I’ve Gone Digital
Aug/072
So, Amy went to activate our voicemail service yesterday and found out there is a cheaper “gaming package” that includes 6 megabit download, digital cable plus DVR, and voicemail. She decided to switch us over to that.
So I went over to SpeedTest.net and tested our new speed. Looks like the download speed is working fine, the upload topped off at 512 kilobits. It was actually cool that they saved my data from last year (almost the same week) where I had tested our old speed one day. Kind of neat to see them side by side.
Videos definitely buffer a lot faster now. I haven’t really noticed much in my games yet, the one I’m currently playing is turn-based…so I still have to wait on the other players to make their moves first. I’ll boot up SecondLife this week and check it out with that (even though my on board video sucks donkey balls and makes the place look like rainbow-land).
It’s going to be interesting having the digital cable. I’m used to having the one remote for the TV. Since most DVR’s come with their own remote…I’ll have to switch. The only disadvantage now is that each TV we decide to hook up (bedroom TV in the future) will require it’s own DVR box. At least that’s what I assume since the TV won’t be able to decode the digital signal by itself. One of the other disadvantages is going to be the “channel flip speed”. I’m used to being able to flip channels at an uncanny speed. I’ll usually flip so fast that the number in the top corner doesn’t have enough time to register, yet the 2-3 seconds that I’m on that channel I can decide what’s playing and if it looks interesting. No…I’m not joking…my brain is able to comprehend what I’m seeing, even for those few breif seconds. So the digital cable usually has a built in delay as the box decodes the channels…ugh…not gonig to be fun.
At least I finally get to try out a DVR. Plus, we can now use the fancy on-screen TV guide to see what’s on as well. I never really liked the idea of recording shows as you watch others…because if you have so many channels and there’s always something to watch…when will you ever have time to watch what you recorded?
Oh well…we’ll see.
Technorati Tags: DVR, cable, digital, internet, broadband, speed test, TV
5:51 pm on August 17th, 2007
You will LOVE digital. We have the DVR in the family room and our bedroom but not the other TV’s. You probably remember that the TV in the kitchen is faster than the one in the family room (with digital) which is kinda comical if you have them both on at the same time. LOL PLUS you’ll get so spoiled to the rewind button on the DVR that you’ll find yourself going to press rewind on the radio…guess what? Can’t do it., LOL
Enjoy!!!!