Hey folks.

I've been having much issues with Oceanic cable lately and I am tired of the constantly rising bills, crappy reception, half assed customer service, and turning in cable boxes every 6 months because they wear out or something(seems to always lockup or break some how??)

Question to all out there.

Does anyone use a different service, how is their prices and service compared to Oceanic cable, and how is their programming?
Is there some kind of Internet tv that I can hook up, so I stop getting raped by these cable companies. 

Right now all I watch is pretty much basic, the outdoor channel, scifi (for Ghost Hunters), and the Filipino Channel for the wife.  ;

Thank you all, your opinions are very much appreciated. 

WOW! Heavies, you have to swap your cable boxes every 6 months?! You must have got the "GOOD" boxes!  From what I understand the new channel guide setup has a lot of bugs to work out too...I've heard of a lot of people running internet TV..
Netflix is pretty cool also.. You should keep the internet from Oceanic and do the Netflix and TV(internet) deal.. It would probably be a good idea to upgrade to the Roadrunner Turbo thing if you go all internet.. At least your video stuff will (should) run better...

Haha, if you lose TFC, the wife will leave you.
That's hilarious.

WOW! Heavies, you have to swap your cable boxes every 6 months?! You must have got the "GOOD" boxes!  From what I understand the new channel guide setup has a lot of bugs to work out too...I've heard of a lot of people running internet TV..
Netflix is pretty cool also.. You should keep the internet from Oceanic and do the Netflix and TV(internet) deal.. It would probably be a good idea to upgrade to the Roadrunner Turbo thing if you go all internet.. At least your video stuff will (should) run better...

Thanks for the ideas.  I have had it with oceanic.  Roadrunner is not on my short list either.  Right now I have Clear wireless internet, and it has been sufficiently fast, and up time has been superb. Also their CS is top notch.
What kind of internet tv have you heard about?
My brother has been running Netflix and that is definitely something I am going to look into.

Haha, if you lose TFC, the wife will leave you.
That's hilarious.

Haha. LOL, yep got that right!  Gotta watch all those knockoff filipino soaps. hehe.

Shux I'm not really educated with the whole internet TV thing.. There is a few I've heard of by word of mouth, like "Hulu, TVonPC and WorldTVPC... Sorry but I've never used any of these so I don't know how good they work...

im getting fed up with oceanics rates as well...as it is right now..$186/month...dvr combo with roadrunner package...
2 hd dvrs
1 regular dvr...
road runner with turbo...with the house being renovated, im thinking of downgrading
just curious how much does everyone pay?

im getting fed up with oceanics rates as well...as it is right now..$186/month...dvr combo with roadrunner package...
2 hd dvrs
1 regular dvr...
road runner with turbo...with the house being renovated, im thinking of downgrading
just curious how much does everyone pay?

118 a month for box / hd / dvr and internet.

I am so close to dropping the dvr / hd / box.  My next computer will run a DVR.  Hulu is great, Amazon Prime is also a choice. Online streaming of videos and channels.  I just recently found out of a few websites that for 10 bucks a month you can pretty much get most of the UFC / Boxing / Sports pay perviews streamed to your computer / tv for 10 bucks a month.  The 2nd one my buddy showed me does sports and adult stuff as well.  I have already moved my primary line to the internet, and once paying for the unit, I pay a small fee a  year for multiple lines, a set # anywhere I go, and all the regular features.

Imagine being able to watch all your UFC shows for less then 120 bucks a year .

the first thing everyone should do is downgrade from roadrunner turbo to regular, especially if you rely on it for video streaming (like through netflix) or gaming

the only thing the upgrade adds is a "boost" of up to 10mbps (website says 15 but absolutely no one here in hawaii will ever get 15 mbps through oceanic broadband)
that speed is only an initial boost until you actually download 10-15mb worth of data. at which point the connection rate drops back to your normal DL rate, which
is typically 5-6mbps.  But broadband users share bandwidth so the more densely populated your neighborhood, the slower speeds are gonna be.

its the biggest scam because everyone that pays for it, tests it by going from website to website trying to bog the connection. Since every website comes up
in a flash, you just assume its working like it should. no big deal if thats all you need the connection for.

in a netflix, youtube or gaming scenario, you get that initial boost of "turbo" speeds only at the moment you open the stream or connect to the server and for only a few seconds.
from then on, its your regular, boring, most likely 5mbps connection.

Right now all I watch is pretty much basic, the outdoor channel, scifi (for Ghost Hunters), and the Filipino Channel for the wife.  ;

With the channels you want (and to keep the wifey happy), the only alternative to cable is satellite. The most common would be a DBS system like DirectTV & Dish Network. BUT know that after their intro pricing and the channel package, you'll end up paying the about the same as Oceanic. There's also FTA (free to air) satellite if you get a C/KU band dish. The programming is free, but you'd have to buy your own equipment (around $200) and install it. The channel options for FTA will vary based on the satellite your dish is pointed at and all local programming would require an antenna.

Having experience with all of them, I will tell you that the alternatives are not much better. Satellite sounds good, but you're responsible for all the equipment...if anything breaks you'll have to pay for it. More than likely, once you've replaced an LNB or tuner out of pocket, Oceanic's exchanging crap for crap won't seem so bad. <---that was the kick in the balls that sent me back to cable.

Consider downgrading everything you get from Oceanic. Start by only paying for one digital box without DVR for the wife (DVR HDD's are usually the cause of bad boxes). Everything else can be viewed using your standard tuner on a cable ready TV, so don't get stuck paying for a box. If your reception is bad, call the and schedule a service and ask the tech to install a drop amp or replace cables if necessary. It's all part of the service you're paying for, so demand it if necessary.

Thanks folks for all the great info!! 

I'm paying about $88 for basic cable (no box) and internet.  I was going to have them disconnect the cable but they charge $17 (WTF?) to do that.

I would look at my contract lol, if it doesn't say that no way I would pay 17 bucks to stop service.

What internet service program is that that allows UFC for $10?    I am really red up with oceanic as well, I always have problems with UFC events on the HD channel. What pissed me off is when they took HDNET off the channel list a year ago.  My service has not been stable and reliable.   I was looking at direct TV our dish network but the two year contract and prices is not worth the switch even with the BS.

xmeforums.com and my budy also found http://www.247hdsports.net

If you are having a problem with service stability, you can try and call up oceanic and tell them that. It may be that the signal is too "lossy" and needs to be boosted. They will usually send a tech out to check the signal levels at the endpoint and work from there.

If you are having a problem with service stability, you can try and call up oceanic and tell them that. It may be that the signal is too "lossy" and needs to be boosted. They will usually send a tech out to check the signal levels at the endpoint and work from there.

+1

This happened to me at my old place. I was no longer able to thrash folks on COD anymore due to my signal.  Oceanic came and installed a booster and ...BAM..back to smackdown.. 

Quote from: 2aHawaii on May 09, 2011, 04:52:19 AM

If you are having a problem with service stability, you can try and call up oceanic and tell them that. It may be that the signal is too "lossy" and needs to be boosted. They will usually send a tech out to check the signal levels at the endpoint and work from there.

+1

This happened to me at my old place. I was no longer able to thrash folks on COD anymore due to my signal.  Oceanic came and installed a booster and ...BAM..back to smackdown.. 

good examples of how we're all being scammed. they only boost the connection when there are complaints. why not just deliver the goods off the bat?

the US is SO far behind asia and europe in the bandwidth game and its all because of money-hungry execs in companies likes oceanic.

the japanese government has plans to implement broadcasted wi-fi internet to all of their citizens at speeds of 15mpbs or more within 10 years...for free

imagine that.

good examples of how we're all being scammed. they only boost the connection when there are complaints. why not just deliver the goods off the bat?

the US is SO far behind asia and europe in the bandwidth game and its all because of money-hungry execs in companies likes oceanic.

the japanese government has plans to implement broadcasted wi-fi internet to all of their citizens at speeds of 15mpbs or more within 10 years...for free

imagine that.

Not to burst your bubble, but no internet is free, it's all paid for through taxes. You or someone else pays for it. And the reason that the US doesn't have huge data rates is because of our population density. The places with really high data rates have very dense populations. It's expensive to pay for that kind of infrastructure.

I believe that Oceanic actually measures your signal when they first install your modem and you have road runner, if not, they probably don't do any signal testing. Usually something will happen between the install and when you are having problems that necessitates the signal booster. Not to say it doesn't suck, because it does, it's just kinda the way it is.

Quote from: palaina.kawika on May 09, 2011, 09:07:19 AM

good examples of how we're all being scammed. they only boost the connection when there are complaints. why not just deliver the goods off the bat?

the US is SO far behind asia and europe in the bandwidth game and its all because of money-hungry execs in companies likes oceanic.

the japanese government has plans to implement broadcasted wi-fi internet to all of their citizens at speeds of 15mpbs or more within 10 years...for free

imagine that.

Not to burst your bubble, but no internet is free, it's all paid for through taxes. You or someone else pays for it. And the reason that the US doesn't have huge data rates is because of our population density. The places with really high data rates have very dense populations. It's expensive to pay for that kind of infrastructure.

I believe that Oceanic actually measures your signal when they first install your modem and you have road runner, if not, they probably don't do any signal testing. Usually something will happen between the install and when you are having problems that necessitates the signal booster. Not to say it doesn't suck, because it does, it's just kinda the way it is.

When I was taking my cisco courses I was told Hawaii has more Fiber than almost any place in the United States.  I believe it was due to the transoceanic fibers and stuff -- someone in the know at a telcom company could probably confirm. I know no one tested my signal because I did a self install -- maybe I should QQ about signal loss lol.

When I was taking my cisco courses I was told Hawaii has more Fiber than almost any place in the United States.  I believe it was due to the transoceanic fibers and stuff -- someone in the know at a telcom company could probably confirm. I know no one tested my signal because I did a self install -- maybe I should QQ about signal loss lol.

the fiber you are talking about feeds hawaii's ISP providers, or hawaii as a state. the infrastructure that we're talking about is from the CO to the your house or business. TW does supply fiber from the CO to some businesses, but it depends on what part of the island that you are on and what kind of services you have purchased from them.

the island wide outage that they had a while back was because some tree cutters cut the fiber leaving the main ISLAND central office. sprint and other government ISPs had fiber running on both sides of the road, (physical redundancy), so they didn't experience a large outage.

good examples of how we're all being scammed. they only boost the connection when there are complaints. why not just deliver the goods off the bat?

the US is SO far behind asia and europe in the bandwidth game and its all because of money-hungry execs in companies likes oceanic.

the japanese government has plans to implement broadcasted wi-fi internet to all of their citizens at speeds of 15mpbs or more within 10 years...for free

imagine that.

i don't think it's so much of a scam. if you don't complain than the service provider doesn't know there is a problem. if they don't know there is a problem, then they can't fix it. call them and complain.

the only way they can fix the problem is by ppl reporting them. we've had to get our cable boxes replaced. i've been hearing bad things about the new format having issues with hardware. word is that the employees had to try it out before it was put out to the general public.