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

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

#51

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 7:38 PM UTC

mikeash wrote: post #40

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.

Are there still places with cable TV but not cable internet?

> Are there still places with cable TV but not cable internet?

Cable internet plus OTT live TV service is probably more expensive in most markets than Cable internet plus Cable TV with equivalent channel lineup, you still have to deal with the cable provider, and the OTT TV counts against your internet data cap, if (as is likely without a same-provider TV plan or an extra payment for uncapped data) you have one.

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

#52

Post by howard941 » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 7:39 PM UTC

whalesalad wrote: post #24

On a slightly related note, I am highly disappointed with the Spectrum boxes and really miss my Comcast X1 box. Spectrum and Comcast both rely on the same third-parties to supply their gear but Comcast works with partners like Arris to build their own custom boxes. They have their own custom OS running on the box. They're really fast and have a very modern UI. For instance it'll open sidebars to show current sports g…

Do you have Spectrum on fibre? I have their Arris (Arriss?) box on coax in Largo FL and find it a lot snappier than Comcast's Scientific Atlanta box was in Sarasota.

For me an even worse experience than either has been the Arris box Verizon/Frontier deployed to Sarasota. It performs like the thin client you don't like. It's slow as the 90s-vintage SciAtl Comcast box and doesn't have knobs to increase program information font size (amongst other UI negatives). I'm biding my 6 months on Frontier before I bounce back to Comcast despite the former's far greater program selection.

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

#53

Post by oconnor663 » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 7:39 PM UTC

> After the Spectrum fee rises within days to $7.50 a month, that will translate to at least $120 million. Monthly. Or at least $1.4 billion a year.

I agree with the overall "screw those monopolistic rent seekers" theme, but I hate seeing summaries like this. Is $1.4 billion a lot? If you told me it was $100 million per year, that would still sound like a lot, but apparently in this context that would represent not a lot? These are meaningless big numbers.

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

#54

Post by drwagner » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 7:41 PM UTC

dgzl wrote: post #25

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?

For the past year, I've been trying to convince my grandparents to ditch cable for internet TV, and the transition has been surprisingly difficult. After two attempts (I don't live near them), I am still not successful, however I did reduce the TV/phone/internet bundle from $250 to $200. Next time I see them, I'm coming prepared with the items that prevented me from succeeding before, and hopefully I'll be reducing t…

You can also try a MoCA adapter. I've three Motorola 2.0 MoCA devices and they work great; much better speeds than WiFi albeit not as fast as Ethernet (but also without having to run Cat6 throughout the house).

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

#55

Post by reaperducer » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 7:42 PM UTC

josefresco wrote: post #46

dublinben wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Satellite television has been an option for decades, and serves these markets better than cable anyway.

To be fair, Satellite television providers offer the same "boxes" at inflated prices, complete with multi-year contracts.

FWIW, my Dish network satellite box is half the monthly rate of my old Comcast cable box, and has twice as many features.

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

#56

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 7:42 PM UTC

josefresco wrote: post #46

dublinben wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Satellite television has been an option for decades, and serves these markets better than cable anyway.

To be fair, Satellite television providers offer the same "boxes" at inflated prices, complete with multi-year contracts.

Plus, of the two major satellite providers, one is also a cable company.

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

#57

Post by swsieber » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 7:43 PM UTC

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.…

There's still about 20% who live in rural areas. 1 in 5 people:

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-210...

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

#58

Post by rayiner » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 7:43 PM UTC

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?

It's easy. We've been a cord-cutter household for years, but even I have to admit that an Apple TV + Netflix is a lot more complicated than the old days of flipping the cable box to channel 7.

It's not like people have to rent cable boxes. By law, you can get an STB from Motorola or wherever, and a CableCARD for a nominal monthly fee (couple of dollars).

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

#59

Post by gjvc » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 7:44 PM UTC

rb808 wrote: post #43

dgzl wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the past year, I've been trying to convince my grandparents to ditch cable for internet TV, and the transition has been surprisingly difficult. After two attempts (I don't live near them), I am still not successful, however I did reduce the TV/phone/internet bundle from $250 to $200. Next time I see them, I'm coming prepared with the items that prevented me from succeeding before, and hopefully I'll be reducing t…

powerline networking is your friend.

Yes it is and while not the fastest, it works surprisingly well. I tried a couple of units several years ago and it was a bust. Some guy locally was giving away two TP-link 1000 plugs and they worked first time and I'm now a believer. Give it a shot.

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

#60

Post by smelendez » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 7:45 PM UTC

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?

Cable pricing is designed for people who watch a lot of cable.