Well, well, Ricardo (flamingo TV) is finally paying up for all the pirating that's gone on.
Telbo purchased, and has legitimate rights for CNN among others.
So we can look for less from Flamingo and more from Telbo.
The hitch is that the Telbo folks don't quite have it together yet but looks like it won't be long

When I moved to Bonaire in 2004 the service from Flamingo was appalling and it seems to have gone down from there.

For a while they enjoyed having a monopoly which resulted in their customers having to put up with ever decreasing TV channels and poor Internet connections.

They have had their chance and deserve to go under.

I think it would be better they survive, because otherwise Telbo would have the monopoly, and that wouldn't be good either. Competition should make both better, and that is much better for us.

Harrie

I switched over to TDS, & I am so pleased I did. Apart from the fact that their accounts system doesn't seem to be linked to the encoder enabling, which causes some glitches, it works well, and more often that Flamingo did.
Also some good channels that Flamingo didn't have.

Believe it or not we had the same problems right here in the NYC metro area (New Jersey) with monopolies running the cable system. ACtually, I still don't have a choice of cable companies....Optimum is "it". Alternative is the dish....don't want that.

Our service has improved greatly over the years and we now had HD channels added,too. It might be nice to have more than "one", tho.

Everything will end up in the monopoly category some day (again)....one airline, one bank, one phone company (?), etc....just like the "old" days in the USA. It's happening all over again with the economy in the shape it's in and the "take overs"/buy outs by one huge company gobbling up another. Seems to all come down to "money"....greed/profits. Oh well. Can't lose sleep over it. cb

Harrie.

While I agree that competition is good, Flamingo, by the very nature that it runs its business and by the service it provides, offers no competition at all.

I need CNN..Larry King, Lou Dobbs et al, where are you? I really can only take so much of Fox..I need to check it out tomorrow who has CNN and I will switch. I was one of the original subscribers to Flamingo more than 15 year ago and feel a bit of loyalty, but CNN is a must for me!

Can't say we're not suffering lack of CNN symptoms
but I don't think CNN is on Telbo as yet - went to Telbo Monday to inquire but I was told that it was "in process".
So I think we need to get used to the cutesy FOX network.
Of course, if Flamingo had played by the up and up, Ricardo would have purchased the rights to CNN and would have a lock on it. Flamingo didn't see fit to do that so .... whoops and I think that's just the first stab. Telbo isn't done cuttin' yet

I've used TDS for a couple years. You need an external box, but you get excellent signal quality. I added MiTV from Telbo when they advertised Japanese programming. I'm the only Japanese speaker on the island, so its like having my own private channel. MiTV provides outstanding signal quality, and the cable box you get is only about the size of 3 DVD boxes stacked together.

If you absolutely must have American channels, TDS is the better option. ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and, of course, CNN.

On MiTV, you get SONY, Fox Latin America, and the Universal channel. They show nearly every American series, but a few weeks later and with Spanish subtitling.

I missed that one - TDS? Where and How do you sign up please? Is that an uplink?

Which CNN is it...

TDS is part of UTS, the company that provides the CHIPPIE phones. Their office is on Kaya Grandi, right under Paradise Coffee and next to BMS. There's a big sign that says "CHIPPIE" on the building. You get an antenna that ranges from nearly invisible if you are in Hato to a half-meter if you are in Belnem, and a good sized cable box. Over 100 channels, including 4 different CNNs and a huge rack of sports and PPV. Good movie channels, too.

Michael,
It's CNN, CNN-International, CNN-Headline, and CNN Latin America. You get CNN in the base package, and have to pay an extra few guilders a month for the news package if you want all four. That will get you Fox News, Bloomberg, and a few others.

How much is TDS per month? Is there an installation fee?

Basic service is 65 guilders/month. I get their "Movies 2" package for an extra 22,50 a month, and that gives me 4 HBOs, 2 Cinemaxes, CityVibe, and CineCanal.

They run specials on installation all the time. It's usually around 65 guilders for installation, but when I got it at my home, I got one month free service, so it worked out as free installation.

THREE CHEERS... I GUESS IF NOT FOR BT AND KEVIN, WE'D STILL BE GRUMBLING ABOUT NO CNN....
It's a good deal for those that don't have TDS yet
as we didn't ... 65 NAF for basic and another 15 covers all the news channels.
We have TELBO and Flamingo because of the sporadic service from Flamingo on Hi Speed. We got Telbo for their DSL.
First thing Monday I'll be at Flamingo canceling their "service" which we've been tolerating for nearly nine years.
EXCELLENT!!!

The installation is nafl 105...it takes 2 days after you order it... I will keep Flamingo for a month or so to make sure it is working but then its Adios!

The one trick with the TDS box that they don't advertise is how to reset them. Every once in a while, they lock up. Shouldn't be more than once every few weeks. When it happens, either unplug the unit and plug it back in, or hold the power button in. The box will power itself on, off, on, off, flicker, then on. After that third power on, everything should be fine again.

If it happens often, ask for a new box. They'll trade it in.

Signed up this morning watching CNN this evening
Three cheers..
Works and very clear. Both TVs on it now work fine .
My what a difference a day makes
Going for more boxes on Monday - oh you need a box for each TV but minor problem

Thanks all

Do you pay an additional 65 guilders for the additional box? And can they put 2 boxes on 1 dish or do you also need 2 dishes?

I think it is nafl 17 or so for each box per month..

We have two boxes hanging off of the one antenna and I suppose you could have as many boxes as you want. We will end up with four boxes
So the total monthly will be just a bit over 100 Naf
Heck, I'd pay that just for the pleasure of getting out of Flamingo
The additional boxes are 10 Naf a peice I think
The reception (as Kevin pointed out) is excellent.

I used TDS at The Great Escape, and I had 12 boxes on one antenna. You'd need a pretty big house to need more than that.

The antenna is never a dish, and, if you live on the northern part of the island, it's pretty small. Mine is about 6cm x 50cm.

So, we have three companies...Flamingo, UTS (TDS), and Telbo...That should be enough of a choice. From what I see (I have a copy of the TDS Channel selections..be happy to scan it and pass it on to anyone info@chatnbrowse.com) the basic cost is about the same but TDS appears to have the most options. If flamingo does not improve its will not make it, unfortunately.

The TDS option package can be downloaded from http://www.tdscuracao.com/Documents/packagelist2008.pdf

It's the same package structure on Curacao and Bonaire. TDS is the main Curacao "cable" provider. They beam the signal over to a repeater on Bonaire.

Thanks Kevin...looks like there will be a stampede at UTS on Monday...

That's quite an impressive lineup available on UTS! We are paying over $200.00 US for our cable package right now (includes phone and internet). Premium channels are in our package, too. Lots of money every month, in my opinion but that's the way it is...at least for now. Might have to chop some off later if I retire from working...will deal with it later...."I'll worry about that tomorrow" as Scarlet would say. cb

Flamingo is going through yet another upgrade. I will hold on hoping to get back the channels I prefer. I am not impressed with the Telbo line up at all.

I guess some folks just gotta go with what they know.
Do tell how the "upgrade" works out.
And no there really isn't a tooth fairy

My experience is that an upgrade here translates to loss of service, ie MIO had an upgrade last week to their phones and they still don't work 100% I do agree with Susan as to TELBO line up but UTS has a wide choice. FYI Flamingo this morning seems to have lost fox...

Yes, I would suspect that Flamingo will be "loosing" many "uplinks" in the near future

As a Bonairian originating from the Netherlands, the BVN (Best of the Netherlands) is a must for us. Does UTS and/or Telbo have that channel?

And how does it work with Internet-connection? I do have a combined contract for CabelTV and Internet with Flamingo. They told me a separate Internet-connection (without cableTV is not possible. I would like to call the Internet more or like an Internet-disconnection, as the description "Hi-Speed" would be better something like Hi-price/low-speed. (The cheapest contract in the Netherlands is about 10 times as fast, has 99,9 % uptime (compared to Flamingo with something far below the 95 %, partially due to power-failures), and the price is more then 66% lower a month, (even with the "High €uro"). How do you get Internetconnection with UTS? And how is that quality?

Harrie

Don't think UTS offers a connection...DSL from Telbo is much faster and more reliable than flamingo.

Telbo and UTS both have BVN in their lineup. Telbo is promising multiple Dutch channels, but I don't know the details.

UTS doesn't offer internet, so you will have to get a DSL line from Telbo if you switch. I use their commercial DSL product, so my prices are higher than you will pay for a residential service. The DSL service quality is quite good... sustained connections are faster than Flamingo, and more reliable.

Yep....definitely switch to Telbo for internet. I have not regretted it for 1 second. The normal 99 guilder package is plenty fast for home use even with more than 1 computer. I also tested MiTV (the Telbo TV offering) and did not like it at all. I am definitely going to give UTS a try!

Make sure you get TDS's phone number when you go into the office. it's very difficult to find otherwise. the TDS website only gives a four digit Curacao number which you don't seem to be able to call from here.

Only problem I've had with TDS in the last 6 months or so is that no-one answers the phone after office hours and they close at 15:30 or something strange like that. Needless to say, the system only ever fails at 16:00.

Beware if you set up a bank transfer to pay monthly. There is no link between accounts and the service enabling. So if the accounts people forget to update the system you get cut off. Usually on Friday afternoon. this is only slightly more frustrating than Flamingo who pretend to have an after hours phone, although I've never known it to be answered after 5pm.

TDS's number (9221) works fine for me. Of course, I'm calling from a Chippie phone. What do you dial it from? What happens?

I think I only tried from a landline, got the number doesn't exist message

So to all those that jumped to TDS how is it working out, what were the costs, how do they do the installation ect.

Well, I'm happy and that means anyone that signed up is happy because I am the major ***** of the consumption chain.
Installation was quick and well done - subsequent problems were taken care of- shoot, I only wish I could get my on line folks to do as well

(Message edited by modcynde on May 6, 2008)

All quick and easy for installation, the job was reaonably well done - very well done in fact by local standards. Of course they didn't come when they said they would, but you wouldn't expect them to would you?

FlaTV just dropped HBO, Cinemax and Showtime, I don't see Showtime offered in any of TDS or MiTV packages. Anyone on the island has Showtime channel? If yes, how do you get it?

Showtime as a channel? No. Most of Showtime's original programming is available unedited on different channels, though. Dexter runs on CityVibe and Fox Latin America, Californication on WB, etc. If you have a particular show you are trying to watch, let me know, and I can tell if it is carried.

Shoot folks, that's nothing. Wait till the rest of the providers catch up with Ricardo.
This is an outfit that has been pirating signals for years and selling the stolen channels to those that would pay the price
His time has come, dishonesty does , in the end , gets it's reward.
Ahoa, Ricardo if you read this I beg you to take me to task
Flamingo is probably the shining example of dishonest business practices that this island can offer.
I really hope they sell their dish for scrap metal.

Hi Kevin,
I like Tudors, Dexter, Penn & Teller. Do you know what channel carries Tudors? Penn & Teller?
Thanks

"The Tudors" is on P&ARTS (channel 315) on TDS. No luck with Penn and Teller.

I had TDS installed last Friday and had two problems. The first my fault, the second, box burned out by the islands famous electric surges. Both times, service arrived in less than 10 minutes! I am blown away by the response and must say that I am enjoying the new selections.

I get my installation this afternoon (fingers crossed). I'll let you know how it works out.

The TDS crew showed up very nicely on time (after confirming the appointment by phone in the morning) and did a great job. So far everything seems to work beautifully.

Maybe we should start a 'New TDS user group' here on BT to exchange tips and tricks ;-)

The only "tip or trick" I am aware of (besides the box reset), is that online TV listings are available at http://tvlistings4.zap2it.com/tds/grid.asp?partner_id=tds

You have to create a login. The only problem with this site is that you have to hit "GO" once before it displays all the channels.

Count me in as another person to leave Flamingo TV. The UTS office tells me it will be installed on Monday. Amazing!

I changed one-and-a-half week ago from Flamingo to TDS/UTS for television and to Telbo-ADSL for Internet.
First the television-part:
UTS arrived one day later then promised, but they called to tell they wouldn't make it. So that is OK. Because we have three TV-sets, there are three decoder boxes, and this makes it a lot more expensive (about 50% more). It also gave more problems to install. I've had three times problems, but the people of UTS arrived within hours when I called for service. And they solved the problems. One problem was caused because I switched off the complete power on one box, together with the rest of the audio/video-system. It appears that the other boxes don't get any signal anymore too then. Which means you have to keep the boxes all of them on standby at least. (some 10 watts each box). The second problem was with a faulty 220V-110V adaptor that I provided, and the third problem was due to a bad antenna-cable to one of the boxes. They solved this problem by putting an antenna-amplifier in the line, without charging me anything extra. All three problems were actually my own fault, and they solved them fast and good. I have one remark with TDS, zapping through the various channels is not fun, because the zapper also stops at channels, I don't pay for, so you get just darkness. It also takes one to two seconds before the new channel is active. Not really a problem, but zapping is not so nice anymore. The choice of channels is good, although we have to get used to the different new channels.
Second: the Internetconnection through Telbo ADSL.
The installation was simple, the actual connection took one day longer then promised. The speed is amazing, in average 5 times as fast as Flamingo, and I only have the cheapest subscription. (I do regular speed tests). And very constant, where Flamingo's speed changed from minute to minute. In the first one-and-a-half week there was no interruption in Internetconnection, (Flamingo would have been out at least 5 times). We had some problems with the regular phone-connection, and I had to install some extra filters. (Telbo provided them without charging). After putting in place the filters the telephone-connection was much better, but still not as it was before. I still have to install one filter between the telephone-line and the alarmsystem, (the alarmcompany has to do that), and I think the problems will be solved by then. Costs of Internet-connection through Telbo is about the same as through Flamingo. Because of the higher speed, making phone-calls through VoIp (Skype) is also much better. I didn't use my regular phone for international calls anymore, the last one-and-a-half week. Skyping with Flamingo was mosttime not possible because of the low quality. This will save quite some money.....
Amazing it was that the helpdesk of Telbo called after one week to ask if we were happy with them, if there were still problems, and if they could be of some help...... Amazing, non-Antillean behaviour.....

As well TDS/UTS as Telbo are doing a way better job as Flamingo. I regret I didn't change earlier.

Good luck, all users of Flamingo! Think better!

Harrie Cox

I guess I know more tricks than I thought. Press the "Guide" button. It will show a list of channels and program titles. You can then go up and down with the up/down arrows and the PageUp/PageDown buttons. When you get to the one you want, hit OK. Much faster.

I found Kevin' solution to the zapping problem as well and must say it does take less time to surf. I also found while surfing around, some extra channels that were not on the basic package. On the whole I think Flamingo is having huge problems not only with customer service, speed, reliability but once they loose too many clients, the revenue will dry up...

There is a way around zapping through channels you don't have. You can go into menu and channel list. With the OK button you can select channels that you want to see (you'll see a little heart behind the channel). Browse through the whole list and select all the ones you want to be able to see when you 'flip channels'. Save your selection with 'exit'. Now if you press the FAV button on your remote you will flip through only those channels.

Additionally you can assign 5 channels to each of the A, B and C buttons on your remote. Check the manual on how to do this.

There is a way around zapping through channels you don't have. You can go into menu and channel list. With the OK button you can select channels that you want to see (you'll see a little heart behind the channel). Browse through the whole list and select all the ones you want to be able to see when you 'flip channels'. Save your selection with 'exit'. Now if you press the FAV button on your remote you will flip through only those channels.

Additionally you can assign 5 channels to each of the A, B and C buttons on your remote. Check the manual on how to do this.

WHAT MANUAL! Did you get a manual with your remote? That would make a whole lot of sense. Maybe Bas, you can hire your self out as a Remote Control Guide and help us electronic illiterate to navigate.

lol.....official TDS remote control consultant. Good title.

Here is a link to the remote control manual online: http://www.sunwave.net/PDF/CheckMate_V_RT-U50.pdf

printed it out and am more confused than before. I need a 10 year old to program mine.

Thanks Bas, Kevin for all the advices,

Works much easier now.

Harrie

Ok, you guys got me interested...but is MSNBC on UTS?...I can't live without my nightly Keith Olbermann fix and must have he, Tim Russert and Chris Matthews to get me through the election process. (Of course, MSNBC comes and goes on Flamingo so who knows if it will last through that!). Kevin, is the Dexter on CityVibe the Showtime version or the toned down (and boring) CBS network version?
You guys have provided great info....I'll probably be at UTS next week since my subscription with Flamingo runs out end of June.

No MSNBC, but Dexter is the real Dexter.

So, what the hell is going on with UTS. We signed up two days ago based on this thread and the same day the system crashed. Today, It took three hours for anyone to answer the phone and then they just said that there were "system problems" Does any one have a clue?

Bad timing. I've had TDS for over two years, and I think they've gone out about 5 times, never for more than an hour or two. That's better than my cable provider did in the states.

We had three TDS boxes here at our house in Belnem for three years and kept having boxes die, or just stop receiving. Had the antennae replaced a couple of times too (they blamed a poor signal in Belnem, even though I know Kevin had no problems further south when he ran the Great Escape). We could also not get any of our Media Center PCs to control the TDS boxes to do channel switching to time shift programs by recording them, and the MPEG2 CODEC artifacts were annoying (not something the average user would comment on, but I work in the digital imaging technology area, and seeing pixel blocks instead of smooth gradations really bugs me). It ended up being more of a hassle than it was worth.

We ended up canceling our TDS service and are now on a combination of FTV (we have it because I have a back-FTV Internet connection at the house, and the rest of the family watches it) and downloaded (and paid for) content from iTunes and Amazon Unbox on top of a TiVo unit with a Slingbox at Linda's folks place back in the U.S.

I personally have not watched live TV in months.

And for the NAF 135 our TDS connection with multiple boxes was costing us per month I can buy almost 40 $1.99 TV episodes from iTunes or Amazon, with crystal clear quality on our TVs and no commercials. Plus both services offer movie "rentals" at very reasonable prices. Mind you, I don't have the time to watch 40 TV shows a month (43 minutes each on average for a one hour show without commercials), so that means I have a net gain financially compared to when we also had TDS at the house.

There's also free content directly from the ABC.com and NBC.com web sites (recent episodes of many of their shows). And worst comes to worst, there's always BitTorrent.

We use an Apple TV unit for this in the bedroom, and I have a PC attached to my TV in the living room.

A footnote: as long as you have a U.S. billing address on your iTunes account, you can download content to Bonaire, but in order to get Amazon Unbox, NBC, or ABC viewing to work you need to have VPN (Virtual Private Network) that makes it look like your Internet service originates in the U.S. We happen to have a VPN connection here our business which takes care of this issue for us.

Jake

If I am not mistaken, all of UTS, Mio services, Digicel and bank card machines were off line for a few hours yesterday in Curacao as well. It finally was repaired and we are back up. I still stand by TDS as the best of the choices. As for not answering the phone, there was no service until after 12 noon.

Glad you got your service back, Michael, but we're still in the dark so to speak. I tried calling again this afternoon and again, no answer. Maybe it has something to do with the area where we are. Or, it could be a faulty box. Ours looks like someone drop-kicked it (maybe when they couldn't get it to work LOL). I'll try calling them again tomorrow.

It's a broadcast signal, so it doesn't go out in areas like cable. Have you tried resetting your box? Two ways to do it:

1) Brute force. Pull out the plug. Wait a few seconds. Plug it back in.

2) Hold the power button in for about 10 seconds. It will power off, and then power itself on (time to let go), off, on, off, on. After the third on, it should start up on channel 8.

Kevin:

Should the TV channel be set to 8? In the manual it says 3 is normal, but may be 2 or 4. Nothing about 8.

You need to call 786 3333. Ronny does their service and he will fix it for you. Let us know!

Channel 3 is the usual channel for your TV (could be 2 or 4, depending on the switches). Channel 8 is the channel that comes up on the box when it powers up.

Thanks Michael and Kevin. Technicians came in less than an hour with a replacement box, and all is good. Told me new boxes are coming in August that will include HiDef too!

Ok so summarize my choices for TV and internet, if I have NO LAND LINE (and do not want one) I am stuck with Flamingo?? I want Showtime and HBO and US network TV, Food Channel and Weather Channel..thanks..this is all so frustrating.

For Showtime, it really doesn't matter whether you have a land-line or not. You won't find a legal provider that gives you Showtime, because it isn't licensed for distribution outside the US and Canada.

Did you look into Mio for your internet access? The combination of Mio and UTS should do everything but give you Showtime

Just curious: can you explain what the problem is with a land-line? No one can make you hook a phone to it.

Kevin, I moved to BON to keep life simple. The less bills and people to deal with (Telbo) the better. I like my pre paid cell phone just fine.

I understand the concept: I don't use a Telbo phone, either ... just the line. I think you are out of luck, though. Telbo and Flamingo are the only ones that provide both TV and internet, and Telbo doesn't provide American networks. They tell me that they will by July, so maybe waiting a bit and switching both internet and TV over to Telbo then will work. You'll have to install the line, but you will still only have one bill for TV and internet.

Kevin, MIO is still not ready with internet and it looks like it wont be til next year.

I Sayd That The FTV Have a better internet speed is high speed internet and the internet connection don`t have interuptions and the cable signal is good both i miss the weather channel on the channel 31 why FTV Why Ricardo i hope that FTV can set the chan nel on the system but in other wyze FTV is good good cable service good Broadband Internet service Congratulations Flamingo Tv good job

I agree totally.

Flamingo Tv IS A Good Tv Station