amungusPremium
join:2004-11-26
America Reviews:
 ·AT&T DSL Service
| ghettofabulous It's a ghetto-tastic solution at best, and a poor excuse at worst.
Even if it worked perfectly, there are still other issues.
First, it's difficult to BUY one.
It's simple - there are already QAM tuners. This is a "standard" right? Lots of TVs etc. have them nowadays, and they work fine. Add a freaking authorization chip in there with a MAC address or something, and be done with it. It'd cost very little, and would provide a super simple solution for everyone involved. ...In essence, that's all a "DTA" even is; a QAM tuner, some kind of "security" chip, that pipes the signal out... Integrating the one little "middle man" chip can not be that difficult or costly. Instead of a "DTA" there could even be some kind of coax box that sits between your line and a device which provides the authorization - no need to go digital to analog before it gets tuned by your TV... It's an idea anyway...
Devices ought to be addressable, and one should be able to buy a TV/DVR/etc. that can simply be plugged in, "authorized" and can do whatever it needs to.
I will not submit to buying a Tivo, having to pay additional fees, and on top of that atrocity, be forced to rent a cable card. Even if I could buy a cable card, the fees on a Tivo are silly.
In the analog world, you could buy a "cable ready" VCR, plug it in, and record whatever was able to be tuned.
When there is a DVR/DVD recorder/Blu-Ray recorder/whatever that you can just buy, plug in, and record with - WITHOUT any additional fees, need for (rented) card, etc. I would be interested.
Needing a separate "DTA" is even worse IMHO. Don't think they're necessarily a bad idea, just that there should be no need for one with newer devices.
A new TV/DVR/etc. should come with a "cable ready" tuner that can receive services paid for, even if it needs to be authenticated. Adding another fee, a rented card, and headache, is a step backwards.
CE makers want to provide exactly that, but are forced to compromise for now with this sub-standard, antiquated mess of a solution. There needs to be a better way, and it should be sooner rather than later.
I don't know much about "true 2-way" or whatever other technology is in the works, but there are ideas out there that should be realized soon, and could be, if the cable industry would let them be.
Again, even if I could buy a cable card, I'd probably still have to pay some "un-fee" just to get it working. Even if that worked, what about other TVs/DVRs/etc. in the house? No thanks.
That "6 tuner" solution posted above looks neat and all, but there again - you're still at the mercy of the cable company and needing to rent in most cases. Say I bought the card, still not good enough of a solution as it's yet another added step/hurdle/cost that shouldn't even exist when better solutions could work instead.
I'm not saying I have the best answer. I'm not saying a regular STB doesn't have its place. I'm just saying that we should have a better option for the future. Sure, a rented box from the cable co would still be a good option for some cases, and people would still rent them. If all you wanted though, was just to plug in your freaking device, have it work, and be done with it, it'd sure be nice to have it work like it did in the analog world; otherwise, anything less simple is a step backwards for both customer and provider. |
