Is this the new Time Warner?
 

So we've been with Time Warner for our cable TV and internet for 15 months. Within the first 6 months, I had to call 2 or 3 times for technical support.

And it was hell. Endless menus, only to be put on hold for eons, only to then end up with someone who couldn't actually help and had to transfer me to another hold queue (why the fvck make me sit through the bloody menu then?!). And several times in all that I'd get cut off or get a busy signal at some point during the transfer process. I've literally wasted hours just trying to get through to someone who could address my problem.

Today I exchanged our standard digital cable box for an HD box (yay). I went to the local service center where, within 5 minutes, they handed me the new box. But I nearly broke out in a cold sweat when I learned I would have to call customer support to have them activate the HD signal.

I was all set to put it off. I don't have an HDMI cable yet, so I can't hook the box up anyway. But I got home and discovered that our internet connection wasn't functioning. Joy. Worried that whatever change on our account was made when I received the HD box might have fouled things up, I knew I had to call.

Preparing for the worst, I dialed the # first, figuring I'd at least use the hold time to do the usual trouble-shooting steps (reboot cable modem, reboot router, reboot all devices, scream, throw things).

But, what's this, I was talking to a technical support person in less than 2 minutes. No exaggeration. The menu was, "What language, what's your phone #, tv or internet, support or sales?" One ring, live person. Not an note of muzak! (on the minus side, it made me look like a doofus when all I had to do was reboot the router to get things working again...)

I actually was so impressed I called right back to take care of the HD signal thing, and once again I got right through in under 2 minutes!

I know there was a major shakeup at the company several months back, due in large part to complaints of sh!tty customer service. Maybe I was just lucky and everyone's too busy watching football and they had zero call volume, but the difference between this and every other experience I had was nothing short of miraculous. Good on Time Warner.

And don't forget all that Garth Brooks on Demand that you now get exclusive to Time Warner ;)

And those HDMI cables aren't cheep! Anyone know where the best deal is on them? I don't want to have to plop down a days wages for one when the time comes. And I'll need two, one for the cable signal, and one for the Blueray. That alone would cost more than what I paid for my current TV!

The HDMI cables are VERY cheap!!!

I got mine for $5/ea.

THE BEST PLACE TO GET THEM:

WWW.MONOPRICE.COM

I cannot say enough good things about that site.

Any time of cable you want -- even stuff like Wii component cables, HDMI cables, anything... at a fraction of a cost. Yes, that sounds like an ad. DO NOT PAY FOR AN HDMI CABLE AT BEST BUY.

There have been multiple tests done and there is ZERO DIFFERENCE between the $99 "monster" rip-off cable, and the $5 HDMI cable that monoprice sells. Seriously. I have one coming out of my Ps3, and another for my HD Cable box.

I do still have one complaint about TWC: securing a frickin' cable card. They will not hand them over at the CS centers. I went to the one in Costa Mesa on Friday and they said they never hand them out - that they have to have a technician come to my home.

We purchased an HD TiVo and can't do anything with it until TWC comes out on the 21st.

If you are too impatient to wait for them via online, Fry's had some for about $7 if I recall correctly the last time I was in there.

Thanks for the link. I was looking at ~$15 cables at Microcenter or Fry's, but I'll take one for $8 delivered, tyvm.

They don't like Garth. :rolleyes:

I went through the same thing with TWC and CableCards. My advice: don't sweat it and let the tech guy worry about it. Although the installation is completely straight-forward, there was some nonsense on the other end about hitting the card and making sure it decodes all your channels correctly (and since you have a HD Tivo, that means two cards). I was happy that I had a tech guy here dealing with the TW guy on the other end of the phone.

In the end, it worked out A-OK.

YW, that site is the best one I've found for any kind of cable one would need. And the two times I ordered from them, the cables came quickly.

Thanks for letting me know that. Now I don't feel so bad about having to wait.

The next decision is whether I will just go with TiVo's "My DVD Expander" or start looking at a 1 TB eSATA drive and enclosure.