Todd Anderson
Editor / Senior Partner
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- Preamp, Processor or Receiver
- StormAudio ISP.24 MK2
- Main Amp
- Emotiva XPA-5
- Additional Amp
- Emotiva XPA Gen3 2.8 multichannel amp
- Other Amp
- Denon X8500H
- DAC
- THX ONYX
- Computer Audio
- AudioEngine A2+
- Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
- Kaleidescape TERRA
OPPO UDP-203
Panasonic UB9000
- Streaming Equipment
- iFi Audio Zen Blue
- Streaming Subscriptions
- Spotify
- Front Speakers
- GoldenEar Technology Triton One.R
- Center Channel Speaker
- GoldenEar Technology SuperCenter Reference
- Surround Speakers
- GoldenEar Invisa MPX
- Surround Back Speakers
- GoldenEar Invisa MPX
- Front Height Speakers
- SVS Prime Elevation x4 (Top Front, Top Mid-Front)
- Rear Height Speakers
- SVS Prime Elevation x4 (Top Middle, Top Rear)
- Subwoofers
- Quad Array SVS SB16s
- Other Speakers
- Behringer 1124p; Aura Bass Shaker Pros; SuperSub X
- Screen
- Seymour Screen Excellence, Enlightor NEO AT Screen
- Video Display Device
- JVC NZ8
- Other Equipment
- Sony 65-inch A95L OLED
Sony 65-inch X900F
ZeroSurge 8R15W x 2
ZeroSurge 2R15W x 2
It's been a minute.
I've been a Comcast/Xfinity customer for practically 24 years... both here in the DC/Baltimore region and up in Philly. The primary reason for sticking with Comcast has been access to the regional sports networks (RSN). Here in Maryland, that means MASN or the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which gives me access to local MLB baseball. Unfortunately, a subscription to MLB baseball only gives you access to out of market games, blacking out local teams.
Gotta have access to my O's.
In recent years, we've paid roughly $215-$225 for Xfinity cable and Gigabit internet. I think our most recent deal was part of Comcast's triple-play package that also includes a cable-based phone line (which was activated, but we never installed it).
I've put up with lots of little issues over the years, including middling HD picture quality and times when our service drops, necessitating tedious box resets, or just waiting for random luck. And sticking with Xfinity was the easy thing to do... Fios and DTV are also options, but based on the experiences of friends, it seemed like my Xfinity experience was equal to or slightly better than what they were experiencing. And to be honest, the X1 platform is a great user experience. Very well executed.
Last year, the arrival of NFL on Amazon was eye-opening to me simply because the uptick in picture quality was notable. I've tried free trials of some of the cable like streaming service (like YouTube)... but none of them have MASN.
Looooong story short, I pulled the trigger on a month of Direct TV Stream last week. It's the only streaming service that has regional sports (MASN) as part of the package. Wow, completely blown away by how good the HD channels look. And playoff baseball on the 4K channels looks FABULOUS. A package of 105 channels that includes all of the sports channels that I like runs about $89 a month, locked for two years with no contract. In the process, we're switching over to Fios gigabit for faster upload speeds.
I'm actually a bit surprised at how much better the HD picture quality is from channel to channel, as opposed to Xfinity. I've not paid too much attention to the various streaming services as they've rolled out, so I'm not sure how long DT V Stream has been a thing.
Anyone else been looking to leave cable, but haven't because of RSN handcuffs?
I've been a Comcast/Xfinity customer for practically 24 years... both here in the DC/Baltimore region and up in Philly. The primary reason for sticking with Comcast has been access to the regional sports networks (RSN). Here in Maryland, that means MASN or the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which gives me access to local MLB baseball. Unfortunately, a subscription to MLB baseball only gives you access to out of market games, blacking out local teams.
Gotta have access to my O's.
In recent years, we've paid roughly $215-$225 for Xfinity cable and Gigabit internet. I think our most recent deal was part of Comcast's triple-play package that also includes a cable-based phone line (which was activated, but we never installed it).
I've put up with lots of little issues over the years, including middling HD picture quality and times when our service drops, necessitating tedious box resets, or just waiting for random luck. And sticking with Xfinity was the easy thing to do... Fios and DTV are also options, but based on the experiences of friends, it seemed like my Xfinity experience was equal to or slightly better than what they were experiencing. And to be honest, the X1 platform is a great user experience. Very well executed.
Last year, the arrival of NFL on Amazon was eye-opening to me simply because the uptick in picture quality was notable. I've tried free trials of some of the cable like streaming service (like YouTube)... but none of them have MASN.
Looooong story short, I pulled the trigger on a month of Direct TV Stream last week. It's the only streaming service that has regional sports (MASN) as part of the package. Wow, completely blown away by how good the HD channels look. And playoff baseball on the 4K channels looks FABULOUS. A package of 105 channels that includes all of the sports channels that I like runs about $89 a month, locked for two years with no contract. In the process, we're switching over to Fios gigabit for faster upload speeds.
I'm actually a bit surprised at how much better the HD picture quality is from channel to channel, as opposed to Xfinity. I've not paid too much attention to the various streaming services as they've rolled out, so I'm not sure how long DT V Stream has been a thing.
Anyone else been looking to leave cable, but haven't because of RSN handcuffs?
