It's outrageous the amounts our family spend each month on cable box fees to OTW. In the long run it would be way cheaper for us to buy our own. Is that possible? Does OTW accept that?
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Your own cable box with OTW?
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Re: Your own cable box with OTW?
AFAIK, Oceanic does not offer their digital DVRs for sale.
Now of course, there are other DVRs out there (like TIVO, to name one) that you can purchase. But even then, your 3rd party DVR might require some kind of CableCARD that you would have to rent from Oceanic,... albeit at a much lower monthly fee compared to OTW's DVR. Just be mindful that you won't be able to access interactive services, PPV/On Demand programming, and season sport packages like UH Sports Live, MLB Extra Innings and NBA League Pass.
Me? I just pay for basic cable service, with absolutely no monthly charge beyond that. Thanks to the built-in QAM tuner on my Toshiba HDTV, I'm able to watch the local stations in HD, and get quite an assortment of cable networks in 480i digital. For the sports PPV,..... I'm usually able to find whatever I want on the internet.This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.
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Re: Your own cable box with OTW?
Originally posted by amagab View PostIt's outrageous the amounts our family spend each month on cable box fees to OTW. In the long run it would be way cheaper for us to buy our own. Is that possible? Does OTW accept that?Originally posted by Frankie's Market View PostAFAIK, Oceanic does not offer their digital DVRs for sale.
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Re: Your own cable box with OTW?
I have two digital cable boxes and two HD DVRs in our house. I believe they are all Scientific Atlanta brand and we pay $40/month to rent them. I've seen them sell on eBay for around $30-100 so obviously we would save a bunch of money in the long run. My question was if I buy them from somewhere else, if I could use them with our OTC cable service?
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Re: Your own cable box with OTW?
Originally posted by amagab View PostI have two digital cable boxes and two HD DVRs in our house. I believe they are all Scientific Atlanta brand and we pay $40/month to rent them. I've seen them sell on eBay for around $30-100 so obviously we would save a bunch of money in the long run. My question was if I buy them from somewhere else, if I could use them with our OTC cable service?
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Re: Your own cable box with OTW?
Originally posted by amagab View PostI have two digital cable boxes and two HD DVRs in our house. I believe they are all Scientific Atlanta brand and we pay $40/month to rent them. I've seen them sell on eBay for around $30-100 so obviously we would save a bunch of money in the long run. My question was if I buy them from somewhere else, if I could use them with our OTC cable service?This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.
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Re: Your own cable box with OTW?
I just went to OTW's website to look at pricing - it really doesn't seem that the box rental is that high. a regular box is just $7.12 a month. It would seem that the fact you have so many boxes (4?) is what is costing you so much, not OTW's rates. Sorry - I guess I just don't understand what the problem is. Have you checked the cost of satellite service or thru Hawaiian Tel?"Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
– Sydney J. Harris
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Re: Your own cable box with OTW?
Originally posted by amagab View PostI have two digital cable boxes and two HD DVRs in our house. I believe they are all Scientific Atlanta brand and we pay $40/month to rent them.Originally posted by anapuni808 View PostI just went to OTW's website to look at pricing - it really doesn't seem that the box rental is that high. a regular box is just $7.12 a month. It would seem that the fact you have so many boxes (4?) is what is costing you so much, not OTW's rates. Sorry - I guess I just don't understand what the problem is.
1st addressable box - $7.12
2nd addressable box - $7.12
1st DVR - $10.95
2nd DVR - $9.95
With the state sales tax (4.712%) and OTW's franchise fee (4%) added in, I calculate the total monthly cost at $38.21. The OP's statement that he's paying $40 per month for his cable boxes aren't far off the mark. That's over $450 per year, just for the boxes alone!
This thread has reinforced my being content with having 4 TVs hooked up for basic cable, which requires no boxes from Oceanic. As I said previously, if there's any PPV programming that I really want to see, I'll sign up for the online version,.... much of which carries a cheaper price tag than the cable TV counterpart. And in the case of season sport paks like those for the NBA and MLB, the online/mobile subscription actually offers more games in HD quality compared to the cable TV package, which mostly provides SD feeds.Last edited by Frankie's Market; November 4, 2011, 03:22 AM.This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.
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Re: Your own cable box with OTW?
FM = thanks for clarifying what I was pointing out. I was in the middle of a migraine and just didn't take time to go into detail."Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
– Sydney J. Harris
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Re: Your own cable box with OTW?
Thanks Frankie for understanding my point and explaining it (better than me) in more detail.
I never thought about this cost before until I noticed satellite providers not charging for their boxes/DVRs and then finding out how cheap they are on the used market.
I will indeed take your advice and discuss this with OTW. Theoretically and technically, it should not be a problem for OTW to register these devices. Questions is, will they do it?
Thanks!
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Re: Your own cable box with OTW?
I would imagine the folks at OTW will be very reluctant to help you get a non-Oceanic issued cable box activated. Leasing out equipment to subscribers is probably the business that offers OTW its highest profit margin. So be prepared for some resistance on their part.
Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.
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