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Badger3k
We Don't Need No Stinkin Badgers
Premium Member
join:2001-09-27
Franklin, OH

Badger3k

Premium Member

[TWC] Signature Home Review

I have a scheduled install of the Signature Home for today and figured I would give a review/my thoughts on the process, service, install, etc. I read one review here (which I think has been removed due to some flaming) and figured one from a non-TW fanboy may fair a little better.

What I currently have
I'm currently a DirectTV subscriber and have been for the last 6 years. I'm on a grandfathered Total Choice Plus (middle tier) package with 2 HDDVR's, 1 Regular DVR, and 1 Regular receiver. I've got all the HD stuff, minus any premium channels.

Being outside the Cincinnati area, I am on RoadRunner Extreme (30/5) and have been for the last 2 months or so.

Currently do not have a home phone, cell phone only.

Why Signature Home?
DirectTV service has been great, minus the usual satellite hiccups with weather. So why change? I've called DirectTV to see about getting a new deal under contract and the best I was given was $10/month off if I sign up for AutoPay. I hate AutoPay, so no thank you. Plus, I'm a sucker for change and TWC does offer a few channels in HD that DirectTV does not. AMC is one of those. The 4% price increase coming didn't help either, although I am aware TWC does the same thing every year.

I'm already on the Wideband internet. The 50/5 or whatever tier is still in testing, but hopefully that will be upgraded soon. I mostly game, but when I want something downloaded I want it now so the upgraded speed is a plus. Yes, I'm inpatient.

I have a soon to be 11 year old who still start being able to stay home alone which makes having a home phone important. I could have just added him to our cellular plan, but he can wait till he's driving for a cell phone.

Pre-Scheduling questions
I did have some questions on the channel lineup and adding additional equipment for the other 2 TVs. I first tried the online chat and the person told me they aren't able to look at pricing or anything in my area, I'd have to call. No big deal, but was a waste of time.

Called the number the Chat Rep gave me and spoke to a very nice and knowledgeable lady. She walked me through looking at my channel lineup, answered all of my questions and was very upfront in her answers. I didn't sign up then and there because I needed the bosses (aka wife) approval. I was quoted about $205 after taxes a month. This includes 2 additional boxes.

Called back to schedule and spoke to a different rep this time. He was...meh. There was an issue with him getting into my account and had to call me back. About 15 minutes later he called, we walked though getting the appointment scheduled. He had some questionnaire to fill out but really did a piss poor job going through it. He said multiple times that he really didn't know what he was doing with it. I think the questions were more towards people wanting to port their landline number over, which didn't apply to me.

Next I was transfered to a PSA Agent. This was a cluster. The guy I talked too really had no idea what was going on so I may have been transfered to the wrong place. The call ended up getting dropped or disconnected and about 20 minutes later I received a call back. The PSA Agent had another set of questions for me to answer and this was about what devices I had in the house. The Signature Home includes wifi setup, so they did ask how many wireless devices, along with everything that is hooked up to the TV and what locations the boxes will be installed at. This took about 20 minutes or so.

The install is scheduled for today at 1pm, so once everything is hooked up I'll follow up.
Badger3k

Badger3k

Premium Member

Installation
Installers arrived about an hour early. Which is shocking! They called prior to showing up, so that was nice. 2 installers showed up instead of the usual 1. The installer gave me a card and these are Signature Home installers, so I'm not sure how they are different from the rest.

First thing we did was went over the plan that was laid out with the PSA agent on the phone. They brought in a laptop and pulled it up on screen which was cool. Then we went around the house and labeled what went were and everything that needed to be hooked up.

Next they went out and put a new box on the side of the house. Not sure what it is or looks like as I didn't get out there to check yet. They also traced all of the lines and tested them. 2 of my lines had water damage and they had to replace them.

After that they started hooking up the devices and programmed the remotes to work with everything. I received Cisco devices for everything. All of the equipment is brought in reusable bags that you get to keep. Not a bad touch. They verified all of the signal levels on the devices again after was hooked up. Made sure HD was working and all of the other devices turned on and worked.

They made sure the modem for the internet was online and hooked up the phone modem next. We had some issues getting an IP on the modem but they reset it remotely or something and it came up. Tested the phone and was good to go. The 50/5 tier is active and I was updated for that. Below is a link to a speedtest.




Overall the install was painless and I was very surprised how smooth everything went. Picture quality looks great, phone is good, internet is good.

Jerome Charl

Anon

Waiting to get here in Kernersville, NC, but I refuse to pay extra for just 10 MB RR Turbo (we are not upgraded yet to get the 50MB downstream yet). Sad, but true.

hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium Member
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY

hobgoblin

Premium Member

said by Jerome Charl :

Waiting to get here in Kernersville, NC, but I refuse to pay extra for just 10 MB RR Turbo (we are not upgraded yet to get the 50MB downstream yet). Sad, but true.

Make sense....I would not either!

Hob

raleighguy
@rr.com

raleighguy to Jerome Charl

Anon

to Jerome Charl
in garner, nc. i've had several talks with the time warner reps/supervisors/etc. bottom line was "high speed internet" did not really have a market in north carolina... and that apparently the rr turbo is "fast enough" for it's customer base. i'm guessing from your comment, that the new service that's being offered does not have a faster internet plan. ugh.
raleighguy

raleighguy to Badger3k

Anon

to Badger3k
badger,
do you have total control over the wireless setup... or are they still able to remotely play around with it? do you have hardware makes/models for everything?

thanks!

Badger3k
We Don't Need No Stinkin Badgers
Premium Member
join:2001-09-27
Franklin, OH

Badger3k

Premium Member

said by raleighguy :

badger,
do you have total control over the wireless setup... or are they still able to remotely play around with it? do you have hardware makes/models for everything?

thanks!

I already have wireless setup with my router, so I didn't have them do anything with the wireless. The HDDVR's are Explorer 8642HDC. The non-DVR boxes (playback devices as TW calls them) are Explorer 4642HDC. The phone modem is a Scientific Atlanta 2203c. And the Wideband modem is a Motorola SURFBoard SBG6580. The modem is a gateway/router device that I put into bridge modem.

motorola870
join:2008-12-07
Arlington, TX

motorola870

Member

Do you by chance know if you are bonding four channels on the SBG6580 and if so which ones? I know here in Dallas they use 4 and are from 783MHz-801MHz.

skuv
@rr.com

skuv to raleighguy

Anon

to raleighguy
said by raleighguy :

in garner, nc. i've had several talks with the time warner reps/supervisors/etc. bottom line was "high speed internet" did not really have a market in north carolina... and that apparently the rr turbo is "fast enough" for it's customer base.

Well, you should already know that isn't true. Charlotte was the first TW area to have Signature Home with 50/5 Internet.

And Wilson, NC was the first TWC area in NC to go to 15/2 standard because of the Greenlight fiber service.

Badger3k
We Don't Need No Stinkin Badgers
Premium Member
join:2001-09-27
Franklin, OH

Badger3k to motorola870

Premium Member

to motorola870
said by motorola870:

Do you by chance know if you are bonding four channels on the SBG6580 and if so which ones? I know here in Dallas they use 4 and are from 783MHz-801MHz.

No clue. But if you can tell me how to check, if I can check, I'd be more than happy.
eagleknight
join:2002-11-08
Troy, OH

eagleknight to Badger3k

Member

to Badger3k
I talked to TWC through chat today and was disappointed to find out the whole house DVR is only through signature service. I am up in the Troy, OH and we don't have the 50/5 service here yet. I think I am going to be switching to DirecTv. I don;t know why they aren't offering this differently.
Phil75070
join:2005-08-17
Mckinney, TX

Phil75070 to Badger3k

Member

to Badger3k
I can't seem to find this info anywhere, but what channel packages are included in the Signature Home deal? Any premium movie channels or does it cost the same to add those as it does for regular service? How many boxes included (did I miss that somewhere?)

ChillyCat6
join:2004-09-07
Chesterland, OH

ChillyCat6

Member

said by Phil75070:

what channel packages are included in the Signature Home deal?

None.... as in ZERO

but you do get a Kid, who'll come over your house
and dazzle you with his hand tools.
castroyy
join:2011-01-25
Newbury, OH

castroyy

Member

I just ordered the Signature package. They are coming on Saturday to install everything. I don't really need the wireless, nor do I want the phone. We haven't had a home phone in years, but with kids I think it's needed here shortly. I am excited about the multiple DVR, as well as whole home DVR. That was the reason I went with the Package, as well as the Wide-Band internet (They say in a month Hopefully) when it's released!!!

ChillyCat - You are right down the street from me! Small World!

ChillyCat6
join:2004-09-07
Chesterland, OH

ChillyCat6

Member

said by castroyy:

ChillyCat - You are right down the street from me!

Hey there.. !!

Between Sperry & 306 on Cedar [wife was the Principal at your lovely Elem School years ago]

Currently enjoying the 70ish degree weather here in Fla.
Missing all that winter fun up there.

Wideband Huh ??? That outta be interesting. I'll have to keep
up on that dvelopment.
dan8379
join:2011-01-26
Cincinnati, OH

dan8379 to Badger3k

Member

to Badger3k
So can you tell me how the actual DVR is? Any problems with the whole house functionality? I have my install scheduled for next Thursday and just wondering if I should expect any DVR issues.
castroyy
join:2011-01-25
Newbury, OH

castroyy to ChillyCat6

Member

to ChillyCat6
Chilly, By looking at your location on your map, It looks like you live next to a buddy of mine. I live on Fairmount, but my kids do go to West G Schools!
castroyy

castroyy to dan8379

Member

to dan8379
The TW guy is here as we speak. He had some issues with the Samsung Boxes, so he switched me over to the Cisco Explorer boxes. I will play with it this afternoon and let you know how it's working!
dan8379
join:2011-01-26
Cincinnati, OH

dan8379

Member

So what are your thoughts so far? How is the DVR?
castroyy
join:2011-01-25
Newbury, OH

castroyy

Member

The DVR is the same, the only difference is you can watch it in multiple locations. That is worth the price alone in my eyes. The Cisco boxes are a little sluggish. The Guide takes forever to catch up, and is always lagging behind. The internet speeds are great, but I haven't used the home phone yet. I didn't own a home phone, so I had to purchase one. I am waiting for it to arrive. I didn't purchase any additional boxes either, but I have been told it's $6.95 a month for the "Play back" Boxes. That would be great as well for another room. The one thing I don't like about the DVR's, is that you can't delete a program that has been recorded on another box. Just a little annoying to me, but not the end of the world. And Since I tend to record everything on my main box, I have to delete from there. I wish it would spread the recordings out between the boxes, instead of recording on whatever box you chose to record the show.

Other then that, my biggest complaint is the sluggish guide on the boxes. It takes forever to catch up.

Crapigator
@rr.com

Crapigator

Anon

Does anyone know if you can you schedule recordings from other client boxes?

g0d
@rr.com

g0d to eagleknight

Anon

to eagleknight
First of all to make MOCA work your house may need to be re-wired or re configured and im sure you wont pay for them to do it. Second they are not going to go re-wire your house and bring every outlet up to specs just for you to pay an extra 10 - 15 bucks a month. Its not reasonable. Think about it.
dan8379
join:2011-01-26
Cincinnati, OH

dan8379 to castroyy

Member

to castroyy
Thanks for the review....can you tell if the 150 hours HD capacity seems accurate?
castroyy
join:2011-01-25
Newbury, OH

castroyy

Member

Well you have two boxes to record shows on now, and the capacity is larger on these boxes. I had built up 20 or so shows since last Thursday, and the main box was at 7% full, but most of the shows were not HD shows, as they were kid's shows not in HD. The second DVR had 3 hour long HD shows and it was at 1% full.

I was always running out of space on my old box, so I would set my kids shows to only hold 1 or two. Now I shouldn't have to do that.
RedshiftNC
join:2005-01-26
Raleigh, NC

RedshiftNC to Badger3k

Member

to Badger3k
Can we get some screen shots of the DVR? How does it compare to DirecTV? I have DTV now but would like to switch to save some money but only if the DVR is up to par.

unknvoip
RIP goose
Premium Member
join:2006-07-25
Rochester, NY

unknvoip

Premium Member

The interesting thing (to me) from your comment about DTV is that I am switching from TWC to DTV to save money, only I am going from a single DVR set-up to a whole home solution with them that will save a few hundred over a couple years.

The sad part is all of these companies seem more interested in new customers than their existing ones.
RedshiftNC
join:2005-01-26
Raleigh, NC

RedshiftNC

Member

The problem for me is that I badly want 50/5 internet, and I already have TWC's phone and crappy 10/512K internet...so for me this upgrade, as compared with a dual HD-DVR setup from DTV, saves $20-30-40 per month (hard to calculate since the 50/5 is not available a la carte here yet).

Yes, I agree that they seem to care more about new customers than existing ones, but DTV has taken good care of me over the years, that much I can say.

Badger3k
We Don't Need No Stinkin Badgers
Premium Member
join:2001-09-27
Franklin, OH

Badger3k to RedshiftNC

Premium Member

to RedshiftNC
said by RedshiftNC:

Can we get some screen shots of the DVR? How does it compare to DirecTV? I have DTV now but would like to switch to save some money but only if the DVR is up to par.

I think the Cisco DVR boxes I got are just as good if not better than the DTV DVR. What screens would you like to see?
Badger3k

Badger3k to unknvoip

Premium Member

to unknvoip
said by unknvoip:

The interesting thing (to me) from your comment about DTV is that I am switching from TWC to DTV to save money, only I am going from a single DVR set-up to a whole home solution with them that will save a few hundred over a couple years.

The sad part is all of these companies seem more interested in new customers than their existing ones.

The downside to DTV is the large upfront cost to purchase the HDDVR equipment. I think I was going to have to pay $199 per HDDVR to move to the whole home solution.
RedshiftNC
join:2005-01-26
Raleigh, NC

RedshiftNC to Badger3k

Member

to Badger3k
Main "list" screen, maybe the search screen. I'm just as interested in operational feedback and comparisons from users who've used both that and the DirecTV HD DVR (HR2x). I thought I had read something about TWC using Samsung DVR boxes - are you sure they're all going to be Cisco, or perhaps maybe in OH but not down here in NC? I'm not sure.