Let's Get Digital...Digital!
Written: Aug 21 '00 (Updated Aug 21 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Picture quality, all the different music channels, everything (I'm very pleased with the service)
Cons: Minor one - about the channel guide not telling you the exact starting time when something doesn't start on the half hour or hour mark
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| SusanARI's Full Review: Cox |
INSTALLATION
I wasn't home for this, the other half was. The appointment was scheduled for between 3 and 5pm this past Friday and he informs me that the "Cable Guy" arrived promptly at 3. It's great that the times of waiting all day for them to show up sometime between 8am and 5pm are over. I'm told that installation took approximately 1 hour and most of that time was spent outside up top on the utility pole. Bear in mind that we already had cable on one television and this was simply an upgrade to digital service.
PICTURE QUALITY
As soon as I got home, I immediately wanted to see how it was working. I turned the television on and after checking out several different channels, I was extremely pleased with the picture quality. It was much clearer and sharper than with traditional type cable.
WHAT YOU GET
With the upgrade to digital (which will cost an extra $7.95 per month), we now receive 23 additional channels.
Discovery Kids
Discovery Science
Discovery Home & Leisure
Discovery Civilization
Discovery Wings
CNNfn
Bloomberg TV
CNNsi
The Golf Channel
FOX Sports World
International Channel
ESPNews
Independent Film Channel
Turner Classic Movies
Galavision
Lifetime Movie Network
Oxygen
ZDTV
Much Music
BET on Jazz
Ovation
Game Show Network
Toon Disney
We now also receive 45 commercial-free music channels (no images). There is something for every music taste. Each channel features a different type of music. You'll find classic rock, soft rock, alternative rock, classical, dance, rap, metal, jazz, blues, gospel, latin, Tejano, Brazilian beat, World beat, country, R&B, and much much more. And the sound quality is great.
Ok, everybody gets the above. As premium channel subscribers, we got even more for the same price. Instead of two HBO channels, we now have eight. And instead of two Cinemax channels, we now have 4. Showtime subscribers will end up with 6 channels (including Sundance) and those of you with TMC will have 2 channels. You'll have to check with Cox regarding STARZ and Encore.
THE REMOTE
The remote will operate your cable box, TV, VCR, and an audio receiver if you have one hooked up to your television. It's so nice to be able to get all those remotes off the coffee table and into a drawer.
FEATURES
I am having sooooo much fun figuring out the different features and playing with all the buttons! Starsight, their interactive program guide is awesome!
Browse allows you to find out what's on other channels without taking your eyes off the program you're watching. Just press the up or down arrows on the remote control and a window pops up on the lower portion of your TV screen displaying the title of the program that's on the next or previous channel. Press the arrow again and it'll tell you what's on the next channel and so on. If you happen to come across something you like, just press the select button and you'll be taken to that channel.
Grazing When channel surfing, you no longer have to go back and check to see what's on the stations that had commercials on. Anytime you switch channels, a window pops up displaying program title and time remaining...even if there's a commercial on!
Info Button Press the info button on the remote twice and the title of the program along with a plot summary will pop up on your screen. (By the way, this also works in conjunction with the browse feature) Pressing the button just once only brings up the program title and time remaining.
Channel Guide is a very easy to navigate on-screen TV Guide. My one gripe with it is if something started at 9:40 for example, it won't tell you that...it'll just be listed under 10 with an arrow showing it started sometime earlier. The guide can show you all channels like the regular cable Prevue Guide does or you can just ask it to display programming for a single channel. Simply press the guide button on the remote to access the channel guide.
Theme Guide Pressing the theme button on the remote control allows you to find programs you want to watch by searching through categories such as Sports or Movies as well as subcategories such as Football or Westerns.
PASSWORDS/LOCKING
I haven't used any of these as I don't have a need for them myself but thought some of you might.
Password You may set a password to restrict television viewing by channel, rating, content, or time period. You can also set a password for Pay Per View ordering.
OR
Set Spending Limit allows you to limit the total dollar amount of Pay Per View purchases.
ETC.
One Touch Record allows you to set the system up to record a particular program on a daily or weekly basis. And Auto Tune helps you never to miss an episode of your favorite show - even if your television is off. The Auto Tune feature will automatically turn it on and change to the correct channel for you.
Believe it or not, this isn't everything! But I believe this is enough to give you a much better idea of what digital cable is all about. Until I actually had it installed in my home, I thought it was just extra channels and perhaps better quality. I was sooooo wrong! It's so much more! All the features are great and so convenient. Once you play around with them a bit, you'll find them easy to use too. Try it...you won't be disappointed.
And in closing, I'd just like to comment on the customer service at Cox. The representative I spoke to on the phone to set everything up was very courteous and knew what she was doing. And when she informed me that installation would cost $32.51...I informed her that was unacceptable. I told her that just recently, I'd heard of them offering free installation. And that considering the fact I was also signing up for digital phone service, I shouldn't be made to pay. She put me on hold for just a minute or so and when she came back informed me there'd be no charge :) (My digital phone service through Cox is being installed on August 31. Check back for a review on that if you're interested.)
Wondering about price? The monthly charge for Cox Standard Digital Cable is $47.28. With one premium channel $58.23, with two premium channels $67.23, and with three premium channels $73.23. Additional outlets are $4.95 unless you subscribe to a premium channel and then it's $2.00. The above mentioned price of $32.51 for installation is for an upgrade from regular to digital. If you're getting cable for the first time, you'll have to check with Cox for pricing details. (This is in Rhode Island, by the way...don't know if there's a price difference in other areas Cox may service.)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
SusanARI
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Member: Susan
Location: Punta Gorda, FL
Reviews written: 101
Trusted by: 113 members
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