Author Topic: Cable industry slams a la carte study (Read 851 times)

indy007 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 16, 2006, 01:52:04 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Mustaine
see i never know what i am in the mood for. if i had tivo, i would not have tivoed the poker, because i might not have been in the mood.

there's so many shows like that out there, i would not want to spend 2 hours reading tv guide and setting up what to record for the next week / month whatever.

i got a channel changer, it's made for commercials

Time Warner Cable has a search button. Hit that, type in the name of the program, and you get all the listings. On Demand content is also pretty cool. Just pick what you want, click start, and off you go into a commercial free viewing experience with pause, rewind, & play. Pretty spiffy. It's as close to al a carte as we've gotten so far. The downside is not all shows/movies/events are available at all times, and the main focus of it is premium channels. That's the catch with it, you have to already be paying for the premium channels you want to watch the show on, and then an additional $2 or $3/mo for the on demand service.

That said, it's still really nice to be able to watch the boxing matches, Sopranos, Weeds, Penn & Teller, stand-up comics, etc, etc, I miss a day or 2 after they air without having to own a PVR (and never having to remember to set it)

Strange side story here. On Monday one of my friends called, and demanded I find "Beginners Budekon" in the fitness section of I-Control. I dug through the menus and found it, hit play... eventually... I was looking in the dance section since all I heard was "Beginners Booty-Con". Then myself and some roommates stared in confusion at the TV as somebody who looks almost exactly like me started hosting the show... I geuss everybody really does have a twin out there.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #16 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:04:22 PM »

I oculd care less about on-demand. I have that with a PVR. Just a nifty side-effect of having one and it is free, and works with all channels.

Seriously guys. you really should take a look into some type of PVR. You would be surprised how it changes the way you watch TV, and in a very good way. There is no way I could ever go back to watching TV without one.

Of course, I have a dual channel PVR, which allows me to watch live and record, or record two shows at a time. The only downside to single channel PVR's, is when they are recording, you have to watch another PVR event or watch what is being recorded.

Sandman · « **Reply #17 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:10:19 PM »

No kidding. A dual channel PVR (or DVR) will change the way you watch television.

I can't really say when our favorite shows come on live. I just set the season pass and watch what I feel like watching.

Vipermann · « **Reply #18 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:19:58 PM »

Our cable company announced that later this year a triple tuner PVR with 120 hour capacity will be available.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #19 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:23:24 PM »

Cool Vipermann. I could have fun with that. Is it HD capable?

I am getting ready to take the plunge and get a dual channel HD PVR, but it is a pricy option and want to make sure the time is right. If something better is coing in the very near future, I will hold off.

indy007 · « **Reply #20 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:24:51 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Skuzzy
Seriously guys. you really should take a look into some type of PVR. You would be surprised how it changes the way you watch TV, and in a very good way. There is no way I could ever go back to watching TV without one.

Which brands don't suck? I've got a trip to Fry's & Best Buy to make this evening for dvd's & some access points anyways.

Eagler · « **Reply #21 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:27:37 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Skuzzy
... It will never happen. They will argue about how the cost of the infrastructure would negate any savings to the consumer....

never say never..

Here in Tampa, Verizon is laying fiber to the home ..TO THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE ... with that anything is possible

they'll take the hit just to stick it to the local cable co's as their pockets are slightly deeper

Eagler · « **Reply #22 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:29:28 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Vipermann
Our cable company announced that later this year a triple tuner PVR with 120 hour capacity will be available.

it will not be 120 hours at best quality ... then again some are happy with dvix

Skuzzy · « **Reply #23 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:36:51 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Eagler
never say never..

Here in Tampa, Verizon is laying fiber to the home ..TO THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE ... with that anything is possible

they'll take the hit just to stick it to the local cable co's as their pockets are slightly deeper

Yes, I have that fiber already (FIOS). Unfortunately, they are using the Motorola set box which just flat out sucks for HD content (picture looks worse than the analog NTSC transmission).

My neighbor, across the street, works for Verizon and is in charge of the parts which go into the FIOS setup. He tells me they will be switching to another converter box soon. So, I am patiently waiting for that before making the switch.

Vipermann · « **Reply #24 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:37:57 PM »

My current PVR(MOXI) is HD and the new ones are supposed to be as well.

As for not being 120 hours at best quality, the PVR only has one quality, except for HD which is lower.

From what I can tell the MOXI PVR is only available through your cable company but you may be able to use it elsewhere.

edit: Also I was wrong, the new one has 4 tuners and the ability to use smaller sub-boxes at other TV's to watch recorded content. Also the ability to use add-on USB 2.0 drives to increase recording time.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #25 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:41:14 PM »

Lower quality = no sale to me.

I would be happy with 40 hours of high quality HD content, versus 80 hours of poor quality. The curse of having a large screen TV is, you see every freaking error in the signal.

Vipermann · « **Reply #26 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:42:48 PM »

Sorry I didn't mean lower quality I meant lower recording time with HD. The quality is still HD.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #27 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:44:53 PM »

Ahhh. Thank you for the clarification.

DREDIOCK · « **Reply #28 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:51:17 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Eagler
never say never..

Here in Tampa, Verizon is laying fiber to the home ..TO THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE ... with that anything is possible

they'll take the hit just to stick it to the local cable co's as their pockets are slightly deeper

Was there a "Cable Tax"?

Here in Jersey the Cable industry must be getting really really nervous cause they keep cranking out and inundating us with these so called "public information commercials" on how Verizon is going to be the cause or somehow institute a "cable Tax" That everyone is going to have to pay for.
they want everyone to contact their legistalors to "Say no to the Verizon cable tax."

Like Ii said. it must be making them nervous cause they are really adement about it.
http://www.keepitlocalnj.com/index.cfm

icemaw · « **Reply #29 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:52:42 PM »

if they gave you a al la cart option they would just price it so it was with in a couple dollars of the package price then advertise look how good a deal our package price is