Interview with Time Warner Cable On HD -- Questions?

yes thank you, so much.

1. exactly what cities will get SDV and when.
2. what HD channels they might be close to adding.
3. their thoughts on what DirecTV is doing in terms of delivering 100+ HD channels this year.
4. what is up with their digital navigator software which beta testers in lincoin,NE seem to hate. and is going to be uploaded to all TWC boxes sometime this year.

When will previous adelphia customers get more HD, and other services such as phone? We don't even have Discovery HD here in Waterville, Ohio. We also don't have our Fox affiliate's HD broadcast that Bowling Green, Ohio TWC customers have.

Why do some TWC franchises have ESPN2 HD and most don't?
(Albany TWC and Syracuse TWC have ESPN2 HD)

1. Why don't you enable fast forward in your "start over" feature?

2. How many HD channels do you expect to add nationally by the end of 2007?

3. Are there any multi-room DVRs, DVR programming from the web, or any other neat technology in the works?

4. When will SDV be available nationwide?

5. Will more HD channels be added immediately when SDV is implemented -- or will we have to wait on multi-year channel negotiations before we see any additions?

6. Why is ESPN2HD available in some areas and not others (and no, it is not only former Adelphia areas that have it)

7. Are there any plans to substantially increase internet speeds?

8. Will you ever stop compressing HD channels like HDNET?

When and where will it air?
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With all the continuing problems with NAVIGATOR,,,,Why not purchase the rights to passport or Tivo software and incorporate all the great features into/with yours, instead of making our entertainment time so frustrating and making us (Lincoln Ne. TWC customers) have to call for help with our equipment that should have been properly tested before dumping it on us?

HH

OT:

Swanni, did you every get a hold of someone at Echostar to interview?

Thanks

Are they going to add a PPV HD Channel?

They already have one; we have it here. I suppose it may not be available in all markets, but that seems strange as it's a revenue generator (albeit a tiny one). Usually they don't miss a chance to deploy anything along those lines universally.

We've had HD OnDemand movies for quite some time - but the choices of movies are POOR (Very POOR). So the question would be: why aren't there a greater choices of PPV movies.

Will Time Warner terminate transmitting analog signals in February 2009, thereby freeing up bandwidth for digital (HD) channels?

Our HD-DVR only hold 20hrs of programming, with expanded HD lineups we need more space.
Are we getting newer set top boxes?
Are they going to lease external storage devices?
Are they going to switch to compression like VC1 & MPEG4-AVC?

1. When will TWC get the Federally Mandated IEEE-1394 Firewire working correctly in the SA8300HD?
[HD recordings to D-VCR still don't work and SD recordings are intermittent.]

2. Many people have reported (via avsforum) audio and video problems with the Federally Mandated
HDMI interface when connected to HDMI HDTVs and HDMI A-V Receivers.
Recently we have also seen a resurgence in the DIGITAL AUDIO (Coax & Optical) interface spontaneously
reverting to STEREO, instead of selected DOLBY DIGITAL setting. What is TWC doing to correct these problems?

3. Since internal HDD (Hard Disk Drive) was designed for SD recordings, it won't hold very many HD programs.
When will TWC get the eSATA interface working correctly to external hard drives?
[FF (Fast Forward) and RW (Rewind) still don't work for programs recorded to external HDD.]

4. When will TWC provide the ability to manage DVR recordings from a PC and/or cell phone web browser?

5. Since encryption of broadcast channels is prohibited by law, many users use their DCR
(Digital Cable Ready ) HDTV to view unencrypted QAM channels (e.g. local HD) without the
additional expense of renting a CableCARD and subscribing to a digital tier. Since this is clearly
an existing, legal configuration, why don't the CSR's understand that a Basic/Extended subscription
will include local HD channels for DCR/QAM capable HDTVs?
[CSRs still insist the only way to get any HD channels is to subscribe to digital tier and rent an HD-STB/DVR.]

6. Per industry agreements and Federal regulations, a significant number of people are using CableCARDs
in HDTV's....and now in the TiVo Series 3 and perhaps similar products in the near future.
Which kinds of programs will those customers lose when/if TWC moves existing channels to SDV?
Will TWC discriminate against foreign language subscribers (like CableVision in NYC)?
Will TWC discriminate against sports or movie or premium tier subscribers?

7. Will TWC purchase an M-CARD or DCAS capable TiVo Series 4 (or provide a free HD-STB to DCR owners)
for those customers who are adversely impacted to prevent an expected class action law suit?
Is this delaying deployment of SDV for broadcast channels?
[Sure M-CARD and DCAS are on the horizon, but that doesn't help early adopters who have already
invested many hundreds and even thousands of dollars for products that should have a 10+ year life span....]

8. When will users be able to "hide" channels from the channel guide, whether because they don't
subscribe to some channels, don't want unwatched channels cluttering up the guide and/or don't want
their family to see the X-Rated program descriptions.

9. Why doesn't TWC (or someone) publish an extra cost, comprehensive hardcopy program listing?
[I try to use ONSAT Magazine (for DISH), but it only shows a few HD channels common to TWC,
is missing half the other channels and the timezones don't match for many of the remaining listings.]
[And it would take forever to print a guide from www.titantv.com, so perhaps the STB/DVR
needs a web browser capability....]

10. Will the new Digital Navigator be able to (selectively) display a large number of channels (10 or more)
and extended time periods in a single view? This would need to be adjustable by the user,
depending on TV/HDTV resolution and whether or not they want to suppress the small "live TV" window.
Since hardcopy listings do not exist, it takes several minutes just to cursor through all the channels.
[My remote control buttons....and both thumbs are all worn out!!!!]

When will all of the DVR's be able to connect to an Audio Surround Sound System via an HDMI connection? Motorola released the firmware to correct the problem in the DVR's quite some time ago, but Time Warner has still not implemented it in most areas.

Which also brings up the question of why is the HDMOD only available as part of the pay HD Suite, as it is in NC?

It's missing out on the audience who just want to see (and will pay!) first run movies in HD but don't want to pay another charge to access a package that they don't want.

This is especially relevant now that there are other ways to get HD movies on your TV without an extra charge, such as downloading from Xbox Live. Which has been making new HD movies available at quite a decent rate.

I recently came to the conclusion that the reason that CSR's avoid acknowledging that QAM equipped HDTVs will receive their "basic" package is that they (cable) cannot provide any support to such sets. And this support is likely necessary as the set-up of a QAM tuner is a pure nightmare on many sets. Further, there seems to be little commonality between various brands (or even models within a brand) in regards to set-up procedure. If cable acknowledges that this should work, they are likely to have to also deliver support to their customers to make their TVs work with it.

That's a good question. In days of yore, I figured it was because of simple paranoia - that someone was going to capture the stream and put their HD movies on the net. But now that they've basically disabled firewire on their STB's (never had it on their DVR's), that fear is basically groundless. Or perhaps they're still chilled to the bone by the elusive "analog hole".

Please ask them two things about their SA8300 DVR platform:

1) Will Navigator continue support for the eSATA port that so many of us are using for expansion drives. Even if it's not "officially" supported.

2) They have functionally disabled the two firewire (IEEE1394) ports on the 8300 DVR and the 3250 STB. Will they activate them (remind them of the FCC mandate) so that those of us with D-VHS decks can once again tape record HD content, pursuant to 5C protocols?

A lot of us AVS gearheads would be very interested in the answers to those two questions.

AND QUIT RE-ASSIGNING QAM's EVERY OTHER WEEK!!!!!

But it's REALITY, it's not going to go away and Basic/Expanded are about HALF of TWC customers....
many of whom bought or are buying DCR HDTV's....

After 2-1/2 years, SA3250HD still works just fine with D-VHS on TWC-San Diego....
even after recent OCAP upgrade.

11. Many different software releases are at play throughout TWC, including many different releases
within just PASSPORT ECHO.....and we see different behaviors among divisions (e.g. Firewire, HDMI bugs)
using what seems to be the "same" version.

What can TWC do to standardize on just a few software releases and to ensure that they are "configured"
more or less identically so that we don't have problems, such as with the various Federally Mandated features?

It seems that each division is beta testing their own software configuration/variation.....

12. Why doesn't TWC make public announcements via press releases, postings on TWC websites
and flyer inserts with respect to planned schedule to provide (thousands???)
of SD and HD VOD, dozens (hundreds???) of HD channels and other upgrades?
The only thing that has been widely disseminated is Digital Navigator....

We would like to believe that TWC has a plan to meet...and exceed SAT's HD and VOD capabilities.
But for now, we only know about "Doc" Brown's promises of 150 National HD channels on D*
and Jessica Simpson saying she doesn't know what it is...but she wants it...cuz it's "better" (PQ).....

"The best defense is a strong offense...."
But you have to fight it out on the airwaves, not just in court...

Meanwhile Dishnet is quietly offering a "free" HD-DVR, collecting new HD customers.....

In no particular order (and I realize some of thse are not HD specific, but....

Q: Does TWC agree with Brian Roberts of Comcast, who said this week that adding HD VOD capacity is more important than adding new HD channels?

Q: Is there a flip side to the triple play strategy where the satellite guys -- especially in the next few months as they add far more bandwidth -- will look more like they are far more interested in the HD TV experience than the cable guys?

Q: Why didn't TWC, Comcast and other leading cable companies make a bid for NFL ST? Brian Roberts was quoted before the latest DirecTV deal as saying it was too rich for our blood. Looking back, was that a bad decision? Or did you just not have any way of delivering so many HD games on a Sunday afternoon?

Q: How long will it take TWC to add HS channels and transform the Los Angeles system, formerly run into the ground by Adelphia, into a modern, up-to-date, smoothly functioning system?

Q: According to Kagan Research (in November of 2006), cable companies are paying $2.96 per month per subscriber to Disney to carry ESPN - and two thirds of the viewers never watch ESPN. The Disney channel gets $1 a month, your own TNT 89 cents, Fox News Channel 75 cents and USA Network 60cents. In those terms, and understanding you don't want to pay retransmission fees, how much is a CBS, Fox, ABC, NBC or CW station worth to a cable operator?

Q: In financial terms, since ESPN/ESPN HD is the most expensive channel, and the average family watches fewer than 20 channels a month, why wouldn't an a la carte system save many families, especially those who don't watch expensive national or regional sports channels, substantial amounts of money?

Q: You are in a retransmission dispute now in Spokane WA, where the local Fox station has been off your system since December 19th. How aggressive have Dish and DirecTV been at trying to grab unhappy cable subscribers in Spokane and what percentage of your subscribers have left TWC in Spokane in the past 11 weeks?

Q: What specifically is TWC going to do to improve its customer service, so it doesn't always lag behind Comcast, Cox, Dish and DirecTV in the annual JD Powers surveys?

In north Texas TWC added all of the broadcast HD channels in a cluster in the 800 range for a brief period of time in January. That is very convenient for customers. (They also left them at their previous locations.) But after a few weeks they removed the cluster of HD channels, although they did not send new program guides, their CSR's weren't aware of it, and their online channel guide continued to list the clustered channel for about a month. Can we expect that customer -oriented feature to be restored?

I'd like to echo the comments about fully supporting external drives (FF, RW), offering a channel guide that takes advantage of widescreen displays, and MOST importantly adding more HD channels.

Also, updating the firmware in their boxes to allow HDMI pass through.

13. Why can't Time WARNER Cable make a deal with their kissin-cousin and carry CBS-Time WARNER (CW) in HD?
[KSWB-DT in San Diego is one of many cities suffering from this dysfunctional relationship....]

Why is gas so expensive? Will it continue to go up?

Never mind, but I think my questions have a better chance of getting answers.

Go get'em Swanni....

What do we want? More HD channels!!! When do we want them? Now!!! Please find out what national channels we can expect to see added in the near future and by the year's end. I would also like to know if SDV is the only approach TWC is taking to free up bandwidth and moreover where can we find out when it's coming to our division (NYC).

I am very much looking forward to reading your article on this interview, please don't give him/her any softballs and ask the all important tough questions. Thanks.

I agree, we need answers. We have been left in the dark about so many issues for far too long.

Wow, where have you been? I lost firewire capability last September with a Passport upgrade on my 3250. At that point, it became a paperweight as the only reason I had it was for firewire-to-D-VHS. (The firewire ports on the 8300 have never been active.) Because of that, I "traded it in" on a second 8300 and my D-VHS deck has been sitting mostly idle. The 8300, of course, also has firewire ports but they have never been activated.

I've posted dozens of times since then, mostly in the HDTV Recorders Forum, asking if anyone in any TWC-served area still had firewire capability on any SA STB. I was always met with deafening silence. While it appears that those few using the Motorola DVR platform still had firewire capability, it appeared to be deliberately killed by TWC on their SA platforms. Technically, this is in violation of FCC mandate, thus technically against the law. My local TWC just shrugs their shoulders when I point this out because nobody else was asking for it.

I think Ken hit the nail on the head. You've all got some great questions here, but they have about as much chance of getting answered as a Comcast sub asking when we'll get HDNet or how the negotiations are going.

I'd be truly shocked if this interview results in any solid or concrete information/dates of new services or when upgrades may occur.