TWC and Tuning Adapters

[UncleMeat]

I'll let everyone know what I can find out tomorrow.  I am going to call in tomorrow and find somebody who can give me a real answer.

[spolebitski]

I went to TWC (Mayfair) and explained that I did not want to pay the service increase if I still do not have the Tuning Adapter in which I can receive channels via sdv.  I was speaking to a Supervisor (of course they knew nothing about the tuning adapter) and was unwilling to authorize any type of credit to make up the difference of the price increase because in her words "I have no idea how long we would extend you this credit".

She did give me the name of her supervisor who is Tyler Colby (tyler.colby@twccable.com).  If you want it can't hurt to do the same and say that you do not want to pay an increase fee until the tuning adapter is available.  I made it clear i will pay my bill, but i don't want to pay the increase until the tuning adapter is made available to cable card customers.

[TiVo Dude]

Any word yet, UncleMeat?

[akam2]

http://www.timewarnercable.com/Wisconsin/products/cable/sdv/default.html

click order form on the bottom, it will get you on the list to get the adapter

[nick3092]

http://www.timewarnercable.com/Wisconsin/products/cable/sdv/default.html

click order form on the bottom, it will get you on the list to get the adapter

The question isn't how to get on the list.  It's if anyone knows when they will actually be available.  This link was already posted in this thread.

[VictorWI]

The question isn't how to get on the list.  It's if anyone knows when they will actually be available.  This link was already posted in this thread.

Later this year came and went.  Has anyone received an adapter?  Considering TW (don't ask why) but not unless I can use TiVo's HD box.

[sknaf]

I have a couple S3 boxes, and would like to use them for more than OTA.  I use TW for my internet, so I already have the cable to the house, but unless they come up with a solution for SDV I am not going to pay them for anything more.  Also I ready that the S3 cannot handle the mutli cards, so I would need 4 cards * $4/month each.  So at an extra $16 a month + $40 to "hook them up" seems out of line for pricing.

  -Knaf

[TiVo Dude]

Here's my darkly amusing chat transcript with a TW-Milwaukee CS rep today:

(I posted a question regarding the tuning adapters in the login screen)
Nicole:    Good morning.
TiVo Dude:    Hi
Nicole:    I have not heard anything about us getting a adapter.
Nicole:    I apologize for the inconvenience, but no new information has come out about that.
TiVo Dude:    So what about the FCC ruling that says TiVo users have a legal right to the same content as users who have TW cable boxes?
TiVo Dude:    That seems to apply here.
TiVo Dude:    I get a grand total of six HD channels at the moment.  I believe TW offers three or four times that many.  And TW's own website said that we would have tuning adapters by the end of 2008.
Nicole:    I understand that.  To my understanding, the adapters and still is beta testing to make sure that they work.
TiVo Dude:    So do we have an ETA at this point?
Nicole:    At this time, we still do not have one.
TiVo Dude:    So does it seem accurate to say that I'm paying the same amount of money for cable as everyone else and getting about 1/4 as many HD channels?
Nicole:    Looking at the account, you are paying less for digital cable then other customers. With or without the cable box and cable cards.
TiVo Dude:    How so?
Nicole:    Right now you pay about $15.00 for the cable services.
Nicole:    Looks like you get your standard cable services with the place that you live.
Nicole:    So you only pay for the extras on the account.
Nicole:    The extra channels (100-199) that you asked for and the cable card.
TiVo Dude:    Unless everyone else with digital cable at my apartment complex only get five HD channels, I don't quite see what that has to do with my problem.
Nicole:    I don't know what everyone else in your apartment complex has as far as cable services.  You were sent a letter stating that this was going to happen.  I also believe that there was a offer to upgrade the services at a discounted rate.  At this time, there nothing that I would be able to do.
Nicole:    I have nothing to discount the services that you have.  And the Road Runner services are already discounted to $21.80 and  month.
TiVo Dude:    So I'm paying for digital cable with HD access, and because I have a TiVo I don't recieve most of those HD channels, and even though the FCC requires equal access to cable services for third-party hardware users, and even though Time-Warner Cable is already issuing tuning adapters in other markets (such as Austin, TX), I have no reason to seek a remedy?  I realize that this is not your fault, but speaking to the situation in general, that seems pretty unfair.
Nicole:    I understand that, however, you have that option to go and get a HD box until we get the adapter.  We also have the DVR as a option.
TiVo Dude:    So I have the option of paying more money to buy/rent equipment that the FCC has ruled I shouldn't have to buy/rent if I have a TiVo and a CableCARD?  I question the legality of that.
Nicole:    That is the only thing that I can think of to resolve the issue that you are having.  If you get a HD box, we would be able to discount the cost of it. But that would be the only thing that would resolve the issue at hand.
TiVo Dude:    Let me try a different avenue here.  TW Austin is already issuing tuning adapters.  Now, I understand that TW Austin is not TW Milwaukee, and that different areas are going to progress at different rates, but wouldn't it be fair to assume that someone somewhere at TW Milwaukee would know (or at least have an estimate) of when the tuning adapters will be available?
Nicole:    If there was someone who knows, they are not telling anyone.  I have just asked 2 Lead reps, they assist the supervisors, and my supervisor, there has not been any new news that came out about them.  We all know that TW Austin has them, but they are still is beta testing. If I had any new news about it, I would love to let you know. But I don't.
TiVo Dude:    Fair enough.  Well, since I'm already paying for a TiVo subscription and have no desire to tack an additional box rental on top of that, and since the tuning adapters promised to me by TW before the end of 2008 are still nowhere to be seen, and since there is apparently no way to discount my package even though I'm not receiving full service, I guess I'll just get back to watching my few available HD channels and hope that the higher-ups at TW take some pity on the TiVo users sometime soon.  But really, thanks for putting up with my ranting here.  I'm sure this isn't your favorite type of chat to deal with...
Nicole:    I have talked with you before. I know that is it hard when you have a TiVo. If there was any other way, I would be the first to let you know.  If you have any questions or just want to know an update, please let us know.
TiVo Dude:    Alright, thanks for your help and clarification.
Nicole:    You are welcome.

I felt kind of bad picking on poor Nicole, as this is obviously happening above her paygrade, but still, this is getting kind of ridiculous.

[ArgMeMatey]

I felt kind of bad picking on poor Nicole, as this is obviously happening above her paygrade, but still, this is getting kind of ridiculous.

I haven't kept up but Milwaukee used to regulate cable services, as did most of the burbs.  Maybe the state is doing that now since the new 207 legislation passed.  I think it was 207, anyway.  Of course it could be that digital services aren't regulated locally.  

My point is that if TW is in violation of the FCC rules, your transcript would be a pretty good starting point for a complaint to the FCC, or state or local regulators.  If your complaint were found to have merit, TW would probably be required to provide a remedy or face fines.  

You could do a bit of advance work on the merit issue and propose to TW that they give you a DVR for whatever you would have paid for the necessary Cable Cards.  Something like that.

[TiVo HD XL]

Well if you have any faith left in TWC I've got what sounds like good news. 3 different TWC sources all saying the same thing.

1)  I just got off the phone with a "video specialist" from TWC. Much to my surprise she was familiar with the devices and had read some internal communication about them. She even knew they were for TiVo's. She indicated that the Tuning Adapters will be available for customers to pickup around the end of this month [January]. She had not been given a solid date but said they were supposed to be available earlier this month. She also said the adapters will be available at all the TWC "payment" centers.

2)  I also received an email today from TWC here's the transcript:

Dear Time Warner Cable Customer,

Thank-you for writing Time Warner Cable.

The tuning adapters should be available within the next week or two
for customers to retrieve.

Again, Thank-you for writing Time Warner Cable.
Consumer Contact Team-Time Warner Cable

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
Do you offer a Tuning Adapter? If not, when will one be available?

3) Also received the following email today from the waiting list:

January 12, 2009

Thank you for your request for the SDV Tuning Adapter.  Your Pre-Order has been received and your information recorded.  At this time the Tuning Adapter is not available in all TWC areas and we continue testing to ensure that this equipment meets the highest levels of customer satisfaction.  We expect the Tuning Adapters to be released sometime in January in many remaining areas of the country.   Although we do not have a specific release date for your area, once the Tuning Adapter becomes available a service representative will contact you to schedule the installation.

Thank you,

D. Jacobs
Corporate Tuning Adapter Desk
Time Warner Cable

[TiVo Dude]

Sounds cautiously optimistic, TiVo HD XL.  Out of curiosity, where are you located?

[TiVo HD XL]

Sounds cautiously optimistic, TiVo HD XL.  Out of curiosity, where are you located?

I'm in a Milwaukee area suburb using the Milwaukee Metro Lineup. Based on what I'm hearing from the Reps I'm planning to pick one up at either Mayfair Mall or in Cedarburg or where ever they show up around here. Mayfair Mall is the one they usually speak of though I hate travelling through malls. Of course I have to suspect that they'll run out of these devices given the mismanagement of this rollout thus far. I'll call and drive around until I find one. I just bought a TiVo HD XL and the CableCards install is scheduled to happen before next week. While I became a little upset reading of these stories of the freakish ineptness of TWC I can only imagine what it must be like to have waited for this device since last year especially since these simple devices were first demonstrated nearly a year or more ago and certified back last summer. And with TWC popping off all the good HD channels onto this SDV platform that must have sucked. I've noticed that most of what I watch seems to SDVed already leaving me with a useless big TiVo device if these folks don't stop dragging their feet. I myself just in the last week or so have spoken with about 9 or 10 different CSRs and only the last one I spoke with even had a clue. One guy told me that I was in the minority because there aren't that many CableCard installs out there as if to say who cares. He blamed the Federal Government for moving to slowly with the 2.0 standard (tru2way) and delaying the rollout and causing these issues. This same CSR told me that these devices would be coming from TiVo and not TWC. Why don't these people even read their own freakin' website for crying out loud? For goodness sake I literally spent like 20 minutes on the web and I know more about TWC and how they do business than 90% of their CSRs do. Heck I could pull up google and give better answers than they have given me. It's a sad state of affairs when only a few support people in a large company even have a clue. All most of them seem to be capable of is saying stupid things with authority and scheduling "truck rolls".

By the way, I just received another encouraging email from TWC today:

Dear Time Warner Cable Customer,

Thank-you for writing Time Warner Cable.

I have gotten information that the tuning adapters will available
for customers as of next week. I
apologize for the inconvenience, I know the transition is within
the next month. There was a delay
in the adapters being shipped.

Again, Thank-you for writing Time Warner Cable.
Consumer Contact Team-Time Warner Cable

[TiVo Dude]

Cool!  I hope this is truth from the mouth of TWC, even though that seems mutually exclusive.

I'm in Whitefish Bay myself, so it sounds like the info you received would hold true for me too.  If you track one down, be sure to post so I can try to follow your route to HD happiness!

[vixyswillie]

Has anyone spotted the tuners at the Mayfair Mall location, yet?

Patrick

[vixyswillie]

Update from TWC message I received today. Yet another delay. :bang:

Dear XXXX,

Thank-you for writing Time Warner Cable.

I apologize for the inconvenience. I was informed that the adapters will be available by the 15th of February, if not sooner. It appears there has been a delay in the shipment.

Again, Thank-you for writing Time Warner Cable.
Consumer Contact Team-Time Warner Cable