Question about Services...

[H2O Hamlet]

So in June I'll be moving into my own place, collegiate dorm life isn't for me. And I'm just wondering what would be the BEST service to get for internet. Obviously, speed is important to me for downloading and gaming purposes. I haven't really been gaming lately, my campus restricts online play- but I plan to return to active status once I have my own internet.

So yea, for those of you that actually know what you're talking about... which service do you recommend? I also need to pay for Cable, so if you know any ideas that'd be appreciated also. DirectTV has done a wonderful job with it's marketing- so I was thinking about giving them a try.

And money isn't an issue for me. I just want a fast internet so I can basically have the best internet connection on LIVE, and I want to have all the lovely HD channels on TV- especially HBO... gotta have my Entourage.

So yea, thanks for your input!

[Jordan]

If you want cable then why do you mentioned DirecTV? They're a satellite based service.

If you're going to go with cable internet service, best bet is to try to get cable tv if the provider offers it up. As far as who to go with, no one can answer that but you. You'll need to see what providers are available for the area you're looking to move to. If you'll be moving into a house, your options are broader but if it's going to be an apartment complex, you'll be limited to the services that are already pre-wired through the buildings.

My area only gets Comcast for cable internet, so that's who I go with. With a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, I get uber speeds.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/750687613.png

And that's on wireless G :P. I have the 3 package deal for tv, internet and phone. Granted, phone it's used too often but altogether I'm paying about $150/month. It's a bit more costly since I have an upgraded tier for internet. The cap is 250GB per month but I've only ever hit 220GB on my busiest month between downloading, streaming, gaming, etc.

BTW as far as Xbox Live services go and depending on what game, especially MW2, you can have the best download, upload and ping but you won't grab host. It's a PITA but it happens.

You can play sufficiently on a low-end DSL speed with no issues since you need very little upload to play on Xbox Live without lag. Just tossing it out there so you don't think more D/U means better connectivity. You're still dependent on other players around you. Such is the life of P2P gaming.

[H2O Hamlet]

Wonderful, this helped... sort of. This sort of stuff isn't my expertise. I didn't mean "Cable"... even though that's what I wrote. I meant I have to pay for my own television. Cable was just the first word to come out when referring to that. And I had no idea what type of service DirectTV was.

I don't really need the phone, my cellphone is my lifeline. And host isn't really important either, although it's nice. I just want to be able to play without having issues with lag on a regular basis, and I want my internet downloads and webpage browsing to be pretty quick- I'm very impatient.

But I guess that's something I'll have to ask the company provider I go with. So you'd recommend Cable over DSL or Dial-Up or any other services?

[Jordan]

Dial-up should be a word removed from everyone's vocabulary. Dial-up is connecting to the internet with a max speed of 56k and through a telephone line. This is essentially a dinosaur way of connecting to the internet and is not feasible. This is a last option for people that want the internet but aren't able to get dsl/cable from their provider.

I would recommend cable (or even if you can get FIOS) over DSL for that sheer fact that the speeds are typically double to triple (and more) faster than DSL. DSL also requires a land-line, so if you have a cellphone, it's not cost efficient to pay up for DSL.

You'll need to check out what providers cater to your area. Where are you moving to? I can probably look around for you to find out and just recommend based on that :).