Thanks to cable deregulation, Ohio State students living off-campus have a choice of which cable company to use: Warner Cable or Americast.Americast began service this year, while Warner Cable has had the Columbus area connected for 25 years.The pair offers similar services at competitive prices, but how do they stack up against each other?Both companies offer around 80 channels total according to their channel line-ups. These channels are divided up into four tiers: basic, expanded basic, ‘premium’ movie channels, and pay-per-view channels. Both companies charge about $10 for basic cable and about $26 for expanded basic. Rates for premium channels vary.Warner offers 26 channels at the basic level, an additional 34 in expanded basic, and 10 premium channels. Warner also has 11 pay-per-view channels with costs that vary for movies and special events.Americast offers 17 channels in basic service, 45 more in expanded basic, and ten premium channels. It also carries 10 pay per view channels.Besides regular channels, Warner has Music Choice, a 35-channel deejay and commercial-free music service. The service costs $2.95 per month.The converter box is where the two companies differ, although a representative from Warner Cable said the difference will soon disappear.’The converter box viewers historically didn’t like,’ said Dave Onak, a spokesman for Americast.Onak said Americast attempts to overcome that distaste by adding features which make the converter more appealing.Americast replaces the old ‘black box’ and remote with ‘T.E.D.,’ or TV Enhancement Device, and ‘R.E.D.,’ or Remote Enhancement Device.The TV device has a built-in program guide that pops up on the screen with a flick of the special remote, said Onak. The guide goes two days ahead, so viewers can plan their TV time, he said.In addition, the Americast converter offers code-activated pay-per-view and parental control, according to Americast customer service.Warner offers a similar converter to campus-area customers. Their converter also has an on-screen program guide, one-touch pay-per-view, and parental control. The Music Choice service is built in.Both converters connect to a VCR to enable one step recording; viewers hit a button on their remote, and the converter does the rest.As far as customer service, the two remain approximately even. Both have 24-hour customer service lines, and both have flexible appointment scheduling and two-hour appointment windows. Warner goes beyond that, guaranteeing service appointments with a $20 account credit if an appointment is not kept.With offerings so similar, students looking into cable use personal experience as a deciding factor.’My friends have told me that it’s become too big of a hassle (dealing with Warner Cable),’ said Amy Powers, a junior in social work, who is getting Americast next week.Powers said her friends complained that Warner was tough to deal with and had made billing mistakes.’I called and compared prices, and Americast had the better deal,’ she said.Jason Green, a senior in business management, said he likes the new program guide on his roommate’s Warner cable, though he is otherwise lukewarm on the subject.’Cable, for me, is just a source of movies,’ Green said.