The "On Demand" aspect of different cable services

#1
KnoxRealtorVOL

KnoxRealtorVOL

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#1
Long story short, I'm probably switching cable company's soon since I want the promo price and I want the SEC Network. I currently have Comcast.

Here is my problem: Comcast OnDemand is fantastic. Pretty much any show or movie is always at your disposal. It's very user friendly and gives plenty of options. If I'm going to switch cable companies I want one that has just as good of an OnDemand set up or at least close.

I know Directv has a form of it, but isn't it EXTREMELY limited? And requires you to stream shows via the internet or something like that?

Does Charter have it at all? What about AT&T? Any help would be appreciated.
 
#2
#2
I used to have Charter and it was the one part of Charter that I really liked. They had most of your network stuff available, but it depended on the networks. I think the networks themselves control WHAT they will allow on demand more than they cable companies do, the cable companies just control HOW they get it to you. Charter was very user friendly and easy to search for stuff and watch. I switched to Direct though about 18 months ago because charter prices had just gone outrageous. When I 1st switched to Direct their on demand sucked. It was like you said. You had to find the show, que it up, wait for it to down load to your dvr, and only then could you watch it. Some time since then they did tweak it and it still DL to your DVR but you can watch it as it is doing so, so it is instant. I've never had to try it when the internet is down so I don't know if it will still do it, but slower over the sat or if it HAS to use the net. The one big ding against Direct I have is their on demand browser SUCKS. It just isn't efficient or user friendly, and it can be difficult to tell what is avail, what isn't, and what is actually PPV.

one benefit to the way Direct does it though is that as long as the show isn't PPV or from temporary subscription to a premium like HBO once it is DL it is yours till you kill it. With charter ( I didn't have a dvr then, that may change things) you were at their whimm. If the show rotated off on demand then it's gone, no second chances. At least with direct I can que up a bunch and then watch them at my leisure. You may be able to do that now that charter has a decent DVR, but I don't know.
 
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#3
#3
chatsworth_vol said:
I used to have Charter and it was the one part of Charter that I really liked. They had most of your network stuff available, but it depended on the networks. I think the networks themselves control WHAT they will allow on demand more than they cable companies do, the cable companies just control HOW they get it to you. Charter was very user friendly and easy to search for stuff and watch. I switched to Direct though about 18 months ago because charter prices had just gone outrageous. When I 1st switched to Direct their on demand sucked. It was like you said. You had to find the show, que it up, wait for it to down load to your dvr, and only then could you watch it. Some time since then they did tweak it and it still DL to your DVR but you can watch it as it is doing so, so it is instant. I've never had to try it when the internet is down so I don't know if it will still do it, but slower over the sat or if it HAS to use the net. The one big ding against Direct I have is their on demand browser SUCKS. It just isn't efficient or user friendly, and it can be difficult to tell what is avail, what isn't, and what is actually PPV.

one benefit to the way Direct does it though is that as long as the show isn't PPV or from temporary subscription to a premium like HBO once it is DL it is yours till you kill it. With charter ( I didn't have a dvr then, that may change things) you were at their whimm. If the show rotated off on demand then it's gone, no second chances. At least with direct I can que up a bunch and then watch them at my leisure. You may be able to do that now that charter has a decent DVR, but I don't know.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. I'm really curious about Uverse too. They may be my next best option.
 
#4
#4
Charter demand is great. Considering what you have to pay, it better be great.
 
#5
#5
chatt-townVOL said:
Thanks for the heads up. I'm really curious about Uverse too. They may be my next best option.
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We just changed back to U-verse from Comcast. I really can't offer any comparative insight regarding their respective "On Demand" offerings. I can tell you that U-verse provides a heck of a lot more digital storage space on their DVR than Comcast did. We will probably save $35-40 per month over the cost of Comcast's Triple Play Package.
 
#6
#6
Volosaurus rex said:
We just changed back to U-verse from Comcast. I really can't offer any comparative insight regarding their respective "On Demand" offerings. I can tell you that U-verse provides a heck of a lot more digital storage space on their DVR than Comcast did. We will probably save $35-40 per month over the cost of Comcast's Triple Play Package.
Click to expand...

Do you not have On Demand? Or just not use it?
 
#8
#8
chatt-townVOL said:
Long story short, I'm probably switching cable company's soon since I want the promo price and I want the SEC Network. I currently have Comcast.

Here is my problem: Comcast OnDemand is fantastic. Pretty much any show or movie is always at your disposal. It's very user friendly and gives plenty of options. If I'm going to switch cable companies I want one that has just as good of an OnDemand set up or at least close.

I know Directv has a form of it, but isn't it EXTREMELY limited? And requires you to stream shows via the internet or something like that?

Does Charter have it at all? What about AT&T? Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Why is it you find yourself using On-Demand most often?
 
#9
#9
Brighthouse (in Florida) has terrible On Demand. Comcast is light years ahead and that was back in 2010.
 
#10
#10
Having switched from Charter a few years back, I have no complaints about Direct's on-demand. You can load it up with your computer or mobile app, the storage size is great, and you can keep shows as long as you like, with the exception of premium (ppv) movies.
 
#11
#11
coug said:
Why is it you find yourself using On-Demand most often?
Click to expand...

Well just the convenience of it. For instance last night my wife and I were laying on the couch and there was nothing on TV, so we put it on Captain Philips.

Also, my wife has all her friends over every Thursday night for "Dexter Night" because all seasons of Dexter are On Demand. Once that's over they are starting Game of Thrones because all seasons of Game of Thrones are On Demand as well.
 
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#12
#12
chatt-townVOL said:
Well just the convenience of it. For instance last night my wife and I were laying on the couch and there was nothing on TV, so we put it on Captain Philips.

Also, my wife has all her friends over every Thursday night for "Dexter Night" because all seasons of Dexter are On Demand. Once that's over they are starting Game of Thrones because all seasons of Game of Thrones are On Demand as well.
Click to expand...

Comcast is more competitive with On-Demand if you want to break it down into details. U-Verse has just as much of a competitive movie database. With regard to something specific like Game Of Thrones they only currently offer Seasons 3 and 4.

Sorry for the crappy cell phone photo.
 

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#13
#13
coug said:
Comcast is more competitive with On-Demand if you want to break it down into details. U-Verse has just as much of a competitive movie database. With regard to something specific like Game Of Thrones they only currently offer Seasons 3 and 4.

Sorry for the crappy cell phone photo.
Click to expand...

Well thanks for the effort but unfortunately it was for naught....... I should have done this earlier but I checked and U-verse isn't available in my area anyways...... my B guys.


Soooooo......... who can tell me about Dish On Demand?
 
#14
#14
chatt-townVOL said:
Well thanks for the effort but unfortunately it was for naught....... I should have done this earlier but I checked and U-verse isn't available in my area anyways...... my B guys.


Soooooo......... who can tell me about Dish On Demand?
Click to expand...

Works great in arid climates..
 
#15
#15
In regards to the "on demand" feature I had to have them turn that feature of. I kept getting outrageous bills for upgrades silver and gold packages and other stuff. Had one bill for 300 dollars. I argued with them and made them turn it off and heck no I didn't pay it. With Charter sometimes it's the specific personality of the account assistant you get that determines a lot of things. Anyway two months of mysterious changes because of that feature.
 
#16
#16
I had Uverse for a while and the on demand was good.

I have DirecTV now and it's good but not as fast to start watching instantly.
 
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