cable tv

[MikeyBash]

what's the deal with gmp? the other day our cable went out, and i called them but they weren't answering their phone. i thought they had gone out of business. i just tried their web site, and that's down too.

what did we do to deserve such a crappy cable company? i pay more than my in-laws in anne arundle county, but they get more channels and much better reception. comcast answers the phone, too.

i say, lets kick these gmp a--holes out, and get comcast or cox or some other company that's doing something other than leaching their franchise. i'm mad as hell, and i'm not going to take it anymore!

 

[Penn]

Originally posted by MikeyBash
what's the deal with gmp? the other day our cable went out, and i called them but they weren't answering their phone. i thought they had gone out of business. i just tried their web site, and that's down too.

what did we do to deserve such a crappy cable company? i pay more than my in-laws in anne arundle county, but they get more channels and much better reception. comcast answers the phone, too.

i say, lets kick these gmp a--holes out, and get comcast or cox or some other company that's doing something other than leaching their franchise. i'm mad as hell, and i'm not going to take it anymore!

That's why I went the satellite route (DirectTV)'bout 5 years ago. I got real tired of my reception going out, in ANY kind of storm. Then, when I tried to get through to them, the line was busy, or nobody was home. As far as I know, there is one cable service on the St Marys side, and one on the Calvert side. Does that tell you anything? (no competition)

penncam

 

[Penn]

Originally posted by jetmonkey
One thing will satellite, you CAN lose reception during heavy storm activity due to cloud cover interfering with the signal reception.

Yeah, you are right Jet; however the good news is that you don't have to do anything or call anyone. As soon as the dense cloud cover passes over, bang(!),
there comes your reception back.
BTW, what kind of hardware probs have you been experiencing? If it's lockup of the receiver, I found out all you gotta do is (1) turn off the receiver, then (2) unplug the receiver for 15 to 30 secs. Plug it back in, turn the receiver on and it's cured! I've had to do it about 4 times since I've had the system, I think. A techie at Thompson told me it's like a manual
reboot, it clears the cache memory module.

penncam

 

[Penn]

Well jet, if you are still having problems with your current system, how come you don't go back the Dish Sys?
Oh, wait, maybe they do not have the NFL package that keeps ya happy on Sundays? However, that is weird that your remote "forgets" the code every few days. Mine has never done that - yet. I have worn out remotes,
but they haven't become absentminded!
penncam

 

[ohstate]

Re: Re: cable tv

Originally posted by jetmonkey
With Direct TV I have had hardware problems, the RCA receivers suck. If you can live without the NFL I would say get Dish Network as fast as you can.

I have Direct TV to get the ESPN College Game day, and have had it for 4 years - you're right about RCA receivers - we had a Hughes receiver up until this year (modem died, and it was cheaper to get a new receiver than to get it fixed), and we replaced it with the RCA. I've had more hardware problems, just like the ones you describe, with the RCA than I did in 4 years with the Hughes... Go Buckeyes!

 

[giggles04]

I think that I am going to look into Direct TV

 

[jazz lady]

Originally posted by giggles04
I think that I am going to look into Direct TV

I have had DirecTV for about 2 years and absolutely love it. Crystal clear reception and great channel selection. I've had no problem with the system other than in extreme weather losing the signal and the remote losing the programming for controlling the TV. However, I accidentally dropped the remote on the wood floor about two months ago and it sort of came apart. I put it back together and since then, it's worked perfectly.

 

[Penn]

DirectTV

I dunno, after having DirecTV for more than 5 years now, I'm mostly happy with it. Maybe I was lucky with the unit I bought, but if it only "locks-up" 4 or 5 times in all that time, and fixing the problem is as simple as turning it off then unplugging it for around 30 secs, I really can't squawk too harshly about it.
Jet was saying when he performed the same cure as I described, it took another 10 minutes for the unit to stabilize and return to normal ops. Mine doesn't, it is just about immediate, I'd say within 3 to 5 secs it was up and running.
One item I saw in the USA Today paper: Don't get caught "pirating" signals you haven't paid or registered for; DirecTV has enlisted the FBI to help track down those fraudulently
receiving unpaid services. The fine is pretty heavy; I think I read
it as $4,500, ouch!, plus possible jailtime, to boot.

penncam

 

[Katie]

I love my DirectTv. GMP I had problems with them so I switched. Never switching back now.

 

[Steve]

The only thing that keeps us from switching is the per TV descrambler fee. And we have the broadband through GMP's package deal.

Right now, we have 100 channels on five TV's, with all the extra digital channels to the living room. That would cost me an additional $50 a month to have the same feeds. Unless someone out there knows something I don't...

 

[RoseRed]

Anyone know why the cable went out last night around 7:15pm?

 

[blueeyes76]

I have two RCA receivers and they are both CRAP!! They're under a year old and we constantly have to reset them. The one in the living room turns itself off and then won't turn back on. UGH!!

Does anybody have Tivo?

 

[AnniesDad]

I have Tivo, along with Sony and Hughes receivers. I've had no problems with any of them.

 

[blueeyes76]

Thanks AnniesDad, I am seriously considering buying a Sony DIRECTV/Tivo receiver! I hear Tivo is great!!

 

[Penn]

Cable Outage(what's new?)

Hi Rosered! Well, the only thing I can recall was that it was windier than he!! last night, and cold to boot. Maybe a power
line or transmission feed line snapped. Other than that, a simple circuit breaker going out could do it.
I could be wrong, but I do not think they keep repair types on site, they're on call, no doubt, but it takes time to respond and fix an outage. It's one of the reasons I quit cable and went the satellite route. It's got it's own foibles, but for sure the reception is better, most of the programming is in digital stereo, and not much puts it out of service.
penncam

 

[RoseRed]

Hey Penn, It was only out for about 20 minutes which was fine with me. I hit the tub and the Bug got a special story time with Daddy.

 

[Kain99]

Originally posted by Steve
Right now, we have 100 channels on five TV's, with all the extra digital channels to the living room. That would cost me an additional $50 a month to have the same feeds. Unless someone out there knows something I don't...

Can you watch diffrent channels on all 5 T.V.'s?

 

[Penn]

5 TVs in the House?

Kain, you little darlin', ya beat me to that one! I guess when Steve and Christy are dancing from room to room, or whatever else they can get into, (like chasing the beagle around),
they do not want to miss a beat!
penncam

 

[justhangn]

Re: 5 TVs in the House?

Originally posted by penncam
(like chasing the beagle around),
they do not want to miss a beat!
penncam

I'm going out on a limb here...BUT...I'm assuming they take their time while chasing.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by RoseRed
Anyone know why the cable went out last night around 7:15pm?

Someone juked a capacitor on the emory board. (ie. the Cable Princess was doing her nails, and bumped the power switch admiring her work.)

In other words, I have no clue, but my cable modem freaked out, and came back within the hour.