=3.333Gbps.
But as we all know they use most of this for TV channels, but they will find ways to get more and more throughput as there is a market for it.

I would love to have Fiber to the home, but the closest thing I have for now is BHN. The cable companies all over the world have been upgradeing their networks for years, while Verizon has been doing very little. If it wasn't for the cable co's offering phone service as cheap as they are right now, there is a good chance that Verizon would still be sitting on their hands.

[CANDY76MAN]

I just ran this tonite...it used to not go above 250 kbps and thats from Roadrunners own website.
Maybe your lucky enough to get much faster downloads where you are but where I am I get no where near 3 megabytes per second and never have in the six years I've had Roadrunner....and its actually faster now then it ever was....

At any rate, the point is that Verizon will be in direct competition with BHN and that will lower prices across the board I hope...I'm tired of paying 150 dollars a month just for tv and broadband.



http://68.202.79.31/images/speedtest.jpg

[HDTVFanAtic]

ok....I used to pay $49 and got Basic Cable, Digital Package $7.95, $6 for STB and paid $6 for HD Package of HDNET/INHD.

Now I get all that plus HBO/SHOWTIME (all their variations) plus the Sports package on 800-806 (whatever that is) for $48.

I called them and said I had got a phone call about a Special HBO offer (total BS) but opened the door that I had been called and shopping.

They looked up my account. Said they had special HBO/Showtime offer that normally was $28 or $29....for $20 where you got all the Showtime and HBO variations.

I told them I wanted HD and so had no interest in In Demand.

They said I could have either of the services without In Demand for $10.

I said fine, give me the $20 special, but I didn't want the digital package that I was paying $7.95 for (Channels 101+, Pay Per View, Music).

They said I had to get that to get HD. I said I was paying $6 for HD so don't tell me that.

They said that's the way it works.

I said why should I pay all these added fees when all I want is HD and the satellite companies will give me twice as many HBO and SHOWTIME HD channels and not charge me for the Digital Pack I don't want.

They said hold on.

Came back and then said they could combine everything I have into the $48 package with HBO and SHOWTIME.

That's what happens.

Maybe I'm just lucky as some peeps here can tell you I've had real good luck negotiating prices on HD stuff lately.

[bdraw]

In your screen shot you were getting 359KBps, mulitply that by 8 and you have 2872/1024=2.804Mbps.

That is pretty close to 3Mbps.

You are right RR did just upgrade their service from 2Mbps to 3Mbps I don't know why they always fail to let everyone know they got a 50% increase in bandwidth and didn't raise their rates. (for now)

Honestly Verizon already has a great deal for 29.99/mo for their baisc DSL, which is more than enough for most casual users.

[CANDY76MAN]

In your screen shot you were getting 359KBps, mulitply that by 8 and you have 2872/1024=2.804Mbps.

That is pretty close to 3Mbps.

You are right RR did just upgrade their service from 2Mbps to 3Mbps I don't know why they always fail to let everyone know they got a 50% increase in bandwidth and didn't raise their rates. (for now)

Honestly Verizon already has a great deal for 29.99/mo for their baisc DSL, which is more than enough for most casual users.

Maybe I have a missunderstanding here...you say 359 KILOBYTES equalls 2.8 MEGABYTES?
I have always been under the impression (and also every computer I've ever owned seems to think the same) that it takes 1000 kilobytes to make one megabyte which would mean my downloads are less than half a megabyte per second......now I've heard that there is some kind of difference between a bit and a byte but never really understood that or, if there is a difference, how to tell which your dealing with since the abbreviation is always used so you can't tell if KBPS is standing for kiloBYTES per second or kiloBITS per second (same with mbps)

Tell me why your multiplying by 8 when your figuring the bandwidth?....I must have been missing something here for the last 8 years.

[dvdao]

This is a great tool that I use to see how fast my connection is:

http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html?tag=cnetfd.ldgif

Thanks for the info HDTVFanAtic, I guess with all the competition now around here (Knology, D*, DISH, VOOM) that they have to try to keep the people who are somewhat willing to stay. I'm going to have to give them a call and see what they can give me.

[millerman101]

Bdraw its more like 750 not 1000....out limit in the field here is 750mhz..not 1000.. I dont know where everyone here always gets there figures...

[HDTVFanAtic]

And the real issue, what type of upload speed are you getting....and how did we get here on this thread, lol.

[bdraw]

Maybe I have a missunderstanding here...you say 359 KILOBYTES equalls 2.8 MEGABYTES?

This is very common, when people talk about bandwidth it is almost always measured in Mega Bits per second. or Mbps. Their are 1024 Kilo Bits in 1 Mega Bit. (Not 1000).

When throughput is discused it is discused in Bytes not bits. There are 8 bits in one byte. So 3Mbps is 8 times smaller than 3MBps, a Uppercase B usually means Byte and lower case b means bits.

So to figure out your throughput use this equasion.

Mbps = KBps * 8 / 1024

The reason it is 1024 rather than 1000 is becuase it is binary math not decimal. This is the same reason you buy a 20GB HD that isn't really 20GB. When you buy the HD they sell you decimal bytes, but the PC measures everything in binary bytes. Just like when you buy memory.
Count in binary like this.
0 1 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 4096 ...............

Remember their are 10 types of people that understand binary
Those who do and those who don't.

[bdraw]

And the real issue, what type of upload speed are you getting....and how did we get here on this thread, lol.

384 Kbps or .375Mbps or 48KBps.

Sorry to go off topic in your thread.

[jaymer]

candyman - its just simple math.

bits vs. bytes

connections speeds are measured in bits / second... see this ad:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10353595&loc=101&sp=1

its BITS

but the speed dialog box in IE is a capital B, which is BYTES

your speed is great!
forget the thousands for a second,
350 BYTES is 350*8 bits
which is 2800
as Ben said, you're almost at 3 megaBITS per second - exactly where you should be

jaymer...

[bdraw]

Bdraw its more like 750 not 1000....out limit in the field here is 750mhz..not 1000.. I dont know where everyone here always gets there figures...

Sorry I made that up. Thanks for the correction it is good to know what BHN acutally uses. I based my guess on some info from howstuffworks.com and the splitters that my installer uses.

[jaymer]

DAMN - Ben beat me by 3 minutes!!!
If I wouldn't have taken time to close this other guy's thread, I would have beat HIM!!!

[CANDY76MAN]

I stand corrected....Verizon plans to offer dsl that is a little over three times faster than what BHN offers standard, not 9 times faster....still a huge jump at any rate.

[brennt]

Also does anyone with Verizon DSL happen to know if they bumped up there speed and what did they bumped it up too. Also what speeds are you getting if you wouldn't mind sharing.

I have Verizon DSL and my speed is around 700 kbps (87.5 KB/s). I have had it since Jan. 2001, the time I cancelled cable and went to DISH Network. Since that time, until the present, the speed has been the same.

I still have DISH and have been waiting for the 921 HD DVR, but that is not looking like a good idea anymore. I would like a HD DVR and would consider going back to cable, as I understand BH may have one this summer. But I have no idea how the programming prices compare at this point. I guess I will wait and see what users experiences are with the upcoming HD DVR before getting concerned about price.

Remember their are 10 types of people that understand binary
Those who do and those who don't.

Are you sure it's not 11 types:

01 - Those who do,
10 - Those who don't, and
11 - Those that understand way too much?

[bdraw]

Remember their are 10 types of people that understand binary
Those who do and those who don't.

Are you sure it's not 11 types:

01 - Those who do,
10 - Those who don't, and
11 - Those that understand way too much?

Too much?
I don't understand that phrase, too much. It must be like too rich or too much fun.