CATV service charging per connected TV

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Bob,
We don't have a cable box and the cable company says we won't need one. Even some of their advertisements say if you are a customer you don't need to do anything...everything will work exactly like it does now.
 
Bob,
We don't have a cable box and the cable company says we won't need one. Even some of their advertisements say if you are a customer you don't need to do anything...everything will work exactly like it does now.
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Yes that is one of the options. :smile:

I never said the cable companies would be handing out boxes like candy.:smile:

What I said was ....

They can not do both (eliminate all analog and require box rental)
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I have cable and presently I do not use any boxes, if the cable company decided to leave the local stations analog then they don't have to provide any box. If they decide to go 100% digital they have to provide at least one free box to see local channels. :)
 
Some years back they used to charge for each set. To enforce this they got the city to pass ordinance making it a criminal act to connect extra tv's. There was a steep fine if you got caught. They went around in a truck, unhooking drops and TDRing the line looking for multiple terminations. They "busted" quite a few people, scaring the rest into submission. About a year after all this the company decided to eliminate the charge. What a waste of resources! Comcast owns the franchise now. The coax only goes to a modem in the closet. We get our TV over the internet through another provider. I'm just waiting for them to charge for bandwidth usage soon.
 
nc5p said:
I'm just waiting for them to charge for bandwidth usage soon.
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I was thinking the same thing a while back. Everything comes full circle, eventually. I used to pay by the minute to be on CompuServ and Prodigy plus paying a long distance phone bill by the minute. Double whammy to search the BBS's.
 
mdshunk said:
I used to pay by the minute to be on CompuServ and Prodigy plus paying a long distance phone bill by the minute. Double whammy to search the BBS's.
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Talk about flashback... that stuff is so old, but it was fun at the time. too bad some people dont remember the good old days when we only had 300 baud modems... :grin:
 
iwire said:
Yes that is one of the options. :smile:

I never said the cable companies would be handing out boxes like candy.:smile:

What I said was ....
I have cable and presently I do not use any boxes, if the cable company decided to leave the local stations analog then they don't have to provide any box. If they decide to go 100% digital they have to provide at least one free box to see local channels. :)
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Actually I was refering to another Bob, but here we are not going to lose any channels or have to use a box. I think they are going to leave everything on their system analog and do the digital to analog conversion at the headend.
 
I think they are going to leave everything on their system analog and do the digital to analog conversion at the headend.

I can only speak from my experience with Cablevision but I'm certain other systems will follow. Cablevision already duplicates most of the analog channels in digital and if you have a cable box you get the digital versions. They recently eliminated several analog channels (probably because they needed the space) and sent a notice around that if you want those channels you will have to get a box for $7/mo per set.

I never said that in February of 2009 the cable companies will eliminate their analog channels also, and that's all they are saying with those notices.

First they'll wait until all of those last holdouts who had antennas sign up for cable when their TVs go to snow. Then some time later, when they get most subs to put boxes on every set, they'll pull the plug. They have to, because it's the only way they are going to be able to handle the demand for hi-def channels. Satellite is already ahead of cable in hi-def and you know cable won't take it for long.

-Hal
 
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hbiss said:
. Satellite is already ahead of cable in hi-def and you know cable won't take it for long.

-Hal
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Hal, will technology allow cable companies to catch up? I mean, their bandwidth is only so much, and with VoIP, Internet and TV, how can they keep up?



Also, IMO, cablevision compresses their lower channels so much already they are awful to watch.
 
petersonra said:
anyone who currently has a cable box is already covered. you may need to get a different box, but the cable company will provide it.

the only ones who may have an issue are the very few systems that only run analog. and they tend to be very small systems.
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I'm on an analog system. Our service comes to the city from echostar (dish network) and then is sent to us as an analog signal. Unless you know something I don't, I can't find the problem. Things should continue as normal.
 
I think its only the OTA (Over the air) stations that are required to be digital, the cable companies that do not go digital will just convert that signal back to analog and retransmit it as I do not believe that they are required to go digital. The "Free" converter boxes for OTA transmissions will probally not work with their signal.
 
That's exactly right.

Any cable systems that don't receive their local channels off of satellites (been that way for years) and use off-the-air antennas will have to make some changes. Systems that provide their analog channels from satellites have always been "converting" to analog although there is a conversion process even for digital channels.

Hal, will technology allow cable companies to catch up? I mean, their bandwidth is only so much, and with VoIP, Internet and TV, how can they keep up?

That's my point. With the growing need for more and more high-def channels (and hopefully less compression on everything ) their first option is to do away with a bandwidth hog that benefits only a small group of people and generates no profit.

-Hal
 
I'm on an analog system. Our service comes to the city from echostar (dish network) and then is sent to us as an analog signal. Unless you know something I don't, I can't find the problem. Things should continue as normal.

How long do you think that company is going to last when the only TV you can buy these days is high-def and all they are going to get for their money is standard def from the cable company?

-Hal
 
Guys I'm a bit confused here. I read the FCC doc.
What prevents a cable CO from switching to all digital and leaving no channels available without a box?

If all customers need a box the all subscribers will be in the same place. THat is is they want to watch the'll need a box.
 
hbiss said:
How long do you think that company is going to last when the only TV you can buy these days is high-def and all they are going to get for their money is standard def from the cable company?

-Hal
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I think they're going to be in business for quite some time. Basic cable is $5.95/mo, advanced cable is $15.95/mo. Its a municipal system that's been around for over 20 years; no major cable system seems interested in building a cable network here, so its all we have. I've looked at getting a dish, but I'm completely satisfied watching analog for those prices. I have a high-def TV and get HD OTA. My cable channels look great on the TV too. I'm sure the cable company will upgrade some day. I can wait.
 
Back in 1993 when I built my house, I had home run a RG6 from every room in my house. In the larger rooms, I put two in.

I had about 15, F connector terminations on my basement panel and they were all connected to two 8 port splitters that were connected in series. These splitters were then connected to the underground coax going to the pole tap on the street. To be safe and proper, I had called Cablevision prior to doing this and the tech. manager was fine with it. They even supplied the 200' cable for me to pull in the conduit for free!

Fast forward a few months after I finished the build and moved in. I called Cablevision to come and connect the cable to the tap on the pole, and deliver a single converter box. The rest of my TV's were cable ready. :grin:

Well, the contract installer comes and hooks me up and gives me the box. He then sees a few other jacks around the house and proceeds to inquire who wired them. I told him I did, and he asked me to show him the HR location in the basement.

He commented that the work was very neat and correct, but he was going to have to CUT all my jack cables except the one he hooked up to the box! :-? :mad: He told me that if he doesn't cut the additional jack cables that he will have to charge me $10 for "activating" every jack beyond the single one he connected the box to! (a $140 shakedown) Needless to say I had a few choice words for him!:mad:

Well, he ended up getting his supervisor on the phone and he was told that he could only charge me if he actually "installed" the jacks. The guy flips out and starts screaming at his boss that he was right and that I should pay no matter what. He actually thought by connecting me up to the tap on the pole, he technically had 'installed' my entire, pre-wired house!:rolleyes:. The supervisor agrees with me and tells the installer to finish the job. At the end of the discussion, the installer leaves my house in a huff, slams my front door, burns out on my gravel driveway with his truck, and races down the street at 80mph with a loose ladder on the truck. Needless to say, I called the supervisor back and made sure that he knew this guy should be fired.

Around here, Cablevision will install if you want to pay. However, if you DIY, they can't charge you anything for a jack (just like the phone co.). They are only responsible for the signal up to your j/b or distribution system.

A few years later in 1996, I was tired of all the snow on the old Cablevision system, and installed DirecTV. I have never looked back and been happier!

:cool:
 
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Sierrasparky said:
Guys I'm a bit confused here. I read the FCC doc.
What prevents a cable CO from switching to all digital and leaving no channels available without a box?
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They can switch to full digital, if they do they will have to provide at least one box for free to each subscriber that is capable of providing the local channels.

It is part of the down side of having a monopoly.
 
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