Ominous Spectrum survey about CableCards

[Zogg]

Well, I got an email asking me to take a survey about my CableCard usage, and some of the questions had to do with using alternative devices/methods instead of the CC. I think the handwriting is on the wall for Spectrum to dump them.

Some but not all of my recordings are from my two HDHR Primes using CableCards. I have been working on using the Spectrum website player as a recording device in lieu of something else, so I guess I need to get it ready for prime time.

[KeithAbbott]

I got a similar email from Spectrum today. I've already got an OTA tuner in my SageTV setup, if they pull the plug on cable card I guess I'll have to switch to one or more streaming services to get the non-OTA channels that my family is interested in. I'm not going to put up with their crappy cable boxes.

I'm not putting any more money into my SageTV setup, I'm really starting to feel like the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to flicker.

[KeithAbbott]

After completing the survey, I think they are trying to answer the question "what percentage of our customers are going to be pissed off when we eliminate their cable cards?

[wayner]

There are other options. Here in Canada we have never been able to get CCs, but you can use HD-PVRs or a few other alternatives.

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by wayner

There are other options. Here in Canada we have never been able to get CCs, but you can use HD-PVRs or a few other alternatives.

I'd love to see someone's six-tuner HD-PVR setup. It would probably take up most of my server closet. No, I think my alternative will be to move to some combination of streaming services, and hope that Spectrum doesn't decide to put a cap on internet usage.

At this point, I plan to ride Sage out until Spectrum pulls the plug on my cable card.

[emveepee]

I've got 3 STB's and it takes a shelf and the setup is a mess but it works out cheaper then cable card if you can get the STB's used like I did after a couple of years. Cable card isn't an option for us in Canada. If you have OTA or locast.org you might not need 6.

Martin

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by emveepee

I've got 3 STB's and it takes a shelf and the setup is a mess but it works out cheaper then cable card if you can get the STB's used like I did after a couple of years. Cable card isn't an option for us in Canada. If you have OTA or locast.org you might not need 6.

Martin

Wouldn’t the set top boxes have cable cards in them too? If a cable provider drops cable card support, wouldn’t the set top boxes stop working also? Am I missing something here?

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by KeithAbbott

Wouldn’t the set top boxes have cable cards in them too? If a cable provider drops cable card support, wouldn’t the set top boxes stop working also? Am I missing something here?

They don't care about settop boxes with cable card ... I know Comcast already has their full channels streaming app on Rokus and FireTV no need for a box.

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

They don't care about settop boxes with cable card ... I know Comcast already has their full channels streaming app on Rokus and FireTV no need for a box.

Spectrum has the same thing, the user experience for their channel guide leaves a lot to be desired. Trying to wade thru 400-500 channels in their app to find the 30-40 channels that are actually worth watching is clunky, and voice command doesn’t really help too much with that.

[emveepee]

Originally Posted by KeithAbbott

Wouldn’t the set top boxes have cable cards in them too? If a cable provider drops cable card support, wouldn’t the set top boxes stop working also? Am I missing something here?

They aren't going to stop taking people's money renting STB's but I do suspect they will eventually get rid of copper and cable fiber to the house and go IPTV but there are loads of legacy users to convert and can they afford it? I still have an old analog DTV device they provide during digital conversion and that still works.

Martin

[KryptoNyte]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

They don't care about settop boxes with cable card ... I know Comcast already has their full channels streaming app on Rokus and FireTV no need for a box.

Is any of that TV channel streaming 5.1 channel audio?

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

Is any of that TV channel streaming 5.1 channel audio?

Yes they sound great over my surround system. Plus you also get movies on demand.. It is a full settop replacement.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by emveepee

I've got 3 STB's and it takes a shelf and the setup is a mess but it works out cheaper then cable card if you can get the STB's used like I did after a couple of years. Cable card isn't an option for us in Canada. If you have OTA or locast.org you might not need 6.

Agreed - with 2-3 HD-PVRs, plus OTA tuenrs plus all of the stuff available via streaming these days I think there is less need for something like six simultaneous tuners.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by emveepee

They aren't going to stop taking people's money renting STB's but I do suspect they will eventually get rid of copper and cable fiber to the house and go IPTV but there are loads of legacy users to convert and can they afford it? I still have an old analog DTV device they provide during digital conversion and that still works.

Martin

I agree Martin, but I do think that Rogers is not too many years away from shutting off legacy cable and forcing everyone to Ignite TV, which is their branding for Comcast's IPTV service. But I imagine that will just require one of the HDMI capture devices. But that could be one thing that pushes me off of SageTV. The other thing would be a desire to go to 4K as that will render all of my HD300s and HD200s useless.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by KeithAbbott

Spectrum has the same thing, the user experience for their channel guide leaves a lot to be desired. Trying to wade thru 400-500 channels in their app to find the 30-40 channels that are actually worth watching is clunky, and voice command doesn’t really help too much with that.

You can Favor Channels on XFINITY Stream Via the Web Interface then they will populate to your devices.

[emveepee]

Originally Posted by wayner

I agree Martin, but I do think that Rogers is not too many years away from shutting off legacy cable and forcing everyone to Ignite TV, which is their branding for Comcast's IPTV service.

Agreed we are talking a few years for Rogers but I will stay off Ignite as long as I can. I like firewire tuning and I am still spoiled by comskip, and even the On Demand non-premium channels still have some commercial or repetitive announcements about what else is playing on that channel. I'll enjoy it while I can.

Martin

[Zogg]

Originally Posted by wayner

Agreed - with 2-3 HD-PVRs, plus OTA tuenrs plus all of the stuff available via streaming these days I think there is less need for something like six simultaneous tuners.

Yep. I've pretty much been in this mode for 4 years since I moved away from Frontier FiOS where almost all the channels were freely copied. My OTA is a bit spotty though so I use the Prime tuners with some local channels. Losing CableCards will affect me, but not too bad.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Zogg

Yep. I've pretty much been in this mode for 4 years since I moved away from Frontier FiOS where almost all the channels were freely copied. My OTA is a bit spotty though so I use the Prime tuners with some local channels. Losing CableCards will affect me, but not too bad.

To be honest, I don't understand why people keep cable, unless, like me, they watch a lot of sports. I would drop cable in a second, but then I would be paying nearly as much to get streaming services to be able to watch NHL, NBA and golf. And I might have to drop through hoops to avoid blackouts, or lose flexibility in the ability to timeshift games.

When it comes to non-sports content, almost everything I watch is from streaming services although some of the content, like HBO shows, are available on cable as well as streaming.

[KryptoNyte]

I keep cable around because it's one of the last services available that has nearly everything I watch in one place.

We all got exactly what we've been asking for all these years, channels a-la-carte, and I hate it, the streaming fragmentation. I've noticed the next 2 generations behind me have basically just quite watching television in any form - it's just too much of a pain in the butt for them to bother with it. They've even given up on professional sports.

[Zogg]

I keep cable for live sports, remote streaming, and as KryptoNyte said it's one place to get most things. And my cable service gives me access to some sites like HBO Max, NFL Network, etc. So for me, at least for now, it's worth it.