Charter offers NOTHING!

[Kal Rubinson]

This is the reply, in part, that I got from Charter today in response to my query about what they offer in HDTV:

Currently we offer 3 HD channels. We have Discovery HD, which is $3.99 per month and HBO HD, which is $13.00 per month which also comes with Cinemax (Cinemax is not yet offered in HD), or free if you subscribe to the HBO/Cinemax Plex. We also offer Showtime HD which is $4.00 per month, or free with the subscription to the Big Movie Tier(which also includes TMC).

The rest dealt with the availability of receivers and pricing.

From this, I take it that they are offering no programming at all for the cost of the HDTV receiver box ($9.99/mo or $3.04 added to the cost of the digital box). No mention of any local channels or ESPNHD either.

[kevinw]

I live in an Adelphia service zone ..NO HD here at all...I get the most HD from an antenna mounted on my roof for free..

[Kal Rubinson]

I got nothing OTA from a modest antenna several years ago when we bought this house and that's why we went with Charter. All we wanted then were the networks and that's all we want now.

Yesterday, I did the search to find the available HDTV OTA options and found that I might be able to get CBS and PBS. However, both would require a BIG antenna and they were in different directions. Most of the stations that the survey showed were unknown to me and all over the map, literally. No NBC affiliates were on the list.

Inquiries to Dish and DirecTV were not much more encouraging with regard to local channels/network feeds in HD and the cost would be much higher than we pay for cable.

My wife has vetoed a large antenna for esthetic reasons and I accept that. She puts up with a lot from me inside the house!

Looks like I may just keep the cheapest analog or digital service for the local/network feeds when we get the plasma. Sigh.:mecry:

Kal

[Kal Rubinson]

FWIW, here's their follow-up confirming my interpretation:

In response to your email, I agree with you that we have not been as quick to launch new HD services as we should have and again I apologize.

However, the price of $9.99 for the HD receiver is for the receiver itself and the access fee. It does not include any channels.

We are in negotiations with different channels for their HD feeds. Charter is working hard to make sure we get the best deal possible for these services. Our problems in the past have been that we jump at these new services and paid more than we should have for the product. This has lead to higher rates for our customers and we are committed to no longer doing business like that.

We will be adding more HD programming as we complete negotiations with HDTV programmers.



Pretty lame.

Kal[B][COLOR=darkred]

[57U]

Forgive me for asking, but are the charges mentioned for HBO etc, not the charges for access to the channel, whether it's SD or HD? You then rent an SD box and get the SD channel or rent an HD box and get both?

For example, with Rogers, so far, we don't pay anything for "HD" at all. If we subscribe to the SD premium channel, we also get access to the same HD premium channel. We have "free" access to all the HD channels that are "free", or part of the package we subscribe to. We do pay C$9 for an SD box and C$15 for an HD box per month. (sometimes the box is wrapped up in a "bundle".

http://www.shoprogers.com/store/cable/digitaltvcontent/bundles.asp (for HD, click the link at the bottom.)

This is not true for Bell ExpressVU, which charges a buck or two extra for some HD because they're trying to recover the cost of a satellite required for HD.

The cable companies had to pay for infrastructure too - billions of $ for additional bandwidth, but they did it mostly for VOD & Internet, so HD is probably subsidized by these.

[Kal Rubinson]

What you say may be true but I am not interested in the premium channels. I only wish to get the networks, PBS and, say, CNN. If I cannot get some of these in HD (and I am willing to pay for them), I have no need for HD.

I have, since my last post, received information that neither DirecTV nor Dish retransmit the local channels in HD, so I will simply forego HD completely.

I am buying a 42" HD plasma for esthetic and ergonomic reasons and, I guess, I will see advantages with DVDs only.

Kal (pissed off and disappointed)

[57U]

Kal, save yourself some money then and get yourself an EDTV Plasma - half the price and just as good, if not better for SD and DVDs. Seriously. Go look at them. They display at 480P, not 768P or so for HD plasmas, but since you're not going to be feeding it HD, it won't make a difference. Even if you do end up feeding it HD at some future time, it'll still look pretty good.

Then in a few years, you can get something else with the $2-3k you save.

Read the thread on HDTV vs EDTV.

To others reading this post - this is not a general endorsement of EDTV, it is an endorsement of EDTV for a specific application.

PS, If you're into PBS, boy does it look good on an HDTV.

[Kal Rubinson]

Thanks for the advice but I rarely buy anything for the short haul. I hope to get at least 5 years out of this plasma during which I hope to get HD on it.

[pmalve]

I put up antenna this weekend and am geting all the CT channels. I live in the center of Bethlehem and according to antennaweb I should only get ABC and UPN from New Haven. I think they are conservetive on there estimates about what you will get. Channel 3 is the hardest to get here in CT as they broadcast extremely low power, but I was lucky and locked it in. OTA picture is awesome and free once you pay for antenna. If you are closer to Newtown you might have a harder time getting Hartford stations. WVIT is broadcasting full power. WTIC and WTXX are half power. WTNH and WCTX are full power.

[Kal Rubinson]

Thanks for the encouraging news. I am in New Milford (and closer to Newtown) but your success gives me hope. I was planning to get an OTA receiver and try anyway.