Starvin' Marvin

So we have had satellite television since 2000, with the same company. Our relationship has had its ups and downs, but generally has been better than most commercial ventures. There has been one point of contention, however, that once again is an incredibly painful thorn in my side. No, I'm not talking about loss of signal during bad weather.

When we first signed up with Satellite X, they offered an array of music-only channels by the company MusicChoice. It had a lineup that had something to please everyone, including this one channel that played ambient music (rainfall plus quiet instrumental, etc) that was great for getting rowdy babies to settle down. After about 4 years of subscription, they switched to Sirius/XM radio. The lineup changed although not dramatically; we lost our beloved ambient channel but gained an awesome heavy metal channel, which made me most happy.

Once again, Satellite X has changed their music brand to something I've never heard of. Ambient music is still gone, head-banging heavy metal is also gone. In its place however, is a channel of "radio-friendly metal" which only scratches the surface of the MA-rated music I listen to. They have also expanded the Spanish-language music lineup. Really?

In a time when people are looking to cut back, we have kept our full-service satellite television package, which runs more than $100 per month for 3 televisions. Add to that the $80 per month we spend on home telephone and the last truly unlimited internet package in the world, and that's a lot of money falling out of my wallet when I'm unhappy. Complaining to my satellite provider only adds to my ire. Apparently, they've done extensive market research that indicated change was for the better.

The local cable provider can offer me a "bundle" with capped internet, home phone, and expanded television for $80 per month for the first year. Adding movie channels to bring us up to the same level of television options would only add $30 per month to the bill.

It's the capped internet that has stayed my hand. I need more information, useful data from people who have used Comcast brand cable service. Finding those people are harder than I expected. We have gamers here, and "lag" is a four-letter word in this house.