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December 1, 2008
Cable Provider: Time Warner or Direct TV
I have had increasing trouble with Time Warner digital service and am thinking about the switch to Direct TV. Does anyone have thoughts on the two providers? If you have Direct TV how is the service?
Comments
Time Warner bites. But you already knew that. I wish Verizon would get their act together so we could try theirs.
Posted by: cornetor at December 1, 2008 2:08 PM
My only problem with Direct TV is that the signal is always interrupted by thunderstorms and bad weather. I don't know if that's because of where my antennae is on the roof, or because of the strength of the signal from the satellite through the upper atmosphere. It's very annoying.
Posted by: Montrose Morris at December 1, 2008 3:39 PM
Yes, I have Dish and it happens often enough to be annoying. About once a week. And Dish charges extra for digital service, I think TW does not?
Posted by: cmu at December 1, 2008 4:28 PM
Sounds like DirectTV/Dish isn't much better. I also have regular issues with Time Warner (they've been out to the home almost monthly - can't find a permanent solution). Has anyone heard any feedback on FIOS? I'm going to switch as soon as it's available in my 'hood.
Posted by: Biff Champion at December 1, 2008 4:57 PM
Time Warner is the bane of my existence. I once physically attacked a time warner service guy I was so driven over the edge by their HORRIFIC service. I've increased my meds since then.
Posted by: gkw at December 1, 2008 6:07 PM
We have direct tv and are fed up. To second MM's post - our signal ALWAYS goes out as well, but not just during bad tstorms but even when it rains.
Anyone use Optimum???
Posted by: gemini10 at December 1, 2008 8:57 PM
optimum-no major issues. TW not offered in our area.
Posted by: bkny at December 1, 2008 10:24 PM
gkw, I know that feeling, although I've never physically attacked the cable guy. I didn't have problems like this until moving to the new place. If nothing else, at least others here are confirming I'm not the only one with TW issues that seemingly can never get fixed. Misery loves company...
Posted by: Biff Champion at December 2, 2008 8:45 AM
We canceled TW after being fed up with them -- lousy customer service and overpriced IMO (once the initial discount expires). We now use Directv and it works great -- I've noticed interruption of the signal only once in the last 18 months.
The only problem with Fios that I have heard is that Verizon kills your existing line for good, which means that your landline going forward will be permanently dependent on a power source. If that doesn't bother you, it's probably worth checking out; after the last blackout I intend to stick with an old fashioned wire as long as possible.
Posted by: Boerumresident at December 2, 2008 9:00 AM
Boerumresident, thanks for the info. Every time TW fails (and I have to go through hell of calling them and sitting around for hours waiting for them), I swear to switch to something else. I'm not quite sure what you mean wrt FIOS killing your existing line for good and depending on a power source. With TW, I'm obviously dependent on a power source to keep the TVs on anyway.
Posted by: Biff Champion at December 2, 2008 9:10 AM
Out here in NJ, Cablevision made me miss TW. Service was simply awful, with TV picture going out at least two or three times a week, extremely slow internet access and terrible customer service. As soon as FIOS became available I switched, and am very glad I did.
Posted by: Iris at December 2, 2008 10:48 AM
Iris, sounds like the only unanimously positive solution so far is FIOS. Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to sign up for it as soon as it's available. I was considering DirectTV, but it sounds like it's not much more reliable than TW.
How was the installation/conversion process to FIOS? Can you do your phone and cable through it? Any service issues so far with it?
Posted by: Biff Champion at December 2, 2008 10:57 AM
FIOS installation seemed to be a lot more complicated than cable; there's a lot of hardware for one thing, at least out here in the burbs. A fairly large box was mounted to the outside of the house, a smaller box is attached to the wall inside. In addition to this, there's a regular-looking cable box, and a router for phone and internet. Because I run a Mac, some experimentation was needed to sync up with my with my Aiport, but the installer was great. Whole process took about three hours. Only problem I've had in the past year has been with my phone, which goes out from time to time. (I'm not sure, though, that this is actually a FIOS problem, cause I get my VOIP through Vonage.) The TV picture is spectacular, and a big improvement from cable. Internet is also very fast, and consistently fast, unlike my old cable connection.
Posted by: Iris at December 2, 2008 1:26 PM
I run a custom A/V business and I can say that DirecTV has a significantly better HD picture than TW. I think in the city it it split too much. I am always seeing color-blocking on TW HD picture.
They also have far superior HD-DVR's Every issues I have ever had is with TW's hd-dvr. they are terrible.
I also have DirecTV at my house and love it (NFL ticket helps). Yes during bad storms I have lost a picture, but I do not have to deal with TW's constant outages or bad customer service.
If your DirecTV picture is going out when there is not a storm, you may have an issue with the aiming of your satellite.
Posted by: remyching at December 2, 2008 1:45 PM
Iris, thanks again for all of the helpful info. It's very much appreciated. It sounds like the switch from TW is a no brainer. I'm actually more concerned about losing cable (Internet and TV) access than the phone - my cell is always a perfectly fine backup and I'm not a chit chatterer (despite my personality on this blog!)
remyching, thanks for your comments too. I guess the concensus is nothing sucks like TW. (NFL ticket...NICE!)
Posted by: Biff Champion at December 2, 2008 2:06 PM
got twc triple play, its advertised as 90 or 99 a month but the bills are coming out to 167 a month... I do have 3 tvs hooked up and one of the tvs is an hdtv so i ordered hdtv channels for it but didn't realize i would be paying though the nose for it. Going to try direct tv or just cancel the hd service (but then have a expensive hd tv and no hd channels :(
Posted by: 11211 at December 2, 2008 10:50 PM
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