HD... Should be HR (Highway Robbery)

For the most part, Cox Communications was the worst cable service I have ever had. They had terrible Customer Service, their prices were outrageous (even for the most basic plan) and the reception on the wireless network was horrible. Had they not wanted to charge me a ludicrous amount of money for my cable, I may not have switched. Why? No real need to. I had a 10 year old TV with no bells and whistles, and I still use Tivo, so no need for a flashy DVR. That said, the price of Cox got so high, I had to switch to Verizon, it was simply more economical.

That is until I had to buy a new TV. Urgggg.

So my 10 year old TV finally bit the big one. Booo. So I ventured out in search of an economical new TV that would suit my needs and not break the bank. I had a really hard time spending money on a TV, and still thought of it as a frivolous purchase, even though it really wasn't. It had to be done. Anywho, I get to the store and everything is HD this or HDMI that or plasma this and LCD that. You can't just go in and buy a good old fashion basic TV.

So herein lies my beef....you really don't have a choice when it comes to buying a TV. All TVs are HD, LCD, that require certain connections to really maximize the picture and quality. So you buy these TVs, and spend all this money, but they only really work well if you want to spend more money and upgrade your cable to HD> Are you serious. At least with Cox, if you have an HD TV, you can get HD channels, no issue. But you have to deal with all the rest (see above).

With Verizon, it is a no good, lousy, pile of crap racket. I have the TV, but to make it work I have to upgrade my bundle to a new bundle. Because they don't have my bundle anymore so I have to have the next closest bundle which is $20 more than my present bundle. Then I have to Pay a monthly $10 upgrade fee. Then I have to pay $10 a month for the HD channels and then I have to upgrade to a $15.99/Month box/DVR. Oh, and my Tivo will no longer work. So in the end, I am adding $50.99 to my monthly bill because I have a new TV. And if I don't want to pay all of this...well, I am up the creek or I can pay an early termination fee. Yeah Right!

So I ask you...If all of the TVS are now made to require the HD service, How can these companies get away with charging so much for them? If you don't get a choice in being able to buy a basic, no frills TV, then these services should all be standard, if not free. Sometimes I hate capitalism!