So you know how I said in the last post that sometimes you just have to vent? Well, I'm about to. Pardon my language, but Charter can kiss my ass. Once again I had to schedule a service call because my cable was going to black and white on the premium and On Demand channels only. It started doing it about four hours after the last technician left two weeks ago. Knowing that they would send someone out who would say, "Oh, it's just the box," yet again, I thought I would be smart this time and test out that theory. Last night I took the box downstairs, which has never gone to black and white while downstairs, plugged it in upstairs, and watched with satisfaction as it, too, went to black and white. I then called Charter, told them what was going on, listened as the guy on the phone agreed with me that it was most likely the line, and scheduled a new appointment.A lot of freakin' good that did. The repair guy who came gave me the same spiel as the guy two weeks ago. The only way that the signal can go to black and white is because of the box. Really? Then why did the box that never goes to black and white from downstairs go to black and white upstairs? He didn't have an explanation for that other than, "Uh, it might be the TV." Again, I say really? Then why does it not go to black and white on channels 2 through 96? That question caused him to spout off a bunch of technical jargon about 0's and 1's and some plus or minus 12 nonsense that he had to know the layperson has no clue about.
He also claimed that a cable line can never have a short in it. Seriously? So if a rat got into the wall and chewed on it or someone accidentally cut part of the line while installing something else in the wall (another type of outlet, a picture hook, etc.), that can't cause a short? I say B. S. In fact, I'm shouting it. A wire is a wire, coaxial or otherwise, and a wire can be bent, cut, frayed, burnt, and otherwise destroyed. It doesn't take a genius or a cable repair man to figure that out.
As for why I can see two days' worth or programming downstairs but only one day's worth upstairs, no matter which box is plugged in, again Mr. Zeroes and Ones had no explanation. I think he thought I was making it up because he kept mumbling, "I don't know what you're talking about. I can see tomorrow's lineup." Yeah, but could he see what tomorrow's lineup was about when he pushed info. Uh, no. Could he downstairs? Yes.
So if any of you have cable installation knowledge, could you please enlighten me on what's wrong with my reception, and could you also dummy it up in language I can understand? While you're at it, can you tell me how I can tell if it's the box, the line, or the TV without having to have one more person who won't listen come to my house and waste another one of my Sundays? I thought I knew how, by switching out the box with one I knew worked, but obviously that didn't go over so well with Charter. Should I switch the TV in the bedroom with a newer TV in my house? Do I go blow $300 or more that I don't need to be blowing on a HDTV? Seriously, what do I do to prove to Charter that I don't have the cable TV version of Munchhausen Syndrome? Is there anything, or should I just give up and resolve myself to only watching TV downstairs?
And if you're wondering, I'm asking these questions earnestly. They're not rhetorical questions. I'd love for someone who was a cable repair man or woman in a past life to tell me how to figure it out because right now I'm tired of paying out my nose for sporadic cable reception.
