Los Angeles, CA - TWC - Page 273

I bought a Samsung 64e8000 and hooked up my roof antenna and had the tv search for digital channels and it found only 3 (52, 53 and 54). My previous set had all of them. These 3 channels come in perfectly but why only those 3?

TWC is Time Warner Cable. I think you want to post in http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...php?p=21952570 for OTA antennae.

I just added internet to my cable package. I previously had AT&T DSL at 6 Mbps/512 kbps and I got the Road Runner Extreme package which turns out to be a little less than what I was paying monthly for the first 12 months. After that I'll just downgrade or something. I ordered the cable and internet bundle last night online and I got an e-mail within a few minutes saying I needed to call to verify some information. I called this morning during work and it took them 45 minutes to add the same exact package that I did online in 2 minutes last night. It came with free HD DVR service so I have to return one of my boxes so I don't get charged extra. I currently have two Motorola DCH-3200s that I've had for a few years now. Is there a newer/better box available these days? Should I exchange my other box too when I go to the Time Warner Store to give them my other one?

Hi!

Does anyone know if there a limit on how long TWC's cable lines can be from its street cable box into a huge house's deep room? For example, is over 500 feet OK for TV, digital phone, and Internet?

Thank you in advance.

AFAIK, the latest STBs//DVRs from Motorola are DCX 3200/3400 series boxes.

Yeah, I just replaced my DVR with the DCX3200 STB. Different software (which I prefer) and it has that "start over" feature on some channels. The biggest drawback is the boot up time. It takes freaking forever.

TWC vs. AT&T U-verse

AT&T wants to sell me its TV/Internet package for $85 (6 mos.), which would be about a $30 savings/mo. with what I have now with TWC. My speed would drop from 15Mbps to 12Mbps, but I would gain a bunch of TV channels (that I probably wouldn't watch anyway). There's also a $49 installation charge.

But ... while it looks somewhat attractive on paper, I'm not so sure from comparison critiques I've been reading online -- the real world experience with AT&T doesn't seem to be all that rosy. Has anyone had any personal experience with U-verse, or have family/friends that do?

I don't have any major complaints with TWC, and it's easy enough for me to go to a local office to exchange equipment. I get a little tired of the speed throttling at night, but I've read that AT&T caps downloads. I've been with TWC for so long, I hate to leave for just the promise of a greater deal only to have to switch back. I sorta feel like I'm in a bad marriage, but at least I know what I've got.

Can't you try AT&T and keep TWC for a month to see how it is?

stay with TWC your better off. I tested my aunts internet speed when 4 streams were recording on the newest Motorola VIP box that uverse uses and it actually dropped internet speed until I stopped recording individual streams back down to 1 or 2 so you will never get a full 12Mbps at any time if you want to record more than 1 or 2 streams at a time and this was with the 32/5 uverse profile.

Isn't that just a promotional period? Does the price go up after a year, etc.?

No personal experience, but I've read (and 1 friend) that U-verse picture quality is sub-par, lots of compression. May not be noticeable if you have a small TV, but if you have a big TV, and or sit close (or a projector), it would probably be noticeable.
The exception might be if you're in a building/area were you whole feed is fiber optic, all the way to your house. Though I've heard that's rare (usually is some fiber optic and some or a lot of regular phone line feed).

My nephew in Chicago went with u-Verse, whole-house. Five HDTV locations, lots of computers.

He said the installers were idiots.

After about 6 months he decided to ditch it, and went with Comcast for everything. Completely removed AT&T.

He was not impressed.

I have AT&T DSL and what I REALLY hate is getting junk mail from them every week (sometimes 2x a week) trying to get me to sign up to their U-verse, combined packages, etc.

I swear that in a years time that amount of junk mail probably adds up to a 25 lbs or so
But I've been getting it for many years now, so probably 100 lbs or so of junk mail from just THEM

That being said, TWC also sends me a lot of junk mail too, but not nearly as much....

We like to complain but I also see this as the "grass is not always greener". Two immediate neighbors went UVERSE because they saw the great "come-on" offer. One lasted a month (couldn't get past the way things worked differently than satellite). The other went from TWC and has had them out 3 times in about a year with 1-2 days of hours long visits each time plus few over the phone issues. Most of the problems have been with the phone, but the internet was the last one and the guy came and left multiple times over 2 days (I suspect running down to the "big box" that feeds the neighborhood). I also would like improvements in TWC but until better competition comes to my area we are all stuck. Since I am in an AT&T phone area, not much experience with Verizon FIOS, but that seems tempting if I could even consider. /Dan

Junk mail is the only thing keeping the Post Office going. Try to look at the bright side. /Dan

Hadn't thought of that. But that kinda defeats the purpose of trying to economize. And it's a 6-mos. contract, so if it sucks, I'm stuck (maybe if AT&T had like a 30-day cancellation window, but I didn't think to ask).


Yes, 6 mos. promotion. It was like pulling teeth with this guy, lol. He said after 6 mos. there would be "other promotions," but he was a little vague on what might be available, for how long, etc. He just said "most customers" don't see their rates increase. Hmmm. OK ...

I've heard about the compression issue before. I don't have a projector-sized display -- I sit 9' from a 67" DLP -- but decreased quality I think would certainly read.


This made me think -- I've only had one service call in the past 7 years. There have been the occasional outages, but all in all that's a pretty good record, you gotta admit.

But, for me, this is the dealbreaker --I read that in the NYC area downloads are capped at 250GB/mo. before AT&T starts charging extra. I couldn't find out if it happens here, and I wonder if a rep would even confirm it if it does. But that's a "gotcha" I can do without. At least throttling, however annoying, only tests your patience; you can still get what you want.

Anyway, thanks guys, you've all pretty much confirmed what I've been reading online.

This never occurred to me until one day I was talking to my mailman as he was stuffing our boxes with all of this crap. I said it must drive him nuts to have to do it. He said, "Not at all. It's our bread and butter."

The junk mail sent in this area to everybody is for DirectTV, Dish, TW, and sometimes Clear. Ads come in usually with the weekly supermarket circulars. There is no At&t likely because U-Verse is not available here. For the mail addressed specifically to me, TW sends the most even though I already have tv + internet with them. At&t never sends anything to me even though I was a dsl customer for a long time. My promo pricing with TW is ending soon, so I actually want At&t to tempt me with some offers.

I suppose....'cept I'd rather have the postage/mailers/printing costs credited to my AT&T DSL account instead

Yeah, that's salesman talk for 'your screwed' after that promo period.

Unless it's in writing (his vague 'promotions' after the fact), I'd avoid. Red flag all over the place.

So, where can we get the written prices after promotions? Its e-mail support also told me that there would be special promotions after the original ones end, but not that cheap like the original prices. I also was told about the regular non-promotional prices at http://www.timewarnerla.com/pricingg...08_PL-0312.pdf ... Dang, so expensive for those when I calculated all together! I really wished they would tell us the answers! They're so incompetent.

I just got back from the Eagle Rock cable store and they said that I couldn't pick up my self-installation kit if I still wanted Extreme internet. I got the regular Turbo instead and I'm getting 29 Mbps/1.8 Mbps so I guess I'm fine with that. I don't understand why that's the case since I ordered over the phone and they said they'd send me a self-installation kit by the end of next week. Since I live close to the Eagle Rock location I just decided to pick it one up today with an HD DVR too.

That download speed is not eternal. It's a "turbo boost" quick shot when you first connect to something, to maybe get you in and done quickly.

But if you do an extended download for any period of time, your speed will drop down to the standard 15Mb/s for the duration, which is what Turbo is throttled at for normal use.

2Mb/s upload is essentially a constant with Turbo.

You get 29 Mbps with regular Turbo? Really? I thought it maxed out at 15. It does for me. I'd be more than happy with that. ;-)

I, too, was led to believe I could do a self-install for Extreme when I talked to a rep over the phone. But when I went to the office for the new modem, I was told the same as you -- no self-install and $50 to boot. So I told them to forget it.

Is there a reason why no self install for extreme package?

Yeah they told me that there would be an installation fee for Turbo Plus or Extreme, which I wasn't told about when I ordered over the phone. They said a technician had to install it but I wasn't given any further explanation beyond that. I tested downloading a 1 GB file and it took about 8 minutes to download. The download speed was around 1.9 MB/s with occasional bursts to 2.3 MB/s so I'm getting around 15 Mbps on average which I'm suposed to get. The 29 Mbps/1.8 Mbps was from speedtest.net. I'm happy so far since I had 6 Mbps/768 kbps for the past 8 years with AT&T DSL. I'll probably upgrade to Turbo Plus or Elite in the future but for now it's fine.

I can't remember if I asked, since they weren't budging on that. I know there's a different modem, so I'm sure they'd say that's the reason. But I think it's just another chance to make a few bucks.


Those speed test sites are worthless, IMO. The network paths are generally dedicated, so it's not a "real world" scenario. As DSperber noted, there's a speed "bump" right at the beginning of a download. I'm convinced the purpose of this is to artificially skew speed test results. The only reasonably accurate measure is to download a large file and do the math, like you did, or to monitor with a newsreader.

I've brought this up before (and don't mean to harp ...), but I'd be curious to know if you see a cut in speed at night or on weekends. I do a lot of downloading and am constantly monitoring speeds with my newsreader and I sure do. I don't believe it's dynamic, based on increased neighborhood usage, for a couple of reasons: 1) the cut is *always* by half, and 2) it always occurs at the same times (~5-11pm, starting earlier on weekends). Of course, this is just conjecture on my part, but it sure smells like scheduled throttling.

I repeat... Turbo is 15Mb/sec.

But when you first connect to someplace, there is a special "TurboBoost" throttle that opens up for you briefly, allowing you up to double (or maybe even more) speeds. So if you use Speedtest to check your speeds, you will be provided with what is really "false" information that shows much higher speeds than what will actually be experienced for sustained long-lasting downloads. For just a few seconds, TurboBoost will have kicked in and it looks like you've got double what you're entitled to.

Believe me... Turbo is 15Mb/sec, and once TurboBoost goes away that's what you'll be limited to. But of course even that is subject to the capabilities of the web site you've connected to, with many sites providing much lower speeds. Your experience will vary by web site, no matter what your internet connection package is.

But for sure, TurboBoost is something TWC implemented a few years back, hoping that if they gave you double-speed for a quick link or download, you'd be happier. However for long downloads, 15MB/sec throttle is strict.

Before TWC, I had Adelphia and IIRC, it was called PowerBoost. Did TWC have this feature before Adelphia died or did they take it from Adelphia?

I think TurboBoost was a national TWC RoadRunner thing. It may have been called PowerBoost, or TurboBoost.

But it's been around for at least 2-3 years, and it had nothing to do with Adelphia. It's a few seconds (maybe up to 10?) of super download speed depending on current network conditions and bandwidth availability. For sure it times out and you're just at your basic Turbo 15Mb/s performance (which is still terrific, and I'm happy paying for it).

Ah OK. I thought only Adelphia had it and TWC got it when it died.