# Cablevision or Time Warner vs. Comcast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744 "2006-05-22T13:58:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/21 "2006-05-22T21:59:11Z")
> [@wmulax93](#): > > Both the Arris and Webstar modems that most cable providers use have a backup battery that lasts at least 4 hours. **If** they provide a battery for the modem. We use Arris primarily, and almost none of them have a battery. Why? I’m sure it has something to do with cutting costs; but that’s little comfort for the customer if they need a battery. ---
**Author:** ![Capa84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8edcca/32.png) [@Capa84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capa84)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/22 "2006-05-22T22:10:00Z")
Eve you might try actually going INTO a comcast payment center…I had the same problem recently…when you call in, you are dealing with people workin gon commmission, so they have a vested interest in playing games. They told me when I called in that I had to pay off completely the old account, and then start new service at the new address, and pay a 34.50 transfer fee. I already have possession of the new place, and Comcast never actually turned off the service here…I just moved my box and modem over, and plugged them in, and they work. I went to a payment office, and said,“hey, I just moved to a new place, everything is already on, what do i do” and the lady said basically,“just pay the $24 transfer fee and give me the new address” The clown at the call in center is just trying to generate a new account sale for himself. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/23 "2006-05-22T22:38:13Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I forgot about this and I rescind my earlier praise of Cablevision. > > In my area, Cablevision doesn’t offer TCM, or BBC America. > > Occasionally they call, trying to get me to upgrade to their premium digital service (iO) and I ask them repeatedly “How can you have freaking 200 channels and not offer BBC America or TCM?” They act like these are channels no-one wants. > > I finally told them that they no longer have permission to call my house and that permission will only be granted when they make those two channels available. > > Now learning that in New England they do offer TCM only pisses me off more. > > I want pure “a la carte” service. Isn’ t there some legislation looming to force the cable industry to allow this without trying to charge you $300/month for what you want? I too want a la carte cable. I could trim it down to 50 channels, and be thrilled. Hell, I’d still pay for the same package, I just want to be able to trim channel and content listings from the menu system to make navigation easier. But I do have iO, and TCM is part of the iO package. Are you absolutely positive that their iO doesn’t offer TCM? I wouldn’t necessarily be convinced by “the guy on the phone said they didn’t.” Regarding the couple hours of battery phone usage in a power outage, IMO that isn’t good enough. Not that it’s common, but during the 32 hour Detroit to Boston blackout a few years ago, the only two things that kept me sane were my radio and my phone. Also, I usually end up without power at least once a year from storms or car accidents hitting power lines. One time lightning struck the power lines going into the house frying all the electronics, (including tvs), and power was out for an extended time then. In all these power outages, calling the automated phone system at the power company will give you updated estimates on when you can expect power to be restored. Three hours in, calling the EC and hearing “still no estimate available” is still more comforting to me than being unable to call anyone, as irrational as that may be. Then again, is it really irrational? Go forbid I’d need to call 911 four hours into a blackout… ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/24 "2006-05-22T22:45:48Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > Then again, is it really irrational? Go forbid I’d need to call 911 four hours into a blackout… I wouldn’t say that’s irrational at all. It is something you want to be aware of before you switch to any VOIP service. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/25 "2006-05-22T23:14:29Z")
> [@wmulax93](#): > > Both the Arris and Webstar modems that most cable providers use have a backup battery that lasts at least 4 hours. > > - Justin, embarrased to be a cable guy So _that’s_ why my modem was free…I don’t have a battery backup on mine. I do, however, have a generator in case of a lengthy power outage. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/26 "2006-05-22T23:33:23Z")
> [@Astroboy14](#): > > I wouldn’t say that’s irrational at all. It is something you want to be aware of before you switch to any VOIP service. In fairness, the 911 thing was an after-the-fact rationalization. What is irrational, and yet still true for me, is that I take more comfort in hearing “no clue when you’ll get power back” than if I were unable to get such an obviously worthless update at all. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/27 "2006-05-23T02:13:23Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > I too want a la carte cable. I could trim it down to 50 channels, and be thrilled. Hell, I’d still pay for the same package, I just want to be able to trim channel and content listings from the menu system to make navigation easier. > > But I do have iO, and TCM is part of the iO package. Are you absolutely positive that their iO doesn’t offer TCM? I wouldn’t necessarily be convinced by “the guy on the phone said they didn’t.” > > Regarding the couple hours of battery phone usage in a power outage, IMO that isn’t good enough. Not that it’s common, but during the 32 hour Detroit to Boston blackout a few years ago, the only two things that kept me sane were my radio and my phone. > > Also, I usually end up without power at least once a year from storms or car accidents hitting power lines. One time lightning struck the power lines going into the house frying all the electronics, (including tvs), and power was out for an extended time then. > > In all these power outages, calling the automated phone system at the power company will give you updated estimates on when you can expect power to be restored. Three hours in, calling the EC and hearing “still no estimate available” is still more comforting to me than being unable to call anyone, as irrational as that may be. > > Then again, is it really irrational? Go forbid I’d need to call 911 four hours into a blackout… What channel number is TCM by you? Maybe I’m blind today; but I checked the iO channel listings for my area and didn’t see it (their website). ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/28 "2006-05-23T03:06:35Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > What channel number is TCM by you? Maybe I’m blind today; but I checked the iO > channel listings for my area and didn’t see it (their website). I just checked to make sure I wasn’t talking out of my ass. I definitely have it; I think it’s channel 76. Not sure on the exact number as I never watch it, but I’m positive it’s in the seventies. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/29 "2006-05-23T04:03:56Z")
I’ve had Time Warner cable TV for a good 10 years and am on the verge of calling them to get Road Runner high-speed internet. What’s the best approach to getting the best deal? ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/30 "2006-05-23T13:23:53Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > I just checked to make sure I wasn’t talking out of my ass. I definitely have it; I think it’s channel 76. Not sure on the exact number as I never watch it, but I’m positive it’s in the seventies. Double-checked and we have nothing at 76 (in fact there’s a gap around there, so maybe it’s planned for the future). Still, this industry must be so f\*cked up if they can’t offer consistent programming across the board. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/31 "2006-05-23T16:54:06Z")
Well, it turns out neither Time Warner nor Cablevision _are_ available in my town, so I am stuck with those bastards at Comcast, which means I don’t know when or how the hell I am going to manage a hook-up, as I certainly can’t take another day off from work. Sometimes I long for the days when you just moved in, and plugged in your TV and that was that. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/32 "2006-05-23T17:41:32Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > I’ve had Time Warner cable TV for a good 10 years and am on the verge of calling them to get Road Runner high-speed internet. What’s the best approach to getting the best deal? Probably wait until they have an offer in your area for free hookup and cheap service for 3 months. (Which will be followed by an infinite series of months of expensive service.) Frankly, asking which cable company is best is like asking which of three vile scurvy-ridden pirates you’d prefer to be ravished by. But then again, I’ve heartily disliked Comcast ever since they bought out Mediaone and sent out a revised fee schedule saying, essentially, “We’re raising your rates because we can.” ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/33 "2006-05-26T20:57:55Z")
I have been involved in cable since 1980. Most of the time i had Comcast. I would reccommend them to nobody. You get a good starting rate and almost every bill they make change. Something added something taken away for your convenience. Then after a year or so you discover your bill has snuck up more than 50 %. Starting internet was 19.99 after a year it was over 40 and 50 on the horizon. I switched to SBC which has held at 20 for internet for more than a year.I have a dish for tv and its much cheaper than Comcast. It also includes Link tv which is a great boon. I didnt know it existed.SBC is on my hit list now because they gave up personal info to the government.NSA FBI . ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/34 "2006-05-26T21:13:41Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I e’d them both to ask if I can get internet/TV/telephone service, and if they get TCM (a deal-breaker if “no”). I’d hate to change my e-dress, but that’s how fed-up I am with Comcast. > > Yes, I am leaving Cletus and Brandine and moving into a much posher neighborhood. Just my take, but if you have any option to dump those bastids at Comcast, take it. I hate them. I have no choice here in Dogpatch. Even satellite is out of the question due to all the trees. Sometimes I think super 8s projected on the refrigerator would be a better option. No fair that you have choices! ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/35 "2006-05-31T16:10:33Z")
I’ve just been on the phone with Comcast (and with their Corporate office) all morning, and it looks like I’m gonna be without e-mail, Internet and TV for maybe as long as a month. “We can’t schedule a hookup till a few days after the old service at that address has been disconnected.” They are moving out today; I am moving in tomorrow. So I can’t even _call for an appointment till Monday_, “and we can’t promise you we can hook you up on the following Saturday–we may not have anyone available.” I’ll be visiting my mother the weekend of the 17th; so it looks like I’m going to be living like a _fifth-century Chinese peasant_, without TV, computer, Internet, e-mail, for most of June. Living without TV is something I can easily deal with: but my book is due at my publisher’s in August, and I have to monitor my mother’s financial business via Internet and her doctors via e-mail, so this is a major problem. And, of course, Comcast is the only game in town, so they can get away with this crap. I just talked to their main office, and they are having someone call me back (they admitted they get “a lot of complaints” about this, but “that’s the way the system has always been run.” _Bastards_. ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/36 "2006-05-31T19:46:59Z")
If you really want TV, have a friend with a 28 foot ladder come over and hook you up 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/37 "2006-05-31T20:47:33Z")
I got on the horn with one of the top execs in Comcast’s corporate HQ and _nicely_ explained the situation to him and how it was, sorry and _I know it’s not his fault_, simply not an option for me to be without e-mail and the Inernet as a freelance writer and someone who handles her accounts online. So he pulled some strings and _says_ (let’s see if it actually happens) he’ll get me hooked up this Sat.! Always go to the top, and be relentless but polite. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/38 "2006-05-31T23:49:37Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I got on the horn with one of the top execs in Comcast’s corporate HQ and _nicely_ explained the situation to him and how it was, sorry and _I know it’s not his fault_, simply not an option for me to be without e-mail and the Inernet as a freelance writer and someone who handles her accounts online. So he pulled some strings and _says_ (let’s see if it actually happens) he’ll get me hooked up this Sat.! > > Always go to the top, and be relentless but polite. You don’t even necessarily need to go to the top. One time I had to have the cable company come out for service, but the earliest appointment they had was three weeks away. I must have sounded pitiful on the phone, as the nice woman I was talking to offered the helpful advice that I should call each day and ask if there had been any cancellations that had freed up an appointment, as they happen all the time. Sure enough, two days later a cancellation had come in for two days after that. So three weeks turned into four days without any complaining, and really without any trouble at all. Even better is that the appointment three weeks away was on a weekday – which was problematic with work – and the cancelled four day appointment was on a Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![Capa84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8edcca/32.png) [@Capa84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capa84)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744/39 "2006-06-01T01:51:25Z")
There are also outside Comcast sales reps, who can go door to door and do sales and basic installs. I have one locally that I refer our clients to when they move to a new home, as long as you don’t need new underground cabling run, one of these guys should be able to show up and install on the spot. HOWEVER they are competing with the inbound phone reps, as the inbound phone guys often steal customers that call in looking for an outside sales rep. Try calling some apt communities in your area, many times they have a referral program with a particular outside rep, and can get you in touch with one. If you are anywhere near NE FL, I can probably get one for you as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cablevision-or-time-warner-vs-comcast/357744.md?page=1)