The cable box, a crucial part of home theaters for decades, might be on the way out. Casual TV watchers say it's easier to find something to watch through online services such as Netflix and Hulu than it is to flip through hundreds of channels in hopes of finding something interesting. Other viewers complain that the boxes are poorly programmed and difficult to use. Even Congress doesn't particularly like the cable box: Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently decried the high cost most customers pay to rent one from their provider.
Cable companies are of two minds about this trend. Some, such as Comcast, are trying to find ways to make cable boxes better. Instead of ugly units with clumsy remote controls, they're scrambling to produce sleeker boxes loaded with software that makes it easier to get straight to TV shows and movies.
Are the cable companies missing the forest for the trees?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Snotnose on Tuesday November 10 2015, @01:08AM
Got their latest and greatest DVR last June. Stupid little bugs, like you pause then restart, takes a second or two for sound to start. Search is broken. The UI sucks some serious ass. Fast forward then hit play, it doesn't back up several seconds.
These are all minor bugs that are dirt simple to fix. Shows either engineering doesn't care, or QA is garbage. Or both, I don't know.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.