[mythtv-users] FCC proposal

[Simon Hobson]

Gary Buhrmaster wrote:

>For the cableco's, this is really all about theft
>of service issues.  The reality is that there are
>some locations where people will choose to
>try to access basic cable without paying.

One could question whether there is actually any loss, and would the 
company be better just letting people get it ? AIUI from what you 
guys write, the only channel affected by this are ones that people 
could (in theory) get by other means (ie OTA).

So if the cable co leaves a premises connected, the occupant can't 
get anything they can't (in theory) get anyway - and of course the 
cable co can then try and upsell them to a paid for package.

I do note your comments about people in large apartment blocks etc. 
An obvious question arises at to what sort of landlord doesn't 
provide a communal OTA aerial ? Such a property would be hard top let 
here - and one or more sat feeds are common.



>Actually, the STBs are a way to enable people to purchase
>more services (i.e. on-demand, or HBO).
>
>If I recall correctly, in Canada, where you can buy your
>STB, the cost of one of a HDTV box is $200-300, and
>a DVR is between $400 and $700 (depending on size
>of the disk).
>
>With the presumption that those would be approximately
>the same costs to the consumer in the US to purchase
>a full feature STB, I would conjecture that some high
>percentage of the customers would prefer to pay the
>cableco a monthly fee rather than the upfront cost
>and then have to deal with failed units themselves.
>That customers do not have the option to choose is
>a problem, but ignoring the self selected group on this
>mail list, how many people would go spend $700
>on a STB (how many people purchase the iPhone
>unlocked, rather than subsidized?)

Of course, another question is what might these other boxes do that 
the one from the cable co doesn't ? By having an effective monopoly 
on supply of cable receivers, the cable co can dictate the features 
available to users - which should be a matter of concern to anyone 
with an eye on consumer protection.

-- 
Simon Hobson

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