IO Digital Cable Service
Optimum TV, formerly known as iO digital cable, is a digital cable service offered by Cablevision, available in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and parts of Pennsylvania. It includes 130 HDTV channels, interactive channels, such as games, and channels that allow viewers to browse listings of autos and homes for sale in the area, and video on demand. HD channels are free with Optimum TV to customers who subscribe to the service package that includes the SD channel. Additionally, Optimum TV comes with 46 channels of Music Choice music channels. Optimum TV also offers a DVR and an HD-DVR, for an additional cost. It was the first American company to offer BBC World News (formerly BBC World). For years, Cablevision was one of the few providers not carrying BBC America until they finally added the channel on August 25, 2011.
High definition
Cablevision expanded its HD offerings beginning July 28, 2008. The rollout was complete on August 1, 2008, Cablevision now has over 100 high definition television channels at no additional charge to subscribers. (For a list of HD channels, see channels in the 696-847 range in iO channel list.)
Criticisms
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- Many have criticized the advertising of a "digital cable service" where many of the most popular channels are broadcast in an analog format.
- High compression on digital (including HD) channels has been criticized as excessive, causing the picture to appear pixelized due to low bandwidth. While other cable providers usually multiplex 2 HD streams per 6Mhz QAM carrier, Cablevision multiplexes 3, 4 or 5 HD streams for some of its channels.
- There is a high rate of instability of the Scientific Atlanta cable boxes.
- Cablevision has also been criticized in the past for not having as many channels as other providers, such as Verizon FiOS, DirecTV, Dish Network, and Time Warner Cable, who carry the NFL Network, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, BBC America, Tennis Channel, and ESPN 3. Tennis Channel was on Cablevision from late September 2009 to September 3rd 2011, under the agreements of the N.C.T.C. contract, but has not since been back on Cablevision. BBC America was finally added on August 25, 2011.[1] NFL Network and NFL Red Zone were finally added on August 17, 2012.