Option other than Direct TV

[cleg]

We bought a new house over the summer and we could no longer have Direct TV because the dish would need to be on the front of the house or a pole in the yard. Given that the house is historic my wife (and I actually agree this time) would not allow the guy to install. So now we have cable which sucks - the DVR function sucks, the equipment sucks, etc.

Are there any other options for watching out of market games? Is there a pay site to watch on the Internet? I see on NFL.com I could buy a radio package. I can't go to a bar because our older kid has soccer on Sunday's which means I have to stay home with the little ones. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[Deadskins]

There are streaming site's where you can watch it on your computer, but it's not as good as TV.

Could you mount the dish on the backside of the roof, high enough to be able to clear the ridge, but low enough to not be seen from the street?

[cleg]

There are streaming site's where you can watch it on your computer, but it's not as good as TV.

Could you mount the dish on the backside of the roof, high enough to be able to clear the ridge, but low enough to not be seen from the street?

No, it would need to be right on the ridge and in plain view. I guess I will need to go radio this season.

[Sir_Monk]

I watched a bunch of games on a streaming site last season when I had to work. I'm not sure if I can post the address or not, but the quality varied from week to week. Sometimes the game was not on at all. Is mounting the dish on a pole out of the question? I did that when I lived in Texas and really never had a problem with direct tv.

[Countertrey]

Is FiOS an option?

I hear it's pretty decent... once you get used to the occasional flipper twitches, and those eyes watching you all the time... and the straw...

[VetSkinsFan]

Is FiOS an option?

I hear it's pretty decent... once you get used to the occasional flipper twitches, and those eyes watching you all the time... and the straw...

Dude, you're creeping me out...

[Chris Luva Luva]

Is FiOS an option?

I hear it's pretty decent... once you get used to the occasional flipper twitches, and those eyes watching you all the time... and the straw...

I wish that it was avaible in baltimore

[SkinsFreak]

I'd move... . . .

cleg, I feel your pain... or I should say I've felt your pain.

First, the streaming video on internet sites suck. I've tried to watch the preseason games that way for the past few years and I've gotten so frustrated that I ultimately just end up giving up. The feeds freeze all the time, the feeds are fuzzy and get knocked out quite often when the league finds them. It's such a constant battle with the sites that you just end up missing the game anyways.

A few years ago, I bought a single family home in a private and gated, deed restricted community. The HOA and board of directors are pretty strict when enforcing the declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions. One such restriction, similar to the situation you're dealing with, is that a satellite dish cannot be mounted in which it can be seen from the street.

Well, when I moved in I was unaware of this restriction. When Direct TV came for the installation, I had them put the dish on the side of my house, as that was the best place recommended. Sure enough, a few weeks later, I started to receive warnings in the mail from the HOA to remove or relocate the dish.

My home faces south and the best location for the dish is on the west side of my house facing southwest. I had the installers come back to discuss alternative locations. There weren't any. The only other option was to put the dish on a pole in the middle of the yard... which would've been a worse location.

After some research, I subsequently found a Florida statute (can't remember which one now) that said homeowners have the right to mount a satellite dish for the purposes of watching TV. I presented this statute to the HOA and they bought it, but still said I had to move the dish. I invited the entire board over to my house and asked them to show me where it would be suitable, compliant with the HOA covenant, to mount my dish but to still be able to receive the signal from the southwest.

They ended up agreeing that there was no better location to mount the dish and I ended up winning my case with them. They backed off and I've been allowed to keep my dish on the side of my house, even though it can still be seen from the street.

I fought hard on this issue because I really dislike cable. Cable is not near as good, in my opinion, as satellite. Satellite has more HD channels, a far better quality picture, and of course, the Sunday Ticket. However, I have nine TV's in my house and it's not economical to have satellite hooked up to every TV, since you need a receiver for all TV's. So I get a basic cable package for the kids rooms and the pool/patio area and use satellite on the TV's in my bedroom and in the main living areas of the house. This works out pretty well for me.

[Chris Luva Luva]

I'm about to get the directv/verizon dsl package. Isn't it an extra $10 per receiver? Jeeez. I'd need at least...well just two for now. But eventually maybe 4.

[SkinsFreak]

I'm about to get the directv/verizon dsl package. Isn't it an extra $10 per receiver? Jeeez. I'd need at least...well just two for now. But eventually maybe 4.

Yep. For me, $10 a month for a HD receiver and $5 a month for a digital receiver.

I have to admit I'm not all that familiar with FiOS though... except that I've heard he has no arms and a very tiny straw.

[SkinsJock]

While I understand the "historic preservation" bit and that the permanent antenna is not welcome is a "removable/replaceable" antenna not an option here?

I agree with SkinsFreak - I would not be buying a house that I could not watch 'proper' NFL coverage