Respone To JSOnline Article RE: Kicking and Screaming....

[rdduke]

Addressed to tcuprisin@journalsentinel.com, with a carbon to Ms. Bev Greenberg, and posted to the AV Forum Board.

Good evening....

    Finally, someone in the News begins to cover this story.  On the forum boards, it has been a live topic since Navigator was first rolled out, outside of Wisconsin.

     While it is true, with some folks kicking and screaming, Navigator is being thrust onto the public - Ready or Not.   Ask yourself, is it really ready!!!.  Not from what I have seen, experienced and have been told.

   While I am not one of the kicking and screaming kind you refer to in your article, I have attempted to keep communication open enough to get info from Ms. Greenberg, and/or her staff.

    Note, I have been focused on Navigator longer than most knew it was on the horizon.      In fact, in a conversation with a TWC Senior Engineer, who was responsible for the rollout of Navigator in SE Wisconsin, he advised me in a phone call that they had to deploy Navigator to around 100 different DVR and set top boxes.  

    We talked about the revision level differences with each of those set-top and DVR boxes, given the same make and model, and I was advised, that although there would be issues at this level, they were not going to be developing Navigator to this level.  

    I personally asked for an issue list, but was advised that was confidential.  I chuckled, that the competition would love that.  I also asked for an opportunity to test and evaluate Navigator in my home prior to the full-scale roll out and was denied an opportunity.

   I admire the part in your article that advised that two new HD channels are coming in the next few months.  I hope to see that TWC lives up to your stated expectations given the fact you quoted dates to the end user community.

    But, really, honestly, two new HD channels.  Do not tell me you went all ga-ga over two HD Channels!  Yes, I am looking forward to the History Channel, as well. However, I am not willing to be placated with two new channels over Navigator's "homemade look and poor DVR performance” issues.  You’ll be happy to note, that New York is supposed to get 50 new HD channels, per reports.

    I think many folks would agree with me, that TWC should hold off on adding any new channels and get Navigator stable and operating at an acceptable performance level before they start adding to it.

    Your article seems to point that the folks are complaining along the lines you would expect them to.....slow performance.....poor graphics..  Your article defines their actions as "kicking and screaming"     Come on, give us a break, the issues go much, much deeper than that.  

   People that sit on these forums are intelligent and well-informed folks.  Some of these individuals are highly skilled professionals that do IT Consulting, Audio-Video  Consulting, IT and AV Systems Integration, and Quality Assurance and Testing.  Your failure to truly understand and comment on the true problems with Navigator somehow seems to diminish the talents that TWC could use a lot more input from.

    Do us all a favor, write us an article that talks about Navigator true issues that draws a conclusion that says, “No matter how much lipstick you put on that pig, it’s still going to be just a pig.”.

   Take the time to explore what has happened in other Markets where Navigator has been deployed, then write an article.  Yes, people complained about slowness and poor graphics there, but they also complained a lot more about what the DVR was about, the ability to record programs now or on a schedule and watch later, that they never got to watch.

   Look into what happened in Nebraska alone.  In May of this past year, a subcommittee's report recommended that TWC issue refunds to DVR subscribers for almost a 6-month period.  That is a lot of refunds, and lot of money.  You do not get to that level of redress without have a really, really, really, bad product (forgive the repeated words, but its true).

   Just what would you expect a TWC customer paying on average of $75 a month to put up with?    What issues do you suggest should be tolerated, and what issues should not be.  Yeah, slow performance and graphics that look less than appealing are not enough to complain about alone, I agree, but again, this is not the core issue here.

    I'll tell you what I've posted to the boards and have encouraged others to do the same, and this is what I've told Ms. Greenberg's staff I'm going to do.   I am going to track my issues, date and time.  I am going to call TWC with each one of them in.

  Then, I am going to forward them all up the chain to appropriate persons who handles complaints such as these.   From there, if enough people communicate and complain at the same level, then the authorities (state and federal level authorities) must look into the matter and decide for themselves.  

    If they, the authorities to whom I complain, believe there is nothing to the complaints, so be it, it ends there.   If they believe that TWC's Navigator and TWC's DVR service in SE Wisconsin is not operating at an acceptable performance level, then maybe they will step in and correct and/or remedy the situation between TWC and subscriber base and we will see a redress of the issues, much in line with what happened in Nebraska.

   Image only if, someone would rule that TWC released Navigator before it was ready to be deployed to the public, not just here in Wisconsin, but everywhere else in the country.


Thanks for your ear!

[leprechaunshawn]

Very well said.

Please keep us all up to date with any replies you recieve.

[vegasvic]

Very well said but you are asking Cuprisin to do some actual reporting instead of just reprinting TWC press releases.

[gparris]

Great reply, but Bev & Co. (TWC Wisconsin) don't care, don't want to care, don't want to know...period, IMO.

Your efforts and attempts to stop Navigator will not stop it from coming, as Tim C. is trying to point out, but there could be a way to end the whole TWC Navigator mess, perhaps over time, by the following:

1) A mass exodus of TWC payTV customers to other sources like satellite or U-Verse.
2) TWC being bought out by some other cable franchise like Comcast.
    (Here the govt. could on a state or federal level allow Comcast to buy them.)
3) TWC being sold to another owner (some discussion continues at the TW corporate level from what I have read).
4) TWC changes Navigator to finally work as fast as Passport does-the biggest gripe for most who are now "stuck" with it, including losing recordings.

[Jack 1000]

Great reply, but Bev & Co. (TWC Wisconsin) don't care, don't want to care, don't want to know...period, IMO.

Your efforts and attempts to stop Navigator will not stop it from coming, as Tim C. is trying to point out, but there could be a way to end the whole TWC Navigator mess, perhaps over time, by the following:

1) A mass exodus of TWC payTV customers to other sources like satellite or U-Verse.
2) TWC being bought out by some other cable franchise like Comcast.
    (Here the govt. could on a state or federal level allow Comcast to buy them.)
3) TWC being sold to another owner (some discussion continues at the TW corporate level from what I have read).
4) TWC changes Navigator to finally work as fast as Passport does-the biggest gripe for most who are now "stuck" with it, including losing recordings.

Well said,

I might add a #5.  They don't get the bugs worked out, and the higher up political people and mass subs force a class action suit claiming deception and fraud by TWC regarding Navigator's "improved" performance.  Right now, it is almost OVERWHELMING that the only people who see Navigator as a real upgrade or improvement are TWC reps.

The goal isn't to hurt TWC in my view, who do provide a wonderful Digital Phone and Road Runner Internet service, it is to improve Navigator to get it to such a standard that people would WANT the upgrade.  Can you imagine that turn-around?  What a shame that this product was not put in the hands of more competent/experienced program designers from the beginning!

The whole problem is that AN UPGRADE IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OVER THE PRODUCT THAT IT IS REPLACING.  IF A PRODUCT CAN'T DO THAT--IT'S NOT A TRUE UPGRADE. Simply little annoyance crap like, "My DVR can't record consistently with Navigator" is an inexcusable red flag in the product!  This refers to basic DVR box functions.  Those have to be tested and proven accurate with close to 90%-95% accuracy before TWC can even begin to expand on other unrelated Navigator issues.  This also includes more HD content.

What is so sad is what this product could have been if the developers had known what they were doing.

Jack

[markd]

... TWC in my view, who do provide a wonderful Digital Phone and Road Runner Internet service...

That's certainly debatable.  See some recent posts about RR shortcomings.  I have had zero problems with my digital phone over the several years I've had it, and it is the only service from TWC that I would "praise".  The price might be a little steep but I personally think I get a bargain with digital phone.  As for RR and Cable services...:bang:

[Bebop]

I have to agree. RR has been reliable. I had more rain fades than RR outages.

[LoadStar]

I have to agree. RR has been reliable. I had more rain fades than RR outages.

I love, love, LOVE my RR. Even if/when I leave TWC, I will definitely be keeping my RR service, no matter how much it costs. It's that good.

[Jack 1000]

I love, love, LOVE my RR. Even if/when I leave TWC, I will definitely be keeping my RR service, no matter how much it costs. It's that good.

Exactly Loadstar,

Anybody know who does Road Runner for TWC in terms of maintenance  and quality control?  Since Road Runner and Digital Phone have great track records, why can't the "Road Runner People" for example help make Navigator's guide go faster and get more reliable recordings from it?  (LOL!  Sounds like a B-grade horror movie, "The Road Runner People" hehehehe.)  By most accounts, TWC sure isn't using Road Runner to maintain the speed of Navigator!!!  

I thought that all of these services were supposed to be consolidated through their fiber optic lines?  Or is this an issue, where they might improve Navigator's speed to some extent, but it can't be as fast as Road Runner because the Java Applet is what's slowing the boxes down?  (But that still does not account for the DVR recording issues.)  Help us understand this, programing guys!  Thanks!

Jack

[rdduke]

TWc, in my conversation with them earliier this year, as we were dicsussing the pedning release of Navigator (see my other posts) asked if I were happy about Road Runner and Digital  Phone.   They asked if they could take that as an endorsement, and I said absolutely not, come back and see me after Navigator has been in my home for 90 days or longer.

   Yes, I stand by that, that an endormsent of one product, or more does from a company does not mean that I am satisified with the company as a whole and this case, TWC as a whole, and they were not to take my comments of acceptable service with RR and DP  as an endormsent.
 
   So be careful what you indicate you are satisifed with......You don't want to be misunderstood.

Thanks!

RDDuke

[Bebop]

One can't compare RR to Navigator software. TW's infrastructures as whole are very sounded.

The only way to compared those two is if RR has a mandatory browser and next update is worst than before. And you are forced to use it.