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DocDrew
How can I help?
Premium Member
join:2009-01-28
SoCal
Ubee E31U2V1
Technicolor TC4400
Linksys EA6900

DocDrew to Joe12345678

Premium Member

to Joe12345678

Re: Who Killed the Open Set-Top-Box?

said by Joe12345678:

blame the cable co who made more by renting 3-4+ year old cable boxes at high rates.

We need to be like Canadian systems where you can buy the cable box with rent / outlet or mirroring fees.

Wow in Canada you can buy those 3-4+ year old boxes with the horrible guides... big deal. It's just the cable company boxes being resold through retailers, many you can't even use in other systems in Canada. You're stuck trying to resell a box when you move.

Then you can't even use a Ceton, Tivo, Moxi, or anything that uses a CableCARD. You're stuck using a Tivo DT2 or earlier, hanging off a cable box of course to get the encrypted channels.

Great system to want... the Canadian system.
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678

Member

they have good stuff like this.

Shaw Gateway Experience

»www.shaw.ca/Gateway/

in the usa you can get the same boxes at insane rent prices.
Joe12345678

Joe12345678 to DocDrew

Member

to DocDrew
but you are not paying $8-$15 per tv in fees.

halfband
Premium Member
join:2002-06-01
Huntsville, AL

halfband

Premium Member

But if the US had the canadian "buy a box" system we would just have $15 outlet mirror fees. You can't win.

DocDrew
How can I help?
Premium Member
join:2009-01-28
SoCal
Ubee E31U2V1
Technicolor TC4400
Linksys EA6900

DocDrew to Joe12345678

Premium Member

to Joe12345678
said by Joe12345678:

they have good stuff like this.

Shaw Gateway Experience

»www.shaw.ca/Gateway/

in the usa you can get the same boxes at insane rent prices.

That's the re-badged Moxi gear.... wonder if it works if you move out of a Shaw area...

In the US you can get the Tivo, old Moxi, Ceton gear.

Either way you pay for the boxes.

The cable companies aren't stopping 3rd parties from selling boxes. There just aren't very many selling in the US. If there was more of a demand there would be more companies selling them and making quarterly profits doing it. Tivo may be behind why there are fewer companies interested in making them, at least DVRs...
GTFan
join:2004-12-03
Austell, GA

GTFan

Member

You can no longer buy the Moxi.

DocDrew
How can I help?
Premium Member
join:2009-01-28
SoCal

DocDrew

Premium Member

said by GTFan:

You can no longer buy the Moxi.

You can buy them used.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

1 edit

telcodad

MVM

said by DocDrew:

said by GTFan:

You can no longer buy the Moxi.

You can buy them used.

If not from eBay, Amazon also shows some used ones for sale: »www.amazon.com/gp/produc ··· 01GQ8MT8

EDIT: As far as support for the old Moxi DVRs, there had been a note on the company's home page for a while that indicated tech support and guide data would come to an end at the end of 2013 (»Re: [STB] Moxi ), but then it was removed, and now it says (»www.moxi.com/us ):
A few weeks ago we incorrectly posted a notice regarding discontinuation of our Moxi program guide data. We currently have no plans to discontinue service. Thank you for your support.
GTFan
join:2004-12-03
Austell, GA

GTFan

Member

Yep, Moxi is a dead man walking. Stay away, far away.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

1 edit

telcodad to halfband

MVM

to halfband
said by halfband:

But if the US had the canadian "buy a box" system we would just have $15 outlet mirror fees. You can't win.

Looks like someone is trying to get that system here:

Former judge sues Cox for forcing subscribers to lease set-tops
Stanley Feldman asks U.S. District Court to make Cox disgorge profits from set-top business

By Steve Donohue, FierceCable - October 25, 2012
»www.fiercecable.com/stor ··· 12-10-25

From the article:
The lawsuit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Tucson, alleges that Cox is violating the Sherman Antitrust Act by tying set-top rentals to pay TV subscriptions. In addition to asking the court to require Cox to give subscribers the option to buy set-tops instead of renting the boxes, it wants Cox to disgorge profits generated from renting set-tops.
Also, from Light Reading Cable today (»www.lightreading.com/doc ··· d=226367 ):
Cox Communications Inc. is under fire for charging set-top box rental fees to customers wanting TV services beyond the basic tier. Stanley Feldman, a former state Supreme Court judge, is asking a district court in Tucson to ban Cox from forcing customers to pay the monthly US$6.99 fee. He wants an option to buy the equipment from third parties. The case started as a national class-action lawsuit against Cox, but a federal judge in Oklahoma rejected it, ruling that customers can file individual complaints in their home states, reports the Arizona Daily Star. Cable has pursued the retail angle with tru2way, but the common middleware/headend platform failed to spur a retail market for cable set-tops. (See Tru2way: Epic Fail at Retail: »www.lightreading.com/doc ··· d=202538 )

mikedz4
join:2003-04-14
Weirton, WV

mikedz4

Member

what does this mean for comcast, time warner, suddenlik,etc? Do they have to sell set tops as well?
GTFan
join:2004-12-03
Austell, GA

GTFan

Member

np
GTFan

GTFan to mikedz4

Member

to mikedz4
These lawsuits have been brought before and have gone nowhere to the best of my knowledge. I'm not sure why that is. Here's another one against Comcast (there's more if you Google it):

»arstechnica.com/tech-pol ··· lecards/

Here's one for TWC:

»www.cedmagazine.com/news ··· x-rental