[opendtv] Re: White paper from CEA
- From: Eory Frank-p22212 <Frank.Eory@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 16:36:35 -0700
Bert wrote:
>Just because consumers are forced to buy or rent the
>interface box provided by a TV service provider does not
>mean that they do this happily. The fact that the
>majority of cable customers still stick with the analog
>tier cable, specifically to be able to avoid the STB,
>should show you what's really going on here.
How do you know they do this "specifically to be able to avoid the STB"? I
suspect the majority of them do so on the basis of costs vs. benefits. The
digital tier is an extra monthly charge on top of extended (analog) basic, AND
there are monthly charges for each STB. Sure, you get extra channels, and there
is a potential if not actual quality difference between digital & analog, but
there ARE extra costs.
I don't think it's as simple as saying people dislike STBs. But maybe you're
right. If so, this explains a lot about the lack of availability of ATSC STBs.
If you are loathe to put a box on top of your TV, then it makes little
difference whether it's an ATSC box or a digital cable box, or whether you are
renting it for a few $/month or buying it outright for $60 or $100 or whatever.
You don't want the box at all -- right?
>The desire for zillions of channels, or for premium
>channels, makes it worth the nonsense of dealing with
>unnecessary interface boxes. It's a price some people
>may be willing to pay. It doesn't mean they want to go
>this way as opposed to a better way, or that this is
>good for the consumer.
It's not nonsense for me, who happily rents a SA 8300HD dual tuner HD DVR for
$15/month from Cox cable. That "unnecessary interface box" has transformed the
way my family watches TV and for me is the most effective method I know of for
time-shifting my favorite HD shows.
Having the option to buy a Tivo or other brand-name HD DVR box with CableCard
slots, or even a TV set with an embedded DVR is undoubtedly "good for the
consumer" -- more choice is always better than less choice. But I am not
inclined to spend big $ to own my DVR -- whether it's a separate box or part of
the TV set. I spent $3000 on an HD display and that's ALL I want it to be -- a
display. When Cox begins offering the 8300HD MR (multi-room) in my city, or a
new model comes out with new features and a bigger hard drive, I will happily
take my DVR back to the Cox store, get the new box and continue to pay the
rental fee. I would NOT be too happy about replacing my expensive HDTV display
just because I wanted the latest & greatest DVR.
>With recording devices, the integral tuner is practically
>mandatory.
Absolutely. I would go farther and say "at least two tuners." Motorola found
out the hard way with it's first HD DVR, which had only one tuner, that a
single-tuner DVR was a non-starter.
> The question you should be asking is whether
>this recrding device, with integral tuner, should be
>available on regular store shelves, or whether specific
>non-standard models should be dictated by each service
>provider.
You know very well that both options -- retail store & provider-specific models
-- are available. The question you should be asking is "why are consumers being
forced, after 2006, to pay for DTT tuners in retail recording devices, when
many of them only want the digital cable tuners or the DBS tuners?"
-- Frank
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