[Dan Young]

Hi,


I'm switching from Direct TV to Cablevision , effective Thursday. I must say that I truly hated my experience with Direct TV. Frequent outages, long waits on the phone, an installer stole 1 of my kids playstation games, etc. Because of my zip code, I could never receive the Mets or yankees on Fox Sports or Yes, although I paid for the sports package. Direct TV says it isn't their fault, but they swore when I signed up i would get both channels. They just neglected to tell me that the actual games wouldn't be available. Oh well.


Anyway, what sort of HD STB will i be getting? The CV CSR had no clue. Component connection? Thanks in advance.

 

[NYYFAN]

If you have an HDTV and the IO service you should get the SA4200HD box...

 

[seldenpat]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dan Young Hi, I'm switching from Direct TV to Cablevision , effective Thursday. I must say that I truly hated my experience with Direct TV. Frequent outages, long waits on the phone, an installer stole 1 of my kids playstation games, etc. Because of my zip code, I could never receive the Mets or yankees on Fox Sports or Yes, although I paid for the sports package. Direct TV says it isn't their fault, but they swore when I signed up i would get both channels. They just neglected to tell me that the actual games wouldn't be available. Oh well. Anyway, what sort of HD STB will i be getting? The CV CSR had no clue. Component connection? Thanks in advance.

In my experience (I subscribe to both) DirecTV is head and shoulders above Cablevision as far as support is concerned, so I don't know what type of improvement you expect to get. Installation is primarily outsourced, so I don't know if I would blame DirecTV for the game. Directv.com allows you to do almost anything you want, except for tech support. Only outages I get are on REALLY heavy rain days, so maybe the installer did not align the dish correctly. What local sports did they give you? Philly?


As far as Cablevision, I give at least 1 to 1 odds that they bring the SD box, even though you tell them 5 times that you want the HD box. Once you eventually get the SA4200HD box (hopefully the warehouse is close enough for them to go back the same day, otherwise you will have wasted a day and have to reschedule), the tech will discover they have no component cables. Do yourself a favor and have an extra set available. Get used to resetting it often, unless you enjoy having to wait 2 - 3 seconds for channels to change. No good calling to complain, as it's the hardware Cablevision decides to use. I have to believe that the Dolans have some sort pure feed into their houses, because if they had to use these boxes, someone in QA would be losing their job. Also, the only Digital Audio output is Coax. There is no Optical audio out connection.


I get NYC OTA, so the only reason I have Cablevision is to watch my 41 Home Ranger Games in HD.


I am not telling you not to switch, I'm just managing your expectations by sharing my experiences.

 

[Digidan]

HD Lineup on Cablevision


HBO HD

Showtime HD

IN Demand HD PPV - $6.95 per movie

WCBS-HD

WNET Thirteen HD (PBS demo Loop)

MSG HD

Fox Sports NY HD


They've added 2 locals in the past 3 weeks, so more locals may be on the way.


CV customer service SUCKS! They are completely clueless. I hope you have a trouble-free box so you never have to deal with them, FAT CHANCE!


One thing you may be disappointed with is the on-screen graphics from the 4200HD box, very primative, reminiscent of the atari 2600.

 

[imajazz]

just curious...so there's no discovery channel in hd on cablevision?


that's like the coolest channel...

 

[mulesqb]

Quote:

Originally posted by seldenpat I get NYC OTA, so the only reason I have Cablevision is to watch my 41 Home Ranger Games in HD. I am not telling you not to switch, I'm just managing your expectations by sharing my experiences.

seldenpat - I'm a happy D* customer. I live in Putnam Valley, NY so I have no chance for OTA. I've always wanted to get MSG in HD for the same reason you have it. I called Cablevision yesterday when I heard about the locals. They said I can get a basic io package with a sports package for $29 a month. I'm a big Knick/Ranger fan. Do they televise all home games in HD for both teams??? What happens with away games? If i do make the move I'd be paying about $120 a month for D* and Cablevision. Cablevision told me with this package I would receive CBS,PBS, MSG and Fox Sports NY. I've also heard Cablevision is adding Fox 5 but I haven't heard any confirmations.


I used to be a very unsatisfied Cablevision customer and am gagging at the thought, but I want my HDTV. What do you think?? Rangers drop the puck in about 3 weeks!

 

[seldenpat]

Quote:

Originally posted by mulesqb seldenpat - I'm a happy D* customer. I live in Putnam Valley, NY so I have no chance for OTA. I've always wanted to get MSG in HD for the same reason you have it. I called Cablevision yesterday when I heard about the locals. They said I can get a basic io package with a sports package for $29 a month. I'm a big Knick/Ranger fan. Do they televise all home games in HD for both teams??? What happens with away games? If i do make the move I'd be paying about $120 a month for D* and Cablevision. Cablevision told me with this package I would receive CBS,PBS, MSG and Fox Sports NY. I've also heard Cablevision is adding Fox 5 but I haven't heard any confirmations. I used to be a very unsatisfied Cablevision customer and am gagging at the thought, but I want my HDTV. What do you think?? Rangers drop the puck in about 3 weeks!

mulesqb,


All Home games are in HDTV...I just hope they replaced the HD camera that Artest destroyed last year. The locals for you woud be a bonus, but remember, that we'd also get the games at the Islanders and Devils in HD through FSNY-HD, so that's an extra 5 or 6 games.


Cablevision says they are in negotiation for all local channels. They are putting them on the 700's, so CBS is 702, FOX would be 705 (supposed to be broadcasting any minute now, and PBS is 713. As long as you are considered to be in the NYC-Metro area, you should get these feeds.


Like I said above...the service sucks, the hardware sucks, but they now have 4 stations that D* does not have. CBS will also give you a HD game a week, if it doesn't conflict with local teams. This Sunday is [email protected] at 4:15, which should be broadcast. Also, CBS will broadcast some SEC Games on Saturdays.


I love the Rangers, so it's worth it to me to have just MSG and FSNY, but since you don't have locals, that would outweigh the service and hardware problems for me.


Let me know how you decide!

 

[Dan Young]

Everyone,


Thanks for your comments. I'm sure CV service and tech support stinks, but frankly, I cant imagine it being significantly worse than D.


i receive NO local sports- this is supposedly not the fault of D, but based on my zip code, I have no home teams. Figure that 1 out. Again, they forgot to tell me this when I signed up and specifically asked about YES and Fox Sports NY.


Another question- with the 4200, must I connect via component to receive HD? Is S Vid a temporary option? The reason is that I have a Panny plasma with limited connectivity, and I'm ordering a component switcher, but I wont have it until next week. On D, i connect to my non-hd stb via svid (decent PQ) and run my DVD thru component (stunning).


Thanks again.

 

[jscnyc]

yes cv does all hme games on msg, the knicks looked great last year, the pq is awesome. the mets look great right now


john

Quote:

Originally posted by mulesqb seldenpat - I'm a happy D* customer. I live in Putnam Valley, NY so I have no chance for OTA. I've always wanted to get MSG in HD for the same reason you have it. I called Cablevision yesterday when I heard about the locals. They said I can get a basic io package with a sports package for $29 a month. I'm a big Knick/Ranger fan. Do they televise all home games in HD for both teams??? What happens with away games? If i do make the move I'd be paying about $120 a month for D* and Cablevision. Cablevision told me with this package I would receive CBS,PBS, MSG and Fox Sports NY. I've also heard Cablevision is adding Fox 5 but I haven't heard any confirmations. I used to be a very unsatisfied Cablevision customer and am gagging at the thought, but I want my HDTV. What do you think?? Rangers drop the puck in about 3 weeks!

 

[RichYak]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dan Young must I connect via component to receive HD? Is S Vid a temporary option?

S-Video is not an option at all. It doesn't support HD.

 

[mulesqb]

Quote:

Originally posted by seldenpat mulesqb, I love the Rangers, so it's worth it to me to have just MSG and FSNY, but since you don't have locals, that would outweigh the service and hardware problems for me. Let me know how you decide!

seldenpat - Thanks for the info. I think I'm going to try it. Knicks and Rangers in HD sounds amazing. I guess I just have to epect the worst from Cablevision and hope that somehow i'll be pleasantly surprised. I called and they are going to send somebody out to survey my property.


Thanks!!