This week DirecTV will once again reaffirm their HDTV leader as they are scheduled to launch the ABC family series of HDTV channels.    While I root for Dish to finally wake up, I don’t think it will happen as dish is truly up in smoke.   Most of the subs for Dish wants’ national HD now!  Mainly USA and Scifi HD. Dish has not heard their customers and many have already made the switch.  So for now expect more Smoke and Mirrors until they really do launch some more HDTV.  When they do it will be too late.  I have a retailer friend here in Illinois who stopped selling the Dish HD product because he couldn’t market it.  Everyone who he tried to sign up for it, ended up signing for the DirecTV product as it was stronger period.  

My First quarter 08 predictions:   Directv will see a net increase in subs and a decrease in churn which is already low.   Churn is the amount of subs that leaves your service for another. 

Dish Network will see an increase in Churn and a decrease in Net subs.  They will blame this on the current market conditions, which is nothing but smoke and mirrors.  The real reason why is because Charlie couldn’t pull his head out of his ass to add some national HD to keep some subs.  I personally think dish’s execution has been lacking, and the person at the top (Charlie) should be held directly responsible as dish has had bandwidth and channel allocations for over six months to keep this churn they are seeing now low.  Instead Airhead Charlie has kept these channels off air to dish subs and churn has been high.  It is just common sense but Charlie just doesn’t get it.  Many have said that it’s because Charlie has been cheap.   This also could be the case as more often than not Charlie will hold out to get the lowest rate.   The funny part of this deal; my DirecTV bill is actually lower than what my Dish Network Bill was.   Figure that one out!    So for now Charlie is all talk and no action.   Nothing but a Las Vegas Magic show!

This week DirecTV will once again reaffirm their HDTV leader as they are scheduled to launch the ABC family series of HDTV channels.    While I root for Dish to finally wake up, I don’t think it will happen as dish is truly up in smoke.   Most of the subs for Dish wants’ national HD now!  Mainly USA and Scifi HD. Dish has not heard their customers and many have already made the switch.  So for now expect more Smoke and Mirrors until they really do launch some more HDTV.  When they do it will be too late.  I have a retailer friend here in Illinois who stopped selling the Dish HD product because he couldn’t market it.  Everyone who he tried to sign up for it, ended up signing for the DirecTV product as it was stronger period.  

My First quarter 08 predictions:   Directv will see a net increase in subs and a decrease in churn which is already low.   Churn is the amount of subs that leaves your service for another. 

Dish Network will see an increase in Churn and a decrease in Net subs.  They will blame this on the current market conditions, which is nothing but smoke and mirrors.  The real reason why is because Charlie couldn’t pull his head out of his ass to add some national HD to keep some subs.  I personally think dish’s execution has been lacking, and the person at the top (Charlie) should be held directly responsible as dish has had bandwidth and channel allocations for over six months to keep this churn they are seeing now low.  Instead Airhead Charlie has kept these channels off air to dish subs and churn has been high.  It is just common sense but Charlie just doesn’t get it.  Many have said that it’s because Charlie has been cheap.   This also could be the case as more often than not Charlie will hold out to get the lowest rate.   The funny part of this deal; my DirecTV bill is actually lower than what my Dish Network Bill was.   Figure that one out!    So for now Charlie is all talk and no action.   Nothing but a Las Vegas Magic show

While Charlie did give a sign of what was to come, for this customer as well as many it is 6 months too late.  Dish missed their mark months ago when they could have launched two channels (USAHD, and SciFIHD) that would of kept many happy and stayed put until they could have figured this whole HD thing out.  So, with all eyes glued to Channel 101 on the 119 orbital location, I couldn’t help it yesterday but to root on AMC14 as I was starting to get excited as Dish was starting to move closer to the bull’s eye of the target and finally respond to DirecTV’s shot at Dish’s bow. 

The Shot was fired and then like many things at Dish.  It just died.   While I care about E* and Dish, as I always have since I worked for EchoStar, I hope that they do have a new hope.   According to an article at   spaceflightnow.com there is a hope.  While the rocket failed to meet its goal, they can use a lunar orbit to park the bird into its intended spot.    Reading up more on Asia Sat’s Historic mission where this idea was successfully implanted into the correct orbital slot.  This bird has less of a distance to travel than this bird.   So I hope that SES Americom, can use this idea and deliver AMC 14 as quick as possible to the 61.5 location.   Now I just sit back and relax as I wait for my contract with D* to expire.   I truly hope that this changes things and gives dish a new hope.  As when my contract does expire, whoever has the most HD at that time will be in my home!  

Sometime between 12:00 noon and 2pm Comcast’s auditing team disconnected my line from the TAP outside.   There was no knock at my door, or a note left on why my service was disconnected.  At noon I laid my 3 year old down for her daily nap and I went and passed out myself.  I woke up and typed in www.satelliteguys.us like how I usually surf.   I got a page not displayed error.  WTF so I immediately started troubleshooting.  I was able to ping my internal server so, I go and look at the cable modem. The service lights were off, so I start going down cable line looking for any disconnections, which lead me to the outside lines where Comcast’s tap is.   Below is the following picture of what I found. 

The Auditor left the box open and cut everyone’s service in the building except for one person.    I started looking at the lines to see if they disconnected my line to the living room which goes to my antenna for local digital service.   The line remained intact with the barrel connecting my antenna to my internal wiring for my living room.   Upon looking at my cable modem line I noticed that my cable modem line and the line that goes to my bedroom was tagged inactive and audit.  WTF?   So I go to my mailbox to check the mail and guess what’s in the mail.  My Comcast bill.   My Comcast bill shows that I’m paid up and my next bill is not due till the end of the month. 

I call up Comcast demanding that they turn my service back on.  At this point I have lost local TV, Internet, and My Voice over IP.   I talk to a rep, this is at 330pm they said that they would send a ticket up and have someone out by 8pm.  They also said that someone would call back within a half hour.   Half hour goes by no one calls.   I call back again.  Same thing is said as the first rep.  I wait a half hour again.  I call back this time and am told that no one is coming until Sunday!   What!   Yes Sunday!

Over an hour on the phone later, customer service says that they were willing to give me a Saturday reconnect, and they were throwing offers left and right not to cancell.  It wasn’t until the CSR lied about the digital transition that sent me walking.  The CSR informed me that as of February 2009 The FCC is requiring all cable customers to have a digital box.  Any informed consumer knows that its only OTA signals are required and you can get Comcast without any digital box.  They are using the OTA transition as a selling point for their digital cable services.   This is plain out wrong.   While on the phone I kept asking how the audit team turns off a legit account and why they don’t cross check lines with what services are on.  No one could answer my questions.   I also asked why no one knocked on my door.  I would have been more than happy to show them what lines went where as I have nothing to hide as all of my services are legit and I don’t allow anyone to tap off my lines.   Once again silence from the other side. 

  So I requested to be cancelled on the 14th as I’m calling AT&T to establish internet services with them.  With that all setup Comcast and I bid our ways.  So I immediately fire up my sprint mobile broadband card and start blogging about my experience.  This lead on to a call to Comcast’s corporate offices in Philadelphia PA.   They were no help as they forwarded my concern to the local district witch by this time everyone was out of the office. 

So I start blogging about my comcastic experience as I’m on the phone to verify my Saturday appointment.  It turns out that the CSR who took my call said that the last CSR cancelled the Saturday appointment and put in a cancellation for the 14th.  Now I am hot!   Now, I’m stuck with out phone or internet until Sunday as that’s what they have in their system.  I told them that it’s unacceptable as I’m out of phone service and local tv as well as internet.   I told them sense they offered it to me they should hook me back up tomorrow.  They said that they were booked and have no techs out to do it.  I asked for it to be escalated and they said they already did but there was no way.  At this point I’m so fed up with Comcast that I tell them that my wife has a medical condition and if they don’t turn my phone service on they will be speaking to the new owner of Comcast if I can’t call life line services.  They look in my account then and see that I don’t have phone services through Comcast.  She asks who I have phone services through.  I said Phone Power my VOIP provider.  Then she makes a smirk comment saying that Since, I don’t have phone through them they won’t turn my services back on nor are they required to care about my phone service. 

I believe that all data and phone should be treated fairly and equally and if your phone service is through VOIP no matter if the provider is through your ISP or not they legally have an obligation to turn your services back on especially if you are a paying customer.   I continued to tell them that their service is crap and that this is bullshit.  So, they escalated the issue again to dispatch.   Now I have no clue if my service will be turned back on tomorrow or not.   I continue to tell Comcast that they have now broken the legally binding contract between me and them.  The CSR says that there is no contract.  I continue to tell them that there is as the service terms and agreements is a legally binding contract between Comcast and I.  Sense Comcast violated this, by disconnecting services that I have paid for they are now subjecting themselves to a lawsuit. 

So Monday, I will be contacting attorneys at law and I will be Suing Comcast.   If anyone who reads this knows anyone willing to take on my case feel free to email me at goaliebob99@hotmail.com.   So now, I have no Cable Service, No Telephone, and No Internet through my main providers.     Stay tuned here at Stophdlite.com for any updates or you can follow along at http://www.satelliteguys.us/pub-members-bar-grill/127522-comcast-turned-me-off-no-reason.html I’m now in search of legal counsel and intend to send Comcast a message that they need to fix their customer service.   As of posting this I still have no internet, phone, or TV through Comcast.  ATT is set to be installed this time next week.  Fortunately, all is not lost as my DirecTV service is more reliable than Comcast and My Sprint mobile broadband card has me hooked up with Internet, although it’s slow as hell!   Stay tuned!

Baseball fan’s this summer is going to be a bright and cheery one, unless you have Dish Network.  Comcast Sports Net Chicago is promising every home and away game for the Cubs and Sox game will be in Glorious full 1080I.   Yes that means you will see AJ in his full glory picking fights in HD from Fenway, or even the glorious Bronx Bombers take on my White Sox in HD from the Bronx.   If that wasn’t enough you can also watch the Cub’s take on their 100 year run and beat that Billy Goat curse in HD live, from Coolers Field in Denver.   While the normal home games will be in high definition like normal, the only thing that is hurting subscribers of Dish Network’s satellite service is the fact that Comcast Sports Net Chicago in HD is not offered on a full time basis.   This will surely lead to missed out games on this historic season.  

If you want to get CCSNCHD, currently you can subscribe to Comcast or DirecTV as they are the only providers to offer CCSNCHD on a full time basis.  But what about WGN, might I get some games in HD there? One may ask.  Again, not if you’re a Dish Network subscriber as WGNHD is not available on Dish Network.   Currently the only way to get WGNHD on Dish is via Over the Air Antenna.   DirecTV and Comcast both offer WGNHD as a part of Chicago’s local area lineup.

WCIUHD will also be airing games for the Cubs and White sox in HD.   One can get WCIUHD by utilizing a UHF antenna.   Ultimately, the baseball scene in Chicago will be a fun and bright season as playoff perspectives for both teams look bright.  Now if Dish can get off their ass and add some real HD and if past performance dictates the future, Dish Network customers’ you need to call 1-800-Directv.   Oh well I will catch you later I’m watching the Black Hawks Game in HD on CCSNCHD, which is not on Dish Network Tonight.

Competition is a wonderful thing!   It is if you’re the consumer.  This week sprint offered a 99 dollar plan that gives you “Simply Everything.”  This plan offers unlimited email, unlimited text, unlimited walkie talkie, as well as NASCAR and web surfing.   While the plan looks great from the first appearance, it’s nothing but marketing at its finest as everything is truly not everything.   This week as an eager sprint customer looking to upgrade my services to save a buck or two, so would I save that buck or two?   In short the answer is no. There are some common questions that this plan should cover but doesn’t.

1. Are data cards included in this plan?   No, as they require their own separate plans.  Well that’s not unlimited web surfing and email.  You have to pay an extra Fifty-Two dollars for your data card’s plan. 

2. Can you share this plan with other phones on your account?   No.  It’s an individual plan.   Let’s do the math. 

My current plan sets me back at 160 a month, for the Power Pack Family 700, with data, texting.  This includes the 52 dollar data plan for my Sprint PCS connection card, as well as two phones.   

If I was to upgrade to this “Simply Everything Plan” it would cost me 99 dollars per phone, plus 52 dollars for the unlimited data on my card.  Total 250 dollars roughly after taxes.  Sprint gave no comment on why they don’t offer this plan for families.   Other plans, from competitors are similar in cost for family shared.  

I think sprint would be able to make a killing on the market if they charge 99 dollars for the account including data cards and other phones, but charge a 15 dollar mirroring fee per phone line along with e911 taxes, ect.   This would allow users to have a truly unlimited experience with a killer plan.   The question is will T-mobile, AT&T and Verizon answer the call back?  See you later!