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Exit MA now: I once thought TWC delivered quality HD channels until I switched to satellite. There is no comparison, the satellite deliver clearer HD channels than TWC and at a lower cost.
Also, never had an issue with TWC content nor availability. Unfortunately their billing and Customer Service is where IMO they breakdown and lose credibility as a Customer Service driven company. Hopefully you never have an issue where you would have to deal with their Customer care that they can't immediate handle for you.
Also their remote office in Wake Forest closes from Noon to 1:30PM for lunch. I wonder what decade are they operating in? People get a lunch and like to run to pay their bills and the office is closed. I was amazed / glazes / debaffled when I saw that the other day!
I have had both and I am much happier with TWC over satellite as far as quality and reliability. I can't speak to the customer service issue, as I have never needed them with my quality service. I find customer service to be pretty poor with just about any company, so I wouldn't be surprised if TWC's is poor also. Luckily no need for it at my house. I am one of the lucky ones I guess.
It sounds like the publicity and customer scare tactic was more of a bluff/threat from TWC ......... I doubt TWC wanted to deal with the customer blow back and I HIGHLY doubt viacom wanted to answer to share holders and the companies who advertise with them to expalin why all of a sudden about a quarter of the market share they pay them to show commecials to is gone
It sounds like the publicity and customer scare tactic was more of a bluff/threat from TWC ......... I doubt TWC wanted to deal with the customer blow back and I HIGHLY doubt viacom wanted to answer to share holders and the companies who advertise with them to expalin why all of a sudden about a quarter of the market share they pay them to show commecials to is gone
Sounds like a quid pro quo to me.
This happens at the end of a lot of cable content provider contract.
We get the notices that there is a negotiation deadline and we will lose the content if an accord is not reached.
Each party slanders the other in public, and they kiss and make up prior to pulling the plug.
But, they need each other.
It's all kind of silly, but provides better theatrics than most cable channels offer.
I'm so happy I switched to direct tv months ago!! If I hadn't done it then, I would most certainy do it now... I must have Comedy Central!
The only thing that worries me about Dish is that it can be an inconvenience at times. Sure, most of the packages are cheaper monthly, but there are a ton of fees you have to watch out for. I just looked at DishNetwork packages, and there is a $99 activation fee unless you sign for a 2 year agreement. If you have two tvs in the house only one can be HD the other has to be regular, if you have 2 HDtvs you have to get another box, and that is an extra $7 HD Enabling Fee. What happens if your cable box stops working or a new model comes out? With Time Warner you just go to their office and get a new box for free. What happens if you move? You will either have to pay the cancellation fee or have it installed at your new place for a fee. If you only have 1 tv, and you do not plan on moving within 2 years then I agree Dish is probably the cheaper option. Their all HD packages are pretty appealing.
Honestly, I'm considering saying screw it all and going back to an antenna. You get all the local channels in HD for free, and if you buy a tuner card for your computer you can record whatever you want to your hard drive and never have to pay a monthly bill or fee. Most shows that are on cable can be watched on Hulu.com or their offcial website, or just download the torrent. Just think, if you cut out that $70 a month cable bill you are paying with a dvr box and taxes, that's $840 a year in savings. Netflix unlimited is only $8.99 a month. The only channel I would really miss is ESPN for sports, but you can find a lot of the games on the weekend are on the local channels anyways. To boot, the locals over an antenna usually come in clearer than cable or satalite because you are picking up the uncompressed signal over the air, while cable and dish have to compress the signal so they can fit all that information under their bandwidth restrictions.
I haven't had a cable or satellite bill in a year and a half.
If you have RoadRunner you can get all your locals in HD for free over cable via a QAM tuner, which most newer HDTVs have built-in. You don't even need an antenna.
Also, there are apps to stream both Hulu and Netflix Instant Watch content to your TV using your gaming console like your PS3 or XBOX360, or in my case a modified original XBOX. Check out PlayOn and TVsersity for some fairly easy options in that department.
I haven't had a cable or satellite bill in a year and a half.
If you have RoadRunner you can get all your locals in HD for free over cable via a QAM tuner, which most newer HDTVs have built-in. You don't even need an antenna.
Also, there are apps to stream both Hulu and Netflix Instant Watch content to your TV using your gaming console like your PS3 or XBOX360, or in my case a modified original XBOX. Check out PlayOn and TVsersity for some fairly easy options in that department.
Very interesting. How would it work if you have multiple televisions? What if you have it hooked up through a home theater system? What about recording? What about recording one channel while watching another? Will I be able to get all the channels I have now?
Very interesting. How would it work if you have multiple televisions? What if you have it hooked up through a home theater system? What about recording? What about recording one channel while watching another? Will I be able to get all the channels I have now?
It's certainly much less easy to use than just having cable and a DVR, that's for sure, and requires a bit of technical know-how to get it all setup and working smoothly. You'd need to centralize all of your TV watching on a computer and figure out how you're going to get your shows/movies on the computer to share it across the home network (PC based TV tuner via antenna or QAM, Hulu, whatever). Then use some sort of media streamer at each TV (just like you do a cable box) to play it on the TV. I currently have an original XBOX ($70 or less used) and installed XBMC on it which can then play back most content in near-HD quality, plus works as a DVD player. And of course you can play games on it if you so desire. You can also use commercial media streamers like Popcorn Hour (which can play 1080P content) and other devices. All of it can hook to a home theatre. Depending on the media streamers it can be a decent up-front-cost, but then costs nothing but an internet connection afterwards. Check out the AVS forums and XBMC forums for more details and ideas.
"It sounds like the publicity and customer scare tactic was more of a bluff/threat from TWC". Not true. I have a family member who works for TW. He was on conference calls and making arrangements to go dark on those channels. It was 11:50 pm when they were told to stand down. Many, many TW employees worked through their New Years Eve trying to save your beloved channels. This was no scare tactic. This was a squeeze tactic by Viacom to get more money.
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