Useful Phone Numbers

Here's a quick list of many useful Northeastern phone numbers. Many offices are open today, tomorrow, and even Labor Day.

Housing & Residential Life: 617.373.2814
Registrar's Office: 617.373.2300
Husky Card Office: 617.373.2270
ResMail: 617.373.5108
Information Services Service Desk: 617.373.4357

Our phone number is 617.373.8682, and if you don't think any of the above offices can help with your issue or want to find out just who to call, we encourage you to call us.

ResNet On-Site

Thanks to Twitter, we have learned that ResNet teams will be dispatched on-site to residence halls around campus to provide assistance to students who need to connect their computers to the network and activate them. The teams are expected to hit the residence halls around Noon, and will also be able to help with HuskyCable issues.

Cable TV Channels Fixed

HuskyCable channels in the area of Channel 16 to 22 recently were very fuzzy, miscolored, or distorted for students campus wide. Today, we're happy to report that thanks to the work of people in various groups of Information Services (ResNet, Customer Service, and Network Services) the channels should now be coming in clear. After determining the issue was campus wide and investigating, Information Services found that it was found that the problem stemmed back to an issue with Comcast, who provides a feed to Northeastern that gives us most of our standard definition cable television channels. Comcast fixed the problem quickly, and students can now enjoy clear channels like CNBC, the New England Sports Network, and ABC Family.

New Link on myNEU

The work of the Housing Services Committee has one again paid off. Now, via myNEU, students can easily go to TV Planner and see what's on HuskyCable. It's on the Community tab of myNEU:

myNEU TV Listings Link

Last year a suggestion came to the Resident Student Association that myNEU feature a link to TV listings so people could easily see what was on the different HuskyCable channels in an easy to read way. We have since taken that suggestion to Information Services, and it is likely that a link to TV Planner will be added soon.

Remember, if you ever have ideas related to HuskyCable, feel free to contact the Resident Student Association at RSA@neu.edu.

The Huntington News Reports on HuskyCable Additions

Mark Rizzo of The Huntington News reported yesterday the news from last week's General Council meeting that two new channels would be added to HuskyCable this fall. The channels are FitTV and G4TV, and we are awaiting more information on an exact add date.

Cinemax & Showtime: Not This Year

Every year the Resident Student Association collects requests from students about channels they want to see added to HuskyCable. We work with Information Services to see if it is possible to add the channels that are requested, and to look at the costs associated with adding these channels. This year, two requests were made for premium channel packages. One request was Showtime, the other Cinemax. However, after talking with Information Services and residents, the Housing Services Committee voted in favor of a recommendation that neither channel package be added. Our reasoning was:

• The price to bring Showtime or Cinemax to HuskyCable exceeds the benefit of having the channel and its programming;
• HBO offers several channels worth of premium content; and
• RSA Cinema provides students with an additional set of movies each month.

Currently, we have have HBO as a premium channel package. Back in 2005 when HuskyCable was being created, the student feedback was that HBO was the top choice for a premium channel package. A three-year agreement was made, so next year it will be possible to consider swapping HBO for something else, which would not raise the cost of HuskyCable. The Housing Services Committee will be working to gather student input and feedback and make a recommendation for the 2009-2010 year. As a piece of background information, approximately one-third of the cost of HuskyCable is for HBO, and adding a second premium channel package would lead to at least a 30 percent price increase which would be passed onto residents through housing charges. From our outreach this year, it was clear that students did not see a premium channel package as being worth a 30 percent price increase in HuskyCable. Of course, next year students minds may change.

Two TVs, One Port

Most rooms on campus only have a single cable port. So what's a student to do when they have two televisions and both to have HuskyCable without unplugging cables all the time. Or what if you and your roommate both have televisions and only one port?

The solution is a device known as a "coaxial splitter." These can be obtained at electronics stores such as RadioShack or Best Buy, or online at a retailer such as Amazon.com or Newegg.com. This model, available at Best Buy online and in-store, costs $7.99.

What the splitter does is takes the signal from the cable port and divides it so that the signal from the cable port can be sent to two different places. Of course, in order to use the splitter you'll need to have three coaxial cables, so if you only have one cable you'll need to buy two more, but in return for the expense you'll be able to watch HuskyCable on more than one TV.