Dish or Charter.

[coinmaster32]

Well now IDK about charter.

I just found out my friend has it where he lives. He says about every month, his TV, Phone, and Internet (all provided by Charter), go offline. It almost always happens at night, and is not restored until morning.

It does it every month, regardless of weather.

Once a month doesn't seem bad, but having no internet, phone, or TV for an entire night seems odd.

 

[Scherrman]

Well now IDK about charter.

I just found out my friend has it where he lives. He says about every month, his TV, Phone, and Internet (all provided by Charter), go offline. It almost always happens at night, and is not restored until morning.

It does it every month, regardless of weather.

Once a month doesn't seem bad, but having no internet, phone, or TV for an entire night seems odd.

I think this is actually pretty common with cable everywhere. It may not go out a lot in every place but when it does it affects the TV, phone and internet and it's usually out for a couple days. It happened twice over the holidays to my uncle with Mediacom. They came out to his house and said it wasn't their problem. Once the whole neighborhood was affected they finally got their butts out there and fixed it, which only lasted about a month before it happened again. LOL Such a terrible company.

 

[osu1991]

TVGuide in HD? Are you serious?

It's actually owned by CBS now and has become the defacto cable depository of CBS network reruns.

 

[navychop]

So rename it to Guide to CBS TV reruns?

 

[osu1991]

So rename it to Guide to CBS TV reruns?

I don't why cbs hasn't changed the name. I just scroll by it in the guide, since it's not HD and I have yet to see anything of interest to me listed

 

[Tampa8]

TVGN? I see virtually no CBS rerun shows except one of the Soap Operas. Mostly NBC with some ABC. Either way nothing that would interest me....

 

[osu1991]

TVGN? I see virtually no CBS rerun shows except one of the Soap Operas. Mostly NBC with some ABC. Either way nothing that would interest me....

It was cbs all weekend. Reruns Of Young And Restless,Hostages, Survivor etc...

Still not a channel that interest me either way

 

[digitalblue]

I'm a DISH retailer in Saint Louis (home of Charter) and we constantly crush them even when we partner Charter internet (which is the best) with DISH TV.

Their DVR is horrible and they do not have a whole home solution (they rolled one out about two years ago and then recalled it and that was the last anyone ever saw of it). Very small record capacity and cumbersome by today's standards.

Charter is month-to-month - but not cheap. For example a 3rm system with 30 mbps internet and Charter Digital Select has an introductory rate of $90/mo plus $21/mo in outlet fees and $20/mo for DVR totaling $141/mo in the first year, $161/mo thereafter. Most people have to add at least one of the digital tiers (for example if you want NFL Network, etc) for $10/mo bringing first year average cost to $151/mo (this makes the Charter programming comparable to AT200).

A 3rm Hopper/Joey system WITH Charter 30mbps internet is $106/mo in the first year (if you get it done before the DISH price increase, otherwise it would be $111/mo), the rate in the second year (based on the new DISH rates) including Charter internet $146/mo.

As for apps etc, Charter has nothing like Sling although they do allow access to around 6 live TV apps (WatchESPN, TNT, etc) and about 15 others that allow limited viewing of previously broadcast shows. The huge downfall is that you have to download each app individually. No second screen technology and nothing even close to DISH's CES announcements: about.dish.com

Nearly every customer of ours coming from Charter raves about DISH's PQ compared to Charter. As for the number of HD channels - there are only about 30 channels that DISH does not have in HD that might be available in HD - but only a handful of those are mainstream channels (ABC Family, Disney, etc) - so I have no idea what "50 HD channels" Charter has that DISH does not, but I can't imagine it being an issue because we've not experienced any negative feedback

In short - their internet is amazing, but their video severely lags. Feel free to reach out to me and if I'll answer any questions you might have.

Rob
Digital Blue
314.664.0500

 

[peggy97850]

Neighbors have Charter standard receivers (no dvr) & the onscreen stuff looks like it was programmed years ago, not really user friendly, doesn't have much in the way of options. In order for them to get the HD channel for locals, they have to go to the SD channel & select "watch in hd" everytime - for some reason it doesn't automatically bring up the HD version of that channel (they've had tech's come out & all their tv's work the same way). Other HD channels work as they should, immediately. Seems like a royal pain, I would never switch to Charter, especially when the prices aren't that different.

 

[king3pj]

Neighbors have Charter standard receivers (no dvr) & the onscreen stuff looks like it was programmed years ago, not really user friendly, doesn't have much in the way of options. In order for them to get the HD channel for locals, they have to go to the SD channel & select "watch in hd" everytime - for some reason it doesn't automatically bring up the HD version of that channel (they've had tech's come out & all their tv's work the same way). Other HD channels work as they should, immediately. Seems like a royal pain, I would never switch to Charter, especially when the prices aren't that different.

Cable isn't like Dish and Directv. The HD channels have different channel numbers than the SD channels. If they want to go directly to the HD channel instead of doing what you are talking about they need to learn the HD channel numbers. I used to go over to my parents house when they had charter and find them watching the SD channel instead of HD even though they had an HD DVR. Dish was very smart to use the same numbers for HD and make it default to the HD channel.

 

[Scherrman]

Everyone just do yourself a favor and get Dish or DirecTV. There really isn't anything better than these 2 services. I'm not saying this because I have Dish and sell Dish but because I truly believe it. I would go to DirecTV before cable and I have never had their service, I've never sold their service but I know they offer a superior product than any cable company can put out.

 

[mdavej]

As I said before, if you bring your own cable-card DVR, Charter is excellent and much cheaper than Dish. I have a 5 room WMC/Echo based whole home system, and my only monthly fee besides my programming package is $2 for my cable card. I've had the equivalent of AT250 for $50/month for the past 2 years. The regular price is about $70. For $80 you also get HBO/Max//Sho. Not a bad deal.

Even on their crappy DVR you can tune any HD channel directly. You don't have to tune the SD channel first. So rather than tune SD channel 4 and follow the prompt to HD, just tune 704, the HD version, directly. I guess old habits are hard to break.

While Charter's DVR graphics look terrible, they are full featured and work fine, much like an older Dish DVR. So it's not the end of the world.

I had DirecTV for many years. I also had Dish for a few years. At the time they were far better than cable. But the tables have turned. Except for the DVR they offer, Charter beats satellite in almost every other respect. If you don't like their DVR, then bring your own. You don't have that option with satellite.

 

[navychop]

Everyone just do yourself a favor and get Dish or DirecTV. There really isn't anything better than these 2 services. I'm not saying this because I have Dish and sell Dish but because I truly believe it. I would go to DirecTV before cable and I have never had their service, I've never sold their service but I know they offer a superior product than any cable company can put out.

From what little I've learned, Fios has the finest cableco DVRs out there. And they don't measure up to the Hopper system.

I don't think anyone offers the complete package that Dish does - an EHD system wedded to the account, NOT a particular DVR; easiest remote access a la Dish Anywhere; transferring programs onto tablets and arguably the best whole home solution.

And I also think most customers don't use many, if any, of these features. But the ones that do are likely to be higher value customers, with good payment records and higher bills.

As I reflect on it, and we've discussed here before, I've really got to hand it to Dish for coming up with good ideas for making at least high value customers "sticky."

I'd only like them to have a BIG sign over the door to the Pit of Programmers: "IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT" and most especially "FIRST, DO NO HARM!"

 

[osu1991]

As I said before, if you bring your own cable-card DVR, Charter is excellent and much cheaper than Dish. I have a 5 room WMC/Echo based whole home system, and my only monthly fee besides my programming package is $2 for my cable card. I've had the equivalent of AT250 for $50/month for the past 2 years. The regular price is about $70. For $80 you also get HBO/Max//Sho. Not a bad deal.

Even on their crappy DVR you can tune any HD channel directly. You don't have to tune the SD channel first. So rather than tune SD channel 4 and follow the prompt to HD, just tune 704, the HD version, directly. I guess old habits are hard to break.

While Charter's DVR graphics look terrible, they are full featured and work fine, much like an older Dish DVR. So it's not the end of the world.

I had DirecTV for many years. I also had Dish for a few years. At the time they were far better than cable. But the tables have turned. Except for the DVR they offer, Charter beats satellite in almost every other respect. If you don't like their DVR, then bring your own. You don't have that option with satellite.

Not everyone wants to use a media center pc with extenders either and your only other choice for a set top cable box is Tivo and not everyone likes those either.
Yes some can save money by doing that, but it still varies. With Cox I would be paying more for the programming than Dish or Directv even with the announced price hikes

 

[Bobby]

Neighbors have Charter standard receivers (no dvr) & the onscreen stuff looks like it was programmed years ago, not really user friendly, doesn't have much in the way of options. In order for them to get the HD channel for locals, they have to go to the SD channel & select "watch in hd" everytime - for some reason it doesn't automatically bring up the HD version of that channel (they've had tech's come out & all their tv's work the same way). Other HD channels work as they should, immediately. Seems like a royal pain, I would never switch to Charter, especially when the prices aren't that different.

Yeah, your neighbors should be looking at channels in the 700s for the HD feeds. I looked at a Charter channel chart in Florence, OR and that's what I see. The local channel HD feeds are all there while the SD feeds are located in the single digits.

 

[kbs]

Depends on what channels you want, the price and the service. A lot of folks I know switch from Direct/Dish back to cable to get the bundle deals and a few had problems with cable customer service for refusing to do the work when they suppose to.

 

[mdavej]

Not everyone wants to use a media center pc with extenders either and your only other choice for a set top cable box is Tivo and not everyone likes those either.
Yes some can save money by doing that, but it still varies. With Cox I would be paying more for the programming than Dish or Directv even with the announced price hikes

I totally understand that. I still have my parents on DirecTV for that very reason. It's definitely not for everyone. I put up with the added complexity of setting up a PC and extenders mostly to save money and partly to avoid Charter's terrible interface. I can put up with a lot to save $40/month (in my case). I avoided an HTPC for years. But when I finally took the plunge, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. You'd never know a PC was running the show when you use it. With a normal IR remote, the experience is exactly the same as you get with any other DVR. I'd never do Tivo because of the cost. And cable/satellite DVR fees have just gotten too high for me to tolerate anymore. If programming fees go up much further, I'll probably drop subscription TV entirely. But I'm not at my breaking point just yet. At least with my PC already set up, I'm in a good position to easily transition to OTA and streaming if/when I do cut the cord.

 

[osu1991]

I totally understand that. I still have my parents on DirecTV for that very reason. It's definitely not for everyone. I put up with the added complexity of setting up a PC and extenders mostly to save money and partly to avoid Charter's terrible interface. I can put up with a lot to save $40/month (in my case). I avoided an HTPC for years. But when I finally took the plunge, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. You'd never know a PC was running the show when you use it. With a normal IR remote, the experience is exactly the same as you get with any other DVR. I'd never do Tivo because of the cost. And cable/satellite DVR fees have just gotten too high for me to tolerate anymore. If programming fees go up much further, I'll probably drop subscription TV entirely. But I'm not at my breaking point just yet. At least with my PC already set up, I'm in a good position to easily transition to OTA and streaming if/when I do cut the cord.

I have HDHomerun tuner setup and use NextPVR as a backup for some things that I can easily record OTA and rip to smaller file size and throw on tablet when traveling, but it's not something I would give to others to use daily.

 

[old corps]

I can't comment on Charter TV but I went with them for internet about 2 months ago and am VERY happy with it. From the initial contact person through the excellent tech that did the intall--everyone I dealt with was top notch. I AVERAGE 35 down and 4.25 up with testmynet.com. Should have went with them a long time ago.

Ed

 

[peggy97850]

Yeah, your neighbors should be looking at channels in the 700s for the HD feeds. I looked at a Charter channel chart in Florence, OR and that's what I see. The local channel HD feeds are all there while the SD feeds are located in the single digits.

Many thanks, Bobby, will let them know, it's been driving them crazy. When I saw it it seemed strange, but they said 2 different techs had looked at their setup & said everything was OK. I've always had Direct or Dish so "assumed" Charter worked in a similar manner. Still seems really out of date when compared with my HWS!