18 responses to “Brighthouse Cable Screws Central Florida Customers…”
Tony R. says:
I am one of those complacent Brighthouse customers who pays the fees but still wondering why it’s so expensive. I’ve actually started looking at the Tivo box at Costco, trying to figure out if I’ll save money. But I sure don’t want to give up those channels. Please keep me updated, or I guess I just need to keep checking your blog. thanks for the great info.
Comment by Tony R.
February 24th, 2008 @ 10:23 am
M M says:
Brighthouse is just awful. Their on-demand is a joke, their equipment frequently malfunctions, and their ceaseless self-promotion (I guesss nobody else will buy any ad time) makes me want to gag. I keep telling myself that I can put up with it for a few months, until I head back up North for the summer, but I really have to get a satellite. BTW, as I write this, the entire cable system has been down for the past two hours in what the phone rep called “my area”. Must be a big area, cuz it took a half hour to get a rep on the phone. Do you think we’ll get a credit on our bill?
I’m so sad I can almost cry I like my Tivo that much. But I probably will convert to a Brighthouse box instead because the pixilation issues & dropped channels make tv watching unbearable.
Comment by Ken
April 3rd, 2008 @ 10:37 pm
Koren says:
My parents and I have been irritated by the poor quality issues with Brighthouse service for years! We both have the Digital DVR boxes, and while I expreience pixilation occassionally, they experience it daily…mostly during Prime Time. They have called Brighthouse several times, and each time a tech was sent out…during the day, of course. The pixelation didn’t happen to occur while the teh was there, so of course there must not be a problem!
Now for the really good stuff. My boyfriend and I purchased an On-Demand movie last night…”American Gangster.” This is the first time in a long time that I have done this, as the quality has always been so bad. But, I guess I was hoping that with the amount of money I am paying for HD Digital service these days, it may have improved. What was I thinking? Anyway, we begin watching, and there are some of the normal pixelation issues, but we were dealing with it (a little rewinding her and there, pausing, etc.) BUT THEN…all of a sudden out of nowhere, we are treated to some extra footage that did not appear to be Denzel Washington. It was 60 seconds+ of a very graphic XXX porn scene. I do mean very graphic…no doubt about what was going on between these two people! The picture was very clear…no pixilation there! It would not go away no matter what we did, until we actually switched channels and then came back to the On Demand channel and restarted the movie.
I called Brighthouse to make them aware of the problem, and they offerred to credit my account for the cost of the movie. While that was certainly expected, I wanted to know how this could occur. I mean, we were adults watching a movie, and while I was offended, I could only imagine if a family with children were watching an On Demand movie and were treated to this! The young lady on the phone stated that she agreed, but had never heard anything like this before. She said she would “note my account.” Now, how is that going to alert anyone at Brighthouse to the problem? Or, do you really think they would care?
In my web research this morning, I did find where this happenned over in the Tampa area in 2004 during a Pay-Per-View wrestling event. So, it has happened before! In the article, the rep from Brighthouse said there had been an “equipment malfunction” and that they had taken steps to make sure it didn’t happen again, although they could not guarantee it. I know it is difficult to predict what will happen in the future, but this kind of thing seems easy enough to prevent. (My solutions would be to not make porn available, but I know that is unrealistic…it is too big of a money maker). Hmmm…I wonder how often this happens and people do not report it?
Just thought I’d share.
Comment by Koren
April 19th, 2008 @ 8:13 am
John says:
I recently discontinued my Brighthouse service because of the new HD-DVR’s that Brighthouse provides (SA 8300HDC). I switched to DirecTV and so far I’m extremely happy. I know this doesn’t address the initial posting, about using CableCard with TiVo, but it does say something about the current products that Brighthouse is providing and that they are losing customers on a daily basis. Now, every channel that I typically watch is in HD and I’m very happy with my choice to switch to this point.
Comment by John
April 20th, 2008 @ 12:51 pm
Chris says:
We and my neighbors in our Wintermere Pointe community in Winter Garden Florida have been trying to get Brighthouse to get their network up to par and actually provide the services we all pay for since last September 2007. Yes September 2007. Most of my neighbors all have switched to satellite already because they are sick of Brighthouse. Eventually Brighthouse will actually get a clue when their subscriber rate falls dramatically.
Our new community is in such bad shape: the nodes which actually power all of our communities, those lovely green boxes we all see and all of the wiring underground are flucuating, bad to the point were they needed to be replaced years ago and wiring that is cut through but some how still manages to send a week signal. It amazes me that all the employees know this and customers keep complaining but as long as they get their monthly payments they do not fix the actual problems at hand. They just slap some duck tape over the problem to temporarily patch the problem instead of fixing the root of the problem for good.
I believe there needs to be a lot more government oversight because Brighthouse does whatever they like. It is not like we can get another cable provider. Can anyone say Monopoly. I am waiting for Verizon Fios to come in to town at 30-40 MBPS. Verizon if you are reading this please come to Winter Garden. We know you are already in Kissimmee. Let me be your first customer here.
Between field techs, engineers, priority techs, supervisors, service call guys none can figure out why cable tv (high definition or digital) with dvr boxes there is so much pixelization. Nor can they figure out why Turbo speed plan of 15 MB download/2 MB upload speeds for High Speed internet only reach 7MB download and a mere 200-300 kbps upload. Then they release this new HD 8300hdc unit which is a piece of crap and they should be ashamed of doing so. For once, start actually listening to customers feedback. Your days of awards should be over.
Then these employess all say that the internet hubs that maintain high speed cable companies, the servers and routers are out dated and overloaded. Too many customers on too few servers. The end result is that you are all using the same resources. It is like getting water from a stone :)
None of the departments talk to one another to actually figure things out. They do things separate and then wonder why it has taken 50 trips out to a house when 1 could have done it.
It is not going to matter whether you use a tivo or another 3rd party dvr or box. You will still get the same feed, pixelization and more. Your best bet is to keep on complaining for the long haul and get some upper management involved or simply switch over to satellite.
Comment by Chris
April 26th, 2008 @ 2:43 pm
Pete says:
Road Runner High Speed Internet ads are false and misleading!
No way do they provide 15MB service. Have never come even close to 1/2 of that speed. I pay for it but do not get that speed.
Brighthouse should get fined for false advertising.
They make stuff up in the lab but never test it in the field to back up their claims.
Comment by Pete
April 26th, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
Tom says:
Well I guess that some of the outdated equipment that Chris mentioned finally crapped out last night and as of 2pm it’s still not fixed.
This has put me at dial up internet speeds, I just tested it and I had a 58kb download speed. This has also all but knocked out my VOIP service.
I also have had problems with the pixilization of my upper channels.
Monopoly is the word!!! Last year I was working in California and the cost of High speed wireless internet was $15 for the family plan (more than one computer).
At the price we pay here in Central Florida for cable services we should have nothing but stellar service and no excuses!!
Comment by Tom
May 11th, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
Keith says:
Wow. Reading this thread has definitely bummed me out. I’m on the verge of finally purchasing a new HD set to replace my aged Sony + Tivo Series 2. I do indeed loathe Brighthouse, but what can I do?
Options are limited. Even the luster of Tivo is beginning to fade. My once spectacular Tivo is now slow and bloated with advertising, Kidzone, and useless menu options.
So, I can get my new HD screen, shell out money to the Brighthouse thieves, and get a slow and bloated Tivo HD, AND lose channels that “SDV” allocated and not available to me. How depressing.
In any case. Great thread and useful information. Thanks!
Comment by Keith
June 9th, 2008 @ 4:14 pm
Paul7829 says:
Having recently relocated from Tampa to Orlando I’ve been forced back into the dark ages of Brighthouse. Those in the Orlando market just give it a little time and Verizon Fios will be here as well. Broadcast quality is stunning, HIGH speed internet is exactly that, and they even provide reasonable customer support. Almost forgot the best part – it’s CHEAPER!!
I’m sure it won’t be long until Verizon is here too. Like in the Tampa market, Brighthouse is become a thing of the past. (much like old-school dialup)
Comment by Paul7829
August 25th, 2008 @ 8:16 pm
Ron says:
We to are disillusioned with Brighthouse. We recently got a big screen HD and got a new HD box from Brighthouse. Well, it works quite poorly. In live mode, the jump back takes you back not five or ten seconds but back to where you started watching the channel. This isn’t true however in playback mode of recorded programming. Go figure. This new box is quirky in several other ways too.
The box whether HD or regular is a joke compared to Tivo, Dish or DirectTV. The absence of a serious search capability is horrendous. My God, we had a better box when we first got DirectTV at our previous home 12 years ago. You could search for movies, actors or directors. The info gave you much more info about the movies including the director, etc. Brighthouse gives you two stars, rating and the year made. Pathetic. I was considering replacing this system with Tivo but this thread has me off of that.
Verizon has just dug up our neighborhood, so I guess Fios is going to be here soon. Looks like we are going to give them a try.
Comment by Ron
August 28th, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
mike says:
I like brighthouse. nothing but good service i’ve seen. i got my new 8300dhdc and love it.
Comment by mike
September 13th, 2008 @ 11:15 am
Cassie says:
Brighthouse stinks! I can’t watch tv without it having pixels or breaking up totally. I’m sick of them and am going to satellite. The techs are jerks they try to fool people by giving lame excuses when its their equipment and lines that are the issues. I hope someone sues their ass off one day
Comment by Cassie
September 21st, 2008 @ 10:15 pm
Drew says:
I thought I was the only person who was having problems with Brighthouse in Central Florida. Take a look at my list:
Ridiculous installation of cable line in my apartment (the other wall installed line was dead).
HD Service was included in my service but Bright House conveniently didn’t let me know this until my box had to conked out and when I went to replace it.
The new box conks out when they install some new software which amazingly looks and works EXACTLY like the original software.
I go to upgrade my internet service to Road Runner turbo. Yet Road Runner turbo feels familiarly like the standard service.
Now my upload speed of 1275kbps is faster than my dowlnoad speed (1250kbps) during the evening and nights.
Pretty good?
Comment by Drew
September 22nd, 2008 @ 1:25 am
Dan says:
I agree about false advertising…I pay extra for 15 MB and constantly registers between 5 and 6 MB. Also they been promising caller ID on my DVR for months but do not deliver.
Comment by Dan
September 22nd, 2008 @ 12:16 pm
Drew says:
UPDATE:
Anybody who is having any issues with Brighthouse/Road Runner in Central FL Prepare for HELL. These folks will never resolve your issue and will not take responsibility for something being wrong even with their own technicians reporting such.
Again I purchased Roadrunner Turbo 15/2 because I was experiencing dead slow speeds on the original plan. Ever since then things have been WORSE. It is 12:36 am as I write this, the last test is showing between 900kbps-1250kbps down and 1650kbps up.
I have had 4 technicians visit and tell me complete bullshit only to run the speed test themselves from my laptop and say “wow, this shouldn’t be happening, I have to report this”.
After me getting angry and calling brighthouse and giving them a few choice words they escalated my ticket to a “priority field supervisor” aka the same people who keep coming here but with a different title.
The gentleman comes here, tells me my lines were badly installed to the wrong box in the apt complex and the lines were damaged. I watched him dig up the yard and “fix it”.
Before he left, I made him open my lap top himself and speed test it again. SAME PROBLEM. His response was “I’m going to report this to maintenance give it 2 days they should fix the problem there”. 2 days have passed I’m now between 700kbps and 900kbps down ON RR TURBO. Off peak and On peak. The only time I can see an increase in speed is 5-6am and even then it’s around 7000-8000kbps.
I called the main office AGAIN and they told me the problem was fixed, but IT WASN’T and they are now sending ANOTHER person out to double check things.
Unbelievable!
Comment by Drew
October 6th, 2008 @ 12:45 am
Greg says:
I agree with everyone here brighthouse stinks. I am have all the same problems with cable and internet, I want to change to satelite but don’t want to have to sign a 2yr contract so I checked with directtv and they say you can pay 49.95 up front and there are no contracts to sign. Has anyone done this. Thanks
I am one of those complacent Brighthouse customers who pays the fees but still wondering why it’s so expensive. I’ve actually started looking at the Tivo box at Costco, trying to figure out if I’ll save money. But I sure don’t want to give up those channels. Please keep me updated, or I guess I just need to keep checking your blog. thanks for the great info.
Comment by Tony R.
February 24th, 2008 @ 10:23 am
Brighthouse is just awful. Their on-demand is a joke, their equipment frequently malfunctions, and their ceaseless self-promotion (I guesss nobody else will buy any ad time) makes me want to gag. I keep telling myself that I can put up with it for a few months, until I head back up North for the summer, but I really have to get a satellite. BTW, as I write this, the entire cable system has been down for the past two hours in what the phone rep called “my area”. Must be a big area, cuz it took a half hour to get a rep on the phone. Do you think we’ll get a credit on our bill?
Comment by M M
March 8th, 2008 @ 8:43 pm
I blame the fact that kids are bringing guns to school and global warming on brighthouse.
Comment by Special-K
March 14th, 2008 @ 11:07 am
I’m so sad I can almost cry I like my Tivo that much. But I probably will convert to a Brighthouse box instead because the pixilation issues & dropped channels make tv watching unbearable.
Comment by Ken
April 3rd, 2008 @ 10:37 pm
My parents and I have been irritated by the poor quality issues with Brighthouse service for years! We both have the Digital DVR boxes, and while I expreience pixilation occassionally, they experience it daily…mostly during Prime Time. They have called Brighthouse several times, and each time a tech was sent out…during the day, of course. The pixelation didn’t happen to occur while the teh was there, so of course there must not be a problem!
Now for the really good stuff. My boyfriend and I purchased an On-Demand movie last night…”American Gangster.” This is the first time in a long time that I have done this, as the quality has always been so bad. But, I guess I was hoping that with the amount of money I am paying for HD Digital service these days, it may have improved. What was I thinking? Anyway, we begin watching, and there are some of the normal pixelation issues, but we were dealing with it (a little rewinding her and there, pausing, etc.) BUT THEN…all of a sudden out of nowhere, we are treated to some extra footage that did not appear to be Denzel Washington. It was 60 seconds+ of a very graphic XXX porn scene. I do mean very graphic…no doubt about what was going on between these two people! The picture was very clear…no pixilation there! It would not go away no matter what we did, until we actually switched channels and then came back to the On Demand channel and restarted the movie.
I called Brighthouse to make them aware of the problem, and they offerred to credit my account for the cost of the movie. While that was certainly expected, I wanted to know how this could occur. I mean, we were adults watching a movie, and while I was offended, I could only imagine if a family with children were watching an On Demand movie and were treated to this! The young lady on the phone stated that she agreed, but had never heard anything like this before. She said she would “note my account.” Now, how is that going to alert anyone at Brighthouse to the problem? Or, do you really think they would care?
In my web research this morning, I did find where this happenned over in the Tampa area in 2004 during a Pay-Per-View wrestling event. So, it has happened before! In the article, the rep from Brighthouse said there had been an “equipment malfunction” and that they had taken steps to make sure it didn’t happen again, although they could not guarantee it. I know it is difficult to predict what will happen in the future, but this kind of thing seems easy enough to prevent. (My solutions would be to not make porn available, but I know that is unrealistic…it is too big of a money maker). Hmmm…I wonder how often this happens and people do not report it?
Just thought I’d share.
Comment by Koren
April 19th, 2008 @ 8:13 am
I recently discontinued my Brighthouse service because of the new HD-DVR’s that Brighthouse provides (SA 8300HDC). I switched to DirecTV and so far I’m extremely happy. I know this doesn’t address the initial posting, about using CableCard with TiVo, but it does say something about the current products that Brighthouse is providing and that they are losing customers on a daily basis. Now, every channel that I typically watch is in HD and I’m very happy with my choice to switch to this point.
Comment by John
April 20th, 2008 @ 12:51 pm
We and my neighbors in our Wintermere Pointe community in Winter Garden Florida have been trying to get Brighthouse to get their network up to par and actually provide the services we all pay for since last September 2007. Yes September 2007. Most of my neighbors all have switched to satellite already because they are sick of Brighthouse. Eventually Brighthouse will actually get a clue when their subscriber rate falls dramatically.
Our new community is in such bad shape: the nodes which actually power all of our communities, those lovely green boxes we all see and all of the wiring underground are flucuating, bad to the point were they needed to be replaced years ago and wiring that is cut through but some how still manages to send a week signal. It amazes me that all the employees know this and customers keep complaining but as long as they get their monthly payments they do not fix the actual problems at hand. They just slap some duck tape over the problem to temporarily patch the problem instead of fixing the root of the problem for good.
I believe there needs to be a lot more government oversight because Brighthouse does whatever they like. It is not like we can get another cable provider. Can anyone say Monopoly. I am waiting for Verizon Fios to come in to town at 30-40 MBPS. Verizon if you are reading this please come to Winter Garden. We know you are already in Kissimmee. Let me be your first customer here.
Between field techs, engineers, priority techs, supervisors, service call guys none can figure out why cable tv (high definition or digital) with dvr boxes there is so much pixelization. Nor can they figure out why Turbo speed plan of 15 MB download/2 MB upload speeds for High Speed internet only reach 7MB download and a mere 200-300 kbps upload. Then they release this new HD 8300hdc unit which is a piece of crap and they should be ashamed of doing so. For once, start actually listening to customers feedback. Your days of awards should be over.
Then these employess all say that the internet hubs that maintain high speed cable companies, the servers and routers are out dated and overloaded. Too many customers on too few servers. The end result is that you are all using the same resources. It is like getting water from a stone :)
None of the departments talk to one another to actually figure things out. They do things separate and then wonder why it has taken 50 trips out to a house when 1 could have done it.
It is not going to matter whether you use a tivo or another 3rd party dvr or box. You will still get the same feed, pixelization and more. Your best bet is to keep on complaining for the long haul and get some upper management involved or simply switch over to satellite.
Comment by Chris
April 26th, 2008 @ 2:43 pm
Road Runner High Speed Internet ads are false and misleading!
No way do they provide 15MB service. Have never come even close to 1/2 of that speed. I pay for it but do not get that speed.
Brighthouse should get fined for false advertising.
They make stuff up in the lab but never test it in the field to back up their claims.
Comment by Pete
April 26th, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
Well I guess that some of the outdated equipment that Chris mentioned finally crapped out last night and as of 2pm it’s still not fixed.
This has put me at dial up internet speeds, I just tested it and I had a 58kb download speed. This has also all but knocked out my VOIP service.
I also have had problems with the pixilization of my upper channels.
Monopoly is the word!!! Last year I was working in California and the cost of High speed wireless internet was $15 for the family plan (more than one computer).
At the price we pay here in Central Florida for cable services we should have nothing but stellar service and no excuses!!
Comment by Tom
May 11th, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
Wow. Reading this thread has definitely bummed me out. I’m on the verge of finally purchasing a new HD set to replace my aged Sony + Tivo Series 2. I do indeed loathe Brighthouse, but what can I do?
Options are limited. Even the luster of Tivo is beginning to fade. My once spectacular Tivo is now slow and bloated with advertising, Kidzone, and useless menu options.
So, I can get my new HD screen, shell out money to the Brighthouse thieves, and get a slow and bloated Tivo HD, AND lose channels that “SDV” allocated and not available to me. How depressing.
In any case. Great thread and useful information. Thanks!
Comment by Keith
June 9th, 2008 @ 4:14 pm
Having recently relocated from Tampa to Orlando I’ve been forced back into the dark ages of Brighthouse. Those in the Orlando market just give it a little time and Verizon Fios will be here as well. Broadcast quality is stunning, HIGH speed internet is exactly that, and they even provide reasonable customer support. Almost forgot the best part – it’s CHEAPER!!
I’m sure it won’t be long until Verizon is here too. Like in the Tampa market, Brighthouse is become a thing of the past. (much like old-school dialup)
Comment by Paul7829
August 25th, 2008 @ 8:16 pm
We to are disillusioned with Brighthouse. We recently got a big screen HD and got a new HD box from Brighthouse. Well, it works quite poorly. In live mode, the jump back takes you back not five or ten seconds but back to where you started watching the channel. This isn’t true however in playback mode of recorded programming. Go figure. This new box is quirky in several other ways too.
The box whether HD or regular is a joke compared to Tivo, Dish or DirectTV. The absence of a serious search capability is horrendous. My God, we had a better box when we first got DirectTV at our previous home 12 years ago. You could search for movies, actors or directors. The info gave you much more info about the movies including the director, etc. Brighthouse gives you two stars, rating and the year made. Pathetic. I was considering replacing this system with Tivo but this thread has me off of that.
Verizon has just dug up our neighborhood, so I guess Fios is going to be here soon. Looks like we are going to give them a try.
Comment by Ron
August 28th, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
I like brighthouse. nothing but good service i’ve seen. i got my new 8300dhdc and love it.
Comment by mike
September 13th, 2008 @ 11:15 am
Brighthouse stinks! I can’t watch tv without it having pixels or breaking up totally. I’m sick of them and am going to satellite. The techs are jerks they try to fool people by giving lame excuses when its their equipment and lines that are the issues. I hope someone sues their ass off one day
Comment by Cassie
September 21st, 2008 @ 10:15 pm
I thought I was the only person who was having problems with Brighthouse in Central Florida. Take a look at my list:
Ridiculous installation of cable line in my apartment (the other wall installed line was dead).
HD Service was included in my service but Bright House conveniently didn’t let me know this until my box had to conked out and when I went to replace it.
The new box conks out when they install some new software which amazingly looks and works EXACTLY like the original software.
I go to upgrade my internet service to Road Runner turbo. Yet Road Runner turbo feels familiarly like the standard service.
Now my upload speed of 1275kbps is faster than my dowlnoad speed (1250kbps) during the evening and nights.
Pretty good?
Comment by Drew
September 22nd, 2008 @ 1:25 am
I agree about false advertising…I pay extra for 15 MB and constantly registers between 5 and 6 MB. Also they been promising caller ID on my DVR for months but do not deliver.
Comment by Dan
September 22nd, 2008 @ 12:16 pm
UPDATE:
Anybody who is having any issues with Brighthouse/Road Runner in Central FL Prepare for HELL. These folks will never resolve your issue and will not take responsibility for something being wrong even with their own technicians reporting such.
Again I purchased Roadrunner Turbo 15/2 because I was experiencing dead slow speeds on the original plan. Ever since then things have been WORSE. It is 12:36 am as I write this, the last test is showing between 900kbps-1250kbps down and 1650kbps up.
I have had 4 technicians visit and tell me complete bullshit only to run the speed test themselves from my laptop and say “wow, this shouldn’t be happening, I have to report this”.
After me getting angry and calling brighthouse and giving them a few choice words they escalated my ticket to a “priority field supervisor” aka the same people who keep coming here but with a different title.
The gentleman comes here, tells me my lines were badly installed to the wrong box in the apt complex and the lines were damaged. I watched him dig up the yard and “fix it”.
Before he left, I made him open my lap top himself and speed test it again. SAME PROBLEM. His response was “I’m going to report this to maintenance give it 2 days they should fix the problem there”. 2 days have passed I’m now between 700kbps and 900kbps down ON RR TURBO. Off peak and On peak. The only time I can see an increase in speed is 5-6am and even then it’s around 7000-8000kbps.
I called the main office AGAIN and they told me the problem was fixed, but IT WASN’T and they are now sending ANOTHER person out to double check things.
Unbelievable!
Comment by Drew
October 6th, 2008 @ 12:45 am
I agree with everyone here brighthouse stinks. I am have all the same problems with cable and internet, I want to change to satelite but don’t want to have to sign a 2yr contract so I checked with directtv and they say you can pay 49.95 up front and there are no contracts to sign. Has anyone done this. Thanks
Comment by Greg
October 15th, 2008 @ 4:23 am