If you could start over...

[heedpantsnow]

Here's your chance to start over vicariously.

My family and I recently moved back to the US from overseas.  We work for a non-profit and now we will be based at their home office in Orlando.

We have no cell contracts, not tied into any internet, and no TV service.  We're looking at buying a house and getting new phones, etc.

So, if you could start over, what would you go with?  I don't have all the money in the world, but I'm willing to pay for quality service.

A few notes:
I don't think Fios is available at most of the houses we are looking at.  :-(  Need a provider who is more BT/streaming friendly with as little throttling as possible.
We don't watch a ton of TV, mainly ESPN, some news sites, and some of the home/cooking/diy type shows.  Don't really need any movie channels as I already have a sweet Plex server and a ton of content.  I don't care at all about 3D content.  Gives me a headache.

Thanks for the help!

[osi]

I live in O town and my provider choices are between comcast and brighthouse.

I've easily had more service interruptions with comcast. I'm not a heavy downloader but I've never received any complaints from bright house in terms of abuse of service.

Comcast did allow me to use my own modem which was a plus.

[strict]

Don't do cable or dish. Get an HD antenna for local channels and use UseNet with SickBeard & CouchPotato for tv and movies. Netflix would also be a good addition to that. My usenet sub is $10/mo, my usenet indexer (nzbgeek) is $1/mo. No commercials, no bull****, no contracts, just tv and movies.

If you have a PS3, 360, Chromecast, etc you can use something like Universal Media Server or Plex to stream your downloads right to your TV.

[CPTBadAss]

When I moved out and got my first real job, I decided that paying for television was a waste of money. Anything I could want to watch I can find on the internet. I currently don't own a TV or any cable TV services. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I pay for Netflix and Spotify.

As for cell phones, I'm a fan of Verizon. I have moved a lot and I travel a lot. Verizon is the only company to give me the coverage I need when I'm out and about. I had T-Mobile and Sprint before. T-Mobile had horrible coverage and Sprint wasn't too bad but their coverage wasn't as good as Verizon in my opinion.

[esoomenona]

If I could start over, I would get more into media sharing over a network, like Plex, etc. and more torrenting. All you need is good internet. Paying for cable is a waste of time. Scan through channels, nothing on, settle for something. Why? You should be able to choose what you want every moment in time.

[heedpantsnow]

Ok, so what I'm hearing is:
Brighthouse over comcast
Streaming over cable or satellite (I already agree with that one)
Verizon over others

Any more thoughts? 

What do you streaming guys do about live sports?  I've used a Slingbox and TenYardTorrents in the past, but it's not easy enough for my wife or kids to do. Any better options (mainly college FB and bb)?

[CPTBadAss]

Live sports is a tricky one. I use a combination of live streams and bunny ears but it's not ideal. In the past I've split the NBA package where they let you watch games online with a friend? I forget what it's called.  Not sure of what a good replacement for cable TV and live sports is.

[esoomenona]

>live sports

Go out and get drunk and socialize.

[CPTBadAss]

Yeah that's been my go to but it's hard to catch *all* the NBA games I wanna see.

[esoomenona]

Yeah that's been my go to but it's hard to catch *all* the NBA games I wanna see.

Then more drinking is required.

[CPTBadAss]

Huh? How does more drinking allow me to travel to say Brooklyn or Oklahoma City to see the games there?

[esoomenona]

If you were drunk, you'd figure out a way. Anything is possible then.

[ComradeSniper]

I have heard that other phone providers have better rates then Verizon, but here in MT Verizon is pretty much my only option so I've never looked into anything else. So other companies might be a better deal if they have good coverage in your area and you don't plan on traveling much, but I too can vouch for Verizon's awesome coverage.

[CPTBadAss]

That's very true. I stick with Verizon since I travel a lot. If you don't, perhaps another service would have good coverage in your area and would be cheaper.

[Lastpilot]

Whatever house you end up getting make sure your desk gets lots of sunlight. Makes my computer time so much happier :]

[noisyturtle]

I would not have done what I did last week. **** I would give anything to take that moment back. My whole life on it's head because on one stupid moment.

[Oobly]

I would not have done what I did last week. **** I would give anything to take that moment back. My whole life on it's head because on one stupid moment.

You gave Ripster that body massage?

[heedpantsnow]

Lol

Hey does anyone know how I can find out who offers internet at a certain address? 

[osi]

Inquire you're HOA if you have one. They may be able to point you in the right direction.


Else, making a few calls to local providers to check if the area is serviceable is probably your best bet

[Kraksx]

I have never had a problem with bright house's internet. Their customer service is trash though

[tp4tissue]

IDK.. you have an opportunity here to   GO OUTSIDE and do normal people stuff..

Or you can stay inside and play internet.

[heedpantsnow]

Thanks for the help guys.