My Internet Sucks

[pete_c]

Had a CC door knocker come by the house on Friday last week (13th of October).  We spoke for a time.  He was in a selling mode and did state the best hardware for service would be their combo WAP-Firewall-VOIP box as there was nothing better for use with CC.  Only real deal offered was a combination package which too he mentioned as the best deal. (combination package was Internet, Television and VOIP).  I did mention to him that I had been a CC ISP customer since the early 2000's and he did not have a record of this on his tablet which I was curious about.
 
This is very similar to Uverse door knockers from last year.  Initially it was 2 then a follow up with 1.  It was a hard push for me to change over to U verse from CC.  A bit back and forth with the 3rd CS person got me a great just Internet price.  I wanted it as a secondary fail-over to CC.  The speed updates were the push and the 3rd CS person asked me why I didn't want a speed increase to my internet.
 
The 3rd CS person stated that Uverse would be utilizing my cable and it would cost $200 for them to install another cable.  I do also have copper and wondered why they wouldn't utilize the copper at the time.
 
I have noticed now though mostly Uverse AP's around these days and only a couple of CC APs such that it appears that Uverse did switch over a bunch of folks from CC to Uverse in my area.

 

[ano]

Wow, they still use door-to-door salesman to get business?  I haven't seen one of these in years.
 
One Internet thing I did discover lately is DNSCrypt.  Why it wasn't invented 100 years ago, I don't know. Basically its a protocol of encrypting your DNS lookups. I believe it was invented by OpenDNS, but others are adopting it now. 
 
If your DNS is not encrypted, it can be observed.  Not only that but because of new laws (  http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/05/technology/online-privacy-faq/index.html ) your Internet service provider can now sell your browsing history to the highest bidder.  DNSCrypt prevents that.
 
Not only that, but DNSCrypt prevents much other mischief such as DNS spoofing, ans nan-in-the-middle attacks.  If your not using it, you should definitely check it out. Its here: https://dnscrypt.org/

 

[pete_c]

Twice we have had ISP door knockers in 30 years.
 
Will check out DNSCrypt.  Thinking there will be a PFSense add on for it soon.
 
Here utilize default DNS stuff for PFSense which is Unbound DNS Resolver.
 
Unbound is a validating, recursive and caching DNS resolver. It provides various modules so that DNSSEC (secure DNS) validation and stub-resolvers are possible.
 
The discussions on the PFSense forum relate to the included and enabled unbound DNS resolver is just about the same as using DNSCrypt.  Most of the discussion goes to the tin cap for protection against what ails (big brother stuff) and using VPN these days.

 

[linuxha]

Twice we have had ISP door knockers in 30 years.

 
We get Comcast & Verizon coming around trying to sell you on their services. We also get all sorts of people 'doing working around the corner' (the Jehovah Witnesses of door to door). We seem to get them every week or two.

 

[ano]

The discussions on the PFSense forum relate to the included and enabled unbound DNS resolver is just about the same as using DNSCrypt.  Most of the discussion goes to the tin cap for protection against what ails (big brother stuff) and using VPN these days.

I do use a VPN, and definitely use it when traveling and using other's Wi-Fi, but honestly its overkill for everyday use.  Plus more and more websites are keeping track of the VPN-used IP addresses and they are banning VPNs from accessing their site. Almost every streaming and media site blocks them now and many other also. Even using Google is a pain, because they force you to go through extra hoops to dissuade their use, as if to say, "since we can't track you we will make you suffer."  DNSCrypt is a good compromise because it gives you added security with almost no hassle. (But it doesn't hide your identity.)

 

[pete_c]

Yes here only utilize VPN when needed outside of my home network. 
 
I make use of PFSense for whatever these days and it works well.
 
DNS hijacking has been around and prevalent with just about any ISP since the beginning. 
 
One Internet satellite company out there is only guarantee's it's service using their product and DNS. 
 
Relating to any cellular service these days all Internet is massaged by the provider....same as Android, iOS, Microsoft OS's.
 
Notice lately that many sites attempt to block access if I do not accept advertisements or register on the site. 
 
Many web sites geoblock IP's from outside of the country.  It's obvious why this is done.
 
I block the sites or script a bypass to the site which works lately. 
 
That is just the way it is.
 
The CC door knocker was in a welcome to the internet / Comcast mode and never did pay attention to me telling him that I have used CC since the beginning.  He was in a scripted mode and that is all he knew about CC services and hardware.  Nothing really about the internet in general.
 
The Uverse door knockers only used faster speeds as a selling point and knew nothing else.  When I spoke to the third door knocker he did ask me what the first two door knockers did wrong...which was an interesting conversation.

 

[ano]

So the big trend in the last 5 - 10 years is people dropping cable for Netflix, Hulu, etc.  We are not there yet, but millions have. I read recently that because of this, cable companies are now raising their Internet rates to compensate for the lost revenue. 
 
But there is other interesting trends as well.  UHF TV channels are a dinosaur, so what is currently happening if you watch this space, the channels on the higher channels are moving down, and big blocks of the upper spectrum is being sold at action to cellular providers. T-Mobile has been buying LOTS. They have their 700Mhz spectrum running, and 600Mhz will be soon. There are talks that SPRINT might merge with T-Mobile.  At the same time 5G (5th Generation) is moving along. The point of all this is cellular is turning out to be the next Netflix, and home Internet is what may be dropped.  The 600Mhz and 700Mhz bands will add a great deal of capacity.
 
My cellular signal here is pretty weak, but I measured a speed of 17.5 Mbps on my phone today.  Not bad. That would just about support Netflix 4K speeds. T-mobile puts a 50 GB cap on my "unlimited data" but I have no idea how much data my house uses. They also slow video speeds to 480p, which on a phone is fine. 
 
If everyone used their cellular plan for their home, the system would very quickly get overloaded, but I bet some people are thinking about it.  The cellular folks know MOST people do not use anywhere near the limits.  Some cable companies are adding data limits as well. I know COX here did, but Centurylink, the DSL provider had caps but dropped them not long ago.  My new wireless Internet provider also doesn't have caps.
 
The good news today is, when service providers get greedy, tech savvy people have ways to get around it.  On the other-hand, I bet there are 1000's of (elderly) customers that still pay Ma-Bell $30/month for a wired phone line, and are likely charged $10 more for "wiring insurance." 

 

[LarrylLix]

Interenet TV services seem to be mostly "Pull' techology for programs whereas Cable and Satellite are "Push" technology.
 
We much prefer the Sat versions with the much better Dolby atmos sound and full depth colour resolution. I have seen too many demonstartions of poor sound and picture quality from Netflix and other online services.
 
Also I can't warrant paying anothre $15-20 per month for unlimited bandwidth when 150GB per month does just fine at $40 per month now.
 
One positive is the sta and cable companies are starting to secretly offer really cheap packages in comptetition. My sat dropped down to $40 per month for really decent package ( couldn't care less about commercial sports), after I went shoppping for a bare minimum package and ended u with more channels for less.

 

[pete_c]

Are you using Direct TV, DISH TV or Bell TV?
 
I remember a while ago folks not liking Bell TV going to Direct TV and folks here not liking Direct TV going to Canadian Bell TV.
 
$40 per month is a great deal!
 
Here the transition was from the BUD (big ugly dish) analog stuff with a Houston Tracker 8 over to first digital offerings on the BUD then over the the smaller dish DTV stuff (first one here was DTV). 
 
Way back you could see different compression ratios between movies and just news stuff.

 

[ano]

I would switch to an Internet TV service in a second, if they could meet these two requirements, 1) they have to have all the local stations, or at least the main ones, and 2) they need to have some form of DVR, either locally or in the cloud.  I guess #3 would be you need to be able to purchase your "boxes" not rent them.
 
To date, no service meets these needs but some are close. Hulu's has most but not the local ABC channel in our area.
 
I only pay about $40 for DirecTV, but that doesn't include the "box" rental for 3 TVs and the DVR that adds another $20/month. 

 

[pete_c]

You can get streaming TV internet service.  It is packaged like cable.  The free service provides you with 4-5 channels. 
 
I also have a license here for a Windows based internet TV based service that runs on a server and you can get watch it via tablets, phones or PCs and it records in the cloud.   I do not use it these days and originally purchased a life time sub to it.  Prices are still the same and related to upgrades.
 
My OTA to HDHomerun boxes works with 66 HD channels but only less than 10 channels are worth watching and rest is junk TV here in the midwest.  This is connected to a MythTV box running in Ubuntu 16.04 Linux. 

 

[ano]

You can get streaming TV internet service.  It is packaged like cable.  The free service provides you with 4-5 channels. 
 
I also have a license here for a Windows based internet TV based service that runs on a server and you can get watch it via tablets, phones or PCs and it records in the cloud.   I do not use it these days and originally purchased a life time sub to it.  Prices are still the same and related to upgrades.
 
My OTA to HDHomerun boxes works with 66 HD channels but only less than 10 channels are worth watching and rest is junk TV here in the midwest.  This is connected to a MythTV box running in Ubuntu 16.04 Linux. 

I'm not sure which streaming TV service is "free."  Hulu has one technically in beta called "Hulu with Live TV."  DirecTV has one called DirecTV Now.  Youtube has one called YouTube TV. None are free, just like cable isn't free. 
 
Here, the HDHomeRun, just like other solutions for the Windows Media Center and Myth TV, had problems.  In the "Good-old-days" when cable was analog, they were a fine solution.  Then cable got encrypted, so you had to rent a "CableCard" from your cable provider.  They were only about $2/month to rent.  Then the cable companies started using "two-way" cable, so, at least here with COX, you not only needed a CableCard, but also a two-way "box" also from the cable company.  This allowed the cable company to only put programs on the cable that people actually were watching.  Now they have gone to yet another system, and even those solutions doesn't work here. So an HDHomerun is about as useful as a 56K phone modem.  $5 on eBay can get you one of those and a glass of Starbucks coffee.
 
I think Internet TV is great, because for the first time cable companies with have to compete, but Internet TV is still emerging, and has some maturing to do.

 

[pete_c]

The internet TV streaming service is free for basics and has a tiered cable/DTV like subscription for paid TV.
 
It is for use for any US person and used by the military and folks living abroad.  It is not geo blocked.
 
It's been around now for many years. 
 
USTVNow
 
While I mention I do not watch much regular TV I do like to watch news that is streamed on the internet from variety of countries.  It is not geo blocked here. I like to watch and hear different prospectives. 
 
Many countries geo block television from US and many broadcasters here geo block live news going out of the country.  IE: this is where you see blocking of VPN these days.
 
Relating to HDHomerun here have three boxes.  I am not using the cablecard box and use two OTA HDHomerun boxes with direct connects to my Kodi boxes.  I also in house rebroadcast TV channels.  IE: Kitchen flush mount LCD TV gets OTA plus in house channels.  Kodi boxes stream in house recorded TV, live domestic and international TV, NAS stuff and internet stuff.
 
Current KODI boxes are AOpen mini PCs with Gb connectivity running Ubuntu 16.04 64bit.  I do not like using wireless for streaming TV.
 
I wanted a small footprint for the Kitchen TV (so you do not see anything) Kodi box and tried the RPi which worked fine and now getting ready to test the Rock64 with 4Gb / Gb NIC running KODI on a device that is credit card sized and will fit inside of the in wall power and media box behind the TV. 
 
There are KODI plugins for just about any paid service on the internet.  You just have to register and pay for the service.
 
Here utilize Amazon and it works.  There is also a NetFlix plugin now for Kodi.
 
Well Live TV stuff / DTV and multiple LCD TVs is all of this mostly for the wife.  (kitchen under counter LCD, Kitchen nook LCD and laundry room LCD stuff).

 

[Waynedb]

You can also get free Movies using Tubi TV, they have adds but the last time I tried it they were only at the very beginning of the show I watched, they used to be really bad when I first tried it.
Tubi TV has quite a bit of content, I pay for add free Hulu, Netflix and HBO, I also have Amazon Prime so I get their stuff too, Man in The High Castle is a pretty good Amazon show.

 

[pete_c]

Relating to free satellite here have an FTA receiver that works fine. 
 
Welcome to FTAList.com
 
FTAList.com is the easy, friendly guide to satellite Free-To-Air television and radio reception in Canada and the USA. Here's where to find out about all the freely available TV channels you can get, and what you need to get them.
 
Lots of in the clear unencrypted channels there similiar to the OTA HD junk TV I see here in the midwest.  Here just added a couple of LNBs to my old oval DTV dish.