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topics flat nest

n2jtx

join:2001-01-13

Glen Head, NY 1 recommendation n2jtx Member Will Drop It I have Broadcast Basic right now and plan to drop that service once it goes encrypted. I get very good OTA signals using a 25+ year old antenna I have on the roof but have BB to cover two channels that I have been too lazy to set up an antenna for as they are east of me whereas the bulk of my stations come from NYC to the west of me. The craziest thing is I have a cable connected 7" portable TV on the kitchen table that I watch during dinner. Having to get a box for that TV would be absolutely crazy as the box itself would be the equivalent in size of six of these TV's stacked together. The box requirement is really the push I need to get back on the roof and get my antenna situation straightened out. For the cost of about four months of BB service, I can buy a good antenna optimized for VHF-HI and UHF.

Greedo

@wideopenwest.com Greedo Anon Great Now the QAM tuner in my TV just became useless. Guzzler

join:2002-09-24

Tempe, AZ 1 recommendation Guzzler Member Re: Great I wonder if this may get TV manufacturers to start putting cable card slots in their devices and end the set top devices?

ArrayList

DevOps

Premium Member

join:2005-03-19

Mullica Hill, NJ ArrayList Premium Member Re: Great that would make things too easy.

cdru

Go Colts

MVM

join:2003-05-14

Fort Wayne, IN cdru to Guzzler

MVM to Guzzler

said by Guzzler: I wonder if this may get TV manufacturers to start putting cable card slots in their devices and end the set top devices? No. AVonGauss

Premium Member

join:2007-11-01

Boynton Beach, FL AVonGauss to Guzzler

Premium Member to Guzzler

CableCard has been relatively dead for a number of years now - I don't see it making a come-back. Guzzler

join:2002-09-24

Tempe, AZ Guzzler Member Re: Great said by AVonGauss: CableCard has been relatively dead for a number of years now - I don't see it making a come-back.

Yea... look at the back of most set top boxes now days. Most have a cable card in there.

djrobx

Premium Member

join:2000-05-31

Valencia, CA 1 recommendation djrobx to Guzzler

Premium Member to Guzzler

said by Guzzler: I wonder if this may get TV manufacturers to start putting cable card slots in their devices and end the set top devices?





We don't get OTA, so we can't go that route, either. I wouldn't care if the cable cards were free, but they're not. Encrypted locals means we'd have to pay "outlet" and lease fees just to have an extra TV with basic locals for guests to use once in a while.We don't get OTA, so we can't go that route, either. elefante72

join:2010-12-03

East Amherst, NY 1 recommendation elefante72 to Greedo

Member to Greedo

So did all your HDMI connections. HDBaseT will make all those connections deprecated also. The good news, it's better and uses regular ethernet. Once that happens you can stream video, internet, and access control in one cable. New devices will be created. One can use MoCA for legacy coax.



IP/Ethernet won and it's dirt cheap, it's just a matter of time before it becomes the ubiquitous connector and IPV6 will allow every little dittie to have it's own IP...



Technology changes, adapters will be there as long as there is money to be made.



I think having any technology in a TV is crazy considering the pace ofchange. I hear there is a new plug in standard for TV's that will allow you to plug into a port the TV the latest tech. That makes sense. This will replace the cablecard and QAM tuners.

PapaMidnight

join:2009-01-13

Baltimore, MD PapaMidnight to Greedo

Member to Greedo

...as did the ATi and Hauppage QAM tuners in my SageTV Media Center PC... floydb1982

join:2004-08-25

Kent, WA floydb1982 to Greedo

Member to Greedo

First the government makes my NTSC Analog tuner in my 1080p TV useless and now there going to make my QAM tuner totally useless as well.



Wait a minutes why should I be complaining when I switch over to Netflix and Hulu.



I guess it isn't worth complaining about at all. 19579823 (banned)

An Awesome Dude

join:2003-08-04 19579823 (banned) to Greedo

Member to Greedo

Seems so........



This is just an excuse to extract MORE $$$$$ from people.... And i really am starting to think maybe those BOXs they give out SPY ON YOU ALSO!! Mr Matt

join:2008-01-29

Eustis, FL Mr Matt Member Another hidden price increase. Comcast recently encrypted all channels. I have 7 TV outlets with two HD DVR's in my home. Before Comcast encrypted extended basic, 70 Channels were available at any outlet. After the change Comcast offered two basic decoders at no charge. With the change I lost the ability to view over the air channels in HD on Televisions with QAM tuners without an HD box at $9.95 per month. I was advised by a Comcast CSR that I will have to pay $2.00 per month for each basic channel decoders if I add additional basic decoders. That means if I added one additional basic decoder I would have to pay an additional $6.00 per month for three basic decoders. It was allot easier when guests had to deal with one remote. Crookshanks

join:2008-02-04

Binghamton, NY Crookshanks Member Re: Another hidden price increase. said by Mr Matt: I have 7 TV outlets with two HD DVR's in my home.

That's more rooms than I have in my entire house (living, kitchen, dining, bathroom, two bedrooms), so you'll forgive me if I have zero sympathy for you with regards to Comcast's equipment fees.

djrobx

Premium Member

join:2000-05-31

Valencia, CA djrobx Premium Member Re: Another hidden price increase. said by Crookshanks: said by Mr Matt: I have 7 TV outlets with two HD DVR's in my home.



That's more rooms than I have in my entire house (living, kitchen, dining, bathroom, two bedrooms), so you'll forgive me if I have zero sympathy for you with regards to Comcast's equipment fees.



I suspect cable's competitors will pick up business from this. I know several people who've avoided going with DirecTV or Dish because of the ease with which they can "feed" their extra TVs without a box or monthly fee. I live in suburbia. I get it. I'd like to have a TV in our guest room or my office, but I don't because I don't want to lease another receiver for a TV that won't be used all that often.I suspect cable's competitors will pick up business from this. I know several people who've avoided going with DirecTV or Dish because of the ease with which they can "feed" their extra TVs without a box or monthly fee. paule123

join:2002-07-25

Cleveland, OH paule123 to Mr Matt

Member to Mr Matt

Fortunately our rather large HOA in Florida was able to negotiate 5 DTA's for us as part of our contract with Comcast. To the guy below, even in a 3 bedroom condo, it's not hard to use up 5 DTA's. 1 in each bedroom, 1 living room, 1 den. Add a countertop TV in the kitchen, and possibly one out on the patio, and there's 7 DTA's right there.

pnh102

Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty

Premium Member

join:2002-05-02

Mount Airy, MD 1 recommendation pnh102 Premium Member Money Grab Comcast did this or something like it when we had their TV service. We used to be able to plug the cable directly into a HDTV we have that has a built-in ATSC tuner and get nice HD receptions on all the broadcast channels.



The Comcast changed things and we had to use this stupid mini converter box instead. Of course, that strips away the HD and we were watching crappy-looking TV. The only way to get back the HD was to pay more for an HD DVR box. The only reason this rule was put into place was to drive more box rentals.



I'm happy with the off-air HD we now get. At least that's not costing me an arm and leg every month.

LeftOfSanity

People Suck.

join:2005-11-06

Dover, DE LeftOfSanity Member Re: Money Grab I think what your talking about was an effort to reclaim some analog spectrum. giraffedata

join:2009-07-11

San Jose, CA giraffedata to pnh102

Member to pnh102

Romney/Ryan 2012 - Put a couple of mature adults in charge.

Now this is ironic. The politics implied by your description of Comcast withdrawing the service you formerly had are pretty much the opposite of Romney and Ryan's.

Now this is ironic. The politics implied by your description of Comcast withdrawing the service you formerly had are pretty much the opposite of Romney and Ryan's.

The heading "money grab" suggests to me something dishonorable about Comcast arranging to get more of customers' money. Romney would tell you citizens such as Comcast shareholders have the moral right to demand anything they want from you for the use of their system.



Romney has specifically stated he opposes public funding for PBS, which I take to mean he doesn't think it's society's responsibility to provide each other with television.



The idea that Comcast made the technology change in order to collect more box rental fees makes no sense to me. Comcast already has the power to simply demand more money from you without the burden of supplying you with a box. Why wouldn't Comcast just do that?

pnh102

Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty

Premium Member

join:2002-05-02

Mount Airy, MD pnh102 Premium Member Re: Money Grab said by giraffedata: Now this is ironic. The politics implied by your description of Comcast withdrawing the service you formerly had are pretty much the opposite of Romney and Ryan's. said by giraffedata: The heading "money grab" suggests to me something dishonorable about Comcast arranging to get more of customers' money. Romney would tell you citizens such as Comcast shareholders have the moral right to demand anything they want from you for the use of their system. said by giraffedata: Romney has specifically stated he opposes public funding for PBS, which I take to mean he doesn't think it's society's responsibility to provide each other with television. said by giraffedata: The idea that Comcast made the technology change in order to collect more box rental fees makes no sense to me. said by giraffedata: Comcast already has the power to simply demand more money from you without the burden of supplying you with a box. Why wouldn't Comcast just do that? Why are you being prejudiced? Unlike you people, the Republican party is actually welcoming of people with differing views. What happens if you are a Democrat and you don't toe the party line? You get labeled as a racist, sexist, homophobe or whatever other hate-of-the-week it happens to be.That doesn't change the fact that it is still a money grab. Romney wouldn't care that I choose to not be a cable TV subscriber. Likewise, I couldn't care less how much money Comcast makes either. I simply choose to not participate in that.PBS here has commercials and they do just fine. Considering the country is broke and we need to trim the fat somewhere, I see nothing wrong with cutting their public funding.You've never heard of DRM and other kinds of technologies that do exactly this?They still do. Every 6 months the price of their TV service goes up. neufuse

join:2006-12-06

James Creek, PA 954.7 39.3

1 recommendation neufuse Member cablecards/ocap/etc.. this wouldn't be such a darn problem if we had cablecard slots in all tv's... or OCAP/Tru2way TV's... or had whole home gateway devices that took one cablecard to decrypt 6 streams that are sent across the house via MoCA or something.... or TiVO gets their mini IP-STB's out so you can have 4 tv's per DVR box with live TV as the gateway device..... elefante72

join:2010-12-03

East Amherst, NY elefante72 Member Re: cablecards/ocap/etc..



1. All home DVR, IP STB

2. Cloud DVR, IP STB



Competitors will do similar things and try to start unbundling the cartel we deal with today...



Tivo had the world by the ba$$s, and just came out with the same me-too stuff for 10 years. They could have already had 1,2 with all the patent money they collected. One hit wonder...



If you are adventurous you could get a HDHR/Ceton and plug a cablecard into it. At that point you could stream to tablets and airplay/google version right to each TV. The ROI would be 1 year. I went old skool and use xbox 360s (5 of them) for all of my tv's. You need W7MC (media center), but since HDHR is ethernet I just plugged it into my home switch, and run W7MC on a VM. Mirrored 2 TB, never run out of space. Never went down once in 2 years. Oh, and comskip automatically removes commercials. My kids don't even know what commercials are. I also rid the house of istuff (sans for me), because you can't easily block ads. Google Nexus7 tabs for the kids, and block all the ads. They have a chance to grow up normal I can't wait for the $99 ones..



Used Xboxes are going for $100, and they can also stream netflix, amazon, purchased movies, play games, music....I cannot think of a better media endpoint at this time that also does TV/DVR but if there are let me know. I've already paid off my investment... All cablecos will be within the next few years:1. All home DVR, IP STB2. Cloud DVR, IP STBCompetitors will do similar things and try to start unbundling the cartel we deal with today...Tivo had the world by the ba$$s, and just came out with the same me-too stuff for 10 years. They could have already had 1,2 with all the patent money they collected. One hit wonder...If you are adventurous you could get a HDHR/Ceton and plug a cablecard into it. At that point you could stream to tablets and airplay/google version right to each TV. The ROI would be 1 year. I went old skool and use xbox 360s (5 of them) for all of my tv's. You need W7MC (media center), but since HDHR is ethernet I just plugged it into my home switch, and run W7MC on a VM. Mirrored 2 TB, never run out of space. Never went down once in 2 years. Oh, and comskip automatically removes commercials. My kids don't even know what commercials are. I also rid the house of istuff (sans for me), because you can't easily block ads. Google Nexus7 tabs for the kids, and block all the ads. They have a chance to grow up normalI can't wait for the $99 ones..Used Xboxes are going for $100, and they can also stream netflix, amazon, purchased movies, play games, music....I cannot think of a better media endpoint at this time that also does TV/DVR but if there are let me know. I've already paid off my investment...

IowaCowboy

Supermarket Hero

Premium Member

join:2010-10-16

Springfield, MA ARRIS SB6183

Netgear R8000

IowaCowboy Premium Member At least it will cut my neighbor off My neighbor cancelled his cable subscription but Comcast never disconnected him at the pole (they went to the underground pedestal instead of the pole because his UG line went bad so they ran an overhead to a pole in an adjacent yard) so he is getting a few unencrypted channels (mostly channels obtainable with a roof antenna or possibly rabbit ears).



Technically he is stealing cable but I am afraid to report him as I fear retaliation from the landlord due to the sensitivity of our housing situation (they met through their church). This is the same neighbor that ran up the landlord's water bill with a kiddie pool and he deserves to have his kids taken by CPS.



What a loser (and he's a former cable contractor). elefante72

join:2010-12-03

East Amherst, NY elefante72 Member Re: At least it will cut my neighbor off IC,



That's one reason why they want encryption. No truck rolls. Interestingly enough, if they are disconnected as a sub, Comcrap doesn't have to pay retrans fees so for basic they just let it ride. I disconnected TWC 2 years ago, and the basic cable still comes through my coax. I don't use it, but the truck roll is more expensive and I think there is little issue upstream because those channels are easily replaceable by OTA for free. Retrans fees are bogus anyways.



My take is that morally it's wrong, however I'm sure you have better things to do than grind an axe with some marginal neighbor. I'm more interested in who is going to reach into MY pocket in November.

IowaCowboy

Supermarket Hero

Premium Member

join:2010-10-16

Springfield, MA ARRIS SB6183

Netgear R8000

IowaCowboy Premium Member Re: At least it will cut my neighbor off They just cannot leave open connections so they still have to physically disconnect non subscribers or otherwise you'll have a ingress/signal leakage issues. And there are devices on the black market that can easily decrypt cable signals and modems can be hacked to pirate high speed Internet. They just sent that DerEngel character to the slammer for his role in Internet theft and modem hacking. That is why I think they should disconnect lines that are not on the books as subscribers. And I think they should use appropriate filters to make sure that only legitimate signals get through to subscribers (such as a return pass filter on basic or expanded basic subscribers that do not subscribe to high speed Internet or CDV and video block filters on data/CDV only subscribers to physically secure the signals).



Network security just does not consist of encryption, you also have to physically secure the hardware (just like because a hard drive is encrypted does not mean its secure, someone could take the hard drive an hack it in another location). I am in the process of changing banks because my bank (TD Bank) just had some data tapes vanish and I just got the dreaded notice that my info was on those tapes. Even if those tapes were encrypted, that does not mean my data is secure because sophisticated hackers can decrypt them. That is why network/data security includes physical security as well.

caster

@dsl.net caster Anon Re: At least it will cut my neighbor off return pass filter??



That does not really work in a digital cable system (maybe ok with DTA's) but now days expanded basic comes with 1 full box and with limited basic you can get a HD box at low price. and is use less in a SDV system. elefante72

join:2010-12-03

East Amherst, NY elefante72 to IowaCowboy

Member to IowaCowboy

That may be so, but like I said my cable is still active, 2 years after I cancelled. With HFC it's not too much of an issue like the old days. The equalizer sits in the corner from my lot, and I don't think there are more than a 4 people on block who still have TWC. It's cable blight to FIOS for now. they put what I think are band-pass filters on my line for the expanded, but HSI and basic signals still come into my house.



If someone has advanced illegal descrambling equipment and is motivated, it won't be that difficult to obtain a tap. clone (banned)

join:2000-12-11

Portage, IN clone (banned) to IowaCowboy

Member to IowaCowboy

Cool story! You would honestly report someone for getting free unencrypted QAM because you don't like his parenting style and/or his water usage?



Wow. Just, wow man. Don't sweat the small stuff. Life's short.



I wouldn't be broadcasting that you're that kind of person on an internet forum, either. Remember that this stuff sticks around forever.



That being said, encrypting the OTA channels is just giving paying customers the middle finger. Every garage TV, kitchen TV, TV out on the back porch for watching the game and having a beer in the summer, now needs some stupid box hooked up to it. Not that I personally don't have a great big OTA antenna for that purpose, but it seems that every telco/cable company tries hard to remove as much value as possible from their product even when there's really no benefit to them.



No one who is getting free QAM is going to suddenly pay for a subscription, and it gives your existing (paying, profitable) customers one more reason to cut the cord. Mind-boggling. BiggA

Premium Member

join:2005-11-23

Central CT BiggA to IowaCowboy

Premium Member to IowaCowboy

Who cares? It's not hurting Comcast, as they aren't paying for it. If they want to shut it off, they can.

IowaCowboy

Supermarket Hero

Premium Member

join:2010-10-16

Springfield, MA ARRIS SB6183

Netgear R8000

IowaCowboy Premium Member Re: At least it will cut my neighbor off Before they encrypted most of the basic channels, they were getting a few channels that I pay to receive for free.



The real punch in the face is I am paying $150+ for my triple play bundle and he is freeloading. He even admitted that he accesses the Internet via a router called Linksys (and its not mine because both my Apple AirPort Extreme and Netgear network extender are secure with WPA2 security and have their SSIDs hidden).



He pretends to be a born again Christian yet he is stealing cable. In my religion, stealing is against my religion (which is why I hand my money over to the entertainment industry by paying for copyrighted content instead of going to pirate bay). I also adhere to a personal ethic to obtain services (such as cable and Internet), merchandise in a store, or copyrighted works legally by paying for them. If I was getting cable channels that I am not paying for, I would call Comcast (or the local Cableco) and rectify the situation.



Using someone else's Internet is not only stealing but can cause headaches for the subscriber such as copyright notices (because Internet freeloaders are probably going to pirate bay instead of iTunes or Rhapsody), causing overages, blowing through caps, and running up bills (on metered connections). If Comcast imposes metered billing, whomever has the Linksys router within range of this neighbor is going to throw a fit when the overages pile on. Even worse would be having someone else's illegal activities (such as illegal gambling or computer hacking) traced back to your modem and the police come in with a search warrant.



If I bought this building, I would serve this loser family a 30 day eviction notice. Not someone I would want in my building. Even worse, the wife works a minimum wage job while he could be making more money.



Maybe Comcast should prohibit the use of unsecured routers on their network. The only way to achieve this would restrict home networks to their gateways but their gateways are junk. There is no comparison for an Apple router vs Arris gateway. BiggA

Premium Member

join:2005-11-23

Central CT ·Cox HSI

ARRIS SB6141

Asus RT-AC68

BiggA Premium Member Re: At least it will cut my neighbor off There's nothing against the TOS or illegal about not encrypting your router, and there's nothing wrong with connecting to an open router... You're not allowed to knowingly share your internet connection with other households/resell, but it's pretty common in urban areas to have houses with 2-3 apartments all using one wireless router, and one cable subscription...

CompUser

join:2001-11-07

Ada, OH CompUser to IowaCowboy

Member to IowaCowboy

LOL, you make me laugh with your self righteous loathing of your neighbor, yet call yourself a religious person. They are evil because they don't pay for cable yet you are good to go with your judgement of them! LMAO! Get a clue and worry about you. You'll live longer.

Have a nice day! amungus

Premium Member

join:2004-11-26

America 1 recommendation amungus Premium Member total crap Locals should be in the clear, period. This is no different than having an antenna, and should always be open. I'm sure they leave ONE really pointless channel open for testing purposes and that's it.



Guess my media center will have to go back to OTA at some point unless I get another tuner, pay for card rental + extra fees (not likely).



I am, however, glad that boxes still exist with component video output. Whether people realize it or not, this is important for several reasons.



Also, I had already posted this in the Charter forum..

---

...it's beyond overdue to make new TVs truly "cable ready" again.



NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners are all well and good, but, why can a TV not be 'addressable' by now, such as a cable box? Why can I not simply buy a tuner, without needing a cable card for extra channels? Even there, it's near impossible to buy the card from any provider, it must be rented, and have extra fees associated with it.



Why on earth, with all the "smart TV" bullsh|t out there, can a TV not have a unique address that works, um, exactly like the freaking existing boxes? How hard would it be to include all of the whopping TWO major standards (Moto/Scientific Atlanta) that are present at, um, 99.9% of cable plants (as I understand it - I could be wrong), into a TV?



I don't care if they want to encrypt, but make TV "cable ready" again.

•••• show 4 replies MyDogHsFleas

Premium Member

join:2007-08-15

Austin, TX MyDogHsFleas Premium Member Will this fix the "variable digital channels" problem? I have found that different TVs QAM tuners assign different channel numbers to the same digital channels, when hooked directly to cable.

•••• show 4 replies JJV

Premium Member

join:2001-04-25

Seattle, WA 1 recommendation JJV Premium Member corruption This shows us who is really paying the FCC salary. giraffedata

join:2009-07-11

San Jose, CA giraffedata Member Re: corruption

Yeah. TV viewers. People who don't want a portion of their monthly cable charges going to cover their neighbors' share of the cost of building the cable system. People who want to turn on new service without having to pay for someone to come out and hook up a wire.

TV service is highly competitive. The cable companies make money by being the least expensive option (for the average customer, not necessarily you). To do that, they have to minimize their costs, and to do that, they lobby for regulation changes. I suppose you're implying that some of that lobbying consists of bribing the Commissioners (every one of them; this decision was unanimous), but if so, they're doing it with money the TV viewers give them because they're the best deal around. biochemistry

Premium Member

join:2003-05-09

92361 biochemistry Premium Member consumers lose again Without widespread adoption of tru2way by the cable companies and tv manufacturers, the consumer loses again. That should have been a prerequisite by the fcc. grapejelly

join:2001-03-18

San Clemente, CA 1 recommendation grapejelly Member This move will cost me even if I'm inactive I am a cable subscriber who has purchased several TV tuner cards for my media center PCs and I also use the QAM tuners in several of my TVs to watch television (when the DVR that I rent is already recording two shows and there's a third that I want to watch).



Encrypting all of the basic/OTA cable service will render all of my tuner cards worthless as well as the TV tuners in the TVs. That is money down the drain. Then, if I want to get cable service in any of those aforementioned devices, I'll need to rent more STBs and/or purchase cable card tuners plus rent additional cable cards. Gone are (or will be) the days of just purchasing cable TV service and hooking it up to all of TVs that you have in your home. This change also makes me wonder if future TVs will even be sold with tuners in them - or sold without (and for less) for buyers that deem them unnecessary due to the impending change.



This is a frustrating change that the government has authorized - and it only benefits one side. The side that is not the consumer.

fed_up

@comcast.net fed_up Anon Cable companies have to pay for locals, too!



So, the cable companies have to pay for locals, and are simply putting an end to the free lunch. It does suck that CableCard integration flatlined, as that would have been a good solution to the issue of having to get boxes. At least HD-DTA's are on the horizon. I don't normally side with "Big Cable" on issues, but the truth of the matter is that if local tv stations use "Retransmission Consent", then the cable co. has to pay the tv station in order to retransmit the channel(s). Now, if a tv station is "Must-Carry", the cable co. has to carry the channel(s), but the tv station cannot demand compensation for retransmission. More about this subject here: » en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Must-carry So, the cable companies have to pay for locals, and are simply putting an end to the free lunch. It does suck that CableCard integration flatlined, as that would have been a good solution to the issue of having to get boxes. At least HD-DTA's are on the horizon. biochemistry

Premium Member

join:2003-05-09

92361 1 recommendation biochemistry Premium Member Re: Cable companies have to pay for locals, too! How are they putting an end to free lunch? By cutting out a few stragglers who may be stealing cable and forcing the 99.9% who do pay to now start using a cable box? big_e

join:2011-03-05 big_e Member OTA is threatened as well due to spectrum reclamation. In the future, don't expect to be able to receive your current stations in their current quality. The spectrum auction will reduce the number available channels per market. In many markets there simply won't be enough channels to go around. Channel sharing arrangements between stations will result in the loss of SD subchannels, and channels formerly in HD may be downgraded to SD to save bandwidth. Also expect reductions in service area, the loss of translator stations and more interference. Sammer

join:2005-12-22

Canonsburg, PA Sammer Member Re: OTA is threatened as well due to spectrum reclamation. You're right the spectrum auctions (instead of making TV white space available for unlicensed use) are nothing more than a scam that will result in higher and higher monthly bills. Guess who actually pays for the spectrum auctions (it's not AT&T and Verizon or their shareholders) when the costs are passed on. AVonGauss

Premium Member

join:2007-11-01

Boynton Beach, FL AVonGauss Premium Member Irony The irony is this is being done under the guise of preventing theft, but what it also stands to do is push people to take the leap and try more alternative delivery methods for content. I guess we'll have to wait a year to see if there's a marked drop in subscriber numbers. If it does, cable operators will have no one to blame but themselves. giraffedata

join:2009-07-11

San Jose, CA giraffedata Member Re: Irony I'm going to bet on the cable companies. Neither you nor I have even a fraction of the information they had when they decided ending QAM would result increased profit. salahx

join:2001-12-03

Saint Louis, MO salahx Member The end of build-your-own PVR The really bad news is it will now be (virtually) impossible to build a personal PVR that can receive cable. CableCard is no help here. CableCard has 2 parts: Conditional access and copy protection, and all CableCard hosts have to be "certified" (media-company obsequious ). No self-built Linux PVR can ever meet the requirement of the latter (and I have yet to see a solution just involving the former). So the only option left is some hacky solution involving an IR blaster. c17chief

join:2001-12-27

Lake Jackson, TX c17chief Member Re: The end of build-your-own PVR uhh....Windows Media Center?!?! ....It does EXACTLY what you just described. I've been using this setup for about a year exactly now. I have 0 boxes and a single cable card for my whole home. Kind of a shame MS is trying to get out of that game right when things are starting to get very conducive for that sort of use with cheap low power computers that are plenty capable now, cablecard tuners, etc. salahx

join:2001-12-03

Saint Louis, MO salahx Member Re: The end of build-your-own PVR Windows Media Center doesn't have all the feature MythTV does



But in any case appears i haven't done my research - all the major PC tuners with CableCard for computers DO support Linux (of course the copy protected channels won't work!). Those devices are still pretty pricey though.

Camaro

Question everything

Premium Member

join:2008-04-05

Westfield, MA Camaro Premium Member Regulation! I know its a pipe dream. This is getting ridiculous there are no words to respond to this except well beyond angry. I can tell you one thing I am doing to make me feel better is telling every friend and family member in Comcast service areas and educate them on other service providers and help them decide there needs for services, granted around here its the normal duopoly but word of mouth is much more powerful in the long run.



Dsl here I come, and Comcast is going to loose my $209.00 a month.

Turbo2012

@cox.net Turbo2012 Anon :) I smile, I'm on Cox, no problem here and their mascot has a striking resemblance to the cute character in Dig Dug the arcade game:) your comment..

