I feel your frustration in finding the call centers having a general lack of knowledge. I live in SE Alabama where we do not have whole house DVR. This past Tuesday, Spectrum/TWC transitioned to all digital signal. When it happened at 1:30 A.M. my DVR and STB rebooted. When they came back online, we were missing over a dozen channels. I spent 40 minutes on the phone only to be told it was a problem with my DVR and I needed to swap it out at the local store. The only problem, my STB was missing the same channels. After escalating and being spoken to like I am stupid, I grew irritated and ended the call. Then I searched for an email address, any email address, for someone in their corporate office. I sent a detailed email. Within an hour I received calls wanting to help. A tech supervisor from NC called and eventually I was put in contact with the tech supervisor here. It turns out that 80% of our market area had the same issue, but they did not know it yet. It took most of the day, but eventually those channels reappeared.
Then part 2 begins. The STB I had was no longer supported so they dropped off a replacement and took my old one. New STB #1 booted and I had a black screen, no audio, and no program guide. After hours on the phone, they decided I had a bad STB. (The same refrain I get when calling about any problem.) I agreed to let them bring by another STB. STB #2 arrives and after connecting it and activating it, the same problem. Called the call center and after an hour on the phone with a rep and her supervisor their conclusion was that STB #2 was bad too. What are the odds?
BTW, I connected my DVR to the TV in the room where the STB is and it works fine. That eliminates any issue that it is a signal issue or a bad coax. STB #1 and STB #2 do the same black screen, no audio, and no guide when connected in the room where the DVR is located. Also negating a signal issue.
When I asked about getting one of the newer DVR's or STB's, I am told the equipment in our area cannot support it. My DVR was manufactured in 2004 and both of the STB's I tried were manufactured in 2007. The STB that was replaced was manufactured in 1999. I first got that STB when I moved to this area in 2000.
Just to add insult to injury, my brother and mother have Spectrum TV as well. They are also in AL, but in two different market areas. I pay $50 more per month than my brother who has the same TV and Internet plan that I have. I pay $40 more than my mother who has the same TV package but the basic Internet service. Neither of them has their own cable Internet modem like I do. They both have the ability to record 4 channels, or record 3 channels and watch 1 channel. They could have multiroom DVR, but they have no need for it. So I pay a lot more for my service and get less bang for my buck as far as equipment goes.
One other note, I have not spoken to anyone in a third world country whenever I call the customer support center. (Knocking on wood.)
