As expected, the FCC met yesterday and ordered some short-term CableCARD adjustments in the name of reform. But, while I’m glad to see these issues in the forefront, I’m doubtful this moves the needle in any significant way. We’re still left with flakey SDV tuning adapters, a generation of hobbled S-Card HDTVs, and non-“cable” television providers, including DirecTV and AT&T U-verse, who will continue to operate closed networks.
Ben Drawbaugh (EngadgetHD) suggests I’m a pessimist. Although, I’d say mine is a fairly realistic view based on past performance. I do believe, at the end of the day, industry will have to collectively decide what’s best for their business to move us beyond this quagmire. As I’m uncertain of the FCC’s legal scope and backbone. So television providers voluntarily opening up their platforms, or at least working business deals, is the most realistic way forward for folks left unsatisfied with the generic STB and walled gardens.
On a practical level, the most obvious change will be the FCC requirement that cable providers permit CableCARD self installs (within 9-12 months) if they allow self installs of their own equipment. Why most MSOs haven’t gone down this path on their own is beyond me, as it’d be more efficient and economical for everyone — all it generally requires is a phone call (or web UI!) to provide numbers for pairing. When moving to my current Cox Communications neighborhood a year ago, the first installer skipped his appointment and the second who actually showed up prepared to work still had me billed me $30 per TiVo/TV — ultimately costing me $60, plus 4 hours of waiting around followed by 2 hours of monitoring the technician. For reference, I believe their own hardware installs were freely provided (maybe promotional) or you could just pick up the gear at the office yourself. So it’ll be nice to see a little parity instead of additional CableCARD roadblocks.
For additional (less pessimistic?) coverage, check out GeekTonic, Engadget, and the Washington Post. Or just review the entire 59 page FCC order below — download it or send it fullscreen for more comfortable reading.
I hope to find time for a follow-up post in the next few days covering why the situation is less grim than it was a few years back when TiVo was the only game in town. The TV providers have stepped up their collective game with more compelling experiences recently, possibly even lapping TiVo in some respects. The fact is that the basically all offer the same channels, so it’s on pricing and experience that they’ll compete. (It helps that many regions now offer a third or forth choice in the form of Verizon or AT&T television services.)
If you take anything from it, remember http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm?sid=&id=d1e650
Luckily no TAs here, but I think I would be filling the form out every time I had a problem even if that was multiple times a day.
Also iirc, 9 months is if they allow any form of current self-install whether STB or cable modem, and 12 if they don’t so eventually every cable company will be required to do it. Personally this was too long especially when they were asking for 4-6 months. I am not sure how a year from now that is going to spur retail devices now.
Still no requirements about VOD and looks like they don’t consider it a problem which shows they aren’t really aware imho of this also being a huge issue for many people.
I wish they would have followed Montgomery County’s request to require the option to purchase everything.
They should have also changed the bills. You see people comment all the time how they think their STB is cheap because they don’t look at the digital outlet fee, remote fee, guide fee, dvr fee, etc as part of the lease fee for the STB. This of course is also why they should have tallied on the bill what your current piece of hardware has cost you to date. I mean a HD DVR would only cost me $15.99 a month which means up to today I would have spent over $200 for just one room on something that will never be paid off.
The only other good part is the requirement for CableCARD to be able to access all linear programming. I wonder if this affects Verizon’s plan to put some channels onto IPTV which was one of the things they are rumored to be working on.
Oh well it isn’t like we expected them to actually fix everything all at once.
The only problem with that Dave, with regards to your comment, is check Montgomery County, Maryland’s filings. It doesn’t help. http://bit.ly/d2YJpO Rates of course still continue to rise even as new competition enters their market.
Yeah, I may start filing complaints. But I have SDV TA cut-outs and reboots on close to a daily basis. So reporting might get old, quick.
Assuming we close on our house today, when we move in early December I just may replace Cox and blog about it. I’m fortunate to have a platform and my time is probably best spent relaying my experiences to a broad audience rather than continually complaining to the FCC and wasting more time with Cox technicians who haven’t yet been able to get it right.
Pricing is interesting… I noticed Verizon also hiked their rates last year when I moved. But they all seem to offer compelling new subscriber rates and DISH recently picked up a ton of customers with their new, lower tier plans.
Dave, I said you were being pessimistic about this, which isn’t the same thing as calling you a pessimist.
I’m actually very pessimistic that the cable operators have ANY motivation what so ever to work out two way deals with anyone. Based on the NCTA’s comments to the FCC, they see TiVo and others as direct competition and will not willingly make deals with their competition that aren’t to their advantage. And letting you choose Netflix over their VOD without switching inputs/remotes/interface isn’t to their advantage.
Nope, this can only go a few ways. Either the FCC forces them to open up access to all their content, or we all wait until over the top services become compelling enough that we stop caring about their services.
If anything this has taught us all that we need to really step up our complaints to the FCC every time we have any problems with CableCARDs or their installs.
What you and everyone with TA reliability problems should do is to log the exact time, issues and resolution. Then email it to your cable operator after a week or a month, and give them a chance to tell you to suck it. Then report the events to the FCC. The fact that Cox isn’t supporting them is just as crucial as the fact that they don’t work.
As for FiOS, the prices went down last year (for me anyways). I pay $115/mo for the Ultimate HD package (which is basically everything except HBO) and 35Mbps up and down. Then I pay $4/mo for a CC and taxes, my total bill is $129/mo.
“Yeah, I may start filing complaints. But I have SDV TA cut-outs and reboots on close to a daily basis. So reporting might get old, quick.”
Let it get old.
The FCC unfortunately didn’t immediately mandate the IP backchannel, but they (correctly) firmly asserted their authority to force providers to let 3rd party DVR’s to get an acceptable SDV experience.
In other words, they are asking you to report.
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“If anything this has taught us all that we need to really step up our complaints to the FCC every time we have any problems with CableCARDs or their installs.”
Indeed.
The current FCC management is interested in doing their job. That’s different than what we’ve had for most of the past decade.
Now is the time to take the 1996 law at its word.
Ben, pessimist/pessimistic is the same thing as far as I’m concerned. I realize it’s topical. :)
Regarding Cox, to their credit they’re always willing to troubleshoot on the phone or come out. And they’re orders of magnitude more friendly and polite than anyone I ever dealt with at Comcast. But they just never solve anything which is why I’m reluctant to spend more time on it.
“or we all wait until over the top services become compelling enough that we stop caring about their services.”
You’ll be waiting far longer for that than is the current conventional wisdom…
“But they just never solve anything which is why I’m reluctant to spend more time on it.”
Report it to the FCC each time they don’t solve it.
And politely inform Cox you’ll be reporting it to the FCC.
The incentives for the players in dealing with SDV issues have just shifted.
Just cut the cord Dave, I did. I dumped Fios last week, put an antenna on the roof, hooked the 2 tivo HD’s and 1 Premiere to it and its great. believe it or not, with all that hoopla that Fios doesnt compress the signal, I get better picture quality from OTA.
Fios recent CCI flag on the new channel the HUB made it even easier for me to cut it. you know when they start with one channel, it will eventually happen to most of them.
Al, I’m also hit by the *voluntary* CCI Byte restriction Cox has set on all channels but the locals. THAT is something I may throw into a FCC complaint.
IF we could get CNN or MSNBC over the top, we’d be much more likely to cut the cord (now that ESPN3 is on Xbox 360). Melissa’s a news junkie and I have to keep the wife happy.
Al,
Is your nick name chicken little? The so supposed CCI byte problem on one FiOS channel affects my FiOS DVR too, so I doubt it is intentional. I’m not saying that FiOS will never start marking shows Copy Once, just that the problem with HUB HD isn’t an indication that it has started.
As for cutting the cord. Even if Dave could get all the programming via OTA etc, how can he really write for his site without subscribing to cable? Sure he could change his coverage, but I’d argue it’d be for the worse as I appreciate his insights regarding TAs etc.
“Al, I’m also hit by the *voluntary* CCI Byte restriction Cox has set on all channels but the locals. THAT is something I may throw into a FCC complaint.”
Feel free. The CCI byte situation does need reform.
But unlike SDV, CCI byte isn’t something that the FCC just firmly marked their territory about. So if you complain about SDV, expect results. But if you complain about CCI byte on non-locals, you’re just trying to lobby the shape of future decrees.
Ben, good point – maybe I should write all this off come tax time. ;)
Chucky, they haven’t mentioned it specifically but it could fall into the FCC’s broader concern that certain actions/inactions by the cable-co limit retail innovation. Of course, at this point, it’s mostly on TiVo’s technical choices. Hopefully the more powerful Premiere hardware, combined with partner requirements, nets us a true multi-room streaming solution.
It’s funny you should write about Cablecard self installs, I JUST got a cable card installed (in TiVo Premier) three days ago. When I first called the company (Mediacom, in MO) two people said I should just be able to come get the card myself and call in the number. I was totally shocked and excited that I didn’t have to wait for somebody. Finally, when finally signing up, a new guy said I can’t do that. I waited hours for the guy to come, then discovered that he said he had never done this before. I walked HIM through it. Basically the only reason he had to be there is that he had the phone number you have to call to get it paired.
“Chucky, they haven’t mentioned it specifically but it could fall into the FCC’s broader concern that certain actions/inactions by the cable-co limit retail innovation. Of course, at this point, it’s mostly on TiVo’s technical choices. Hopefully the more powerful Premiere hardware, combined with partner requirements, nets us a true multi-room streaming solution.”
As always, CCI byte freedom has far greater implications than just multi-room streaming.
I’m able to do some pretty cool things with my TiVo & HTPC precisely because my programming comes through with CCI byte freedom.
It’s interesting to note that the general lack of CCI byte freedom is a symptom of the vertical integration of the cableco industry that the Feds long ago should be broken up. Why does Verizon broadcast in the clear? Because they are a network company, not a content company. Verizon doesn’t have financial interests in content.
Cox, like most of the other cableco’s, does have financial interests in content, which just doesn’t make sense for the consumer from the regulatory perspective. If the Comcast/NBC merger goes through, this type of issue will only worsen across the nation.
Back in the 1940’s, the Feds forced Hollywood to get out of the business of running movie theaters. It was an action for the common good. If the FCC wanted to really do their job, they’d force the separation of home video distribution from content in the same way. Vertical integration here doesn’t serve anyone but the ‘stakeholders’.
I’ve changed my mind, Chucky. I’d like you to write the FCC letter for me (as we ponder the Comcast/NBC merger).
“I’d like you to write the FCC letter for me (as we ponder the Comcast/NBC merger).”
I’m actually a pessimist on the Comcast/NBC merger. Stopping it would be a heavy lift in ordinary circumstances, but these aren’t normal circumstances: bigger political considerations are in play.
Namely, the current WH made a deal with the devil with GE back in 2007 in order to get elected. (It’s an echo of the deal Tony Blair made with Rupert Murdoch back in 1997.) And not only are the current WH and GE in bed together politically, but the Feds also are interested in keeping GE Capital propped up to help avoid a second Bank Panic, so the Feds are happy for GE to get cash infusions.
So while the case definitely should be made against the Comcast/NBC merger – it’s officially A Really Bad Thing™ – know that it’s going to be an uphill struggle in terms of the politics.
On the other hand, the wind is now at our backs in terms of mainstreaming the CableCARD experience. The FCC has taken a firm position. And given that I don’t think CableCARD is going anywhere anytime soon, that’s a fight that’s worth having.
(But on the other, other hand, getting the distributors out of the content business would have much larger long-term implications. Both CableCARD and over-the-top services would explode with positive innovations if the distributors were forcibly divorced from the content business.)
I’ve had a few problems with my CableCARD, nothing serious. Some channels flake out every once and a while. I just give the TiVo a reboot, and it’s fine. The tuning adapter sits on top of the TiVo unplugged. I have no use for it.
@Ben I don’t know that I would say the price went down. Extreme used to be the top package and then they added Ultimate for more. They then removed channels from Extreme and moved them to the Ultimate package.
CableCARDs went from $2.99 to $3.99. I believe Extreme went from 119.99 for tripleplay to $129.99 for tripleplay and Ultimate was added for $139.99 for tripleplay.
Don’t get me wrong FiOS is cheaper than most but prices definitely haven’t gone down. Now you may find it cheaper if you were getting Red Zone previously since it is now bundled with Ultimate and paying for 35 down without a bundle since it wasn’t an option before.
@brennokbob
If Verizon decided to go IPTV across their entire footprint, I don’t think the FCC would have jurisdiction to mandate CableCARD compliance. AT&T currently does not support any QAM transmission or CableCARD access. IPTV services from Verizon could successfully be justified to be no different than AT&T’s. Therefore, no compliance is necessary and outside the scope of the FCC.
The local FOX broadcast engineer has complained on AVS forum about the half-dozen visits required to get their Tivos (each w/ Cablecard & SDV adapter) working.
I moved to TivoHD and OTA programming and get a dozen channels with an indoor antenna.
Amazon Unbox and Netflix on Tivo are cheaper than the cable company VOD (not including the $20/month fee just for the cable DVR!)
@dissapointed I agree, but they were talking about going partially IPTV which sounds like now they wouldn’t be able to. It sounds like they would either have to go 100% IPTV or not at all unless the channels that are IPTV are all on demand content only.
The problem with Fcc rules in 10-181 is that if the tuning adapter will not work for any reason (like CableCard ready TVs), then they must provide a CableCard. Charter no longer has cable cards. We have a condo in a Comcast area and have a home in a Charter area. It would be nice to use this box where ever we are by flipping the CableCard, but Charter will not rent us CableCard. No more cable cards where is this customer owning a top set box. Fcc 10-181 is a win-win for the cable companies.
If Charter will not provide a CableCARD, file a report with the FCC. It’s not optional.