Time Warner Cable Appleton customer service

If you’re a Time Warner Cable customer in Northeast Wisconsin, you may have recently received a letter or an email about the company’s upcoming transition to an all-digital system. We’ve been getting a lot of questions from customers about this change and what it means to them. We want to help you understand what this transition means to you as a cable customer, and help you take any needed steps to continue enjoying your TV subscription.

Why are they changing to an all-digital system?

Think about what your cable lineup looked like fifteen years ago compared to today. In that time, we’ve been introduced to dozens and dozens of new cable channels. That’s saying nothing about other advancements like on-demand programming and high-speed Internet.

It doesn’t seem like all that long ago, but you didn’t always need to have leased equipment like cable boxes or DVRs to watch your favorite channels. Back in the day, it really was plug-and-play: you plug your cable into your TV and you change channels with your TV’s remote.

Today, there are still many channels you can receive without cable equipment. Most of these are standard definition analog channels, and they take up a substantial amount of bandwidth on a cable system. By eliminating them and transmitting all channels digitally, Time Warner will be able to offer expanded services and increased Internet speeds. Many other cable providers around the country have already phased out analog channels.

Transforming into an all-digital system is not new or unique to Time Warner Cable. Many other cable providers around the country have already phased out analog channels for the very same reasons. While it may be an inconvenience in the near-term, it should ultimately result in an improved customer experience in the future.

When are they turning off analog channels?

According to the letters Time Warner has been issuing to customers, analog channels in the Appleton and Green Bay markets will go dark on .

Will I need additional equipment to watch my shows?

If you already have TVs with set-top boxes or digital adapters connected, these TVs will not be affected. Likewise, if you have a third-party DVR that utilizes a leased CableCARD (like a TiVo), they will continue to function without any additional equipment.

On the other hand, if you still have an older analog TV, a VCR or DVD recorder plugged directly into your cable line, you will need a set-top box or digital adapter from Time Warner to continue to receive TV channels.

I have an HDTV and just get the local channels. How will I be affected?

In addition to turning off all analog channels, Time Warner Cable will start encrypting “Starter TV” – their low-cost tier with local channels, EWTN, WGN America and others – on .

If you have a TV with a digital tuner (such as an HDTV purchased in the last few years), you will still be able to tune your Starter TV channels without separate equipment up until that date. After that, you too would need to get a set-top box or digital adapter.