said by cybrsk8r6 :

The info on the digital transition said the cable box and DTA were free. Not free for 6 months, or free for a year. It said free.

So the question is, can CC charge for a cable box I'm required to have to get the channels I'm paying for?

said by rendrenner :

Why is everyone suprised by the transition to a box on every tv? I remember when we first got cable at my house back around 1980 or so.. Had a box on every TV.

said by willpick :

As to what happens if SD goes away-- well, then there will only be HD, and you will need an HD box or DVR to see anything other than the OTA channels that you can recieve.

said by patryan9 :

"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door"

said by patryan9 :

Conversely, build a crappy mousetrap (1 way cablecard with half-hearted support from the cable co's.) and consumers will ignore you.

said by patryan9 :

Cable companies have sabotaged cablecard because it'll cost them a few dollars per month per subscriber in box rental fees.

said by neufuse :

repeats? tru2way is pretty much dead it seems like....

said by jasg :

Ok, the last two posts point fingers at consumers and cablecos for the failure of Cablecard. In my mind, there are at least two other players who dropped the ball...

- the design from CableLabs probably could have been more robust and simpler to implement.

- the CE companies could have offered Cablecard support where it would have been most useful, on the smaller sets for bedrooms and kitchens (aka 'occasional' TVs). Offering them on the larger, primary sets where a cable box was not as objectionable missed what I think was the real market.

It will be interesting to see if this repeats with tru2way...

said by cybrsk8r6 :

If the cable companies are going to require STBs or DTAs to get a full channel line-up, then they should also be required to allow customers to buy their own boxes, similar to the way it works with modems.

said by cybrsk8r6 :

While the box would belong to you, the company would activate it and program it for whatever service level you're paying for.

said by bicker :

The question in this thread is whether people find having CableCARD-compatible televisions better than having a box. Which is it?

said by patryan9 :

That's a cop-out. I've got a CableCARD-compatible DVR. It works fine. Make up some other excuse.

said by patryan9 :

"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door"

Conversely, build a crappy mousetrap (1 way cablecard with half-hearted support from the cable co's.) and consumers will ignore you.

Ask a cable installer in your area (as I do every other year or so since 2004 when I got my cablecard TV) about cablecard and he'll dissuade you from trying it.

The items that they'll hang their hat on are that it's buggy to install and you'll get no more guide data or VOD.

Cable companies have sabotaged cablecard because it'll cost them a few dollars per month per subscriber in box rental fees.

said by gchris2203 :

In response to your post you seem to have a distorted view on as to why an installer would recommend you not get a cable card. You seem to think they are trained to keep customers from getting them. That is not the case at all in fact.

said by neufuse :

repeats? tru2way is pretty much dead it seems like....

said by patryan9 :

"Better" depends on the application doesn't it? Living room/want DVR >I pick box, bedroom/lcd handing on the wall>cablecard.

said by patryan9 :

ok... we know that 1 works and was installed fine. How does that scale over all of the Comcast universe? I think your statistical sample of 1 is too small (but that's just me).

said by gchris2203 :

Fact is they are indeed "buggy"

said by gchris2203 :

That is the main reason TV manufacturers stopped making cable card TV sets.

said by gchris2203 :

Also the fact remains that indeed you do not get the interactive guide and VOD service with the cable card. So yes Those are both very valid reason to go with a Converter.

said by cybrsk8r6 :

This might really make me look at ditching CC, getting DSL from Verizon, and my TV over the air.

said by gchris2203 :

When they are directly inserted into TV's commonly they will lose channels.

said by bicker :

As per federal regulations, digital "cable-ready" is provided for. However, consumers have been generally unwilling to do their part, refusing (when originally offered in 2005) to spend the extra money for the compatible equipment.

said by bicker :

There are bad CableCARDs, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that most CableCARDs that have gone bad before first deployment were simply mishandled before installation.

said by bicker :

We customers have dug our own hole, and now we have to live with the consequences, and take responsibility for our own collective tendencies, even if we, individually, don't behave that way.

said by gchris2203 :

When they are directly inserted into TV's commonly they will lose channels.

said by bicker :

Robustness costs money. My (business) customers should be willing to pay extra for that extra level of reliability, but mass-market consumers typically are not. Mass-market consumers are almost all maniacally focused on getting the lowest possible price that they can ...

said by riblet :

I bought a 42" HDTV (and a TiVo) with CableCARD slots in 2006 and Comcast refused to provide them to me.

said by Curlee :

By analogy then, I'm collectively partially responsible for what passes as contemporary music today? (laugh)

said by bicker :

I don't believe you. I have been following the CableCARD issue very closely since the TiVo S3 came out, and Comcast never refused to provide them in the categorical manner your comment implies. I believe you're omitting key facts that would tend to decimate the argument you're trying to make.

said by riblet :

Maybe you should listen to what people's first-hand experience is telling you.

said by caddyroger :

That might been your Comcast office. I bought my TiVo s3 the same month that they came out. I drove to my Comcast office and picked up 3 cable cards 2 for the TiVo S3 and 1 for my tv. Less then 1 hour after I got home my TiVo and tv was working with the cable cards. To say Comcast does not provide Cable cards is wrong. It was just your office that said that. If you contacted the corporate office they may have got the cards for you

said by bicker :

I listened, and I don't believe you. I think you are making things up, and/or hiding relevant facts. I say this because I was very much attuned to the issue at the time, and I would have heard if the company was overtly violating the law as you assert. Indeed, if you were telling the truth, then you would likely have pursued the issue with your Members of Congress, and gotten action to resolve your concerns, since provision of CableCARDs was indeed the law. Again, I think you're making things up, and/or hiding relevant facts.