Post by: never_retreat on August 01, 2007, 05:39:58 PM
Well they forced us to get digital cable. They said if you didn't get the box you wont get past ch 23, well I wake up this morning and can't get past 23. They came by last week and dropped of the boxes and wanted to rewire. Well there idea of rewiring is just to nail it up the outside of the house and run it around the walls of the rooms. Not for me no way no how. I'm an electrician and wires go in the walls not nailed to
the outside. Fyi you have to upgrade the cable from rg59 to rg6 and try to get rid of the splitters. So I have one Tv done so far.
Now here starts the question section.
I thought I remembered reading a while a go that the .gov passed a law or something that said the cable companies had to keep the analog signal with the new digital so people would not be forced to use the boxes. (which they charge monthly for by the way)
And is there any way to turn this digital signal back to an analog one at one location so I can use my tv as it was intended. I hate having the extra remote, I can't use some of the features on my tv etc.
If all else fails can I buy my own boxes? These things are complete pos.
</end rant>
Post by: Sindawe on August 01, 2007, 06:12:27 PM
Running coax cable around the rooms is NOT acceptable from my viewpoint. I have jacks for cable in each bedroom (not that I use them, bedrooms are for sleeping or sex) and on the main level that were built into the home.
I think the current digital boxes convert the signal back to analog for older glass-teats, since my mother has Comcast digital at her place and the channel switching is done on the cable box, NOT the TV.
Post by: thebaldguy on August 01, 2007, 06:16:23 PM
By the way, my first cable tv bill in 1988 was $10.95 per month. My extended basic today is almost $50. I have about the same amount of channels.
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 01, 2007, 06:19:28 PM
Post by: Manedwolf on August 01, 2007, 06:23:49 PM
Quote
I'm just here to mock you all for paying for television.
Yeah, well, sports in HD are a lot better than ancient broadcast stuff. You get what you pay for.
Post by: Gewehr98 on August 01, 2007, 06:24:08 PM
Quote
(not that I use them, bedrooms are for sleeping or sex)
My wife and I have hallway sex these days...
Monkeyleg should be familiar with the term, especially after ogling his sister-in-law's legs.
As for the RG6 cable, I was required to use it when I was a Dish Network installer last year. RG59 doesn't carry the digital signal as well as RG6, and the latter has considerably better shielding, too.
We had a running joke about the "house wrap" technique of running the cables completely around the house from LNB to the rooms with televisions. Depending on how many dual-tuner receivers the homeowner ordered, the "house wrap" made the home look like some sort of Faraday Cage.
Post by: Ron on August 01, 2007, 06:26:34 PM
My internet speed is brutally fast and the HD rocks.
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 01, 2007, 06:28:35 PM
Quote
I'm just here to mock you all for paying for television.
Yeah, well, sports in HD are a lot better than ancient broadcast stuff. You get what you pay for.
Then I mock you for wasting your time on sports.
Post by: Ron on August 01, 2007, 06:32:17 PM
Quote
Then I mock you for wasting your time on sports.
Firefly is on Saturday nights in HD on UHD channel 207, just started last week with episode one.
Just did a speed test
Quote
Fastest Download:
22658 kb/s
Fastest Upload:
1488 kb/s
22658 kb/s
Fastest Upload:
1488 kb/s
Post by: Manedwolf on August 01, 2007, 06:43:41 PM
Quote
Then I mock you for wasting your time on sports.
Firefly is on Saturday nights in HD on UHD channel 207, just started last week with episode one.
Just did a speed test
Quote
Fastest Download:
22658 kb/s
Fastest Upload:
1488 kb/s
22658 kb/s
Fastest Upload:
1488 kb/s
Yup! It looks incredible. Plus there's Discovery HD, and PBS HD, which has NOVA and other intelligent shows in HD.
Post by: Thor on August 01, 2007, 06:47:38 PM
Unfortunately, I had Qwest for my DSL/Phone when we first moved here and they were even MORE pathetic.
Post by: Sindawe on August 02, 2007, 05:02:12 AM
Quote
My wife and I have hallway sex these days...
Fine for you perhaps, but since the only hallway in my home overlooks the main level and has a clear view in/out the cloistry windows to/from the street, I think the neighbors with kids would tend to object. Now the stairs however...
Quote
Fastest Download:
22658 kb/s
Fastest Upload:
1488 kb/s
22658 kb/s
Fastest Upload:
1488 kb/s
Perhaps I should run a speed test on my mother's machine since she has Comcast.
Post by: InfidelSerf on August 02, 2007, 06:30:55 AM
The main tv has a DVR.
I've had all three majors(Time Warner, Dish, Comcast) in the past several years.
I have to say Comcast has been the best as far as service is concerned. (and that's not saying much)
They are all overpriced.
We just recently dropped HBO and other movie channels in favor of upping the broadband to a 10Mb connection (ooh baby I love it)
And added a home phone line when we made that change. They came out and switched out the modem.
The one thing that really bites is that now I can no longer spoof my MAC address. Which is how I used to be able to change my IP whenever I wanted.
I'm still trying to figure out how to get back to having a spoofable MAC.
Honestly though we hardly even use the cable tv connection since I can download all the TV shows I'm interested in. (Including MotoGP in HD
)About every 6 months I call up and complain to them about the cost and they readjust the monthly fee to the 6 month introductory price.
Other than price my primary complaint about them is the fact that I HAVE to press 1 for english whenever I call them.
Unlike other systems where I refuse to press a button for english and just wait until it rolls to an operator. Their system just loops
and pressing 0 etc doesn't bypass that frekin option.
Post by: atomd on August 02, 2007, 09:52:54 AM
Post by: InfidelSerf on August 02, 2007, 10:17:36 AM
Quote
ALL had at least one problem and received very poor customer service from them within the last 6 months. Not a good track record.
LOL I challenge you to show me a major cable company that doesn't fit that bill.
Post by: atomd on August 02, 2007, 11:06:50 AM
Quote
LOL I challenge you to show me a major cable company that doesn't fit that bill. Tongue
I'm sure they are all pretty bad. That doesn't make it excusable though. I had Verizon DSL for over 6 years without having one problem. Not even one. Can't say that for Comcast as an ISP and I've only had them for around a year. I also paid far less money for Verizon although I can't get that where I now live. As far as TV and cable internet goes, they have had more technical problems than any other provider I have ever had combined. Some tv problems go on for months at a time. Oh well. Maybe one day there will actually be competition and customer service will improve. Ya right. hehe
Post by: MechAg94 on August 02, 2007, 11:59:48 AM
When the Dish Network guy hooked up the dish, he just ran it into the attic. All the cables were already run from there. It is easy to switch things around. Only thing I need to do now is dump the 2nd receiver and some pay channels to bring the total cost down. I think mine is around $50 for expanded basic package.
Post by: Vodka7 on August 02, 2007, 12:01:48 PM
Just did a speed test
Quote
Fastest Download:
22658 kb/s
Fastest Upload:
1488 kb/s
22658 kb/s
Fastest Upload:
1488 kb/s
Just to clarify these awesome looking speeds--I forget the name for it, but Comcast has ridiculous burst speeds for the first minute of any transfer. After a minute, you resume your normal capped service. So, yeah, a speed test that takes less than a minute will show you the max speed of your modem (or close to it, your modem is probably a 24mbps model), but normal usage won't come anywhere near that. Upload speeds are miserable at 384k.
Here, we have an option of 6 or 8 mbps, I stick with 6 because the price jump to 8 is insane. I've had it for just over a year, no problems except for the price jump when they bought out Time Warner.
Post by: Thor on August 02, 2007, 01:07:44 PM
The in house tech figured out the problem. My tap output was at some 30 dBmv. Even with drop and splitter loss, that's still a bit much. He said he was going to turn it over to the line techs. Hopefully, this will be fixed soon. Apparently, I have a line amp someplace that just starts screaming when it cools down.
Post by: Gewehr98 on August 02, 2007, 01:45:38 PM
You need to go look up "hallway sex". It's not what you think it is.
Post by: InfidelSerf on August 02, 2007, 03:20:10 PM
*language warning*
Post by: roo_ster on August 02, 2007, 04:20:42 PM
AT&T was first. They were right heinous. We had no choice, being (phone) fiber to the curb & outrageous DSL rates.
Comcast bought AT&T and LIFE WAS GOOD. No problems. I had no reason to call customer service.
Then, Time Warner came to town. INstant PITA, though not as bad as AT&T.
My cable modem downloads are good, until my neighbors start downloading goat porn and suck all the bandwidth.
Post by: Sindawe on August 02, 2007, 04:41:35 PM
Post by: Gewehr98 on August 02, 2007, 05:26:02 PM
Post by: never_retreat on August 03, 2007, 07:23:22 AM
And is there any way to turn this digital signal back to an analog one at one location so I can use my tv as it was intended. I hate having the extra remote, I can't use some of the features on my tv etc.
If all else fails can I buy my own boxes? These things are complete pos.
Post by: Sindawe on August 03, 2007, 07:52:34 AM
Silly n00b!
Without knowing more about the tech, I'd have to say no since on all the digital conversion boxes I've seen do the channel switching at the box. A custom box might be doable, but would probably be costly and violate the terms of service with Comcast. I agree its an annoyance since the one TV I own is an older analog model circa 1989 and I already have a perfectly functional DVR.
Post by: Vodka7 on August 03, 2007, 10:23:04 AM
I see we all missed the questions I had at the bottom of my post. Anyone have any ideas?
And is there any way to turn this digital signal back to an analog one at one location so I can use my tv as it was intended. I hate having the extra remote, I can't use some of the features on my tv etc.
If all else fails can I buy my own boxes? These things are complete pos.
And is there any way to turn this digital signal back to an analog one at one location so I can use my tv as it was intended. I hate having the extra remote, I can't use some of the features on my tv etc.
If all else fails can I buy my own boxes? These things are complete pos.
No, you can't turn it back to analog.
As for buying your own box, I don't know if there are black boxes that will descramble digital channels. There's no legal way to do it.
Post by: never_retreat on August 03, 2007, 11:17:39 AM
For what they charge I will f them over any way i see fit.
Post by: Thor on August 03, 2007, 02:25:44 PM
Post by: InfidelSerf on August 03, 2007, 03:26:12 PM
Quote
I relay don't care about the legal aspect. angel For what they charge I will f them over any way i see fit.
I hate to be the one to point this out, but that sounds an awful lot like:
"from each according to his ability to each according to his need"
While I certainly don't condone "fing" any business over, just simply because you don't like the profit margin.
You could just simply drop their service all together and download your tv.
And you are of course using Linux only. Since Microsoft falls into that category of overpriced goods backed by poor service.
Or better yet you could just blame lawyers.. since they tend to be the underlining cause of nearly all poor service industries.
If not them .. then it's over regulation. Oh AND blame yourself. Since it's also consumers fault for not firing them when they dish out bad service in the first place.
Howelse are they going to get the hint.