[mythtv-users] The Death of MythTV in the US?

Dewey Smolka dsmolka at gmail.com
Tue Apr 1 03:08:05 UTC 2008


>  The idea that renting boxes to subscribers is a "revenue stream" is
>  very new, and not universally accepted.
>
>  In the "old days" what were know as "converters" were a royal PIA to
>  cable companies. They had to purchase them, maintain them, inventory
>  them, tote them around town, chase after them from subs who had moved,
>  prevent subs from breaking into them and generally have to deal with
>  them.

I suspect you're right about them 'olden days', and I also suspect
you're right about the 'business types'.

I really don't know what converter boxes cost wholesale, but I do try
to follow prices. I know that I bought the exact same modem that
Comcast leases with an internet subscription. I paid around $65
retail, without trying to shop around for the best price. Comcast
leases this modem for $5/mo. That leads me to believe that the STBs
they lease probably cost them around $60-$100 wholesale (when Comcast
asks $5-$10 per month).

I have to believe that there are a whole lot more people who who keep
their subscriptions for >=2 years than break the box, cancel, or
disappear. It isn't a good profit proposition in the short term since
Comcast has to put the money up front, but in the long term, the boxes
pay for themselves in 10-12 months. Anytime they can lease an STB or
modem longer than that is pure gravy.


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