Brighthouse Seems to be Clueless

[dukandhide]

Stevenl, All those channels are Directv announced HD channels that Directv will be adding. I can care less about FSN in other areas, I just wanted to show the list of HD channels. Name one of those channels that you can see being added to the HD lineup? With this new law I cant wait for Comcast to get here, I find it hard for a small company like BHN to actually do something. I still do not understand how we live in FL and have no FSN, Tampa BHN gets FSN but we do not. As soon as most HD new comers figure out what true HD is, BHN is going to have some serious problems. I will be honest and say I am very worried about going to Directv over picture issues, but if FSN is not added with some HD content and I can no longer watch Magic games I will have to switch

[vlj9r]

I left BHN about 18 months ago because I did not like their PQ and DVR. Pretty soon I will be able tell if I made the right choice. So far DTV's DVR keeps getting better especially if you participate in their cutting edge download program. They are currently testing VOD and remote scheduling of the DVR.

Time will tell...

[Impala1ss]

I consider myself an "educated" consumer. I read all there is about HDTV, who provides what, the bitrate, compression, etc., etc. I am happy with all aspects of Brighthouse's HD operation EXCEPT their lack of committment to adding new channels. Someone mentioned the marketplace taking care of Brighthouse. Well, in my life, I am the marketplace. I will be getting D* next week and letting BHN go. It has been a frustrating ride.

If BHN doesn't care about losing my $135/month, I sure don't care about not paying it. Their lack of information ref their plans for additional HD channels has a lot of customers looking to switch. BHN can not get me back for 2 years because of D*'s contract; their loss.

Previous posts comparing costs do not factor in D*'s new HD channels coming this month, nor the next satellite they're launching in the not too distant future. Also with D*'s DVR i can connect wirelessly to my computer and watch my photos on the TV and listen to my MP3's. I read that I will receive XM radio also but I haven't confirmed that.

As far as costs, for the next 4 months I will get all the premium channels, SD and HD free. I will get a $50 Visa giftcard, a HD-DVR costing$200, the premium(?) sports pack (I don't care because I don't watch sports), a $10/month reduction in prices, and more. My TV bill will decrease the first year from $135 to about $90/month but i will retain Road Runner and pay BHN for it. Basically, my bill remains the same for a lot more HD channels, and a seeming committment to increase the number of HD channels in the future.

What could BHN have doen to keep me? - Just talk to me and tell me what is happening. Canned speeches from CSR's is not communication.

Who gained? D* for sure; me, I believe; and who lost? BHN, of course. Only time will tell if I made the right decision but it seems right, right now.

[iceturkee]

when i canceled my cable in february, bhn did call me and ask how they could keep me as a customer. i told them the following: give me more sports in hd and give me 100 new hd channels by the end of the year. can you do that? bhn: no. i hung up.

i have kept road runner and their digital phone. i have no problems with either one of these. but, despite, the fact i do know some people at bhn who have worked within my budget, the lack of hd and their response to such, is totally unsatisfactory!

[stevenl]

Everyone has their reason for choosing a provider. All any provider can do is try to make the majority happy. and the fact remains judging by BHNS very low churn rate compared to its competitors it is doing something right. Sure they can improve. Id prefer we dumped the analog band completely made more tiered services to offer customers who don't want expensive channels like espn and most sports channels to be able to get just the basic services at a lower rate. Perhaps a larger tier group then they have "Family Tier" "Sports Tier" etc etc would be real nice I think and help the customers. Although I think it would make the pricing a bit more expensive but at least this way you will only get the type of programming you want to pay for.

[Impala1ss]

I hate to leave BHN. I really enjoyed their committment to picture quality. Whoever's idea (in BHN Management) it is to "not say anything" about future plans for more HD should be fired. In this day of more information is better, their decision makers are way behind the times and have reached the "Peter Principal" rergarding marketing and retaining long-time customers. I can only hope I get similar PQ on D* under MPEG-4.

[iceturkee]

the local channels that are in mpeg-4 have very good pq and people claim they are as good as OTA. i don't have an antenna so i can't say for sure. but i can say that most days i have no complaints.

[Impala1ss]

Next Monday's the date for installation of D*. Wish me luck that it all goes smoothly.

[iceturkee]

you should be fine impala!

[LonghornXP]

Lets look at the real picture here based on what most HD owners today would order. I believe most HD owners have only one HDTV set with two normal sets. So I believe most HD customers would get one HD DVR and two basic digital boxes. So lets look at the true costs of each company. I also believe that most of these customers would order all the movie channels as well.

BHN pricing.

55.00 - digital cable (first box rental fee included)
10.00 - HD DVR Service Fee
14.00 - two basic box rentals (6.95 x 2)
4.00 - Digital Movie PAK (Encore channels)
6.00 - HD PAK
40.00 - 5-Pak Movie bundle

129.00/month before taxes.

3,096.00 total cost over two years.

DirecTV pricing.

70.00 - Plus HD DVR Package
10.00 - lease fee for two basic boxes.
6.00 - Protection Plan (gives free service calls and hardware replacement)
42.00 - Movie channel bundle

128.00 - total programming cost.
9.00 - HD DVR hardware cost (200 + 20 S&H = 220.00 spread over two years).

137.00 - Total overall cost per month.

3,288.00 - Total cost for two years of service.

So as we can see BHN costs 192 bucks less total over a two year period.

If you bought two drinks (soda from machine @ 1.00/bottle) at work each week for two years that is more money than the cost of the upfront HD DVR cost with D*.

That is such a small amount of money it should in no way justify who you subscribe with.

Also don't forget that the third year and on with D* will be cheaper than BHN but I tend not to consider pricing that far out as things can change to skew everything.

Because its such a small amount of money over that two year period it really comes down to what you want from each company and cost should not be the deciding factor in this specific case. Sorry but when your spending over 1,500.00 a year I don't want to hear that spending an extra 100 bucks will make the whole family broke. If your that close on money you shouldn't be spending the 1,500.00 in the first place at least that is my thinking on it.