Anyone switch from TWC to WOW recently?

[buckeye3d]

The whole ABC/FOX HD fiasco on TWC has me considering switching to WOW. Has anyone who had TWC switched to WOW lately? I'd love to read some feedback on the move. Last time I had the chance to use a WOW digital cable box the menu system was noticably worse than the TWC version. Looked very dated in comparison. Has this changed at all? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[energyx]

I currently have a standard DVR (not HD). They use the stock SA software. I _think_ the HD box uses the same. While it doesn't look all that fancy, it gets the job done. It also has a 'used disk space' feature that the TW box doesn't.

[buckeye3d]

Are you happy with the picture quality? Any complaints at all with WOW?

[energyx]

Funny you should ask. TW is actually coming out to install service tomorrow. I've been with WOW since 2002, but their prices continue to go up, so they are not so competitive any more. My SD locals have had unreliable picture quality over the last year. Analog & Digital cable channels are on par with TW.

I would hang in there with TW. They are saying the Sinclair HD thing will be resolved before the end of the month. I think with WOW signing an agreement and the super bowl coming, they might be feeling a little pressure.

[zelig2]

We can all hope they actually get something in place. But I guess I'm not too optimistic any more. When I signed up for HD service from Time Warner about 3 years ago they've been saying "any month now we'll have ABC/FOX in HD". They have to say that or else people would sign up with WOW right off the bat. This way people just think that it'll only be a little while before something happens.

I've been quite happy not watching any ABC/FOX shows for the past few years. Personally I wish they'd just add an ATSC tuner in the HD boxes so that we can just use an antenna to get the shows.

[GenoG]

really? Do you have any text or article that could back this theory? I would love it if TW would get ABC and Fox by the end of the month

[Robbiee19]

Any thoughts on the bundled services? My brother is looking into the internet+phone+cable thing and I need opions on TW and WOW. I have D*, but my brother want's to stay away from it. Plus he cannot get DSL in his area yet, thus the cable route. Thanks

[buckeye3d]

I just realized WOW doesn't carry INHD. I do like to watch the occassional show on INHD and I watch baseball games in the summer about once a week on it. Any reason WOW does not carry it?

[Ronald Long]

I notice that the WOW Sticky is not up to date. It does not show the inclusion of WSYX and WTTE.

But when I compare the HD offerings of all the cable providers, I find that my favorite HD channels (INHD1 and INHD2) are only offered by TW which is my current provider.

Since I have an ATSC tuner I get WSYX and WTTE OTA. My gripe is that I cannot record WSYX and WTTE OTA HD content - like the superbowl.

So I wish there was some way to pressure TW to settle this long standing issue.

ron

[KevinP]

If WOW picked up either INHD or ESPN2 HD I would definitely switch. I'm thinking of doing it anyway. I'm not sure which is better, the ability to DVR Fox and ABC HD or to have INHD. Although TW is supposed to be getting Universal HD and Hantional Geographic HD so that might keep me around. I used to have WOW and I thought their SD picture quality was much better than TW.

[KevinP]

Actually, as I look at it, WOW is starting to seem like a better deal since you get Starz thrown in as well. I would miss INHD for the MLB. Does anyone know if WOW offers the extra innings package?

[scottc98]

Free STARZ is a big plus! HDNET, HDNET movies, Disc HD, and now TNT (Thanks Captain Rob for the update) is a wash.
It basically comes down to INHD 1+2 or Starz, Wealth & NFL TV?
NFL TV would be big if they get their thursday night games next season, but it won't be worth getting until summer (pre-season).

What is everyone's opinion on Wealth TV?
If only WOW had better internet options, then it may be worth the switch.But.....I would like an update to my QAM and Firewire threads that would pretty much make my decision for me (Hint,Hint ) :)

[duh]

I had TWC with RR and DVR with the extra HD stuff paying about $110 a month.

I switched to WOW mainly because of ABC & FOX being in HD. Plus you get the Starz channels. WOW cost me $100.00 (this is with their superfast Internet connection... 6mb/s). So I didnt really save much money but I got more channels, faster internet, and FOX & ABC in HD.

I immediately hated the software on the WOW box. WOW & TWC use the same DVR box (SA8300) but different software. TWC using Passport and WOW uses SARA. SARA basically sucks compared to TWC.

Problems I had with WOW:
No Search
You have to browse by title or theme. If I find the show I want to record I cant just hit record. I have to then find the show in the guide by browsing then record it.
Fast forward/rewind are slower
Cant skip in 15 min increments
If I was watching a taped show on the box and both tuners were running when a new show started to record it would kick me out of the show I was watching to the show it just starting recording.
The guide doesnt look as nice as TWC
I cant selectively not record an epsiode of a show that is set to record the whole series.
The Description of the show in the INFO show didnt have as much info as TWC
TWC INFO showed if the show was a repeat or not
Other things I cant think of right now

I know alot of this stuff sounds like nitpicking but seeing how TWC does all these features... it drove me nuts not having it with WOW. Not even having Fox & ABC in HD was enough for me to keep WOW. I switched back to TWC and they actually gave me a better deal then I had. I now have TWC with RR,DVR, & HBO for $95.00. So Im happy. Once TWC gets ABC & Fox in HD I'll be even happier!

[zelig2]

Is that 15 minutes or seconds on the skip you're talking about? Which DVR did you have with TWC that allowed you to do a 15 min/sec skip? That sure would be a nice feature but I thought that was a TiVo only thing that then was later removed.

[kevinbuckeye]

About two weeks ago I called to order WOW and while I talking to the CSR I asked what boxes they used. She told me the SA8300 HD, but that they were switching to Pace boxes. I love the 8300 I have with TW so it scared me that I might get a different box. I scheduled the install for after the olympics so I could keep Universal HD for the games. Well last week I got a call that they were out of HD DVR's until I think March 7. I cancelled my appointment and now I'm still deciding what I want to do. I think I might ride it out with TW until either one gets ESPN2 HD.

[kevinbuckeye]

Is that 15 minutes or seconds on the skip you're talking about? Which DVR did you have with TWC that allowed you to do a 15 min/sec skip? That sure would be a nice feature but I thought that was a TiVo only thing that then was later removed.

The SA 8300 DVR with passport lets you go forward 15 minutes. While you are fast forwarding hit the right directional button.

[Scott]

Is that 15 minutes or seconds on the skip you're talking about? Which DVR did you have with TWC that allowed you to do a 15 min/sec skip? That sure would be a nice feature but I thought that was a TiVo only thing that then was later removed.

Ahh, but you can hack your TiVo remote to skip 30 seconds :D

[Scott]

15 minute skip? I'm not sure that I would have a need for such a feature. Well, I take that back. It would be nice to have when viewing padded shows like Cold Case during the NFL season.

[duh]

I had TWC with RR and DVR with the extra HD stuff paying about $110 a month.

I switched to WOW mainly because of ABC & FOX being in HD. Plus you get the Starz channels. WOW cost me $100.00 (this is with their superfast Internet connection... 6mb/s). So I didnt really save much money but I got more channels, faster internet, and FOX & ABC in HD.

I immediately hated the software on the WOW box. WOW & TWC use the same DVR box (SA8300) but different software. TWC using Passport and WOW uses SARA. SARA basically sucks compared to TWC.

Problems I had with WOW:
No Search
You have to browse by title or theme. If I find the show I want to record I cant just hit record. I have to then find the show in the guide by browsing then record it.
Fast forward/rewind are slower
Cant skip in 15 min increments
If I was watching a taped show on the box and both tuners were running when a new show started to record it would kick me out of the show I was watching to the show it just starting recording.
The guide doesnt look as nice as TWC
I cant selectively not record an epsiode of a show that is set to record the whole series.
The Description of the show in the INFO show didnt have as much info as TWC
TWC INFO showed if the show was a repeat or not
Other things I cant think of right now

I know alot of this stuff sounds like nitpicking but seeing how TWC does all these features... it drove me nuts not having it with WOW. Not even having Fox & ABC in HD was enough for me to keep WOW. I switched back to TWC and they actually gave me a better deal then I had. I now have TWC with RR,DVR, & HBO for $95.00. So Im happy. Once TWC gets ABC & Fox in HD I'll be even happier!

I forgot one other thing that drove me nuts... If there is a show I want to watch that night I usually start watching it 15-20 mins after it started. That way I can fastfoward the commercials and usually caught up to the Live programming by the end of the show. With WOW I couldnt start watching the show from the beginning if it was currently being recorded. It would start from the Live point and I had to rewind. And since WOW's rewind is slower and you cant skip 15 mins this could take a few mins just to get back to the beginning (very annoying). With TWC I can select the show being recorded from the List and it would start the beginning. Or if I wanted to watch it Live I could just tune to the station or hit Live. Maybe I was missing something with WOW but this drove me nuts.

[ASDFCommander]

Do any of you TW/WOW HD subscribers know if either of their digital STBs have working Firewire out?

Thanks.

[nicholc2]

One awesome feature that SARA has over Passport that noone has mentioned is the fact that with SARA you can hook up an external SATA drive to your dvr and increase your available storage as much as 400gb. That's a BIG difference in my book since I record a lot of shows. My wife has been recording the olympics and on my TW box I'm having to scramble to watch stuff I would otherwise be able to keep for a while because the hard drive is running out of room. If WOW was available in my area, I'd switch in a heartbeat just for that feature alone. I'd deal with the interface issues. But I don't have a choice for now, so....