CableTV.LifeTips.com

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1 CableTV.LifeTips.com

2 Category: Bundling Cable TV with Other Services Subcategory: Bundling Cable TV with Other Services Tip: Bundles for Dish Network? Are you a Dish Network customer? Feeling a bit envious that all of these cable television customers can bundle their services onto one bill each month and may even be saving money while saving themselves the work of sending several payments? You don't have to be green with envy anymore! Dish Network, in some areas, also has service bundling packages available. If you have SBC (now AT&T) for your telephone service provider, they have teamed up with Dish Network to offer high-speed DSL Internet along with Dish Network satellite cable television. If you have both of these service providers why not give one a call today to see if that bundling service is available in your area? It could save you about $10 or more a month on these two bills and even give you one less bill to pay per month! Tip: Cox Communications Bundles Is Cox Communications your cable television service provider? Do you pay for your Internet through a different service provider? How about your telephone service, is that on a different bill each month also? If you answered "yes" to all of the above, you may be able to bundle all of these services onto one bill through Cox Communications. Cox Communications is another cable television provider that offers bundling of other services along with cable, onto one bill each month. Besides saving you the hassle of paying three separate bills each month, you can also save up to $30 a month by bundling these services together. What if you don't need all three services bundled together? Cox Communications also offers its customers the freedom to bundle just two of those services onto one bill per month. Contact Cox Communications today to see if you can get in on this bundling deal. It isn't available in all Cox Communications service areas, so make a call or hop on the computer to find out if you are in an area that bundles its services, before getting too excited about it! Tip: DIRECTV Bundles If Dish Network offers a bundle package, why doesn't DIRECTV? They do! If you have DIRECTV and you have BellSouth as your telephone provider, you may be able to bundle a couple of your home services onto one bill. BellSouth now offers the ability to put your cable television, your high-speed Internet, your Cingular wireless phone, and DIRECTV, all on one bill each month. This service isn't provided in all areas, so you will need to check with BellSouth, but if you have this package available to you, you may just want to look into it! By combining all of these services you could just save yourself a bundle of money each month!

3 Tip: Other Cable Provider Bundles Not sure if you're cable company offers bundling services? Most likely your cable company, even if it isn't a major company, does offer bundling of services. First, you should check directly with your cable company by calling their customer service and asking if they offer bundling of services. Second, if you have any of these cable providers, you should know that they do offer bundling of services, though not in all areas: RCN, Grande Communications, Bright House Networks, Atlantic Broadband, WOW! Cable, Buckeye CableSystem, and Everest. Each of these smaller cable companies offer bundling in which you could save anywhere from $15 a month to $30 a month. If your cable provider isn't listed on this list, simply give them a call or hop on the Internet and check their website to see what may be offered to you! Tip: Time Warner Bundles ConnectMyCable Tip: When you bundle your phone, your cable television and your Internet service into one payment a month with Time Warner bundle services, you are actually utilizing a package referred to as Time Warner All in One. You will most likely have three choices to Time Warner All in One bundles. The Basic bundle combines all three services, but you only get 170 channels for cable with no extras. The All in One Plus bundle also combines all three services and you get 170 cable channels. However, you also get your choice of two premium channels and a movie pack. The last choice of bundles is called All in One Premium, which is the same as the above, but you get all premium movie channels. Prices, as you would think, vary on these different bundle packages, with the Premium package being the most expensive and the Basic package being the most reasonable. Tip: Time Warner Bundles No one should be surprised to learn that Time Warner Cable offers bundling services to its customers either. After all, it is a major provider of cable throughout the United States. Time Warner Cable bundling services aren't provided in all of the areas in which Time Warner Cable is a service provider, so you must check with Time Warner to see what is available for you. If Time Warner has bundling packages available for you, it will most likely consist of the following: cable television, high-speed Internet and digital phone service. By bundling your services, such as those mentioned above, you could save yourself almost $40 a month on those bills. Besides that, you will only have to write one check a month instead of three. You can't beat a bundle! Tip: What is Bundling of Services? When you look into purchasing cable, or even if you are a current cable subscriber, you may have the option of bundling your cable with other bills. This would mean you would only have one bill to pay each month rather than several bills for household services.

4 For instance, many cable companies offer you the opportunity to not only utilize their cable, but they also offer you phone service, including both local and long distant, and even Internet service at one price. This means you would pay for all of those services in one bill directly to your cable company rather than in three separate bills to three separate companies. Another bonus of bundling your services is that it is supposed to save you money in the long run. Why not check with your cable company today to see if bundling your services is an option for you? Category: Cable TV Boxes & Remote Controls Subcategory: Cable TV Boxes & Remote Controls Tip: Cable TV Box Models With all of the choices out there for cable television packages, you shouldn't be surprised that there are also different cable television box models available. Which model you need will be dependent upon the cable package you purchase. Cable boxes come in a basic model, which essentially just provides very limited features to the cable television user. The box is usually compact in size and has a remote control tuning ability. Your other choices for cable boxes offer more features. The next step up in cable boxes should offer you remote control tuning, one touch Pay-Per-View ordering, timers for waking and sleeping, audio and video output/input jacks and it should be the perfect size to fit in your television stand. The granddaddy of cable TV boxes will offer even more features for the user. It should offer advanced analog functions, an on-screen channel guide, on-screen programming, timers for sleeping and waking, radio functions and much more. Talk to your cable company today to see what they offer and which cable box is right for you! Tip: Consequences of Illegal Cable Boxes Do you know someone who has an illegal cable box in their house? Do you have an illegal cable box in your home? Did you know that there are actually stiff consequences to face should the authorities find out about this illegal cable? There are. Many people believe that cable companies won't find out if their cable is being stolen, but illegal cable is a problem that cable companies keep a keen eye out for. Often times a cable installer or technician can detect the illegal cable when performing routine service in the neighborhood. After that, there will be a price to pay for this illegal cable. If you or someone you know is caught with an illegal cable box in their homes or is caught receiving cable without paying for it, you can be sued by the cable company with a civil suit. The cable company can file a suit with the United States government for lost cable revenue and you could be asked to pay up to $10,000 in fines plus fees for lawyers and court costs. This is just something to think about. Is the potential for losing that amount of money worth illegal free cable?

5 Tip: Illegal Cable Boxes So you want to get cable television for your home but you don't want to pay for it? You aren't alone. Many people decide it is better for them to purchase an illegal cable box, also known as a cable television descrambler. A cable television descrambler will take a cable television signal and then decode it so that you can view it on your television. It looks similar to a regular cable television box, except it isn't. You break the law when you have cable television in your home without paying for it, which is exactly what a cable television descrambler does. It takes the cable signal, decodes it and allows you to watch cable TV for free. You can purchase cable descrambler's when needed. These are considered okay when you have purchased a cable plan through your cable company and you need the descrambler in order to view these channels you are paying for through your cable company. It is when people purchase or make their own cable television descrambler and are not paying for the cable service when they are breaking the law. If someone offers to make you one or asks you to buy a descrambler so that you may have free cable service, do not! Contact the police department because those people are breaking the law! Tip: Universal Remote Control: Know Your Codes, Save Your Manuals! So you have your cable television hooked up and you decide that you would rather use one remote control for all of your electronics instead of having a bunch that you could lose. You purchase a universal remote control, which can control not only your television, but your cable box, your VCR and your DVD player. You get home and realize that you can't find the manuals to your other remote controls. Without your manuals, you can't program your universal remote to mirror the remotes you want to get rid of. That could be a problem. If you're going to use a universal remote control, you need the codes to the other remotes in order to program your universal remote to match them. These codes are typically found in the manuals of the remote controls. If you absolutely can't find your remote control manual, you can most likely find the code by doing an Internet search for it. There are even sites out there that provide codes for most remote controls. The important thing to remember is that you should always place every manual for any electronic in a safe spot. Category: Cable TV Installation Subcategory: Cable TV Installation Tip: Installing Your Cable TV People want lots of choices when it comes to their television viewing. Many people don't want to pay the expensive hook-up fees associated with getting cable in their homes.

6 People have even been known to ask to install their own cable television in their homes to safe on the fee that is usually charged to them for this job. It is best, however, to have a professional install your cable television and most of the time, the cable provider will not allow a customer to install the cable themselves at their homes. Too many things can go wrong, the cable could be hooked up incorrectly, thus causing even more problems. This is why it is best to save jobs such as these to the trained professional, even if it costs you the extra dough! Contact your cable or satellite company for the appropriate channels to follow when installing cable or satellite in your home. Tip: Where Should a Cable TV Signal Amplifier be Installed? If you have a home cable television antenna and you have poor picture quality, you may want to purchase a cable television signal amplifier to improve your picture. Now that you know this and you know where to purchase such a thing, where does it go once you have it? You will want to place this cable booster as close to the home cable antenna as possible or as close as possible to where the cable enters the house. Placing the booster in the right spot should give you the best results. It is always best to ask a person who is knowledgeable about cable television and signal amplifiers before installing one in your home. Tip: Why Would You Want a Cable TV Booster/Amplifier? A cable TV amplifier is also known as a signal booster. A signal booster is commonly used to improve the picture quality of a television that is connected via a home antenna. People who usually purchase a cable television amplifier usually have three or four televisions that are all connected to your incoming cable or satellite. If you have a snowy-looking picture and you have your cable connected via a home antenna, you may wish to install a cable television booster to lessen the snowy effect and make a brighter, clearer picture. If this is something that you think you may need, see a local electronics store assistant for more information. Category: Cable TV Programming Subcategory: Cable TV Programming Tip: Basic Cable TV ConnectMyCable Tip: If you are not happy with your cable TV provider's choice of basic cable or expanded basic cable services, you may wish to change providers. Doing a switch like this can be a hassle, it can even get confusing if you don't know exactly what you are doing. If this is the case, try utilizing use a site, like connectmycable.com, which allows for online comparisons of cable companies. It even helps you to make the switching process much easier by taking care of it all online with great customer service

7 to assist you! Tip: Popular Cable TV Shows ConnectMyCable Tip: When you are establishing a new cable television service and you want to make sure your favorite cable TV channel is available in a package, you must remember to ask the cable provider at the time of inquiry. If not, you can always do a comparison on the Internet for providers in your area to see if all the providers offer your favorite channels. If a provider doesn't have the channels you want, you may wish to find another provider who does offer it. Tip: Popular Cable TV Shows What is your favorite television show to watch on cable? Besides the shows on the major networks such as ABC, NBC and CBS, do you like watching shows on lesser known networks or networks that you can only view because you have cable? I am sure you can name a long list of shows that you love to watch on cable. Do you know what the most popular shows are? If you chose any of the WWE shows that are broadcast on the USA network, then you are right. On average, those shows bring in the highest viewers for cable television each week. Other popular shows include another USA network show called Monk. Is that one on your list? How about The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, a popular tween show on the Disney Channel that is a good one for the entire family to watch. Cable television is widely popular, and the shows that are broadcast on cable television stations are growing in popularity. Do you have a favorite? Tip: The FCC and Cable Broadcasting Restrictions The FCC (The Federal Communications Commission) does not say what programs cable companies should have in their line up or not, but it can limit the cable companies in what is considered to be decent and indecent. United States courts have ruled that material, even if indecent, is still protected by the First Amendment (Freedom of Speech) and can't be banned altogether. However, it can be limited to what is shown, when it is shown and how much of it is shown. This basically means if there is a high chance that a child may see something that is inappropriate, then the cable network showing the program must restrict what is considered inappropriate to avoid a child seeing too much. Therefore, the FCC doesn't censor television shows but it can restrict what is shown and at what times it is shown. Most often if there is something that a child shouldn't be watching, the FCC has stated that it must be shown later on at night when chances are slim that a child will still be up to see it. Category: Cable TV Providers

8 Subcategory: Cable TV Providers Tip: Adelphia If you are a customer of Adelphia Cable Company then you won't be surprised to hear that Time Warner Cable and Comcast Cable recently purchased Adelphia. In 2002, Adelphia filed for bankruptcy and in 2006 it was purchased by Comcast and Time Warner. Adelphia at one time, prior to the sale of the company, provided cable service to people in 31 states and was actually the fifth largest cable company in the country. Adelphia offered both analog and digital cable and high-speed Internet access, along with other broadband services to its customers. Tip: Comcast Cable If you have cable television through Comcast Cable, then you are receiving your cable through the country's number one cable provider. Comcast started in 1963 as a small operation and has since grown to the largest cable provider in the United States. Today, Comcast serves about 24 million people in 36 different states for cable alone. Comcast also provides 11.5 million customers with high-speed Internet and 2.5 million customers with digital phone/voice service. Comcast considers themselves as one of the leading communications companies in the world. They provide broadband cable, high-speed Internet access and broadband phone service to customers throughout the country. Besides just being a cable television provider Comcast also invests in networks and sports teams. Comcast networks include E! Entertainment Television and The Style Channel. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectator, whose holdings include the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team and the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team. Tip: Suddenlink ConnectMyCable Tip: Suddenlink has cable television packages that start as low as $52 a month. This package includes basic and expanded cable television channels and several sports, music and family programming. You also can get digital music and one digital cable receiver and remote for your home. Check connectmycable.com's search engine to compare packages to see if Suddenlink is a provider that fits your needs. Category: Cable TV Vs. Satellite TV Subcategory: Cable TV Vs. Satellite TV Tip: Cable vs Satellite Programming ConnectMyCable Tip: People often wonder about the benefits of cable vs satellite. Especially when it comes to the cost of the programs on both. On average, cable

9 programming will cost you around $40 a month for less than 100 channels to watch. Many times you must pay for installation of the cable. Dish Network will run you around $30 per month for their 60 channel package and DIRECTV will run you around $40 for the 115 channel package. Satellite providers often run special deals for no fee equipment installation. Tip: DIRECTV History ConnectMyCable Tip: DIRECTV satellite currently provides special cable boxes for its customers with high-definition televisions if you wish to have high-definition cable. If you want a HDTV receiver for your DIRECTV satellite, you will most likely have to pay almost $300 for the receiver. Many times DIRECTV will offer special deals for receivers. Tip: Dish Network History If you have Dish Network as your satellite television provider, you are a subscriber to the fastest growing provider of advanced digital television for the last five years. Dish Network was first developed in 1996 and owned by a parent company known as EchoStar. In 1995, EchoStar decided to develop its first commercial satellite. This satellite was known as EchoStar. This was a major gamble for EchoStar, but it paid off for the company with its success. Because of the success, EchoStar launched Dish Network the following year for people to utilize within their homes. The "Dish" in Dish Network stands for Digital Sky Highway. Dish Network has grown in popularity throughout the years and in 2006 was serving more than 12 million houses. In the last five years alone, Dish Network has had more than 6 million customers sign up for service with them. On average, Dish Network is viewed by around 30 million people in the 12 million homes that are subscribers to this specific satellite television. Tip: Interactive TV and Cable vs Satellite Is there a difference in interactive programming with cable television compared with satellite television? Cable television will bring with it an interactive, electronic program guide that pops up on your television. Cable will also offer you On Demand videos, movies and shows and On Demand subscription services in many areas. Satellite television will bring with it an interactive, electronic program guide that, like cable, will be available through your remote and visible on your television screen. You will also be offered Pay-Per-View programming and DVR (Digital Video Recorder). DVR allows you to fast-forward, rewind, pause and stop programming as you are viewing it. Tip: Satellite TV History Ever wonder how satellite TV got its start? Here is a brief history to better understand how satellite TV was invented and how it works today. Satellite television started in 1945 when a man named Arthur C. Clark thought that satellite worldwide would be a

10 great idea, so he wrote an article about it. The article caused people to stand up and take notice of his idea. He obviously had a vision of the future because the man also wrote "2001: A Space Odyssey." In 1976, HBO (Home Box Office) started the satellite television trend by delivering a program to cable television via satellite. This broadcast, a heavy weight boxing match known as "The Thriller In Manila" was broadcast all over the country. Once this occurred, a man named H. Taylor Howard created a large dish-shaped antenna that he used to intercept the signal that cable television providers used to transmit cable to their customers. Howard wrote a check to pay for the movies he had viewed through his satellite signal and eventually wrote a how-to manual on exactly how he managed to create this antenna. In 1977, Pat Robertson started the first satellite-delivered network for basic cable. The Christian Broadcasting Network was born thanks to him. After this, several other networks followed his path and began creating networks that would be broadcasted via satellite. Satellite television has continued to grow and expand from one man's idea to a multi-million dollar industry. Category: Comparing Cable TV Packages Subcategory: Comparing Cable TV Packages Tip: Cable TV Packages- What to Think About When someone is telling you about his or her cable television package, they are referring to what their cable channels consist of. Basically, they are telling you all of the channels that they receive in return for their regular monthly payment on that cable. What you will want to think about when comparing cable television packages for your own viewing, is exactly what you want and need from your cable. For example, is The Sopranos one of your favorite shows? If so, you will want to make sure that you have HBO as part of your cable package. HBO can usually be added on to a cable package for an additional price. If having a lot of family programming is important to you, then you will want to pick a cable TV package that offers more than one family channel to watch. These are things to think about when deciding on your cable television package. What is so nice about cable television is that there are so many choices, just about everyone should be happy with what is offered. Tip: Prices For Packages When doing a comparison for cable television providers in your area, you can expect to find several different package deals presented to you. What can you expect to pay for each package? It depends on where you live and how much the cable providers charge in that particular area. For example, if you live near St. Louis, Missouri, you will probably find three major providers for cable or satellite that you can choose from. Comcast, Dish Network and DIRECTV are all available for cable in that area. Comcast will charge you over $50 for their standard service plus one digital channel from either a digital movie

11 channel, a digital sports channel or a digital family channel. Dish Network will charge you about $35 for 100 channels including some of the most popular channels, such as E! Entertainment television and CNN along with your local channels. DIRECTV will charge you about $30 for the family package, which includes over 40 channels of favorite family programming along with your local channels. This is just the beginning of what packages are offered by each provider in this area. The list is quite long and quite concise. If you are looking for the best package deal and prices available to you, try doing your comparison on a website that will take care of all the work for you! Tip: Website That Compares Cable Prices Looking for the best cable prices in your area? You may want to look for websites that actually do the search work for you. Sites, such as Connectmycable.com, offer a search function in which you input specific information and a search is done for the best cable and satellite prices in your area. By simply putting in your address, city, state and zip code, the site will do a search for the best package deals or prices in your specific area. You'll see what is available in your area and read a brief description of each plan. You're even able to compare up to three different offers so you can see which plan is right for you. This type of comparison shopping is easy because all of the work is done for you! This can save you countless hours on the Internet doing a search for each specific type of cable or satellite company that you are aware of. You can't beat having the work done for you. Tip: Who Regulates Cable TV Rates? Have you ever wondered where your cable television provider has come up with the rates they charge consumers for their cable service? Basically your cable provider is monitored by a local franchising authority. The local franchising authority (LFA) can only regulate how much your cable company charges you for local stations and for any educational and government stations. This commonly referred to as a basic tier service. The LFA, however, does not regulate how much your cable company charges you when it comes to premium channels, such as HBO or for any pay-per-view channels. Your cable company can charge you any amount for those types of channels. But, your cable company should not tell you that in order to purchase premium channels or pay-for channels you will need to buy a more expensive cable television package. Those channels should not require a more expensive package, instead they should be offered at an additional fee for any cable package available. There is no rule though that says cable companies must actually offer these premium channels on an individual basis. Category: Digital Cable TV Subcategory: Digital Cable TV

12 Tip: Digital Cable Channels Are you trying to find out what channels digital cable has to offer? Is your head spinning with all of the different choices in programming you have? It can be overwhelming learning about what each individual cable provider has to offer. Very often, the different providers offer very similar programming. Usually, you can get up to 200 channels or more when you order a digital cable package depending on the provider, but 200 is about average. You can also choose between several movie channels and perhaps up to 12 international channels, as well. Most digital cable also offers approximately 45 free digital music stations. You should also receive local channels and several other channels such as TBS, MTV, Lifetime and many more. What channels you get or don't get is dependent upon the package in which you sign up for. Most digital cable companies offer in-depth explanations of all of their package deals and you can even choose to compare digital cable packages at sites like connectmycable.com. The possibilities may seem endless because there are so many to choose from! Tip: Digital Cable Features Do you remember the days when you were watching a television show and you weren't sure what it was going to be about? Remember when you had to go find the newspaper's TV guide, search through it for the correct date and time to find the show's plot? Remember how much of a pain that could be? If you have digital cable, you no longer need to scrounge through the newspaper's small print to find a description, instead you can push the "info" button on your remote. This button will bring up a neat feature of your digital cable -- a feature that describes right on your TV screen what the show you are viewing is about. Another cool feature of digital cable is the ability to rent a movie through your digital cable, watch it and even pause it, fast forward or go back, during your viewing. This is referred to as "Video on Demand" and is a popular feature in digital cable. You can even add onto your digital cable package with DVR, or a Digital Video Recorder, in which you can record programs from your digital cable without the use of a videotape. Instead, it records the program directly to a hard-drive digital storage system. This allows the viewer to also pause live television shows in real time (such as NFL football games) and return to the show without missing anything at all! Tip: Digital Cable Providers You may be wondering who the major digital cable television providers are. Well look no further, because here is a list of the "big ones" in the cable industry. Time Warner Cable is one you have probably heard of. Offered throughout the country, you may even be a subscriber to this cable company. Time Warner offers it all. You can get not only 200 digital cable channels, but you can also get Internet access and digital phone service. Perhaps they aren't available to you, but don't fret, there are others. Comcast is the number one major service provider for digital cable television. Comcast also offers over 200 digital cable channels, Internet service and digital voice service. Are they available

13 in your area? You will want to do some searching to find out. Cox cable is another digital cable provider, though not perhaps as well-known as the other two. Cox cable offers over 240 digital cable channels, Internet access and digital phone service, as well. Cox isn't available everywhere, but you can do an Internet search to see if they are in your area! Tip: Prices for Digital Cable Prices for digital cable vary because it all depends on which type of package you want and how many channels, including channels that cost extra such as HBO and Cinemax. On average, choosing satellite television over digital cable is actually cheaper, but may not be available in every area for consumers. Satellite subscribers can expect to pay around $30 for 50 channels. Most often, you will have to agree to contract terms of approximately one year to two years. Digital cable television will typically cost you more than $30 for 50 channels. As with purchasing anything, you will want to do some research. It is important to compare both digital cable and satellite to see which one works best for you both channel-wise and price-wise. Tip: Prices for Digital Cable ConnectMyCable Tip: If signing or agreeing to a long-term contract with a satellite television provider or cable company isn't for you, you may want to see if Comcast cable TV is available in your area. One bonus to Comcast, regardless of the price when compared to other providers, is that you do not have to sign a long-term contract, nor are you made to purchase equipment or possibly be fined for terminating your business with them. This may be one reason Comcast is such a popular digital cable choice! Tip: What's the Big Deal About Digital Cable Remote Controls? A digital cable remote control is essentially your navigation system for your digital cable. Have you taken a good, hard look at digital cable remote controls? Those things do just about everything you can imagine when it comes to controlling your digital cable and it is as easy as touching a few buttons. A digital cable remote control helps you explore your digital cable options. With your remote, you can pay your cable bill, watch Pay-Per-View movies, utilize your digital video recorder and even find a menu that tells you how to do everything else that isn't mentioned here. You can even block what you don't want your kids to view by using your remote control and following the on-screen directions. Simply put, without your digital cable remote control, you would have no way to access that wonderful digital cable that you pay for each month. Category: High Definition Cable TV

14 Subcategory: High Definition Cable TV Tip: What is High Definition Cable Television? Have you ever wondered exactly what it means when something is considered high-definition? High-definition television is a system of broadcasting that has a much higher resolution when compared with a regular or traditional mode of broadcasting. High definition television offers much more bandwidth for the viewer, which measures the frequency range of the signal sent, which means better viewing for the consumer who has a HD television or cable system. Currently, there are about 48 million people that have HD television in their homes. HD television is growing in popularity and soon enough, all televisions made will most likely come in HD. Category: History of Cable TV Subcategory: History of Cable TV Tip: 1948: Cable TV Is Born Have you ever wondered what started the cable TV boom? It all started in 1948 when a man named John Walson from Mahanoy City, Pa. decided to try to get the new and exciting world of broadcast television to his tiny town in the mountains of Pennsylvania. He wasn't pleased with the reception he was getting from the television broadcasts from Philadelphia, so he decided to take it upon himself to fix that. Walson placed an antenna on the top of a mountain and ran a wire from the antenna to a television in an appliance store that he owned. Once people heard that Walson was able to get such clear reception by using a simple wire, the sale of televisions went wild, as did the use of the signal transmitter he used to get the improved pictures. Thus, cable television was born! Tip: Cable TVs First Stations HBO was the first cable service on cable television to use satellite to broadcast its shows. What was the second? A little network owned by Ted Turner. In the 1970s after HBO became popular, Ted Turner took a local station he owned in Atlanta and decided to distribute it to cable systems throughout the United States to increase viewership. Sports and older movies were this station's primary content and it soon became the first "superstation." Do you know the name of this station? If you guessed WTBS, you are correct, though it is now referred to as TBS. It is still a wildly popular cable channel today. Tip: The 1980s Saw Cable Grow The 1980s were all about cable television. This was really when it seemed everyone was subscribing to cable television. Within a span of eight years, over $15 billion was

15 spent on wiring the United States for cable television and billions of dollars was spent on new programs for cable television. This, as you would think, caused an incredible growth in the popularity of cable television. By 1989, almost 53 million Americans had cable television in their homes. The ability to watch almost anything you wanted from your own home was just what people in the United States seemed to crave. The people had just one concern as the 1980s came to a close: with the popularity of cable television growing, so were cable television prices. What would happen in the 1990's? Tip: What's With Cable TV in the 1990's? By the early 1990s, cable television prices were continuing to rise, making consumers none too happy. Because of rising prices, Congress passed legislation in 1992 that put a restriction on the growth of the cable industry. This meant that satellite companies and wireless cable would be limited in their growth, as well. That wasn't the case, however. Satellite companies continued to grow regardless of the legislative act and by 1995 there were 139 cable services available throughout the United States, along with what you could view in your local area. In 1998, the number of cable services available grew even higher to over 170. It seems there were endless choices when it came to cable television. The 1990s also saw the growth of fiber optic networks, thanks to a $65 billion investment to build these networks. Broadband was developed creating high-speed access to the Internet. Category: One Demand Cable TV Subcategory: One Demand Cable TV Tip: On Demand Time Warner If you have Time Warner Cable as your digital cable television provider, you should know that you can have On Demand programs with Time Warner when it suits you. Time Warner has several different choices in On Demand programming. For example, you can watch a movie of your choice via TimeWarner's Movies on Demand. From new releases to the classics, a push of your digital cable television remote will bring the movie to you at anytime! Free On Demand is another On Demand programming that Time Warner offers its customers. This free service is for those who don't want to pay extra for other On Demand pay programs. Watch DIY (Do It Yourself) programs, Comedy Central and the Food Network when you want to, not when the schedule says it is on. Time Warner certainly has its fair share of On Demand programming available to you, all you need to do is call and see if you have everything you need to access On Demand by Time Warner. Tip: On Demand With Comcast Cable

16 If you have Comcast Cable as your digital cable television service provider, you may also be able to use On Demand which comes with your digital cable package. On Demand with Comcast is available to Comcast's digital cable customers and allows you, the viewer, a new and fun way to watch television. On Demand let's you choose from a variety of programs, including movies, of which you can watch whenever you want for as long as you want in a 24-hour period. On Demand also lets you rewind, fast forward, pause, stop or continue watching a program all by pushing the buttons on your digital cable remote control. If you have Comcast Digital Cable, all you need to do is access On Demand through your remote control. If you have aren't sure if On Demand with Comcast is available to you, simply call your Comcast provider and ask! Tip: On Demand With Cox Communications Cox Communications customers are lucky because On Demand is offered for free to Cox Digital Cable subscribers. You can get movies On Demand with Cox Communications On Demand. Choose from hundreds of movies available to you with the touch of a button on your remote control. You can choose to subscribe to On Demand Premium channels, such as HBO, Starz or Showtime and view them On Demand whenever you want. You no longer have to wait for the next show time to watch, instead press your remote control and watch when you want to. Want to try Subscription On Demand? You can choose from several different subscription programs. Subscription On Demand programming starts around $7 per month and lets you choose from very unique programs to view, such as Japanese anime. Tip: What is On Demand Cable TV? On Demand Cable TV is a great way to watch your favorite television shows. On Demand cable television allows the viewer to select and watch cable programming video content over the cable network to which they subscribe. The programming you see is either being viewed by you while the content is downloaded or the programming is downloaded and viewed by you through a special box before you even start watching it. If you think about On Demand like a VCR, this can give you some idea of how it works. On Demand television works like a VCR but without you, the viewer, having to program or put a video in it. Instead, this is all taken care of by the digital cable company and your remote control. On Demand television programs and movies can be stopped, paused, fast forward and rewound by using your digital cable remote control. On Demand cable is only available for digital cable subscribers or satellite subscribers. Category: Ordering Cable TV Subcategory: Ordering Cable TV

17 Tip: Help! I'm Moving... Now What? So, you are moving! Congratulations on the upcoming event. Needless to say, moving can be quite a hassle. You have to contact all of your utilities, call your cable company and make sure they can switch you to your new address or cancel it altogether and find a new cable television provider. It really can be a pain! But, it doesn't have to be if you use a website that will take care of the hassle for you. Connectmycable.com is an example of one of these types of websites. By simply logging onto their website, you can click on "Moving Services," which will give you so much information that hopefully you won't feel so overwhelmed! You can compare and shop for new cable providers online and even order your new cable directly from their site. In many areas, you can even order your new utilities, such as gas, electric, phone, Internet, newspapers and even change your address through them! Sites like these really do make your moving experience so much easier! Everything you need to transfer to new services is right there for you with the click of your computer mouse! Tip: Ordering Cable on the Internet ConnectMyCable Tip: If you're not interested in ordering your cable TV service online, you can also order cable TV by the telephone without losing out of comparison information. Want to talk to someone at connectmyphone.com? Simply call Monday through Friday to speak to a customer service representative who can help walk you through the ordering process. Ordering is a breeze regardless of how you choose to do it! Tip: Ordering Comcast Cable Do you want to order Comcast Cable television? You aren't alone and you are lucky, because Comcast provides several ways in which to order your cable! If ordering your cable via telephone is the way you prefer to do business, then simply give Comcast a call at Comcast. This will take you to a customer service representative where you can place an order. You can also call your local Comcast provider and order through them, if they provide that service. You can also order directly through Comcast's website. You must put in your address and other information to determine what is available to you. You can then pick the package you wish to purchase and pay using a major credit card. You will need to register an account with them in order to do this. As with the other major cable television providers, you can also have someone else do the work for you and place an order for Comcast through a website such as Connectmycable.com. It takes all of the guesswork out of ordering for you and you can read detailed descriptions of every package that is available for purchase before purchasing! Category: Paying Your Cable Bills

18 Subcategory: Paying Your Cable Bills Tip: Electronic Funds Transfer Most major cable companies such as Comcast, Mediacom, Time Warner and Adelphia also offer another way to pay your cable bill. An electronic funds transfer is when money is taken from your checking or saving bank accounts on the same date every month and paid directly to your cable bill. Signing up for electronic funds transfer is easy. You can either do it online directly through your cable company's website or you can call the company's customer service number. Keep in mind, you must fill out a form that has your name, your address and telephone number along with your cable account and your bank account. You may also be asked to mail in or fax a voided check so that the electronic fund transfer can be set up from the appropriate account. Electronic funds transfer is another quick, free, and easy way to pay your bill and get it paid on time every month with no effort from you. Just don't forget to record the deduction from your bank balance each month. Tip: Lowering Your Cable Bill Let's be frank, sometimes cable bills seem too high and often times people will run across a better cable deal than the one they currently have. That can make a cable customer see red and perhaps wish that lowered bill could be theirs. Often times it can be. Give this tip a try the next time you want to lower your cable bill. Call your local cable company and explain that you saw an advertisement for a different cable company and exactly what is offered in the ad. Explain that you have been a loyal cable customer for quite some time and you are contemplating switching to another company unless your current company can match the special and save you some money on your cable bill. If you haven't tried this strategy out, it may be worth a shot, as many cable companies will try to please their customers by doing whatever it takes. However, do not be surprised or upset when the cable company turns down your request. If you have tried it several times, it may not work either. Either way, it is worth a shot to see if you can lower that cable bill.