TW Costs

[oz]

Can someone please tell me the minimum monthly cost to receive HD signals via TW cable? I understand there is a monthly charge for the box, the remote, and the service. I received a brochure from TW with some prices but it only said things like digital cable is only $6.95 more per month. More than what?

[drgingras]

Welcome to MilwaukeeHDTV, oz !

Slightly off-topic:
I am NOT a TWC basher. We used their service "forever", until a customer service incident caused me to say 'Bye in '98. Gone but not forgotten.

We currently use a combination of Dish and OTA for HDTV. While I am extremely satisfied with my setup, the rest of the family hates it. Although I've overcome the technical challenge of 2 antennas, a rotor, 2 sat. boxes, 6 TV's, 2 PC's and massive quantities of amps, switches, remotes and RG6, the family members remind me ever-so-often about the "good old days" of cable-it was so easy to understand and use!

Back on-topic:
Despite all above (including TWC's apparent continuing lack of customer service/support), I want to keep an open mind about the possibility of giving my family the option of going back to the "good old days".
And maybe adding another method of HD reception to our home theaters (yes, 2 now).  Hey, gotta get something for the extra cost, right?

TWC Digital Package Costs Are Here

Can anyone else help with info on box and remote rental costs? Approx.tax,fees,etc.?

As a bonus, this may help other fence-sitting new and potential members to get hooked up (pun intended) with Tim C's low-overhead, entry-level HDTV experience.
Yes, I prefer the personal control afforded by OTA. Yes, I obviously am aware of long-term TWC rental charges vs. equipment ownership. These issues are not a concern for me. And, judging by past posts elsewhere on this forum, not viable options for others.

BTW, my Dish bill for 100 channels, 2 boxes, no locals (n/a) and HBO is $53.  Don't even ask about equipment costs. Let's just say that I've certainly done my part to keep the economy moving!
A past year's worth of $25/month discounts, prepaid DiscoveryHD, integrated digital OTA and occasional free Showtime/150 channel previews make this one a keeper for now.

Whew, too many cups of coffee this morning!

Dave


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I kinda thought that might happen ...

[oz]

Thanks! I'm glad I found this forum; it's great.  I've had some bad experiences with TW in the past too, so I'm not thrilled about giving them more of my money, but I want a cheap way of trying out HDTV for a few months so I can show my wife how great it is. It was difficult enough getting her to let me spend thousands for a new TV. I eventually want to get an over-the-air box or maybe satellite.  I already have Road Runner and basic cable ($12/month, no converter box) and I felt this was the easiest way to do it without a big up-front investment. Anyone know the box and remote rental costs?

[mr_yeti]

I think I pay $5.60 for the box, and $.35 for the remote monthly, but these prices might increase (I know, shocking) after the first of the year. I wouldn't keep the remote, as I have already programmed all of the codes into my learning remote, which te installer told me was impossible, by the way, but $.35 a month isn't a big deal.

By way of warning, however: prepare to be underwhelmed with the amount of HD material available on a regular basis. The Sopranos is nice, and some of the movies on HBO HD are worth watching, but for me at least, network sitcoms (I usually call them something else -- just insert an "h" where you think it appropriate) do not increase in quality just because they're HD.

If you're a sports fan, however, ABC is going to do the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals in HD this year, as well as Monday Night Football next season. I'll probably go with DirecTV by then, though. I rent now, so I don't want to put up a bunch of equipment that I'll just have to take down once I buy a house in the next 6 months or so. My 47" TV is enough trouble to move by itself.

[drgingras]

I seem to recall seeing a price (increase) flyer for TWC in my last Earthlink billing. Tossed it like a hot potato. Anybody still have it? Anything worth posting? Scanning?

Dave

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I kinda thought that might happen ...

[Mike Sura]

Digital cable starts at 39.95/month, cable box will be 6.60/month, remotes stay at .35/ month, HBO is 10.00/month. I have 2 boxes, one HD and one digital so my monthly bill will be 63.85 plus tax and cable fees. There is no difference in price for an HD box. Direct TV for 2 boxes with HBO should be 48.98/month without local channels. (I got this off the web site so if it's wrong, please correct me) Although the Direct TV is 15.00/month cheaper, I would need to invest about $1000 to recieve direct TV and OTA in high definition. I checked 1 internet seller, a samsung t-160 and s-75 with dish installation, etc was $780. Add two antennas, one for Chicago and one for Milwaukee, and all the stuff and I think I could hit $1000 easy. With direct TV's free equipment and installs it's the way to go until you say you want High Definition and Dolby Digital.

[StarvingForHDTV]

 

Originally posted by Mike Sura:
Digital cable starts at 39.95/month, cable box will be 6.60/month, remotes stay at .35/ month, HBO is 10.00/month. I have 2 boxes, one HD and one digital so my monthly bill will be 63.85 plus tax and cable fees. There is no difference in price for an HD box. Direct TV for 2 boxes with HBO should be 48.98/month without local channels. (I got this off the web site so if it's wrong, please correct me) Although the Direct TV is 15.00/month cheaper, I would need to invest about $1000 to recieve direct TV and OTA in high definition. I checked 1 internet seller, a samsung t-160 and s-75 with dish installation, etc was $780. Add two antennas, one for Chicago and one for Milwaukee, and all the stuff and I think I could hit $1000 easy. With direct TV's free equipment and installs it's the way to go until you say you want High Definition and Dolby Digital.

Yet another option is to get an Over the Air only set top box.  You will get high definition locals, but you will not get HBO-HD.  It's not necessary to get two antennas, as long as you are satisfied with the Metro Milwaukee content.  My guess is you could pick up a brand new OTA only set top box for maybe a few hundred dollars.  Antenna and wire, less than one hundred.  It doesn't have to be that expensive to experience HD.

Also, if you want to mix DirecTV in, you could always buy a used OTA/DirecTV set top box.  My guess is the cost of an older model would be much less than $800  I have heard that you can get the dish you need for DirecTV HD (minus Showtime HD capability) by signing up for a Para Todos package.  Installation would probably be included if you looked around.  You still need to buy an HD box with Para Todos, and an antenna if you want local HD programming as well.

I think the cost of going OTA HD is more reasonable than many people imagine.  The nice part is there is no bill coming each month.  Monday Night Football in HD could make the whole investment worthwhile all by itself.  Depends on the person I suppose.

Or if you have zero cash, just pay TWC each month. In the end, you have to pay for the content, one way or the other.  Whether you want to pay up front, or pay forever, is a personal decision.

Starving

[Mike Sura]

getting an OTA only box won't save me any money. Wife has to have HBO and I want ESPN. Just in case the right situation comes up I did buy the last radio shack double bow tie in Racine for $5.
If I would have had direct tv before I got my HD TV (and looking back now, I should have had it) I would have bought the HD box. But, I can't justify spending all that money to do it right and have a 60 month pay back. Now if Direct TV starts giving away HD boxes, I'll be first in line.

[gyoung]

Breakdown from my TW Cable bill:

Campaign at $39.95 per month: $39.95
HBO:.......................... $9.00
Cinemax:...................... $4.95
Digital/HD Converter:......... $5.60
Digitial/HDTV Remote:......... $0.35

Total Monthly Services:...... $59.85

Taxes & Fees:................. $6.53

Total:....................... $66.38

Hope that helps.  

[This message has been edited by gyoung (edited 12-31-2002).]