Kicking and Screaming to TWC

[Talos4]

Fortunately or unfortunately within the next several months my living arrangements will be changing.

I am a long time D* customer and will be forced to change to TWC. New digs face NE, no chance of a roof mount (common area) and definitely no chance for a southern view.  and no chance to change to a unit with a southern view, Balcony mounts are OK just won't work out for me. (not sure it would work anyway, heavily wooded area) I'm familiar with OTARD and will be renting not owning.

FIOS and U-verse are not available in that area.

Having not had TWC since 1996, I'm more than a little out of the loop with their gear and packages.  

I currently subscribe to the Total Choice + package, with an HR22 DVR

Several Questions:

Does TWC have a comparable package?

What's the latest greatest DVR TWC offers and is it any good?

I hear all this talk about Navigator, what's the scoop? Good, Bad?

I checked a thread from about 6 months ago where Jack went into some details about STB's & packages. Just wondering if there's anything new(er)

Any other info you guy's can provide would be very helpful.

Sorry for the long winded post, I just never thought I'd ever go back to TWC for anything but RR.  

Thanks

[Jack 1000]

That's a shame that you are forced into one provider and can't take the others.  I am sure others will chime in, but as far as Navigator is concerned its way better in terms of reliability compared to when it first came out!  However, basic features such as Keyword Description Search and Manual Recording are lacking.  They are coming out, but nobody knows when.

You need a good cable box.  Try to pick up a Samsung DVR or, (and I am not sure if our Milwaukee division has it) a Cisco 8600 DVR.  Or third choice would be a non-C SA-8240 or SA-8300 DVR.  Try hard not to get an SA/Cisco 8240-C or an SA/Cisco 8300-C box.  They are still slow.

I think I might have said in my original post to ask for the Digital Variety Package.  That gives you the best Digital Value for the money.  Digital Choice remains a rip-off at $5.00 more per month for only about five channels extra.

When you sign up with TWC, TELL THEM WHAT YOU PAID WITH DIRECT TV AND SEE IF THEY WILL GIVE YOU A COMPATIBLE RATE!  You should get locked in to a deal for 1-2 years.  Than, when your deal is about to expire, call and ask to renew and you will likely get a discounted rate again.  This is an area where TWC is way above the competition.  They are very good at offering deals when discounts are about to expire.  Not so with Dish systems or U-Verse.

They have great bundles for All in One for Phone, Digital Cable, and Road Runner Combined.  Ask about that too, or just any ala-cart deals on the services of interest to you.

Jack

[Talos4]

Thanks Jack,

Samsung or Cisco DVR got it.

I do realize that TWC's DVR's do not have the hard drive capacity of D*, I'll deal with it.

I still have to look at all the packages and figure out which on is best. Their website doesn't make it easy to do a side by side comparison.

I won't get their phone service I have no use for it, 3 cell phones between 2 people.

I'm sure I'll have more questions but thanks for the start .

[Jack 1000]

Thanks Jack,

Samsung or Cisco DVR got it.

I do realize that TWC's DVR's do not have the hard drive capacity of D*, I'll deal with it.

I still have to look at all the packages and figure out which on is best. Their website doesn't make it easy to do a side by side comparison.

I won't get their phone service I have no use for it, 3 cell phones between 2 people.

I'm sure I'll have more questions but thanks for the start .

The newest Cisco and Samsungs do have a 300 GB hard drive, (as opposed to 160 GB on the others.)  Portable drive expanders (E-SATA) ONLY run on Non-C and Non-Samsung DVR's. (Such as the SA-8240 or SA-8300.)  But if you get an SA-8240 or an SA-8300, you'll still have the smaller 160GB hard drive.

Jack