Consumerist
-
frustration
Hey Verizon, My 5th FiOS DVR Sucks As Much As The Last 4
Reader David's FiOS DVR really sucks. Since it's his 5th one — he's starting to suspect that they all suck. More » -
comcatastrophe
Comcast Spends 3 Months, 26 Days Trying To Fix Your Cable, Fails
After spending almost 4 months trying to get Comcast to fix the signal problems with his cable, reader William, who lives in an apartment building that only allows Comcast, has decided to just cancel his his account and go without. More » -
lawsuits
Subscriber Sues Comcast For Requiring Customers To Rent Cable Boxes
Hate renting set-top boxes from Comcast? So does one San Francisco Comcast subscriber. He's suing, claiming that the rental fees are far in excess of what the boxes would be worth on the open market. More » -
directv
DirecTV Force-Feeds You Movies
DirecTV customers are complaining that a software upgrade is shoving pay-per-view movies onto their DVR hard-drives, eating up disc-space and causing headaches. Tipster Buzwardo says, "I find it pretty darn annoying that DirecTV is sending me PPV content that I now have to make sure my kids don't play." More complaints can be found in the DirecTV Forums. -
tragic
Comcast DVR Cuts Off American Idol Results, Sopranos Finale Style
Reader Bill, who sends in this video of what his DVR recorded during last night's American Idol finale, says: More » -
fair use
HBO Using Tivo's Macrovision DRM To Restrict "John Adams" Miniseries?
When Dean recorded HBO's new Tom Hanks-produced miniseries "John Adams"—which is not a pay-per-view or on-demand program—he was surprised to see it was flagged by Tivo's Macrovision software, which controls how many times you may watch a program and how long you can store it before it's automatically deleted. Now the question is, was this a mistake on the part of HBO or Dean's cable provider Comcast? Or—considering HBO's infamous anti-consumer stance on time-shifted programming—is it the beginning of a sneaky "back-door" approach to locking down all their content, something Tivo's own people said would probably not happen when they added Macrovision to their recorders in 2004? More » -
suspicions
AT&T Lying about Dish Network HD DVRs?
Like all decent Americans, I loath Time Warner and decided to cancel my cable and get satellite service through AT&T, who are a Dish Network reseller. More » -
-
technological mysteries
Can TiVo Compete?
According to USAToday, Tivo failed to anticipate how quickly its customers would fall in love with HDTV—and out of love with TiVo. More » -
complaints
Everyone But Me Gets To Watch TV, A DISH Install Horror Story
"July 25 - So, I recently moved and have had one hell of a time with DISH Network. Apparently my new apartment building has an "exclusive contract" with ATT. So I call up those guys to get some TV in my new apt. ATT tells me to call DISH directly (their partner) and I oblige because ATT doesn't deal with apartment complexes. I get on the phone to DISH with a guy (I think his name was Sam) who happily placed my order, until he asked me what floor I live on and I told him third. Sam proceeded to tell me that because of insurance reasons their DISH installers will not install on third floor or higher. I was a little baffled by this and Sam told me to goto a DISH reseller, like Radio Shack. More » -
real americans watch the ads
Time Warner To Launch Various Crippled DVR-esque Services
Time Warner is launching a service that works sort of like a DVR, but doesn't let you fast-forward—or skip the ads. More » -
someone think of the children
"New" Comcast DVR Is, Predictably, Full Of Porn
If you have kids in your house, and Comcast or Time Warner Cable or whichever cable company you have sends you a DVR, here are is the first thing you'll need to do: More » -
time warner cable
Your New Time Warner DVR Comes With Porn!
While some of us might consider it "added value" to receive a Time Warner DVR that was already 20% full of the porn that we would eventually be collecting anyway, some people have children and/or don't feel like watching "Hole Diggers 2." Shocking, we know. John writes: More » -
drim
TiVO Tells You How To Defeat Their DRM To Keep You From Canceling
Want to cancel your TiVo? When you call to tell them about it, they might just try to teach you how to defeat their DRM in order to keep you as a customer. That's what happened to Tino, and he wrote all about it. From his blog:
More » -
time warner cable
Time Warner's New DVR Software Is So Horrible That Lincoln, NE Has To Hold A Public Hearing
How bad is DVR software that a city has to hold a public hearing to determine what is to be done about it? Reader Nick writes in:We are a (maybe the only one?) testing area for Time Warner Cable. They have put a new DVR menu on my household's cable box and we all agree it is terrible. It was definitely a step down for TWC. Now a local committee is doing something about it!
The local committee is none other than the Lincoln City Council, who are outraged at the awful DVR software. From the Lincoln Journal Star: More » -
comcast
Comcast To Suck Less
Last week the FCC reiterated that Comcast needs to "unlock" it's DVRs and set-top boxes. And, to make life even better, "The foot-dragging, tech-testing wing of the cable industry, Cable Labs, has finally standardized a two-way interactive CableCARD." A CableCARD is a device that will allow a CableCARD ready TV to operate digital cable without a set-top box. More » -
motorola
Motorola DVR Possessed By Evil
Laura's DVR is possessed. After months of living with a flickering, psychotic DVR and getting the usual Comcast run around, Laura patiently waits for her 5th replacement box. In the meantime she's suffering through life with a possessed DVR. More » -
football
DirecTV: Not Ready for Some Football
Reader Brandon had emailed with a dilemma. He lives in an apartment building that provides his cable via Qwest and DirecTV. After dropping $100 on a DVR, Brandon was informed that the dishes on his building were too old to receive local channels, which is the whole reason he bought the DVR in the first place. To add insult to injury, Qwest decided Brandon wasn't paying a bill they never actually sent him, so they cut him off and are demanding $65 bucks. More »
dvr
Thanks to the demands of movie studios, as of April 15th any pay-per-view movies you record to your DirecTV 
New York, 11:44 AM
Mon Nov 9
11 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
tipline: 347-42C-ON95
Co-Managing Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Managing Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Associate Editor:
Phil Villarreal
Email
