Why TWC gets me mad

[cloverboy]

I just have to vent a bit about why TWC gets me mad. Please, if anyone has any insight to this, let me know.

I live in the Buffalo, NY service area, which used to be Adelphia until TW took over around 2006. They are SO slow at adding HD channels in this market. I look at the offerings in the Rochester NY market, and see they offer three times the HD, and the home phone offers more features there as well. The Rochester market is around 8 miles from here, and I suffer with a lower level of service, for the same price.

Is this fair?? I don't think so. Does it seem like they are doing anything to fix it? Doesn't look like it. I get the same canned e-mail from TW saying they are working hard to bring new services and features yada yada yada.

Am I the only one that is frustrated by all this??

Yes, I know I have a choice to switch to Dish or Direct. Had Dish two years, didn't really like them either.

I just wish they would throw me a bone with a new HD channel now and then to keep me happy. They are falling behind quick.

Am I alone???? Thanks for letting me vent. I feel a little better now.

cloverboy

 

[bigballer]

So you don't like TWC, but you don't like DISH either? I mean if you want HD and you have a sorry cable company like TWC, and I get the are pretty sorry, only Charter is worse, then why aren't you with DISH or DTV.

I mean the service cant be worse, the price has to be about the same or better....what gives? Go back to satellite and get your HD.

 

[corydmz]

I agree it takes time to do all those upgrades.. Honestly, the more channels they add too the sooner they will start to charge for HD...

 

[bidger`]

The rant rings hollow if you're not willing to take action. I got DIRECTV 10 and a half years ago and kicked TWC fully to the curb 8 and a half years ago, I used a Lifeline cable connection to get my locals when I first picked up DIRECTV. As far as DISH goes, I'd go back to TWC before I'd go there. Point is, ranting without backing it up is pointless. It's more whining than ranting.

 

[cloverboy]

My point

My point is, why should the people living 8 miles from here get three times the features and we both pay the same price? Don't get me wrong, I like Time Warner Cable. I'm happy with the picture quality and what I get, I just think we should get what others are getting for the same amount of $$$.

As for Dish, there are many a trees around, and the signal was never quite strong enough.

So, I'm not whining as you say, I just want equality with the other market!!

They have 37 HD channels, we have 14. 8 miles away!!

cloverboy

 

[fayrich]

37 HD channels from TW? Unbelieveable!!! We have around 20 total in the Cleveland/Elyria, Ohio area. What gets my goat is that they are able to add 2 temporary HD channels for olympic basketball and soccer. If they have the bandwidth to do that, why can't they add 2 more permanent channels such as Nat. Geo. and Travel or Animal Planet.

 

[cloverboy]

Lineup

This is what is offered in the Rochester market:

Included in Digital Tier
1007 -- WUHF HD (ch. 7; FOX)***
1008 -- WROC HD (ch. 8; CBS)
1010 -- WHEC HD (ch. 10; NBC)
1011 -- WXXI HD (ch. 11; PBS)
1012 -- Lifetime Movie Net HD^
1013 -- WHAM HD (ch. 13; ABC)
1014 -- MOJO
1015 -- MTV HD^
1016 -- CW HD (ch. 16 CW WHAM)
1018 -- Disney Channel HD
1019 -- Toon Disney HD
1020 -- CNN^
1022 -- Fox Business Network^
1023 -- TLC HD^
1024 -- Science Channel HD^
1030 -- Discovery HD Theater
1031 -- ABC Family HD
1033 -- TNT HD
1036 -- Discovery HD^
1037 -- A&E HD^
1038 -- Biography HD^
1040 -- The Travel Channel HD^
1041 -- ESPN News HD^
1042 -- The Outdoor Channel HD^
1043 -- MSG HD^
1044 -- NHL HD^****
1045 -- Food Network HD
1046 -- SportsNet NY HD
1047 -- YES HD
1048 -- VERSUS/ Golf HD
1049 -- TBS HD^
1052 -- ESPN HD
1053 -- ESPN2 HD
1055 -- National Geographic HD^
1056 -- Home & Garden HD^
1057 -- Planet Green HD^
1060 -- High Definition HBO**
1061 -- High Definition Showtime**
1062 -- Starz HD**^
1063 -- History Channel^
1064 -- Cinemax HD^
1068 -- Animal Planet HD^
1090 -- HD On Demand (On Demand Pay-Per-View)^

If you are not getting all these, then you too should be frustrated....

 

[fayrich]

Have to agree with that cloverboy. But at least TW and the Big Ten Network have finally reached an agreement. That hopefully should be HD. At least it should be here since those 2 temporary olympic channels have gone away.

 

[corydmz]

37 HD channels from TW? Unbelieveable!!! We have around 20 total in the Cleveland/Elyria, Ohio area. What gets my goat is that they are able to add 2 temporary HD channels for olympic basketball and soccer. If they have the bandwidth to do that, why can't they add 2 more permanent channels such as Nat. Geo. and Travel or Animal Planet.

I'm sure they have the bandwidth... Which it does take a lot for HD... I'm just saying people are ranting about more HD channels.. and than when they add more and start charging people will whine about that... They do tell us in our training that the more HD channels we get you'll start to see "Free HD" go away beause the cost of the bandwidth. They've already started to test out limiting even RR to only X amount of bandwidth a month in certain areas...

 

[Andrewwski]

I'm with TW in Buffalo, and you're definitely not the only one that's frustrated.

For those who don't know what we get in terms of HD, it's about 15 channels. They are:

Locals:

702 NBC
703 PBS
704 CBS
706 Fox
707 ABC
708 MyTV (never has HD on though)

Networks:

724 TNT
726 ESPN
727 ESPN2
740 HD Theater
742 A&E
760 Music HD
771 VS


RSN's:

700 Sabres Home Games in HD
770 YES

HD Extra Pack ($5/month)

790 Universal HD
791 HDNet
792 HDNet Movies
793 Mojo

Premiums:

780 HBO
781 Showtime
782 Starz
783 Cinemax

It's to the point where I don't even get the HD channels I want. It's not like I'm just pushing for more HD, more HD, more HD like on satellite. I don't need the Weather Channel in HD or CNBC in HD. But it'd be nice if I could have watched "When We Left Earth" on DiscoveryHD, or catch something on SciFi HD.

They claim they have "free HD," which is true, but not everything it seems. Digital cable is $59.99/month, and then you pay $7.33 for the first cable box (and $9.33 for each additional one).

I really should just leave TW. I've been stuck with them for a long time because there was no Fios or DSL in my area, so it was cheaper to bundle cable with broadband. They now have DSL in my area...I can get 3.0 mbps DSL for $30/month. My TW package is for 10 mbps but they're still using Adelphia's systems which are only supporting 4. That and the fact that I have 7 TV's, 6 of which are on basic cable and would need extra receivers with satellite.

But if I don't get more HD soon, TW's got nothing going for them.

 

[Islandguy43]

I'm with TW in Buffalo, and you're definitely not the only one that's frustrated.

For those who don't know what we get in terms of HD, it's about 15 channels. They are:

Locals:

702 NBC
703 PBS
704 CBS
706 Fox
707 ABC
708 MyTV (never has HD on though)

Networks:

724 TNT
726 ESPN
727 ESPN2
740 HD Theater
742 A&E
760 Music HD
771 VS


RSN's:

700 Sabres Home Games in HD
770 YES

HD Extra Pack ($5/month)

790 Universal HD
791 HDNet
792 HDNet Movies
793 Mojo

Premiums:

780 HBO
781 Showtime
782 Starz
783 Cinemax

It's to the point where I don't even get the HD channels I want. It's not like I'm just pushing for more HD, more HD, more HD like on satellite. I don't need the Weather Channel in HD or CNBC in HD. But it'd be nice if I could have watched "When We Left Earth" on DiscoveryHD, or catch something on SciFi HD.

They claim they have "free HD," which is true, but not everything it seems. Digital cable is $59.99/month, and then you pay $7.33 for the first cable box (and $9.33 for each additional one).

I really should just leave TW. I've been stuck with them for a long time because there was no Fios or DSL in my area, so it was cheaper to bundle cable with broadband. They now have DSL in my area...I can get 3.0 mbps DSL for $30/month. My TW package is for 10 mbps but they're still using Adelphia's systems which are only supporting 4. That and the fact that I have 7 TV's, 6 of which are on basic cable and would need extra receivers with satellite.

But if I don't get more HD soon, TW's got nothing going for them.

Actually a dual turner Dish 722 receiver, would give you your hd plus tv2 output to run the rest of your house with. Then you just sub to TWC for internet like I do for $43 a month. You will end up with a much clearer picture, where all your channels will be digital.

I have 7 tvs (2 of the tvs HD) hooked up to three recievers, with all the hd Dish has, along with a dvr, and am still cheaper than using the TWC bundle, with better quality.

 

[Andrewwski]

Only one of my TV's is HD, and I want to be able to record and watch at the same time on the DVR, so I'd do 612/322/322/322.

I need VS, so I'd go AT250. With Dish, that'd be

DVR Advantage...$49.99
AT250 Add-On.....$10.00
HD.......................$10.00
Additional Rec.....$15.00
RoadRunner........$41.95

Monthly total: $126.94

With TW, I pay

Internet & Digital Cable...$89.99
Digital Variety Tier..............$5.00
Digital STB..........................$7.33
DVR Fee.............................$6.95

Monthly Total: $109.27

I can't say Dish has better quality either. Their HD is about the same, but their SD is nowhere near TW's. TW's analog will beat Dish's overcompressed SD any day. Ever try watching a Sabres game on Dish? Can you actually follow the puck?

I could care less if the picture is "digital" on every channel...digital means nothing. The resolution and quality are the same...matter of fact digital usually means compression, and that's worse.

Which is another thing...I couldn't switch to Dish until they carry the home Sabres games in HD like TW. DirecTV does, so they'd be an option, but:

Plus HD DVR Package...$72.99
Add. Rec.......................$30.00
RoadRunner.................$41.95

Monthly Total: $144.94

Dish isn't that much more...and I could see doing that if they got Sabres in HD. It'd be worth the extra then, but it's not now. DirecTV isn't worth it though.

 

[pmb1010]

Niagara County TW:

Surf & View : $94.95
HD equipment $7.33
Showtime $12.95
Digital HD Tier: $5.00
HD DVR: $7.09
DVR Service Charge: $6.95
1 add'l outlet box charge: $2.00
1 add'l remote: $0.24

Taxes etc Total is $142.09

and I have the "mid-grade" Internet.


WHen I called them this is what they said:
Time warner Cable modem speed rates:

Lite - 700k down, 128kb up
Basic - 1.5mb down, 256kb up
Standard - 10mb down, 1mb up
Turbo 15mb down, 2mb up

As of 3/26/2008:
Road Runner Lite - $19.95/mo

Road Runner Basic - $29.95/mo

Road Runner Standard w/ Leased Modem - $44.95/mo

Road Runner Standard w/ customer owned modem - $41.95/mo

Road Runner Turbo - $54.95/mo

My speed test in March 2008:

Speed Test #48231030 by dslreports.com
Run: 2008-03-27 05:06:16 EST
Download: 2332 (Kbps)
Upload: 329 (Kbps)
In kilobytes per second: 284.6 down 40.1 up
Boost: 2934
Latency: 57 ms
Tested by server: 4 flash
User: anonymous
User's DNS: rr.com
Compared to the average of 1516 tests from rr.com:
* download is 56% worse, upload is 46% worse
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I wonder why my surf and view is more then yours?
Looks like I'm paying twice for Digital HD tier??

 

[Andrewwski]

Are you getting the "HD Tier?" I don't subscribe to the HD tier (which is Universal HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, and Mojo). I can't justify paying $5 for 4 channels.

I don't know why your "Surf & View" is $5 more though:

Pricing & Packaging- Time Warner Cable of Western New York

 

[Islandguy43]

Only one of my TV's is HD, and I want to be able to record and watch at the same time on the DVR, so I'd do 612/322/322/322.

I need VS, so I'd go AT250. With Dish, that'd be

DVR Advantage...$49.99
AT250 Add-On.....$10.00
HD.......................$10.00
Additional Rec.....$15.00
RoadRunner........$41.95

Monthly total: $126.94

With TW, I pay

Internet & Digital Cable...$89.99
Digital Variety Tier..............$5.00
Digital STB..........................$7.33
DVR Fee.............................$6.95

Monthly Total: $109.27

I can't say Dish has better quality either. Their HD is about the same, but their SD is nowhere near TW's. TW's analog will beat Dish's overcompressed SD any day. Ever try watching a Sabres game on Dish? Can you actually follow the puck?

I could care less if the picture is "digital" on every channel...digital means nothing. The resolution and quality are the same...matter of fact digital usually means compression, and that's worse.

Which is another thing...I couldn't switch to Dish until they carry the home Sabres games in HD like TW. DirecTV does, so they'd be an option, but:

Plus HD DVR Package...$72.99
Add. Rec.......................$30.00
RoadRunner.................$41.95

Monthly Total: $144.94

Dish isn't that much more...and I could see doing that if they got Sabres in HD. It'd be worth the extra then, but it's not now. DirecTV isn't worth it though.

I have TWC local basic now with my E* and their analog is not better than E* digital. Also, you don't need all those extra receivers. I have 7 tvs hooked up to two receivers. A 722 with hd output to a 48" hdtv and output 2 feeding four other tvs. The remore for the tuner 2 is uhf and will go thru walls etc, so you don't need a box in every room. Furthermore, when the 722 is connected to the internet or phone line there is no additional receiver fee for tuner 2. My other hdtv is hooked up to a 211 receiver. There is a $7 monthly fee for that receiver.

On TWC, how many boxes do you have, and what are you paying for them and the dvr fees? Also, Compare the Bflo HD lineup on TWC with that of Dish or Directv and you will find twc, is no where near the value. BTW, will twc give you 5 hd cinemax for a penney a year??

 

[Andrewwski]

No, I'd need a tuner for every room. What you've described would work fine if you only want to watch 2 different programs in your house, but I need to keep independent viewing capability on every TV.

I don't know what kind of E* picture you're looking at, but I've seen both at the same time and there's no comparison. E*'s are so overcompressed it's noticeable on a small TV too. I've watched numerous Sabres games on a 27" SD CRT TV on Dish, and I can still see all sorts of motion artifacts and tell the picture's too compressed.

I have one box with TW and I pay $7.33/month for it plus $6.95 for DVR service. More expensive than E*, but I don't need any more than one of them.

I'm not concerned with what E* has, it's what they don't have. Sure, 5 HD Cinemax for a year sounds nice and all, but I'd much rather have the Sabres in HD.

 

[Islandguy43]

I have one box with TW and I pay $7.33/month for it plus $6.95 for DVR service. More expensive than E*, but I don't need any more than one of them.

.

So you are telling me you pay only 7.33 a month for a HD-DVR, plus an additional $6.95 a month for DVR Service?

 

[Andrewwski]

Yes, I listed it all out in the first post. $89.95 for service (digital cable and internet), $5 for the "variety tier" (extra channels), $7.33 to lease the box and $6.95 for DVR service.

 

[Islandguy43]

Yes, I listed it all out in the first post. $89.95 for service (digital cable and internet), $5 for the "variety tier" (extra channels), $7.33 to lease the box and $6.95 for DVR service.

Well if you are gonna compare costs you need to add the other tiers also, i.e. movies, sports and hd networks, plus the fact you need additional STBs and their monthly rental fees to get any of those digital channels on other tvs. Oh and I don't recall TWC offering the NFL Network or 5 HD channels of Cinnemax for a penney a year.

 

[Andrewwski]

I already added those in when I factored the costs. I may soon add the sports one for an extra $4 a month, which is still cheaper.

I already said that I could care less about Cinemax for a penny. And while I'd like NFL Network, I can live without it.

I'm in no way saying TW is better than Dish. But at this time, it's the better choice for me. If Dish can add the Sabres in HD, then I might be willing to switch. But until then, I won't even consider it.

On a more positive note though, TW just added ESPNU in HD yesterday. And they now have on their website "MORE HD CHANNELS COMING THIS FALL" in big, bold letters. At least that's a step in the right direction.