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markf_48
join:2014-09-22
Brookfield, MA

markf_48

Member

Noob That's Going Full Digital Needs Some Advice

Let me preface that I am a pretty much a Noob to digital cable TV stuff. I was perfectly content with the programming the way it was prior to the full digital conversion and if it wasn't for the 3 or 4 Extended Basic channels my wife and I frequently watch, I could likely get by on the UHF antenna I recently put up for local news and weather programming. Not much else of interest out of all the channels offered from Charter. I like things simple and reasonably cheap.

Charter in my area is going full digital Oct 1. I can get a Charter cable box for a year free and there after pay the rental cost. I'm not keen on renting equipment and the added cost. The other option I'm looking at is buying a Samsung GX-SM530CF/XAA Box that accepts a CableCard which which would also be free for a year and subsequently be a cheaper monthly rental cost than Charters box. I've seen a few mixed reviews/comments (other forums) on going the CableCard route that Charter was pushing to do away with the CableCard under the premise of better security, so I'm not sure if the CableCard is a good direction to go.
Are there any downsides to owning a box such as the Samsung? From what I've been able to figure out I wouldn't have interactive programming menus with the Samsung unless I rented a tuning adapter from Charter, which likely isn't too important to me.
Are there other boxes similar to the Samsung that might be a wiser purchase?

mdavej
join:2004-06-09
united state

mdavej

Member

Charter tuning adapter is free with every cable card. You'll be missing several channels without it, not missing your guide or menus. It's pretty much a requirement with cable card.

Personally I would just take the free cable box from Charter. You save virtually nothing for the first 4 years or so. If you like the idea of having netflix on the box, just get a $40 Roku. If Charter's box fee was a lot higher, Samsung would make sense. But I see no benefit right now.

There are no other boxes like the Samsung. The other cable card based options are Tivo and Ceton or Homerun Prime for PC based systems (that's what I do). The main advantage of a PC based system is free guide and DVR for your whole house. Saves me over $50/month versus using Charter DVRs or Tivo. You may think it's complicated to set up, but it's really simple. No more complicated than install an printer, IMO. And it works with a regular remote (even your old Charter remote), so to the viewer, it's just like watching a cable box.

Cable card isn't going anywhere anytime soon. All Charter did was get approval to stop using it in their own boxes. They still have to support it in 3rd party boxes by law, just like every other cable company.

If you're heart is set on the Samsung, you should at least wait until Charter's free box deal goes away a year or two from now. Then you'd start saving a whopping $4/month, breaking even in about 3 years.
duffman45200
join:2010-09-20

duffman45200

Member

said by mdavej:

Charter tuning adapter is free with every cable card. You'll be missing several channels without it, not missing your guide or menus. It's pretty much a requirement with cable card.

Personally I would just take the free cable box from Charter. You save virtually nothing for the first 4 years or so. If you like the idea of having netflix on the box, just get a $40 Roku. If Charter's box fee was a lot higher, Samsung would make sense. But I see no benefit right now.

There are no other boxes like the Samsung. The other cable card based options are Tivo and Ceton or Homerun Prime for PC based systems (that's what I do). The main advantage of a PC based system is free guide and DVR for your whole house. Saves me over $50/month versus using Charter DVRs or Tivo. You may think it's complicated to set up, but it's really simple. No more complicated than install an printer, IMO. And it works with a regular remote (even your old Charter remote), so to the viewer, it's just like watching a cable box.

Cable card isn't going anywhere anytime soon. All Charter did was get approval to stop using it in their own boxes. They still have to support it in 3rd party boxes by law, just like every other cable company.

If you're heart is set on the Samsung, you should at least wait until Charter's free box deal goes away a year or two from now. Then you'd start saving a whopping $4/month, breaking even in about 3 years.

At least in my area the box is 7 bucks while the card is 2. So 2.5 years to pay it off. It all depends on if you plan in staying with charter longer than that. Also take into consideration if the samsung box dies, you woul have to pay for a new one.
markf_48
join:2014-09-22
Brookfield, MA

markf_48

Member

Below is a copy & paste from Charters current rate card for my area. For the the HD receiver it shows $5.00/month. The Interactive Guide Services is $6.99. Is the $6.99 over and above the HD receiver as an add-on that I don't necessarily need? Or is the $6.99 ($7) inclusive of the box and guide? I've mostly seen reference to $7 about box rental cost.

VIDEO EQUIPMENT RENTAL & OTHER SERVICES (with
subscription to Basic, Expanded or Digital Home)

Standard Digital Receiver & Remote $0.00
HD or DVR or DVR/HD Receiver & Remote* $5.00
Interactive Guide Services (per digital receiver)** $6.99
DVR Service Fee (per DVR receiver) $10.00
CableCARD™♦ $2.00
Additional Remote Control $0.18
duffman45200
join:2010-09-20

duffman45200

Member

Should just be 6.99 per box hd or not. I believe that $5 fee you listed has to do with the DVR boxes if you get the $20 DVR package. Here's what the TV section on my bill looks like. I have a free box for a year, as well as a cable card in a hdhomerun in testing

Charter Tv Select 59.99
Basic Tv & Expanded Basic Tv Services
Cable Card 2.00
Digital Receivers and Interactive Services 20.97
at $6.99 each
Digital Receivers and Interactive Services Discount -6.99
Digi Tier 2 10.00
mdavej
join:2004-06-09
united state

mdavej

Member

Yeah, none of that stuff applies to someone with just a basic box. $7 then. But you get a free box the first year or two don't you, because of the analog shutoff?

As Duffman says, in year 2 or 3 (when the free card or box goes away), you'd save $5/month.

I have one 6 tuner cable card device in my house serving 5 TVs. My only fees from Charter are:

$2 cable card
$60 Silver (goes up to $80 after 2 years)
+ tax

That's it. HD and guide are included in the packages now.

If I used Charter equipment, it would add:
$20 DVR service (2 to 4 DVRs)
$7 * 5 boxes = $35
totaling $55 extra

For that kind of coin, my payback is pretty quick. Since you're looking at just replacing one box, you're only saving $60/year and spending $130+ on the Samsung box. And it's just a cable box, not a DVR, no whole home capability, just a single tuner. So the added value (Netflix and a few other streaming apps) is not very much.

I just don't see how anybody can make the numbers work in Samsung's favor with Charter service. Unless you just want to stick it to Charter for the principle of owning your own box, doesn't make financial sense.

If you were a DVR user, then a used Tivo with lifetime would start to make sense. It would cost about $300 and save about $20/month ($13 DVR service + $7 per box), which you be a 15 month payback.

To save serious money, you should really just drop cable altogether. You can get a lot of stuff on Hulu and the individual network websites now. That combined with OTA should get you pretty close to basic cable, except for sports.

Another option is satellite. Jumping between Dish and DirecTV every 2 years on new customer deals would get you basic channels for about $30/month, box included.