Any suggestions for a cable program guide? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

twinkle44301 · 07-03-2002, 11:40 PM

We are going to drop our satellite coverage. We have one of those huge giants and it is just barely limping along. Anyway, one thing I love about the satellite is my monthly guide. Granted, some of the programs change before the end of the month, but for the most part it is great.

We are switching to Everest Cable, and I am having a hard time finding a program guide. I did a search, and found that most guides are for Dish Network, C-Band (what we had), or Directv. Now these guides do have most of the channels I am looking for, but not all.

If anyone knows of a guide (monthly or weekly) that is for cable only, I would appreciate any suggestions.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July....

Jack1000 · 07-04-2002, 03:10 AM

Greetings,

What area are you in for your cable? You should contact your cable company and ask them to send you a sample cable guide so you can see how it is organized...(Call, e-mail, whatever)

Are you going to be getting analog or digital cable? Anolog cable gives you regular cable with optional premium channels and Pay Per View. You'll get about 70-80 channels and is pretty cool.

Digital Cable expands on that by given you over 120 or so more channels. You get about 50 additional channels with more "specialized" programms, 40 channels+ of commercial free audio digital music, and multiple screens of Pay Per View as well as any premium channels you subscribe to. They also give you a remote where you can call up your program guide to see what's on up to a week in advance. You can search by program title, theme, date or channel. What is nice is that you can control the guide instead of waiting for the guide to scroll around like with analog.

The big drawback to digital cable is however, you will have to pay about $10 more per month for more programming that still is repititious to an extent. Cable rates for standard analog service are now about $40 per month and $13 per month for EACH premium channel you subscribe to. So, even without digital cable, if you have standard service and HBO and Showtime, you're looking at about $60/month (What I pay now) Consider the following factors when determining your level of cable service IMO:

1. How much TV do you watch?
2. How much variety of TV are you interested in?
3. How much are you into premium movies?
4. How much are you into music channels?
5. How much do you want to pay?

If you only watch a little TV or one type of programming, you don't need digital cable and could get by on standard cable, and maybe 1 optional movie channel, which would run about $50/month ($40 w/no premium channels) In this case, with digital, you'd probably be wasting your money

If you do watch a lot of TV, and are really into premium channels and music, you'll probably want digital but it will be at least $10 more in addition to the cost of analog.

I wish that the program guides would split the digital channels/analog stations into two groups, because for people with analog, it is a little overwhelming. Hope this helps!

Jack

twinkle44301 · 07-04-2002, 12:41 PM

Wow Jack, you have given more information than the cable company!!! Thanks!

We are in the KC area, on the Kansas side.

Our cable is digital, that much I know. It has everything you listed.

I did not know that I could look up the programming for up to a week. That is cool.

The one thing about Everest is that it is everything. Cable, Internet access, phones (2 #'s), long distance. It is pretty cool. We are going to save over $80 a month by going with this company(We were paying over $200 a month for 2 phone lines, Internet access, satellite & long distance) , and get over twice as many channels, and the fast Internet (not a computer person, so can't remember what it is called). Right now we have MSN and we are lucky to even get online!! And with three kids, everyone wants to be online at the same time and we can't do that now, but once Everest installs, that problem will be solved!

I called Everest and they didn't offer a guide or offer any help on where to get one. But with your info about the weekly thing, I think we can find what we want.

We don't watch a lot of TV, two of our kids are in college and are only home for the summer, but considering how cheap the package is, we just got all of it (except for the Cinemax package).

Funny thing is, after Everest was done digging and out signing up new people (and pretty much everyone on our street switched), the local Time Warner Cable Company people were out offering a $10 rebate to stay with them! LOL Everyone is saving at least $50 a month, and Time Warner can't compete.

I thank you for taking the time to post. It really helped me. I think we may go with On-Sat weekly guide. One of the 3 they offer had almost everything on our new cable line-up. I also wish they would split the digital channels and analog channels. It is overwhelming!!!

I am also not real happy with our Satellite provider (see the Goodlife Channel thread). They keep dropping things, and do not replace them with another channel or lower our bill. There big thing is that most of the channels are going to digital, and they want us to switch to a smaller dish (that they sell), so by squeezing the number of channels we get down each year, I guess they think we will do it. Not me. They only hack me off more when they pull this stuff!!

Have a happy 4th!

Pavan · 07-04-2002, 01:00 PM

twinkle44301, let me know when you get the August guide. If you get one that is, I want to know the TV Land Box Set shows that air Sundays 3-5pm and Nick at Nite schedule after August 12th, since Summer Camp ends August 11th.

Jack1000 · 07-04-2002, 02:32 PM

Hey Twinkle,

That's cool if your company is willing to consolidate everything into one package!!! Let us know when you get hooked up. If you are going with a high-speed Internet Service, cable will install a cable modem on your computer which will be about 100-200 times FASTER than your current MSN dial-up service. Therefore, you will always be online!!! (Your phone will no longer be tied up!)

One thing though that the cable companies DON'T tell you that you're going to need when they install that high-speed cable modem. Because you will always be on the Internet when your computer is on, you will need what is called "Firewall Protection Software" What this means is that because you are always on-line, you are on a network with other users. Malicious hackers COULD break into your computer and do bad things to it. The Firewall Protection Software prevents others from getting access to your files. The best program is called "Black Ice" and runs about $40. So, you will want to get "Black Ice" and install it soon after you get your cable modem set up. (You only need this if you are using a high speed data service, if you are using a conventional dial-up service, it is not necessary) To the best of my knowledge, Black Ice works automatically and doesn't need to be updated regularly like anti-virus software does. (BTW, the reason that the cable people don't tell you about firewall protection, is they don't see that as their responsibility.) Incidently, we have Time Warner Cable!! LOL!

Jack

twinkle44301 · 07-04-2002, 03:34 PM

Pavanbadal....

We should get the guide about mid-July. I think it usually comes around the 17th or so. I doubt that I will cancel our satellite until the end of summer. The one thing I love about my big satellite is that most channels are east and west feeds. I am going to have to get used to the changes!!! I have become very lazy. Another thing, even when I no longer get the monthly guide, I can check out what you need. Our local grocery store carries Orbit (another monthly guide) so I can always buy one, or look for what you need.

Jack....

Thanks for the tips. I printed off your posts to give to my hubby so he can make sure we have it covered. I love the part about not having the extra line tied-up while we are online! The kids do also! Too funny you have Time Warner! Before TW, they were called Telecable here and they annoyed the daylights out of us, so we switched to the big dish. At that time it was an expensive propisition, but it was well worth it, IMO. I remember the day I took my black box back to them....It was liberating to have options. Nowdays, we have so many!

07-03-2002, 11:40 PM	#1
twinkle44301 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 24, 2001 Posts: 351	Any suggestions for a cable program guide? We are going to drop our satellite coverage. We have one of those huge giants and it is just barely limping along. Anyway, one thing I love about the satellite is my monthly guide. Granted, some of the programs change before the end of the month, but for the most part it is great. We are switching to Everest Cable, and I am having a hard time finding a program guide. I did a search, and found that most guides are for Dish Network, C-Band (what we had), or Directv. Now these guides do have most of the channels I am looking for, but not all. If anyone knows of a guide (monthly or weekly) that is for cable only, I would appreciate any suggestions. Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July....

07-04-2002, 03:10 AM	#2
Jack1000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 05, 2001 Posts: 2,055	Cable Information Greetings, What area are you in for your cable? You should contact your cable company and ask them to send you a sample cable guide so you can see how it is organized...(Call, e-mail, whatever) Are you going to be getting analog or digital cable? Anolog cable gives you regular cable with optional premium channels and Pay Per View. You'll get about 70-80 channels and is pretty cool. Digital Cable expands on that by given you over 120 or so more channels. You get about 50 additional channels with more "specialized" programms, 40 channels+ of commercial free audio digital music, and multiple screens of Pay Per View as well as any premium channels you subscribe to. They also give you a remote where you can call up your program guide to see what's on up to a week in advance. You can search by program title, theme, date or channel. What is nice is that you can control the guide instead of waiting for the guide to scroll around like with analog. The big drawback to digital cable is however, you will have to pay about $10 more per month for more programming that still is repititious to an extent. Cable rates for standard analog service are now about $40 per month and $13 per month for EACH premium channel you subscribe to. So, even without digital cable, if you have standard service and HBO and Showtime, you're looking at about $60/month (What I pay now) Consider the following factors when determining your level of cable service IMO: 1. How much TV do you watch? 2. How much variety of TV are you interested in? 3. How much are you into premium movies? 4. How much are you into music channels? 5. How much do you want to pay? If you only watch a little TV or one type of programming, you don't need digital cable and could get by on standard cable, and maybe 1 optional movie channel, which would run about $50/month ($40 w/no premium channels) In this case, with digital, you'd probably be wasting your money If you do watch a lot of TV, and are really into premium channels and music, you'll probably want digital but it will be at least $10 more in addition to the cost of analog. I wish that the program guides would split the digital channels/analog stations into two groups, because for people with analog, it is a little overwhelming. Hope this helps! Jack
	Last edited by Jack1000; 07-04-2002 at 03:13 AM.

07-04-2002, 12:41 PM	#3
twinkle44301 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 24, 2001 Posts: 351	Wow Jack, you have given more information than the cable company!!! Thanks! We are in the KC area, on the Kansas side. Our cable is digital, that much I know. It has everything you listed. I did not know that I could look up the programming for up to a week. That is cool. The one thing about Everest is that it is everything. Cable, Internet access, phones (2 #'s), long distance. It is pretty cool. We are going to save over $80 a month by going with this company(We were paying over $200 a month for 2 phone lines, Internet access, satellite & long distance) , and get over twice as many channels, and the fast Internet (not a computer person, so can't remember what it is called). Right now we have MSN and we are lucky to even get online!! And with three kids, everyone wants to be online at the same time and we can't do that now, but once Everest installs, that problem will be solved! I called Everest and they didn't offer a guide or offer any help on where to get one. But with your info about the weekly thing, I think we can find what we want. We don't watch a lot of TV, two of our kids are in college and are only home for the summer, but considering how cheap the package is, we just got all of it (except for the Cinemax package). Funny thing is, after Everest was done digging and out signing up new people (and pretty much everyone on our street switched), the local Time Warner Cable Company people were out offering a $10 rebate to stay with them! LOL Everyone is saving at least $50 a month, and Time Warner can't compete. I thank you for taking the time to post. It really helped me. I think we may go with On-Sat weekly guide. One of the 3 they offer had almost everything on our new cable line-up. I also wish they would split the digital channels and analog channels. It is overwhelming!!! I am also not real happy with our Satellite provider (see the Goodlife Channel thread). They keep dropping things, and do not replace them with another channel or lower our bill. There big thing is that most of the channels are going to digital, and they want us to switch to a smaller dish (that they sell), so by squeezing the number of channels we get down each year, I guess they think we will do it. Not me. They only hack me off more when they pull this stuff!! Have a happy 4th!
	Last edited by twinkle44301; 07-04-2002 at 12:43 PM.

07-04-2002, 01:00 PM	#4
Pavan SO News/Reviews Director Administrator Forum Superstar Join Date: Feb 17, 2000 Location: Linden, NJ (Where Hal Linden got his last name from!) Posts: 26,821	twinkle44301, let me know when you get the August guide. If you get one that is, I want to know the TV Land Box Set shows that air Sundays 3-5pm and Nick at Nite schedule after August 12th, since Summer Camp ends August 11th.
	__________________ SitcomsOnline.com News Blog -- The best news out there! SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews -- We are #1 in reviews!

07-04-2002, 02:32 PM	#5
Jack1000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 05, 2001 Posts: 2,055	Hey Twinkle, That's cool if your company is willing to consolidate everything into one package!!! Let us know when you get hooked up. If you are going with a high-speed Internet Service, cable will install a cable modem on your computer which will be about 100-200 times FASTER than your current MSN dial-up service. Therefore, you will always be online!!! (Your phone will no longer be tied up!) One thing though that the cable companies DON'T tell you that you're going to need when they install that high-speed cable modem. Because you will always be on the Internet when your computer is on, you will need what is called "Firewall Protection Software" What this means is that because you are always on-line, you are on a network with other users. Malicious hackers COULD break into your computer and do bad things to it. The Firewall Protection Software prevents others from getting access to your files. The best program is called "Black Ice" and runs about $40. So, you will want to get "Black Ice" and install it soon after you get your cable modem set up. (You only need this if you are using a high speed data service, if you are using a conventional dial-up service, it is not necessary) To the best of my knowledge, Black Ice works automatically and doesn't need to be updated regularly like anti-virus software does. (BTW, the reason that the cable people don't tell you about firewall protection, is they don't see that as their responsibility.) Incidently, we have Time Warner Cable!! LOL! Jack
	Last edited by Jack1000; 07-04-2002 at 02:34 PM.

07-04-2002, 03:34 PM	#6
twinkle44301 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 24, 2001 Posts: 351	Pavanbadal.... We should get the guide about mid-July. I think it usually comes around the 17th or so. I doubt that I will cancel our satellite until the end of summer. The one thing I love about my big satellite is that most channels are east and west feeds. I am going to have to get used to the changes!!! I have become very lazy. Another thing, even when I no longer get the monthly guide, I can check out what you need. Our local grocery store carries Orbit (another monthly guide) so I can always buy one, or look for what you need. Jack.... Thanks for the tips. I printed off your posts to give to my hubby so he can make sure we have it covered. I love the part about not having the extra line tied-up while we are online! The kids do also! Too funny you have Time Warner! Before TW, they were called Telecable here and they annoyed the daylights out of us, so we switched to the big dish. At that time it was an expensive propisition, but it was well worth it, IMO. I remember the day I took my black box back to them....It was liberating to have options. Nowdays, we have so many!