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

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

#121

Post by dragonwriter »

gruez wrote: post #118
bunderbunder wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You still literally don't need it. Which isn't to say that most people don't want it really really bad , but still, it's different, and words matter. Moreover, unless you're an extreme binge watcher, I'm guessing you could still consume more than you can eat of video entertainment for less money than the cable companies charge by buying DVDs. Let alone Netflix's DVD service.

>I'm guessing you could still consume more than you can eat of video entertainment for less money than the cable companies charge by buying DVDs. how? let's say you're on some expensive cable plan, $120/mo and DVDs cost $15. that works out to 8 movies a month, which might cut it if you only watch a couple of hours of TV on the weekends, but is nowhere enough if you watch daily.

> let's say you're on some expensive cable plan, $120/mo and DVDs cost $15. that works out to 8 movies a month, which might cut it if you only watch a couple of hours of TV on the weekends, but is nowhere enough if you watch daily.

DVDs are cheaper per hour if you get less-current movies or, even better, less-current TV collections (e.g., the Friends complete series is currently $70 on Amazon, for 80+ hours.)

So, if you are concerned merely with quantity of video content, it may be true that DVDs are cheaper than cable.

If you have concerns about the specific content, then the claim becomes harder to defend.

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

#122

Post by shmerl »

dragonwriter wrote: post #15
drblast wrote: 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…

> outside of very high speed plans, internet access tends to have data caps

Not really. Data caps are unnatural and are simply a method to fleece users, high bandwidth or not. Normal Internet plans have no caps.

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

#123

Post by dragonwriter »

tomjakubowski wrote: post #36
reaperducer wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Most of the people living in the US between the coasts still live in urban areas. Only a few states have a minority of urban dwellers: Maine, West Virginia, Mississippi, Vermont. Many large interior states have overwhelmingly urban populations: Arizona (90%), Colorado (86%), Illinois (89%), Michigan (75%), Ohio (78%), Nevada (94%), Texas (85%), Utah (90%). https://www.icip.iastate.edu/tables/population/urban-pct-sta.…

Note that census “urban” is extremely broad, and basically includes what in common discussion would be all suburban and some rural communities, as well as conventional urban ones.

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

#124

Post by myrandomcomment »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #89
myrandomcomment wrote: post #84

I have not had cable or satellite since 2008 and I do not miss it. Amazon prime has tons of free stuff. Have a Netflix account. Have a proxy that lets me watch things like the BBC (hey BBC, you could make money if you allowed an online subscription for those not in the UK - I did pay for a TV pieces BTW as my address is register to a friend in the UK). There is also iTunes for things. Have Kodi with my local collecti…

With regards to a roll up service, this is something I want too. The best approximation I've seen is the media search on Roku. You can search for a movie or TV show and it will show you which Roku channels offer that content. It's of course not as seamless as a real roll up service could be, but I thought I'd suggest it. On your phone/tablet, you may appreciate the "Just Watch" app which lets you search the providers…

Thanks. The “Ads” are the reason I looked at the Roku and then said no. I was looking at an AppleTV also (I would have to convert some of my videos, but whatever) however the lack of an optical audio out kills that as I want the music to go to a different amp. So PC with Kodi and TV apps for Netflix and Amazon. The quest continues!

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

#125

Post by virmundi »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #70
dragonwriter wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Yep, the content providers are 'fixing the glitch' so to speak. With the launch of the new Disney streaming Netflix competitor, etc. we'll be back in a world of silo'd content with bundles and fees and many people who want to do things legit-no-piracy are going to be having to subscribe to multiple services.

Let it go. So consuming. One of the best things of my self inflicted phone ADHD is that I don't care for movies or TV. I start a movie, then think, "This is not worth it". I stop. I never return. Slowly I've come to accept and appreciate not watching TV or movies. If you're into sports, well, I don't know, ESPN online?

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

#126

Post by tonyb »

There is a very big factor that the article missed - license fees.

A good chuck of that fee is goes to licensing. The guide software, guide data, DVR, VOD, etc. often have per-box licensing fees the provider has to pay.

The $250 also seams low to me. I’ve seen numbers in the $600-$900 range. Cable STBs are also much more expensive than IPTV devices because they have tunners, upstream modulators, MOCA (for whole home DVR), switched digital video, etc. vs a IPTV box that has an Ethernet port and basically just decodes mpeg4 multicast streams. The cost of STBs is one of the reasons MSOs like the idea of network based DVR.

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

#127

Post by Shivetya »

drblast wrote: 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?

the issue now is that it is getting very expensive to not have someone who bundles many channels together. I know people bemoan high cable prices but with every content owner coming out with their own channels its going to be expensive to watch.

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

#128

Post by na85 »

reaperducer wrote: post #61
tomjakubowski wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the people living in the US between the coasts still live in urban areas. Only a few states have a minority of urban dwellers: Maine, West Virginia, Mississippi, Vermont. Many large interior states have overwhelmingly urban populations: Arizona (90%), Colorado (86%), Illinois (89%), Michigan (75%), Ohio (78%), Nevada (94%), Texas (85%), Utah (90%). https://www.icip.iastate.edu/tables/population/urban-pct-sta.…

So if you're not in the "most" category, then what? You don't count? You're not a citizen? And anecdotally, I know several people who live in urban places who still don't have access to cable television. Back to the topic, though — the OP stated, "you literally don't need at all." My point is that his postulation is invalid for millions of people.

Do they actually need television?

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

#129

Post by nickreese »

samcampbell wrote: post #81

I don't pay for cable, but there are similar economics in Internet routers/modems. Comcast used to charge me $10/month to lease their unit. After a few months of spotty WiFi (used cell data instead), I finally called. Service rep said that ~1/2 of the my specific router model were defective. Finally purchased my own [1], which will pay for itself after a year. This is one of the easiest ways to save money. [1] https:…

Nice disclaimer on that affiliate link.

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

#130

Post by samcampbell »

nickreese wrote: post #129
samcampbell wrote: post #81

I don't pay for cable, but there are similar economics in Internet routers/modems. Comcast used to charge me $10/month to lease their unit. After a few months of spotty WiFi (used cell data instead), I finally called. Service rep said that ~1/2 of the my specific router model were defective. Finally purchased my own [1], which will pay for itself after a year. This is one of the easiest ways to save money. [1] https:…

Nice disclaimer on that affiliate link.

Good point- This is an affiliate link. I actually don't want the money from Amazon from the referral link, I signed up for Amazon Associates for the API access to their product catalog for a side project. Amazon requires a certain level of activity for this. So if someone happens to buy, you're supporting a side project.
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