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Looking to downgrade my Comcast service... looking for advice for cable modem, et. al.

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So, I pay the equivalent of a mid sized car payment each month for Comcast/Xfinity cable (internet, TV and phone), and I'm looking to change that.

Some requirements and info:
  • Must stay with them for ISP because there is no good alternative
  • I need a landline VoIP, since I have a monitored security system (that I completely own)
  • I'd like to reduce the amount of equipment I rent from them. Stupidly, I still rent a cable modem.
  • I have a roof mounted antenna about 30' up and can pull in over 20 OTA stations
  • I have 4 TVs, not sure which ones have Clear QAM tuners... I think all of them do.
So, my first questions:
  • Who provides VoIP service in the US these days? I used to have Vonage but don't even know if they're still around.
  • What kind of cable modem should I consider getting?
  • I have Amazon Prime, but don't currently have Netflix (would probably get that). Any other recommendations for content?
  • If I keep some kind of basic cable from them, how to mesh with my OTA antenna? i.e. - a switchbox?
 
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I've tried to get away from comcasts pricing and it's hard. The only thing I know you can do is buy the gateway modem with voip. You will save monthy $11 and maybe some of the monthy tax charges.

The modem alone can be really expensive and hard to find it seems.
 
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Who provides VoIP service in the US these days? I used to have Vonage but don't even know if they're still around.

Vonage is still around, but another good alternative is Ooma. With Ooma, you buy the box for $100, and then all they charge you monthly is the taxes and fees for having a phone number, so it amounts to less than $5 a month for a land line. It is a pretty good service.

What kind of cable modem should I consider getting?

I would get just a basic modem and then use your own router instead of getting a Comcast gateway that does both.

For example, here is a good modem that should do what you need: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16825694008

But with that modem, you'll need to add your own router that allows you to connect multiple computers as well as provides a wifi signal.

I have Amazon Prime, but don't currently have Netflix (would probably get that). Any other recommendations for content?

Hulu is also a good source of content.

If I keep some kind of basic cable from them, how to mesh with my OTA antenna? i.e. - a switchbox?

Your cable boxes should connect using HDMI, the OTA antenna will connect to the Coax connector on your TV. You just switch the source on the TV.
 

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Drop the modem Rental drop VoIP VoIP requires battery backup anyway all you need is a DOCSIS 3 Gateway or tandalone modem, surfboard or netgear...
 

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VoIP requires battery backup anyway

It's not required as long as you are OK with your phones not working during a power outage. And since most people have cordless phones that don't work during a power outage anyway, it isn't a big deal to not have a battery backup.
 

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It's not required as long as you are OK with your phones not working during a power outage. And since most people have cordless phones that don't work during a power outage anyway, it isn't a big deal to not have a battery backup.

Yup where a model 500 or slim/dolly Phone used the 48-53VDC to run, not a fan of it anyway.
 

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Unfortunately our options here in NH are limited. First thing is first, replace the modem with your own but, the real savings would come from getting rid of the TV and VOIP service through Comcast. The best way to get the price down would be to only get internet through them and use said internet to drive everything else. That's what I would be doing but, my wife refuses to give up live TV for some of her shows that she watches. Don't you pay for all but the first cable box so, HDTV on 5 TVs would be something like 40 dollars on top of the regular TV cost, wouldn't it?
 

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Unfortunately our options here in NH are limited. First thing is first, replace the modem with your own but, the real savings would come from getting rid of the TV and VOIP service through Comcast. The best way to get the price down would be to only get internet through them and use said internet to drive everything else. That's what I would be doing but, my wife refuses to give up live TV for some of her shows that she watches. Don't you pay for all but the first cable box so, HDTV on 5 TVs would be something like 40 dollars on top of the regular TV cost, wouldn't it?

Yup worked in the industry myself except for ATT.
When it comes to price both companies blow!!!
 
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Unfortunately our options here in NH are limited. First thing is first, replace the modem with your own but, the real savings would come from getting rid of the TV and VOIP service through Comcast. The best way to get the price down would be to only get internet through them and use said internet to drive everything else. That's what I would be doing but, my wife refuses to give up live TV for some of her shows that she watches. Don't you pay for all but the first cable box so, HDTV on 5 TVs would be something like 40 dollars on top of the regular TV cost, wouldn't it?

Yea, each HD box is something like $5-10/mo. The cable modem rental I think was $11/mo... most of them cost about $80 new, so less than 10 months ROI

You're in Concord... what crazy is just north in Boscawen, most residents can choose between Comcast and FIOS (I don't think it's Veriszon per se)
 

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Yea, each HD box is something like $5-10/mo. The cable modem rental I think was $11/mo... most of them cost about $80 new, so less than 10 months ROI

You're in Concord... what crazy is just north in Boscawen, most residents can choose between Comcast and FIOS (I don't think it's Veriszon per se)

Afaik Verizon got out of ISP/POTS/FIOS and went Wireless. Frontier bought the Facilities for ADSL/POTS and FIOS
 
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Comcast has some slower services they don't advertise. Like 50 / 5 I think for cheap. Buy you own hardware. It's like $30 +
 

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Yea, each HD box is something like $5-10/mo. The cable modem rental I think was $11/mo... most of them cost about $80 new, so less than 10 months ROI

And if you grab a refurbished model like I posted, the ROI is under 5 months.

Comcast has some slower services they don't advertise. Like 50 / 5 I think for cheap. Buy you own hardware

In my area they offer all the way down to 25Mbps if you are buying just internet. The moment you bundle the internet with any other server, the slowest you can go is 60Mbps.
 
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You're in Concord... what crazy is just north in Boscawen, most residents can choose between Comcast and FIOS (I don't think it's Veriszon per se)
It's Fairpoint and it's garbage. FirstLight might have metro fiber in Manchester but, it very well might cost more than Comcast.
https://www.firstlight.net/

Honestly, I see FirstLight trucks on my street all the time so, even I might have fiber nearby. I just haven't asked about cost since it seems to be mainly for businesses.
 

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Cable providers gouge for TV service because the channels gouge them. Inquire what just internet and phone service would cost. If that savings is appealing to you, could switch to OTA using HDHomeRuns. The initial set up is going to be expensive (I bought two NVIDIA Shields and one Xbox One S for about $650, three HDHomeRun EXTENDs for about $600) Emby premier lifetime licenses for $100, and $25/year for Schedules Direct guide info) and saved a lot of money by using my own server/hard drive I had laying around here. There's still technical issues especially with Emby but it works for the most part. The HDHomeRuns are set to MPEG4 heavy transcoding which adds up to about 1 GB per hour of recording.

I don't have Amazon nor Netflix subscriptions. For TV, my annual cost is literally electricity to run all that stuff (minimal) and $25/mo for guide information.

Everything is 4K HDR ready except the HDHomeRuns.


If you just want basic, live TV, you could just run coax to the TVs from the antenna and call it a day. Since Comcast is coax, that may already be done. It's just a matter of switching it from their equipment to an antenna/distributor.
 
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Shoot cc and att gouge for voip, better off using magic jack lol.

If Att still had pots where I'm at I'd tell them give it.
 

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if you have =<100mb/s service and don't plan to upgrade then a 8x4 modem is fine
if you plan on upgrading you should consider a 16x8 modem
 
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Some ideas of what I did...
If you can get QAM through the cable with internet service try finding a used HDhomerun prime....
even without a cable card it will still work for any non-encrypted QAM channels and they have an app for just about any device.
Setup a PC for DVR...It's really easy to do and with modern free Media Centers you can now set one up in less than 1200 steps...that's right! after just a few stressful weeks you can have free DVR.
or get HULU
Netflix is a must...Prime not so much.
Go90.com is awesome...it has the entire Babylon 5 series and it's free
Crackle....
HBO NOW sucks! get HBO through something like SlingTv or any other service that offers it so you have LIVE HBO.
DO spend the next month exploring the online TV options free trials...
 
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It's Fairpoint and it's garbage. FirstLight might have metro fiber in Manchester but, it very well might cost more than Comcast.
https://www.firstlight.net/

Honestly, I see FirstLight trucks on my street all the time so, even I might have fiber nearby. I just haven't asked about cost since it seems to be mainly for businesses.

I know someone who had FIOS up there and was quite happy with it, I swear they said a different name then Fairpoint.... and yea they suck ass.

First step for me is cable modem replacement. Two people I know have their own, so I'm working on getting brands and model numbers, and impressions

@newtekie1 ...VoIP I think I'll go for 1-Voip, ooma doesn't appear to have e-911, also I call Canada frequently, and that would cost me more with Ooma. Cool looking solution tho.

I have two UPS units, one at the cable modem where the switch and VoIP box would go, and the second for my WiFi router. The security system has it's own battery backup
 
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Remove your TV from cable service, that would save you a lot. Nothing interesting on TV you cannot obtain from internet anyway
 
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Benchmark Scores Suggestions.
My way of saving money on Internet connection is. I went fully digital. Meaning i have no Cable TV plan at ALL. I went antenna (basic channels are like 30+). Then all my other needs are fulfilled by Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu. The FCC website has a nifty feature to check which over the air channels you can get. Also get your own cable modem that the company supports because they charge you $10 Rental fee (at least for Spectrum customers). Personally im using the following. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016PE1X5K/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1RMD0JPAIHQZP&colid=2A4145V0BARO9&psc=1 . The modem i believe is 32x8
 

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Messages
28,472 (4.25/day)
Location
Indiana, USA
Processor Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory 32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super
Storage 500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s) Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s) Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
@newtekie1 ...VoIP I think I'll go for 1-Voip, ooma doesn't appear to have e-911, also I call Canada frequently, and that would cost me more with Ooma. Cool looking solution tho.

You get either Basic 911 or E911, but either way you can call 911. The only difference between basic and E911 is that E911 will use the location of the device to route the call to the correct call center. If you have Basic 911, it use the address on your account to route the call to the correct call center, which isn't really an issue if the Ooma is always connected at your home as a land line.

But yeah, the Canada calling means you'd have to sign up for the $10 Ooma premium service to get unlimited Canada and Mexico calling.
 

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
26,255 (4.66/day)
Location
IA, USA
System Name BY-2021
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X12 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse SteelSeries Sensei RAW
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
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