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Alternative to Time Warner?

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Started 3 years ago by lisathewaitress
Latest reply from Coremodels

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lisathewaitress
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I'm getting really tired of Time Warner Cable. They supply our cable and internet connection. I HATE the new interface of the guide - half the time we can't change the channel, or can't record 2 programs at once, etc. etc.
and I think it's time for a change.
Does anyone else use an alternative? I'm thinking of maybe changing to Wow. Does anyone have thoughts?
I currently pay around $150 a month for cable and roadrunner, with one premium channel (HBO) and we usually get a PPV or 2 a month. I suppose I'd something in the same price range, with similar channel options, and a fast internet connection (not saying my RR is always fast, it isn't.) Oh, and I do like the OD feature as well as the DVR.
I don't think I'm the only one in this boat. Pretty much everyone I know is fed up with TW and I think if anyone has good advice a lot of people would switch.
Oh, and I know, I should get rid of cable, spend time reading, writing, taking pictures, etc. etc. etc.
EDIT: maybe someone could also explain to me how many bps it takes to be fast. I don't know how many I'm getting now.

Posted 3 years ago #
Daz
Tweeting about some totally unimportant event
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We have WOW.
You will have a hard time finding a stronger advocate that you switch from Time Warner. WOW is awesome, with the exception of one thing:
Their guide system looks like it was written in 85.

Posted 3 years ago #
BBJ
Detroit, MI
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Time Warner is the best in Columbus, especially with internet speeds, no service in Columbus area has faster internet speeds than them. Now that I am in Michigan though, we have Comcast and 16mbit is my internet speed, it is heaven.

Posted 3 years ago #
lifeliberty
Here
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given the choice I will always choose WOW. I have it now, they are great and easy to deal with (anytime I've ever call customer service- which is very few times really, actually I think I've complained to them once and they easily took money off my bill and the other times was just to install/disconnect)

Posted 3 years ago #
nexttuesday

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I still have the devil TW which IMO is the second-worst cable company ever (second to comcast).
One of my friends has AT&T and is happy with it. I believe they are giving TW a run for their money in this area, at least so far as TW is running anti-AT&T ads. One of the ads criticizes how their bills are not easy to read. Really? Is that the worst thing they could say about them? Also if you have AT&T you will get the big ten network, which TW can not claim. I think this is a big selling point for them.

Posted 3 years ago #
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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If you can really tell the difference between 6 mbps for WoW and 7 mbps for Roadrunner, I'm impressed.

Posted 3 years ago #
gramarye
In Exile
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My parents have RoadRunner cable but DirecTV for television (when they choose to activate it, which is generally only 2-3 months a year). It's working out OK for them. I don't like the DirecTV guide, though. In fact, I like it less than Time Warner's.
I have no experience with WOW, and I understand that there are many reasons to be upset with Time Warner out there, but if you're going to switch, I'd actually recommend you *not* switch to DirecTV if the guide's usability is a major factor for you.

Posted 3 years ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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We used both WoW and ATT. Happy with both.
I've always felt the customer service at TW was shoddy at best and the product second rate. Too many times that the TV box was glitching or the internet was going weird.
One of the reasons I chose my new place was that I could get ATT service.
ETA
As a poor college student, I love the fact that AT&T offers a wide range of options and prices on internet.

Posted 3 years ago #
Daz
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Coremodels wrote If you can really tell the difference between 6 mbps for WoW and 7 mbps for Roadrunner, I'm impressed.
I've had both and must say, my WOW connection is faster. Without any doubt.

Posted 3 years ago #
KSquared
Literally Hell
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I have heard great thing about U-verse, which is supplied by AT&T. If they had service in my area, I would switch today.

Posted 3 years ago #
gramarye
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KSquared wrote I have heard great thing about U-verse, which is supplied by AT&T. If they had service in my area, I would switch today.
I really want to find someone who has this so I can go see in person if it lives up to the hype. I don't feel a burning need to be an early adopter, so I'm not willing to be the first person I know to take the plunge, but it's gotten some good reviews and it certainly seems like a viable concept, so my interest is definitely piqued.

Posted 3 years ago #
lisathewaitress
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Coremodels wrote If you can really tell the difference between 6 mbps for WoW and 7 mbps for Roadrunner, I'm impressed.
That's kind of my question - will I be able to tell a difference? TW only has one level (at least they did when mine was installed 3 years ago) and Wow has like 5 levels. They offer suggestions for how fast your speed needs to be, and it seems as though 4 would be good for me, but if RR is 7, could I tell a difference? We used to have DSL and I couldn't tell a difference between that and RR. In fact, I think our DSL was faster.

Posted 3 years ago #
Rockmastermike
CORNspiracy HQ
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My observations:
Time warner was able to deliver -13db signal level to my cable converter box. The minimum signal strength for 100% reliable operation is -12db. It was not working very well sometimes. Digital pixelation was not uncommon. It drove me NUTS. A service call was required to bring the signal level up to -11db... for a while. The fix did not last.
WOW delivers +4db to my converter, even after I added an extra splitter to another device when I realized I had that luxury in signal strength. It works perfectly with no problems at all.
Both companies appear to use 256Kb/s streams for digital video transmission. I know some other companies have been using lower bitrates and quality has suffered. I have also compared the HD picture from the (perhaps compressed) WOW cable HD signal with an Over-the-air received signal (from channel 4) and found virtually no difference.
The Scientific Atlanta converter box that WoW has supplied me seems to have a minor framerate issue when decoding some HD programming. Setting it to downconvert 1080i to 720p forces it combine the interlaced frames and fixes the problem. I have no experience with TW HD programming for comparison.
The HD converter box not only sends an HD signal out the component jacks, but it also sends a 480i signal out via the svideo jack and includes Two sets of audio outputs. This means that I can easily record shows to my DVD recorder from the HD channels. This is fantastic to avoid recording the pan-and-scan version of shows I usually enjoy watching widescreen. Playback is acceptable upconverted back to full size. Not HD, but not unacceptable to watch something like last night's "Letterman".
I do not have the DVR. I just use my dvd recorder, so I cannot comment on the DVR service from either provider.
WOW's on-screen program guide seems identical to what I remember from last year's TW on-screen guide. The only difference I have noticed is that with TW's program descriptions the plot summary came before the actors... with WOW the actors come before the plot summary... This annoys the heck out of me because you have to hit the info button to see even the beginning of the plot summary.
Time warner's 7Mb/s internet service is usually functionally no different from my current (and very cheap) 1Mb/s internet service from WOW. Very large file transfers are the exception. I almost never miss the extra bandwidth. CU seems to load at the same speed. :)
Both companies have done well by me customer service wise. No complaints about either.
My bill with WOW HD service and 1Mb/s internet is $20/month less than time warner's premium digital service with full speed internet and I get more channels. WOW includes not only Encore, but all the Starz channels as well, including StarzHD and StarzHD-ondemand.
WOW's on-demand service seems to be a lot larger than I remember TW's OD service. There's all kinds of stuff, including Music Choice and Havoc Music video on demand.
Hope this helps.

Posted 3 years ago #
Rockmastermike
CORNspiracy HQ
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lisathewaitress wrote
Coremodels wrote If you can really tell the difference between 6 mbps for WoW and 7 mbps for Roadrunner, I'm impressed.
That's kind of my question - will I be able to tell a difference? TW only has one level (at least they did when mine was installed 3 years ago) and Wow has like 5 levels. They offer suggestions for how fast your speed needs to be, and it seems as though 4 would be good for me, but if RR is 7, could I tell a difference? We used to have DSL and I couldn't tell a difference between that and RR. In fact, I think our DSL was faster.
unless you're doing a large file transfer you will likely not notice a difference. It's also easier to saturate a lower bandwidth pipe with multiple simultaneous requests. If you have a few people on your home network that might be an issue.
As I state in my (admittedly too long) previous post, I rarely see any difference between WOW's lowest service level and TW's 6Mb/s

Posted 3 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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lisathewaitress wrote I'm getting really tired of Time Warner Cable. They supply our cable and internet connection. I HATE the new interface of the guide - half the time we can't change the channel, or can't record 2 programs at once, etc. etc. and I think it's time for a change.
Does anyone else use an alternative? I'm thinking of maybe changing to Wow. Does anyone have thoughts?
We were paying around $85/mo for cable/dvr/internet and made the switch a few months ago to internet only. All of our favorite shows can be found online these days anyway.
You should spend a little time playing around with abc's website, hulu, and a few others to see how easily you can access free tv shows online. We're happy with our choice so far. ;)

Posted 3 years ago #
cr0m
"Lower" Hilliard
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I am a complete fan of U-Verse and I was a TW customer prior! I liked the dependability I had with TW but U-Verse blows them away. Tons of extras compared to TW. For roughly the same price i get more channels, more movies, phone, and Internet. The guide they have needs some "tunning" but I think that will improve with time. Overall, I am happier with U-Verse than I was with TW.
Hope this helps some in making a decision.

Posted 3 years ago #
hobbesOSU
West Side C-bus
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cr0m wrote I am a complete fan of U-Verse and I was a TW customer prior! I liked the dependability I had with TW but U-Verse blows them away. Tons of extras compared to TW. For roughly the same price i get more channels, more movies, phone, and Internet. The guide they have needs some "tunning" but I think that will improve with time. Overall, I am happier with U-Verse than I was with TW.
Hope this helps some in making a decision.
Are you using their DVR? I'm thinking of switching once they get their 2 HD stream issue resolved. If you do, can you add an external hard drive?
Did they have to rewire your house?

Posted 3 years ago #
Rockmastermike
CORNspiracy HQ
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cr0m wrote I am a complete fan of U-Verse and I was a TW customer prior! I liked the dependability I had with TW but U-Verse blows them away. Tons of extras compared to TW. For roughly the same price i get more channels, more movies, phone, and Internet. The guide they have needs some "tunning" but I think that will improve with time. Overall, I am happier with U-Verse than I was with TW.
Hope this helps some in making a decision.
the problems that AT&T had deploying DSL back in the early '00s (because of the problems with the old poorly maintained copper wire pairs in columbus) made me question whether they could actually deliver this service. I have recently heard nothing but positive reports about it, though. Another guy I talked to says they replaced the wires until they got it to work right. Sounds like they got their act together a lot better since those days.

Posted 3 years ago #
josephp

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My cable provider is Bright House Networks in Tampa Bay, Florida and they use RoadRunner. I am getting amazing speeds more than RR up in Columbus. My speed is 20meg down and almost 2meg up. Look @ my video below:

Posted 3 years ago #
AmericaWestCMH
DTW
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Does Insight service your area? I had it in Champaign, IL and my uncle has it in Reynoldsburg. Internet was very quick and TV service was great, though a little behind the curve in terms of HD programming.
They were taken over by Comcast here in Illinois earlier this year though (which is when I dumped cable TV altogether), but I believe it's still Insight in Ohio.

Posted 3 years ago #