cable-ready is obsolete

[tmetro-blu-5a1Jt6qxUNc at public.gmane.org (Tom Metro)]

Christopher Schmidt wrote:
> Tom Metro wrote:
>> This pretty much explains why cable companies have no pressure on them 
>> to supply clear QAM. If they're regularly succeeding in getting 95% of 
>> their subscribers to make the switch to digital service 
>> voluntarily... then the vast majority of customers have learned to
>> accept the limitations and  are putting up with them without complaints.
>
> Because most customers don't *see* any limitations, most likely? I
> wasn't aware of a switch being made until after it was made.
...
> MythTV users suffer, as do users of DVRs...but is there anyone else?
> Those classes would seem a pretty small minority to me.

I would expect there to be a large class of people who bring home a new 
digital TV with a built-in QAM tuner and are disappointed to find that 
the tuner built-in to their new TV is useless and they'll have to attach 
a cable box. Do the vast majority of cable subscribers subscribe to 
premium programming where a box has always been a requirement?

Something has changed, because there once was a time when "cable ready" 
on a TV or VCR was an actual selling feature that seemed to matter. From 
what I've heard, CableCard, the supposed remedy for this problem, hasn't 
taken off, so I don't think that explains why there aren't more 
consumers complaining.

The most likely explanation I can think of is that over the last decade 
cable companies have reset consumer expectations, so no one questions 
the necessity of a cable box. Once you've gotten past that, then it is 
just a minority of users that need better control than what a cable box 
can provide.

What do non-cable company DVRs do to address this? Some TiVOs use 
CableCard, no? Do they also use IR blasters? Getting HD reliably from a 
cable box is yet another challenge.

Supposedly DVR usage is getting up near 20%[1][2], though that's 
inclusive of the DVRs the cable company supplies. If most are using 
cable company DVRs, then I guess there won't be many complaints.

  -Tom

1. http://www.gizmolovers.com/2008/01/04/dvr-penetration-to-hit-35-by-2012/
2. 
http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/us-dvr-penetration-172-timeshifing-lifts-house-lost-the-office-306/

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/