• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

TWC sunsetting analog cable service

Yes, it's generally a bad thing for people who do have cable-ready TVs and basic cable or first-tier (non-digital) service. In the case of our service with Comcast (or is it Xfinity?), not only did I have to install a box but I also lost "free" HD service on local channels.

Yet another example of how "progress" sucks sometimes. Or of how large companies will happily stick it to the little guy if they feel that they can get away with it.
 
I don't really see how you can say going all digital is "sticking it to the little guy." When our independent cable system (outside of NE) went all digital 2 years ago, each basic subscriber was provided with 1 SA digital box at no cost. Additional SA boxs were (are) available for $4.95 a month, or a less sophisticated digital box is available for $1.50 a month. Basic subscribers with digital tuners (as in any HDTV) can tune basic channels, about 70 channels, without a box, including HD locals. Lets face it, analog cable just doesn't cut it with the new HD flat screens, too much snow and other interferrence, but digital looks quite nice, even in SD.
 
Nice to know that some independent cable operators are this generous. That generosity doesn't apply to TWC or CC, which both require the digital adapter (read: conditional access) for anything above lifeline basic service (local channels and very little else.)
 
Welcome to the business of CORRUPT cable operators.Along with the government in helping hands.Comcrap just blow off their analog cable tv with the upper teir to digital.I still get the locals in analog for now.
 
WPPCProductions said:
Welcome to the business of CORRUPT cable operators.Along with the government in helping hands.Comcrap just blow off their analog cable tv with the upper teir to digital.I still get the locals in analog for now.
Click to expand...

What exactly is "corrupt" about wanting to use limited bandwidth more efficiently?
 
Well, at least Comcast is trying its best to serve its customers; when I was down in Westwood yesterday, all of the Turner channels on FIOS were cut off! FIOS is very bad!
 
Scott Fybush said:
What exactly is "corrupt" about wanting to use limited bandwidth more efficiently?
Click to expand...

If that's all there was to it, that would be one thing; however, there's a lot more at stake than that. TWC is using this test market as Exhibit One for a filing in support of an NPRM at the FCC to permit encryption of the basic cable service tier, which makes not only analog tuners obsolete but also Clear QAM tuners (even locals and pubic access channels will become inaccessible without TWC's proprietary equipment.) TWC's position, not surprisingly, is that signal piracy is dramatically reduced and fewer truck rolls are required (good for the environment - I couldn't believe they actually said this until I saw the filing with my own eyes) now that service can be turned off by remotely deauthorizing TWC's proprietary tuning adapters. A number of paying subscribers are quite justifiably resentful of the inability to use the service on the terms to which they have become accustomed. The benefits accrue primarily to the cable company and not the customer. The bottom line, from TWC's point of view, is that the transition is going swimmingly so the FCC should just go along with it.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view;jsessionid=TdnGxyZYp9k0QBw2dPjmZcJjy1hrsG22WzCDK1qn2KKb2MKNnF8N!1386112933!NONE?id=6016876547
 
newsbot said:
Scott Fybush said:
What exactly is "corrupt" about wanting to use limited bandwidth more efficiently?
Click to expand...

If that's all there was to it, that would be one thing; however, there's a lot more at stake than that.
Click to expand...

Annoying to consumers? Agreed.

Potentially more expensive to at least some consumers? Probably.

But "corrupt" implies some level of illegality, specifically with respect to money changing hands. Is TWC bribing FCC officials to approve their NPRM? That would be corrupt. I don't think that's what you're implying, though.

(And for what it's worth, don't assume that all viewers agree with your annoyance at TWC's behavior. I use their limited clear-QAM service in one room of my house and their expanded-basic analog in two others, but I'd be glad to see them go away if the tradeoff is a batch of new HD channels in the room where I watch most of my TV, especially if it comes with free DTAs for the other sets, which should be a quid pro quo for shutting down clear QAM.)
 
if it comes with free DTAs for the other sets, which should be a quid pro quo for shutting down clear QAM.
Click to expand...

which hopefully it will be. May need to be to limit the number of subscribers who decide to cut the cord.

It'll be a more-than-trivial annoyance for those who are trying to use their own equipment to time-shift programming. (sure, you can still do it -- with another DTA if necessary -- but it's going to be a lot clunkier)

_________________________________________________

Has anyone else had issues with DTAs getting set to the wrong language? We've had a number of viewer calls (Comcast market) about no audio on our channel, and only our channel. I've been suggesting they hit the "language" button on their remote, and it seems to be working -- spent a night in a hotel with Comcast DTAs earlier this month, and found the box has *two English's*. I mean, you hit the button & it switches from "Eng" to "Eng" -- but only one of them works.
 
[/quote]

What exactly is "corrupt" about wanting to use limited bandwidth more efficiently?
[/quote]


I do not know. IBOC supporters and iBiquity have been asking that same question for years!


-
 
The "free" DTA rentals are limited in terms of number of adapters per household, and even low-income and elderly subscribers will get rental fee waivers for only five years. Then it's 99 cents per month, per adapter - and you can bet it will go up from there. By the way, I won't be holding my breath waiting for the monthly charges to drop with all that signal piracy business a thing of the past.
 
The next thing cable companies need to do is phase out the SD channels (when HD is also available). There is no reason to be maintaining 2 separate feeds of the same channel especially when trying to save bandwidth. They would need to have all customers transition to HD receivers which usually have analog outputs anyway. So even if you don't own an HD tv set, tuning to an HD feed still works if you're connected via the analog outputs. I have a tv that works this way.
 
newsbot said:
I doubt that would happen. The cable companies rely on the added revenue from upselling customers to the HD tier.
Click to expand...

None of the cable companies in my area charge extra for HD. I know Directv used to but that was back when there were only a handful of HD channels available. I don't know if they still have this fee (I believe it was $9.99/month). The companies in my area usually just charge a few bucks more per month to rent the HD receiver instead of the SD receiver.
 
ansky212 said:
The companies in my area usually just charge a few bucks more per month to rent the HD receiver instead of the SD receiver.
Click to expand...

Which is the cable companies' way of upselling their customers to HD.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom