[mythtv-users] Air2PC over cable outlet?

[Justin Moore]

> > The other problem is that I'm in an apartment complex, and the lease
> > doesn't allow us to put outdoor antennas on our deck or railing.  It's
> > either an indoor antenna or nothing.
> 
> If you're in the US, and you have exclusive access to the deck, that's
> probably not true.
> 
> http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

While that may be the letter of the law, there's still the reality of
the situation.  I'm in Sunnyvale (Drew: I graduated last year and am a
ways from Durham, although I still use this e-mail address :)), and our
apartment complex has some sweetheart deal with Comcast.  Although from
what I can tell, the entire Bay Area has handed Comcast the keys to the
telecommunications industry and Comcast has expressed their gratitude
with non-existent^Wexcellent customer support.  They routinely set the
"do not send over Firewire" flag on rebroadcast OTA HD signals.  I had
one customer support rep threaten to report me to the police if I bought
a TV that had QAM support (it could "de-scramble" their signals!);
obviously he can be ignored because he didn't understand the difference
between QAM and encryption, but it reflects the mindset of Comcast
around here: play by our rules or we make life difficult on you.

I'm sure I could put up an antenna.  I'm just as sure the landlord would
ask me to take it down or threaten to toss me out.  I just don't want to
celebrate my court victory two years from now after having been forced
to move out.

Of course, I could be wrong about all of this.  But in none of my
dealings with Comcast have I gotten the impression that they care one
whit about following FCC mandates, and given the ties between Comcast
and the apartment complex, I'm not sure I want to risk that one.

-jdm

-- 
Department of Computer Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0129
Email:  justin at cs.duke.edu
Web:    http://www.cs.duke.edu/~justin/