Comcast is ending cable without cable box

[KTN Corp]

Analog has been shut-off today.  It didn't shut-off at midnight when I checked, so it was sometime this morning or this afternoon.  There are notices on some of the channels urging customers to get Digital Transport Adapters.

[willdav713]

The end of March if you have any TV hooked up to basic cable without a cable box you will lose the 15 channels your getting now this is just lame they want everyone to have a cable box so they can charge you $10 to $15 a month to rent a cable box.  I have one TV hooked up without a cable box have 3 other TVs with a cable box paying like $225 to $250 a month I not gonna get another cable box

They want to be able to use copyright protection preventing you from making recordings of the shows you paid for, for time shifting purchases.  It is harder to place DRM on an analog signal vs a digital signal.  I am all for royalities but when you dictate what time someone can watch and record a program in their own house, that is where I draw the line. The days of timeshifting soaps for the retired folk are over, unless they spend $$$ on the cable co's DVR service, which one malfunction the program is erased for good.

[TheRover]

Analog is a bandwidth pig.  Comcast is dumping the analog channels as doing so frees up spectrum for more HD channels, as well as faster internet.

My Time Warner Cable uses --4-- channels for each of the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, & FOX).

My gripe, is that gradma should be able to have BASIC cable to see the main local channels and what they offer, News & Weather.

Basic basic USED to be offered, for Year after Year for around $10 a month. Now, since the swap with Comcast, Time Warner has managed to jack up the Basic basic rate to almost $20, and they've removed some channels to boot!

I'll bet the high end cable package rates have not Doubled in the last 7-8 years....

Stick it to the people who can least afford it.... And keep those ruthless stockholders satisfied !!!!!

[riffin1]

Let's see, the first box is free with any service.  2 of the limited boxes are free after that.  you have to pay a couple of bucks for your 4th tv.  It's a war crime!

[Greg Branch]

The days of timeshifting soaps for the retired folk are over, unless they spend $$$ on the cable co's DVR service, which one malfunction the program is erased for good.

How's that? Don't all cable boxes have some type of analog output, either a channel 3/4 RF output or composite that can be fed into the inputs of a VCR?

In reality, the days of soaps are almost over.

[Mediafrog+]

My gripe, is that gradma should be able to have BASIC cable to see the main local channels and what they offer, News & Weather.

With the Comcast DTA box grandma still has access to 96 channels.  And there is no extra charge for the box.

Basic basic USED to be offered, for Year after Year for around $10 a month. Now, since the swap with Comcast, Time Warner has managed to jack up the Basic basic rate to almost $20, and they've removed some channels to boot!

You can blame the individual program services for a lot of that increase.  Seen what ESPN is charging cable systems per subscriber lately?

Stick it to the people who can least afford it.... And keep those ruthless stockholders satisfied !!!!!

So you're saying that cable systems should be in the business of losing money and screwing the shareholders?

And if you can't afford basic cable, you have far bigger problems than not being able to sit on your butt in front of a TV all day.

Oh, yes...a lot of grandmas out there ARE shareholders in cable companies.

[fredcantu]

I know it doesn't have the profit margins of the deluxe packages, but does the cable company actually lose money on the customers who only want locals and access channels?  Is it cheaper to pass the house than provide them "lifeline" service?

[JHBrandt]

My Time Warner Cable uses --4-- channels for each of the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, & FOX).

My gripe, is that gradma should be able to have BASIC cable to see the main local channels and what they offer, News & Weather.

Basic basic USED to be offered, for Year after Year for around $10 a month. Now, since the swap with Comcast, Time Warner has managed to jack up the Basic basic rate to almost $20, and they've removed some channels to boot!

I'll bet the high end cable package rates have not Doubled in the last 7-8 years....

Stick it to the people who can least afford it.... And keep those ruthless stockholders satisfied !!!!!

If your grandma is interested in only the local channels, perhaps now is a good time to consider dropping cable and returning to over-the-air reception via an antenna.

As cities grew and more folks moved out to suburbs, many got basic cable because they just couldn't get decent reception of their local broadcast stations. But now that local broadcasting is digital, that may not be the problem it once was.

Of course, receiving digital broadcasts has its own problems. For most viewers, just putting up a loop + rabbit ears won't cut it anymore. Worse, there are a lot of rip-off antennas being sold that won't necessarily receive all your local stations. In some cases, you may just have to pay someone a few hundred $$ to get set up with a decent outdoor antenna.

But once you do get it working, your reception will be perfect, and your monthly cost will be $0.00. I suspect even the most cash-strapped viewers can afford that.

[JHBrandt]

Stick it to the people who can least afford it.... And keep those ruthless stockholders satisfied !!!!!

So you're saying that cable systems should be in the business of losing money and screwing the shareholders?

Straw man argument. A reasonable reading of his sarcasm is that he thinks cable cos. should make most of their profits on higher-end packages, in order to keep the most basic package (presumably not including ESPN) as inexpensive as reasonably possible.

But as I said in the last post, if even a basic cable package is beyond your means, perhaps you should seriously consider erecting an antenna. It may cost a bit up front, but there's a lot more to watch than in the olden days, & the monthly rate can't be beat

[JHBrandt]

The days of timeshifting soaps for the retired folk are over, unless they spend $$$ on the cable co's DVR service, which one malfunction the program is erased for good.

How's that? Don't all cable boxes have some type of analog output, either a channel 3/4 RF output or composite that can be fed into the inputs of a VCR?

Can't say for sure, but it's likely that if the cable co. doesn't want something recorded except by their own equipment, the cable box will produce a "Macrovision" signal on its analog outputs, which causes most VCR's, DVD-R's, etc. not to record. (Devices to remove Macrovision used to be sold, but they were essentially outlawed by the DMCA in '98.)

Once again, it occurs to me that over-the-air converter boxes don't output a Macrovision signal