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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 chewbacon on Wednesday November 11 2015, @02:33AM
Pay to rent a box, but if you buy one the functionality could be decreased. When it boils down to it, you cannot consume the content the way you want. I tried my hand at MythTV and, if you can get it configured (it isn't real hard, but takes patience), it is a beautiful thing. However, Cox DRMs so much of their channel listing it isn't worth it. So I cut the cable. We were paying $100 a month to watch about 5 channels. I'd much rather pay a few bucks a month to watch said channels on demand.