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Optimum - basic cable - confused — Brooklynian

Optimum - basic cable - confused

naugastyle
naugastyle
edited November -1 in Prospect Heights
I realize this is going to sound a little clueless, but...here we go.

I canceled cable a few years ago and only have internet with Optimum. I have a vague recollection that they said I still needed to pay for Basic Cable which was $9.99, and when I download their current price sheet it does say that the price I pay for internet -- $49.99 -- is WITH subscription to Basic Cable. Yet, I can go back two years of payment history (all that's available on the site now) and see that I have been paying $49.99 total every month. I might be remembering wrong, and perhaps back then the price for internet with cable was less than $49.99 but more total, so I opted not to get cable. I randomly selected a few old statements from my bank to view, but they won't be available until tomorrow.

I got a new TV (the kind that comes with the digital receiver) two years ago, but I usually just watch DVDs. But I absolutely HAVE seen TV channels before, particularly after digital cable gave me tons more channels. I haven't turned it on in many months, but the last time I did, I noticed I was getting some sort of warning message on the main channels, that I admit I skipped past because all the "hidden" and HD channels were still working--e.g. channel 4 would have the warning but 4-1, 4-2, 4-3 etc would all still work. Tonight I tried to watch TV and there is nothing. Every channel is black.

I'm confused. If I AM required to subscribe to something just to get basic networks--an idea that has always seemed wonky to me--why now and not before? Does anyone else see basic cable on their TV without paying for a package, which I see has now upped to $15.95?

Comments

  • naugastyle
    naugastyle
    Wait...this is the cluelessness kicking in. Since I set this up two years ago I didn't remember what I needed to do. For some reason I guess I have to re-run the auto program to find the channels. It's going slowly so I don't know yet if it's working but I think so. So...er, never mind. Not sure why this has to be re-done as it was working fine a few months ago, but oh well.

    OK, the TV finished tuning and still basically nothing. A couple sports channels, a Chinese channel, a preacher channel, not much else despite the on-screen menu saying it found dozens of channels. No major networks, still.
  • arches
    arches
    Sounds familiar...I only pay for Optimum internet, ($49.95) but until recently was able to plug in my TV and get some basic channels (no "cable" channels though - just the basic 2-13, 21, 25 and a few extras like WLIW Create, 4.2, 4.3, etc. I often lost the channels and had to re-run the autoprogram feature to get them back. Then 6 weeks ago I lost them all together. The only thing I can get now is _someone else's_ on-demand viewings on one or two channels (as in, I can see them fast forwarding through commericals...it's weird). It's not reliable though and obviously I'm at the whim of what someone else is watching, so I just use the TV for streaming netflix (via Wii), regular netflix and occasional web streaming (hulu, etc).

    ETA - I (and you) could easily get the 2-13, 21, 25 channels back if I added a regular antenna and received over-the-air signals.
  • smokin joe
    smokin joe
    i'd just call cablevision (718-617-7038). they can tell you what you have and don't have or should have. and if you're not getting what you're paying for, they can usually tell you how to fix it.
  • naugastyle
    naugastyle
    arches wrote: The only thing I can get now is _someone else's_ on-demand viewings on one or two channels (as in, I can see them fast forwarding through commericals...it's weird).
    Creepy but funny. I'll look into the antenna thing.

    Although it was a once-every-couple-months viewing, I miss Create already!
  • nomad
    nomad
    arches wrote: Sounds familiar...I only pay for Optimum internet, ($49.95) but until recently was able to plug in my TV and get some basic channels (no "cable" channels though - just the basic 2-13, 21, 25 and a few extras like WLIW Create, 4.2, 4.3, etc. I often lost the channels and had to re-run the autoprogram feature to get them back. Then 6 weeks ago I lost them all together. The only thing I can get now is _someone else's_ on-demand viewings on one or two channels (as in, I can see them fast forwarding through commericals...it's weird). It's not reliable though and obviously I'm at the whim of what someone else is watching, so I just use the TV for streaming netflix (via Wii), regular netflix and occasional web streaming (hulu, etc).

    ETA - I (and you) could easily get the 2-13, 21, 25 channels back if I added a regular antenna and received over-the-air signals.
    Yep, this happened to me too! I'm back with the antenna though. Watching with the neighbor is a little weird.
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