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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 jmorris on Tuesday November 10 2015, @04:44PM
No, I do it too. Cablecard was the secret weapon the cable companies could have leveraged to stay in the game, much like they dominated during the 'cable ready' period. But greed and stupidity are ending them.
They should admit that they will never design the ultimate cable box. It isn't their main business and NO one product is ever going to be 'the one' anyway. It is as stupid as forcing you to buy one of a small selection of TV sets from them. The potential of CableCard was to reignite the free market in cable compatible gear but CableLabs and the programming providers made the tech so restricted, made certification take years, etc. while the cable companies themselves were content to keep adoption low so they could get that extra $15/mo for their crappy DVR that nobody likes.
My MythTV doesn't get all of the channels I pay for, even though I knew better than to even try to get the 'premiums' in the first place. Others I get in standard def only while a couple I get HD only. It is a cluster fsck. And we all live under a death sentence anyway since Fox is scheduled to demand removal of copy freely in their next contract renewal, see the complaints in the Myth mailing lists. Of course all of that is secret (so much for public utility) so we have no way of knowing which cable systems will go dark when. Comcast is the current problem child. Eventually enough programming goes away that I cut the cord. Their box simply isn't an option, I have seen it and it sucks donkey balls.
It is the classic stupid problem. They 'protect' their 'precious' so much that paying for it becomes so inconvenient that stealing it will soon become so much easier even if it means that I'll be relearning the ways of Usenet. I'm currently happy to pay but only if I can actually watch the crap on my own terms. Skipping 30 seconds at a press over the autoflagged commercials, playing back at 130% speed, etc. Big enough drive to keep a supply of the kiddie crap that isn't totally mind rotting on hand for when the grandkids are over. Etc. Sure Myth can also dump shows to DVD but why? It is TV, not anything really important. They vastly overvalue their product.