TWC marketing

[Gregg Lengling]

I wasn't home the other day when they called and the wife told them to call back, but the conversation was to get me to buy their new HD package.  My wife got the understanding that they are adding 10 or more HD channels this month.  Anyone else get a phone call??:huh?:

[Mikey]

I've heard nothing.  I've seen nothing.

Don't you think they'd be shouting this from the rooftops if it were true?

I think that sales rep was flat lying.

[gparris]

Gregg, that whole "pigs flying" thing TWC used to have for commercials is still going on...TWC folks like to do that to us HD subs - or future ones, like you.
Right now, it sounds like this current BS, about the 10 new HD channels seems like TWC is desparate for HD subs as its numbers are dropping in the face of U-Verse, DirectvHD and DishHD.

TEN (or more) NEW - HD channels?

THIS MONTH?

Seems like more like NINE, since they recently added the ONE: TBSHD.:rolleyes:
 
As for me, I am looking out my window right now, for those "flying pigs":rof:

[tschinner]

I've been taking a hard look at DirecTV these days so I emailed TWC to ask about their plans.  As you might expect, their response did not include any information regarding new HD channels.  They didn't even mention TBS-HD which they were days away from launching.  I'm with gparris - looking out the window.....

[gparris]

tschinner: Welcome back, I haven't heard from you for awhile now (maybe its just me).
TWC Marketing is strange stuff, but we can dream...why TWC called Gregg's home is beyond me.:huh?:
The info at the TWC kiosks is always entertaining, too, they always BS when I ask them anything since they're so well trained and all...:rof:

[Youth Minister]

I received a call from someone who identified themself as a rep from Time Warner.  They were asking if I wanted to "upgrade" to an HD package for an additional $2.99/mo (it may have been $3.99 - I don't remember for sure - I was in the middle of doing something else).  It was guaranteed for one year.  Not sure what they were exactly offering, because I wasn't interested - I already have D* and recently cut a deal from them to receive the Pemium Package (all channels including HD and DVR service) for $99/mo.  Having been a "valued customer" since 1999, they are in effect, not charging me the extra for HD and DVR services

I currently only receive the basic local channels and a few of the other basic channels from Time Warner  This gets me Ch. 58, Ch. 10, Ch. 18 and Ch. 24 in HD that aren't provided through D*.  The rep - who was reading his copy at about a  2nd grade level - literally stuttering and stammering - mentioned I'd get HD Net & Hd Net Movies.

[gparris]

Youth Minister: Sounds like you have two bills to pay for HDTV service DirectvHD and TWC HD locals, something I did in the past, but no more.

Nice Directv package, BTW, seems there is still no real "Premier plus HD" package listing yet, so its usually $99.99 + $9.99 as the Premier Directv package always had included the DVR access fee in it at no extra charge:

You are still saving $120/year with the basic $9.99/month fee waived.
Now, I DO hope that includes the new $4.99/month HD upgrade fee for the newer Directv HD channels that are not "clones" of the SD channels, currently waived.
Note: In this upgrade fee, you will get those new HD channels that do not have SD equivalents like HGTVHD, Smithsonian HD, HDNET and so on.
Question for your Directv CSR: Will you/do you get these free at no extra charge after the Directv grace period, too?
(then you saved $180/year).

For TWC HD customers, the HD channels of HDNET, HDNET Movies, Universal HD and MOJO are the only HD channels offered in the HD Package for $6.95/month.

From what I can tell about your "offered pricing", you are getting it for about half off, which is what it is worth, since we used to get 6 HD channels for that price when ESPNHD was included and INHD2 existed.

My advice to you is ignore the TWC second-grade reader's "offer" and keep what you got.

[Youth Minister]

Yeah, it's a little steep, but my wife is a Weather Channel junkie and likes the local cutaways on the 8's.  Plus, we are forever entertained by the best comedy on TV - the local common council meetings.

I was VERY specific with the CSR and she put notes into the account that this pricing was to be grandfathered.  The only thing I have to do (supposedly) is call once a year to have them "renew" it because they can only program it for 1 year at a time.

I'm not interested in the small HD upgrade from TWC because it offers nothing that I don't already have as far as I can tell.  I have thought about looking into a rooftop to get the other locals in HD that I don't get from D* so that I could drop TWC altogether, but haven't really looked into it - and we'd lose the above mentioned Common Council and Weather Channel.  If carriage agreements were ever reached on these other local HD's, tho...

[gparris]

My spouse, too, demands the "Weather on the 8's" from TWC, but if you can get the channel 4 subchannel OTA, I think, it has the equivalent on TWC channel 104.
I DID mention the Weather Channel HD now on DirectvHD, but that didn't grab as well as those 8's missing if we had only Directv.
You know, if you have internet, the same thing is available, too, so I don't know why the habit is still hanging on for those '8's".:huh?:

Anyway, I priced TWC's simplest package just to get HD locals with HD DVR without any other adders, then added the Directv Premier package with HD  (four boxes) and it was costly (for us) having both.
I have space on the racks for two HD DVRs and places for A/V cable links to the AVRs, so that is not an issue, either.
Once you get used to recording on an HD DVR, you never go back, so I will assess now the type of antenna,(if the Squareshooter antenna will actually workout in my location) or if CBSHD and CWHD are still worth it (or ignoring these), staying with their SD versions only, going a straight Directv-only route.

[brewtownska]

Youth Minister,

Forgive me if I have misread anything, but it sounds like you have DirecTV and TWC's basic package just so you can get the locals in HD via TWC.  Do you have Roadrunner from TWC as your internet solution?  If so, you might be able to drop TWC's cable (keeping Roadrunner), and still see the HD locals on the line.  Of course, you'd need a TV or a 3rd-party box that can process the QAM signal, but it would cost you nothing each month.  I imagine the price of a used QAM box on Ebay is about the same as the price of an antenna, but this way you don't need to deal with installation of an antenna.
I can pick up all the HD channels you mentioned you wanted (Ch. 58, Ch. 10, Ch. 18 and Ch. 24 in HD) as well as 4, 6, 12 and a few other oddballs that show up only sometimes using this method (only difference is I'm currently paying for the TWC analog cable which is like $34.95/mo, then using my own Samsung HD box for the HD channels via QAM).

Mike

[jkane]

There are 4 local weather radar screens on local channel 10's digital feed.  :p

I don't have directv, but dish has an interactive weather channel that gives local weather for any place you want 24 hours a day on demand.  Don't have to wait until on the 8 to get it.  You can set up a few favorite local cities for quick retrieval too.  Directv must have something just like that.

I too am a weather junkie.  I've gotten over it with Dish.  I record local news every morning and skip forward to the weather so I don't have to watch the other useless stuff.  In the middle of the day, I can go to the interractive channel.  Or better yet, I've got a few places I go on my computer to keep up with weather real time.  My favorite is wunderground.com.  Fantastic national maps so I can figure out for myself what's happening and whats next.

[gparris]

Maybe those new October HD channel additions will be something like this:
http://www.timewarnercable.com/PiedmontTriad/programming/hdtvnets.html

We already have MyNetwkHD (when it actually offers some HD) for local HD access and the Universal HD channel in the TWC HD package, so that would mean an additional 8 HD channels since we just got TBSHD for baseball equalling nine new HD channels, though I doubt more than that as Gregg's caller had mentioned ("ten or more").
This is for another TWC area, but its a hopefully a good example of what was meant.

Looks like the start date could be next week or later this month, provided the TWC caller was not jerking anyone's "HD chain", so to speak.
While it doesn't include any Sci-Fi or USAHD channels (my choice) it is a start, but by no means it is anywhere near what Directv or Dishnetwork offer in HD channel availability.

[LoadStar]

Beggars can't be choosers, but that said, I'd rather see the Discovery networks than most of these.

[gparris]

TWC's Carolina Region near-future HD channel additions are a good mix of offerings, though - there is something for everyone to like in HD.

The other 4 HD Discovery "family" of HD channels, Animal Planet HD, TLCHD, Discovery HD and ScienceHD channel offer SD stretched with of course, more HD,  but these aren't true HD all the time like HD Theater is right now, though they are trying to bring that total up to 100% from what I read in avs.

[RLJSlick]

Doing my weekly research I found two sites that claim that TWC maybe ready to add a bunch more HD channels:

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352822091

http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/09/24/time-warner-cables-new-hd-channels-in-october/