cyberbeing
join:2005-02-18
Sacramento, CA
 ·SureWest Internet
edit:
February 8th, @09:04AM
| Re: Bad experience
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I hope you are able to get everything resolved.
I think the third thing is people complaining about pixelation (blocking) when watching SDTV programming on a HDTV. I made a huge issue out of that exact thing when I first signed up. It basically comes down to that Surewest gets something like 50+ of the sdtv "cable" channels in bulk via satellite at only 2-3Mbps (mpeg2) per channel. Surewest's HDTV programing on the other hand is quite good (full-bitrate stream 13Mbps+ and not re-compressed).
They don't have any excuse for a poor wiring/install job. I guess they aren't training their installers very well anymore or maybe you just happened to get a bad one or something. You should get them to refund you install cost. I know when I signed up for Surewest a few years ago there was no charge for install and they did a good job on my house.
About the HDMI cables, those aren't included in the boxes so the guy didn't steal your cables. As for why he didn't hook it up with HDMI it's probably because he wasn't told otherwise and just used the component cable in the box. I get the feeling that HDMI cables are a by request sort of thing because they are an extra expense that comes out of Surewest's pocket. If you stop by one of their showrooms they should have them on hand and will give you an HDMI cable for each box that needs it for free.
You must have called during a busy time of day. I call them every so often and my hold times are usually very short (1-10mins) and sometimes someone even instantly picks up the phone. Personally experience with Surewest customer support and tech support has been overall above-average but I agree that some of their employees' knowledge of the services is quite poor. |
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fightingmink
join:2008-02-07
Elk Grove, CA
·SureWest Internet
| So far, the pixelation issue hasn't come up. My brother told me that it was a major problem at roll out. I'm sure they have taken care of it.
As for the HDMI cable, the box came with a list items included in the package. The HDMI cables was one of them. Customer support stated that it did not, but after talking to tech support, they said that it was included.
They came out and fixed my box, but after the big storm. I'm hoping there is no damage. I was warned that the sub-contractors do a crappy job, but man.... |
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cyberbeing
join:2005-02-18
Sacramento, CA
·SureWest Internet
edit:
February 10th, @11:09AM
| I still have issues with blocking/artifacts on SDTV programming on my Sony CRT (some channels are worse then others). I watch a lot of videos on my computer and sometimes even encode my own stuff so I might just be overly sensitive to it because I know what to look for. Channel 99, the Comcast one that has some Kings games, is by far the worst one.
I have picked up 3 brand new Amino 130 STB. One had no cable and the other two were packaged with only the component cable (see part list on page 4 of the manual).
Also if you look here: »www.aminocom.com/products/pdf/Am···yer_.pdf all of the cables are optional. The HDMI cables they gave me were made by All Systems Broadband not Animo. |
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fightingmink
join:2008-02-07
Elk Grove, CA
·SureWest Internet
| I use the ADB 5810WX HD-DVR. In any event, it still look like I'm going to Fry's to get some HDMI's...
Some LCD/Plasmas have problems with pixelation. Both my HDTVs have 6ms/4ms @ 60hz and I do get pixelation on fast scenes, but it's hardly noticeable. I haven't surfed, or try to avoid the SDTV channels, so I haven't found any artifacts.
One thing I notice on some digital boxes is that in the settings, there is a choice for screen resolution. I found it better, though not in my current settings, to set it at 720p vs 1080i. My HDTVs rate a 1080p and at times 720p matches well. 1080i and 720p maybe the same resolution, but 720p gives me less pixelation.
Cheers... |
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cyberbeing
join:2005-02-18
Sacramento, CA
·SureWest Internet
edit:
February 10th, @09:08PM
| Ah you have the HD-DVR. There seem to be a lot of complaints about it in the Surewest thread on avsforum so I haven't been that interested in it. I hope the Amino 530 HD-DVR ends up being better whenever it finally comes out.
And like I said earlier, if you go to one of the Surewest showrooms they will give you the HDMI cables you need for free.
Showroom listing: »www.surewest.com/wireless/buy/#showrooms |
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