# OKCpedia > Businesses & Employers >  Another COX rate increase!??

## SoonerDave

Well, if you're a Cox customer in OKC, get ready for _another_ rate increase. 

Yup, if you just absorbed the price increase that hit late last Fall, get ready for _another_ increase - around 10% for most core services/tiers - detailed in the most recent Cox bill. 

Gotta love the constant kicks in the price groin - two in a row this time. If I didn't need the HSI, I'd call them and tell them to yank the whole danged thing. If it weren't for ESPN, I think I could get by without the TV side....

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## Garin

I'm almost to the point of tuning out on tv. I'll put that extra 200 in the bank.

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## jn1780

I hate the internet service pricing scheme with a passion.  If you only do heavy streaming or downloading a couple of times each month you are not fully getting your money's worth.  Your basically subsidizing the couch potato Netflix users, gamers, and pirates.  Bandwidth should be charged by metering and not by some hypothetical amount you may or may not use. 

I will probably downgrade my service or switch to ATT sometime next month.  Netflix will most likely raise rates too since they have are having to make special deals with the IP's to keep up with the demand.

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## SoonerDave

> I hate the internet service pricing scheme with a passion.  If you only do heavy streaming or downloading a couple of times each month you are not fully getting your money's worth.  Your basically subsidizing the couch potato Netflix users, gamers, and pirates.  Bandwidth should be charged by metering and not by some hypothetical amount you may or may not use. 
> 
> I will probably downgrade my service or switch to ATT sometime next month.  Netflix will most likely raise rates too since they have are having to make special deals with the IP's to keep up with the demand.


I think metering is in the not-too-distant Cox future. Their arbitrary bandwidth cap of 300GB for their "Premier" Internet tier is now being more aggressively tracked, and violators are getting nastygrams. They encourage you to track your data usage on their daily meter. I've heard of one person who went over in one month, got a nastygram, and that was the extent of it, but I have to believe a metered structure has to be ahead as more people dump the CATV side for streamed video content.

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## jn1780

lol. I'm using 10% of that 300GB with two days left in the billing cycle. 4GB was the highest I used in one day.

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## MWCGuy

I am so glad I dumped Cox. $200 a month was just not worth for the ten channels I cared to watch. These days I catch my favorite shows on the network websites. I just bought a Roku and so far its pretty good for $49. My wife loves the PBS Kids stuff on there for my son.

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## Of Sound Mind

Which brings up a good question: What viable options are out there for only high-speed internet? I've been seriously considering going Internet-only (i.e. no TV) for the last few months because I just don't watch TV enough to justify the cost. I can always go with HSI through ATT (my present provider after I fired Cox for their corporate stupidity), but was wondering if there are other companies that can offer quality service at perhaps a lower cost or better service.

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## SoonerDave

> Which brings up a good question: What viable options are out there for only high-speed internet? I've been seriously considering going Internet-only (i.e. no TV) for the last few months because I just don't watch TV enough to justify the cost. I can always go with HSI through ATT (my present provider after I fired Cox for their corporate stupidity), but was wondering if there are other companies that can offer quality service at perhaps a lower cost or better service.


Frustrating thing is that, at least in the greater OKC area, I don't think there's any other provider that offers the bandwidth Cox does. Don't think ATT's options are even close, but I also admit I don't know the specifics. 

I think, for me, the scorched-earth option would be to do precisely as you are considering - just an ISP and take my chances on what I can get OTA/from streaming services. Frustrating thing, though, is that (as I noted earlier) Cox is getting snarkier on the 300GB limit on the Premier/400GB limit on Ultimate tier. Fortunately, I've never hit my 300GB limit - although we came kinda close during our first month with Netflix - but that was a "newness" issue. 

I'm going to go back in my bills and find out the exact month of the _last_ price increase - swear it was November time frame - and do the math to find out the precise net increase over the last two rate jumps. Pretty sure it is at or above 25% net. 

With every indication that people are cutting cable more and more every day, I can't help but wonder if Cox is getting ready to roll out some really attractive/aggressive rate-guaranteed contract pricing provided you lock in for, say, two years. Obviously if you have fewer customers, you end up making up the revenue among the ones who stay, but you can't do that forever. 

I know OKC gave Cox the _cable_ franchise rights for seventy billion years, but I can't help but wonder if OKC might rethink their _network_ infrastructure as it pertains to the Internet. There's really no practical competition to Cox in terms of speed right now that I know about. That's why I was posting in a separate thread how neat it would be to get some smart OKC business types to put together some sort of package to encourage Google to consider OKC as another of their pilot "Google Fiber" cities - give Cox something to think about as a competitor, at least. 

Hey, I can dream, can't I?  :Smile:

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## MWCGuy

Cox is faster than AT&T. Then again, you don't really need super fast internet unless your into online gaming, run a website or upload/download large amounts of movies and pictures.

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## FighttheGoodFight

My bill hasn't gone up yet. I assume it takes place for April bill.

We are an internet only family but the 50mbs package is already 70 bucks. If it goes to 80 I might go down one package. This is crazy.

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## bchris02

> Cox is faster than AT&T. Then again, you don't really need super fast internet unless your into online gaming, run a website or upload/download large amounts of movies and pictures.


This is a common misconception that fast connections are for online gaming.  Gaming is all dependent on ping, not bandwidth. A 768kbps DSL connection with 10ms latency will be better for gaming than a 1Gbps fiber connection with 100ms latency.  Where bandwidth matters is streaming HD content, which is becoming more and more common.

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## daddycaddy

I switch to Cox from ATT Uverse. My Netflix experience is better with Cox. Cox ranks number 3 in Netflix's ISP speed index. If you want to see your Netflix speed connection watch "Example Short 23.976" on you device of choice.

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## SoonerDave

> My bill hasn't gone up yet. I assume it takes place for April bill.
> 
> We are an internet only family but the 50mbs package is already 70 bucks. If it goes to 80 I might go down one package. This is crazy.


The notice for the increase was in the newest bill I received yesterday. 

Here are the increases and to/from prices (and % increase), effective March 1:

Cox TV Starter:   from $19.99 to $24.99 (25%)
Cox TV Economy: from $34.99 to $38.99 (11%)
Cox TV Essential: from $61.99 to $67.99 (10%)
Advanced TV:      from $61.99 to $70.99 (16%)
Preferred TV:       from $71.99 to $80.99 (12.5%)
Premier TV:         from $81.99 to $91.99 (12.1%)
Ultimate TV:        from $144.99 to $151.99 (5%)

DVR service:        from $9.99 to $11.99 (20%)
DVR "Record 6":    from $14.99 to $19.99 (33%)

(Omitting all the permutations of Ultimate/Premiums/Whole Home DVR, and generally summarizing them as increases of 12-14%)

Internet: Starter from $26.99 to $29.99 (11%)
             Essential      $39.99 to $44.99 (12.5%)
             Preferred      $54.99 to $60.99 (11%)
             Premier        $65.99 to $71.99 (9%)


Still looking for the increase rates from a few months back. Will post asap.

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## FighttheGoodFight

> The notice for the increase was in the newest bill I received yesterday. 
> 
> Here are the increases and to/from prices (and % increase), effective March 1:
> 
> Cox TV Starter:   from $19.99 to $24.99 (25%)
> Cox TV Economy: from $34.99 to $38.99 (11%)
> Cox TV Essential: from $61.99 to $67.99 (10%)
> Advanced TV:      from $61.99 to $70.99 (16%)
> Preferred TV:       from $71.99 to $80.99 (12.5%)
> ...


Hmm we have Premier internet. It has been 71.99 since our deal ended. I would say about 3 months we've paid that.

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## clz46

I called Cox yesterday to complain about the rate increase. I have only one TV plan I pay for above the Preferred TV. (Have to have Sports and Information.). Only one dvr box. I do have long distance on the phone and, according to the Cox guy, if I decrease the internet speed I would lose my 15.oo bundle. He locked in my current bill for 2 yrs. So no rate increase. I told him I am looking forward to the day that Cox has competition.... other than the current non cable ones and that I wish we could pay for
 what we use not the 200+ channels we don't. Of course, no response to that. Anyway, call them. (no I don't want to watch TV on my computer)

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## SoonerDave

> I called Cox yesterday to complain about the rate increase. I have only one TV plan I pay for above the Preferred TV. (Have to have Sports and Information.). Only one dvr box. I do have long distance on the phone and, according to the Cox guy, if I decrease the internet speed I would lose my 15.oo bundle. He locked in my current bill for 2 yrs. So no rate increase. I told him I am looking forward to the day that Cox has competition.... other than the current non cable ones and that I wish we could pay for
>  what we use not the 200+ channels we don't. Of course, no response to that. Anyway, call them. (no I don't want to watch TV on my computer)


Need to find out which package w/Cox would get me ESPN for myself and my son, Food Network for my wife, and maybe TNT and TLC for everyone else. Sick to death of paying for those same 200+ channels we never touch.

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## OSUFan

I dumped Cox and went with DirectTV/ATT a little over a year ago. Already went back to Cox internet. We aren't even heavy internet but ATT was unbearable. I think it has a lot to do what area you live in. I was told ATT internet speeds can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood.

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## warreng88

In October, the wife and I signed a two year agreement with Cox which says our service will stay the same or get better and the rate will not go up over that two years. We had to call about every six months to complain that our rate was higher even though our service was not changing at all so this just makes it easier. We have been with them for seven years and don't plan on going anywhere any time soon.

I have a good friend who works at DirecTV and he says when they increase rates, consumers tend to play a game they like to call CSR Roulette. Basically, you call and complain about the rate increase until you get someone that is willing to lower it for you. That is what I would advise people on this board to do. Use phrases like, "I guess we will have to examine other options for our (service)" or "I have been with you for (#) of years. How can you make this worth my while."

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## bchris02

> I dumped Cox and went with DirectTV/ATT a little over a year ago. Already went back to Cox internet. We aren't even heavy internet but ATT was unbearable. I think it has a lot to do what area you live in. I was told ATT internet speeds can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood.


Figures.  DSL can no longer keep up with cable in this age of streaming HD video and multiple devices continuously connected.  The standard Cox package now is 30Mbps.  The highest ADSL2+ can go under normal circumstances is 12Mbps.  Telcos will have to run fiber like Verizon is doing if they want to stay competitive.

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## jn1780

> Figures.  DSL can no longer keep up with cable in this age of streaming HD video and multiple devices continuously connected.  The standard Cox package now is 30Mbps.  The highest ADSL2+ can go under normal circumstances is 12Mbps.  Telcos will have to run fiber like Verizon is doing if they want to stay competitive.


12 Mbps is plenty if your actually getting that and you have divide that by how many devices you have streaming or downloading at once.   The key is what your getting at peak use in your neighborhood. Also, it also depends on what kind of deal Netflix has with the IP's on the backend before the content even reaches you.  

Netflix, Comcast agree to deal

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## bchris02

> 12 Mbps is plenty if your actually getting that and you have divide that by how many devices you have streaming or downloading at once.   The key is what your getting at peak use in your neighborhood. Also, it also depends on what kind of deal Netflix has with the IP's on the backend before the content even reaches you.  
> 
> Netflix, Comcast agree to deal


Having worked in the telco industry, its not likely you are going to get anywhere close to 12Mbps through the POTS system unless its very early in the morning.  There was once a time when DSL had the advantage of consistent speeds at all times of day as opposed to cable's shared bandwidth.  Today, that is no longer the case being that the bottleneck is at the CO itself.  It won't matter what kind of deal AT&T strikes with Netflix, until CO equipment is upgraded in neighborhoods to handle more bandwidth, DSL just isn't going to cut it.

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## pw405

> In October, the wife and I signed a two year agreement with Cox which says our service will stay the same or get better and the rate will not go up over that two years. We had to call about every six months to complain that our rate was higher even though our service was not changing at all so this just makes it easier. We have been with them for seven years and don't plan on going anywhere any time soon.
> 
> I have a good friend who works at DirecTV and he says when they increase rates, consumers tend to play a game they like to call CSR Roulette. Basically, you call and complain about the rate increase until you get someone that is willing to lower it for you. That is what I would advise people on this board to do. Use phrases like, "I guess we will have to examine other options for our (service)" or "I have been with you for (#) of years. How can you make this worth my while."


When I worked at DirecTV (Convergy's) doing CSR, the rules for offering a rate decrease were simple:  the customer had to ask 3 times, or want to cancel their service and switch to a competitor.  Then, the standard CSR could offer a discount.  If the customer just called and said they wanted to cancel, they would be transfered to a retention group that could make other special deals.  I assume it still works like this.

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## pw405

> Figures.  DSL can no longer keep up with cable in this age of streaming HD video and multiple devices continuously connected.  The standard Cox package now is 30Mbps.  The highest ADSL2+ can go under normal circumstances is 12Mbps.  Telcos will have to run fiber like Verizon is doing if they want to stay competitive.



Cox now has four internet tiers:  Essential:  $44.99/5Mbs, Preferred: $60.99/25mbps, Premier: $71.99/50mbps, and Ultimate: $99/100mbps.

I have the Preferred package with no TV, I watch everything via Xbox from Amazon/Crackle/Netflix/Vudu/Xbox Marketplace and my video quality is excellent,even while surfing the net on tablet/phone.

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## stick47

> Essential: $44.99/5Mbs


??? I've been paying $46.99 for essential for the last 6 months or so. The old rate was $39.99 so that jump took me by surprise. I've called & complained. Threatened to move my service but having been with Cox since Day one I guess they know I won't leave now. BTW my wife watches videos on her Ipad every night and hardly ever has any issues at the 5mbps speed.

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## warreng88

> When I worked at DirecTV (Convergy's) doing CSR, the rules for offering a rate decrease were simple:  the customer had to ask 3 times, or want to cancel their service and switch to a competitor.  Then, the standard CSR could offer a discount.  If the customer just called and said they wanted to cancel, they would be transfered to a retention group that could make other special deals.  I assume it still works like this.


Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

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## FighttheGoodFight

> ??? I've been paying $46.99 for essential for the last 6 months or so. The old rate was $39.99 so that jump took me by surprise. I've called & complained. Threatened to move my service but having been with Cox since Day one I guess they know I won't leave now. BTW my wife watches videos on her Ipad every night and hardly ever has any issues at the 5mbps speed.



If you have one person watching Netflix, Amazon, etc... the essential is good. I helped my mom set it up at her house. The only downfall is really we can only have one stream at a time there. 

I used to have Preferred but moved to Premier since my wife and I did so much streaming. If the price goes up again I might move back down to save some money.

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## traxx

What sucks is that we all have these nice HDTVs now but more and more we're having to stream to either cut out cable and save money or rent movies or catch up on TV shows. When you stream you usually stream somehwere around 6 Mbps. The resolution is still considered HD but the bitrate is awful. I'm not saying that calbe and satellite don't compress their signal and reduce bitrate, they do. Just not to the same levels. Yet here we are with our nice HDTVs and the manufactuerers are trying to get us to upgrade to 4K but we're sitting at home streaming YouTube quality images. The equipment keeps increasing and the distribution qaulity keeps decreasing.

In case you're wondering, over the air transmission is going to give you the best HD signal because it's less compressed.

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## ylouder

I have 5 Meg. Internet speed and can stream to two televisions.in HD with no.buffering issues.

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## Dubya61

> What sucks is that we all have these nice HDTVs now but more and more we're having to stream to either cut out cable and save money or rent movies or catch up on TV shows. When you stream you usually stream somehwere around 6 Mbps. The resolution is still considered HD but the bitrate is awful. I'm not saying that calbe and satellite don't compress their signal and reduce bitrate, they do. Just not to the same levels. Yet here we are with our nice HDTVs and the manufactuerers are trying to get us to upgrade to 4K but we're sitting at home streaming YouTube quality images. The equipment keeps increasing and the distribution qaulity keeps decreasing.
> 
> In case you're wondering, over the air transmission is going to give you the best HD signal because it's less compressed.


Can you stream something to a DVR while you sleep or something like that?  How useful would a DVR be with that?

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## traxx

> I have 5 Meg. Internet speed and can stream to two televisions.in HD with no.buffering issues.


5 Mbps is about average for streaming bitrate. That's around what you're gonna get with Roku, Apple TV and so on. It's really not very much. Blu ray has a maximum data transfer rate of 54Mbps. If you concentrate on resolution only when talking about HD quality, then you're leaving out quite a bit of other information that goes into the quality of what you're watching. For a feed to be considered HD, it only has to have a certain number of pixels. They can do 1/2 Mbps and call it HD as long as it's got the minimal number of pixels to be called HD.

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## traxx

> Can you stream something to a DVR while you sleep or something like that?  How useful would a DVR be with that?


A DVR only records what you give it. So if it has a crappy source, then you're gonna get a crappy result. More bandwidth is needed for higher bitrates.

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## pw405

> What sucks is that we all have these nice HDTVs now but more and more we're having to stream to either cut out cable and save money or rent movies or catch up on TV shows. When you stream you usually stream somehwere around 6 Mbps. The resolution is still considered HD but the bitrate is awful. I'm not saying that calbe and satellite don't compress their signal and reduce bitrate, they do. Just not to the same levels. Yet here we are with our nice HDTVs and the manufactuerers are trying to get us to upgrade to 4K but we're sitting at home streaming YouTube quality images. The equipment keeps increasing and the distribution qaulity keeps decreasing.
> 
> In case you're wondering, over the air transmission is going to give you the best HD signal because it's less compressed.


I certainly agree - TV's are outpacing the ability to transfer data to them at high enough data rates.  Now, I have disagree regarding streaming video quality.  If you are getting poor quality video via streaming, it may be more related to the video decompression ability of your device.  I'm a huge video dork, and when streaming Netflix over an Xbox One, the picture quality is amazing.  The difference between Netflix streaming and Blu Ray is very minor, if visible at all.  I actually prefer Netflix since they have more content that isn't letter-boxed like Blu-Rays are.  Call me crazy, but I feel you get better picture quality streaming Daily Show on Amazon Prime than you do on HD Cable.

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## traxx

> I certainly agree - TV's are outpacing the ability to transfer data to them at high enough data rates.  Now, I have disagree regarding streaming video quality.  If you are getting poor quality video via streaming, it may be more related to the video decompression ability of your device.  I'm a huge video dork, and when streaming Netflix over an Xbox One, the picture quality is amazing.  The difference between Netflix streaming and Blu Ray is very minor, if visible at all.  I actually prefer Netflix since they have more content that isn't letter-boxed like Blu-Rays are.  Call me crazy, but I feel you get better picture quality streaming Daily Show on Amazon Prime than you do on HD Cable.


I've steamed Netflix over XBox. I noticed the difference between streaming and blu ray. I most always do. I see the artifacts in the image and it drives me crazy. Maybe that's just my burden. The soap opera effect on 120 and 240Hz TVs annoys me to no end. I have my camera store my photos in RAW as I can't stand what JPEG does to my photos. I'm just a quality nut on some things. Not all things, but some.

Some people don't notice the difference or aren't bothered by it though. And if they're not, then an LCD TV that costs around 500 bucks will serve them just fine. No reason to have 4K or OLED and spend that kind of money (even in 3-5 years when the price comes down) just to watch streaming content with a 6Mbps bitrate.

You may be right with some cable providers HD content looking just as bad as streaming. Some cable companies are lowering their bitrate quite a bit.

But I do have to wonder how much of a "video dork" you are if you don't like Blu-rays because they letterbox the image. You're watching an image that may have been shot at a 1.85:1 ratio or as much as a 2.39:1 ratio but you're watching it on a 16:9 TV that is a 1.77:1 ratio. If it's not letterboxed, then you're losing information. It chops off some of the image if it's full screen. If the image is chopped off then it's not the true vision of the director.

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## SoonerDave

> *But I do have to wonder how much of a "video dork" you are if you don't like Blu-rays because they letterbox the image.* You're watching an image that may have been shot at a 1.85:1 ratio or as much as a 2.39:1 ratio but you're watching it on a 16:9 TV that is a 1.77:1 ratio. If it's not letterboxed, then you're losing information. It chops off some of the image if it's full screen. If the image is chopped off then it's not the true vision of the director.


Have to admit I was thinking the same thing. I finally went on the warpath a few years ago and just refused to buy non-widescreen DVD's for that very reason, and I get even more frustrated with HD TV channels that only air P&S versions of various popular movies. I mean, _seriously???_

Got into this initially when I took my foray into laserdiscs years ago (and still have 'em, just nothing to play them with), and learned to love letterboxing and loathing pan-and-scan.

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## traxx

> Have to admit I was thinking the same thing. I finally went on the warpath a few years ago and just refused to buy non-widescreen DVD's for that very reason, and I get even more frustrated with HD TV channels that only air P&S versions of various popular movies. I mean, _seriously???_
> 
> Got into this initially when I took my foray into laserdiscs years ago (and still have 'em, just nothing to play them with), and learned to love letterboxing and loathing pan-and-scan.


It seems now days with 16:9 TVs, they don't P&S anymore but just blow up the image to fill the screen. Annoying, no doubt, but not as terrible an experience as full screen on 4:3 TVs whether it be P&S or not. If I'm watching Crazy Stupid Love on FXX and they don't letterbox, not such a big deal. If they're playing Blade Runner on Syfy and the don't letterbox, then that's trouble. But then again, I own Blade Runner on disc so that aleviates that problem.

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## SoonerDave

> It seems now days with 16:9 TVs, they don't P&S anymore but just blow up the image to fill the screen. Annoying, no doubt, but not as terrible an experience as full screen on 4:3 TVs whether it be P&S or not. If I'm watching Crazy Stupid Love on FXX and they don't letterbox, not such a big deal. If they're playing Blade Runner on Syfy and the don't letterbox, then that's trouble. But then again, I own Blade Runner on disc so that aleviates that problem.


What gets me frustrated are the 4:3 format movies that they've "remastered" with a coke-bottle effect that stretches the outermost thirds to fill the screen. As you watch the movie, and notice the camera panning, you can see the stretching effect on the sides of the picture ,just as if you were watching it through a misshapen lens. What a hack.

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## pw405

> I've steamed Netflix over XBox. I noticed the difference between streaming and blu ray. I most always do. I see the artifacts in the image and it drives me crazy. Maybe that's just my burden. The soap opera effect on 120 and 240Hz TVs annoys me to no end. I have my camera store my photos in RAW as I can't stand what JPEG does to my photos. I'm just a quality nut on some things. Not all things, but some.
> 
> Some people don't notice the difference or aren't bothered by it though. And if they're not, then an LCD TV that costs around 500 bucks will serve them just fine. No reason to have 4K or OLED and spend that kind of money (even in 3-5 years when the price comes down) just to watch streaming content with a 6Mbps bitrate.
> 
> You may be right with some cable providers HD content looking just as bad as streaming. Some cable companies are lowering their bitrate quite a bit.
> 
> But I do have to wonder how much of a "video dork" you are if you don't like Blu-rays because they letterbox the image. You're watching an image that may have been shot at a 1.85:1 ratio or as much as a 2.39:1 ratio but you're watching it on a 16:9 TV that is a 1.77:1 ratio. If it's not letterboxed, then you're losing information. It chops off some of the image if it's full screen. If the image is chopped off then it's not the true vision of the director.


Well, I understand that most Blu Rays are letterboxed to match the aspect ratio of the original image... but something I can't seem to get a solid answer on is iMax theatrical releases and letterboxing on the Blu Ray version.  Imax is far taller than a letter boxed Blu Ray aspect ratio, yet the Blu Ray is still presented in the super-wide format.  What happened to the rest of the image?  

I am 100% in agreement on the CFI "Smooth motion" effect of LCD Tv's.  I flat out refuse to by an LCD because of this, even though you can turn it off.  I actually watch all of my content on an ISF certified projector.  


But.. back on topic here... do we know when the proposed rate increase will take place? I am considering adding Cox HD cable to my house and I noticed they have a "lock in my rate" special going on some of their bundles, which requires a 2-year contract.

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## traxx

Many films shown in IMAX are blown up to that size from an original 35mm print. Just because you saw it in IMAX in the theater doesn't mean it'll have the IMAX aspect ratio.  

The Dark Knight Rises is one of the few recent wide release films to have much of the footage shot in IMAX on IMAX film with IMAX cameras. You should notice this difference on Blu-ray. The Dark Knight was the same way but with less IMAX footage. 

Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk

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## SoonerDave

Now I"ll admit I'm in a minority here, but I *like* the so-called "soap opera" effect. I prefer the clarity of what I used to refer to as the "videotaped" image versus a "filmed" image, and it drives me nuts when I read they take full digital originals and reprocess them purposely to "filmify" them. 

The Cox rate increase is effective this month. I contacted them and was able to get most, but not all, the increase adjusted out of my bill.

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## Dennis Heaton

Clear TV? Digital HD Antenna | As Seen on TV | Official Site

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## bchris02

> Clear TV? Digital HD Antenna | As Seen on TV | Official Site


Wow.  So they finally invented the over the air antenna.  That is awesome!

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## pw405

> Now I"ll admit I'm in a minority here, but I *like* the so-called "soap opera" effect. I prefer the clarity of what I used to refer to as the "videotaped" image versus a "filmed" image, and it drives me nuts when I read they take full digital originals and reprocess them purposely to "filmify" them. 
> 
> The Cox rate increase is effective this month. I contacted them and was able to get most, but not all, the increase adjusted out of my bill.



What sort of rate increase are we talkin'?

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## SoonerDave

> What sort of rate increase are we talkin'?


Here ya go, pw405...



> Here are the increases and to/from prices (and % increase), effective March 1:
> 
> Cox TV Starter: from $19.99 to $24.99 (25%)
> Cox TV Economy: from $34.99 to $38.99 (11%)
> Cox TV Essential: from $61.99 to $67.99 (10%)
> Advanced TV: from $61.99 to $70.99 (16%)
> Preferred TV: from $71.99 to $80.99 (12.5%)
> Premier TV: from $81.99 to $91.99 (12.1%)
> Ultimate TV: from $144.99 to $151.99 (5%)
> ...

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## traxx

> Now I"ll admit I'm in a minority here, but I *like* the so-called "soap opera" effect. I prefer the clarity of what I used to refer to as the "videotaped" image versus a "filmed" image, and it drives me nuts when I read they take full digital originals and reprocess them purposely to "filmify" them.


The look of the soap opera effect bugs me to no end. But it also bugs me because it interpolates frames. It's putting information in the image that wasn't originally there and it's guessing at it to figure out what information to put in. The technology bascially says "What if another frame existed betweent these two frames? What would it look like?" And then it inserts it's guess of what that image would be. And that's what gives it the unnatural movement that you see in the soap opera effect.

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## pw405

> Here ya go, pw405...




Gotcha... so when I was shopping around for a way to get HD Thunder games, these are the prices I've been comparing to Uverse & DirecTV.  DirecTV is currently the cheapest per month, but only by $2-3, but you also get 150 channels vs. Cox's "280+" channels.  

I've noticed that every Television provider makes shopping and price comparisons very very difficult.  Cox has a 3 month half price special, a year discount if you sign a 2 year contract, hides their non-DVR receiver pricing, DirecTV gives you free pay channels for 3 mos, a 12 month discount, requires a 24 mo contract, plus NFL Sunday ticket but makes you pay for the HD service.  Uverse has similar promotions. 


After cross-shopping and comparing for a week I pretty much decided they can all go to hell.

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## s00nr1

Just received my increase bill -- jumped from $225 to $240/month. 

Cox Services:
Phone
Internet
TV
Home Security

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## pw405

> Just received my increase bill -- jumped from $225 to $240/month. 
> 
> Cox Services:
> Phone
> Internet
> TV
> Home Security



How does their home security compare to other providers?  Do you have to have their phone service to use home security?  $240/mo is a car payment.

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## FighttheGoodFight

> Just received my increase bill -- jumped from $225 to $240/month. 
> 
> Cox Services:
> Phone
> Internet
> TV
> Home Security


Ouch. This is why I gave up cable. I would have a heart attack with a $240 a month bill.

I love sports so I just buy NFL Gamepass and NBA League pass. Comes out cheaper in the long run.

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## bchris02

I have always liked Cox service but need to save money. I checked into U-Verse and their Internet is marginally cheaper but they have a 250GB/month data cap and its $10/mo extra per 50GB beyond that. U-Verse is definitely not for the heavy user. I think I'll stick with Cox. It would be nice if Google Fiber or somebody else came into the OKC market to bring in real competition.

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## traxx

> I've noticed that every Television provider makes shopping and price comparisons very very difficult.


That's by design. As I'm sure you've figured out. They don't want you to know an apple to apples comparison. They don't want you to know what their service costs nor the costs of competitors. They convolute their fees with 6 months half price, 3 months free premium channels, price reduction for signing a longer contract, price break if you go up to a more expensive box/dvr.

Once upon a time, I worked in telcom and learned that telcom companies know their bills are confusing. They want it to be confusing. They realize people don't like to feel dumb so if someone called disputing a charge on a bill they'd just spew a bunch of technical jargon at them and the person would relent and pay what was asked. But they knew that most people wouldn't call to dispute a charge anyway because they didn't really understand the bill or what they were asking.

And they love it if you bundle. That's just a chance for them to make their bills even more confusing. All your services are on one bill and intertwined together with fees here and "taxes" there and so on. By the time you get to the end of the bill, you have no idea what you're actually paying.

The same goes for other such bills like medical bills etc. Back in my married days, my wife worked for an ENT Dr. so she knew and understood billing, lab charges, in and out of network and so on. When she would call to dispute one of our own personal medical bills, 99% of the time the person on the other end didn't even understand the bill. And they worked for the billing company. We always ended up getting our bill corrected when she called to dispute a charge.






> After cross-shopping and comparing for a week I pretty much decided they can all go to hell.


lol

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## s00nr1

> How does their home security compare to other providers?  Do you have to have their phone service to use home security?  $240/mo is a car payment.


Home security is on par with others in the area and I currently pay $40/mo for that service. I believe Cox's home security is IP based so no need for a home phone (don't hold me to that). And yes, this bill is getting out of hand. Unfortunately, without having Uverse in my neighborhood (east Moore) I am basically SOL.

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## warreng88

Has anyone tried to call multiple CSR's and get a different response?

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## SoonerDave

> Has anyone tried to call multiple CSR's and get a different response?


Absolutely.

Was on the phone with one a few months back and she contentiously argued with me for at _least_ half hour. She finally hung up on *me*, if you can believe that. Called again, pressed the "are you calling about what you called before" button, got a different retention person, and he made me an offer on the spot for 20% off TV and internet. I wasn't on the phone with him 5 minutes. And when _this_ rate increase came through, I didn't even have to go to retention - the first lady I spoke with said "I can reconfigure this and get you at least some better deal under the new rates." She knocked down the rate increase from what would have been about $23/month to about $6 IIRC.

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