is 705 missing picture for anyone else right now? started at 8:30

Exact same thing happening, I'm in NW Queens!

The HD feed, during the beginning of The Cleveland Show, at 8:30 the picture froze on the WB logo, changed to the SD channel, then back to HD, and now just audio, no picture on Fox.

picture just came back

Yes, same here, guess it wasn't my problem, glad I didn't have to reboot the box.

Are you people experiencing internet problems the last two days or so? Mine's hasn't been staying on consistently. It keeps going out. Maybe it's just me.

There weren't that many, but there sure were some noticeable freezes during the Giants game yesterday... anyone else notice (say what nabe)?

anyone watched the AMA on 707?
was getting audio dropouts.
don't know if it was on purpose for cursing or another time warner issue.

There weren't that many, but there sure were some noticeable freezes during the Giants game yesterday... anyone else notice (say what nabe)?

I saw you asking on another thread if some of the Fox problems were originating with Fox rather than TWC. At least as far as the Giants game goes I don't think so. I was watching OTA and had no freezes. Actually, the picture quality seemed superior to what I'm used to for Fox NFL, OTA or TWC.

I saw you asking on another thread if some of the Fox problems were originating with Fox rather than TWC. At least as far as the Giants game goes I don't think so. I was watching OTA and had no freezes. Actually, the picture quality seemed superior to what I'm used to for Fox NFL, OTA or TWC.

OK... that seems to lead to a TWC NYC issue. BTW, normally I wouldn't mention the odd glitch, this is way beyond that, it really is a consistent failure to deliver the service we contract for.

Exact same thing happening, I'm in NW Queens!

The HD feed, during the beginning of The Cleveland Show, at 8:30 the picture froze on the WB logo, changed to the SD channel, then back to HD, and now just audio, no picture on Fox.

Same here on the UWS w70st Just black :confused:

Anyone know why they stopped providing the CBS shows on channels 1009 and 699 [the HD version]? They haven't been updated since about Nov 10th. They are suppose to be available one day after the are aired. As an example, the last episode they offer for The Good Wife is 11/10, for Medium 11/6.

Anyone know why they stopped providing the CBS shows on channels 1009 and 699 [the HD version]? They haven't been updated since about Nov 10th. They are suppose to be available one day after the are aired. As an example, the last episode they offer for The Good Wife is 11/10, for Medium 11/6.

http://www.twondemand.com/free/resultsall.aspx?pageId=66&pageMode=list&type=service&id=60

Whatever the reason is - it isn't local to just us.

Anyone know why they stopped providing the CBS shows on channels 1009 and 699 [the HD version]? They haven't been updated since about Nov 10th. They are suppose to be available one day after the are aired. As an example, the last episode they offer for The Good Wife is 11/10, for Medium 11/6.

http://www.twondemand.com/free/resultsall.aspx?pageId=66&pageMode=list&type=service&id=60

Whatever the reason is - it isn't local to just us.

Thanks for the link. Maybe it's a licensing issue since the other channels seem up to date.

http://www.twondemand.com/free/resultsall.aspx?pageId=66&pageMode=list&type=service&id=60

Whatever the reason is - it isn't local to just us.

TWC dallas is updated like it should for CBS on demand in SD and HD. We also now have telemundo ondemand under the lo mejor on demand folder.

TWC dallas way behind NYC we are just getting

KERA world
WFAA this tv
CNBC World(readd)
Sleuth
USA HD
SYFY HD
CNBC HD
BRAVO HD

this brings our hd count to 55.

Thanks for the link. Maybe it's a licensing issue since the other channels seem up to date.

CBS HD OnDemand section updated in the last day or so. (and NBC seems to be updating faster)

Was watching cablevision at my mom's house. We are lucky we don't have whatever crap software their boxes are running. What a nightmare, the guide takes literally forever to pop up and is painfully slow.

FWIW I'm getting image/sound freezes for a few seconds on every channel I watch. 2 weeks ago, it seemed I got through 2-3 days without a glitch, now it's 2-3 per hour everywhere!

I would like to know what models of HD cable boxes Time Warner NYC 23rd Street has supplied recently (November 2009) to folks here.

My understanding is that they provide typically the Scientific Atlanta SA3250HD or the SA 3100HD. Would they be providing the newer SA 4250HDC? May I ask if they provide other models? Or, do they ONLY provide one of these two models if we do not wish to have a DVR?

The specific reason for my question is that I will require either a DVI to HDMI cable OR HDMI to HDMI cable. I need to know whether the provided box has an DVI output or an HDMI output?

Thanks in advance!

The major problem with 23rd (IMO) is they refuse to not only allow you to really chose the box you want, but refuse to allow you to even SEE if what you want is in stock. I would LIKE to get a 3090, but it seems I have to pack up my HD and keep going down there on the chance I could get the 3090... so it could take one trip or 2, 3, 4, 5 whatever.

The major problem with 23rd (IMO) is they refuse to not only allow you to really chose the box you want, but refuse to allow you to even SEE if what you want is in stock. I would LIKE to get a 3090, but it seems I have to pack up my HD and keep going down there on the chance I could get the 3090... so it could take one trip or 2, 3, 4, 5 whatever.

i understand, Riverside_Guy.

do you or anyone else have an idea as to which non-DVR HD box they typically provide nowadays, i.e. in late november 2009?

thx in advance!

FWIW I'm getting image/sound freezes for a few seconds on every channel I watch. 2 weeks ago, it seemed I got through 2-3 days without a glitch, now it's 2-3 per hour everywhere!

It was happening in of my cable boxes today. I did reboot the box and the problem is gone.

It was happening in of my cable boxes today. I did reboot the box and the problem is gone.

Thanks for the reminder. It was also happening to me yesterday, so I switched to OTA, thinking I'd reboot this am. I also was getting an audio pop when going in and out of the guide/list on my Samsung 3090. That's never happened previously.

I live in Bayside. Saturday night no on demand movies were available on any channel. They were back the follwing day. Did anyone else have this problem?

I live in Bayside. Saturday night no on demand movies were available on any channel. They were back the follwing day. Did anyone else have this problem?

Holiday weekend... on-demand was probably in heavy use.

The major problem with 23rd (IMO) is they refuse to not only allow you to really chose the box you want, but refuse to allow you to even SEE if what you want is in stock. I would LIKE to get a 3090, but it seems I have to pack up my HD and keep going down there on the chance I could get the 3090... so it could take one trip or 2, 3, 4, 5 whatever.

I went down on Saturday to 23rd st to replace a 8300HDC that had died. I was given a 3090 and told it had a bigger hard drive. I looked through the vent and saw it was a 160GB, so I knew that wasn't the case. It was late and I was tired so I didn't ask to try and find a box with a 320.

Now, I am testing to see if my external hard drive will work with it.

I just switched to a SMT-H3050 box about two weeks ago. I am not receiving a bunch of the HD channels that I am supposed to get in my El Paquetazo package. Certain HD channels, such as Investigation Discovery HD (723) are coming in without an issue, but most are simply showing me the blue "call customer care" screen. I've called, they have sent two technicians who have both checked the signals, changed things on our cable wires, and did some stuff up on the roof. Each tech has also changed our box. The first tech told us that this is a common issue, especially with El Paquetazo subscribers, and that there is nothing he can do. He spoke with a few different customer care people, and someone at dispatch, and basically said that the people in IT are dumbasses and someone needs to weed them out. The second tech first tried telling me that I was not supposed to get the channels that I am complaining about, but I showed him the online line-up of my package, proving him wrong. Once I told him that I receive the SD version of the channels, he agreed with me anyways.

Does anyone else have this issue, and do any of you have an idea of what I can do about it? I am about to scream if I have to talk to the poor kids at customer care.. they have no idea what they are talking about besides the things the computer prompt is telling them. I know complaining to them does nothing, but they keep insisting that the only thing they can do is to transfer the problem to IT. The people at this mystical IT have clearly done nothing, since everyone says my problem will be fixed in "24-48 hours", and two weeks and many phone calls later, nothing has changed.

Any help or suggestions would be very appreciated.. I really don't know what else to do.

I just switched to a SMT-H3050 box about two weeks ago. I am not receiving a bunch of the HD channels that I am supposed to get in my El Paquetazo package. Certain HD channels, such as Investigation Discovery HD (723) are coming in without an issue, but most are simply showing me the blue "call customer care" screen. I've called, they have sent two technicians who have both checked the signals, changed things on our cable wires, and did some stuff up on the roof. Each tech has also changed our box. The first tech told us that this is a common issue, especially with El Paquetazo subscribers, and that there is nothing he can do. He spoke with a few different customer care people, and someone at dispatch, and basically said that the people in IT are dumbasses and someone needs to weed them out. The second tech first tried telling me that I was not supposed to get the channels that I am complaining about, but I showed him the online line-up of my package, proving him wrong. Once I told him that I receive the SD version of the channels, he agreed with me anyways.

Does anyone else have this issue, and do any of you have an idea of what I can do about it? I am about to scream if I have to talk to the poor kids at customer care.. they have no idea what they are talking about besides the things the computer prompt is telling them. I know complaining to them does nothing, but they keep insisting that the only thing they can do is to transfer the problem to IT. The people at this mystical IT have clearly done nothing, since everyone says my problem will be fixed in "24-48 hours", and two weeks and many phone calls later, nothing has changed.

Any help or suggestions would be very appreciated.. I really don't know what else to do.

Clearly time to file a DoITT franchise complaint (http://www.nyc.gov/html/doitt/html/consumer/consumer_cable_service_form.shtml).

A_C

I just switched to a SMT-H3050 box about two weeks ago. I am not receiving a bunch of the HD channels that I am supposed to get in my El Paquetazo package. Certain HD channels, such as Investigation Discovery HD (723) are coming in without an issue, but most are simply showing me the blue "call customer care" screen. I've called, they have sent two technicians who have both checked the signals, changed things on our cable wires, and did some stuff up on the roof. Each tech has also changed our box. The first tech told us that this is a common issue, especially with El Paquetazo subscribers, and that there is nothing he can do. He spoke with a few different customer care people, and someone at dispatch, and basically said that the people in IT are dumbasses and someone needs to weed them out. The second tech first tried telling me that I was not supposed to get the channels that I am complaining about, but I showed him the on-line line-up of my package, proving him wrong. Once I told him that I receive the SD version of the channels, he agreed with me anyways.

Does anyone else have this issue, and do any of you have an idea of what I can do about it? I am about to scream if I have to talk to the poor kids at customer care.. they have no idea what they are talking about besides the things the computer prompt is telling them. I know complaining to them does nothing, but they keep insisting that the only thing they can do is to transfer the problem to IT. The people at this mystical IT have clearly done nothing, since everyone says my problem will be fixed in "24-48 hours", and two weeks and many phone calls later, nothing has changed.

Any help or suggestions would be very appreciated.. I really don't know what else to do.

Before you got your box swapped, did those channels in question come in and come in well? When your box was replaced each time, was it replaced with the SMT-H3050? I would call back and specifically asked for a "Technical Operations Supervisor" for a problem that has gone on for two weeks and nothing has changed. Relate that information above to him in detail. Ask for his badge# and or some other way of keeping in contact with him until this issue is resolved. In your communications with him, give him your story like you said above. Ask if a him or another top in-house technician could come out to your house with a different model box and to please ACTIVATE the box when he is there and make sure that those channels are coming in before he leaves.

You can even say, "This has been such a nightmare for my family, that we are even thinking of switching to DISH or U-VERSE because of the frustration in not receiving these channels for over two weeks. Every time I have called and they send someone out, nothing has been done. I don't know what else to do."

Than after this is all resolved get something like AT LEAST two weeks (you really deserve a month) credit for all this frustration. If TWC does not do anything after all this, I would switch to another provider if that is an option for you.

Jack

you'll probably lose some of your favorite shows and we may jack our rates again, but don't blame us or say we didn't warn you!

http://www.rolloverorgettough.com/

you'll probably lose some of your favorite shows and we may jack our rates again, but don't blame us or say we didn't warn you!

http://www.rolloverorgettough.com/Nice link,:cool: for what it’s worth, I expressed my main points to them, even though I'm an ecstatic FIOS customer. ;) It benefits all of us to keep these companies competing. I doubt that it will get to the proper eyes :rolleyes: but I’d recommend to everyone, let them hear your comments. What do you have to lose?

Hi All: i just got the Samsung SMT-H3050 high defintion box from Time Warner NYC's 23rd street today. I got it because i got a new Panasonic 32x1 LCD for my bedroom.

The problem is i'd like to ask if the 3050 box can output AT THE SAME TIME both HDMI and either:

1) S-Video w/ left and right sound outputs
2) composite video w/ left and right sound outputs
3) coaxial alone (since coax already has sound)

If the answer is yes in that more than one output is active, then more than one device can receive tv signal from that 3050 box, right? i.e. output to a PC's tv tuner card via one of the standard definition outputs (composite, coax, S video) PLUS the HDMI to the new Panasonic 32x1 tv.

thanks in advance.

you'll probably lose some of your favorite shows and we may jack our rates again, but don't blame us or say we didn't warn you!

http://www.rolloverorgettough.com/

A great idea in principle. However, unless TWC advertises the existence of this poll and promotes it, it will have absolutely no value or credibility whatsoever.

A_C

I went down on Saturday to 23rd st to replace a 8300HDC that had died. I was given a 3090 and told it had a bigger hard drive. I looked through the vent and saw it was a 160GB, so I knew that wasn't the case. It was late and I was tired so I didn't ask to try and find a box with a 320.

Now, I am testing to see if my external hard drive will work with it.

The good news is that you CAN swap out the internal derive for a 320G model... check the 3090 thread for details.

A neighbor got a HDC a month ago, it failed, they came to replace it, but when my friend tried to use it, it was also non-functional. He went down to 23rd and said they seemed to have a LOT of 3090s.

Generally speaking, an external drive will NOT work... the last few versions (3.x) of ODN apparently do not allow external HDDs.

You can even say, "This has been such a nightmare for my family, that we are even thinking of switching to DISH or U-VERSE because of the frustration in not receiving these channels for over two weeks. Every time I have called and they send someone out, nothing has been done. I don't know what else to do."

Mmmmm, No DISH or U-VERSE in NYC AFAIK! Depending on location, it is FiOS or Direct.

you'll probably lose some of your favorite shows and we may jack our rates again, but don't blame us or say we didn't warn you!

http://www.rolloverorgettough.com/

This is so bogus... no matter what happens, they will jack us... even if we "lose" things.

Did ANY $$$ change when they jacked us out of being able to get THE best HD channel, HDNet?

A great idea in principle. However, unless TWC advertises the existence of this poll and promotes it, it will have absolutely no value or credibility whatsoever.

A_C

I think this is 120% a total smoke screen. There is only ONE principle they hold to... maximize profits. One way is to keep jacking rates (which they already do) BUT they need to pay attention to losing subs. So this is all about a PR stunt to attempt to "fool" subs into thinking the other guy is the villain.

The sad part is I'd bet you most subs WILL think that way.

BTW, I HAVE seen more than once, TV promos for this, so they ARE spending OUR money to promote this attempt to fool the public.

I'd even go so far as to suggest this very much has to do with TWC realizing FiOS roll out seems to be very stalled for the past 3-4 months. Less chance to them losing subs, so NOW is the time to stick it to them (as in lock them up with accounts that cost real money to get out of).

Truth be told, I MAY have the last laugh. When I got my price lock, I was assured I would not get hit with a cancellation fee. BUT I also knew some PR guys telling me that carried not much real weight. So it was a concern when I learned FiOS should have been here 3 months ago. Verizon blew that and we can NOT find out when the new schedule is. SOOOO, I'm still locked until next fall... now all I can hope for is FiOS being available by next summer.

Cable 6 cuts 10 employees in newsroomAnchors among those axed

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091201/NEWS/912010318/-1/NEWS

TOWN OF WALLKILL — Longtime anchor and news director Tracy Baxter was among 10 of 14 people in Time Warner Cable 6's newsroom laid off Monday as the company dismantled its local news operation.

The layoffs, which also included Baxter's co-anchor Paula Mitchell, weather reporter Christina DeGeorge and reporter Kristine Conte, is part of Time Warner Cable's consolidation of its local news operations across the state.

Cable 6's nightly newscast will be broadcast out of Albany, with reporters based in the Hudson Valley filing reports.

Its first broadcast was at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

This follows similar moves made in markets like Binghamton, said Steve Paulus, Time Warner Cable's executive vice president for local news.

"We have a production hub in Albany, a weather hub in Syracuse," Paulus said. "With our anchors in Albany, we keep our reporters in the field."

"I had an inkling they were definitely going to make changes," said Baxter, who worked for Cable 6 since 1982, Monday night. "I hoped I would be part of the equation.

"It's going to be hard to wake up tomorrow morning and not be able to do what I've been doing for 27 years," Baxter said.

Paulus said some laid-off employees have been offered jobs in Albany. Baxter said he was not one of them.

Reporter Christian Farrell and sports director Lindsay Liquori were among the employees retained. Paulus said Cable 6 will still broadcast a high school Game of the Week and Liquori will still host the weekly Sportswire program at Cable 6's headquarters in the Town of Wallkill.

Cable 6 will also broadcast Time Warner Cable's Capital Tonight program, which covers state government.

Paulus said the plan is to transform Cable 6 into a 24-hour news channel — similar to Time Warner Cable's Capital News 9 in Albany and Cablevision's News 12 — sometime next year, with bureaus in Middletown, Liberty, Kingston and Poughkeepsie.

Until then, get used to a different nightly local newscast.

"Now, you'll notice some changes around here tonight," new anchor Erin Connolly told viewers at 5:30 p.m.

"One thing that hasn't changed is our commitment to local news."

Meanwhile, the biographies of the on-air faces who were let go were still displayed on Cable 6's Web site.

[QUOTE=Riverside_Guy;17633214]The good news is that you CAN swap out the internal derive for a 320G model... check the 3090 thread for details.

So I am confused, do the 3090 models have both 160 and 320g hard drives, and if you do go to 23rd st, is there a way to make sure that you will get the larger hard drive?

So I am confused, do the 3090 models have both 160 and 320g hard drives, and if you do go to 23rd st, is there a way to make sure that you will get the larger hard drive?

You can't ask for one... and chances are you wont get one - maybe a handful with the 320GB HD have been actually seen in the NYC area.

What he's saying is that it is technically possible to swap the HD yourself, if you really want to take the chance.

What he's saying is that it is technically possible to swap the HD yourself, if you really want to take the chance.

No chance involved, just the expense of the new drive. The swap takes all of 10 minutes, not including the format of the new drive when you power up. Aside from needing a torx 10 security bit to open the case, it's a very easy job. All your settings will be maintained.

No chance involved, just the expense of the new drive. The swap takes all of 10 minutes, not including the format of the new drive when you power up. Aside from needing a torx 10 security bit to open the case, it's a very easy job. All your settings will be maintained.

The is always a chance something could go wrong

No chance involved, just the expense of the new drive. The swap takes all of 10 minutes, not including the format of the new drive when you power up. Aside from needing a torx 10 security bit to open the case, it's a very easy job. All your settings will be maintained.

Last I checked, that 320G drive ran about 48 bucks... so it's not a major investment. AND a swap has been successfully made in the NYC market.

The is always a chance something could go wrong

True, and it's probably not for someone whose component swapping experience is limited to changing rolls of bathroom tissue.

But... if you've ever opened up a PC to swap a card or drive, this is MUCH easier and much less complicated than that. It's just a few screws and unplugging/replugging a SATA and power connection at the drive. Unlike a PC... the drive formats automatically when you power it back up... no settings to change at all.

It's not something for the fumble fingered... and dealing even with SATA and DC connectors CAN have their challenges... there HAVE been times when plugging or unplugging either was NOT a breeze. I've seen many folks get frustrated and destroy the connection trying to incorrectly force it.

any new channels today?

history international ?
2 spanish channels 741 and 768?

any new channels today?

history international ?
2 spanish channels 741 and 768?

The announcements said 12/7

The announcements said 12/7

oh ok. something to look fwd to i guess.

Reading all these posts discussing 320 gig vs 160 gig hard drives, I cannot help but ne giddy that I decided to go for TiVo HD and swapping out the original 160 gig HD for a 640 gig one.

What a great service TiVo is!

For the past few weeks they have run this one on the wee hours on certain channels, and that there is a major glitch in the sound during the commercial. The first time I noticed, I thought there was a problem with my box, second time I thought there was some type of satellite interference, third time seems like there is some issue with whatever MPEG file, or DVD they are running the thing off of.

Woke up to no signal on all channels and a fast busy signal on the 718 #. Called the old 212 # and the recording says all of Brooklyn & Queens are down.

Massive FAIL: another thing only on TWC and not on FIOS.

Was watching CNBC for my early morning financial news and the pic froze at around 4:45 or so. All TWC programming has been out since and the TW help lines busy. Must be a major outage. Gotta go to work now.

Im also having problems in forest hills, queens.
Cable box will not finish booting. Stuck in "APP" phase while booting.
I really need the news before going to work.

Woke up to no signal on all channels and a fast busy signal on the 718 #. Called the old 212 # and the recording says all of Brooklyn & Queens are down.

Massive FAIL: another thing only on TWC and not on FIOS.

Failure here in Astoria too. At first everything on the Program Guide said "No String" so I tried to reboot. The Mystro won't load past the first box.

It does make me feel better that everyone is having this problem. At least TWC will believe me when I say my cable isn't working.

yea cable down here in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn too

booooo

I saw Verizion putting up some data lines in my area..wonder if its FIOS :p lol

Came here to see what STB for non-HD/non-DVR they're handing out these days (I have a SA Explorer 2100, which was recently updated to Mystro). I get home, from working the night shift and see the STB with the dreaded "----" on the LCD. Turn on the TV and see it stuck on the Mystro screen. Hard boot the box and it's still hanging there. Thought the STB was toast, come here and I see all of Bklyn and Queens is down. Great!
I'm in Park Slope/Windsor Terrace, Bklyn.

Middle Village, Queens is out also. Might be weather related from this morning's storm. No clue.

Cable is down for all of you but internet service is still working?

Also - it seems a fire caused the outage.

Cable has been down since very early this morning here in Queens as well... Way to go Time Warner...
Does anyone know if they are upgrading, or was it the storm that knocked out a few lines? It is bright and sunny now...
Also, has anyone tried hooking up the coax directly to TV to see if you at least get some channels, which would indicate it is digital/system problem and not hardware/wire problem?

PS: My internet was also working this morning.

Cable has been restored here in Park Slope/Windsor Terrace. Was watching NHL on the Fly on the NHL network both in HD and SD. As per this blog posting on the Gothamist, looks like a ConEd line fell on one of TW fiber cable and burned it out. See this posting http://gothamist.com/2009/12/03/time_warner_down_in_brooklyn_queens.php . Hopefully they're back online for good.

Alex Dudley, the VP of Public Relations, said on Twitter it was due to a "major fiber cut", whatever that means. Everything should be up and running now though.

Alex Dudley, the VP of Public Relations, said on Twitter it was due to a "major fiber cut", whatever that means. Everything should be up and running now though.

Think of the distribution system like a tree... one huge thick branch that splits of into narrower trunks/branches. Except, that single big trunk is what comes INOT TWC, the thickest branches off that trunk feed each head end, while branches off that go from each head end go to various neighborhoods.

so i did a hard reboot, and now im missing nbatvhd. wat happened?

Yup! Internet was fine. Wifey said came back on about 10:00. She didn't know exactly when since she was watching recorded stuff in the meantime. Somebody must have cut a real major piece of trunk. I guess TWC doesn't do redundancy.

Manhattan, Brooklyn/Queens and Mount Vernon
December 4, 2009

Time Warner Cable’s agreements with programmers and broadcasters to carry their services and stations routinely expire from time to time. We are usually able to obtain renewals or extensions of such agreements, but in order to comply with applicable regulations, we must inform you when an agreement is about to expire. The following agreements are due to expire soon, and we may be required to cease carriage of one or more of these services/stations in the near future:

AAJ, Chinese Channel, Chinese Cinema, E!, Encore, Encore Action, Encore Drama, Encore Love, Encore Mystery, Encore WAM!, Encore Westerns, Food Network, Fox Reality, Fox Soccer, Fox Sports Español, Fuel, FX, Great American Country (GAC), Lifetime, Media Korea, NGTV, Polski Radio, RTVi, Speed, STARZ!, Starz Cinema, Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, Starz in Black, Starz Kids and Family, Style, Supercanal, The Arabic Channel, The Korean Channel, TruTV, TV Japan, TV Polonia, WNYW, WPIX and WWOR.

In addition, from time to time we make certain changes in the services that we offer in order to better serve our customers. The following changes are planned:

The previously announced launch of Korean News Network (KNN) has been postponed.

On or about January 6, 2009:

We will launch Sleuth on ch. 107 and Bollywood on Demand on ch. 570. SiTV will change from ch. 154 and 880 to 880 only. SiTV will exclusively be part of our DTV en Español and El Paquetazo offerings.

In Mount Vernon we will cease carriage of Hot Shots Advertising on ch. 8.

Also on that date, for customers with cable ready TV’s directly connected to cable without a cable box (“direct hookups”) we will make the following changes: In Southern Manhattan we will move ShopNBC from 26 to 70 and NYC TV 74 from 70 to 74. In Northern Manhattan we will move ShopNBC from ch. 78 to ch. 70 and NYC TV 74 from 70 to 74.

On or about January 11, 2009 we will launch GAME 2 HD on ch. 446. Game 2 HD will be part of our MLB and NHL Sports Package offerings

so Game2 HD next month for those that subscribe... and Sleuth returns a year after they drop it (wonder if the HD versions of Sleuth and Chiller are coming)

Epic Fail

http://hd.engadget.com/2009/12/04/hell-freezes-over-the-fcc-admits-that-cablecard-is-a-failure/

Just got a new 8300HD from TWC and the picture is considerably washed out and soft compared to the old one. Are there any advanced settings? I have the standard settings right (1080i out, etc). Any help appreciated.

Bleh...ever since the ODN upgrade to (recently) 3.1.3_2 the start up channel isn't working anymore. It always goes to NY1 SD at that!!

Epic Fail

http://hd.engadget.com/2009/12/04/hell-freezes-over-the-fcc-admits-that-cablecard-is-a-failure/

The major irony here is that they HAD to make them work when the issue with embedded security arose. A good part of me thinks THAT "regulation" was the answer to making SURE they worked... by forcing the cable cos. to use them for themselves!

One look backwards to see the road ahead... which means to me that I am skeptical about <tru2way>. In many ways, it seems it's an extension to that Telecom Act of 1996... and also means that the rental income the cable cos. get can be in jeopardy. While some disagree, I think a very healthy portion of their income comes from box rentals. Seems to me anyone with a cable co. DVR pays from 18 to close to 30/mo. say an average of 25. $300 per year. Non DVRs rent for 4-8 bucks. Boxes are paid off in under 2 years I believe. This is a business in and of itself. <tru2way> can and probably would take away a LOT of that business.

Anyone else have a blank screen on Cartoon HD, channel 761? I get guide info but no picture or sound. Standard version ch. 61 works fine.

Does TWC NY provide (for a fee I am sure) an M-Card cablecard for Moxi units? This looks much more interesting than the TWC DVRs, as it provides multiroom support.

Just got a new 8300HD from TWC and the picture is considerably washed out and soft compared to the old one. Are there any advanced settings? I have the standard settings right (1080i out, etc). Any help appreciated.

That box is certainly not new and I can't believe they are still giving them out. I would demand a sammy or HDC box if I were you.

That box is certainly not new and I can't believe they are still giving them out. I would demand a sammy or HDC box if I were you.

I keep trying to get one and they keep getting me the SI boxes. Tried to pull my Time Warner card (I work for one of their divisions) and they promise but never deliver. I'm taking off Weds and will try again at 23rd.

23rd street has the 320 GB 3090 and the Samsung 3260 HD-STB. The 3260 works great except the VOD preview window will say please wait and that can be annoying. You then have to go to a non VOD channel then go to the desired VOD channel. It also says Please wait at times. However these bugs are being fixed in a future firmware update thats independent from ODN. Also I found a bug where pressing stop wont show the VOD menu and instead pauses it. When the VOD title is finished it keeps repeating it. Rebooting helps but it too needs to be fixed.

The 3260 is also bigger than the SA 4250HDC. About the size of a SA 3250HD.

I have an annoying problem with the Samsung STB. Over the past few days the information banner at the bottom of the screen will not clear unless I press "EXIT". I've tried changing the duration from short, medium & long, but it didn't resolve the problem. I've rebooted the STB, but no joy. My SA 8300HD banners clear as expected. Anyone else have this problem?

TIA...JL

I have an annoying problem with the Samsung STB. Over the past few days the information banner at the bottom of the screen will not clear unless I press "EXIT". I've tried changing the duration from short, medium & long, but it didn't resolve the problem. I've rebooted the STB, but no joy. My SA 8300HD banners clear as expected. Anyone else have this problem?

TIA...JL

I've had it occur very intermittently. Once I press exit though, it won't happen again for weeks.

Anyone have problems with signal levels after the outage? All my STB's and cable modem are receiving signal levels between -20 and -15. TV picture is constantly breaking up and cutting out while some channels don't even load.

Forgot to mention, I am in the 11355 area.

History International HD (698) and WXTV-HD (Univision) (741) added this morning - no sign of WFUT-HD (768) yet

NBATV (SD) moved to 175 as promised and both SD and HD are off the Sports/HD Xtra tier (I forget if they promised to shift NBATVHD from 461 to someplace that makes more sense, but they haven't yet)


EDIT: at the moment (9:30am) - the feed on 741 is 480i. (the channel itself was supposed to go HD just after midnight along with WFUT - so gotta see whats going on there)

Hey, does anyone have issues with the DD 5.1 mix CBS uses for it's football games? The announcer's voices are barely intelligible especially when crowd noise and band music are happening? All other channel's football contests NEVER have this problem... but I've noticed this on CBS more than once.

While checking this out, I tuned to the Fox 1-4 game... damn, black video. A friend rang up and he had the exact same thing... he's Man South, while I'm Man North.

A neighbor was at 23rd street, his second HDC was bad. They gave him a 3090, he asked about the 320G model, they told him they only got a few and they couldn't give him one. He says the 3090 is a LOT quieter than either HDC he has used.

I tuned to the Fox 1-4 game... damn, black video. A friend rang up and he had the exact same thing... he's Man South, while I'm Man North.


705 seemed to have a brief 5-10 minute outage all over around 2pm yesterday

Hey, does anyone have issues with the DD 5.1 mix CBS uses for it's football games? The announcer's voices are barely intelligible especially when crowd noise and band music are happening? All other channel's football contests NEVER have this problem... but I've noticed this on CBS more than once.

Actually no, CBS always sounds (and looks) the best to me of any of the networks for football. I was watching OTA yesterday, but the times I have watched via the 3090, it's sounded the same.

lord of the rings on tbs hd was terrible yesterday for me - dropouts and freezes every few minutes - in astoria, ny.

History International HD (698) and WXTV-HD (Univision) (741) added this morning - no sign of WFUT-HD (768) yet

NBATV (SD) moved to 175 as promised and both SD and HD are off the Sports/HD Xtra tier (I forget if they promised to shift NBATVHD from 461 to someplace that makes more sense, but they haven't yet)


EDIT: at the moment (9:30am) - the feed on 741 is 480i. (the channel itself was supposed to go HD just after midnight along with WFUT - so gotta see whats going on there)

I checked before leaving work today on the OTA side of my TV and both WFUT and WXTV where putting out 1080i. So unless that has changed now, they are using the wrong feeds for those stations.

As for NBATV HD, that isn't to move, just to change tiers.

History International HD (698)....
Thanks for the tip. 698 remains Planet Green HD channel here from S. Manhattan's headend, with 697 used for the History International HD intro. It had a stretched/zoomed program on at this writing. -- John

Thanks for the tip. 698 remains Planet Green HD channel here from S. Manhattan's headend, with 697 used for the History International HD intro. It had a stretched/zoomed program on at this writing. -- John

sorry - i meant 697...

North and South Manhattan should have the exact same lineups at this point

lord of the rings on tbs hd was terrible yesterday for me - dropouts and freezes every few minutes - in astoria, ny.

I agree, I really wish they would use the 2:35 aspect ratio it is supposed to be in but TNT sucks anyway. Seriously, how many times can they show Men in Black? Wish they would put the LOTR blu ray out already. Rumor is that it is coming in March (theatrical version only) but there is no official release date.

Thanks for the tip. 698 remains Planet Green HD channel here from S. Manhattan's headend, with 697 used for the History International HD intro. It had a stretched/zoomed program on at this writing. -- John

Something right now is strecth 0 vision, ugh I hope the whole channel is not like this, maybe they are just older programs that they show.

Anyone have problems with signal levels after the outage? All my STB's and cable modem are receiving signal levels between -20 and -15. TV picture is constantly breaking up and cutting out while some channels don't even load.

Forgot to mention, I am in the 11355 area.

Same, on 11373.

I have an annoying problem with the Samsung STB. Over the past few days the information banner at the bottom of the screen will not clear unless I press "EXIT". I've tried changing the duration from short, medium & long, but it didn't resolve the problem. I've rebooted the STB, but no joy. My SA 8300HD banners clear as expected. Anyone else have this problem?

TIA...JL

Down in Orlando over Thanksgiving, the in-laws Samsung box on Brighthouse hd exactly the same problem - 100% of the time. Very annoying.

Hey, does anyone have issues with the DD 5.1 mix CBS uses for it's football games? The announcer's voices are barely intelligible especially when crowd noise and band music are happening? All other channel's football contests NEVER have this problem... but I've noticed this on CBS more than once.

I've frequently had that problem - I end up having to fire up the whole home entertainment stereo system to get something better balanced. I'm sure I have something set wrong somewhere, although as you say it does not seem to be a problem on other channels. Had this problem for years now...

so 768 WFUT is up in HD - 741 WXTV is still in SD for some reason.

Not able to view channel 697 or 698 on TiVo in Staten Island. The screen says "Channel not Available." Is SDV here already? Or should I just call customer support?

Please help.

Not able to view channel 697 or 698 on TiVo in Staten Island. The screen says "Channel not Available." Is SDV here already? Or should I just call customer support?

Please help.

no channels are SDV (yet) in NYC

fyi - History International HD on 697 now does have something on in HD.

Actually no, CBS always sounds (and looks) the best to me of any of the networks for football. I was watching OTA yesterday, but the times I have watched via the 3090, it's sounded the same.

Hmmm, that surprises me. NBC, ESPN, Fox ALL mix their football audio far, far better than CBS... do you have a 5.1 home theater AVR that you listen to for football?

Down in Orlando over Thanksgiving, the in-laws Samsung box on Brighthouse hd exactly the same problem - 100% of the time. Very annoying.

Ah, now I remember. My aunt had a non DVR Samsung a while back and she had the same issue, the banner would NOT go away automatically. She called them and they gave her some 2-3 button press rigamarole. I told her just hoit EXIT once. She got annoyed and they put in a SciAtl box. This was ~4-5 months ago or so.

Hmmm, that surprises me. NBC, ESPN, Fox ALL mix their football audio far, far better than CBS... do you have a 5.1 home theater AVR that you listen to for football?

Yes, Marantz SR7001 avr, Polk RTi8s and CSi2 across the front and RTi4s as surround, SVSPB10 sub. I prefer the way CBS uses the surrounds in the mix. I can't say I've ever had a problem hearing the announcers though.

Wow, I am surprised. My system is very evenly balanced, but jacking up the center channel MAY help. BUT, it is a major hassle to do so, my AVR is old, so it doesn't touch any video at all (having only composite & S Video video I/O). I'd have to go to another input to get the OSD up to adjust.. the must switch input again.. not really willing to do that.

I think this follows the same kind of bad mixing many network dramas tend to have. It can be very difficult to hear what is being said over a mix that has background/music way too high. While that trend doesn't seem to bother those 35 under at all, as age increases, trouble follows. The problem isn't so much the hearing as it is a loss of ability to "pull out" dialog from a mix where the dialog simply isn't at all very forward.

OTOH, CBS DOES have THE best time-outs remaining data in their banner. ESPN changes a very dull yellow to gray, so you have to look close to see how many remain. CBS has bright yellow that disappears into the background black. Excellent. Now if they can hire someone who actually knows how to mix audio...

In the FWIW department, I generally go to tvguide.com to see over all TV schedules. Was poking around the TWC site and came across this:

http://tvlistings.rr.com/tvListings/

Seems to be pretty slow to load, even with a 10 Mbs connection. BUT it also spans more time in the grid than tvguide does.

Two points that readers here will find of great interest:

1) During a service visit, a S. Manhattan tech swapped my HDC out for a 3090. Looking through the top grate, it already has a 320GB drive. It sounds like a good time to try your luck if you've been looking for one of these;

2) After finally getting my SB6120 (http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-SB6120-SURFboard-eXtreme-Broadband/dp/B001UI2FPE) configured (and that was a bit of a chore with level 3 support), my roadrunner speed are better than ever. I am getting my max provisioned speeds, and even though I am only provisioned for standard service, speedboost goes all the way up to 30MB/s. I think that's because the 6120 is a DOCSIS 3 modem.

so 768 WFUT is up in HD - 741 WXTV is still in SD for some reason.

wxtv is up and running in 1080i over the air although seems like programming is mostly 4:3. sounds like TWC screwed up.

wxtv is up and running in 1080i over the air although seems like programming is mostly 4:3. sounds like TWC screwed up.
TWC did screw up. I called customer service yesterday and they said the information would be sent to their IT dept. We will see.

wxtv is up and running in 1080i over the air although seems like programming is mostly 4:3. sounds like TWC screwed up.

or its just possible that there is a problem with the feed they are supposed to be getting and are just passing along the SD feed until it is resolved.

or its just possible that there is a problem with the feed they are supposed to be getting and are just passing along the SD feed until it is resolved.

yes either that or they are mistakingly taking over the air 68.2 which is univision sd. 68.1 is wfut.

HD Channels we are missing that TWC has the rights to:

truTV-HD
RFD-HD
WGN America-HD
Jewlery TV-HD

TWC NYC

118 HD channels (+1 announced, +5 announced but postponed)

340 Adult HD On Demand
350 PPV-HD
351 PPV-HD-2
411 TEAM HD
445/791 GAME-HD
446 GAME2-HD *** 1/11/10 ***
461 NBATVHD
465 Tennis Channel HD
467 CBS College Sports HD
468 NHL Network HD
471 Big Ten HD On Demand
472 Big Ten Network HD
480 Outdoor Channel HD
481 Versus HD
482 Golf HD
651 HBO HD
652 HBO2 HD
653 HBO Family HD
654 HBO Comedy HD
655 HBO Signature HD
656 HBO Zone HD
657 HBO Latino HD
658 CineMax HD
659 MoreMax HD
660 ActionMAX HD
661 ThrillerMAX HD
662 WMAX HD
663 @MAX HD
664 5StarMAX HD
665 OuterMAX HD
666 Showtime HD
667 Showtime 2 HD
668 ShowCase HD
669 Showtime Extreme HD
674 TMC HD
675 TMCxtra HD
676 Starz HD
677 Starz Edge HD
678 Starz Kids & Family HD
681 Starz Comedy HD
682 Encore HD
684 Chiller HD******** Postponed to a later date
*** Sleuth HD******** Postponed to a later date
685 BBC America HD
686 Crime and Investigation HD
687 Live Well HD (WABC 7.2)
689 Style HD
691 Fuse HD
692 G4 HD
697 History International HD
698 Planet Green HD
699 Showcase On Demand HD
700 Movies On Demand HD
701 NY1 HD
702 WCBS (CBS) HD
703 TNT HD
704 WNBC (NBC) HD
705 WNYW (FOX) HD
706 Nickelodeon HD******** Postponed to a later date
707 WABC (ABC) HD
708 TBS HD
709 WWOR (My Network TV) HD
710 FX HD
711 WPIX (The CW) HD
713 WNET (PBS) HD
714 MSNBC HD
715 CNBC HD
716 USA HD
717 Syfy HD
718 Bravo HD
720 Palladia HD
723 Investigation Discovery HD
724 E! HD
726 SNY HD
727 MSG HD
728 ESPN HD
729 ESPN2 HD
731 WPXN (iON) HD
733 QVC HD
734 Universal HD
736 Spike HD******** Postponed to a later date
738 ABC Family HD
739 HSN HD
740 History Channel HD
741 WXTV (Univision) HD
743 Fox Business News HD
744 Fox News HD
746 A&E HD
747 WNJU (Telemundo) HD
748 MSG+ HD
749 Disney HD
750 Food Network HD
752 The Learning Channel HD
753 YES HD
754 AMC HD
758 Headline News HD
759 WE HD
760 Disney XD HD
761 Cartoon Network HD
762 Lifetime HD********Postponed (again) to a later date
763 Biography HD
764 HGTV HD
765 National Geographic HD
766 Discovery HD
767 HD Theater
768 WFUT (Telefutura) HD
772 Weather Channel HD
774 Speed HD
775 Science Channel HD
778 CNN HD
780 Lifetime Movie Network HD
781 IFC HD
782 TCM HD
783 MLB Network HD
784 Hallmark Movie Channel HD
786 Animal Planet HD
787 MavTV HD
788 Travel Channel HD
790 TV One HD
792 ESPNews HD
793 ESPNU HD
794 Smithsonian HD On Demand
795 Smithsonian HD
796 MGM HD

I am not receiving the HD channels that premiered this week with a Tivo HD. Is anyone with a Tivo receiving any of these channels?

I am not receiving the HD channels that premiered this week with a Tivo HD. Is anyone with a Tivo receiving any of these channels?

have you tried rescanning?

It's especially odd that you aren't seeing the 2 Spanish channels - as they should be available to everyone in the clear.

I am not receiving the HD channels that premiered this week with a Tivo HD. Is anyone with a Tivo receiving any of these channels?

Same here. Have you tried calling tech support?

have you tried rescanning?

It's especially odd that you aren't seeing the 2 Spanish channels - as they should be available to everyone in the clear.

Did not help.

I guess it's a question for the experts, but what should be the normal procedure for getting the new channels unto the cable cards?

Berk32 do you happen to have the new spreadsheet with the new channels added to share?
Curious as to where TWC put them.

Berk32 do you happen to have the new spreadsheet with the new channels added to share?
Curious as to where TWC put them.

i'll post it tonight - but i think the 2 spanish channels are on the ch 79 frequency in northern manhattan, (and it might be ch 100 for southern manhattan) - and History International was put in the same freq with the recently added nbatvhd

have you tried rescanning?

It's especially odd that you aren't seeing the 2 Spanish channels - as they should be available to everyone in the clear.

Same here. Have you tried calling tech support?

I called Customer Support and they couldn't do anything over the phone. They will be sending a technician this coming saturday. New channels are supposed to just appear on the Tivo, since it's able to detech channel line-up changes.

A channel re-scan is not possible with the cablecard installed.

Download/Software upgrade today. Between 4 and 4:30 they did a download. The Power On Channel is fixed. Anyone find anything else? Lower East Side..

Download/Software upgrade today. Between 4 and 4:30 they did a download. The Power On Channel is fixed. Anyone find anything else? Lower East Side..

what box?

what box?

I am currently using the SA 8300 HDC

Doesn't it affect everyone regardless of box?

I called Customer Support and they couldn't do anything over the phone. They will be sending a technician this coming saturday. New channels are supposed to just appear on the Tivo, since it's able to detech channel line-up changes.

A channel re-scan is not possible with the cablecard installed.

Please keep the thread posted on the results of the visit. Are they charging for the visit?

This is "great." So every time they add new channels the tech will have to come over and turn the channels on?

Best Buy has a special now on TiVo - $150 with HDTV purchase. TWC is about to get more customers. Are there enough techs?

Please keep the thread posted on the results of the visit. Are they charging for the visit?

This is "great." So every time they add new channels the tech will have to come over and turn the channels on?

Best Buy has a special now on TiVo - $150 with HDTV purchase. TWC is about to get more customers. Are there enough techs?

I will keep you posted about what happens. I forgot to ask, but I doubt they will be charging me for a visit. They're coming to fix a problems that surely lies within their cablecard. New channels are supposed to just appear automatically on the Tivo. There seems to be some sort of problem on their side. I dont even think this is a problem that needs a visit. I just ended up speaking with a customer representative that does not know anything about cablecards.

I am currently using the SA 8300 HDC

Doesn't it affect everyone regardless of box?

Well there are 2 different softwares out there - ODN and MDN.

WXTV 741 is now in HD as it should be

Any Top Chef fans here? Had a few audio dropouts tonight- really would've liked to have heard the part where Kevin talked about college. Going to DVR the replay, and hopefully there won't be audio dropouts then. Starting to strongly consider Fios...

Anyone else have these problems tonight? Man South, Samsung 3090.

Northern Manhattan spreadsheet

Usually TNTHD is very stable for me with my SA8300HD box running MDN Navigator except when watching "The Closer". This program is always plagued with glitches including pixelation in video and audio drop outs. Anyone else in Kew Gardens experiencing this? Thanks.

I am currently using the SA 8300 HDC

Doesn't it affect everyone regardless of box?

It's more about the software than the box. Yours is ODN. FWIW, there was no such action to MDN... and I mean MDN -21 which is ONLY in Man North.

The question is was it a ODN slipstream update or did they increment the version number.

Speaking of frak-ups, seems like barely a day goes by without a "go to black video" happens on Fox... last night, it was on Glee, around the last quarter of the show.

Re: HDC vs. 3090

IMO, the fast forward was far superior on the HDC. I got used to the amount of "jump back" time there was on the HDC, so I could recognize the end of the commercials and still not miss any of the show. The Samsung is different and less predictable. Also, the stretched guide just looks strange. But overall I think the larger HD and much lower noise level make the 3090 superior.

Re: HDC vs. 3090

IMO, the fast forward was far superior on the HDC. I got used to the amount of "jump back" time there was on the HDC, so I could recognize the end of the commercials and still not miss any of the show. The Samsung is different and less predictable. Also, the stretched guide just looks strange. But overall I think the larger HD and much lower noise level make the 3090 superior.

I agree 100% on all counts, although I have to admit that the fonts in the stretched guide do not really look stretched... its only the network logos that continue to look stretched after a brief period of adjustment.

Nailing the commercial skips in the 3090 is definitely much more difficult and inconsistent than on the 8300HDC... but overall I would never go back. The double sized hard drive, the smoother/faster GUI operation and just being an unobtrusive black component instead of silver monstrosity all overwhelmingly favor the 3090.

I agree 100% on all counts, although I have to admit that the fonts in the stretched guide do not really look stretched... its only the network logos that continue to look stretched after a brief period of adjustment.

Nailing the commercial skips in the 3090 is definitely much more difficult and inconsistent than on the 8300HDC... but overall I would never go back. The double sized hard drive, the smoother/faster GUI operation and just being an unobtrusive black component instead of silver monstrosity all overwhelmingly favor the 3090.

Are they only giving 320 gig hard drives now? or is it still a crapshoot. I like my HDC but would trade it in for more space

Are they only giving 320 gig hard drives now? or is it still a crapshoot. I like my HDC but would trade it in for more space

Generally a crapshoot but I think I've seen reports here about some recent availability of 320s @ 23rd St.

My first 3090 (when 3090s first arrived down here in Charlotte) was an OEM 320GB unit. My second one was a 160 which has been -ahem - "field upgraded".

Are they only giving 320 gig hard drives now? or is it still a crapshoot. I like my HDC but would trade it in for more space

Crap shot getting one, neighbor tried 4 days ago and was told they only had a "few" and they all went right away.

BUT he said there WAS a large stack of them at 23rd street. For under 60 bucks, you can get a 320G Pipeline and the right tool (Torx T10 security/tamper resistant) and swap out the internal yourself.

Crap shot getting one, neighbor tried 4 days ago and was told they only had a "few" and they all went right away.

BUT he said there WAS a large stack of them at 23rd street. For under 60 bucks, you can get a 320G Pipeline and the right tool (Torx T10 security/tamper resistant) and swap out the internal yourself.

I can wait, In a month or 2 they will probably only give that box out, gives me a chance to watch some stuff I have been meaning to get to. Will they let you see if it is a 320 before they snatch your old box away?

Two days ago I was given a 320 box by a tech. I wasn't expecting it, but there it was. . .

I apologize in advance if this has been asked already, but I have not been able to find it in the thread

Yesterday I connected a 500Gb esata drive to my 8300HDC box, following the instructions in the SA manual. The box recognized the drive, and formatted it without any problems.
But now I find that recordings are somewhat haphazard. Some shows record without any problems (e.g. Survivor tonight on 702, So You Think You Can Dance last night on 705). But others scheduled to record do not (e.g. NBC Nightly News on 704, B Walter's Special on 707) ) And when I hit the record button for a show in progress, it does not record.

Any advice, comments? I've tried a reboot of the box, but that does not help.

I can wait, In a month or 2 they will probably only give that box out, gives me a chance to watch some stuff I have been meaning to get to. Will they let you see if it is a 320 before they snatch your old box away?

Waiting can have it's issues. Maybe they'll switch over to the 3270 DVR which apparently lacks any PIP function (some don't care, deal-breaker for some).

Waiting can have it's issues. Maybe they'll switch over to the 3270 DVR which apparently lacks any PIP function (some don't care, deal-breaker for some).

I am in the I don't really care crowd, I use it once in a blue moon but can live without it. I am sure someone will say something if the 3270's start appearing. Seems odd to remove that since it has two tuners anyway.

PiP has never worked in a useful way for me. I would be far more interested in a third or fourth tuner.

Speaking of frak-ups, seems like barely a day goes by without a "go to black video" happens on Fox... last night, it was on Glee, around the last quarter of the show.

My recording had some sort of glitch at the :47 minute mark and wouldn't go past there, I had to watch the end on Hulu.

Two things:

1. Does anyone else's 3090 make a high pitched noise (the same one that it makes when you turn the power on) at random times when the box is not on and/or recording? I hear it occasionally in the middle of the night and now during the day since I started working from home...and no, it is definitely not on or recording anything when it makes this noise.

2. Has anyone noticed that for a good number of channels, the boxes have old, outdated network/channel logos (Weather Channel SD & HD, WWOR-SD. WPIX-SD, Food SD), unreadable logos (MSG-HD), or no logo at all (WPIX-HD, WWOR-HD)? These are just a few examples that quickly come to mind and I wonder how hard it is for whatever service they use to get it right.

Anyone else notice the big price increases?

It started with my promotional pricing of DTValue and Road Runner Standard going away, which jacked their respective prices from 49.99 and 29.99 to (standard rates) 67.50 and 45.95.

Now I got a notice saying it's 72.95 for DTValue starting next month. Moreover there are no promotions for those without Triple Play. I manage to negotiate a small discount, but its still ridiculous.

Anyone have any luck doing better or have any ideas?

Anyone else notice the big price increases?

It started with my promotional pricing of DTValue and Road Runner Standard going away, which jacked their respective prices from 49.99 and 29.99 to (standard rates) 67.50 and 45.95.

Now I got a notice saying it's 72.95 for DTValue starting next month. Moreover there are no promotions for those without Triple Play. I manage to negotiate a small discount, but its still ridiculous.

Anyone have any luck doing better or have any ideas?

Oh yeah. I noticed it. What they wanted for cable TV alone with DVR, costs me the same as I'm now paying for FiOS Triple Play with DVR . I actually switched yesterday. The other reason I switched was because my HD picture went downhill in the last few months, and they couldn't fix the macroblocking.

I apologize in advance if this has been asked already, but I have not been able to find it in the thread

Yesterday I connected a 500Gb esata drive to my 8300HDC box, following the instructions in the SA manual. The box recognized the drive, and formatted it without any problems.
But now I find that recordings are somewhat haphazard. Some shows record without any problems (e.g. Survivor tonight on 702, So You Think You Can Dance last night on 705). But others scheduled to record do not (e.g. NBC Nightly News on 704, B Walter's Special on 707) ) And when I hit the record button for a show in progress, it does not record.

Any advice, comments? I've tried a reboot of the box, but that does not help.


How are you powering your ESATA drive? I have a 160GB external ESATA drive and never had a problem (going on 6 months now I guess) I'm using the SA8300HDC

How are you powering your ESATA drive? I have a 160GB external ESATA drive and never had a problem (going on 6 months now I guess) I'm using the SA8300HDC

Thanks for responding.

The drive (a Fantom Green Drive) came with its own power adaptor, which I plugged into a power strip.
The box/external drive combination is still misbehaving; no NBC Nightly News again tonight.

Curious Has anyone seen a Calendar from TW this year?

I have a new Plasma Panny. I was just watching a show I dvr'ed on the SA 8300C. When I shut off the show, erased it actually my screen was a creamy white color. Audio worked, menu from the Panny remote came up, not the TWC channel menu. turned the box off and back on, nothing, turned the tv off and back on, nothing. creamy white screen, with audio. Finally I unplugged the box let it sit for a bit, rebooted and now it works. My question is do you think it is the cable box or my TV? I connect the 2 with a HDMI cable.... thanks for any advice.

Curious Has anyone seen a Calendar from TW this year?

You mean like that corny beefcake calendar they put out last year?

[See enclosures]

A_C

I have some time off this week and thinking about swapping my boxes. I have an 8300HDC in the living room and a 3050 in the bedroom.

1. Is it worth swapping them for a 3090 and 3260, respectively?

2. What are the odds of actually getting those models? I know there's no guarantee, but based on the recent luck or lack thereof of AVS members.

3. What about 320 GB??

4. Anybody have any luck at Queens Center? Or would I be better off going to 23rd Street?

I went to Queens Center over the summer looking for a 3090 and came back empty handed.

TIA!

You mean like that corny beefcake calendar they put out last year?

[See enclosures]

A_C

Yea thats it, It was free

I have a new Plasma Panny. I was just watching a show I dvr'ed on the SA 8300C. When I shut off the show, erased it actually my screen was a creamy white color. Audio worked, menu from the Panny remote came up, not the TWC channel menu. turned the box off and back on, nothing, turned the tv off and back on, nothing. creamy white screen, with audio. Finally I unplugged the box let it sit for a bit, rebooted and now it works. My question is do you think it is the cable box or my TV? I connect the 2 with a HDMI cable.... thanks for any advice.

Hard to say. It ALMOST sounds like the "no video but audio works" scenario I see (mostly on 705 Fox, but can occur rarely on other channels). Mine typically is a black screen, but that COULD be a difference between your PDP and my LCD. THIS crap seems to be at TWC's side of things, and most frequently city wide so it's with whatever sends source feeds TO each head end.

My 3090 DVR yesterday stopped buffering during live viewing (and the normal buffer indicator now stretches out in reverse, i.e. in front of the current time indicator as if it were paused) eliminating all trick play (pause, FF, RW).

It retains this after reboot. Anyone else see this issue?

The box is running Software Version 2.4.9.3...

Does CBSHD (702) look terrible for anyone else today (I mean, other than the fact that it's the Bucs and the Jets ;))? Pixelation all over the place, audio glitches. Looking forward to getting Fios next week.

Man South, Samsung 3090.

I have a new Plasma Panny. I was just watching a show I dvr'ed on the SA 8300C. When I shut off the show, erased it actually my screen was a creamy white color. Audio worked, menu from the Panny remote came up, not the TWC channel menu. turned the box off and back on, nothing, turned the tv off and back on, nothing. creamy white screen, with audio. Finally I unplugged the box let it sit for a bit, rebooted and now it works. My question is do you think it is the cable box or my TV? I connect the 2 with a HDMI cable.... thanks for any advice.

I had this same problem a long time ago with my Panny Plasma except it was a red screen with no audio. I can assure you it is not the television. A cold reboot of the SA8300HD box fixed the problem. I assume it must be, in my case, some HDMI/TWC issue. It has not returned.

Does CBSHD (702) look terrible for anyone else today (I mean, other than the fact that it's the Bucs and the Jets ;))? Pixelation all over the place, audio glitches. Looking forward to getting Fios next week.

Man South, Samsung 3090.

This is an ugly game isn't it. I was watching OTA, but switched over to twc to have a look. It doesn't look "that" terrible, but I'm definitely seeing a better picture via the antenna. Also, Manhattan South, 3090.

Does CBSHD (702) look terrible for anyone else today... Pixelation all over the place, audio glitches. Looking forward to getting Fios next week.


This is an ugly game isn't it. I was watching OTA, but switched over to twc to have a look. It doesn't look "that" terrible, but I'm definitely seeing a better picture via the antenna. Also, Manhattan South, 3090.
As a point of reference, it looks great on FIOS.

some possible good news to look out for.

TWC Milwaukee seems to have announced that they will be adding the Viacom HD channels by the end of the year.

May have missed earlier discussion of TWC's Jan.1 rate increases (http://www.timewarnercable.com/nynj/ratechanges)(for Manhattan) that turned up with an e-mail billing notice. They seem significant for everything. Debating whether to drop another premium service. I canceled one block of channels when they dropped HDNet, plus the entire Encore block of channels. Had "All the Best" for years until those drops, then added digital phone service and got a special package along with Road Runner. [After calling, they reminded me I have a fixed rate for about 1.5 more years. Hope Verizon's FIOS arrives at mid-town East and our building before that.] -- John

Thanks for responding.

The drive (a Fantom Green Drive) came with its own power adaptor, which I plugged into a power strip.
The box/external drive combination is still misbehaving; no NBC Nightly News again tonight.


I wonder if some of the power saving options is causing you grief? Either that or the 500GB capacity is causing you grief. Mine is only 160GB. What ODN version are you using (channel 996, page 6) Mine worked well with 3.1.0_11 and now..3.1.3_2

May have missed earlier discussion of TWC's Jan.1 rate increases (http://www.timewarnercable.com/nynj/ratechanges)(for Manhattan) that turned up with an e-mail billing notice. They seem significant for everything. Debating whether to drop another premium service. I canceled one block of channels when they dropped HDNet, plus the entire Encore block of channels. Had "All the Best" for years until those drops, then added digital phone service and got a special package along with Road Runner. [After calling, they reminded me I have a fixed rate for about 1.5 more years. Hope Verizon's FIOS arrives at mid-town East and our building before that.] -- John

Good thing I did the price lock thing last fall. I HAD ben worried about the cancellation fee as at that time last fall, I thought FiOS would be available by this past September (information from Verizon). Verizon now refuses to even mention a particular year, so it could be a LONG time.

BUT I have a sneaky feeling the price lock is on the triple play price, so I would expect my bill to be going up no matter what.

Not to mention the disparity in pricing based on where you live IN MANHATTAN. I do not get how the state PCS can allow $$ discrimination based on address.

OTOH, most likely I won't need to worry much about cancellation fees, but for sure next fall I'm going to get a whopping increase no matter what.

Has any one gone down to 23st, and got 2370 Samsung HD box with a bigger HDD like 320 GB ??? Let me know??

I wonder if some of the power saving options is causing you grief? Either that or the 500GB capacity is causing you grief. Mine is only 160GB. What ODN version are you using (channel 996, page 6) Mine worked well with 3.1.0_11 and now..3.1.3_2

Thanks.

I decided that it was worth trying to re-install, and finally fixed it last night, after two attempts (which took a long time; a blank screen for what seemed forever, but I decided to be very patient). Now it seems to be behaving. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Yes I have crossed the border between head-ends -- from living between Bleecker & West 4th Street (west) to 86th St. west. Was wondering if the DVR would continue to work, and sure enough as soon as I hooked up my 8300HD, it connected to the network, updated to the MDN .21 release (in southern Manhattan we were still on the .19 release), and everything was generally A-OK (except for the fact that NY1-HD is blank!).

The tech came out as they do for any change-of-address move-in call and was amazed that I'd already gotten everything working w/o needing him. And he had no idea you could hook up an eSata drive to your DVR. Think he might go out and buy one himself! ;-)

Relatedly, did anyone ever figure out what's different between .19 and .21? I can't seem to notice anything....

Has any one gone down to 23st, and got 2370 Samsung HD box with a bigger HDD like 320 GB ??? Let me know??

I went to 23rd Street today to swap my 8300HDC and 3050. I asked if they had 320 GBs in stock, and the guy told me that they had Samsung DVRs in stock but only 160 GB, then he said "Wait, are you in Brooklyn or Queens?". I said I was in Queens, and he said "Wait, let me double check". He went in the back, came out and said they had no Samsung DVRs at all. So, I don't know if they really didn't have any or if they just wouldn't give it to me because I don't live in Manhattan. Though I did get to swap out my buggy and slow 3050 for a sleek new 3260. The 3260 is great, the only box I've ever seen that runs Navigator snappily.

Since I was already out with my 8300HDC, I hopped the R train and went to Queens Center. They told me that have no Samsung DVRs at all, only SA.

They say the third time is the charm, so hopefully next time I will get a Samsung DVR...

I went to 23rd Street today to swap my 8300HDC and 3050. I asked if they had 320 GBs in stock, and the guy told me that they had Samsung DVRs in stock but only 160 GB, then he said "Wait, are you in Brooklyn or Queens?". I said I was in Queens, and he said "Wait, let me double check". He went in the back, came out and said they had no Samsung DVRs at all. So, I don't know if they really didn't have any or if they just wouldn't give it to me because I don't live in Manhattan. Though I did get to swap out my buggy and slow 3050 for a sleek new 3260. The 3260 is great, the only box I've ever seen that runs Navigator snappily.

Since I was already out with my 8300HDC, I hopped the R train and went to Queens Center. They told me that have no Samsung DVRs at all, only SA.

They say the third time is the charm, so hopefully next time I will get a Samsung DVR... IM happy for you that you got some thing that you like.:) Do you know if they have 3270 at 23st. im looking to get a DVR box.

Ill go and see what they got. I hope they have them. Any one know ??? :cool:

Yes I have crossed the border between head-ends -- from living between Bleecker & West 4th Street (west) to 86th St. west. Was wondering if the DVR would continue to work, and sure enough as soon as I hooked up my 8300HD, it connected to the network, updated to the MDN .21 release (in southern Manhattan we were still on the .19 release), and everything was generally A-OK (except for the fact that NY1-HD is blank!).

The tech came out as they do for any change-of-address move-in call and was amazed that I'd already gotten everything working w/o needing him. And he had no idea you could hook up an eSata drive to your DVR. Think he might go out and buy one himself! ;-)

Relatedly, did anyone ever figure out what's different between .19 and .21? I can't seem to notice anything....
Oops -- spoke to soon. I noticed last night that there were some odd things going on with my box & guide -- I'm assuming nobody else in N. Manhattan is having these issues: 691 (FUSE-HD) is absent; 720 (Palladia-HD) is gone, but somehow Starz-HD is in its place (but not in its normal spot at 676 or whatever). 727 MSG-HD is missing. 724 is not E-HD, but instead is labeled (and has the guide of) HDNet -- unfortunately when I switch to it, I get the programming for MAV-HD. :( Also, NY1-HD (701) just gives a black screen and no sound.

I've called TWC and they have sent signal after signal to no avail. Hoping I'm not going to have to give up my beloved (and FILLED with content) 8300HD! Maybe it's one of those things that will fix itself after a time? My channels were fine when I first hooked it up, but a few hours later they "updated" themselves (I noticed when I brought up the guide, it said "Updating..." and then poof...all messed up).

Just confirming (and I assume that this is the case) that none of the rest of you are having this issue.

Thanks,
Scott

Yes I have crossed the border between head-ends -- from living between Bleecker & West 4th Street (west) to 86th St. west. Was wondering if the DVR would continue to work, and sure enough as soon as I hooked up my 8300HD, it connected to the network, updated to the MDN .21 release (in southern Manhattan we were still on the .19 release), and everything was generally A-OK (except for the fact that NY1-HD is blank!).

The tech came out as they do for any change-of-address move-in call and was amazed that I'd already gotten everything working w/o needing him. And he had no idea you could hook up an eSata drive to your DVR. Think he might go out and buy one himself! ;-)

Relatedly, did anyone ever figure out what's different between .19 and .21? I can't seem to notice anything....

Good question Scott. I KNOW -21 had some issues with series recordings that everyone told me it shouldn't have. There was a slipstreamed update that seemed to fix most of that. BUT, I just encountered a kind of return to the issue that is very subtle and, given TWC's track record, may be more of a result of simply bad program flow.

The issue revolved around getting duplicate scheduled recordings for shows already watched. Was told that I HAD to actually record a series show even if I didn't HAVE to so that their dumb as a rock "conflict resolution" system could work. Which it mostly does. BUT that also means that one is going to be looking at a LOT of exclamation marks on recorded stuff... I've seen something like ONLY 3 or 4 hours of recorded stuff have exclamation marks!

Specifically, one has to watch it like a hawk. Some of the frak-ups are things like you schedule a sporting event so cable shows get "automatically" to the next broadcast. Decided I had enough of that sporting event, so I cancelled it. So with 10 minutes to go, it started recording the last 10 minutes of a series show and deleted the next recording. So I had to cancel and delete that and manually do the next one. Let the next one record, I watched then deleted it. It still kept scheduling repeats!

Anyway, it used to be a big issue, but seems less so now. The only thing I se is to never, ever, under no circumstances, EVER change ANYTHING it wants to so in any way.

Oops -- spoke to soon. I noticed last night that there were some odd things going on with my box & guide -- I'm assuming nobody else in N. Manhattan is having these issues: 691 (FUSE-HD) is absent; 720 (Palladia-HD) is gone, but somehow Starz-HD is in its place (but not in its normal spot at 676 or whatever). 727 MSG-HD is missing. 724 is not E-HD, but instead is labeled (and has the guide of) HDNet -- unfortunately when I switch to it, I get the programming for MAV-HD. :( Also, NY1-HD (701) just gives a black screen and no sound.

I've called TWC and they have sent signal after signal to no avail. Hoping I'm not going to have to give up my beloved (and FILLED with content) 8300HD! Maybe it's one of those things that will fix itself after a time? My channels were fine when I first hooked it up, but a few hours later they "updated" themselves (I noticed when I brought up the guide, it said "Updating..." and then poof...all messed up).

Just confirming (and I assume that this is the case) that none of the rest of you are having this issue.

Thanks,
Scott

Looks like you are suffering thru the issue of switching zones...

You'r getting some old info cropping up (StarzHD was once on 720, and HDNET was once on 724) - and MAVTV is using the same QAM freq/ch that HDNET used to have.

This probably also shows that NY1HD is on another frequency for southern manhattan (which is possible, since there are still a few analog differences which i believe are being fixed next month).

IM happy for you that you got some thing that you like.:) Do you know if they have 3270 at 23st. im looking to get a DVR box.

Ill go and see what they got. I hope they have them. Any one know ??? :cool:

Be careful what you wish for, the 3270 apparently does away with PIP. If you don't care, fine, but if you use it, don't wish for a 3270. There is a SLIM chance you may get a 320G 3090. BUT, for under 60 bucks you CAN swap out the 160G in a 3090 with a 320G HDD.

Have not heard of any 3270s being given out except in San Diego. And THEY seem to be waiting on some nasty bugs to get rolled out.

I went to 23rd Street today to swap my 8300HDC and 3050. I asked if they had 320 GBs in stock, and the guy told me that they had Samsung DVRs in stock but only 160 GB, then he said "Wait, are you in Brooklyn or Queens?". I said I was in Queens, and he said "Wait, let me double check". He went in the back, came out and said they had no Samsung DVRs at all. So, I don't know if they really didn't have any or if they just wouldn't give it to me because I don't live in Manhattan. Though I did get to swap out my buggy and slow 3050 for a sleek new 3260. The 3260 is great, the only box I've ever seen that runs Navigator snappily.

Since I was already out with my 8300HDC, I hopped the R train and went to Queens Center. They told me that have no Samsung DVRs at all, only SA.

They say the third time is the charm, so hopefully next time I will get a Samsung DVR...

Wow... last guy I know who was down there said they had stacks and stacks of 3090s. Sure sounds like they are actually restricting it to Manhattan.

Hell, you guys got a lot of HD channels LONG before we got them, so one COULD say pay-back<g>! Even so, one would think we ALL should be outraged if TWC treats it's customers very differently based on where they live.

Wow... last guy I know who was down there said they had stacks and stacks of 3090s. Sure sounds like they are actually restricting it to Manhattan.

Hell, you guys got a lot of HD channels LONG before we got them, so one COULD say pay-back<g>! Even so, one would think we ALL should be outraged if TWC treats it's customers very differently based on where they live.

That's the impression that I get, because he seemed so certain they had them until he realized where I lived.

So, I guess it works both ways. Sometimes Manhattan gets the new stuff first, and sometimes the outer boroughs. But you have to wonder, what is their motivation? We're all paying customers. What do they care who gets what box? They're all compatible. It just seems odd, but then again most of what TWC does seems odd.

That's the impression that I get, because he seemed so certain they had them until he realized where I lived.

So, I guess it works both ways. Sometimes Manhattan gets the new stuff first, and sometimes the outer boroughs. But you have to wonder, what is their motivation? We're all paying customers. What do they care who gets what box? They're all compatible. It just seems odd, but then again most of what TWC does seems odd.

Oh trust me, this issue of treating customers VERY differently based in address I find HUGELY discriminatory. Take a gander at the new rates... Basic service costs MORE in south Man, than north... Standard service costs MORE in north Man than south. WTF???

Just looked at the new rates going into effect 1/1/10. Uh, there seems to be a $3/month charge for Craptigator. AND DVR service is going up as well, so DVR users are seriously getting hosed now by TWC. We have been paying 11, now it's going to be 16, essentially a 45% price INCREASE.

Oh trust me, this issue of treating customers VERY differently based in address I find HUGELY discriminatory. Take a gander at the new rates... Basic service costs MORE in south Man, than north... Standard service costs MORE in north Man than south. WTF???

the difference is very minor - and combined they are equal . (there has always been a difference)

I assume this is the case because there is one more channel that they have to carry on the basic level for southern manhattan that they dont have to for northern. (probably thanks to old contracts from before Time Warner took over all regions)

O - and at least HDDVR+HDXtra is still $15.00... and since that also includes the sports pack.....

Just looked at the new rates going into effect 1/1/10. Uh, there seems to be a $3/month charge for Craptigator. AND DVR service is going up as well, so DVR users are seriously getting hosed now by TWC. We have been paying 11, now it's going to be 16, essentially a 45% price INCREASE.

We've always had a charge of around $3 on our rate card called "Digital Navigator", but it predated the junk UI also known as Navigator by several years. I believe the charge was for customers who didn't subscribe to DTV but wanted a digital box anyway for Music Choice and multichannel premiums. Though since they've eliminated analog standard service that would be pretty much limited to legacy customers without DTV. It was always on our rate sheet but never on my bill.

Just looked at the new rates going into effect 1/1/10. Uh, there seems to be a $3/month charge for Craptigator. AND DVR service is going up as well, so DVR users are seriously getting hosed now by TWC. We have been paying 11, now it's going to be 16, essentially a 45% price INCREASE.

This just goes to show that you should DO YOUR 2 YEAR LOCKIN NOW if you don't plan on switching to FIOS any time soon! I did mine just last week!

Scott

Looks like you are suffering thru the issue of switching zones...

You'r getting some old info cropping up (StarzHD was once on 720, and HDNET was once on 724) - and MAVTV is using the same QAM freq/ch that HDNET used to have.

This probably also shows that NY1HD is on another frequency for southern manhattan (which is possible, since there are still a few analog differences which i believe are being fixed next month).

Thanks, Berk32. Do you think there's any chance that my box might eventually correct itself by downloading the correct channel mappings, or am I out of luck?

Scott

Thanks, Berk32. Do you think there's any chance that my box might eventually correct itself by downloading the correct channel mappings, or am I out of luck?

Scott

It's something that should fix itself.... I'm surprised sending a signal didn't do the trick - i assume you tried doing a full unplug-reboot as well?

It's something that should fix itself.... I'm surprised sending a signal didn't do the trick - i assume you tried doing a full unplug-reboot as well?

What's truly odd is that everything was working fine on initial install (after .21 update) and after a few hours, I had the guide up and it said "updating..." and BAM! -- 720 turned from Palladia HD to StarzHD right before my eyes!

While I was a bit concerned about the other channels disappearing (and was thinking maybe a contractual thing happened that caused them to have to remove a whole block of HD channels?), the loss of the other channels would ALMOST have been made up for by them hastily re-adding HDNet to placate us! :-)

Not only did I try the unplug reboot -- I unplugged and left it unplugged for 5+ hours last night and plugged it back in this AM.

Well, fingers crossed that it will correct itself....

Scott

TWC cable bitches and moans we can't add NFL network because it will cost us too much yet they have no problem charging more anyway for nothing. WTF?

TWC cable bitches and moans we can't add NFL network because it will cost us too much yet they have no problem charging more anyway for nothing. WTF?

who says its for nothing?

I signed up for FIOS which is being installed on Saturday. When I called TWC to find out about cancellation they offered to 'look at my bill'. I told them that they had been screwing me for the last 4 years and I don't care how much they diddled with the bill I was saying goodbye to them and all their works.
Hope I 'm right!

I signed up for FIOS which is being installed on Saturday. When I called TWC to find out about cancellation they offered to 'look at my bill'. I told them that they had been screwing me for the last 4 years and I don't care how much they diddled with the bill I was saying goodbye to them and all their works.
Hope I 'm right!

After I switched to FiOS last week because of the big rate increase coming, and the poor HD picture I've had for months, they've been trying desperately to get me to come back. It isn't happening.

I signed up for FIOS which is being installed on Saturday....Hope I 'm right!

After I switched to FiOS last week because of the big rate increase coming, and the poor HD picture I've had for months, they've been trying desperately to get me to come back. It isn't happening.
They must know me, because they haven’t been asking me to return. :p

FIOS is great. The picture quality is hands down better than TW. There is never a concern about video or audio anomalies :rolleyes: that occurred constantly with TW.

Their DVR is not as bad as I was led to believe. It is user friendly with a wealth of information available. An example, you can even go into settings and reboot with one click, however rebooting is a rarely used word in the world of FIOS as opposed to a several times a week deal with TW.

And the cherry on the cake is-- I’m getting the same service I had with TW and saving about 50 bucks a month. ;):cool::)

FIOS is great. The picture quality is hands down better than TW. There is never a concern about video or audio anomalies :rolleyes: that occurred constantly with TW.

Their DVR is not as bad as I was led to believe. It is user friendly with a wealth of information available. An example, you can even go into settings and reboot with one click, however rebooting is a rarely used word in the world of FIOS as opposed to a several times a week deal with TW.

And the cherry on the cake is-- I’m getting the same service I had with TW and saving about 50 bucks a month. ;):cool::)

Agree and same here on all 3 points.

I find the whole idea of the PriceLock Guarantee insulting. Most of the time, when you sign a long-term service agreement like that you get a big payout upfront like $300 off a new phone or a free HD DVR with Dish.

In this case, they've changed the name from Service Agreement to PriceLock Guarantee for marketing purposes.

To tell us that this is some sort of benefit to lock in the rates is ridiculous. They are the ones raising prices in the first place. This would like a health insurance company that offered insurance to protect against them hiring the mob to break your legs.

Ugh. Another day, another list of "unable to record." There were a whole bunch of excellent classics I was expecting to record from TCM, but no luck, and no explanation.

It's not clear what in the world I'm paying for in this DVR service.

who says its for nothing?

Why should they suddenly need to charge more for a DVR I have had for 3 or 4 years?

We've always had a charge of around $3 on our rate card called "Digital Navigator", but it predated the junk UI also known as Navigator by several years. I believe the charge was for customers who didn't subscribe to DTV but wanted a digital box anyway for Music Choice and multichannel premiums. Though since they've eliminated analog standard service that would be pretty much limited to legacy customers without DTV. It was always on our rate sheet but never on my bill.

Boy I hope you're correct. It looked for all the world as a way to add more charges to the bills of customers who had gotten price locks, which I think may only apply to the triple play price. So the DVR upcharge will get applied and (I thought) this software charge.

I guess we'll know for sure when the bills go out...

This just goes to show that you should DO YOUR 2 YEAR LOCKIN NOW if you don't plan on switching to FIOS any time soon! I did mine just last week!

Scott

Already have it. When I did it, I thought I'd be a year long when FiOS was available to me. Their PR guy swore to me they don't really make folks pay the cancellation fee and I would not be subject to it.

Well, I did not get a chance to test this... Verizon had told us it would be available 8/09, but not only did it not come within miles of happening, but they are now 100% mum on when it may happen. As long as they get here by 8/10, I should be OK. BUT for some reason, I am very skeptical... I have yet to hear about many 'hoods that have gotten wired in the past 6 months... I think they are completely stalled on wiring, with no idea when it may start back up.

BTW, welcome to the 'hood!

I signed up for FIOS which is being installed on Saturday. When I called TWC to find out about cancellation they offered to 'look at my bill'. I told them that they had been screwing me for the last 4 years and I don't care how much they diddled with the bill I was saying goodbye to them and all their works.
Hope I 'm right!

What neighborhood and for how long has it been available?

And the cherry on the cake is-- I’m getting the same service I had with TW and saving about 50 bucks a month. ;):cool::)

BUT could that be due to first year incentives? That does sound lie quite a bit though!

I find the whole idea of the PriceLock Guarantee insulting. Most of the time, when you sign a long-term service agreement like that you get a big payout upfront like $300 off a new phone or a free HD DVR with Dish.

In this case, they've changed the name from Service Agreement to PriceLock Guarantee for marketing purposes.

To tell us that this is some sort of benefit to lock in the rates is ridiculous. They are the ones raising prices in the first place. This would like a health insurance company that offered insurance to protect against them hiring the mob to break your legs.

Not to mention they specifically locked out Manhattan residents to that long after it was offered in the other boroughs. When I did it, I had been hit with 3 price increases in the previous 16 months.

AND I suspect I'll get hit up next month as I expect that "price lock" only applies to the triple play so ancillary charges may ramp up (like DVR service).

Why should they suddenly need to charge more for a DVR I have had for 3 or 4 years?

They are losing subs and the execs who make such decisions are mostly interested in keeping their big fat bonuses. I'm sure the claim will be "we lost subs, BUT our revenue increased, and we are paying almost nothing for the 2 programmers working on the software compared to all those license fees we paid for Passport."

What is the price lock deal again? I don't see any info about it on their website anymore.

I moved to Forest Hills last March and my intro rate on the Triple Play will soon be expiring. Unfortunately there's no FIOS here yet and I am not sure if I want to get DirecTV on a 2 year committment when I only have a year & 2 months to go on my lease.

BUT could that be due to first year incentives? That does sound lie quite a bit though!

TWC was charging me $94 for Cable alone. All I had was a DVR, 2nd box, and the HD package. No premium channels. With the rate increase next month, the price was going to around $105.

Verizon is charging me $106 +taxes and fees for TV (DVR, 2nd box, HD Extreme), 25/15MB internet, and home phone service. This is with a one year contract, and a 2 year price lock guarantee. The price goes up $15 in year two because I had a $15 off promo for 1 year. I also have the $150 back promo, and premium movie channels free for 3 months.. After taxes and fees, I'm saving over $70 in year 1 and over $50 in year two.

BUT could that be due to first year incentives? That does sound like quite a bit though!

Lou beat me to it... ;)

TWC was charging me $94 for Cable alone. All I had was a DVR, 2nd box, and the HD package. No premium channels. With the rate increase next month, the price was going to around $105.

Verizon is charging me $106 +taxes and fees for TV (DVR, 2nd box, HD Extreme), 25/15MB internet, and home phone service. This is with a one year contract, and a 2 year price lock guarantee. The price goes up $15 in year two because I had a $15 off promo for 1 year. I also have the $150 back promo, and premium movie channels free for 3 months.. After taxes and fees, I'm saving over $70 in year 1 and over $50 in year two.

In addition to the deal that Lou got, I also received a $50 gift card to BJs (where I signed up) and I also have a $10 or $15 (forgot which) discount for a year due to that HDMI issue, that was resolved. And I got another $50 BJ’s card because the rep that signed me up mistakenly told me that there was no installation fee. There is a $49 fee, so this card washed that expense.
:cool:

In addition to the deal that Lou got, I also received a $50 gift card to BJs (where I signed up) and I also have a $10 or $15 (forgot which) discount for a year due to that HDMI issue, that was resolved. And I got another $50 BJ’s card because the rep that signed me up mistakenly told me that there was no installation fee. There is a $49 fee, so this card washed that expense.
:cool:

FWIW, they installed the internet and phone free last year, and last week installed the TV service free too.

FWIW, they installed the internet and phone free last year, and last week installed the TV service free too.Makes sense and it also probably explains the reason for BJs giving out the $50 gift card however, if the rep didn’t screw up I wouldn’t have gotten the 2nd $50 card, which as I said, was a wash.

It's funny how after I left TWC last week, now they're calling and sending me offers in the mail to come back. When I called and complained about the macroblocking on my HD channels, and the having to pay so much for cable alone, they seemed to care less. They didn't even seem to care when I told them I would be leaving if they didn't fix my HD picture. They're only answer was "we can send another tech out in a week", when I already had a tech at the house who was unable to diagnose or fix the problem.

It's funny how after I left TWC last week, now they're calling and sending me offers in the mail to come back. When I called and complained about the macroblocking on my HD channels, and the having to pay so much for cable alone, they seemed to care less. They didn't even seem to care when I told them I would be leaving if they didn't fix my HD picture. They're only answer was "we can send another tech out in a week", when I already had a tech at the house who was unable to diagnose or fix the problem.

What kind of offers are you getting? I'm tempted to cancel for a week just to get the break on my bill if it's significant enough.

FIOS is available in my area but not my bldg yet (arggh). TWC seems to know this and aren't willing to budge in the meantime.

What kind of offers are you getting? I'm tempted to cancel for a week just to get the break on my bill if it's significant enough.

FIOS is available in my area but not my bldg yet (arggh). TWC seems to know this and aren't willing to budge in the meantime.

I doubt that they :rolleyes: know whether it’s available or not in your building. Two years ago, when it was well known that it was only available in certain parts of Queens, not my area, I still used it as leverage. They are clueless.

You have to speak to the TW Retention Department and tell them that you are besieged daily with multiple options, through mailers and phone calls from Direct TV, Dish and FIOS. Demand from them, “What are you going to do to keep me as a customer?" You’ll get something. ;)

By the way, I’m a firm believer in passing on the contract extension, however, for some folks here, who don’t expect FIOS (or other options) to be a reality for some time, it is prudent to lock in.

You Can’t Get a 300% Raise, Why Should a TV Network?

You’ve probably heard the news by now. In a few short days, some of your favorite shows could disappear from your TV.

At Time Warner Cable, we’re not happy about this – and we know our customers aren’t happy about it either. But we want you to have the facts, and we want you to be prepared.

Even in today’s economy, some television networks are demanding massive price increases for their programming – up to 300% more than the current price we pay. And with our agreements with these networks running out at the end of December, some networks have threatened to pull the plug on their sports, entertainment – even family holiday specials – at midnight New Year’s Eve.

SOME TV NETWORKS ARE DEMANDING | 300% PRICE INCREASE

We know prices keep going up. We’ve had to announce a few price increases of our own and we know no one’s ever happy about that. But up to 300%? That’s going too far!

Please be assured that we will continue negotiating for a fair agreement that protects our customers’ pocketbooks. But if the TV networks follow through on their threats – we’re ready. You’ll find a helpful guide to alternative sources for programming at RollOverOrGetTough.com (http://RollOverOrGetTough.com), so you’ll still be able to watch many popular shows even if a television network pulls the plug

Don’t let them hold your TV hostage. Go to RollOverOrGetTough.com (http://RollOverOrGetTough.com) now and let us know what you think.

Together, we just might make a difference in what America pays for TV.

What kind of offers are you getting? I'm tempted to cancel for a week just to get the break on my bill if it's significant enough.

FIOS is available in my area but not my bldg yet (arggh). TWC seems to know this and aren't willing to budge in the meantime.

As Larry said, talk to retention if you're really thinking of quitting. Tell them you're thinking of getting Direct TV or something.

They're offering me additional discounts on their $99 Triple Play package, and they quote: "would look into the best deal they could give me for TV alone". I told them that they should have did that when I was a still a customer, and the main reason I left was their HD picture quality.

You Can’t Get a 300% Raise, Why Should a TV Network?

You’ve probably heard the news by now. In a few short days, some of your favorite shows could disappear from your TV.

At Time Warner Cable, we’re not happy about this – and we know our customers aren’t happy about it either. But we want you to have the facts, and we want you to be prepared.

Even in today’s economy, some television networks are demanding massive price increases for their programming – up to 300% more than the current price we pay. And with our agreements with these networks running out at the end of December, some networks have threatened to pull the plug on their sports, entertainment – even family holiday specials – at midnight New Year’s Eve.

SOME TV NETWORKS ARE DEMANDING | 300% PRICE INCREASE

We know prices keep going up. We’ve had to announce a few price increases of our own and we know no one’s ever happy about that. But up to 300%? That’s going too far!

Please be assured that we will continue negotiating for a fair agreement that protects our customers’ pocketbooks. But if the TV networks follow through on their threats – we’re ready. You’ll find a helpful guide to alternative sources for programming at RollOverOrGetTough.com (http://RollOverOrGetTough.com), so you’ll still be able to watch many popular shows even if a television network pulls the plug

Don’t let them hold your TV hostage. Go to RollOverOrGetTough.com (http://RollOverOrGetTough.com) now and let us know what you think.

Together, we just might make a difference in what America pays for TV.


Interesting how these rants never contain any specifics.

A_C

Interesting how these rants never contain any specifics.

A_C

Yep, if you click through and read the articles that they link to from the Wall Street Journal (here: http://webreprints.djreprints.com/2330850712690.html) you'll see that they're specifically talking about News Corp channels (Fox - including the broadcast Fox network, FX, Fox News, etc.), Weather Channel, and Scripps networks (HGTV, Food Network, DIY, GAC, Fine Living).

Of course WSJ is owned by News Corp which owns Fox....

Personally I wouldn't really miss any of the above channels (and according to all of your reports, Fox seems to barely work as it is!). They are threatening to shut down some of these networks at the end of the month if no agreements are made....This is a typical negotiation tactic everytime a contract agreement comes up with Time Warner. Remember when we lost ABC for a few days a while back in the late 90s when TWC and Disney couldn't come to an agreement (TWC wanted Disney to remain a premium channel, and Disney wanted it to be on basic service -- apparently Disney won in the end!).

Inside a Verizon FIOS Super Head End


http://hd.engadget.com/2009/12/17/an-inside-look-at-a-verizon-fios-super-headend-and-video-hub/

I'll tell TWC what, if they agree to drop my bill by 50%, double my internet speed in both directions, and give me a DVR that actually works, I'll be happy to engage in their negotiation kabuki.

In the meantime, if in the alternative they do none of that, and they want to continue charging me for sports channels that I don't watch (undoubtedly their contracts require this), then I will let them fight their own battles with the providers.

My 3090 had 12 shows since Monday where "the set top was unable to record this program (5)".
This is the majority (about 75%) of recordings I had scheduled.

Any remedies/hints/suggestions before I deal with the CSR drones?

It is disgusting how low TWC will go! WHERE IS THE COMPETITION ?

By the way, I’m a firm believer in passing on the contract extension, however, for some folks here, who don’t expect FIOS (or other options) to be a reality for some time, it is prudent to lock in.

That was my thinking... plus at the time I was told I probably wouldn't be required to pay a cancellation fee. Not to mention the whole issue around such fees in general seems to be getting legislative legs. The irony is the cell guys DO have a point that you got a substantial break on the price of the phone. TWC makes ZERO financial commitment to any customer!

As Larry said, talk to retention if you're really thinking of quitting. Tell them you're thinking of getting Direct TV or something.

They're offering me additional discounts on their $99 Triple Play package, and they quote: "would look into the best deal they could give me for TV alone". I told them that they should have did that when I was a still a customer, and the main reason I left was their HD picture quality.

In previous posts, you mention "cable only." Yet the price you quoted sounded more like the triple play. For me and other friends, it's usually that price they "adjust." Not to mention they also have various bundle deals on premiums... one time I reduced my premium cost by 5 bucks, but got to use one I had not subscribed to prior.

I suspect we'd find a HUGE variation in what each of us pays for that triple play. The rate card is 140/mo. not really sure exactly what the new rate will be.

What I really was trying to say is to always look beyond what it may cost you for the next 3, 6, 9, or 12 months.

My 3090 had 12 shows since Monday where "the set top was unable to record this program (5)".
This is the majority (about 75%) of recordings I had scheduled.

Any remedies/hints/suggestions before I deal with the CSR drones?

Wow, I'd be way pissed.

In the past 6 months, I only saw something like that once (as in one show, one time failed to record). 100% there was NO reason why it failed to record... as in there wasn't anything even vaguely in conflict.

I'd swap the box for another one. If you get the same thing, file a complaint with DOITT... you want someone from engineering looking not only at your inside wiring, but leading up to you.

It is disgusting how low TWC will go! WHERE IS THE COMPETITION ?

It's in those hundreds and hundreds of Verizon tricks that have sat idle for the past 6 months while the "expansion" beyond the few original locations seemed completely stalled.

Not to mention that one of the very first areas they claimed to have wired and ready (for example, the easy village) is STILL waiting for it on some blocks.

Or maybe they sent ALL the trucks and tech to Philly... there was some big announcement they were about to cover 500,000 potential customers there.

Any idea why the delay? It is in their best interest to sign as many new accounts as possible, but what do I know?

Any idea why the delay? It is in their best interest to sign as many new accounts as possible, but what do I know?

Let me be clear, this is from my own observation, I'm not exactly reading much about it in the general press.

What I DO know is a few months back there were 5-600 laid of techs. And being told it would be available 8/09 in my hood (in all likelihood I'd get it from a trunk run they'd make down WEA... which SHOULD be a fertile place with large buildings with pretty decent income residents) only to have my source totally dry up. Plus I can't recall anyone getting it outside the few 'hoods Verizon announced when they got the agreement. Add in one of those initial 'hoods was the east village and I have a pal there who still can't get it.

4 months ago they seemed to do a LOT of street work up in Morningside Heights. That made a LOT of sense to me as I know there is a fairly large hub right up there right next to Columbia U. BUT I have yet to hear of anyone up there who has actually been able to sign up.

I very much suspect the announcement they were doing Philly may very have pulled folks from NYC.

Put it all together and it's not hard to see how I reached the speculative conclusion they are stalled!

Hey River I'm on 96 Col/Amst, we should get it the same time when ever that is:)

Same here on W.70st They did some work on W.72 st. a few momths ago nothing now. Every thing seems to have stopped for now

In previous posts, you mention "cable only." Yet the price you quoted sounded more like the triple play. For me and other friends, it's usually that price they "adjust." Not to mention they also have various bundle deals on premiums... one time I reduced my premium cost by 5 bucks, but got to use one I had not subscribed to prior.

I suspect we'd find a HUGE variation in what each of us pays for that triple play. The rate card is 140/mo. not really sure exactly what the new rate will be.

What I really was trying to say is to always look beyond what it may cost you for the next 3, 6, 9, or 12 months.

I had cable only (DVR, 2nd box, etc) and was paying $94. They offered me Triple Play for $99, not including the DVR , the extra box, or any extra channels. They were willing to take $5 a month off the $99 price for 1 year. My Triple Play price including the boxes, channels, etc with Verizon is guaranteed until 2012. $106 +taxes year one, $121 year two.

Wow, I'd be way pissed.

In the past 6 months, I only saw something like that once (as in one show, one time failed to record). 100% there was NO reason why it failed to record... as in there wasn't anything even vaguely in conflict.

I'd swap the box for another one. If you get the same thing, file a complaint with DOITT... you want someone from engineering looking not only at your inside wiring, but leading up to you.

I had no conflicts either, I am always looking at the list to see if I need to remedy any conflicts

Hi everyone,

First of all - thanks for all of your past posts - I love this forum and I've been a lurker for years, it's answered 99% of my questions about my cable service :)

Now, I have a series of questions you may be able to help with:

Where I work we get TWC service (MN South). We have lots of digital boxes, but up until now we've also had a few TVs hooked up directly to cables we split off ourselves, getting analog service - it's worked fine for people who just needed to see NY1 and the locals.

On Wed we started see NY1 going in and out - we'd have a clear signal, then all of a sudden it would drop out to white static, and then gradually come back. This has been happening repeatedly since, it drops out maybe once a minute or so.

My questions:

Does TWC support analog service of any type at all? Are they mandated to carry any analog signals anymore?

Does anyone know if this problem we're seeing with NY1 is temporary (will be fixed) or if TW is not going to be transmitting in on analog anymore?

Does TWC carry NY1 and local channels on clear QAM? Are they mandated to? If so, are these in SD or HD? Does this mean that if I get a digital tuner and plug cable into it (with no TW-provided box), we'll get good signals?

I had no conflicts either, I am always looking at the list to see if I need to remedy any conflicts

It's almost exactly what happened to me. It happens routinely, and it apparently has nothing to do with conflicts. It's a problem that TWC has to fix in software.

My questions:

Does TWC support analog service of any type at all? Are they mandated to carry any analog signals anymore?

Does anyone know if this problem we're seeing with NY1 is temporary (will be fixed) or if TW is not going to be transmitting in on analog anymore?

Does TWC carry NY1 and local channels on clear QAM? Are they mandated to? If so, are these in SD or HD? Does this mean that if I get a digital tuner and plug cable into it (with no TW-provided box), we'll get good signals?

Yes, they are required to carry to locals in Analog in the clear (this is all they still carry - along with TBS, Food Network, and TV guide for whatever reason)

Off that you are seeing a problem with 1 channel. Shouldn't be an issue like that (unless they are shifting a channel or 2 again - but I don't think anything is scheduled again until early next month)

And yes, clear QAM has the locals in SD and HD (all you need is a TV with a digital tuner) - but I don't think NY1HD is in the clear, just SD (even though it probably should be..... but there is no government mandate for that - just the OTA channels)

So I guess nobody noticed the good news today?

Manhattan, Brooklyn/Queens and Mount Vernon
December 18, 2009

Time Warner Cable’s agreements with programmers and broadcasters to carry their services and stations routinely expire from time to time. We are usually able to obtain renewals or extensions of such agreements, but in order to comply with applicable regulations, we must inform you when an agreement is about to expire. The following agreements are due to expire soon, and we may be required to cease carriage of one or more of these services/stations in the near future:

AAJ, Chinese Channel, Chinese Cinema, E!, Encore, Encore Action, Encore Drama, Encore Love, Encore Mystery, Encore WAM!, Encore Westerns, Food Network, Fox Reality, Fox Soccer, Fox Sports Español, Fuel, FX, Great American Country (GAC), Lifetime, Media Korea, NGTV, Polski Radio, RTVi, Speed, STARZ!, Starz Cinema, Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, Starz in Black, Starz Kids and Family, Starz On Demand, Style, Supercanal, The Arabic Channel, The Korean Channel, TruTV, TV Japan, TV Polonia, WNYW, WPIX and WWOR.

In addition, from time to time we make certain changes in the services that we offer in order to better serve our customers. The following changes are planned:

On or about January 27, 2010 we will change Game HD from ch. 445 and 791 to ch. 445 only.

In Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens we will launch MTV HD on ch. 720, Comedy Central HD on ch. 745, BET HD on ch. 737 and Spike TV HD on ch. 736. Here, we will also move Weather Channel from ch. 72 to ch. 93 and NYC TV 93 from ch. 93 to ch. 72 and Palladia HD from ch. 720 to 791.

In Mount Vernon we will launch MTV HD on ch. 727, Comedy Central HD on ch. 748, BET HD on ch. 725 and Spike TV HD on ch.734. In addition, Palladia HD will move from ch. 727 to 791 and Universal HD will move from 734 to 763.

I wonder why not Nickelodeon HD, Country Music TV HD, or VH1 HD...

Excellent. Comedy Central pretty much completes the lineup for me.

What neighborhood and for how long has it been available?

I am at 83rd and York and I started and nearly completed negotiations with Verizon about 15 months ago. The new board then dicked around until they finally signed the contract and then the work took about 2 months, but the building was already wired for a second system. FIOS has been available for two weeks in the building.
I will let you know tomorrow how it goes.

So I guess nobody noticed the good news today?



I wonder why not Nickelodeon HD, Country Music TV HD, or VH1 HD...

I guess we should assume that ESPNU HD and Weather Channel HD will move on that date as well.

I guess we should assume that ESPNU HD and Weather Channel HD will move on that date as well.

I would say yes, but I don't think they care much about lining up the channels that aren't in the 1/701-60/760 range

I would LOL if we lost 5, 9, and 11. How the hell do you lose a local broadcast station?

Hey River I'm on 96 Col/Amst, we should get it the same time when ever that is:)

Probably depends on exactly how they run their trunk lines... I'm assuming the "largest" trunks will run nor/sou on avenues, so for me it's most likely WEA.

You (and Berk) are in great shape because you live on a block with a lot of large buildings, so running ea/we on 96th is obvious. Again assuming they run on WEA, I should be in good shape because I'm on a very short block with 4 very large capacity buildings on each corner.

I had cable only (DVR, 2nd box, etc) and was paying $94. They offered me Triple Play for $99, not including the DVR , the extra box, or any extra channels. They were willing to take $5 a month off the $99 price for 1 year. My Triple Play price including the boxes, channels, etc with Verizon is guaranteed until 2012. $106 +taxes year one, $121 year two.

Ah... a year ago I got the triple play 99 price, with the second year going up 10 bucks. A pal downtown got a 89 triple play when he called to drop some premiums. Normally, it's 141!

I had no conflicts either, I am always looking at the list to see if I need to remedy any conflicts

Along those lines, I sat down to really organize my series recordings list. Started at the top with Monday shows, and went day by day. Within a day I had any cable shows with multiple showings listed AFTER one time only broadcast shows. If a world series, football game happened, I'd actually schedule it even though I knew I was watching live. By default, newly added non series seems to take precedence over series... so when it asks you what to delete (assuming you have 2 scheduled already) always choose cable show that has repeats and IT will get moved.

I guess none of the lines are down in this area. I have seen RCN sprayed on the Street a few times but not Verizon.

This is my current Bill the only discount I know of is RR which is supposed to go back up next month, so I'm looking at a 10+/- percent increase after their increase. It's alot of money!

12/06-01/05 Hdxtra Combo Pack
Hdxtra $7.50, DVR Service $7.50
$15.00
12/06-01/05 DTV Value Package
Converter $4.46, Basic Service $9.59, Standard Service $28.22, DTV $7.51, Package Allocation $.01, Remote $.16
$49.95
12/06-01/05 Premium With Pod Service
HBO And Pod $9.33, Cinemax And Pod $9.33, Showtime And Pod $9.33, TMC And Pod $9.33, STARZ & Pod $9.33, Encore $9.30
$55.95
12/06-01/05 Additional DTV Service
Additional DTV $3.49, Remote $.25, Converter $7.10
$10.84
12/06-01/05 Additional DTV Service
Additional DTV $3.49, Remote $.25, Converter $7.10
$10.84
12/06-01/05 Additional DTV Service
Additional DTV $3.49, Remote $.25, Converter $7.10
$10.84
12/06-01/05 Road Runner Online Svc
$29.95
-View Taxes and Fees

11/26 Franchise Fee $8.37
11/26 FCC Regulatory Fee - Cable $.07
11/26 Public Access Fee $.43

Well I had my FIOS installation done yesterday and its a mixed bag:
1. The installation took 12 hours
2. The internet is much faster - 34507kbps download 7671 kbps upload
3. The television picture is the best I have ever seen - even on my 4 year old Sharp 45 inch LCD. What is the most surprising thing is that the sound is much improved over TWC
4. We now have no television picture as during the installation Verizon discovered a major fault in the outside box during the installation.
5. The technician doing the installation was superb - he wouldn't leave until he got us working - I even sent him home with some dinner. He did offer to reconnect us to TWC if he couldn't get us up. Turns out he is a Verizon employee as opposed to an independent contract which TWC uses - the difference is clear.
6. He did tell us that they would take us offline on Monday when they repaired the fault but it appears that Verizon is doing it today (in the snow) and they have a service restore time of 4 p.m.
7. So far the TV Guide is horrible and I find the whole setup difficult to use. I think it is because it was designed for 4:3 pictures. I can't report on the DVR function because I haven't had a chance to use it.
8. The support line is a pain at first as you have to go through all their automated services, but when you eventually get through to a human being the response is light years away from TWC support. You actually get through to someone who knows what they are doing and has accurate information about what is going on - no slamming down of the phone at my end after getting the usual TWC non-informational reply!

Overall I think FIOS is better because of the much faster internet and amazing picture. When I thought of maybe going back to TWC as the installation process was painful I thought of all the FOX shows that didn't record properly, all the sound hiccups and the slow internet service and the much higher price I was paying and though that I could live with these minor FIOS problems when compared to TWC,

Well I had my FIOS installation done yesterday
...Congrats on your install. I find, along with the good telephone support, that you can utilize the set top box "help" feature. There is a lot of great information available with easy access—level testing etc.

Here are two threads on AVS dealing with FIOS...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=590208

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=656287

Here is a Verizon thread...

http://forums.verizon.com/t5/FiOS-TV-Technical-Assistance/FiOS-TiVo-and-CableCards/m-p/35807

Here is another very good thread...
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv


Enjoy,

3. The television picture is the best I have ever seen - even on my 4 year old Sharp 45 inch LCD. What is the most surprising thing is that the sound is much improved over TWC


Even with Verizon's faults, I doubt I could ever go back to TWC. My FiOS HD picture is just beautiful on all channels. With TWC, my HD picture ranged from very good on some, to very poor on many others.

Even with Verizon's faults, I doubt I could ever go back to TWC. My FiOS HD picture is just beautiful on all channels. With TWC, my HD picture ranged from very good on some, to very poor on many others.

This is really good to know. I don't think FIOS is in my nabe yet, but hope springs eternal. And when it =does= come, i think i'll take the leap. :)

Well the mixed bag with FIOS continues! We got our television back yesterday (technicians were out on Sunday) but after they left the internet went out and only after jumping up and down and getting our ticket raised to red and then contacting the regional FIOS engineer (got his name from the building super) we are back up.
The most impressive thing is the customer service and technical response - they really do seem to care and they explain what they are doing and why - and I have really stressed the system and the wife dumped on the latest technician to arrive. After TWC, it really is amazing. I do believe that any future problems will be resolved if I call - they are available 7x24 they assure me.
So off to 23rd Street with the boxes tomorrow morning!

Anyone having problems watching WWORHD Monday night? Here on the UWS, it not watchable: pixellation, no audio, all kinds of artifacts on screen. The problem is with both of my STBs so it's a feed problem.

Monday Night Football is on (Critical Game for the Giants), but Channel 709 is unwatchable in the Upper West Side... 88th St & Columbus... Anyone else in the area experiencing this problem?

EDIT: Poster above beat me by a minute... I guess I'm not the only one then...

Why didn't you just watch it on ESPN?

Anyone having problems watching WWORHD Monday night? Here on the UWS, it not watchable: pixellation, no audio, all kinds of artifacts on screen. The problem is with both of my STBs so it's a feed problem.

Monday Night Football is on (Critical Game for the Giants), but Channel 709 is unwatchable in the Upper West Side... 88th St & Columbus... Anyone else in the area experiencing this problem?

EDIT: Poster above beat me by a minute... I guess I'm not the only one then...

Why didn't you just watch it on ESPN?

Im on w70st. Every thing woring on 709 no problems :cool:

Monday Night Football is on (Critical Game for the Giants), but Channel 709 is unwatchable in the Upper West Side... 88th St & Columbus... Anyone else in the area experiencing this problem?

EDIT: Poster above beat me by a minute... I guess I'm not the only one then...

Can't say, watched it on 728, ESPN. I think 709 simply re-broadcasts it, possibly with some different commercials replacing some from ESPN.

Obviously, no issues from the point of origin. With another guy on the UWS getting it fine, my guess is you two guys may be within a block of each other... it COULD be a certain branch off a major trunk has issues.

You both should check today and call it in if you still see issues.

Background: After being a long time DirecTV subscriber and we recently bought a new place that does not allow satellite dishes. So I'm a TWC subscriber by virtue of no other options. I refuse to torture myself with their crappy rental boxes, so I have two TiVo HD units with CableCards. I also have a HD receiver (non-DVR) that is property of TWC that I'm using for PIP/secondary video/etc.

I'm not able to view 461 (NBATVHD) on my TiVo HD. Until recently the guide data was incorrect as well. I submitted a guide data issue to TiVo and they have since corrected the guide info, but I still can't view this channel. I can see NBATV (SD) on channel 451, but not on 175.

I've had 3 techs on site and made 5-6 phone calls and no one can explain why this isn't working. I get a different answer each time. I've heard....

1) That channel isn't compatible with CableCard devices
2) That channel is on a sports tier and you can't get that on a TiVo
3) We need to send a tech to your home to resolve the issue (when the tech arrives he admits he can't resolve the problem)
4) It's part of NBA League Pass and you don't subscribe to that (even though the channel works on my TWC rented box)

I've tried having the issue escalated to TWC supervisors and nothing seems to work. They all continue to claim there is nothing wrong and that there is nothing that can be done. I've been trying to get this resolved for a few weeks now and last night I finally got so upset with the supervisor that I filed a complaint with the BBB hoping that might prompt someone with half a brain at TWC to contact me and help resolve the problem.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Any tips on what I can do to get this resolved?

... I filed a complaint with the BBB hoping that might prompt someone with half a brain at TWC to contact me and help resolve the problem... Use this form too... It gets results...
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doitt/html/consumer/consumer_cable_service_form.shtml

Use this form too... It gets results...
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doitt/html/consumer/consumer_cable_service_form.shtml

thnx.

I, too, have a Tivo HD, and I get channel 461 fine. I'm not a basketball fan, so I've never watched it before testing it just now, but it appears to be a HD channel, currently broadcasting SD commercials. It has NBA HD pillars on each side. Now it's up to a SD broadcast of a Nets - Knicks game. There was a brief NBA.com commercial that appeared to be HD - it was definitely 16:9.

This should at least give you some hope that it is possible to get the channel.

-barry

I, too, have a Tivo HD, and I get channel 461 fine. I'm not a basketball fan, so I've never watched it before testing it just now, but it appears to be a HD channel, currently broadcasting SD commercials. It has NBA HD pillars on each side. Now it's up to a SD broadcast of a Nets - Knicks game. There was a brief NBA.com commercial that appeared to be HD - it was definitely 16:9.

This should at least give you some hope that it is possible to get the channel.

-barry

Thanks Barry. I've spoken to a few other TiVo HD/TWC customers that are also having the problem, but they were both in Brooklyn/Queens... I wonder if it's something specific to Brooklyn & Queens? In any case, it's nice to know that it's at least possible. I just got a call from a resolution team member at TWC that scheduled a Sunday appointment for me with a senior level CableCard tech to come resolve the issue. It was in response to that complaint form with NYC that LL3HD posted above! Impressive.

Yep, either TWC is really afraid of DOITT, or (more cynically) it is just incumbent on any bureaucracy to have respect for another bureaucracy. :-)

-barry

On their special "Keep Fox On" website, Fox makes some extremely valid points about their dispute with TWC...

http://www.keepfoxon.com/fox/story/view/4

Myth: TWC provides its customers broadcast network signals for free as part of their basic cable package, so it’s not right for TWC to have to pay for something it gives away.

Fact: TWC actually charges a significant fee for broadcast networks as part of their Basic Cable package. In fact, on TWC’s own pricing guide, “Broadcast” is broken out as a separate line item. TWC charges its subscribers as much as $36 per month for the 6 broadcast networks. Not one penny of that is being shared with Fox.



Myth: If cable companies like TWC pay fair value for the programming provided by broadcasters and other content providers, it will “force” them to raise cable fees for consumers.

Fact: TWC is a successful, profitable business (thanks in part to the money they make off of broadcasters’ content). It can surely afford to fairly compensate broadcasters for that content without raising rates. Just how profitable is TWC? TWC’s operating profit in 2008 exceeded $6 billion. TWC is on track to finish 2009 with nearly $2 billion in free cash flow – up 20% over the previous year. So far this year, TWC has generated more than $8 billion in subscription revenues from video alone and its programming costs represent only 22% of those revenues. In the past quarter alone, TWC generated monthly service revenues of $69 per month per video subscriber, while its average programming cost per subscriber was $26. That is a profit contribution of more than $43 per video sub per month. Overall, the company achieved an operating profit margin of 36% in its last reported quarter.



Myth: The compensation being sought by programmers like FOX is “exorbitant” and “unreasonable.”

Fact: The compensation being sought for the FOX stations is entirely reasonable. Based on the comparable cost of our programming, the Fox stations could charge $4-5 per subscriber per month. TNT gets $1 per subscriber, but spends about 80% less on programming than FOX. And if one looks at the ratings FOX and its stations get relative to cable networks, the value would actually be closer to $10 per subscriber. Moreover, FOX attracts more viewers than the five most expensive cable networks combined (ESPN, TNT, USA, ESPN2 and NFL Net). The bottom line is that the Fox stations feature some of the nation’s most-watched programming with shows such as 24, American Idol, House, Glee, and The Simpsons, as well as the most compelling sports on television with the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and NASCAR. The price being asked for as compensation for all this value is extremely reasonable.



Myth: Broadcasters like FOX are already receiving fair compensation for their programming.

Fact: The broadcast television business is suffering because broadcast networks are competing on an uneven playing field with cable networks. Cable networks have two streams of revenue: advertising and fees paid by distributors. Broadcasters like FOX have the single stream of advertising. This has allowed cable networks like ESPN to get a leg up to purchase the rights to content like Monday Night Football and The BCS Championship Series – which means that tens of millions of Americans who can’t afford or choose not to subscribe to cable or satellite miss this event programming. The future of free, over-the-air broadcast programming requires broadcasters to compete on a level playing field – which means getting fair value compensation from cable companies like Time Warner Cable.

Yep, either TWC is really afraid of DOITT, or (more cynically) it is just incumbent on any bureaucracy to have respect for another bureaucracy. :-)

-barry

I suspect it's mostly because it creates a public record, something they are forced to contend with during franchise renewals. The 2-3 occasions when I filed got a response from PR. Those folks did seem to know a hell of a lot more than the typical CSR and put me in touch with those who actually helped.