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Well, the end of July is here and still no results from RMA cable. We've spoken to David Stiffler twice and left messages several times. The dual-channel DVR we were promised never arrived. The current single-channel DVR, besides being limited to single-station input, has only about 10 hours of memory and constantly deletes stored material. The fabulous high-def digital channels that were promised for July 16 have been postponed to "August" (no date specified). But the bill for both July and August arrived right on time. I would strongly advise any Murietan considering upgrading their cable service to consider another provider. RMA's system remains pathetically substandard, and customer service seems to have evaporated. Mr. Stiffler, if you have any illumination to shine on these problems, please let us into its glow. -- Wendy Feldman, August 1, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
I also get a much higher volume when I hit channels 24, 25 and 29. It would sure be nice to be able to scroll through any and all of our channels without a radical difference in volume! -- Greg Anderson, July 25, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
Ever notice how some ads suddenly come on so loud they almost knock you over? Those are RMA ad insertions, selling the ad space for a few bucks after commissions. The 2003 Communications Committee directed that the volume modulation problem be fixed, and was assured it would be. Still waiting. I can only expect that soon I'll be able, if I wished to pay for it, to receive those obscenely loud commercials in high-def. Oh, joy. -- Wilbur Haines, July 24, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
Like the other comments, I also have some RMA cable channels where the sound levels are very loud compares to others. However I'm not sure this problem is confined to the RMA system as I also have Dish Network and am able to switch between the two providers by changing my input to the TV. The same problem exists with the Dish Channels where a few have very loud sound compared to others. Maybe it has something to do with the broadcast signal from the station. I agree it is annoying. -- Frank Pumilia, July 24, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
I thought maybe I was going crazy but some of the channels I actually have to turn down to as low as the volume goes and it still is very loud and makes my speakers rattle. Channel 25 and 23 are the worst offenders but there are many others. I wish they would fix this. I was wondering if any of the people that do not want to spend additional money, if we are going to ever get additional channels. It seems that there was a substantial charge to upgrade the cable system and yet many of the residents here are probably not going to get anything out of it. -- Diane Hatcher, July 23, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
Thanks for the info, Ken. I might add that my calls to RMA are being ignored. -- Ed Moran, July 22, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
Ed, I have the same problem. I also find that the clarity changes on my TV stations from hour to hour. The three main networks are usually decent but the others stink. RMA continues to beat a dead horse. -- Ken Burns, July 21, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
Is anybody else being blasted from their seat when changing to certain channels on the system? Channels 24, 25 and 29 are the main culprits. Maybe the naysayers of the system are correct. -- Ed Moran, July 21, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
Like many, my wife and I have subscribed to the RMA's premium package since moving here in 1990. I recently toyed with changing to Dish or Direct TV. After much soul-searching we decided to give the new package a chance. My experience with Teresa setting up my installation went very well, and everything occurred as promised. On Friday, I called Dave Stiffler regarding some concerns, and after leaving a message, I was called back within hours to answer my questions. Aaron and Justin arrived Friday afternoon and installed all the desired equipment. My digital picture is excellent, and dual DVR works great. On Tuesday, while on a business trip, I received a call on my cell from Dave Stiffler to make sure everything was working great and how I liked it. I appreciated his follow up. I realize RMA needs to work out some logistical issues, but I encourage subscribers to give it a try. In the contract there is a 30-day cancellation clause. We're willing to give them a chance, won't you? -- Bob Gransee, July 19, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
Wilbur, We've subscribed to HBO/Cinemax
since we moved here in '95. We originally signed up for premium to
get Disney in the good old days, and after the Disney debacle (remember
that?) we just kept the HBO/Cinemax package. Heck, relatively speaking
it was a bargain for $20 per month. However, as a 12-year "premium
subscriber" I am in the dark as much as As of at least last night, we still had HBO/Cinemax. I did receive a call from Teresa at RMA about 10 days ago wanting to schedule an appointment to "convert." I said no thanks. For the costs, lack of service and anticipated headaches, I felt it just wasn't worth it. I've decided to spend my money on a known commodity, and have signed up with Direct TV. I figure for about the same cost, I will get more choice and less headaches. The same was true when RMA went into the broadband business. After comparing the cost and likely headaches, I went with Pac Bell, and have never had a problem -- it gets cheaper every year too! -- Bob Lucas, July 17, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
Today was to be the mandatory switchover date for the 272 households who voluntarily buy premium TV channels (HBO etc) from RMA. As I understand it, on this date the old analog premium movie channels were supposed to be switched off and those 272 homes, unless they've signed a new and significantly more expensive contract with RMA, abruptly have no more HBO etc. That inability to just keep doing what they've been doing was the gun at those customers' heads, and was expected to motivate them to sign up with RMA's new deal. Did the cutoff really happen? Or did RMA blink again and push back its deadline, as it has many times before, for forcing people into the new deal? Exactly what that new deal is I still cannot quite nail down. Either it is a moving target or it is just that the explanation of it is very different every time it is spoken. I also cannot find any public information on RMA's site or here as to exactly what HDTV channels are currently available, for free or for pay, from RMA. Heckuva way to market a product in which RMA's been investing hundreds of thousands of members' money, on the assumption so many will rush to buy it that it will become a cash cow. I shudder to think of what happens when RMA goes into the business of selling cable to nonmembers in the new development. -- Wilbur Haines, July 16, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
Why can't we have a TV service like the people who live in the Village? They have a wonderful range of channels and are very happy with the service. It may not be in high-def, but it is certainly better than what we have. -- Bob Andrews, July 12, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
I have never published my opinions in this site before, however, I just had to add my two cents. I am not a bit surprised that the cable is not what we thought we were getting. How on earth could the powers that be think that anyone would be satisfied with a product that is not up to Dish or Direct TV's product, and then does not even save us any money? What is the use of pursuing our own cable upgrades? I just had to put in my two cents. I use our cable simply because we already are required to pay for it and I cannot justify the monthly additional payment for Dish anymore in my household. However, if I was to want any more service for my TV, I would certainly go back to Dish. You get what you pay for! I was hoping our cable would improve, but it's not going to happen, I can see that now. Keep us posted with how your experiences turn out. I think the community should know! -- Vicky Fagan, July 12, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
Bill and Candy, you described our experience to a "T." We bought a new high-def TV and decided to give RM cable a try. Getting an appointment was like pulling teeth. None of the involved parties seem to have access to one another's scheduling calendars (although they were all extremely nice and tried to be helpful). Then the installer showed up on a Friday afternoon but didn't want to do the job because he wanted to leave on a trip to Disneyland! We finally got the installation done. But surprise! -- a single-input tuner instead of dual, almost no high-def stations, no premium channels, and half of the advertised channels not even available yet. Happily, Dish network gave us a one-month no-charge grace period to change our minds and come back to them. If the problems aren't fixed by the end of this month, we're outta here! -- Wendy Feldman, July 11, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
I agree a single-tuner DVR kinda defeats the purpose for the most part. I guess I will have to have my husband research purchasing a dual DVR. I glanced at the channel offerings and found that the additional channels did not have many of the channels that I would have thought there would be (Sci Fi Channel or FX, to name a few). I am hoping that I was looking at a misprinted channel guide. It seems to me that if they want to compete with DISH they will have to have a product that offers the same or very similar channels. I hope that they get it all worked out so that we don't end up paying through monthly dues for the additional channel contracts when fewer people sign up due to the problems and offerings. -- Diane Hatcher, July 10, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top
We had high hopes that the RMA venture into an upgraded cable TV network would be successful. If enough subscribers liked the new service, enough income might be generated to forestall future dues increases for all RMA members. We even decided to increase our premium usage and select the DVR (digital video recorder) that was offered. We eagerly waited for someone from the cable department to call and sign us up. But ... no one from RMA gave us a call. It was now late June and only two weeks away from the announced turnoff of the old system. We called the RMA, but no one returned our call. We finally called Mel Standart, who is on the RMA board and chairman of the Communications Committee. I was concerned that I was not alone, and that others in the community were also waiting to be signed up. Mel, said he would see what was happening. He said that David Stiffler, the manager of RMA told him that things were going great and there were not any start up problems My conversation resulted in a phone call from a nice lady named Teresa at the RMA office. She said that she was put in charge of scheduling appointments for installation to the new cable TV service. This nice lady named Teresa is the secretary to the RMA Maintenance Department. Doesn't she have other jobs to do? Like maintenance jobs? Success (or so it seemed) -- we had our cable hook up on July 2. The problem was that nothing worked the way we thought it should. The Motorola DVR that was installed is a single tuner, not a dual tuner. Do you know what that means? We do now! It means that we have throwback technology. We can only record the channel we are watching. Heck, we have had dual tuners on our VCR for the last 15 years. The FCC has outlawed single-tuner systems in newly made DVR's. We were told that RMA owns 200 of them. Who bought a bunch of out-of-date recorders ... and why? Oh, in addition, our own VCR was hooked up wrong and is currently not working. You would think that keeping customers happy would be a first priority. Guess what, as of July 9 no one from RMA has returned my phone calls and offered to help make my TV system work right. We left a message on the phone of David Stiffler. He is the general manager of RMA and we were told he is in charge of our cable television network. We hope he calls back so we can move towards a solution. Last Saturday, a few of us were standing around just before the morning shotgun. We were complaining about the problems we were having with the RMA cable hook up. Mike Martel, who is on the RMA board of directors, overheard our discussion and said he was surprised that we were having difficulties. He said he was told by David Stiffler that things were going great and everyone was really happy with the installation. We told Mike that we weren't, but we were only three households. I want this cable network to be successful. I hope that my experience is not typical. I have been told that anyone in this community who really cares about TV is leaving or has already left the RMA system. Please share your experience, let us know if things are working for you and your friends. -- Bill and Candy Duncan, July 10, 2007 Add YOUR opinion | Back to the top BACK to letters index |
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Off my experience, think hard before buying RMA's upgraded cable service