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"Comcast insisted that they needed to install a cable box, I told them I don't have a TV, can't I just pay for the service, no a technician needs to come out an

by larrys 14y ago

"Comcast insisted that they needed to install a cable box, I told them I don't have a TV, can't I just pay for the service, no a technician needs to come out and install a cable box." Why didn't you just borrow a small tv or simply get a elgato for your PC: http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/EyeTV-Hybrid-10/product1.en.html http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/EyeTV-Hybr... Assuming there is a cable where you live and that you are willing to pay for the service (which you said you were) this doesn't appear to be to difficult of a problem to solve. It's perfectly understandable that Comcast would require someone to own a TV. Their contracts with providers probably require that and it doesn't really matter whose idea that is. They consider that a certain class of customer. They have the right to deliver their product over the web as long as someone is also a cable subscriber and the language probably defines very clearly what constitutes a cable subscriber.

antoncohen 14y ago
I understand why they have the requirement, it's because of exclusive and short sighted contracts like this one. And that's what is pathetic. I have Comcast internet. I asked if they would just mail me a cable box that I could "install". No, a technician had to come out. This was when Comcast had a 4 or 6 hour service window, on weekdays. I actually booked an appointment for them to come out, then cancelled when I realized I wasn't willing to miss work to sit and wait for a technician to deliver something I didn't want. So yes, if I really wanted it that much I could have found a way to get it. But forcing me to jump through hoops when all wanted to do with give them money so I could use their website... that's pathetic. The entire media industry is stuck in their pathetic ways, and it's pathetic exclusive contracts like this that are preventing innovative companies from disrupting the industry.
senyb 14y ago
ClearQAM tuners like Elgato won't work with premium-tier channels like HBO because the networks mandate that the cable company implement encryption and DRM to protect their content. This effectively means the subscriber must have a set-top box or CableCard, to decrypt whatever content scrambling system the provider uses (e.g. Motorola's DigiCipher II) between the head-end and the set-top. Also, with a set-top box or CableCard, they can set the 5C flag for the FireWire port to prevent the recording of the content with a DVD recorder and can mandate HDCP protection for HDMI. [Of course, there are still HDCP strippers and the analog hole, so if somebody wants to cap their content, everybody knows this isn't going to stop them.]

by larrys 14y ago

antoncohen 14y ago

I understand why they have the requirement, it's because of exclusive and short sighted contracts like this one. And that's what is pathetic. I have Comcast internet. I asked if they would just mail me a cable box that I could "install". No, a technician had to come out. This was when Comcast had a 4 or 6 hour service window, on weekdays. I actually booked an appointment for them to come out, then cancelled when I realized I wasn't willing to miss work to sit and wait for a technician to deliver something I didn't want. So yes, if I really wanted it that much I could have found a way to get it. But forcing me to jump through hoops when all wanted to do with give them money so I could use their website... that's pathetic. The entire media industry is stuck in their pathetic ways, and it's pathetic exclusive contracts like this that are preventing innovative companies from disrupting the industry.

senyb 14y ago

ClearQAM tuners like Elgato won't work with premium-tier channels like HBO because the networks mandate that the cable company implement encryption and DRM to protect their content. This effectively means the subscriber must have a set-top box or CableCard, to decrypt whatever content scrambling system the provider uses (e.g. Motorola's DigiCipher II) between the head-end and the set-top. Also, with a set-top box or CableCard, they can set the 5C flag for the FireWire port to prevent the recording of the content with a DVD recorder and can mandate HDCP protection for HDMI. [Of course, there are still HDCP strippers and the analog hole, so if somebody wants to cap their content, everybody knows this isn't going to stop them.]