FCC Proposal Aims to Make Subscription TV Available on Any Set-Top Box

[chriscrowlee]

Chris, you are totally incorrect. Maybe you need to do a little checking yourself. Cablecard with Tivo does NOT support on demand with "almost any of the major cable providers".

I lived in a Time Warner market until about 2 years ago, TiVo supported 100% of their on-demand programming. I now live in a Comcast market and the support for on-demand is 100% on par with that of Comcast's own boxes.

Comcast represents 54% of the American cable population. Time Warner represents about 18%. My comment that almost any of the major cable providers (72% to be exact) support it is accurate, not even knowing if #3 or #4 supports it. I just got on my Tivo and went into OnDemand. Yep, smooth as butter. Doesn't get much more current than that.

Sorry you subscribe to a non-cable cable provider. Honestly I'd love to have an alternative to Comcast, and would GLADLY give up on-demand (a silly feature I never even use) to have access to FiOS. Only alternative we have here is AT&T uVerse, and you couldn't pay ME to subscribe to THAT junk.

Sorry, but my comment was accurate. I'm sorry you chose FiOS which doesn't allow you to use your TiVo box for on-demand. The alternative is you switch to the cable provider (which I'd guess you have TWC or Comcast if you're part of 72% of American households) if you really want that "amazing" on-demand junk.

 

[wmhjr]

I lived in a Time Warner market until about 2 years ago, TiVo supported 100% of their on-demand programming. I now live in a Comcast market and the support for on-demand is 100% on par with that of Comcast's own boxes.

Comcast represents 54% of the American cable population. Time Warner represents about 18%. My comment that almost any of the major cable providers (72% to be exact) support it is accurate, not even knowing if #3 or #4 supports it. I just got on my Tivo and went into OnDemand. Yep, smooth as butter. Doesn't get much more current than that.

Sorry you subscribe to a non-cable cable provider. Honestly I'd love to have an alternative to Comcast, and would GLADLY give up on-demand (a silly feature I never even use) to have access to FiOS. Only alternative we have here is AT&T uVerse, and you couldn't pay ME to subscribe to THAT junk.

Sorry, but my comment was accurate. I'm sorry you chose FiOS which doesn't allow you to use your TiVo box for on-demand. The alternative is you switch to the cable provider (which I'd guess you have TWC or Comcast if you're part of 72% of American households) if you really want that "amazing" on-demand junk.

Sorry, but you're confusing a "majority of providers" with "possibly" a "majority of customers". Comcast and TW are two (2) of the providers. In order for them to be the "majority of providers", then there could be no more than 4 providers in the US. That is clearly not true. Furthermore, On Demand is not supported in All of either of those providers. As an example, while in some areas, On Demand is supported via Tivo with Comcast, it is NOT supported in this geography. That is because that while there may be one "Comcast" from a corporate perspective, there are varied levels of head ends, provisioning and control software, etc. That is the problem with making assumptions based on your personal experience rather than technical fact - or just assuming that (for example) all Comcast is the same. It is not. Comcast is a consortium resulting from the purchase of a tons of different providers, and complete migrations from existing systems has not taken place following such purchases by Comcast. It varies depending on where you are - which is EXACTLY the same reason that in some geographies, Comcast customers get Scientific Atlanta equipment, in others they get Motorola (each which require different control SW at the provider head end) and in some cases you might even get Tivo SW equipped HW.

I will say that in terms of most stuff, the "On Demand" is worth very little. However, it honestly is somewhat useful in terms of other things. With FiOS (since I also have a free Motorola FiOS DVR for life on my contract) the "On Demand" can be useful for missed episodes of shows. I really don't usually miss it, but it does have some value. And I'm not feeling bad about not having it on the Tivos, as FiOS has been WAY more reliable and better quality than Comcast.

I notice you did not mention the other part you were mistaken about - the hardware and services (with associated pricing) associated with Tivo..... Have you now taken a look to see what has changed?

 

[PrimeMatrix]

Anyone know of a link where I can like a sign a petition to support this, or something? I think that this is fantastic. I think it's super bogus to pay to rent sub-par hardware.

 

[BuffaloTF]

Clearly you don't understand the FEDERAL Communications Commission oversees these companies, not local authorities.
[doublepost=1454097466][/doublepost]

You are so wrong on countless levels.

Cablecard supports OnDemand just fine with cable service. Maybe not with your FiOS service, but with almost any of the major cable providers it absolutely supports on-demand. Google it and see for yourself. The On Demand experience is even better than on a Comcast box.

Up front cost? That's entirely up to you. Tivo offers up front box purchases, up front lifetime subscriptions, OR monthly box rental and monthly service fees.

You're comparison is like you're comparing the TiVo of 1995 not the tivo of 2016. You may want to check out Tivo's website, they've really gotten with the program and now offer tons of options not previously offered. May find something you like.

Clearly you don't know how franchise rights work, or who controls them. The FCC does not have any control over that - they've only disallowed it from being exclusive, but the control is still with the locality - and they've made clear there already exists competition in allowing mergers, since they never competE directly in the retail market anyway - notably in the high-cost enterprise market where franchise agreements don't exist and they'll drop trunks and lines anywhere in the nation to support business.

And CableCard... Is dead. STELAR was passed over a year ago and they no longer need to support them. You're lucky if you can still get one and it works, they were pieces of junk from the start, even with M-Card/Tru2Way support. For something being so "available" as you've described it, having the top 10 cable companies state they've only ever deployed 450 thousand for retail use is quite telling how useful they really are.

They're all being replaced anyway by DCAS... And you'll have an all-new up front cost to re-buy all those overly pricey TiVos. You can even see DCAS in the market in NYC... Where Roku's are available as cable box replacements with the actual Time Warner guide and controls... For 9.99 a month, and accessible only over Time Warner approved modems.

 

[wmhjr]

Actually not quite true. Providers do not need to worry about the integration ban so much due to STELAR but they are still mandated at least for now to support cablecard. You should read the actual details of the legislation.

 

[jtrenda33]

actually NO. your logic sucks and has no similarity. Apple develops and distributes intellectual property in the form of software. cable companies develop nothing, they only distribute property provided by developers. they are nothing more than a middle man, just like a grocery store.

Why so angry? Feel free to disagree and educate, but please do so in a calm and respectful way like others already have. You made a good point, but it was almost overshadowed by the unnecessary insults.

 

[Carnegie]

FCC approves new set-top box rule

 

[diamond.g]

FCC approves new set-top box rule

Yay?

 

[wmhjr]

No yay from me

 

[SHNXX]

Well this seems like a good idea, but would not be necessary were it not for the regional cable monopolies granted by the government.

I'm pretty sure this will just lead to more expensive cable for everyone, since cable companies have no reason to volunteer to lose money.

 

[wmhjr]

Oh for gods sake, yet another false statement. The government - BY LAW - can NOT grant an exclusive agreement with ANY provider. Period. No part of any government in the US. Period. Just because competitors do not WANT to get into a market and compete does not mean it's because the government won't let them. People, please educate yourselves.