 JTRockvilleData HoPremium,MVM join:2002-01-28 Rockville, MD | How long will it take? How long before cable companies tell subscribers the analog package is no longer available because of this FCC ruling? |
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 ditka_bPremium join:2001-10-05 Barrington, IL | 2007 |
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 cghh join:2001-01-15 Milpitas, CA | reply to JTRockville said by JTRockville:How long before cable companies tell subscribers the analog package is no longer available because of this FCC ruling? Not sure what the ruling has do with cable companies. Only the over-the-air stations are under the digital conversion deadline; the cable companies can put whatever they want on their cable. And, except for some of the lower channels, cables channel frequencies are different from the over-the-air channels anyway, and use frequencies not used for over-the-air TV. Or they could get rid of their analog package today, since they can cram a lot more channels over digital (just like the cellular companies). |
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 DaveDudeNo Fear join:1999-09-01 New Jersey kudos:1 Reviews:
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| reply to JTRockville said by JTRockville:How long before cable companies tell subscribers the analog package is no longer available because of this FCC ruling? Cable will transmit the channels the same they do now. If they choose to go all digital, its there choice. This affect only over the air. Cable can do whatever it chooses on there system. -- the darkest moment is often just before dawn (unless we hold onto the darkness). Anxiety spoils everything and solves nothing. |
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| reply to ditka_b I talked to a CSR for Time Warner the other day in my neighborhood and she told me that TWC Mid-Ohio has a policy that was just approved in a meeting in Columbus, OH that within the the next few months that all customers will be required to have a digital box; the will start handing them out in the next couple weeks, along with slowly giving them out to current customers. |
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 | reply to cghh when the over the air broadcasters give up that spectrum, there won't be an analog source - that's the whole idea, no more analog.
So, unless cablecos convert digital to analog, there shouldn't be analog channels any more. |
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 amungusPremium join:2004-11-26 America Reviews:
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| reply to JTRockville they've got to be itching to do it.
I, for one, am NOT looking forward to having no more analog on cable. Unless they want to give me a (well, 4) GOOD digital box(es) (the old Moto's around here aren't that great...) that changes channels smoothly, doesn't flake out every other day, I might consider it. Some of the older Moto's here flicker a tube screen pretty wildly when changing channels. Not to mention I can't stand the delay. ...DVR's seem to be smoother...
Either way, cable will probably keep some analog around for a few more years and start slowly handing out their old clunky Moto's to people. |
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 | reply to JTRockville
Re: How long will it take? quote: How long before cable companies tell subscribers the analog package is no longer available because of this FCC ruling?
What?  |
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 dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium join:2001-04-27 Phoenix, AZ kudos:4 | reply to hottboiinnc said by hottboiinnc:I talked to a CSR for Time Warner the other day in my neighborhood and she told me that TWC Mid-Ohio has a policy that was just approved in a meeting in Columbus, OH that within the the next few months that all customers will be required to have a digital box; the will start handing them out in the next couple weeks, along with slowly giving them out to current customers. Ooooooooooh just think of all those juicy profits generated by forcing everyone to have a cable box with all those juicy FEES! - between the gateway and box fees thats an extra ~$10/month per sub(only those that didn't have to have a box), knowing time warner they'll put some sort of compliance fee in there too. -- You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much Bandwidth |
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 | no compliance charge they'll just charge extra for the remote LOL |
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 | reply to JTRockville odd that you'd ask this today... as today in the mail was a notice from charter (onalaska, wi) about some line up changes...
it appears that our cable system here must be at capacity as they're making more "room"... two fewer analog channels (moved to extra-cost digital family tier), and the start of a 'digital lifeline' tier with local stations' subchannels (three currently, including the cw).
this second tidbit could see the cw and mntv moved off analog and to digital-only in the near future, as they are carried here as "second networks" of the cbs and abc stations via digital subchannel; and they're on analog basic cable. they're placing the cw up there now, how long until mntv is there too and they drop those analog signals? why else would they have put the cw on a different digital channel (in the 'lifeline' channel range') in addition to it's 'usual' 100 analog digital simulcast?
effective date is nov 7th.. just a month or two before thte annual price increase (and how much ya wanna bet that 'extended basic' aka analog only doesn't go DOWN?!?!)
oh, ya.. three new digital sports channels.. worthless as they are.. and no, no packers/vikings yet.
anyone else with similar reductions in analog channel availability needs to call and bitch, even if you don't actually watch the channels... two affected here (and both watched here) are WE and TOON DISNEY.
so, the answer to your question.... it appears that charter is beginning a plan to gradually migrate analog signals to digital only and FORCE their subscribers to pay for a box for every set (essentially charging 'per drop' again, and i thought that was an fcc no-no) plus extra programming fees if they want to continue receiving the same channels they've had for years (there hasn't been an analog lineup change in a LONG time, except for moving a couple channels around and squeezing in a upn slot when the local affilliate dropped the network like a bad habit in january). |
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