Old farts with tube TVs LOL
#1
I thought this was kind of funny. Anyone who still has an older analogue (tube) TV will have to go get as FREE converter box and that will double the channels they will get.
And the guy they featured is all POed and says they can "put the box where the sun don't shine"
But he's holding one in his hand Laughing


Charter's cable conversion hasn't made fans of all its customers


April 19, 2014
By John Darling
for the Mail Tribune

The Charter Communications cable switch to high definition service throughout Jackson County this month was not exactly drawing huzzahs from customers picking up the required digital converter boxes, one for each screen.

"It's a rip-off of the public," said Harry Tinnin of Medford, emerging Wednesday from the Charter store on Riverside Avenue in Medford. "It's a bunch of B.S. They can put this box where the sun don't shine."

Charter is shifting to all-digital television here through the end of April, a move that requires each of the old analog television sets to have a digital converter box. The boxes are free during the first year or two of the promotional period, depending on your service package, but will cost $6.99 a month after that.

The upgrade will enable 190 digital channels, almost doubling the present number, which is just over 100, said Charter spokesman Jack Hardy in Vancouver, Wash. It will also deliver a sharper Internet image and offer 12,000 movies on its Video On Demand, all paid for as part of the service package, not pay-per-view. A fourth of them will be HD.

"I'm not very happy about it," said Billee Stemple of the Applegate. "After a year I'm going to have to pay for it, this after getting it free forever. We have four TVs, and only two will be working at the end of the month. It's going to be $14 extra per month. I don't need 200 channels. I only use six. ... We never watch movies because I don't appreciate the language in 99 percent of them. We had no say in this change. I can say no and not watch TV."

With four televisions, Alvin Brandon of Medford said it would mean $20 a month additional, down the road, forcing him to plan a switch to satellite service.

"The fee sucks, but the savings for this coming year is significant," says Brandon, adding that Charter has the best Internet service in the valley and it will be hard to give it up.

Forrest Bohall of Jacksonville says, "It's free for a year, and the new benefits grab me, but the $7 a month fee adds up to $84 a year. They nickle-and-dime you and, no, I can't watch 100 channels. It's just more stuff to plug in."

Pete Walford of Medford was unfazed by the changes, noting, "It's good. We're in the 21st century here. ... It will take most of the evening to go through the channels to find what I want. The fee is OK with me. I only have one TV."

The changeover will not require anyone to come to your house and work on anything, says Hardy. Customers can pick up a self-installation kit for the set-top box at the Charter store — 765 Riverside Ave. — or order them on the Internet or by phone at 888-438-2427.

Charter Communications supplies cable TV, Internet and phone service in 29 states in the western, central and southern U.S. and is rolling out HD in all sectors.

"By removing outdated analog signals, we regain bandwidth in our network, enabling us to provide more HD channels and open the door to faster Internet speeds and future innovation," said Charter President and CEO Tom Rutledge, in a statement. "This upgrade speaks to the fact that Charter is providing our customers with the very best products at the very best value, and we've invested more than $2 billion in our fiber-rich network to make that happen."

The HD changeover will allow the Charter TV signal to play on handheld mobile devices, such as smartphones and iPads, by downloading a free app, says Hardy.

Customers should be able to install the new box fairly easily but can call out a Charter technician for $29.99.

Present Charter customers should see the 85 new channels now, depending on their service package.

There will be no fee increase with the new HD system, he says. The changeover started Monday and should be done in all of Jackson County, except Shady Cove, by the end of April.
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#2
I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to pay an extra monthly fee for my TVs, if I still owned any. And having to go out and buy new TVs when my old ones still functioned just because they changed the standard the signal is broadcast from would make me upset. But it isn't all that different from having to buy a cassette deck when eight tracks finally died out. I'm sure there were plenty of people who bitched and moaned, who dearly loved eight tracks and had an eight track player in every room.

But time moves on. And technology will not be held back merely to keep your pocketbook or your technophobia happy.
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#3
(04-19-2014, 10:25 PM)csrowan Wrote: I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to pay an extra monthly fee for my TVs, if I still owned any. And having to go out and buy new TVs when my old ones still functioned just because they changed the standard the signal is broadcast from would make me upset. But it isn't all that different from having to buy a cassette deck when eight tracks finally died out. I'm sure there were plenty of people who bitched and moaned, who dearly loved eight tracks and had an eight track player in every room.

But time moves on. And technology will not be held back merely to keep your pocketbook or your technophobia happy.

And there you have it.
Just the way thing break in our ever changing world. (As you already said).

PS: CS, your recent posts seem clear and concise, and I hope it's an indication you are feeling better. Poor health is a bitch and effects every corner of our lives.
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#4
Isn't dish TV cheaper than cable TV?

(I don't have ether. I'm a netflicker)
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#5
More reason to shoot your TV.
For the sake of accuracy though, although I understand it helped bolster your stance TVg, "free" is not free if you have to start paying in a year or two, is it?

"The boxes are free during the first year or two of the promotional period, depending on your service package, but will cost $6.99 a month after that.".
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#6
(04-20-2014, 08:37 AM)gapper Wrote: More reason to shoot your TV.
For the sake of accuracy though, although I understand it helped bolster your stance TVg, "free" is not free if you have to start paying in a year or two, is it?

"The boxes are free during the first year or two of the promotional period, depending on your service package, but will cost $6.99 a month after that.".

You could always return it after two years, and ask them if they have any deals on a used one?
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#7
Seriously?? $84 a year ongoing cost on your cable bill for something that is likely worth $15-$25 to buy outright? There's a cash cow if there ever was one. I guess they're trying to slip that past everyone with the "free" first year. When broadcast TV went digital, D-A converters (digital to analog) for older analog TVs were less then $30 and I picked up a couple for much less.

I always hated the ongoing monthly "rent" for cable and satillite hardware. The stuff really isn't that expensive to buy outright. Plus they charged me to repair or replace "their" equipment as needed.

Oh well, they'll get their money one way or another. Just not from me.
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#8
(04-20-2014, 07:33 AM)Wonky Wrote:
(04-19-2014, 10:25 PM)csrowan Wrote: I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to pay an extra monthly fee for my TVs, if I still owned any. And having to go out and buy new TVs when my old ones still functioned just because they changed the standard the signal is broadcast from would make me upset. But it isn't all that different from having to buy a cassette deck when eight tracks finally died out. I'm sure there were plenty of people who bitched and moaned, who dearly loved eight tracks and had an eight track player in every room.

But time moves on. And technology will not be held back merely to keep your pocketbook or your technophobia happy.

And there you have it.
Just the way thing break in our ever changing world. (As you already said).

PS: CS, your recent posts seem clear and concise, and I hope it's an indication you are feeling better. Poor health is a bitch and effects every corner of our lives.

Hmmm... that's an odd statement. CS' posts have ALWAYS been clear and concise.
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#9
(04-20-2014, 09:27 AM)Scrapper Wrote:
(04-20-2014, 07:33 AM)Wonky Wrote:
(04-19-2014, 10:25 PM)csrowan Wrote: I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to pay an extra monthly fee for my TVs, if I still owned any. And having to go out and buy new TVs when my old ones still functioned just because they changed the standard the signal is broadcast from would make me upset. But it isn't all that different from having to buy a cassette deck when eight tracks finally died out. I'm sure there were plenty of people who bitched and moaned, who dearly loved eight tracks and had an eight track player in every room.

But time moves on. And technology will not be held back merely to keep your pocketbook or your technophobia happy.

And there you have it.
Just the way thing break in our ever changing world. (As you already said).

PS: CS, your recent posts seem clear and concise, and I hope it's an indication you are feeling better. Poor health is a bitch and effects every corner of our lives.

Hmmm... that's an odd statement. CS' posts have ALWAYS been clear and concise.

Well. Thank you for making my own feelings clear to me.
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#10
(04-20-2014, 08:37 AM)gapper Wrote: More reason to shoot your TV.
For the sake of accuracy though, although I understand it helped bolster your stance TVg, "free" is not free if you have to start paying in a year or two, is it?

"The boxes are free during the first year or two of the promotional period, depending on your service package, but will cost $6.99 a month after that.".

Well of course you are right in the long run but it's free NOW isn't it?

Anyway I guess my "stance" is to wake up smell the coffee and get a new TVLaughing
Right now you can get a brand new 32" LED TV for 200 bucks or less, so obviously you can get a used one for a lot less. And a year or TWO from now? they will even be cheaper.
New TVs use less energy so you could save money in that respect. But only if you replace your old TV with the same size screen LED TV. Most people get a larger TV but if you want to be cheap then you will save money with a new TV plus the picture quality is immensely better.

I'm not sure if Charter is gouging people by charging the 7 bucks a month a year or two from now, Probably.
But in my opinion the answer is simple. You have at least a whole year to get a new or used LED TV.
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#11
Here one way to get a free TV.

http://news.yahoo.com/woman-says-beau-st...37819.html
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#12
(04-20-2014, 01:04 PM)chuck white Wrote: Here one way to get a free TV.

http://news.yahoo.com/woman-says-beau-st...37819.html

Anyone who pays 4000 bucks for a dog can afford to buy a new TV, Besides that's probably what she paid for a plasma 10 years ago and now it's really worth about a hundred bucks. IF you can get anyone to risk buying a TV that is ready to croak at any minute.
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