TV, Internet, Phone, etc.

[yemmie]

Hey Guys,

I am writing to ask for some advice written in very plain laymen's non-technical English because I am still a bit behind the times on technical stuff. I'm not good at sifting through plans and figuring out what you are really going to pay for x, y, and z.

Right now, I have Cox communications for my land phone (with $4.00/month international service, calls to China run about $.13/minute), for cable TV (just basic digital cable, no international programming), and for internet service (their middle level high speed internet service which includes firewall, virus, anit spyware). The phone portion costs me about $83.00 per month on average. The cable and internet run me about $98.00 per month. My cell phone is with T-Mobile and costs me about $34.00 per month and includes 300 anywhere minutes. So, for all of this each month I am paying about $217.00. This includes all of the fees and taxes.

My girl and her son will be coming this fall (if all goes well). I need to get away from Cox and get satellite TV that includes at least some Chinese programming, comparable internet service, and a cheaper long distance service (my friend Mike Xiao recommends E-callNet.com phone cards at about $.02/minute for long distance to China. That sounds good.) I have looked on line at Dish Net, and Dish Network, etc., for my internet and TV, but I find their information a bit comfusing.

So now, I think I would like to keep T-Mobile and simply go to a family plan to cover my new family, maybe use the cell to make the calls to China since it involves calling long distance within the U.S. to E-call Net. Then I would just drop my land line period. Would that work for the phone part?

And, I really need help figuring out how to get decent TV and Internet service from one of the satellite companies.

If you can guide me in this, I shall be forever in your debt.

[dnoblett]

Having highspeed internet with your cable will allow you to use an different long distance service like Skype. We use Skype for long-distance and calls to China, 2 cents a minute. Skype works with PC and MAC, or can purchase a SKYPE phone that will work stand alone.

 

Or can use a service like VOITEL http://www.marketamerica.com/danyu/index.c...verIP.voipRates

This service provides a box to hook into your highspeed service, and connect an ordinary phone to it. Cost about 2 cents per minute.

 

 

As for Chinese programing, we have been using several streaming services on our computer, and there is a YuTube like site in China that has many shows recorded for the watching.

 

http://www.youku.com/

http://tvunetworks.com/

http://www.pplive.com/en/index.html

 

We do have satellite TV, but the cost for the additional channels is not comparable to the free service available on the internet. Also we don't have complete coverage of the southern sky and don't have the required dish to pick up the satellite that has the Chinese programing.

[tonado]

http://www.bundlemyservices.com/index.html...ndle|1751809335

[Guest Mike and Lily]

We subscribe to a service that lets us call China for $0.02 per minute.

 

http://www.dynasky.com/2005/default.asp

[Trigg]

For phone we use Italbb. It is 24.95 per month NO TAXES ECT.. It is a VOIP that you can cal anywhere in the USA and Canada and 20 other countries for free. This icludes 100% free calls to china and China can call you for the cost of a local call.

 

 

If your interested pm me and I'll give you the details. also, I get a few pennies if you say I sent you--Wifey makes me say that cuzz a few pennies is big bucks to her!

[IllinoisDave]

For phone we use Italbb. It is 24.95 per month NO TAXES ECT.. It is a VOIP that you can cal anywhere in the USA and Canada and 20 other countries for free. This icludes 100% free calls to china and China can call you for the cost of a local call.

 

 

If your interested pm me and I'll give you the details. also, I get a few pennies if you say I sent you--Wifey makes me say that cuzz a few pennies is big bucks to her!

We use italkbb as well and highly recommend it.

[NewDay2006]

For phone we use Italbb. It is 24.95 per month NO TAXES ECT.. It is a VOIP that you can cal anywhere in the USA and Canada and 20 other countries for free. This icludes 100% free calls to china and China can call you for the cost of a local call.

 

 

If your interested pm me and I'll give you the details. also, I get a few pennies if you say I sent you--Wifey makes me say that cuzz a few pennies is big bucks to her!

We use italkbb as well and highly recommend it.

me too !! I've had it 2 years

[C4Racer]

For phone we use Italbb. It is 24.95 per month NO TAXES ECT.. It is a VOIP that you can cal anywhere in the USA and Canada and 20 other countries for free. This icludes 100% free calls to china and China can call you for the cost of a local call.

 

 

If your interested pm me and I'll give you the details. also, I get a few pennies if you say I sent you--Wifey makes me say that cuzz a few pennies is big bucks to her!

We use italkbb as well and highly recommend it.

me too !! I've had it 2 years

 

Add another family who uses Italkbb and loves it.

Free long distance to US, Canada and Europe. My wife has some friends that moved to France and Germany. She can talk with them anytime she wants. Also free long distance to and from China, so family and friends can call her at no extra cost to them. With the right broadband the phone quality is just like a land line. Don't use Comcast, the quality is just not there.

I pay more than you for TV / internet, but we have Verizon FIOS with 15Mbps down and 2Mpbs up for incredible speed and VoIP quality. Never would go back to cable if you paid me.

Edited June 17, 2008 by C4Racer (see edit history)

[credzba]

Here is simple way, I am sure there are other ways, but you said very plain terms. The costs are guess-rounded, but close.

 

keep cox cable for internet, cost 50$

get klintv (uses internet) for chinese broadcasts, cost $30 (get great wall pkg)

italkbb for long distance everywhere, cost $30 (if you pay yearly you even get usage thru your cell phone 250 minutes a month free) also uses internat

 

total basic cost - 110$

 

you may still want some cable channels, so add that cost in. I think you will still be way cheaper than what your doing.

 

for cell phones, I am shopping for a good family plan too. It seems they are all about the same, so long as you have free mobil to mobil, most of their other minutes will probably be small.

To talk to friends in china, use the italkbb line at home.

[Tom & Jen]

We have the t-Mobile Family plan and think they have the best deal. We recently added their Hotspot @ Home plan for $9.99 per month. It gives you unlimited anytime incoming/outgoing calls while you are at home. You will need to upgrade your cell phone to a Hotspot @ Home capable phones. There¡¯s two for free right now on t-Mobile.com. Just click on Phones then click the Hotspot @Home checkbox on the left under Shop by feature. You will need to extend your contract for 2 years. If you are not eligible to upgrade right now, they will make you pay for the phone depending on how much you have left on the contract. I stumbled on a little trick by accident. If you talk to their Customer Loyalty department, they can get you the best deals even if your contract is not up. BUT it¡¯s not always easy to be transferred to the Customer Loyalty dept. I fought with the regular sales and their supervisor to get transferred there but still certain ones will not not do it. So you may need to try a few times and be persistent. The way the Hotspot @Home works is the cell phone connects via voice over IP to your wireless router. When you are away from your wireless router, it works like the regular cell phone and you would incur the normal cell phone plan charges. They also have a Linksys wireless router that is free after $50 rebate. It suppose to give priority to voice traffic over data traffic. This option would work well to allow you to get rid of your land line. We haven¡¯t yet but soon will. BTW, the $9.99 for the Hotspot @Home is for all phones in the Family Plan. The voice of IP works well. The only time it doesn¡¯t work so well is when our kids are hammering the Internet on the computers but it¡¯s still usable. For Internet service we have DSL with the local phone company but will probably look to change so something else soon.

 

For calling to China, we use onesuite.com. If you have a local access number in your area, it¡¯s 2.2 cents per minute to China. The $ you refill is good for (I think) 3 months but you don¡¯t really lose it after 3 months. If you refill with $10 then have $3 left after three months, and you refill again with $10, you would have $13. We have been using them for the past 6 years. You can go online to program fast dial numbers and numbers you are calling from so you don¡¯t have to enter the PIN. So to call a number in China, you could just dial the 7 digit local number then press 11#. You can also go online and print logs of your call history.

 

For TV, we only have the super basic Cox service for $12 a month (16 channels). Jen knew an older couple who had Chinese TV broadcast service over the Internet. It was a little adaptor box that sits on their TV and connects through their wireless router. The picture quality looked comparable to standard cable TV broadcast. I was actually impressed with it. The service was free and the adaptor box cost about $300 I think. It¡¯s been about 1 1/2 years; since we saw them because they went back to China. I don¡¯t remember the name of the adaptor box. Jen didn¡¯t want to get the service at the time so I didn¡¯t pay so much attention to it.

Edited June 17, 2008 by Tom & Jen (see edit history)

[hankster]

We use italkbb. Like others have said....$24.99 per month for unlimited local and long distance calls domestically and internationally...PLUS... a local number in China for friends and family to call Lily directly.......and they wear it out!!

 

for TV........I have Dish Network with the "Great Wall Package"

$29.99 per mo extra.............I think around 16 or 17 channels from China.

[jim_julian]

I would suggest caution at providing many Chinese TV channels ... you don't want to provide a "Chinese cocoon" fro the new arrivals. You want to, supportively, immerse them in and English environment so that they grow as assimilate. In the long run they will be much happier.

 

My girls get along fine with a one hour newscast in Chinese on weekdays. The channel covers local SoCal news, then a Taiwan news feed, followed by a Chinese news feed.

[Dennis143]

I would suggest caution at providing many Chinese TV channels ... you don't want to provide a "Chinese cocoon" fro the new arrivals. You want to, supportively, immerse them in and English environment so that they grow as assimilate. In the long run they will be much happier.

 

My girls get along fine with a one hour newscast in Chinese on weekdays. The channel covers local SoCal news, then a Taiwan news feed, followed by a Chinese news feed.

I have to agree with Jim for the most part. Initially, to overcome potential loneliness and isolation the Chinese TV package may be good. But, in the long run, immersion in English sprinkled with available Chinese whenever they desire is best for their assimilation.

 

Bottom line - don't overload them with everything Chinese.

[NewDay2006]

I would suggest caution at providing many Chinese TV channels ... you don't want to provide a "Chinese cocoon" fro the new arrivals. You want to, supportively, immerse them in and English environment so that they grow as assimilate. In the long run they will be much happier.

 

My girls get along fine with a one hour newscast in Chinese on weekdays. The channel covers local SoCal news, then a Taiwan news feed, followed by a Chinese news feed.

I have to agree with Jim for the most part. Initially, to overcome potential loneliness and isolation the Chinese TV package may be good. But, in the long run, immersion in English sprinkled with available Chinese whenever they desire is best for their assimilation.

 

Bottom line - don't overload them with everything Chinese.

I would have to agree with D and J, but my wife knows online sites to use in Chinese. I watch the movies also that are english. I don't plan to get a Chinese station. Is this being insensitive ?

 

My biggest concern is her son, he knows no english, very little anyway.

 

My wife plans to send him to English classes soon. It will be tough for him when he comes, but I guess he won't be the first

Edited June 18, 2008 by NewDay2006 (see edit history)

[credzba]

I would suggest caution at providing many Chinese TV channels ... you don't want to provide a "Chinese cocoon" fro the new arrivals. You want to, supportively, immerse them in and English environment so that they grow as assimilate. In the long run they will be much happier.

 

My girls get along fine with a one hour newscast in Chinese on weekdays. The channel covers local SoCal news, then a Taiwan news feed, followed by a Chinese news feed.

I have to agree with Jim for the most part. Initially, to overcome potential loneliness and isolation the Chinese TV package may be good. But, in the long run, immersion in English sprinkled with available Chinese whenever they desire is best for their assimilation.

 

Bottom line - don't overload them with everything Chinese.

I would have to agree with D and J, but my wife knows online sites to use in Chinese. I watch the movies also that are english. I don't plan to get a Chinese station. Is this being insensitive ?

 

My biggest concern is her son, he knows no english, very little anyway.

 

My wife plans to send him to English classes soon. It will be tough for him when he comes, but I guess he won't be the first

 

I read all these advice, and I really don't agree with the english subversion process. It depends on each family, and their long term goals.

 

MANY of my chinese friends who have lived in america over 15 years (maybe longer as I think about it) speak chinese at home, have chinese television, and then go out and deal with english speaking americans with no difficulty.

 

For some families, an all english world is best.

For ours, we will have as much Chinese at home as my family wishes. I really hope we don't speak English inside the house unless we have English house guests.

We will have Chinese television, and free long distance back to China.

We will live our lives as comfortable as possible, and not try to destroy their Chinese heritage, nor try to warp America to be China.

 

Why do people seek out a Chinese spouse, then bring them to America, and ask them to change themselves to be American?

Why didn't you just marry an American?

 

Sorry guys, I just don't agree, and don't understand.

I love and respect my wife exactly like she is, and I will support her if she wishes to stay Chinese as much as possible, and I will support her if she wishes to act American.

She is my wife, my equal. I dont make decisions about "what is best" for her. She is an adult, and can decide how much Chinese she wants in our household.