COX and their "higher speed"

[kk19115]

i've yet to "disrupt the space time continuum" with my "higher speed" cable internet. in fact, i constantly have to call tech support to complain of slow loading webpages. i know what i'm doing when it comes to computers and networking as that's my line of work, so i just call them up to give them a piece of my mind. they do attempt to help me but i've already done the things that they want me to do to troubleshoot. i just like to blow off steam and think i'm helping my situation by telling them how crappy their service is. i know all they're going to do is tell me they'll send a support tech out to my place only during the hours that i work or maybe find a time that i'm off but is 4 days from when i called. by then, everything will be working fine.

...sorry to any cox tech support employees that may be reading this. i go into rages when my internet isn't performing to my standards. :P

[mranderson]

The people that will be leasing my southside house want internet, so I ordered it yesterday.

Cox told me my current modem will not work correctly because it is too slow. They upgraded in October of last year. That may be your problem. The modem, although it will function, may be too slow for the current Cox speed. You might call and ask.

I am surprised tech support did not ask questions about your modem. If it is an "1100," it is too slow.

[BailJumper]

I hve Cox too and I complain all the time. And I'm really screwed when things go bad as I use them for TV, phone and Internet.

They've tried everything. Last time they put a signal booster in my house.

The only good thing is that my neighbor has high speed Internet too (wireless) and when mine goes out or is acting up I just log on to his. He has a wireless booster on his and I get 3 of 4 bars all the way inside my house.

[kk19115]

surfboard 5120

i dunno. they've seen my modem and if i needed to upgrade, i'm sure they would've interrupted my ranting to explain i need a new one.

[Todd]

I've called Cox myself not so much to complain about the service but when can we get the service. I live far north Edmond. In fact, its Guthrie schools but Edmond address and we can't get any type of high speed including DSL. My only option was to go with fixed wireless with speeds about 750kps. I've checked into a T1 but unless I want to burn about $400 a month that's my only option.

[mikekrauss]

I think you can get satelite internet for about $99/month. Atleast that is what they advertise on Direct TV.

[Jack Wonder]

I'm so sick of Cox and their monopolistic tactics! :cmad:

All I have is Cable, and I've had to call and complain between TEN and FIFTEEN times...and I've only had their service for 4 MONTHS!?!?!??

As soon as I move into a house I'm going Direct TV all the way!

[sweetdaisy]

^^Agree, Jack Wonder! Ugh, Cox irritates the dog out of me sometimes!

I have Cox for phone, internet, and cable. Tried to upgrade to digital not long ago, but there was something wrong with the tap (?? - I think that's what they said??). Anyway, for me to get a good signal on digital would require them to change out some bad equipment which they don't want to do. I'm SOL. Guess this would explain why I don't get some cable channels and why my phone and internet connections are "sketchy" sometimes.

Wanted to change to AT&T, but they don't offer service in my area yet. Guess I'll deal with my sucky Cox service.

[writerranger]

^^Agree, Jack Wonder! Ugh, Cox irritates the dog out of me sometimes!

I have Cox for phone, internet, and cable. Tried to upgrade to digital not long ago, but there was something wrong with the tap (?? - I think that's what they said??). Anyway, for me to get a good signal on digital would require them to change out some bad equipment which they don't want to do. I'm SOL. Guess this would explain why I don't get some cable channels and why my phone and internet connections are "sketchy" sometimes.

Wanted to change to AT&T, but they don't offer service in my area yet. Guess I'll deal with my sucky Cox service.

Yep. Same problem here. Every time it gets below about 35 degrees my digital channels start pixelating and freezing up. One guy was honest enough to tell me it's a part that Cox doesn't want to invest in.

-------------

[mikekrauss]

Sweet Daisy: Your phone service is probably already using AT&T lines. You can tell for sure by doing this. Next time your cable goes out, trying using the phone. If it works, it is coming from AT&T not COX.

[Jack Wonder]

^ I've had service men over to my apartment from Cox on three seperate occasions!

I had purchased an HDTV and was having problems with my audio. The Cox repairman was finally honest enough to tell me that neither he nor any other employees are trained to deal with the looming HD problems, and Cox is in no way about to train them... His words!

They aren't prepared to deal with the HD switch, and the company's too cheap to do anything about it!

And cheap's a BIG problem with Cox!! That's why they dropped ABC HD from their service THE WEEK BEFORE OU/TEXAS?!?!??!

And they didn't even notify me! I heard about it from the employees at Ultimate Electronics!??!

[Easy180]

It is a bunch of crap they yanked the ABC HD off only 3 weeks into the football season...Haven't heard anything since so I'm sure they are still way off on negotiations...I'm afraid the other major stations are waiting on how this plays out and they will then follow suit

What kind of cruel world prevents me from watching OU football and Lost in HD

[Jack Wonder]

It is a bunch of crap they yanked the ABC HD off only 3 weeks into the football season...Haven't heard anything since so I'm sure they are still way off on negotiations...I'm afraid the other major stations are waiting on how this plays out and they will then follow suit

What kind of cruel world prevents me from watching OU football and Lost in HD

I bought an HD antenna and I get EVERY network, including ABC, Fox, and the CW - ALL of which Cox DOESN"T offer!

The only downside is you can't DVR shows off the antenna unless your DVR is built into the TV.

[PUGalicious]

The only downside is you can't DVR shows off the antenna unless your DVR is built into the TV.

Only downside? What about the inconsistent signals from over-the-air that many deal with (myself included) that I don't get on the same channels on Cox HD? I live in Edmond, within 5 miles of most of the stations. You would think I could get a good strong signal. I have an indoor HD antenna, which is all KOCO said I would need, but the frequent drops in signal can be very frustrating when watching a show, especially at key moments of dialog or action that are lost when the signal freezes or drops. I'm not going to invest in an exterior HD antenna. Instead, I've stopped watching those channels that don't offer their HD signal through Cox. I've enjoyed many other fine HD programming as a result of KOCO and KOKH refusing to allow Cox to carry the signal. Oh well... It's their loss. I certainly haven't missed it because I've simply adapted to new (and often better) shows.

[traxx]

The only downside is you can't DVR shows off the antenna unless your DVR is built into the TV.

There shouldn't be a problem with DVRing off your antenna. Now I haven't seen your antenna or DVR but, typically you'd just run your line from your antenna into your DVR the same as you would cable or satellite. Your DVR should have a couple of different choices for input depending on what you've got running out of your antenna, probably the RF input would be the easiest and make the most sense.

[ultimatesooner]

the people that own KOCO are to blame for you losing ABC HD - not Cox

[Easy180]

i don't care who is at fault..Cox is charging a premium for the HD channels and are paying ABC and the others zero for it...So KOCO does have a leg to stand on also

I just want them to agree on something and get it back on before Lost is back next year....Hard life I lead!!!

[PUGalicious]

i don't care who is at fault..Cox is charging a premium for the HD channels and are paying ABC and the others zero for it...So KOCO does have a leg to stand on also

I just want them to agree on something and get it back on before Lost is back next year....Hard life I lead!!!

I'm with mmm... I don't pay more for HD than I did for standard digital.

Also, I lay the entire blame on the ABC HD on Hearst-Argyle, the parent company of KOCO. Cox is doing KOCO a service by providing a quality signal to KOCO viewers at no charge to KOCO. KFOR, KWTV and OETA don't get any fees from Cox; why should KOCO/Hearst-Argyle?

KOCO says that you can get the HD signal free over-the-air; while that's true, their method of doing so as suggested on their website is asinine. I purchased an indoor antenna, mistakenly believing that I was close enough to the towers (since I live in Edmond) that I should be able to pick up a decent signal. I was wrong. Both KOCO and KOKH (Fox25) signals break up repeatedly during broadcasts, and it gets VERY annoying. I've drastically reduced my viewing of those two stations as a result.

I, for one, have repeatedly contacted KOCO's general manager as well as the corporate office to register my complaint. I've also let ABC know that their local affiliate is depriving ABC viewers of a quality HD signal. This dispute is about greed on the part of KOCO/Hearst-Argyle. They haven't been paid in the past for their signal being carried on Cox, either the standard analog signal or the HD signal. Like I said previously, it benefits KOCO when Cox carries their signal. It's more viewers for KOCO, which translates to higher ratings, which translates into more ad revenue. In this petty dispute, KOCO is losing more than Cox. And if it keeps up, they will lose everything they've gained in the last couple of years in the ratings war.

[Easy180]

I'm with mmm... I don't pay more for HD than I did for standard digital.

Also, I lay the entire blame on the ABC HD on Hearst-Argyle, the parent company of KOCO. Cox is doing KOCO a service by providing a quality signal to KOCO viewers at no charge to KOCO. KFOR, KWTV and OETA don't get any fees from Cox; why should KOCO/Hearst-Argyle?

KOCO says that you can get the HD signal free over-the-air; while that's true, their method of doing so as suggested on their website is asinine. I purchased an indoor antenna, mistakenly believing that I was close enough to the towers (since I live in Edmond) that I should be able to pick up a decent signal. I was wrong. Both KOCO and KOKH (Fox25) signals break up repeatedly during broadcasts, and it gets VERY annoying. I've drastically reduced my viewing of those two stations as a result.

I, for one, have repeatedly contacted KOCO's general manager as well as the corporate office to register my complaint. I've also let ABC know that their local affiliate is depriving ABC viewers of a quality HD signal. This dispute is about greed on the part of KOCO/Hearst-Argyle. They haven't been paid in the past for their signal being carried on Cox, either the standard analog signal or the HD signal. Like I said previously, it benefits KOCO when Cox carries their signal. It's more viewers for KOCO, which translates to higher ratings, which translates into more ad revenue. In this petty dispute, KOCO is losing more than Cox. And if it keeps up, they will lose everything they've gained in the last couple of years in the ratings war.

Has anyone heard anything further on this crap??...Guessing it's a dead deal since there has been no mention of it for a good while now

[PUGalicious]

Has anyone heard anything further on this crap??...Guessing it's a dead deal since there has been no mention of it for a good while now

I haven't heard anything more. In fact, I tried to get the HD signal over-the-air for KOCO last weekend and there was no signal. Oh well. It's their loss. I've moved on to other networks that are available in HD on Cox.

[Martin]

while i'm no big fan of cox, i pay no extra for hd programming than for standard digital cable.

while i'm here, i'll say that the service i receive from cox is actually pretty good. in three years, my phone has gone out on one occasion. my internet connection has been relatively glitch-free and whatever issues i had with digital cable were settled within my first year of service... but then again, maybe my experience has been atypical or maybe i just cut through the customer service bureacracy a bit better... who knows. -M

[sweetdaisy]

while i'm no big fan of cox, i pay no extra for hd programming than for standard digital cable.

while i'm here, i'll say that the service i receive from cox is actually pretty good. in three years, my phone has gone out on one occasion. my internet connection has been relatively glitch-free and whatever issues i had with digital cable were settled within my first year of service... but then again, maybe my experience has been atypical or maybe i just cut through the customer service bureacracy a bit better... who knows. -M

My major complaint is not being able to GET digital cable. HD doesn't make a difference to me (I don't have an HDTV anyway), but it's a bummer I can't get the extra channels offered through digital.

Overall, I've had great experiences with Cox customer service folks; they've been easy to work with and as helpful as they could be. Cox just won't fix the problem.

[Easy180]

I guess the dispute does make Argyle look bad...Cox only charges for the rental of the digital receiver, which makes sense cause those things aren't made for free

I wonder if there has been any advance on the dispute since it's been almost three months...Anyone heard anything new?

[mikekrauss]

Sweetdaisy, If you are unhappy with COX, have you ever considered Direct TV? I've had it for years and love it. Two years ago when I moved I was looking at Condos but gave up because none of them would allow a Direct TV dish. So I move into a garden home community where I can have my Direct TV. The only problem that I have ever expierenced is when the rain comes down hard. The signal will be lost for a while, but it has never been out for more than 45 minutes.

[PUGalicious]

From Cox's perspective, there's nothing more to negotiate with Hearst-Argyle. Their demands are little more than extortion and it's a no-brainer for Cox. This dispute hurts KOCO more than it hurts Cox. KOCO's general manager makes it sound like negotiations are ongoing, but from my understanding in talking with a few people familiar with the situation, there's little actually happening and little prospect it will be resolved anytime soon. It basically is entirely in Hearst-Argyle's court.