OK, weird question. Read on:
I just got rid of Verizon cable partly because it was getting more expensiv e every year and partly because I watch maybe 10 channels out of the 500+ ( ?)channels of shopping, religions, soap operas, crappy bottom-tier movies, exercise videos and machines, knives, cooking equipment, and other debris. Good sports, but I'm not a fan.
And partly because their TV service has been so atrocious. (I had pckg of T V, phone and Internet; the latter two were OK) "Atrocious" is mild! Their techs hooked up things wrong *more than once*. After unproductive calling w/long waits on phone, I would ask my neighbor to come over & fix things. W hen the techs DID come out, they didn't know what to do.
But the worst is that I HAD NEVER HAD A FULL PICTURE! 1/5 was cut off on e ach side. So I was paying for 5/5 picture and getting 3/5 All those years I contacted Verizon, nobody knew what to do. I got a new TV. Same thing. They sent me a new box. Same thing. Somebody somewhere along the line g ave an explanation which I did not understand.
OK, now what? With rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna, I can get non-cable c hannels (I assume?). But one of my major watches was C-Span, esp weekend B ookTV. Yes, I can get them on-line but I'd rather watch big screen in bed.
Now to weird question: Is there any way to get a cable channel w/o subscri bing to a cable company?
If the answer is "no", which company, other than (tfui!) Verizon is the bes t in my area, So. Calif coastal. The other day in Best Buy, the Direct TV team was pushing hard to sign me up. ***Any experience out there about Dire ct TV?***
Also, they do not give a trial period. If I sign up for a 2-year contract (first year, loss-leader price; 2nd year, back to market rates), and don't like it, I'm stuck. Don't most companies have a 30-day cancellation period ?
Excuse long post. Smart people on this NG; hoping for some answers.
TIA
HB