Does anyone else hate Time Warner Cable besides me? (apartment, renting)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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We're getting the DVR tomorrow and my son just left a place in PA where he used TIVO. He had TIVO for many years and really enjoyed being able to program the unit from the web if you were out and forgot to schedule a recording.
TIVO costs more than DVR if you have TWC digital. Also, TIVO only has a 90 day full warranty on the units. After 90 days up to a year, you must pay a "labor" charge to exchange a failed unit. It begins at $59.99.
TIVO also requires a minimum one year commitment or you pay a termination fee. DVR has no commitment and can be returned within 30 days to TWC for refund.
HD DVR can be obtained at same price. Free swap if you buy HD later.
Dave will be trying the TWC DVD tomorrow night. TWC even will install it free if you ask for their special deal.
For those of you who have experience with both, what are the differences between Time Warner's DVR and TiVo? What makes TiVo better? I have heard people complain about TW's DVR, but I've never heard specifically why it's so bad.
Note: I'm trying to convince Mr. Steel that we need a DVR, so I'm gathering info.
We have both. I got a TIVO right before we had my second son since I figured I'd be asleep during some of my primetime shows and awake in the middle of the night. It's an old unit which only stores 40 hours (at low quality). We paid the one time $299 activation fee so if it lasts a while it will be cheaper than the DVRs from Time Warner. I now use it in my excercise room so I can watch the news without commercials. One disadvantage is it plugs into a phone line so it needs to be near an outlet. We also have two HD DVRs from TW. They are great. They are dual tuner (which I believe is an option on the new TIVOs) so I can record two programs at once. DVRs are great. We rarely watch commercials. You can start an hour program 20 minutes in and still finish at the same time. If I go out and forget that my favorite show is on it will be taped when I'm home. If you like tv, I highly recommend one.
For those of you who have experience with both, what are the differences between Time Warner's DVR and TiVo? What makes TiVo better? I have heard people complain about TW's DVR, but I've never heard specifically why it's so bad.
Note: I'm trying to convince Mr. Steel that we need a DVR, so I'm gathering info.
Overall TiVo has much better menus and user interface. You also have an option to get a bigger unit (more expensive) and store more programming. The TWC DVR is limited to 20 hours of HD recordings. The new TiVo generation has also many other features other than recording shows (download movies from the internet/Amazon, stream music , etc). Also you can schedule recordings remotely from any computer on the Internet.
The main problem is that TiVos (the current generation) relies on "CableCards" and Time Warner is upgrading their network to a system that is incompatible with CableCards (Switched Digital Video). That means your TiVo will not work if you are in a location where TWC upgraded their network. More info here
CableCARD - Time Warner Cable (http://www.timewarnercable.com/nc/products/cable/cablecard.html - broken link)
It's possible that this problem gets resolved sometime in the future and TiVos and other equipment that rely on CableCard with be compatible with this new video distribution technology, but who knows. I guess that's one good example of how a monopoly can kill great technology
TWC - Think of it as Monopoly and they hold Boardwalk and Park place and have Hotels on each. If you pass over them you collect $200 for passing Go. If you land on them you go bankrupt! That is the choice we are given as consumers when there is 'ONE' cable wire entering our houses.....and who owns it? You got it, owners of Park place and Boardwalk!
Tivo should get out of the business of making/selling DVR's and just license their software to cable & satellite companies. I've had a Tivo of some variety since 2001 and they have always been rock solid. No software problems, never a missed show. When I had a Directv SD DVR I couldn't believe how terrible it was - I had to babysit it to make sure it actually recorded what I wanted. I've heard that the HD DVR's are better, but honestly I don't even want the headache.
I love my DVR. Hey, I am up north and we have Cablevision. Same BS. We can't get on demand movies, our signal freezes at times, we lose the menu some times. BUT, I had satellite in a previous house and that stinks too. People think that because it is "wireless" is it better. Nope. The satellite has to be angled just right to catch the signal (and a lot of things like trees etc. can block the signal) then it is all wires into your house. I had worse problems with satellite. Let's face it, technology is good - but never seems to be good enough.
I could fill a novel with the problems we have had with them since starting our service. Most of it was in the first couple of months, and we have only had service for about 9 months. We are currently on our 3rd DVR box (never moved it and barely used it). We have had 6 technicians out (4 from when we first moved to our home 3 months ago), our billing is so screwed up that I have stopped trying to fix it (long story- part is for home service and part for my home office set-up)...what else can I say? I do admit that at the moment, things seem to be going very smoothly. I noticed however that the cable menu style changed a few weeks ago back to the style I had before they changed my box and told me that the new menu was the standard. I don't even want to hassle with it-so I am just going to live with it. That said, I have noticed that the service here in Durham (Brightleaf at the Park) is much better than in Cary...not sure why.
I had Comcast in California and never once had a problem in 8 years of service.
Well, I guess it just depends on your neighborhood maybe. I had great service from TWC when I was in Durham. Now that I'm in Denver I really miss TWC since Comcast is terrible here. I can't get half of the HD channels I'm supposed to get, and on-demand is very very slow. Comcast HD channels also look very compressed, compared to TWC in Durham. If another Comcast customer service person tells me to reset my cable and wait an hour to see if I get my channels back, I'm gonna shoot myself!
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I despise TWC!
