Fun with Charter Customer Support

Posted on Saturday, May 24, 2008 by MegaZone

So, shortly after 22:00 Friday night I checked my TiVo Series3 and attempted to watch my in-progress recording of Shockwave off HistoryHD. But it was null – so going to LiveTV I get the ‘Searching for signal’ error. Checking other channels I see that 734 AETVHD, 735 HISTORYHD, and 742 MOJOHD are all giving that error – on both tuners. So I tried a reboot – the standard IT fix. No joy. Then I tried to call 1-888-GET-CHARTER – which is, appropriately, 1-888-GET-CHAR, really. I got a fast busy – repeated attempts got either a standard busy or a fast busy. That started at 22:32, and I’ve made repeated attempts, even just tried again at 23:53 – same result. So either their customer service center is offline, or they’re being hammered and all the lines are in use. Either way, not a good sign.

OK, so I turned to the web site. I normally avoid the online support because it is so much easier to explain to someone over the phone what is going on and I find it generally takes me much less time to cut to the chase and get a result on the phone. But since the phone wasn’t an option, I decided to try the online chat.

I’ll but this behind a cut since it gets long.
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And The Winner Of The TiVo HD Is…

Posted on Saturday, May 24, 2008 by MegaZone

GerryL!

Gerry won with this comment, congratulations Gerry! And thank you to everyone who entered, I wish I had a TiVo HD to give each of you. While the TiVo Rewards program is ending, TiVo is planning to launch a new incentive program in the coming months, so I hope to continue doing giveaways in the future.

I hope you’ll all stick around and that you enjoy the blog.

Gerry, I’ve already emailed you – please reply ASAP so I can claim the reward for you before the program ends.

If you’re curious, it is a random drawing:

#!/usr/local/bin/perl -Tw

my $draw = int rand(374);
print $draw . "\n";
Posted in Site Updates, TiVo | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Technosophy: Resistance is Voltage over Current

Posted on Friday, May 23, 2008 by Gryphon

I was born just a few months before the first major petroleum crisis to hit the United States, in those last few days before the American car-buying public got its first hint that maybe – just maybe – the gravy train wouldn’t run forever. In response to the Arab oil-producing nations putting the screws on the world economy in October of 1973, my father – a shadetree mechanic since high school, which at that point was only three years ago for him, admittedly – decided, very reluctantly, to bite the bullet and buy a small car.
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Posted in Technosophy | Tagged | 7 Comments

Just One Day Left To Enter To Win A TiVo HD

Posted on Thursday, May 22, 2008 by MegaZone

You’ve got one day left to enter to win a TiVo HD. The deadline is Friday at midnight (Eastern). Enter now or forever hold your peace.

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New TiVoCasts: Budget Health Nut, Cocktails on the Fly, And ON Dating

Posted on Thursday, May 22, 2008 by MegaZone

It looks like TiVo has just added three new TiVoCast channels: Budget Health Nut, Cocktails on the Fly, And ON Dating. All three are from ON Networks, like the recently added Zen Living. They have several more video channels, so perhaps this is a trend toward seeing all of them available via TiVoCast.

Budget Health Nut, describes themselves as:

Don’t let modest funds get in the way of gourmet taste. Instead, learn how to shop, cook and eat on a budget with culinary cheapskate, Joe Dias. Dias’ Italian heritage informs his good humor and skilled ability to prepare satisfying, nutritious meals at half the restaurant price – or less.

Subscribe online or on your TiVo via Find Programs & Downloads -> Download TV, Movies, & Web Video -> Browse Other Videos -> All -> Budget Health Nut

Cocktails on the Fly provides you a beverage to go with your food:

She’s been called a cocktail innovator, an aperitif artist and a mixologist. And with good reason. Alberta Straub (a.k.a Miss Flighty); is known for turning fresh homemade ingredients into wildly sexy, exuberant drinks. Join her every week to learn a new drink, trick, or tip that will be sure to impress people when you get behind the bar, whether it be for a romantic evening in, a dinner party or to liven up a happy hour with friends. Cheers!

Subscribe online or on your TiVo via Find Programs & Downloads -> Download TV, Movies, & Web Video -> Browse Other Videos -> All -> Cocktails on the Fly

And ON Dating helps you use online dating to find someone to share your meal:

Online dating is the fastest growing social phenomenon on the Internet, and something celebrity dating coach Andrea Syrtash knows all about. From shining successes to equally impressive failures, join our expert host as she reveals the do’s and don’ts that help you stand out in a crowd. After all, who wants to kiss all those frogs just to find the perfect prince?

Subscribe online or on your TiVo via Find Programs & Downloads -> Download TV, Movies, & Web Video -> Browse Other Videos -> All -> ON Dating

I think there may be some new options in Web Video as well. Or maybe I just didn’t notice them before, or forgot. (I should probably make an offline list of what’s there to check in the future…) Anyway, Skuff TV Action Sports looks like a new one to me. UP Start also looks new to me. And I think USA Today’s Talking Tech might be a new addition as well. There’s also Warthog, which also looks new to me.

JustinFeedHD I’m not sure about – I think that may have been there, and I’m just not remembering it clearly.

I think TiVo really needs to stick a ‘New’ graphic on new TiVoCast and Web Video selections, for maybe the first couple of weeks, maybe a month, that they’re up there. As the list gets longer and longer, it is harder and harder to spot new additions. Some kind of optional notification – email and/or a message on the TiVo – when new channels are added would be nice too.

If I missed any other new additions, or something I thought was new was there for a while and I was just oblivious, let me know in a comment.

And still no Tekzilla.

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