US Cable Support > Comcast Cable TV > Say goodbye to ClearQAM

reply to GTFan

Re: Say goodbye to ClearQAM

reply to telcodad

Found this article on the FCC proposing to extend the current "must-carry" rules for local broadcast channels for another 3 years, but maybe for the last time:

DTV Must-Carry Rules Up for Review
FCC opens docket to on cable carriage of broadcast signals
TV Technology - February 13, 2012
»www.tvtechnology.com/article/dtv···w/211780

The FCC NPRM document can be seen here: »transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Release···18A1.pdf

An interesting take on Clear QAM from Mutichannel News...

»www.multichannel.com/blog/BIT_RA···e_Do.php

Boxee: Who Needs Cable? Actually, We Do
Todd Spangler, Multichannel News

February 9, 2012

Cut the cord! Save hundreds of dollars a year by not paying for cable TV!

Only, you know, not exactly.

Boxee, the Internet-video software startup, is engaging in some interesting rhetorical gymnastics. On the one hand, it’s trying to pitch Boxee Live TV, a $49 dongle for use with the $167.99 set-top made by D-Link, as a way to junk cable TV — just get your favorite programming over the air for free and watch whatever else for free on the Web!

Except, at the same time, Boxee is lobbying the FCC to prevent cable operators from encrypting basic-tier services, the way satellite TV operators do.

Why? Because Boxee wants to let Live TV users access clear QAM cable channels without the additional cost associated with putting a CableCard slot in the D-Link box. Upwards of 40% of Boxee Live TV users rely on unencrypted cable service, the company claims.

Boxee argues that encrypting cable TV (again, the way DirecTV and Dish do) would force “millions” of people who use clear QAM to rent cable boxes.

That’s wrong, on two counts. First, the industry will give free adapters to anybody who asks for them (two set-tops and/or CableCards free for two years, as per the FCC’s NPRM). Second, the number of people who would want these is not in the “millions”: Cablevision notes that in its New York City system, which converted part of its service area to full-lineup encryption in July 2011, less than 0.1% of approximately 400,000 subscribers affected by the change requested a free set-top or CableCard — somewhere around 400 households.

Boxee argues that more consumers would demand clear QAM if they knew options like Boxee Live TV were available to them.

But that’s speculative and, obviously, self-serving. From a policy perspective, cable operators shouldn’t have to adhere to an outmoded regulatory regime simply because doing so might help Boxee sell a few more of its boxes — and just because Boxee doesn’t want to invest in a CableCard solution (as TiVo and others have).

NCTA’s position has consistently been that, if the FCC mandates some kind of “AllVid” standard for securely accessing TV programming, the rules should apply to satellite and telco services, too. That’s a different can of worms, and I’ve argued that AllVid represents a tax on all pay-TV subscribers with dubious benefits given the increasing availability of pay-TV services across myriad devices.

Now, why is it in the public interest to allow cable operators to encrypt their basic lineups? Isn’t that just a move to make it easier to cut off people who are stealing cable, while inconveniencing the (very small number of) paying subscribers who like clear QAM?

Granted, the consumer benefits of full-lineup encryption are somewhat indirect — but they’re clear and quantifiable.

Let’s look at Cablevision NYC again: Customers in areas where encrypted basic is available are now able to self-install cable TV service — no waiting around for the cable guy to show up. That’s awesome, given that everyone hates to wait around for service appointments. According to one estimate, waiting for service visits costs American consumers an average of $243 per year in lost wages. Since July 2011, 99% of Cablevision’s disconnects in those areas have happened without a truck roll.

Meanwhile, Boxee weirdly promises that Live TV dongle users will get “HD picture quality that’s even better than cable.” Umm… yeah, unless they’re getting TV from their cable provider, in which case it will be exactly as good as cable.

Another odd bit of misinformation: Boxee claims on its website that basic cable TV packages are “usually free with a Cable Internet.” That’s incorrect. Cable companies charge for their TV services. I’m not suggesting Boxee is condoning theft of service, but if you’re watching cable TV and not paying for it you’re stealing it.

By the way, Boxee is right about one thing: Free, over-the-air TV is not universally available. It points out, “Many parts of the country still have little or no HD antenna reception. We can’t count on our users being able to use Boxee Live TV with an OTA signal.”

The NCTA counters (buttering up the FCC, you will note), “Given the Commission’s successful oversight of the digital television transition, Boxee’s claim that large swaths of the country are unable to receive digital broadcast signals lacks credibility.” But certainly, there are dead zones — in both cities like New York and rural areas — which is why an antenna-plus-cable-set-top solution is not, to my mind, a viable path for operators.

and another recent "industry" article..

»arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news···tive.ars

Let 1,000 Boxees bloom: fighting Big Cable's encryption initiative
Matthew Lasar, ArsTechnica

It is war between the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and Boxee over a Federal Communications Commission proposal that would allow cable companies to encrypt or scramble their "basic tier" streams on all-digital systems. Time Warner Cable and Comcast say go for it. But Boxee is calling for a time-out on the idea.

Up until now, basic tier consumers have not needed de-scrambling set-top boxes to connect to basic tier (which usually just offer the over-the-air channels), the company's latest blog post warns. Big cable's real motivation in pushing this rule "is to prevent you from being able to connect the cable from the wall directly to your TV or Boxee Box. You will need to rent a set-top box from your cable provider, pay an extra $5-15 per month and it will no longer work with your Boxee Box or similar devices."

Boxee markets a gadget that allows consumers to watch both cable and Internet TV via that interface, and a hefty percentage of its customers depend on that nonencrypted stream to make the system work. In fact, Boxee has told the FCC that 40 percent of its device buyers connect to cable via a "clear QAM" [unencrypted quadrature amplitude modulation] signal.

"We estimate millions of consumers will see their TVs go dark," Boxee warns.

TP on board
Baloney, replies the NCTA, disputing Boxee's numbers and faulting the company for not integrating CableCARD access in its machines. "Boxee makes the astounding claim that basic tier encryption will have no consumer benefits, ignoring the substantial record evidence to the contrary—including the fact that encryption will free cable customers from having to wait at home for a service visit when connecting or disconnecting service."

The filing notes that straight-to-the-wall connections usually involve a technician visit to make sure the connection is secure. "Once the basic tier is encrypted, the opportunity for truckless installation and/or disconnection becomes available to all customers, not just basic tier customers."

To which Boxee has choice words: "Considering this ruling would also mean millions more set top boxes and cable cards are manufactured, distributed, and attached to electric outlets... their argument doesn't hold water. It's akin to a cable executive taking a private jet to an FCC meeting, but insisting on having recycled toilet paper on-board to help save the environment."

In the clear
Here's some background on how this little love fest began. In 1992, concerned about compatibility issues between various kinds of television sets and cable signals, Congress gave the FCC authority to require that cable companies offer basic tier on an unencrypted basis. But last October the Commission launched a proceeding suggesting that this provision be put to rest.

About 77 percent of cable subscribers have at least one digital cable set-top box or retail CableCARD device in their home, the agency noted. Various cable providers have received waivers from basic tier encryption over the years, most prominently Cablevision in New York City, and this has saved money via the decline in home visits.

The evidence thus shows, the FCC tentatively concluded, that:

where cable operators undertake appropriate consumer protection measures, the costs of retaining this rule (e.g., the need to schedule service appointments whenever a consumer subscribes to or cancels cable service as well as the expense and effect of cable operators' trucks on traffic and the environment) outweigh the benefits of retaining it (e.g., ensuring the continued utility of devices with clear-QAM tuners).

Concurrent action
The Boxee bottom line on this issue goes as so—total encryption of basic tier cable would deny consumers "innovative alternatives to traditional pay TV that rely on QAM compatibility, while increasing STB rental charges, energy costs, and dependency on MVPDs [multi-video program distributors]."

So the FCC shouldn't go the route "without taking concurrent action to increase compatibility of consumer devices with MVPD programming and ensure alternative means of access by non-MVPD devices to broadcast channel and public access programming."

The "concurrent action" that various advocacy groups want is AllVid, the FCC's proposal for a mandated industry-wide gadget that you could plug into your broadband router and connect to your cable TV provider, then watch online video and pay channels through a variety of AllVid-friendly devices. In a sense, Boxee is just that. What reform groups like Public Knowledge and the Media Access Project want the FCC to do is create an environment in which 1,000 Boxees could bloom. They're disappointed that after almost two years, the agency hasn't acted on the proposal.

Don't thwart the future
As for the de-encryption idea, both groups mostly support it, with some modifications. The FCC proposes that cable operators going this route (and almost all of them will) offer existing subscribers who have a basic-service non-set-top-box powered television the gear needed to descramble basic tier on one set without charge for a year. Subscribers who receive Medicaid would get the equipment needed to descramble basic tier on two sets without charge for five years from the date of encryption.

Both Public Knowledge and Media Access suggest the Lifeline/Linkup discount phone service program be added to the eligibility list. They also want the FCC's Final Order to make sure that consumers are given advance notice when their de-encryption period ends.

As for Boxee's protest, in a blog post, PK's John Bergmayer says he sympathizes with the company. "The Boxee Box is an early vision of the kind of next-generation video device that's needed to push the TV industry forward," he notes. "It's come from a private company, not one that has cut special deals with cable systems in every town," and provides features that set-top boxes don't offer.

"It would be perverse if the FCC actively thwarted this and similar devices," Bergmayer's commentary concludes.

and it's heating up a bit more now...

»www.multichannel.com/blog/BIT_RA···tion.php

The article is long plus the comments are good - check it out.

reply to The Q

reply to The Q

I thought the reader comments on the MC news site were worth reading though.

reply to telcodad

Here's a thought if the cableCos want to encrypt everything - the FCC could say ok, that's fine, but you have to embrace AllVid in return.

IMO there's little consumer benefit to encryption (mostly because TVs will all need power-sucking, heat-generating STBs), but a lot of cable benefit. Having them provide free HD DTAs in return should be mandatory, but I don't think that's enough especially since AllVid was already in the works.

And yeah, this should also apply to satellite, U-Verse, and FIOS.

A blog entry I came across today by Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist, on this issue.

What's interesting, is how he starts out with this statement:

"There are millions of homes and apartments around the country that have a TV connected to a cable but have no set-top box and no video service from their local cable provider. These TV viewers either moved into a home or apartment where the previous owner had cable and the wire was still lying around. Or they are getting their broadband Internet over cable. Either way, when you connect a cable directly to most modern TVs, you can get the broadcast channels in HD without a set top box. And in doing this, you are not breaking any laws. This is perfectly legal."

I don't think the cable companies would agree!

ClearQAM - What It Is And Why It Matters
By Fred Wilson, A VC - February 18, 2012
»www.avc.com/a_vc/2012/02/clearqa···ers.html

reply to GTFan

reply to andyross
I was told this will hit northern California by later summer 2012.
All clearQam will cease, you will need a DTA (3 free) and if you want HD a HDDTA ($8).
It should roll out in other areas sooner, so all channels will require a box.
I can see why, in HOA's and condos cable theft is rampant.

I have basic service, which is all I need. But now I will have to pay $8 for HDDTA. OK, but why the extra $8, isn't HD pretty nuch standard now? Every section 8 county rental I see has an HDTV in it.

Nope, talking the same thing. All channels encrypted, like I said I have ClearQam direct to the TV now.
All the articles I see are from Fall 2011, nothing recent.

Maybe it is such a given that they are already preparing for a late summer rollout. Given the amount of cable theft in high density areas and the fact that Dish, Direct and others already do this.... along with that money talks in Washington.... you can see the freight train coming around the bend.

OK, well, unless like you say, that Comcast sees this as a done deal and is just going ahead and preparing to do this in your area, or Comcast could have obtained one of the waivers already granted, for your area/system, as it stated in the Multichannel News article:

"One of the most prominent waivers was granted to Cablevision Systems in 2010 to encrypt its New York area systems. In its request, the MSO pointed to some of the factors cited above. It also helped that 99% of Cablevision's customers had either a set-top or a CableCard.
:
The FCC has already granted several waivers, and more are in the hopper from cable operators."

Latest news on this issue from the Broadcasting & Cable site:

Cable Ops Push FCC for Tier 1 Encryption
Operators including Comcast, Time Warner Cable say change would be consumer- and eco-friendly
Broadcasting & Cable - March 1, 2012
»www.broadcastingcable.com/articl···tion.php

"The FCC originally adopted the rule prohibiting cable operators from scrambling their digital basic tiers so viewers with cable-ready sets would not have to buy or rent a set-top. It is still proposing that cable operators provide them.

"We tentatively conclude that allowing cable operators to encrypt the basic service tier in all-digital systems will not substantially affect compatibility between cable service and consumer electronics equipment for most subscribers," the commission said. The FCC has already granted several waivers -- most prominently to Cablevision -- and more are in the hopper.

The FCC conceded there was an issue with consumers with basic-only digital who accessed it without set-tops, or second or third sets without digital boxes that would now need new equipment to unscramble a signal. It proposed adopting the conditions it put on the waiver it gave Cablevision to encrypt its basic service in New York.

Those include requiring cable operators to offer "current basic-only subscribers up to two set-top boxes or CableCARDs without charge for up to two years, (b) digital subscribers who have an additional television set currently receiving basic-only service one set-top box or CableCARD without charge for one year, and (c) current qualified low-income basic-only subscribers up to two set-top boxes or CableCARDs without charge for five years." But it also asked whether this was adequate."

An article on the Multichannel News site late today with the latest news:

Networks Back Cable's Basic-Tier Encryption Push
CBS, NBCU, News Corp. and Disney Say FCC Rule Change Is in Public Interest
Multichannel News - March 8, 2012
»www.multichannel.com/article/481···Push.php

"Companies representing the four biggest broadcast networks -- CBS, NBCUniversal, News Corp. and The Walt Disney Co. -- urged the FCC to enact a rule change allowing cable operators to encrypt basic-tier programming in all-digital systems.

"Encryption will provide significant public interest benefits by ensuring the secure delivery of high-value broadcast content on the basic service tier and facilitating further innovation in cable systems," the media companies wrote in a March 8 letter (»apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?···21899272).

The Federal Communications Commission last October proposed letting MSOs encrypt basic-tier encryption of digital TV, citing the consumer-friendliness of remote service activation and deactivation and the advantages to the industry of more easily preventing theft of service.

The CEOs of the largest U.S. cable companies sent a letter to the FCC last week on the issue, telling the agency that the change would provide them greater incentive to migrate to all-digital networks and that nearly all subscribers would have equipment necessary to receive the signals.

The media companies said it is "clearly in the public interest and in the national interest to protect basic tier content with encryption."

"The public will benefit because failure to protect basic tier content could lead to the migration of high-quality video programming to other distribution channels outside of the basic tier where the content would be better protected but unavailable to those consumers who subscribe only to the basic tier," the companies wrote.

The FCC has proposed that cable operators provide subscribers devices that can decrypt the basic service tier for a period of time following a cutover to encryption."

It is not surprising that NBCUniversal would support encryting the basic tier since it is owned by Comcast. The article should have pointed that out.