Those of you who’ve been reading my blog for over 5 years might remember about the issues I previously faced with Showtime and how much I disliked them (Don’t try looking for the posts I deleted most of my hate posts after Virgin wanted to sue me back then). So yesterday I was in a good mood I guess since I ended up passing by their stand at The Avenues and signing up to one of their packages… and I don’t feel guilty about it.
Why? Mostly due to the fact that my experience with them since I signed up yesterday has been very positive. I originally wanted to sign up to their cheap KD15 Movies Plus package but then their salesman convinced me to go with the Premier Plus package which had everything Movie Plus had in addition to the sports and HD channels. He then managed to convince me to pay a bit extra and go with the Showbox receiver which had the hard drive built in so I could record stuff. I was told someone would be over within 48 hours to set up my subscription.
To my surprise Showtime actually came and installed my subscription this morning. I thought that was pretty impressive since I signed up last night and it was New Years day and yet this morning they came over and installed it for me. The HD channels are pretty cool and the receiver isn’t that annoying to use (much faster than the laggy one I had 8 years ago). The only odd thing is the fact for some reason they don’t broadcast the UFC in HD.
I hope I don’t run into any problems with them, so far they seem like a much better company since the last time I dealt with them.
Update: According to a reader they actually DO broadcast the UFC in HD but only the live showing. The reruns are not in HD. Great!
Update2: Already ran into my first problem with OSN. I am supposed to pay $65 (KD18.5) a month for my subscription and according to the salesman at The Avenues if I wanted the Showbox I pay a one time fee of KD7 extra. Today while checking my credit card balance I found out they charged me $158. When I called customer support they told me the first time setup fee is KD26. I was upset because no one told me there was a setup fee, I don’t mind paying it but I don’t like being surprised by hidden fees. Turns out it’s at KD19 setup fee if you want the regular receiver and KD26 if you have the Showbox.
46 replies on “Hello Showtime… again”
Did they make you sign up so the subscription price is deducted automatically from your bank account? Cause that was a major headache trying to get that cancelled.
Thats one of the problems I faced last time where they were still deducting from my account even though i canceled. this time i signed up with my credit card.
Showtime is overpriced. For less than what you are paying you can buy an Apple TV and rent/buy much more recent content. I’ve canceled my subscription and find that Apple TV has much newer / better content. I now watch more tv, get better newer programs, and spend about half as much as I did on Showtime. I have a 3mb connection so overnight, and while I am at work it downloads everything I need when I get home. I can also just watch the downloads on my iPad. Also everything is in super sharp 720p.
Apple TV > showtime.
or instead of paying 60KD a month for internet + 100KD a month for shows/movies you can just subscribe to showtime for 20 and use the other 140 to watch pay per view.
Your logic<garbage
60KD/month internet?? I pay 170/year!
100KD/month shows/movies?? I pay around 20!
20KD/month Showtime?? That’s a shit package!
IQ of a doorknob > Omar’s IQ
now unless you’re using stolen internet, cheapest package for 3mb connection is around 350. even so, i admit I was wrong in the 60kd a month exaggeration. around 30 kd a month for internet and 20 for apple tv (which is around 4-5 hours of content a day, im guessing), that averages to 50 a month. adding on the price of apple tv of like 60kd minimum in kuwait its around 55kd/month for the first year. if you check the highest package in osn its 25ish kd a month +150 kd for the receiver so 40ish kd for the first year, of course cheaper after the receiver is paid off.
monkeys logic > your logic
I didn’t pay for the receiver. The standard receiver comes free but the showbox is like KD7 extra the first month.
Oh ok, that makes perfect sense now. I will get showtime and disconnect the internet. Is that really what you think will happen? I subscribe to 3mb internet whether or not I am using the Apple TV. That point should have been plainly obvious even to an Autistic with Down Syndrome. And yes I pay exactly KD 175/year for 4mb internet (but my line can only go up to 3mb).
My bellybutton lint > Omar
175 for 4mb ????
where ????
From Qualitynet at infoconnect last year. This year’s infoconnect will also have the same awesome deals.
You can download stuff on apple TV!? I thought it was just streaming! I’ve been having low connection issues on my apple tv with a 2MB connection. TV Show series take a couple of hours or so to be ready to watched. Yesterday I streamed a series and it worked after only 10 minutes, or maybe even less. I don’t know, maybe I was lagging before.
Anyway, please let me know how/how much I can download (overnight) to watch the next day.
Thanks
I already have two AppleTVs which I use religiously. Showtime is for random tv + Food channel + Discovery + National Geographic + UFC when I am in the mood to watch it live
I have a very good experience with them and that’s my 3rd year of subscription, have the full package which is platinuim plus, 290 KD per year and i think it is worth the money for the pleasure of watching full HD channels on my full HD screen…… really enjoying the quality and hate watching tv anywhere else.
I’ve had the OSN box for three months now and I’m lovin’ it. Especially the HD channels. Watching NFL games on Fox Sports HD is a delight.
If anyone from OSN is reading this, PLEASE PLEASE add ESPN HD to your sports channels.
ESPN is now on AlJazeera Sports package and it’s not HD. It sucks in comparison to FOX HD, so please give us the HD version on your OSN box soon.
I’m not a fan of NFL but I would like to see the UFC in HD. I think they had the NHL in HD today while I was skimming through the channels.
quick question, how can i reboot the showbox without getting off the couch. I am on channel 85 which is the history channel but the receiver says I am on channel 20 and when I press the tv guide its telling me i’m watching pan’s labyrinth now.
Thats what i did a week ago
https://www.frankom.com/?p=20629
I have asked the guy who works there he said after the “dream box” showtime have like 50-70 order per day with installation
i think their profits for the next couple of years would reach new numbers.
My family has been using showtime/orbit for many years now. The thing that I always disliked about it was the UI. Slow, laggy, plain boxes, no showing what’s next, and then even if it does it shows what was next 3 hours ago, and just bad everything about it. The only reason to have it was the content.
But, this latest showbox that came out has been leaps and bounds ahead of the other ones. It’s not as good of a system as DirectTV (but that shiz is laggy and slow sometimes too though) but it definitely is close. The whole thing works great, is not slow or laggy, and has a full guide on it with DVR capabilities. Plus the new HD channels are pretty great looking.
I barley ever watch TV, but now when I do, it’s so much nicer now.
SO I am guessing now with OSN changing its feed signal all them internet boxes that the people in Hawally were selling are useless so everybody who wants to watch any channel on the OSN Network will have to go and get a show box. No wonder their profits will start pushing up words
I think that’s exactly what’s happening. I’ve been leaning towards going back to OSN for awhile because the savings I was supposed to see from the “alternative” vs the quality has just not been worth it….nothing is more dangerous than watching UFC with friends only to have it freeze up for a minute!
Meh, only be a few more weeks before decryption is available again for the Dbox.
I have the OSN Premium package and their regular HD receiver. Currently Iām thinking of upgrading for the new receiver with an internal hard disk. I spoke to the salesman and he said that it has a 500GB HDD
300GB are preloaded movies and series (Updated Monthly)
200Gb are for your usage to record (You can record whole series in one click)
But they have to run two extra cables from the the dish to your receiver.
My current OSN receiver has an optical output and I connected it to my surround system. On HD Channels i get DTS 5.1 !!!! and Normal channels I get 5 Channel Stereo!
Mark, does the new receiver you got have an optical output? I need to know before I upgrade.
They dont need to run to cables from your dish to the receiver, what they will do is swap the LNB with another one that has 2 cables going out, they then merge these 2 cables into 1 all the way down to your apartment (so nothing changes there) then before the cable gets plugged into your receiver they split it into two again.
I’m connected using HDMI so don’t know if there an optical cable out or not.
The OSN HD (500 GB)Showbox DOES NOT have optical audio out, only HDMI and RCA jacks for audio. If you have a receiver with HDMI in/out, then you’ll get Dolby 5.1. Otherwise it’s just stereo. The user guide says it has optical, but it doesn’t. Only the receiver (without hard disk) has optical audio out.
Ever since they switched from being showtime to being OSN and offered HD content, their service has drastically improved! I can’t wait for more HD channels!
I said it before. You don’t need showtime.
All you need is a Hulu plus and a VPN connection
Not practical with my 2MB connection, I’ve already tried that. You would need a lot of patience…
Signing up is always a great experience with them, i just ended my subscriptions and they call 4-5 times a week asking why, they made it very very difficult to cancel and end up basically harassing you.
Thats the problem I faced last time. When I wanted to cancel my Shownet internet because I was switching over to DSL. Firstly I could only cancel by physically going to their head office in dajeej and even after I canceled they kept charging me which required more trips to get that sorted out. In the end canceled everything and vowed never to deal with them ever again.
hmm vowed huh? so basically you decided to forget the last experience! man i think I will stick to torrentz download all night with my favourite tv series and movies š and I’ll wait for infoconnect to subscribe with 4MB š instead of the 2MB i have
Looks like my dreambox isn’t working anymore from what i’m told from afar….so might have to sign up with them again myself!
It will be available again soon on the dreambox. You’ll just have to be patient.
When will they carry the freaking NBA in HD, I miss watchin it live now I’m here in Kuwait.
The problem with OSN is that there is no FOOTBALL — > so no need.
OSN has literally been the worst experience of my life! i’ve had countless issues with them and they drive me absolutely insane! I have never dealt with a company with such inefficient ways of handling customer queries I feel like if anything they want to make my life more difficult rather than trying to help.. I wish they didn’t have such a monopoly over the country or they would of been switched out in a minute!
Rant…Hi,what problems are you facign with OSN?
Good luck Mark! Since the new HD boxes were installed 3 months ago I have had endless problems with OSN. First they had software problems which meant I was paying for instance for Show on Demand which they were not downloading (6 weeks of this). Double debits to my credit card etc. etc. etc. Must be the crappiest company this side of the equator!
Mauq8….Is your problem solved with OSN?If i could be of any assistant let me know.
Well Mark, i work for OSN and woul dbe happy to assist you or any of your readers who face any issue.
@ Nobu – unfortunatelly ESPN is no longer available on OSN platform as yu are aware so it cannot be privided in HD by OSN.
@ AL – NBA is also not avialable so there is nothign OSN can do about it for now.
AB, as you work there I will like to see if you can clear my doubts.
Today one salesman from Showtime told me that I have only to pay for the first month
15KD for the Movie Plus
19KD for the Showboz
and from the second month only 15KD
Its that right or I will be charge also those 26kd as mark.
Daniel,
Since you are going for the Movies Plus Package you cannot choose to have the DVR HD Decoder which Mark has. You will be given a normal HD Deocder, so you will charged a one time fee of KD 19 in addition to your first months subscribtion fee.
man I have had it with showtime I paid in advance for 12 months the box freezes continually and turns off I’m sick of turning the box on for a few minutes only. Their client service is crap. Im in lebanon and if it wasnt for the advance 12 months..
I should clarify that its an OSN box. Has anyone else had this issue..
I have had the same issue. I have called and had the technicians come out on six separate occasions and to no avail. I cringe every time i have to call OSN. Complaining doesn’t help. As long as there is no competition customer service will not exist. The internet is loaded with similar stories of how “shitty” OSN network is in kuwait, seems like someone from OSN should read what the customers think of them……….
i want to cancel my subscription, and would like to know whether they give you any canceled document as a proof that the subscription has been cancelled or is it just words that has to be taken for granted
I can’t say I like OSN. If my wife didn’t watch it, I’d cancel it. There are plenty of reasons:
* Since losing the Premier League, sports for Europeans are pretty awful. South Africans and Americans have something of what they like, but even things like the Football and Cricket World Cup are not on there. Its not exactly aimed at an Arab/Indian/Pakistani audience then, huge numbers that actually live in Kuwait!
* When I upgraded to a HD box aboy a year ago, it came without a second CAM i.e. another slot for my Jazeera Sports Card. OSN tried to charge me an extra 12KD for this function, which had actually been free on my old non-HD box. After complaining and saying I was going to cancel, they gave in, and gave me a free CAM!
* You can’t move the channels to the numbers you want them on the HD box. On the old non-HD box, you could create your own bouquet of 50 channels, in the order you wanted them.
Am I being anal complaining about this, or am I in fact getting ‘less’ choice than I used to?!! Why is Jazeera News up on Channel 208 for example, when Sky News – right wing Murdoch propaganda – in on Channel 18, simply because its in HD! When I complained to OSN about this over two years ago, they said ‘We are developing software to solve this problem.’ Two years later, nothing. More OSN bullsh**.
I feel sorry for Rob McAffery and Derek White. They were a million times better for the English Premier League on Showtime than that drab looking John bloke (we are never told his full name!) and Andy Townsend (look at me, I’ve got a computer now) on Abu Dhabi Sports.