my letter to TWC on HD and their response....

[gparris]

I got the same response back when I sent a similar letter, except mine also had a suggestive sell for HBO and Showtime tacked on to the end...:rolleyes:

Thanks for the feedback.

TWC wants you to get their pitiful twosome in HD for premium HD channels (HBO East HD and Showtime East HD), as they don't offer CinemaxHD, StarzHD or The Movie ChannelHD in our area, quite unlike many other areas of the country with TWC service, at no extra charge.

-Then there's DirectvHD, which offers TWELVE HD premium channels for about the same price now.:eek:

[kevbeck122]

I just clipped the best part out of the response.  They also tried to get me to order digital phone.  I don't see why they price it $39.95 when Vonage is $24.99 a month for basically the same thing (minus caller ID on TV, which I don't need).  I'm sure there are cheaper options than Vonage too.  I suppose they charge an extra $15 for the extra bandwidth they're giving you for the phone portion, if they're even doing that.. plus the convenience of one bill and one device for internet/phone.

[LoadStar]

I just clipped the best part out of the response.  They also tried to get me to order digital phone.  I don't see why they price it $39.95 when Vonage is $24.99 a month for basically the same thing (minus caller ID on TV, which I don't need).  I'm sure there are cheaper options than Vonage too.  I suppose they charge an extra $15 for the extra bandwidth they're giving you for the phone portion, if they're even doing that.. plus the convenience of one bill and one device for internet/phone.

Yeah, when they heard I had Vonage, they tried to give me the hard sell on their service. The amusing part when I just turned off was when they tried to convince me that their Digital Phone was not Voice over IP, and therefore it was better than Vonage.

[jeffski]

or move to Richfield or other sporadic communities which Charter serves. As bad as TWC can be,I've heard horror stories about Charter.

[jeffski]

I just clipped the best part out of the response.  They also tried to get me to order digital phone.  I don't see why they price it $39.95 when Vonage is $24.99 a month for basically the same thing (minus caller ID on TV, which I don't need).  I'm sure there are cheaper options than Vonage too.  I suppose they charge an extra $15 for the extra bandwidth they're giving you for the phone portion, if they're even doing that.. plus the convenience of one bill and one device for internet/phone.

caller id on tv...whats that? :rolleyes:  I'm last in line for that upgrade of that feature just because I have hd dvr :rolleyes:

[Snoogins]

So, *that's* why I haven't received the Navigator (and hence CID-on-TV) upgrade on my 8300HD??  I received it ages ago on my old SD cable box downstairs, and I wondered what the heck was taking so long on the main HD-DVR.  I seriously thought they just overlooked me. :cool:

Mind you, I'm not really complaining.  As others have noted, the "new" interface looks circa 1994, and responds about as fast. :rolleyes:

So, is it delayed on HD-DVR's because the CID graphic isn't HD yet, or is there some other issue?  I'm just curious...

[kevbeck122]

I heard there was an issue with the 8300HD and Navigator, so it won't be pushed out til closer to the end of the year.  I don't have specifics though.  I know the 8300HDC's already have it and the only difference with those is the cablecard slot.  I personally think it's a downgrade.  I was glad when I traded my HD box for an HD-DVR and got the Passport software back.  You should have caller ID on the 8300HD now... I saw the channel (199) pop up within the past week.

[LoadStar]

So, *that's* why I haven't received the Navigator (and hence CID-on-TV) upgrade on my 8300HD??

No, because they have a version of the Caller ID software for the Passport based 8300HD's. I noticed channel 199 show up about the same time as everyone else on mine.

Of course, I was amused to see it, since I don't have TWC Digital Voice, but it was interesting to see it JUST now show up when they've been advertising it for months.

[Paul S.]

I'm still stickin with cable. I don't have $400 to drop on a box everytime a new one comes out or when my old one breaks.

[tunce]

I'm still stickin with cable. I don't have $400 to drop on a box everytime a new one comes out or when my old one breaks.

You don't have to.  My D* HR-20 broke and I was sent a new one even without the shipping cost.  That is even without there stupid warranty plan.  Just be nice and firm and they will bend over backwards for you - at least that is my experience.  Oh yeah and I never paid 1 penny for the HR-20 and new 5-lnb dish to start with either.  All free through retention.

[gparris]

Good news:
I did the price comparison on the DirecTV website and I saved about $30/month=$360/year from dumping TWC for HD Cable.
Bad news:
-It did ask me to cough up $800 in "lease fees" for three HD DVRs to match my three 8300HD DVR from TWC and one standard SD box, not including the squareshooter antenna for CBS58HD/CW18HD Directv does not offer in my zipcode, quite unlike my Chicagoland subs directly to my south.

-So I am waiting for a better deal from Directv and the assurance I will get the CBS58HD and the CW18HD channels in my current location with that antenna for recording all my favourite CBSHD/CWHD shows on those HR20s.

[tunce]

If you call directv you will get a much better deal then you will on their web site.  Just tell them that you are thinking of dumping time warner and let them know what equipment you have and ask them if they will match it.

[RLJSlick]

I agree with you Paul, I have too much invested in my equipment now, to change over to a satellite system.
The real thing I'm seeing here, is that just maybe TWC finally gets it. That if they don't work harder they will lose out. Though they are slow to get some of the HD channels, they are slowly getting them. We have to understand that TWC is fairly large, and it may take a bit longer (a bit too long).
It's nice to see that things are happening, I think maybe TWC is getting a bit worried and now know they need to move forward.
We will see.

[jkane]

I agree with you Paul, I have too much invested in my equipment now, to change over to a satellite system.

I'm confused! I thought the best part of cable was no investment?

[gparris]

jkane, I think what RLJSlick means is that there is a good amount of A/V equipment in the home already and DirecTV's equipment is just another piece of equipment.
For example, if I added DirecTVHD to my equipment racks, like the HR20 with the 8300HD, I have to invest some time, cabling and space for it, unless I dumped cable altogether right away. Maybe this is what was meant.
You're right, cable has no equipment investments, just the bill you get each month for equipment fees, service fees and programming costs, but if you cancel it altogether, you may incur cable installation costs all over again if you change your mind and start up with it again.:
This is something DirecTV does not have, unless you are getting a HR20 ($299-$99 or free, if you complain long enough).