Time Warner Cable

Digital Cable, not what I thought!. Disconnected my DirecTV last weekend and replaced it with TWC specifically to save on my monthly cost. The install went well and the installation guy was on time and called when he was on his way. Kudos for all of that, but that is as far as I will go with the Kudos.

First, the DVR interface is really bad, especially comparing it to the DTV, and that's not saying much because DTV interface was not great either. The TWC interface is clunky and reminds me of Window 95! Just slow and not very user friendly and not very intuitive. But that’s not the worst of it...

The HD picture is awful! It pix-elates and blurs with dark colors and fast moving picture (hockey games, etc...) and seems to freeze ever so slightly whenever there is blurring. When you change channels, the picture comes in and then blanks out for like 5 seconds then comes back. The tech told me it's a glitch in the software. He also said that the volume control for the TV in "cable" mode on the remote doesn't always work, and he was right! Half the time I can't change the volume with the remote unless it in TV mode.

The whole house DVR is a great idea, but a lot of basic features just aren't there. The other rooms that access the DVR cannot pause live TV, delete a show or even start a recording. Those seem to be basic things that can be added to make the interface a bit more user friendly.

I do like the On Demand channels. There are a lot to choose from and they load very fast! However, a lot of the On Demand does not play back in HD! Why?!!! If it's a matter of download speeds, if I had to wait a little longer, so be it! At least the picture would be worth the wait!

Over all, very unhappy. I'm just glad I'm not paying through the nose for this. I guess you get what you pay for!…

$70 "Termination Fee" to UPGRADE to a bigger bundle!. DON'T UPGRADE YOUR TIME WARNER SERVICES UNLESS YOU ARE READY TO PAY SUBSTANTIAL 'TERMINATION FEES'. Originally I had road runner and digital phone bundle. Decided to upgrade to the "all the best" bundle - TV, phone and road runner. Well, imagine my surprise when I received my new bill with a $70 "termination fee" tacked on plus a $20 phone 'activation' fee. I guess "upgrading" to a new bundle and paying TWC $40 MORE each month is my bad. They charged me $35 each to 'terminate' phone and road runner. And then $20 to 'reactivate' the phone. REALLY? All I thought I did was upgrade to a bigger, more expensive bundle of services. But NO, what TWC wants me to believe is that I 'terminated' my bundle, I didn't 'ADD services' and thus I must be penalized. And NO, the customer service rep never mentioned any 'termination fees'.....Nice way to put it to a long-standing customer, Time Warner.…

If you subscribe, you are supporting the porn industry. Time Warner not only offers pornography channels, but advertises it in their public channel guide even if you don't subscribe to it. Does Time Warner as a corporation, have HR policies with regard to sexual harrassment, and inappropriate use of computers? If not, why not? Conversely, if so, how can they possibly justify their business model that includes offering pornographic XXX programming to the public, which requires that their employees, including the women who work there, are required to assist and support the transmission of this kind of material?

They even advertise their porn channels in their public channel guide, offering programs with titles such as "Young, Hot and Filthy Little Ho's" for impulse purchase, right in their channel guide where your kids can find them. Not a good scenario.…

Dishonest Merchants. For over 2.5 years, TW was unable to deliver cable video service although level 2 technicians were at my home at least 7 times in that period but none could cure the intermittent audio and video drop outs . Two of the technicians said the problem was in my service node. Several technicians who have asked my permission to access the the TW hub in my back yard have told me my neighbors are suffering the same symptoms.

TW either cannot or will not upgrade their signal capabilities. They also have drastically reduced the number of technicians in the last year so you won't get an appointment for 5 days. Get to a supervisor to have those days removed from your bill.

I first canceled my movie channels as one cannot watch a movie with interruptions, then I canceled my cable boxes completely as even news and documentaries, to say nothing of live sporting events, become incomprehensible when one cannot view the whole program. I kept the Road Runner service which had proven reliable after and initial period of difficulties. What did Time Warner do? The almost double my rate with no notification!

My advice is to get satellite (Direct TV through Costco has been good for 2 months) and another internet provider.

Time Warner's only interest is to squeeze as much cash out of you that they can and waste your time on hold talking to script readers that have no power and no solutions. Life is too short for their BS!…