The Gadgetress blog launched five years ago as a spot to post my high-tech musings. It evolved into a gadget-review column, then a how-tech-saves-money site and finally a blog dedicated to reporting the latest on local TV and mobile services.

But all good things must come to an end and the Gadgetress blog is retiring. That’s because after nearly 10 years at the Orange County Register, I’m leaving this great gig — and Orange County — for that mysterious “to pursue other opportunities.”

It’s really a mystery to me what I’ll be doing next. I’m taking a break for a few months. Seriously. I may return to the world of tech journalism. If you want to keep track of what’s next for me, just head to my personal site at tamara.net.

I enjoyed every minute, especially the interaction with readers. Thank you readers, fans, critics, the companies and even Time Warner Cable. I’ve learned a lot from all of you and hopefully vice versa. I’ve updated the story archives so if you’re looking for an old post on TV service, here’s where to go:

• Time Warner Cable
• Cox Communications
• Verizon FiOS
• AT&T U-verse

For all other tech-related stories and questions, here are a few people who may be able to help you:

• The PC Club Q&A will continue. Readers can still submit questions to gadgetress@ocregister.com with “Help Me” in the subject head.
• John Dunphy, OC Register editor who oversees technology coverage: jdunphy@ocregister.com
• Ian Hamilton, OC Register reporter who covers tech in Irvine and has a soft spot for all-things Apple: ihamilton@ocregister.com

Farewell good readers. I’ll be on Twitter, Facebook and who knows where else? May we meet again!

Signing out,

Tamara “The Gadgetress” Chuang

Take a day off, miss some big 3D news. DirecTV offered us an update yesterday on one of its upcoming 3D TV channels. We knew ESPN 3D was coming, but now we know when: June 11. More notably, Cox Communications plans to air the upcoming Masters Tournament for all customers who have an HD receiver. That makes Cox the first cable TV provider in Orange County to make some sort of commitment to 3D.

Let’s start with Cox. The cable company will air the Masters Tournament next week from Augusta National Golf Club beginning Wednesday, April 7 (yes, that’s the event where we will all see Tiger Wood’s return to the sport). There will be two hours a day of live coverage, starting at 1 or 2 p.m, our time. The same coverage will also be available on demand (go to channel 1). If you’re not an eligible Cox subscriber, you can also view the 3D coverage at Masters.com if you have a 3D-compatible computer.

What will you see? “Viewers will be better able to depict the many subtleties and elevation changes of the course’s grounds,” says Cox.

The interesting note is that Cox is a cable company. And cable companies have complained about not having enough space to air more HD channels. Companies are tweaking the technology and playing with available bandwidth in order to squeeze more HD into a customer’s house. Cox, for example, has turned some regular TV channels into on-demand only so that they are not broadcasting 24/7. When a customer wants to view the channel, it starts airing as if it were broadcasting 24/7.

Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, is also airing the Masters Tournament in 3D. Here’s a good explanation about how Comcast is doing 3D by Engadget, “Comcast’s 3D Masters broadcast explained.”

Time Warner Cable and other TV companies have said very little about their 3D plans. The TV company leading the effort is DirecTV, which announced in January that it will offer three 3D channels this year (see earlier story,”Who’s bringing 3D content to 3D HDTVs“).

(Update: Time Warner will also air the Masters Tournament in 3D. More to come later.)

The big one is ESPN 3D, which plans to broadcast sporting events filmed with 3D cameras. It goes live June 11. The new channel kicks off with the 2010 FIFA World Cup matches. In its first year, ESPN 3D plans to offer a minimum of 85 live events in 3D, including X Games 16, 2010 college football ACC Championship, 2011 BCS National Championship game, college basketball and NBA games.

DirecTV HD customers who subscribe to ESPN will get the new channel at no extra cost. A software update will be pushed out to all DirecTV HD customers just before the launch. The company’s other two  3D channels — an on-demand channel and a pay per view channel — will also launch in June.

Either way, DirecTV and Cox customers will need a few things to get the 3D experience. Consumers must have a 3D HDTV, which are today available from several brands (see list below. Most of today’s 3D TVs also require 3D glasses.

More 3D TV news:

Despite a marketing campaign to promote the March launch of a new mobile phone service, consumers in the only city where Cox Communications actually launched service probably have no clue it exists.

That’s because in Omaha, Nebraska, only paying Cox employees there can get the service, said Jill Ullman, with Cox’s public affairs department. She declined to share prices, features or any other useful information.

Orange County was supposed to join Omaha this month as one of three areas nationwide that would get Cox’s “unbelievably fair” service first. But as we learned earlier this week, Cox nixed that launch in Orange County  in order to put “the final touches on the Cox Wireless,” said a spokesperson (see earlier story: What happened to Cox Cable’s mobile phone service?).

Around the Web, other news sites are reporting that Cox is gearing up to launch mobile service for business customers. Multichannel News says phone service is available in the three communities but only for “friendly” customers and testers.

If there are any “friendly” readers out there who are testing Cox’s mobile service in Orange County, please share your experience.

Earlier on Cox’s mobile phone service:

March is almost over and the “unbelievably fair” mobile phone service from Cox Communications has failed to make its debut in Orange County, which was one of three regions nationwide picked for the cable TV provider’s mobile debut.

The launch has been delayed indefinitely, said Lana Ong, the spokesperson for the local Cox operation.

“We didn’t launch Cox Wireless widely to the public on March 8 because we are taking a very deliberate approach to introduce new products and services to the marketplace to ensure an experience that customers expect from Cox,” she replied.

She continues, “We realize many customers were looking forward to it however, the most important thing to note is Cox is putting the final touches on the Cox Wireless experience. Holding true to our customers is our number one priority and Cox Wireless will be here soon.  We’re asking that interested customers visit unbelievablyfair.com if they want to be the first to learn more about Cox Wireless – and don’t renew that contract!”

That’s a tough request, even for people who can’t wait to ditch their own wireless provider.

At this point, all we know is that Cox was building a mobile-phone network that uses Sprint’s CDMA 3G network. It would do away with overage fees, vanishing minutes and other consumer outrages. You don’t have to be a Cox TV subscriber. The company even produced commercials about it, which it’ll have to reshoot since they tout a March launch.

Orange County was one of three regions picked to be the first to get service. Hampton Roads, Va. and Omaha, Neb. were the other two areas.

Omaha, however, did launch, Ong said.

“While we don’t have a set date yet for our official wireless launch to the public, our Omaha system launched Cox Wireless in limited availability earlier this month,” she said.

In the mid 1990s, Cox tapped Omaha as a city it planned to launched cellular service using existing its fiber-optic cable network, according to a story in the Omaha World Herald. The service was pitched as something that would cost half the price of existing cellular service. The effort was later dropped.

Related stories:

Corrected 2/16: Fox Reality is being replaced by National Geographic Wild, not West. My bad. Thanks reader ‘m’ for pointing this out. Text below is corrected.

If you haven’t spent much time on the Fox Reality channel, you’ll be glad to know it’s being booted next month in favor of the National Geographic Wild Channel.

The Fox channel shuts down on March 31, as noted last October, in favor of another version of reality. Why National Geographic? The channel is 50 percent owned by Fox Cable Network.

Time Warner Cable, which notified customers today on its alerts page, switches to “Nat Geo Wild” on March 29. It’s the same channel — 129 — and same plan level as Fox Reality.

Other TV providers have not announced the switch yet but here are the existing channel numbers for their Fox Reality channel:

• Time Warner, 129
• Cox Communications, 363
• Dish Network, 190
• Verizon FiOS, 197
• AT&T U-verse, 130
• DirecTV, 250

For more on TV services, see the following links:

					* Time Warner Cable * Cox Cable * Verizon FiOS * AT&T U-verse		* DirecTV * Dish Network * Web TV * All TV

One way to save some money on TV service? Commit for a year or two.

It’s a business model that both satellite TV companies have offered for years. Over at Verizon FiOS, new customers will save about $240 over a 2-year period for the company’s most popular TV, Internet and phone bundle. Time Warner Cable began offering its price-lock guarantee program last year, saving customers ordering 3 services a $432 over two years.

Cox Communications, too, is doing the same thing but as one reader discovered, not every  customer qualifies.

John, a Laguna Beach resident, asked for the discount after learning that Cox is raising cable TV and Internet rates in March. But he was told he wasn’t eligible. No one, not even the service manager, could figure out why.

Lana Ong, a Cox spokesperson, cleared it all up: Price lock is just a trial for the company in certain parts of the country, including Orange County. But if your account is delinquent or already getting a good discount, you don’t qualify. Ong responded:

Cox recognizes that customers appreciate predictability in their bills, particularly in today’s economy, so we wanted to offer Price Lock Guarantees on a trial basis to better understand demand for this offering. These Guarantees allow customers to lock in the rate of their Cox video, Internet and telephone services at today’s rates for the next two years. Cox is testing this new method of locking in pricing for customers in four markets – Orange County, San Diego, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Since, this is a trial taking place in certain service areas, the Price Lock Guarantee is not available to all customers at this time. Also, the Price Lock is not available to customers with delinquent accounts or who already have a discount offer on their services. At the conclusion of the trial period, Cox will determine whether to offer Price Lock Guarantees in other systems.

Ong didn’t say how much eligible customers can save with price-lock guarantee. But take a look at the published savings for the local TV services (I’ve added a separate 6-month offer from Cox):

Company	Package	Term	Price-lock	No Price Lock	Savings
Time Warner Cable	Phone, Internet, TV	24 months	$104.99	$122.99	$432
Verizon FiOS	Phone, Internet, TV	24 months	$99.99*	$109.99	$240
Cox cable	Phone, Internet, TV	6 months	$117.01**	$147.01	$180
Dish Network	TV (280+ channels)	12 months	$84.99	$99.99	$180
Direct TV	TV (265+ channels)	12 months	$83.99	$109.99	$312

* Verizon’s price is the average over 24 months. As part of its price-lock deal, the first 12 months are $89.99, the second 12 months are $109.99.
** Cox’s 6-month price isn’t part of the price-lock program. It’s part of the bundled-services offer.

If any readers have qualified for Cox’s price-lock guarantee, share the numbers with the rest of us. Thanks!

Recent Cox Cable stories:

A new report believes that 68 percent of cable TV customers would switch to a competing service for a  20 percent discount, according to Strategy Analytics, a market research firm.

The report “Digital TV Customer Satisfaction: US Survey Results” only surveyed 856 cable users, but there is other proof that consumers want a better value. Recent cable TV financial reports that continue to show a declining number of TV subscribers and customers dropping services like premium channels and video on demand. Meanwhile, Internet-TV services like AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOS have been adding new customers.

“It underscores a trend we have been seeing for the past 18 months: a growing number of customers are beginning to question the value of a ‘traditional’ pay TV subscription in light of expanded “over-the-top” offerings, such as Hulu and Netflix,” said the study’s author Ben Piper, Director of the Strategy Analytics Multiplay Market Dynamics service.

Comparably, says the report, only 33 percent of people who subscribe to the newer Internet TV services also would drop their provider for a cheaper service.

Internet TV also had the highest number of satisfied customers, with 95 percent of respondents claiming to be “somewhat” or “very” satisfied. Comparably, 78 percent of satellite users were that satisfied while 67 percent cable users were.

In my own research, Verizon FiOS TV tends to be more expensive then cable but you do get a lot more features like HD channels and on-screen widgets. Satellite TV tends to be the cheapest. But everyone wants to save money.

Any thoughts from readers? I’ll be evaluating the costs of TV service in upcoming weeks. All input would be appreciated.

Related TV news:

• Cox raising cable TV, HD and Internet prices in Orange County
• AT&T U-verse TV doubles customers in a year, iPhones continue to rock
• How much money did Time Warner make last year? $1.1 billion
• 48% of people served by Verizon can order FiOS but most don’t
• DirecTV prices going up in 2010 too
• AT&T U-verse raising TV, phone, Internet prices in 2010
• Minimum Time Warner Cable bill: $8.50/month
• Psssst: Digital cable TV is cheaper than analog cable
• Time Warner 2010 price hikes mostly affect those who order the least
• Cable TV bills will go up if Fox, CBS get their way
• Is Time Warner really cheaper than Verizon FiOS?
• Cable TV bills quadrupled in 10 years, but look what you now get
• Time Warner Cable offers cheapest deal in Spanish — not English

Cox Communications is raising the price of its major cable TV plans in Orange County between 3.6 to 10 percent, beginning March 1. And if you’re a premium movie subscriber or HD fan, expect your monthly bill to go up even higher. (Thanks to all the readers who wrote in about this.)

It’s not unexpected news as we’ve heard about TV price hikes from all the major providers in Orange County. Cox, which has its local headquarters in Rancho Santa Margarita, tends to increase prices in the spring.

“The main reason that our prices are changing is because of the rising costs of doing business. Cox is similar to a grocery store; we are a retail distributor of a wholesale product. Each year programmers like ESPN, CNN and MTV raise their costs, which then raises our costs to do business. We try to keep cable prices as low as possible, and while we absorb much of the increases incurred, we can’t absorb the full amount of fees we pay for the programmers. So, we have to pass on at least a portion of those increases to our customers,” said Lana Ong, a Cox spokeswoman.

The chart on the right details what services are going up. The complete document being mailed to Cox subscribers is available HERE. But what is going up?

■ HD TV service: Both the HD receiver and the HD DVR will now cost $2 more than non-HD versions. That’s a 36.4% increase. Also going up: the HD channel tier (with HDnet, HDnet Movies and HD Theater)  jumps 55-cents per month to $5.50.

■ Premium channels: If you thought spending $12.99/month on HBO was a lot, that price is jumping 7.8 percent to $14. Buy all four movie premiums — including Cinemax, Showtime and Starz — and the price goes up 8.6 percent to $38/month.

■ Basic broadcast cable: People on Cox’s cheapest TV plan, which includes only the local and broadcast channels, get a $2 price increase to $22, or 10 percent.

■ High speed Internet: There’s no escaping a fee increase if you’re a Cox Internet user. Prices for the starter service are going up $3/month to $22.99, or 15.2 percent. The fastest users get a 3.3 percent hike to $61.99/month.

What’s not going up:

■ Phone service. Basic phone service prices are not going up. However, if you use certain features, like call waiting and caller ID, those are going up $0.05 to $1.05 per month.

■ DVR service: Not only is this TV recording service that also can pause and rewind live TV not going up, it’s going down by 16.4 percent. Specifically, Cox is cutting about $2 off the monthly fee to get it to $9.99/month.

TV prices continue to rise everywhere even as consumers seem to have more options with online TV sites like Hulu.com and free services like Boxee.TV that search the web for TV shows. The rise of Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse, plus satellite TV services Dish Networks and DirecTV, have all contributed to more choices for consumers in some areas.

Ong, with Cox, added that if customers commit to a 24-month service agreement, they can qualify for a price lock guarantee so their rates won’t be impacted by future rate hikes for a period of time.

Recent Cox Cable news:

With all the rain in Orange County this week, it’s hard to believe that the devastating earthquake in Haiti was just last week.  Donations continued to pour in this week via text messages, plus there’s tonight’s “Hope for Haiti Now” benefit concert for the country.

Here’s a round up of what local TV and wireless services are doing:

Cox Communications: Waiving fees on international long-distance calls to Haiti (country code 509) through Feb. 28. This is retroactive to Jan. 12. The Cox Foundation also donated $250,000 to relief efforts. See press release.

Time Warner Cable: Waiving fees on international long-distance calls to Haiti through end of February, retroactive to Jan. 12. This applies only to direct-dial calls and not calls made through an operator. See press release.

AT&T: Waived fees on calls to Haiti numbers. Also letting customers watch  tonight’s “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon on their phones, U-verse TV or web. To watch on a phone, go to AT&T Mobile TV on MTV’s MediaFlo channel. U-verse subscribers can tune in to the major networks and MTV for the performance. Online, the event will be streamed at entertainment.att.net. Wireless customers can also donate $10 to Red Cross International Relief Fund by texting the word “HAITI” to 90999.

Sprint: Waiving texting fees to Haiti through Jan. 31. Customers donated $3.1 million to the effort, as of Jan. 19, by texting “HAITI” to 90999.

T-Mobile: Waiving international long-distance fees through Jan. 31 and dropping fee to text “HAITI” at 90999 to donate $10. Customers donated $3 million, as of Jan. 19. T-Mobile and its parent company have  also donated $250,000 to the effort.

Verizon: Waiving international long-distance calling fees plus offering a live broadcast of the relief concert to mobile users who have access to VCAST Video on their phones. See press release. Verizon users can also text the word “HAITI” to 90999. So far, the company has collected $4.84 million in text donations. Verizon also has a page dedicated to the Haiti relief effort with information on several organizations accepting donations. Click HERE.

Tonight’s benefit concert includes singers Madonna, Jay-Z, George Clooney and Haiti native Wyclef Jean. It airs at 8 p.m. tonight on the following channels:

ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Español, HBO Latino and Canadian networks, including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television and MuchMusic.

Back in December, we learned that Cox picked Orange County to be one of three regions where it will first roll out wireless phone service. The service will begin in March 2010 and, as with any major move, a big marketing campaign begins this week.

In Cox’s ads, it promises “unbelievably fair” service and watching the commercial, that seems to say Cox is getting rid of surprise overage fees and vanishing minutes. Those interested can sign up on Cox’s new Unbelievably Fair web site to get notified (if you sign up and are a Cox TV customer, you’ll get a free movie on demand). You don’t have to be a Cox Cable customer.

The company expands further in a press release by pointing out how unfair it is that wireless phone customers have to pay for minutes in their plan that they don’t use. Cox’s research showed them that consumers want value and transparency in wireless plans.

It’s definitely a campaign of the 21st Century. Cox has set up a Facebook fan page to chat with customers Facebook to Facebook.

More commercials have been posted on Youtube.

Cox is also launching the mobile service this spring in Hampton Roads, Va. and Omaha, Neb.

More on Cox at the Gadgetress Cox Cable page. Recent news from Cox:

Noted: Cox Communications is the latest to sign up to get EPIX, a newish HD network featuring movies from Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer STudios and Lionsgate. Cox plans to offer the channel as a movie tier to customers nationwide beginning in April 2010.

Cox customers in Orange County should get the channel at the same time as the rest of the nation, according to the local Cox folks.

A few EPIX movies coming in April include Star Trek, GI Joe, Paranormal Activity and the Tyler Perry film franchise.

EPIX launched in 2008 and signed up its first customer, Verizon FiOS, in July 2009. FiOS TV customers began receiving the channel in the fall. The three studios launched EPIX in early 2008 after pulling its movies from CBS-owned Showtime. Showtime wanted to cut the fees it paid to broadcast their movies.

Terms of the Cox deal were not disclosed.

Update, Jan. 14, 2010: EPIX also signs cable provider Mediacom (Paid Content)

Latest news on Cox:

Here’s a little known fact about cable TV service from Time Warner Cable: Digital cable is cheaper than analog.

In Orange County, Time Warner’s digital cable package includes 200 channels, on-demand video and one special tier of channels (movies, variety, sports, etc.) for $50.95. This is the published rate, not a special promotion. You will need to rent a digital cable box for $6/month.

Basic analog cable, which is $55.50 to $58 per month depending on what city you live in, offers much less. That number shrunk this week as Time Warner moved some of these analog channels (ABC Family, The Weather Channel, TruTV) to digital to make room for more digital services for the majority of its customers. Time Warner has said that 80 percent of its Southern California customers are digital subscribers.

You can check the cost of both services by city on the chart on the left. You can also see Time Warner’s pricing page per city to get complete details here: Time Warner Cable TV prices by city.

This topic came up a few times this week among readers. One reader pointed out that digital is cheaper than analog.  I also heard from Gregorio A., who complained about losing some channels as Time Warner switched some channels around this week. As an analog subscriber, he paid around $54 a month to get channels 2 to 98.

That’s a lot to pay for such limited channels. I asked him why he didn’t switch to digital service, which could be a few dollars cheaper. He didn’t know why.

“I guess there was a time when I believed digital cable was more expensive and I never followed up after that,” he replied.

He called Time Warner, got the $6 digital box rental free for a year and will now get twice as many channels for less than what he paid for analog cable. Even after a year, he’ll still pay about the same as he did for analog cable, which tends to be about $5 to $7 more per month.

Is this what all analog readers should do? You may find a better deal with satellite TV service but if you prefer cable and digital is cheaper, why not switch? Just pay close attention to any add-on charges, like the digital box and remote rental.

One thing to note about Time Warner’s monthly bill: Everything is going up in January 2010 (see earlier story: “Time Warner 2010 price hikes mostly affect those who order the least.”) Digital cable will cost $2 more, or $52.99, while the box rental jumps $1.54 more to $7.85. At the same time, basic cable is going up about $1.

Digital is certainly what Time Warner is pushing. One analog channel occupies the same space as about 12 standard digital channels or about 3 HD channels. If the company could convince analog cable subscribers to switch to digital, that would free up a lot of space in the cable going to each customer’s house and allow the company to offer more HD channels and other digital content.

That’s probably why Time Warner is keeping the price of digital cable lower than analog.

By comparison, Cox Communications offers basic cable for $50.99, while digital cable is nearly $12 more per month, at $62.49. Cox happens to be running a promotion right now and is offering digital cable for $52.49 for six months.

Recent Time Warner stories:

For more on TV services, see the following links:

					* Time Warner Cable * Cox Cable * Verizon FiOS * AT&T U-verse		* DirecTV * Dish Network * Web TV * All TV

Cox Communications customers in Orange County can hang on to their money for just a bit longer. The Rancho Santa Margarita cable TV provider said that no cable price increases are planned for 2010. At least not yet.

“As far as rates, at this point Cox has nothing set in stone regarding rate increases in 2010,” said spokeswoman Lana Ong in response to my query about 2010 price increases.

December and January tend to be prime time to notify customers of upcoming rate hikes. During these months a year ago, Time Warner, AT&T U-verse and Cox all told customers monthly bills were going up.

So far, for 2010, Time Warner has notified customers that some will see their monthly bills increase a few dollars in January. See the earlier story: “Time Warner 2010 price hikes mostly affect those who order the least.”

Of course, this doesn’t mean Cox won’t raise its rates in 2010. This year, the company upped rates in March. Last year, rates also went up in March. The official word today, however, is no increases are planned.

Cable providers are losing subscribers and not making as much money as they used to. A big reason for annual price increases is because the TV networks they offer are asking for more money themselves.

The nation’s largest cable company, Comcast Corp., took steps this month to offset some of those rising costs by buying a TV network. The deal, valued at $30 billion, will make Comcast the owner of NBC, which includes the channels such as USA, Bravo, SyFy, CNBC, MSNBC and Universal.

Currently, Time Warner is negotiating with News Corp. (Fox TV) and Scripps Networks Interactive (Food Network, HGTV). In an effort to publicize what it considers unfair price hikes for the channels, Time Warner launched a marketing campaign asking customers whether it should cave to the increases or get tough, even if it means losing the channel. While the campaign is obviously a marketing tactic, it attracted 400,000 consumers who told Time Warner to get tough.

Cox, meanwhile, just let go of the Travel Channel, selling most of it to Scripps Networks. Cox kept a 35 percent ownership.

For their part, both Orange County cable providers have added several new channels this year. Most recently, Cox customers should have seen 15 new HD channels show up this week. See the earlier story, “Cox adding 15 HD channels in December.”

Related stories:

If you hate your cell phone service, a new player is coming to Orange County: Cox Cable.

The cable TV provider has been working on wireless service for a while but today it announced that Orange County residents will be one of the first three areas nationwide to get the service.

Very few details are available. Because of competitive reasons, Cox said it is unable to reveal pricing, launch date or types of phones that will be offered. While some local customers are getting the chance to play with mobile service as part of a test group, the full service will launch in 2010 to residents. Cox plans to offer the service to business users in the future.

“Right now, if Cox customers in Orange County are interested in Cox Wireless service they shouldn’t renew their wireless contract because it won’t be long before Cox introduces a better wireless experience in Orange County,” said Lana Ong, a spokesperson with Cox in Orange County.

Previously, the company said it plans to use Sprint’s mobile network to launch the first products. The company is also working on its own 3G wireless and 4G wireless networks. For the next generation of mobile service, or 4G, Cox has joined the Long Term Evolution crowd, which is also the technology of choice for AT&T and Verizon Wireless. See last year’s story on this, at “Cox Cable adding… mobile phone service?“

In a statement, Cox’s local senior vice president and general manager Duffy Leone said, “We’ve had great opportunity to re-think what has been commonly accepted in the wireless marketplace today. We know that there is a better way to experience wireless and enrich your lives along the way. We’re excited to let consumers know that they will soon have a better choice for wireless service.”

How much better? It’s not hard to find out what consumers really want from their cell phone service. Consumer Reports just published a piece on the topic, ranking AT&T at the lowest. The report mentions that price is important, but so is reception. Read the earlier story, “AT&T service ranks lowest; iPhone users don’t mind.”

If you want to offer Cox some tips about what is needed, the company is taking suggestions on its Facebook fan page at budurl.com/FBWirelessBoard.

Cox is also targeting Hampton Roads, Va., and Omaha, Neb., for its mobile service.

As part of its announcement that Orange County was one of three areas to get the service, the local branch of Cox is donating a $25,000 computer technology center to the Boys & Girls Club of Capistrano Valley.

Orange County’s other cable TV provider, Time Warner Cable, is also jumping into the mobile business. It began offering mobile data service in North Carolina on Dec. 1. Prices start at $34.95 with download speeds of up to 6 mbps.

More stories about Cox Cable:

Leone encourages consumers in Orange County too tell him what they’d like to change about their current wireless provider by visiting http://budurl.com/FBWirelessBoard.

Internet still on the fritz? Cox Communications in Orange County knows about it but you can still call if you’re experiencing Internet issues.

Most customers are already back online and the company is restoring service to the rest, said Lana Ong, a Cox spokeswoman.

“Last night, a software upgrade in our network, which is part of our routine maintenance, caused an unexpected outage for some Internet customers,” she said. “Engineers at both local and national levels began troubleshooting the event immediately.”

Reports of the outage began at 10:23 a.m., according to Cox. The company rebooted the system at 10:45, which restored service to most customers. Cox won’t disclose how many customers were affected.

“The duration of the outage lasted approximately 22 minutes and most customers were back online within 20 minutes. We are working as quickly as possible to restore services to the remainder our customers,” Ong said.

If you know a local Cox customer still experiencing Internet issues (since, presumably, they are unable to read this online report), you should call customer service at (949) 546-5955. Online help is also available through live chat or e-mail. Contact info is on this page.

Visit the Gadgetress’ special page for Cox customers at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/cox.

Recent Cox Cable stories:

Cox customers in Orange County are getting a free preview of  TV Japan starting today.

The channel, usually $24.99 per month, offers live news programs mostly in Japanese with English subtitles. There’s also some anime, cooking and lifestyle and entertainment shows.

Cox’s free preview is only for digital subscribers.  The five-day freebie ends on Monday, Dec. 7. TV Japan is on channel 422.

Sorry, no free previews for everyone else. All the other TV providers here charge about $25 per month. Time Warner offers the TV Japan on channel 607, Dish Network has it on channel 641, AT&T U-verse on channel 3680, and Verizon FiOS on channel 1770.

Related Cox cable news:

UPDATE, 11/30/09: Cox confirms the tuning adapters are now available at Cox stores in Rancho Santa Margarita, Quail Hill and Laguna Niguel.
——————————–

After what was an apparently successful test run, Cox Communications has begun rolling out a special adapter for customers who prefer to record cable TV using a TiVo rather than a Cox recorder.

Thanks to reader Roger Elliott who spotted the message on the TiVo forums, Cox notified users this week that “Tuning Adapters are now available and are being offered to Cox Orange County and Palos Verdes / San Pedro Digital Cable customers with a CableCARD in a TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL digital video recorders at no charge.”

I’m still waiting to hear officially from Cox. I’ll post any update here.

If you’re among those affected, another reader Michael Taube encourages you to get your adapter today. In an e-mail, Taube said this after getting his adapter:

“Well, I reviewed every single blessed HD channel Cox offers, now that I have my free, trusty Motorola Tuning Resolver (MTS). The picture quality on ALL HD channels is simply amazing! It makes my previous HD reception look positively awful. Please urge your TiVo audience to run, don’t walk, to their nearest Cox store to obtain their MTS. It makes a HUGE difference!”

Without such a device, TiVo users who rely on CableCARDs are unable to get several channels.

Since cable companies have limited space in the cable pipes to a customer’s home, they are trying to find new ways to squeeze more channels in the available space. Cox is using “switched digital video” technology to free up its broadcast stream for new HD channels. But it means some channels turn to on-demand status, making it impossible for CableCARD users to tune in.

The majority of customers probably won’t notice the change to switched digital. There could be a slight delay when selecting a switched channel, but just like an on-demand movie, the channel should tune in quickly. To see the channels affected, read the earlier story, “Cox moving 100 channels to on-demand format.”

CableCARD customers, however, who buy small cards to insert into TiVo boxes, TVs, computers or other devices in order to skip a cable set-top box, won’t be able to request those channels based on the limited technology of CableCARDs.

They will need an adapter and right now, Cox is providing one from Motorola for free to affected TiVo customers.  Non-TiVo CableCARD customers are still waiting for an adapter. In the meantime, Cox is providing an HD receiver free for six months or a standard digital receiver for $1.99 a month for the first year. If you’re interested in one of these, you can call Cox at 888-246-3465.

For those who want to order the new tuning adapter, call Cox at 1-888-246-3465. The adapters can also be picked up at all of Cox’s local retail centers except the Queen Creek Quail Hill, Laguna Niguel and Rancho Santa Margarita offices (updated 11/30/09). Here’s a link to locations: Visit Cox retail stores.

Related stories:

View complete HD channel lineups:

Cox Communications just told me that Orange County customers will be getting 15 new HD channels by Dec. 15. Two others were added this week.

The Rancho Santa Margarita cable provider can do this because it is shifting some non-HD channels to the new technology and freeing up space. For more on how this technology works and why certain customers won’t be able to access the affected 100 channels, read the earlier story “Cox moving 100 channels to on-demand format.

Cox is set to end 2009 with 82 HD channels, ahead of Time Warner Cable, with 75, but behind local leader Verizon FiOS, which has 133. See the full list of Cox HD channels HERE.

Here are the newest HD channels:

Most recent Cox Cable news:

Beginning Nov. 25, Cox Communications in Orange County will roll out a new technology that will change how viewers watch 100 channels. Most won’t notice a difference but a small number — less than 1 percent — won’t be able to see the channels at all. (Thanks to reader TiVoGirl for the tip.)

In a letter mailed to customers this week,  Cox said it is migrating to the Switched Digital Video platform, which is one way cable companies can offer customers more channels. This opens up space for Cox to offer more HD channels. I’ll get to those new channels in my next post. UPDATE: And here’s that post: “Cox adding 15 HD channels in December.”

Cox, like other cable providers, is operating at maximum channel capacity. It can only air a certain number of channels 24 hours a day. But some channels take up more room than others — one analog channel occupies the same space as about 12 to 15 digital channels. Switching those analog channels to digital is one way for cable companies to free up space. This is what Time Warner is doing (see story: Time Warner makes room for 100 HD channels, kicks out others“).

The other method is by moving to switched digital video, which converts channels to a type of on-demand-only service. Customers still use their remotes as normal, turning to the channel they want. The majority of customers won’t notice the change — only, I’m told, a slight delay when they turn to a switched channel. But customers who don’t have a set-top box and rely on CableCARDs won’t be able to access the channels. Alternatives for these users are below.

“Switched Digital will allow us to maximize our network capacity, enable increased HD channels and entertainment options in the future. For example, now we have over 400 HD programming options [hours] and we continue to launch more HD channels,” said Cox spokeswoman Lana Ong. (Corrected at 4:45 p.m. Ong says she meant to say 400 HD hours of programming is available.)

Here are the affected channels — 100 in all:

There’s good and bad news for CableCARD customers. Those who use a CableCARD with a TiVo — about half of Cox’s CableCARD customers — will soon get an adapter so they’ll be able to get all those switched channels. The device, which will be free for all Cox customers, is expected to be available before the end of the year. See my earlier story: “Cox to begin testing TiVo adapter this week — only in O.C.”

For all other CableCARD customers, you’ll need to get a set-top box.  Cox is offering these customers a free HD receiver for six months or a standard digital receiver for $1.99 for the first year. If you’re interested in one of these, you can call Cox at 888-246-3465.

More on switched digital video:

As the local cable companies delve into adding extremely local flavor, Cox Communications is offering a new twist on broadcasting local high school football games. It wants viewers to choose which one gets to be on TV next.

The Rancho Santa Margarita cable company, which serves much of South Orange County, airs a game of the week every Friday night at 11:30 p.m. Usually, the game is picked by Cox. But this week, Cox is leaving it up to viewers.

There are six possible games in the running and right now, it’s a close race between the Dana Hills vs. Mission Viejo and the Irvine vs. University games. The latest numbers are below:

Orange Lutheran vs. Santa Margarita		1.66%
Dana Hills vs. Mission Viejo		39.05%
Tesoro vs. Aliso Niguel		0.41%
Irvine vs. University		38.55%
San Juan Hills vs. Laguna Hills		3.51%
Northwood vs. Trabuco Hills		16.83%

Interested parties, or uninterested parties, can vote HERE.

Voting ends Thursday (Nov. 5)  at noon, so you better get your vote in! Around 15,000 votes have been received. Only one vote per IP address per day. While this sounds like it’s popular with the audience, Cox spokeswoman Lana Ong tells me the contest is just for this week’s game.  Stay tuned if Cox is moving coverage of high school games this way in the future.

The winning game will air Friday, Nov. 13.

Recent Gadgetress headlines:

Cox Cable will begin testing this week a brand new Motorola device to help TiVo users access all the TV channels Cox offers.

A small handful of customers have been clamoring for such a device for months after realizing that they couldn’t get all the channels and video-on-demand options other customers do.

This only affects customers who use TiVos and CableCARDs, a small device that slides into a TiVo (or some computers and TVs) so the customer can skip the bulky set-top box. Customers with TiVos and set-top boxes are not affected.

I mentioned this Motorola test in early September (see “Cox O.C. will be first to test TiVo adapters from Motorola“). The test was scheduled to start in September but was postponed when Cox rolled out new video-on-demand software instead (see earlier story, “Cox fix for TiVo users delayed“

The issue sprang up when Cox moved some channels to a technology called switched digital video in order to make more room for more channels. In switched video, the channel doesn’t broadcast constantly but only when a customer requests it. Cox turned channels like FitTV and Jewelry TV into switched video.

Customers with CableCARDs can’t access certain programming because CableCARDs can only communicate one-way with Cox. They only receive the show and that’s why they can’t get any switched video channels or on-demand features.

If you’re one of the lucky 50 Cox customers that are part of the TiVo test, let me know and share your experience with other readers.

Related stories about switched video:

Update, 1:11 p.m.: Added a few more details about Cox’s upcoming service.

Cox Communications has confirmed that the elusive multi-room DVR is on target for an end-of-the-year launch. That’s right, in two months, Cox cable TV subscribers should have the option of a DVR that can be accessed from other rooms in your house.

“At this time we can’t talk about specifics yet, but our plans are still on target,” said Lana Ong, the local Cox spokeswoman who told me about the DVR’s 2009 launch.

I first heard about this device from Cox in March 2007 during a visit to its Rancho Santa Margarita headquarters. At the time, Cox officials were just exploring new cable TV technologies. See my earlier story, “New TV tricks from your cable company.”

EXTRA: Got a question for Time Warner Cable? Get it answered. Click HERE

Now, 2.5 years later, Cox could be the first Orange County cable company to offer the multi-room DVR. (Sorry, Time Warner customers — no updates are available on when we will get ours although the company had said it plans to have one this year.) Nationwide, Cox did announce earlier this year that it will offer a multi-room DVR, but no updates have been offered. The news today is specifically for customers in Orange County.

A multi-room DVR becomes the only DVR a home needs. Instead of having multiple DVRs at home with each recording different and sometimes duplicate TV shows, you only need one, presumably for the living room. Other rooms of the house just need a receiver that will be able to access any show stored on the main DVR in the living room.

Why would you want this? If you start watching a TV show in the living room then feel like watching the rest in bed, you can pause it, move to the bedroom and hit play on the bedroom TV. Also, you won’t take up valuable storage space by recording the same show on separate DVRs. And if people in different rooms are watching the same show, it won’t be interrupted if one person pauses the recording.

Unfortunately, Cox won’t reveal details. So, I’ve tracked down the competition’s offering for clues. Cox corporate, however, did say earlier this year that a multi-room DVR won’t replace existing DVR services.

In Orange County, both Verizon FiOS and AT&T’s U-verse offer multi-room DVRs.

Verizon’s FiOS TV Home Media DVR is $19.99/month. Up to 3 TVs can access shows at the same time. Looks like you can only record two shows at the same time.

The AT&T Total Home DVR allows all connected boxes in the house to manage and schedule DVR recordings. Users can record up to four shows simultaneously and up to eight TVs can access recorded programs on the multi-room DVR. The best part is that the feature is built in to all U-verse DVRs so there’s no extra cost. More comparisons of U-verse vs. everyone else are HERE.

TiVo offers a multi-room DVR, which works with any paid-TV service.

In other parts of the nation, Time Warner has played around with the multi-room DVR. In 2005, it offered one to residents in Minnesota reportedly for $8. That region has since switched over to Comcast.

Previous stories about DVRs: