Time-Warner adds ESPN3

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

Does anyone in the triangle have the new fiber-optic cable access through AT&T? There have been a few salesmen going door-to-door in my area and it sounds like a pretty good deal. For roughly the same price as TW, they claim much higher bandwidth (11Mbps) and a dedicated connection. Just curious if anyone could comment on the quality of the service, and whether it carries ESPN3.

AT&T U-Verse has ESPN3.com, yes.

[UrinalCake]

if they're really talking fiber optic, the speeds should be a lot higher than 11mbps...TW has a new 50/5 tier that they previewed in the charlotte area.... fiber should be talking 50mbps and up....

What I saw was a tiered offering, and 11Mbps was right around the $50/month mark, which is what I'm paying for cable. There were some faster/pricier options too, but I don't think anything approached 50Mbps. Maybe it's only offered for business users?

With cable my actual measured download speeds are under 1Mbps.

[moonpie23]

With cable my actual measured download speeds are under 1Mbps.

if you're on time warner and you're getting less than 1mbps, you should call and complain ....i think the lightest tier they offer is 3.......


make them give you what you're paying for...

and check your speed on an independent server...

www.speedtest.net

or

www.speakeasy.com

[DukeUsul]

if they're really talking fiber optic, the speeds should be a lot higher than 11mbps...TW has a new 50/5 tier that they previewed in the charlotte area....but that's still cable...

ATT uverse has a 24/3 service, but it's still 2-wire copper as well...

fiber should be talking 50mbps and up....

I'd guess that 11 Mbps is one of the tiered offerings AT&T offers for their fiber service. I think they can go up to 24 or 32 MBps, but offer different levels to price discriminate. AT&T fiber typically doesn't get speeds as high Verizon, since from what I know Verizon is all fiber-to-the-premises whereas AT&T is mostly fiber-to-the-node.

[moonpie23]

i think 24 is the max...that's what i've got....and it is really about 20-22mbps....but it's definitely kicking twc to the curb...

yeah, it's fiber to the node...2wire to the house...

[UrinalCake]

Awesome, I think I'm ready to do it. Thanks for all the great advice.

[-jk]

There's nothing inherently inferior with wire at internet speeds. Wire can carry Gbit speeds, but wire is more sensitive to distance than fiber. It's more about the infrastructure that backs it up - how fat the shared pipe is, how many neighbors you share the pipe with, and what you're all doing with that pipe.

I have Comcast cable and usually get download speeds (as measured by speakeasy) of 20 to 35 Mbps and upload almost always about 6. Apparently my neighbors download much more variably than they upload.

-jk

[wtm001]

Looks like Time Warner will get ESPN3 this Monday October 25th.

http://consumerist.com/2010/10/time-...xt-monday.html

[moonpie23]

T
I have Comcast cable and usually get download speeds (as measured by speakeasy) of 20 to 35 Mbps

-jk

what's your upload?

[-jk]

what's your upload?

Pretty reliably 6 Mbps.

-jk

[Scorp4me]

I know ESPN3 is predominately an online thing, but I watched the Duke/Miami game on TV Saturday. It was ESPN3 shown on some high channel, a channel 520 or something I believe. Some kind of special subscription channel, but we didn't pay for any special subscriptions we have just the basic. It was good coverage, although you could tell it wasn't quite right as they stayed with the video feeds and no audio during commercials. Much like listening to a race over a scanner. Perhaps this was just something they did locally since they don't have the online access part set up yet. But for those of you trashing the talk of ESPN3 on TV...might want to reconsider.

And just to pile on, my Road Runner Cable speeds are abysmal. Used to be good, wanna say they even upgraded to 5 Mbps a while back, but now routinely show less than 1 Mbps. Although of course I just tested it before posting this and of course my speeds are showing phenomenal right now, lol.

[devil84]

I hope this is not news for Triangle TWC customers (and maybe other areas) waiting for access to ESPN3. You probably got the same email I got this afternoon with the subject, "Coming soon watch ESPN live online with Time Warner Cable." If your spouse gets the TWC email and isn't wanting to feed your sports addiction, or if you missed it, here's the scoop:

From your computer or laptop, watch ESPN live online at ESPNnetworks.com and catch more than 3,500 live sporting events on ESPN3.com. And it's free if you have ESPN with your Time Warner Cable video service. All you do is pre-register on TimeWarnerCable.com by clicking on MyServices. Sign up, log on--and you're tapped in, even when you're not in front of your TV."

So, I dutifully logged on to MyServices (which is a different password/user id than PayExpress, the master email account, the home page account, or the extra storage feature account *faint*). I looked around for the ESPN3 pre-registration. I saw how I can remotely program my DVR (cool, but a bit buggy), looked at My Internet features, perused the Home Phone and My Mobile pages (don't subscribe to those features), and went back to My Account. Nothing there says anything about pre-registering for ESPN3.

Then I used the Support Chat feature. The copyright notice on the transcript sent to me by email prevents me from publishing the conversation here, quite probably to protect TWC from the embarrassment of butchering the English language and restating the blatantly obvious (Me: "How do I pre-register for ESPN3?" Support: "So you want to pre-register for ESPN3?"). At any rate, if the support person is to be believed, all one needs to do is register for a TWC MyServices account. Apparently the MyServices userid/password will be used to access ESPN3. To restate: you're not pre-registering for ESPN, you're registering for your MyServices account. (Thanks for making that abundantly clear in your email, TWC!) Already have a MyServices account? Just logon to activate it (and don't expect any message of any kind about ESPN3).

Support assured me that "ESPN3 has not yet launched to Time Warner Cable customers, but we expect that this launch will occur very soon." Not soon enough, IMHO!

While you're (not so) patiently waiting for ESPN to become available, g'head and get your MyServices username/password. And amuse yourself by attempting to remotely program your DVR. (If it works, lemme know and I'll try it again. It seemed to read my DVR just fine, but nothing was ever successfully written back to it.)

[moonpie23]

Pretty reliably 6 Mbps.

-jk

that's pretty good....TW is sposed to be dropping 50/5 in the triangle sometime in december...

[muzikfrk75]

Just tested it on speedtest.net and it says 10.54 mbps, so I guess I'm good to go (I have Triad TWC).

[moonpie23]

Just tested it on speedtest.net and it says 10.54 mbps, so I guess I'm good to go (I have Triad TWC).

that's about average for the regular TW...the turbo is about 12-14...

[Kimist]

I hope this is not news for Triangle TWC customers (and maybe other areas) waiting for access to ESPN3. You probably got the same email I got this afternoon with the subject, "Coming soon watch ESPN live online with Time Warner Cable." If your spouse gets the TWC email and isn't wanting to feed your sports addiction, or if you missed it, here's the scoop:

Being a Triangle TWC customer - a question for you:

I do not have the Digital Service (upper channel is somewhere in the 70's) but I do, of course, receive ESPN & ESPN2. The HD broadcast channels I can view, but without upgrading (and paying ever more $$$ to TWC) I cannot receive their "free" HD services for things such as ESPN in HD.

So - will ESPN3 eventually become available to me, or is that another way TWC is forcing me into the higher charges area?

On a slightly different note: Several of my channels (I was bored the other day and was flipping through channels I hardly watch, such as E! and Oxy) now show a white screen saying that after Sept 30th I cannot watch such because "you will need digital cable ready equipment" to view them. What the heck - I'm paying for the channels, I'm receiving the channels, but there is nothing there now but a white screen with said message. Is this soon to be standard for all of their channels??

My TV is a recent model LG, and I can watch without problems the OVER THE AIR signals in HD that come from TWC. These would include 5-1 (WRAL), 4-1 (PBS), 11-1 (WTVD), etc. (I think the government requires TWC to provide them for "really" free.)

Do I need perhaps a cable card (why?) or is TWC further tightening the thumb screws to force me into paying more for my already over-priced service? And I assume the nice multi-function remote that came with my LG would then become an expensive paperweight with the TWC digital package in place?

Memo to self: Look further into AT&T U-verse !!

k

[-jk]

Digital cable allows cable companies to send a lot more content down the same wire. Hence, cable companies are requiring you to get a digital converter box. Usually at no extra charge. It gives them more bandwidth to push HD content, so it's not an awful thing. Unless your equipment doesn't work any more. (I had to replace my Tivo.)

Call your local provider to see what's required.

-jk

[devil84]

I do not have the Digital Service (upper channel is somewhere in the 70's) but I do, of course, receive ESPN & ESPN2. The HD broadcast channels I can view, but without upgrading (and paying ever more $$$ to TWC) I cannot receive their "free" HD services for things such as ESPN in HD.

So - will ESPN3 eventually become available to me, or is that another way TWC is forcing me into the higher charges area?

The way I understand it is that two conditions must be met to get access to ESPN3:
- Pay TWC for a cable package with ESPN
- Pay TWC for an Internet service (RoadRunner)
So if you also have RoadRunner, it sounds like you'll get ESPN3.

On a slightly different note: Several of my channels (I was bored the other day and was flipping through channels I hardly watch, such as E! and Oxy) now show a white screen saying that after Sept 30th I cannot watch such because "you will need digital cable ready equipment" to view them. What the heck - I'm paying for the channels, I'm receiving the channels, but there is nothing there now but a white screen with said message. Is this soon to be standard for all of their channels??

My TV is a recent model LG, and I can watch without problems the OVER THE AIR signals in HD that come from TWC. These would include 5-1 (WRAL), 4-1 (PBS), 11-1 (WTVD), etc. (I think the government requires TWC to provide them for "really" free.)

Do I need perhaps a cable card (why?) or is TWC further tightening the thumb screws to force me into paying more for my already over-priced service? And I assume the nice multi-function remote that came with my LG would then become an expensive paperweight with the TWC digital package in place?

Memo to self: Look further into AT&T U-verse !!

Like -jk said, you might simply need a free cable converter box. Call and ask them (or go to that MyServices page and chat with the technician 24/7 -- it's quite entertaining). Of course, I'm sure they have another "better" option for "only" $6.95 a month they'll try to peddle. It depends on the converter box, but I'll be that the fancy multi-function remote is rendered nearly useless, except for that ONE button you need infrequently when switching to the DVD player.

If you aren't currently locked into a rate plan and you think you're paying too much, call them and ask them if there's a better price. They'll likely offer a 2 year lock complete with early termination fee. I won't do it because I may want to switch to U-Verse whenever it's offered here, indicated by the fact that they recently dug up a portion of my front yard. Anyway, if you indicate that say you're opposed to a two year lock, the person you're talking to may agree with you, and will quickly re-figure the offer at a few dollars more per month to go for 1 year guarantee sans early termination fee. Saved me $30/month with just RoadRunner and the HD tier with an HD DVR just making the phone call.

[Kimist]

The way I understand it is that two conditions must be met to get access to ESPN3:
- Pay TWC for a cable package with ESPN
- Pay TWC for an Internet service (RoadRunner)
So if you also have RoadRunner, it sounds like you'll get ESPN3.


Like -jk said, you might simply need a free cable converter box. Call and ask them (or go to that MyServices page and chat with the technician 24/7 -- it's quite entertaining). Of course, I'm sure they have another "better" option for "only" $6.95 a month they'll try to peddle. It depends on the converter box, but I'll be that the fancy multi-function remote is rendered nearly useless, except for that ONE button you need infrequently when switching to the DVD player.

FWIW - I can receive ESPN3.com on my computer. I do NOT have TWC RoadRunner (my inherent disdain for anything TWC related continues) hence I do not know how that plays out for any potential TV viewing.

As for the MyServices page of TWC, I went there and cannot access it because "at least IE 7.0 is required" to use it. Anyone care to guess what I am running? ("Goes to credibility, your honor...")

I understand about being able to force more info through digital vs analog, but would you not think that since I am receiving the HD channels (see original msg) that my LG TV is already capable of receiving such digital signals? The only alternative conclusion would be that I am somehow receiving limited HD broadcasts in an analog mode??

It almost looks as if TWC is forcing me to "rent a box" to watch any HD broadcasts (except local over the air HD stations they must transmit) on my HD TV, and now perhaps also forcing me into changing to RoadRunner so that I (might) be able to view ESPN3 on my TV. Does the word "monopoly" suddenly come to mind?

So, if I feel like talking with a TWC sales rep I guess that is my only viable option for now.

Thanks again!

k

[moonpie23]

i've got RR turbo here at the studio and TWC is NOT showing up in the provider lists..

rather than actually call TWC, i'll just jab a stick in my eye....it's a little less painful..