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How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

latimes.com

11–20 of 167 posts

Re: How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

#11

Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

I wonder what percentage of HN readership is based in the EU.

Re: How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

#12

Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

This article should be switched to an alternative that doesn't have restrictive geofilters or removed.

There's an assumption in this statement that doesn't survive scrutiny. This is original reporting. What makes you think there's an equivalent alternative? †

This perception is obviously a huge problem for papers like the L.A. Times (and for writers, in general). For better or worse, this is how people see it, now. If you don't like the source, then you just imagine substituting in another one, like you're buying pork futures (or whatever the opposite of original reporting is).

Re: How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

#13

Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

Mirror: https://web.archive.org/web/20181030190026/http://www.latime...

Re: How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

#14

Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

This article should be switched to an alternative that doesn't have restrictive geofilters or removed.

> or removed

If two draconian policies don't add up to a level playing field, why not go for the hat trick!

Re: How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

#15
post #5

I have the same reaction every time I read about any cable company, and that's, "WTF are you all still giving them your money for?!" They have a monopoly on a dying service you literally don't need at all, and most people hate having to deal with them. The pricing and contracts are antagonistic to customers. Is it just momentum at this point?

> They have a monopoly on a dying service

Neither the access nor the bundled content portions are really dying. The assumption they must be bought from the same vendor is, but outside of very high speed plans, internet access tends to have data caps (sometimes capped unless you buy a TV bundle from the ISP as well as internet service), and OTT services with comparable content are just as expensive as cable plans (and mostly from cable/satellite vendors, though Google and Sony have services too), so you end up spending the same money plus eating your data cap if you buy separately instead of getting the content outside of your cap (or maybe even getting the content and getting rid of your cap at the same time.)

Re: How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

#16

Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

This article should be switched to an alternative that doesn't have restrictive geofilters or removed.

This article should be switched to an alternative

It's an LA Times article written by an LA Times reporter published in the LA Times for the benefit of LA Times readers.

What European alternative do you suggest?

Re: How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

#17
post #6
post #3

I would really like to buy a box that was sophisticated enough to cache which channels I have and what is showing on those channels. They all seem to do a very slow refresh every time I switch between menus. It's now a distant memory being able to switch between channels instantly. I should at least be able to page through the menus quickly.

If you have a cablecard based system you can often get a network tuner like the HD Homerun Prime and do away with the company's cable box altogether. It's what I did, and I'm pretty happy with the results - through Plex I have unlimited DVR and the ability to watch on any device. Channel switching is still slow, though...

I do the same, it's great! The cable companies are mandated by the fcc to supply subscribers with at least one cablecard free of charge so you can use your own equipment, like a TiVo. I have a HDHomeRun Prime and use 2 cards. The rental on the 2nd card is only $1.50/month, and I get 8 streams with it. I also bought a cablemodem for like $50. Other than the $1.50 cablecard rental, I don't rent anything from them except the service itself. Saves a boatload over years.

Re: How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

#18
post #3

I would really like to buy a box that was sophisticated enough to cache which channels I have and what is showing on those channels. They all seem to do a very slow refresh every time I switch between menus. It's now a distant memory being able to switch between channels instantly. I should at least be able to page through the menus quickly.

I always thought about putting multiple tuners in the box, and just decoding multiple channels simultaneously. Then to switch a channel you would just "put another window in the front".

You could have a predictive system that would decode the three most likely next channels and start decoding them. In the best case, this would move the latency of the first switch close to zero, and of subsequent switches to 1/2 or 1/3.

To save energy, you could get one of these fancy remotes that they have for telefone conferences, that can detect when you pick it up. Once you lift the remote, start the extra tuners.

Re: How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

#19
post #5

I have the same reaction every time I read about any cable company, and that's, "WTF are you all still giving them your money for?!" They have a monopoly on a dying service you literally don't need at all, and most people hate having to deal with them. The pricing and contracts are antagonistic to customers. Is it just momentum at this point?

you literally don't need at all

Unless you live in a place without broadcast television, or little broadcast television, and with little to no internet service.

So pretty much 20% of the United States. The nation is much larger than the east and west coasts.

Re: How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This article should be switched to an alternative that doesn't have restrictive geofilters or removed.

There's an assumption in this statement that doesn't survive scrutiny. This is original reporting. What makes you think there's an equivalent alternative? † † This perception is obviously a huge problem for papers like the L.A. Times (and for writers, in general). For better or worse, this is how people see it, now. If you don't like the source, then you just imagine substituting in another one, like you're buying po…

The assumption may be that any worthwhile article will immediately be "reported on" (restated with no new information) by a dozen other sites.

Edit: I'm not saying that's a good thing, guys. I agree with dionidium.

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