[Pearls Before Swine]

I think there’s a different aspect of cable co. misbehavior that no one talks about. You used to be able to get a “cable ready” TV. That is, you could get all of the unscrambled channels on your TV. The set-top box was needed as a decoder, but not as a tuner for unencoded channels.

With the advent of digital TV, a whole new set of channels has been created that you can’t pick up on an HDTV without a set-top box. You can’t even get the digital TV versions of the regular broadcast channels over cable without paying extra for “digital service.” I’m not talking about HBO or pay-per-view; I’m talking about ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX.

So, you have to pay extra for “digital service” and rent a box just to get the digital versions of the previously low end channels. You have to rent a set-top box for every TV, even if you are getting the baseline digital service.

Will this continue after 2009 when the analog channels finally go silent? In other words, will you need a set-top box in every room just for the regular stations? This is a new, hidden fee, and its pretty significant.

[MarkL]

With the advent of digital TV, a whole new set of channels has been created that you can’t pick up on an HDTV without a set-top box. You can’t even get the digital TV versions of the regular broadcast channels over cable without paying extra for “digital service.” I’m not talking about HBO or pay-per-view; I’m talking about ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX.

So, you have to pay extra for “digital service” and rent a box just to get the digital versions of the previously low end channels. You have to rent a set-top box for every TV, even if you are getting the baseline digital service.

Will this continue after 2009 when the analog channels finally go silent? In other words, will you need a set-top box in every room just for the regular stations? This is a new, hidden fee, and its pretty significant.

Actually, there is digital broadcast TV available, and if you have a TV with a digital tuner, which is becoming more and more prevalent, you won't need the "set top box." It's just like what we all went through before there were TVs with "cable ready" tuners. The set top boxes are only needed for old analog only TVs, or for premium services.

But right now (in many markets, like the KC area) you can go out and buy a new TV with a digital tuner, and a new antenna, and start watching local channels in digital, and in many cases HD.

Mark