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mws192
join:2007-09-11

14 recommendations

mws192

Member

Wilt

First time, long time. I read this today and remembered fondly all the support Wilt used to give the Optimum forums.

"Wilt Hildenbrand, a long-time exec of Cablevision Systems Corp. and cable engineering pioneer and legend, has died of a heart attack at the age of 70, multiple people in the industry have confirmed."

"During his cable career, Hildenbrand spent the good part of three decades with Cablevision, as its top technology and engineering executive, including many as its executive vice president of technology and engineering."

»www.multichannel.com/new ··· =twitter

actor90
Never a dull moment
Premium Member
join:2003-07-21
Jackson, NJ

2 recommendations

actor90

Premium Member

That is sad news. He was always so helpful and truly loved his job and took pride in it. He will truly be missed.

WK2
Premium Member
join:2006-12-28
united state

2 recommendations

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RIP, Wilt.

mbernste
MVM
join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ

5 recommendations

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I'm really sorry to hear about this. I remember having a great instant messaging conversation (I think it was on AIM) with him about the decision he made to have Cablevision go to the Scientific-Atlanta platform over the Motorola platform. At the time I had just moved out of a Comcast (Motorola) town (Woodbridge, NJ) and to Piscataway. I always felt the SA boxes were better. The article even talked about how he tried to break away from the Motorola/SA duopoly, even if ultimately the Sony decision may not have been the best one to make.

Engineer88
join:2000-12-01
Smithtown, NY

8 recommendations

Engineer88 to mws192

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Yes, a very sad day. Few in the Cable Industry can be regarded as legends in their own time. Wilt was one of them.

I owe much of my career to Wilt.

May he rest in peace.
Tivo guy
join:2002-02-02
Kings Park, NY

2 recommendations

Tivo guy to mws192

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Rip Wilt you will be missed

Anone1485
@optonline.net

2 recommendations

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Anon

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Oh, man, that's too bad. I thought he was much younger.

Tursiops_G
Technoid
MVM
join:2002-02-06
Brooksville, FL

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Sad news indeed. He was one of the best.

RIP, Wilt. 😢

Anone1485
@optonline.net

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said by Engineer88:

Yes, a very sad day. Few in the Cable Industry can be regarded as legends in their own time. Wilt was one of them.

But not only that. He was here, almost every day, helping people who had trouble getting problems solved though normal channels. More than once, someone here posted that they had a problem which wasn't getting resolved, and Wilt would have a senior crew out the next day to fix everything.

andrewc2
join:2011-06-05
Matamoras, PA

4 recommendations

andrewc2

Member

What a shame! I've taken some time to read some of the articles he's been apart of on multichannel, and I tell you what he was really at the forefront of technology, knowing where trends were going before they even got there, it's evident even in this one from 2005. »www.multichannel.com/new ··· t/333580
andrec10
join:2002-09-06
Hyde Park, NY

2 recommendations

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So sad, Helped me several times. RIP Wilt. You were a good man!

Olias
Closer to believing
Premium Member
join:2004-05-08
Wayne, NJ

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RIP

limegrass69
No Whammies
join:2008-05-28

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How sad. He was great, and I miss having him around.
TheWiseGuy
Dog And Butterfly
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join:2002-07-04
East Stroudsburg, PA

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Sort of in shock.

Wilt was a real straight shooter and even though he was a techie he understood customer relations as well as anyone.

RIP, Wilt

Nick
Purveyor of common sense
MVM
join:2000-10-29
Smithtown, NY

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Sad to hear, he got me started in the cable industry with an internship.

wsudelt
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
New Canaan, CT

3 recommendations

wsudelt to mws192

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Ugh, sad to hear this. Condolences to his family. I interacted with him a few times when I was unable to resolve some issues and after doing so, still amazed how fast said issues were resolved. In an industry wherein the consumer often feels like nothing more than a faceless number, he was a class act who got things done and made you feel like your business (and user experience) were valued. RIP Wilt.
RemyM
join:2005-02-14
Pinehurst, NC

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Very sad. I contacted him directly on a few occasions and he got top people to my house and gave me a direct contact in engineering to work out issues with Switched Digital Video and the cloud DVR. I even got a call at home from Kristin Dolan and him one night thanking me for the help in resolving some of the issues and they gave me a credit for 6 months of service. He was someone who really cared about his job and the customer.

stevennb
Ok, But, Thats The Last Straw.
Premium Member
join:2001-05-08
Wayne, NJ

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hally
Premium Member
join:2000-02-21
Long Beach, NY

3 recommendations

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Condolences to his loved ones. Very sorry to hear this.
He helped so many people, myself included. My entire building was without service and phone support said everything was fine, contacted Wilt and within an hour there were multiple trucks outside.

HardwareGeek
join:2003-11-15
Brooklyn, NY

4 recommendations

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Wilt was awesome he will be missed.

I remember when I first started working for a big tech company, and my mom got sick and I had to stay with her a few months in the hood. Cablevision just rolled out digital cable services. They said they were available to at my moms place but were not.

Wilt hit me up and said he'd take care of it.

the very next morning a CV Engineer knocked on my mom's door said we must know someone in a high place and that he was there to make sure we got service.

The long as cable line they ran still hangs today from a node on another block.

obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

2 recommendations

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Sad news. It's rare and even more so today to have that one person that's willing to put themselves out there on a platform like this and really get things done. He almost always got an answer and action whenever you had a problem.

andrewc2
join:2011-06-05
Matamoras, PA

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I helped a friend of mine get cable by reaching out to wilt. Their cable plant ended about 400 feet from their house and Cablevision always told them it would be $3,000 to wire it to their house. I emailed Wilt asking if he could help them out. Within a day there were 2 trucks at their location checking the plant, and within a week the plant was extended, and the line was connected up to their house. The tech who they talked to said, their work order got put in red letters which was reserved for extreme high priority work. They've happily had Optimum ever since!

RickNY
Premium Member
join:2000-11-02
Bellport, NY

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Wow.. This is terrible to hear.. A brilliant technology legend, and as down to earth as they come.. I remember when the SA boxes made their debut on Long Island, and Wilt had a team of SA and CV engineers come to my place to get a debug 4200HD box installed to nail down an issue with Dolby Digital audio that was in the initial software that rolled out.

So sorry to hear this.. RIP Wilt.

rtbond
join:2007-11-28
Hopatcong, NJ

3 recommendations

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I had a tree leaning on the cable distribution line in the street. I was unhappy with the "not our problem" attitude from Cablevision support. I reached out to Wilt online and within a day or two there was a crew outside my house addressing the issue.
PX Eliezer0
join:2017-01-15
Ho Ho Kus, NJ

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Sad news.

I know that he helped a lot of people....

Anon687de
@optonline.net

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So sorry to hear that. Wilt was one of a kind. His "Wilt-o-grams" within the company were legendary - and feared - because you had to drop everything else you had on your plate, and work on whatever he escalated : he had the clout and influence of a C-level exec for much longer than he was a C-level exec, and cared deeply about things done right and for the customers. His technical qualifications and knowledge was legendary - any vendor coming blue-eyed into a presentation, or trying to pull wool over executives eyes soon wished they hadn't tried - he was absolutely a sharp, brilliant, no-BS technical guy who fiercely guarded the company's interests, Chuck and Jimmy could always rely on that.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

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few people like this make a company run these days are still alive. closer to clockwork orange these days.
rip

FallenAnjel
join:2011-04-07
East Cupcake

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i'm so sorry to hear this. He helped me get the right people to fix my optimum voice problem that no one seemed to be able to solve. I tell so many people about that. RIP Wilt! 3 ^i^ 3

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

1 recommendation

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While I never had OOL, I used to read the forums quite a bit and enjoyed his posts. I lost track of what happened to him these last few years. Did he move on or retire before Altice took over?

Anone1485
@optonline.net

2 recommendations

Anone1485

Anon

He retired around 10 years ago, then came back around 2012 after a reorganization at Cablevision. He permanently retired with the Altice acquisition in 2016.