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is Comcast still charging a "HD Technology Fee " ?
is Comcast still charging a "HD Technology Fee " ?
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16,716 Posts
even with the national realignment of channels and fees, this still varies by market, unfortunately.
in our market, as long as you have no comcast video equipment, no hd fee - i have a cablecard set as my primary receiver, no x1 (or older) boxes, so no hd fee.
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289 Posts
is the "national realignment of channels and fees" some kind of regulation placed on comcast after consumer complains about their garbage fees?
I saw this lawyer on youtube say that one state sued them and won forcing them to pay restitution for the people of that state for violating some kind of consumer protection law over one of their crazy fees. I think it was like some kind of wire protection plan that they charged when no one signed up.
In any event, this HD fees has always been suspect. I would be glad to see it go.
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16,716 Posts
afaik, the channel/fee realignment was to promote less confusion - i forgot to mention, there are channel packages that include the hd tech fee.
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1,866 Posts
Comcast has gotten the message. The "HD Technology Fee" is included in all of the CATV service plans under the new Simple & Easy structure that is supposed to be implemented throughout their system at some point. Unfortunately, that implementation has not reached all of their regions yet and the rollout has been slow.
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427 Posts
As I recall seeing anecdotally reported elsewhere, there are a couple of the very lowest tier (standalone?) TV plans that do not include the HD Tech Fee, even under S&E, although all the bundles/packages apparently include it (I have not personally tried, nor know anyone who has tried, to review every rate card in all S&E locations, so, knowing Comcast, there are exceptions).
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8,700 Posts
A little off topic, but, my bill that came yesterday noted an increase of $5.....in general usage fees. Ugh. Our $91.99 for Internet and TV ends up being just over $116 with all that crap added in. It's still cheaper for us than either doing something based on YTTV (as an example) or even a bit cheaper than shifting to Burlington Telecomm (fiber) for the same stuff. We prob will still ride this for now and consider a switch in a few years I guess.
Comcast's add-on fees are getting to be outrageous. But the problem really, IMO, is that they choose to hide those non-optional fees in unadvertised separate line items. AT&T is more transparent in their pricing. But still, if you sign up for AT&T Fiber + TV as a new customer and take their 100/100 Mbps internet (gateway included) and Entertainment TV package (locals + most popular national cable nets but no RSNs or premiums, 1 box included, 500 hr cloud DVR) with a 2-yr contract, the average monthly price over the 24 months comes out to about $118 total (before any taxes) after deducting the up-front $200 in Visa gift cards. So about the same as what you're paying Comcast.
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But is AT&T willing to give double play new customer promos every 2 years like Comcast does? If not you'll be switching between the two every couple of years. Also from what I see promo prices are only good for the first 12 months, after that (in my area) it almost doubles in price - from $77 to $142 for Ultimate TV, from $45 to $75 for HSI.
And the bigger issue is that you're stuck with AT&T's streaming limitations instead of far superior Tivos on Comcast.
With the somewhat equivalent pkg on AT&T (Ultimate TV + 300mb HSI, I have 400mb on Comcast) the monthly contract price with tax+fees is WAY higher than the $130/mo. I'm paying Comcast. And yeah I'm including the $200 Visa GC discount.
And the bigger issue is that you're stuck with AT&T's streaming limitations instead of far superior Tivos on Comcast.
With the somewhat equivalent pkg on AT&T (Ultimate TV + 300mb HSI, I have 400mb on Comcast) the monthly contract price with tax+fees is WAY higher than the $130/mo. I'm paying Comcast. And yeah I'm including the $200 Visa GC discount.
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36,453 Posts
I never paid an HD fee, since I had only TiVo devices since before getting an HD TV. But the lack of an HD fee on my account forced the Xfinity Roku app to only serve SD channels.
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The fees seem to be only on TV. I have. $39.99 promotional internet plan (I stream my TV) and it bills at $39.99.
No one knows given that AT&T TV hasn't been around for 2 years yet. Also, I don't know that Comcast always offers existing customers at the end of a contract the same deals that they offer new customers. I know some folks have been able to get those deals but others haven't. My experience with Comcast in years past was mixed.
Which brings up the point that the pricing calculation I did for AT&T vs. Comcast didn't factor in the additional cost of TiVo hardware and service. The original poster, quoting that $116/mo figure was only referencing what he pays Comcast, which does not include a DVR service fee since he pays/paid that to TiVo separately.
Fair enough. But then, to be fair, you also have to include on the Comcast side the cost of TiVo hardware and service. And does your Comcast figure include renting their gateway (which is included in the AT&T figure) or do you use your own modem and router?
And then there's the matter of Comcast having really crappy picture quality while AT&T TV has the best picture quality of any major cable TV provider. And Comcast having a less advanced HFC network with much slower upload speeds and data caps, versus AT&T's fiber-to-the-home network with symmetrical speeds and no data caps. But, OTOH, you're getting a better DVR experience with TiVo. But no access to Comcast's on-demand, while AT&T TV has lots of it whether you're using their supplied device or the AT&T TV app.
So, as always, trade-offs. Anyhow, the original point I was making wasn't so much that AT&T TV is better than Comcast or anyone else but rather that the various providers price things so that they're pretty competitive if you're paying for roughly the same services and features.
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1,866 Posts
I had the same experience, but something changed a couple of months ago and I now get my full authorized HD channel lineup via the Roku's Xfinity Stream app. I can't say whether this was due to something in my account or whether it is a system-wide change, but you should check your app again to verify what you are getting.
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Used lifetime Roamios are cheap, the AT&T 'free' gateway is only for the first 12 months (like all their other bait-and-switch '2-year' prices which are only good for one year), and you can get Comcast VOD with Roku and Fire sticks or TVs that have the app.
I agree that crappy Comcast 720p and caps suck compared to AT&T, but they are the better service for the money otherwise (at least in my area).
No, the prices I was quoting included paying the regular $10/mo rental fee for the AT&T Fiber gateway. Although right now, the 300 and 1000 Mbps tiers are waiving that fee for the first year. (Who knows how long that will last, though. AT&T constantly changes their promo pricing. But then so does Comcast...)
And, yeah, if you're willing to use an outdated, used DVR with no warranty, you can pick up a Roamio with lifetime service for about $300 (which averages out to $12.50 per month over a 24-month period).
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LOL, might be outdated but it's the best Tivo ever made, at least running TE3. You get sticks or use your TV's apps for streaming, no issues.
'outdated'? really? Your thoughts on other entertainment devices, appliances & even vehicles that might have DOM late 2013? Are all 'outdated'?
It's difficult to 'hang an OUTDATED' on the Roamio' but doesn't surprise me a bit that @NashGuy might
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