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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: 2) by Whoever on Tuesday November 10 2015, @07:07AM
They can't unbundle because people would realize what a rip-off cable is. When you drop the most expensive package (ESPN) and your bill drops by less than $5/month, you begin to realize what a huge charge the cable company is making for the privilege of receiving a cable feed at your house. When people realize that they are being charged to watch advertisements, antenna sales are likely to go up.
On another note, I have a Tivo box with a Cable card. UI works well, although I do have to pay a monthly fee to Tivo. On the other hand, I probably pay for actual cost of the CableCard every 4 months or so in rental fees.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Tuesday November 10 2015, @01:11PM
what a huge charge the cable company is making for the privilege of receiving a cable feed at your house
From a RF perspective, pulling cable, attaching connectors, replacing bad connectors and cables, all the "Marx labor theory of value" stuff doesn't change no matter if the content on the center conductor is legacy 10baseT ethernet or a TV antenna or one cable channel you're paying for or 700 cable channels or the feedline for a (low power) broadcast or public safety transmitter.
Or another way to put it is most of the money more or less eventually goes to dudes in trucks driving around maintaining things, and the cost is totally invariant with respect to your purchasing 1 or 700 channels.
You could make a valid argument that if nobody bought video any more and they put everything switched digital or ip tv, then maint costs would be like 5% less if they only maintained the plant sufficient to make a 500 MHz service work instead of a 800 MHz service. Yeah, in theory, blah blah.