jmr
@wideopenwest.com
| WOW's future plans
I recently emailed somebody high up who works for WOW! He gave me the following information:
1)They are planning on adding HD VOD this summer
2)They are planning to free bandwidth up in the coming months to make room for more HD channels (I have no info about the possibility of SDV and which HD channels will be added)
3)Higher Internet Speeds should be available later this year. |
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Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL
| will they replace the old hd boxes that people have with new ones?
Will they add free movies to VOD.
What will be cut to make room?
They should move all PPV channels to SDV or digital cable.
If they move things like SCI-FI to digital cable then I may end up getting u-verse or sat tv and pay the same to get more + free boxes. |
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jmr
@wideopenwest.com
| All of the information that I know I already said. I do not know the answer to any of your questions. I doubt that they will replace any of the HD boxes. Hopefully in the future, though, they will switch to SDV so they have room for a great deal more HD channels. |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
 ·WOW Internet and C..
| reply to Joe12345678
said by Joe12345678  :will they replace the old hd boxes that people have with new ones? Why would they replace them if they work?
Will they add free movies to VOD. More would be nice, besides the ones Starz has.
What will be cut to make room? More than likely they'll move more analog channels to the digital tier.
They should move all PPV channels to SDV or digital cable. That would be a smart move.
If they move things like SCI-FI to digital cable then I may end up getting u-verse or sat tv and pay the same to get more + free boxes. You don't get free boxes with sat, they cost $5 a month to rent. AT&T gives you 3 for free, $5 for extras, and only 1 DVR per house. Also AT&T only allows 1 HD stream per house and a max of 4 total streams per house. As long as you don't have a lot of tv watchers U-Verse could work. They need to get pair bonding going now.
If WOW added SCI-FI HD to the lineup then you'd probably stay, wouldn't you? |
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grantsa4
join:2007-08-15
Naperville, IL | reply to jmr
Thanks for the news JMR |
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sml1771
join:2006-11-20
Sterling Heights, MI | reply to jmr
What exactly is SDV ? |
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alightfoot
Premium
join:2003-07-28
Hilliard, OH
 ·ViaTalk
| said by sml1771 :What exactly is SDV ? Switched Digital Video
read more about it here:
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched_video |
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jmr
@wideopenwest.com
| reply to sml1771
Basically it just frees up bandwidth. It does this by only sending channels out being watched by any customer in a particular "node" (there are normally 1-2000 customers per node). Channels that are not being requested are not sent out to the users of that node. This means less bandwidth is used because only certain channels are being sent. The diagram at this web site dives a good picture of how it works: »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched_digital_video |
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Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL
edit:
March 12th, @11:26PM
| reply to imrf
said by imrf :said by Joe12345678 :will they replace the old hd boxes that people have with new ones? Why would they replace them if they work? Will they add free movies to VOD. More would be nice, besides the ones Starz has. What will be cut to make room? More than likely they'll move more analog channels to the digital tier. They should move all PPV channels to SDV or digital cable. That would be a smart move. If they move things like SCI-FI to digital cable then I may end up getting u-verse or sat tv and pay the same to get more + free boxes. You don't get free boxes with sat, they cost $5 a month to rent. AT&T gives you 3 for free, $5 for extras, and only 1 DVR per house. Also AT&T only allows 1 HD stream per house and a max of 4 total streams per house. As long as you don't have a lot of tv watchers U-Verse could work. They need to get pair bonding going now. If WOW added SCI-FI HD to the lineup then you'd probably stay, wouldn't you? With wow you have to pay for each box.
I have sbc dsl + cell phone so I will a deal with a TV + dsl as well.
I just have basic + HD. If I have to pay for HD-pak or digital basic + HD pack. I have 2 tv's right now 1 hd.
At that price + 1 more box U-Verse or sat with more channels at the same price + free with no box for up to 4 tv's is better.
I may even go back to comcast as they moved SCF-FI and other stuff to Digital channels I don't want to pay for G4 and other Digital channels just to get SCF-FI and other channels that used to be on basic. WOW should make the first 2-4 boxes free.
With They add SCF-FI HD it should be on HD not HD-pak and why must I pay for digital to get over the air sub channels?
Why is abc 7.2 and wciu .6 on the digital pack?
Weather plus is on HD.
Where is wciu Digital? It's a over the air HD channel.
I want to be able to pick the channels that I want not be forced to pay for more carp just to get what I have now. |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| said by Joe12345678 :With wow you have to pay for each box. First box is included, you only pay for additional ones.
I have sbc dsl + cell phone so I will a deal with a TV + dsl as well. Ok, then with bundling with AT&T you can save some cash.
WOW should make the first 2-4 boxes free. Outside of AT&T, no other company does this. This is a pipe dream.
With They add SCF-FI HD it should be on HD not HD-pak It all depends on the contract they strike with the broadcaster. Some broadcasters give better discounts if they are on a pay tier, other times it's required due to price. WOW is much smaller than Comcast or AT&T, they don't have the leverage as they do to get the channels dirt cheap.
and why must I pay for digital to get over the air sub channels? Because they are digital channels that require a digital converter. I'm sure if you had analog only and a HD box you'd get them.
Why is abc 7.2 and wciu .6 on the digital pack? See above.
Where is wciu Digital? It's a over the air HD channel. WOW probably hasn't been able to strike a reasonable contract with them. Who knows. WOW can't just add it, they much have a contract to re-broadcast it.
I want to be able to pick the channels that I want not be forced to pay for more carp just to get what I have now. Keep dreaming. It's unlikely that will ever happen. Read up on all the a-la-carte studies. Many believe the pricing will go up exponentially because of the way they are bundled. It's also because many broadcaster are greedy, see ESPN. |
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DJ Matt
@wideopenwest.com | reply to jmr
Good news about freeing up space for more HD channels. Thats what I was wondering. |
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Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL | Will they go all digital with only having the locals on analog?
If they do that then they should give at least 2 free boxes. |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
edit:
March 13th, @01:01PM
| said by Joe12345678 :Will they go all digital with only having the locals on analog? Eventually, I'm sure they will. But they aren't going to do it extremely fast.
If they do that then they should give at least 2 free boxes. What is it with you and this obsession of free boxes. Nobody does this except AT&T and they have to, to try and get people to switch to them. Mark my words, AT&T will stop the free boxes at some point. Just like WOW did on the free modem rental. |
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Jwobot
join:2002-08-14
Utica, MI
edit:
March 13th, @01:23PM
| I'm fine with moving analog cable channels to digital. But don't make people get boxes for this since the people with digital tv's did not need a box to watch the analog channels. |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI | The only other choice is use a CableCard. They aren't going to pass them in clear QAM. |
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Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL
edit:
March 13th, @04:16PM
| reply to imrf
said by imrf :said by Joe12345678 :Will they go all digital with only having the locals on analog? Eventually, I'm sure they will. But they aren't going to do it extremely fast. If they do that then they should give at least 2 free boxes. What is it with you and this obsession of free boxes. Nobody does this except AT&T and they have to, to try and get people to switch to them. Mark my words, AT&T will stop the free boxes at some point. Just like WOW did on the free modem rental. do you want to pay $5+ per tv just for the box.
They have to let you buy your own box like you can with a cable modem.
Cable cards do not work that well.
AT&T gives you free DSL modems and you own it. |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| said by Joe12345678 :do you want to pay $5+ per tv just for the box. I have for years, and I don't really mind since the box is always under warranty and will be swapped out, unlike a box that you buy.
They have to let you buy your own box like you can with a cable modem. They do, as long as you want a Tivo. The consumer electronics companies don't want to make them though.
Cable cards do not work that well. And that's your opinion. I know quite a few people that have them and don't have issues with them.
AT&T gives you free DSL modems and you own it.
After mail in rebate, and if you remember to mail it in and actually get it back. Many times you can go to Best Buy or Circuit City and sign up with a cable company in the area and get a free modem as well. |
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tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
·Comcast
·WOW Internet and C..
 ·VoiceEclipse
| reply to jmr
Well, it seems WOW could be making some changes then again, track records in the past show they just sit back and wait. However, I think Comcast this time is pretty serious about taking some customers away from WOW. Here's the offer I got today at my door. Yep, comcast has a small army of people out going door to door targeting WOW customers.
Digital Cable value pack includes limited basic, standard basic digital starter and HBO(all of them). DVR w/dual tuner, HSI (6mbps)and digital voice telephone with unlimited local/longdistance. 71.93 a month for 1 year, 99.00 for 2nd year. 10 bucks extra gets you digital classic.
So, it seems Comcast has decided that WOW customers like the 2 year price deal, so they have one of their own.
WOW's future plans? With Comcasts latest tactics, it could go 2 ways. People who are addicted to WOW will call up and want a better deal. Some, like me, will jump ship. My video has been so/so since I've had WOW. OD is a joke and they really need to take a hard look at bandwidth and HSI problems (at least in my area). And they really need to reconsider if the few people who own their modems want a faster speed and is willing to pay for it, they need to step up and support those modems. They have lost 2 people to competition in the past 2 weeks that I know (me and sister-in-law) because of HSI issues. How many need to leave before they do the right thing? |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| Comcast has always had contract sales groups, and they have always had deals like that in competing areas. I've got a couple buddies who have worked for one of the contract groups for years. The deals are nothing special, the same they've been since WOW came around. Comcast and WOW have always had people flip flopping around.
How many need to leave before they do the right thing? Seeing that both sides sign up more than leave, why would either side really care? Look at the phone and cell companies, they all are bleeding people to the other side, and none do anything about it. Look at Sprints horrible customer service since the Nextel takeover. People are leaving because of it, yet they still don't care. |
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doormans
join:2002-11-17
Roseville, MI
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This is the first time I have heard of comcast having a 2 year price plan though. When they come to my house its a 1 year deal and then who knows how high it will go. But a 2 year deal is going to be very enticing to a lot of people since the second year matches WOWs price for the same services.
tc1uscg, what changes have you heard about for WOW? If you have any news,share it man,(not meant to be sarcastic in any way). I would like to know what the hell WOW is going to do to close the gap with the competition, because myself and many I know are growing tired of this "soon" crap we always hear. |
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