So, basically you have to pay an extra fee to use a streaming app. No thanks. The STB rental fees must be a huge part of their income because they are so dead

So, basically you have to pay an extra fee to use a streaming app. No thanks. The STB rental fees must be a huge part of their income because they are so dead set on keeping them even when you aren't renting anything from them. Even the crappily-implemented CableCARD made some bit of sense to treat as a rental because you were essentially renting an auth dongle from them but a software application? You've got to be kidding me. The main reason I stream torrents on my second TV (even though like 98% of the content is stuff that I could watch on the cable package I pay for) is because I don't want to rent yet another box just to watch something in another room. This is yet another example of how the box isn't just to address a technical need but rather a cash cow that you can't get around paying for.