FCC Set Top Box Vote-- Feb 18

[nelson61]

The Feb 18 FCC Set Top Box Vote is about separating subscription fees from equipment fees for cable and satellite services.
The objective is to (maybe) reduce consumer costs .

A summary of the proposed regulation in PDF and DOC formats can be found here:
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-proposal-unlock-set-top-box

 

[jegrant]

It sounds good but it seems awfully vague. I'd like to make sure that MVPDs can't unreasonably restrict programming based on device. For example, if someone who buys HBO through Comcast wants to log in to HBO GO on the Roku, Comcast shouldn't have any say in that at all, as long as the person really is a paying customer of HBO and only wants the content they've legally paid for. Also, I'd really like to see a requirement that Cable DTAs (SD and HD) be made available at retail, because this would help a lot of consumers to avoid the inflated charges for them. And since DTAs are already produced in high volume, I'm betting they could be retailed at no more than $50 for SD and $80-100 for HD (probably less). Also consider that OTA DTAs with DVR functionality are sold at retail for $40-45, so why would cable DTAs cost much more?

Another issue - we need to cap or eliminate "Additional Outlet" fees which seem to have returned with a vengeance lately. It shouldn't cost $10/outlet to view programming you've already paid for. These fees are primarily charged "because cable companies can". I would bet programmers receive virtually none of that money.

 

[ChadT41]

I see this as a hard fail, atleast on satellite. Satellite is a luxury and thus should be treated as one. Wheeler has this distinct ability to not want capitalism to take its natural occurrence and allow the free market to decide, while also trying to turn everything into a government entity. He wants gov cable, then talk the government into starting their own service.

 

[AZ.]

I see this as a hard fail, atleast on satellite. Satellite is a luxury and thus should be treated as one. Wheeler has this distinct ability to not want capitalism to take its natural occurrence and allow the free market to decide, while also trying to turn everything into a government entity. He wants gov cable, then talk the government into starting their own service.

Really, thats your answer......Ohy you sound like your running for president!

Only the government has enough power to control corporations from running wild!....Not all the answers for everything but for some instances there is no other help.....

 

[ChadT41]

My answer is that this is not the place of the government. Not even a little bit. Especially not an unelected official.

 

[jegrant]

With satellite, at least there are options that allow you to buy a receiver and add a purchased hard drive for DVR, with no monthly fee for the receiver or the DVR. If Comcast offered that, I think it would be a great step. Also, satellite has seemingly much more innovative solutions to additional outlets - you can either buy additional receivers (with some fees) or in other cases you can get several tuners in one receiver. Dish also has the Sling Box that will let you watch your programming on phones, tablets, Roku, etc.

Cable is also unique because, much like the phone companies, they built big networks when they were legal monopolies and then they turned around and claimed that those networks were private, and that the public had no business regulating them. Competitors like satellite and fiber don't have the advantage of existing networks built over 30 years when no competition was allowed in.

 

[Bobby]

With satellite, at least there are options that allow you to buy a receiver and add a purchased hard drive for DVR, with no monthly fee for the receiver or the DVR. If Comcast offered that, I think it would be a great step. Also, satellite has seemingly much more innovative solutions to additional outlets - you can either buy additional receivers (with some fees) or in other cases you can get several tuners in one receiver. Dish also has the Sling Box that will let you watch your programming on phones, tablets, Roku, etc.

Cable is also unique because, much like the phone companies, they built big networks when they were legal monopolies and then they turned around and claimed that those networks were private, and that the public had no business regulating them. Competitors like satellite and fiber don't have the advantage of existing networks built over 30 years when no competition was allowed in.

Ummm, with Dish, you pay a monthly DVR fee whether the DVR is yours or not. The first receiver has no fee whether you own it or not. Extra receivers have a fee whether you own it or not....

 

[ChadT41]

He is talking about the 211 with an add on EHD

Ummm, with Dish, you pay a monthly DVR fee whether the DVR is yours or not. The first receiver has no fee whether you own it or not. Extra receivers have a fee whether you own it or not....

 

[osu1991]

Would love to be able to put a sat card in my Lifetime Tivo and use it for Dish. I'll be going back to just my 211 with external hard drive when the dvr credits on my 722 expire. 1 sat tuner will be fine most of the time with the gazillion repeats all the channels run. The Tivo can handle my OTA recordings and I can use the 211 OTA tuner for an extra if needed too.

 

[KAB]

Would love to be able to put a sat card in my Lifetime Tivo and use it for Dishyo

But that's the point...you can't, with the equipment they make now. They would have to design and build all new boxes for Sat. And would that be profitable?

 

[mike123abc]

But that's the point...you can't, with the equipment they make now. They would have to design and build all new boxes for Sat. And would that be profitable?

No, satellite companies like Dish would have to be able to deliver their programming to your choice of set top box. Essentially Dish could offer a hopper without TV output (or DVR) as a hub for your house and you connect over Ethernet to this hub with your choice of TV box/DVR.

The consumer boxes have to maintain security, just like with cable card boxes like TiVo, of the programming.

The FCC is essentially working on a standard that cable/DBS companies have to support for consumer devices built to the standard. You could then if changing from cable to DIRECTV use the same box. Companies like TiVo would probably have to come out with new boxes to support the standards if the current ones are not adaptable.

Dish/DIRECTV/cable/etc of course would be free to continue offering their own boxes to consumers. Consumers would get to choose which is the better bargain.

 

[dangue]

I see this as a hard fail, atleast on satellite. Satellite is a luxury and thus should be treated as one. Wheeler has this distinct ability to not want capitalism to take its natural occurrence and allow the free market to decide, while also trying to turn everything into a government entity. He wants gov cable, then talk the government into starting their own service.

This isn't a free market scenario. There's no way a new company can jump in and compete in the set top box business. The barriers to entry are enormous with the entrenched providers having all the power and no incentive to allow someone else's STB to compete with what they offer. Hell, look at echostar's attempt to offer STBs to the cable industry. They are a huge existing manufacturer and got exactly nowhere. So throwing around magic words like "free market" fails to acknowledge reality.

 

[KAB]

That Companies like TiVo would probably have to come out with new boxes to support the standards if the current ones are not adaptable.

That was my point.

 

[mike123abc]

That was my point.

But the boxes would work with all providers. Something that TiVo would want to do...

 

[KAB]

But the boxes would work with all providers. Something that TiVo would want to do...

Yes. Agreed. But, such one for all Tivo boxes do not exist. Is it worth it to them to develop/manufacture?

 

[osu1991]

They've been working on the successor to cable card ,but of course dish/directv and the cable companies all have alterior motives to block each other. Tivo is caught in the middle. A plug in security module shouldn't be as hard as they're making it, but they're doing their best to kill it

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[ChadT41]

This isn't a free market scenario. There's no way a new company can jump in and compete in the set top box business. The barriers to entry are enormous with the entrenched providers having all the power and no incentive to allow someone else's STB to compete with what they offer. Hell, look at echostar's attempt to offer STBs to the cable industry. They are a huge existing manufacturer and got exactly nowhere. So throwing around magic words like "free market" fails to acknowledge reality.

Free market, a true free market, is regulated by the people willing to pay for it. Tv is a luxury. It's not necessary to survive. Yet people shell out big money for it... Why? Because obviously in their head, even when they complain about how unfair it is, choose to pay for their service. So yes it is still a free market situation. People have the choice of just doing ANYTHING else, and can still get OTA free, or they can use their newly government regulated Internet to watch on demand. With all the issues in the world and this is what we choose to waste valuable time and money on debating in Washington? Let's use that money and... I don't know... Maybe fix the VA healthcare so veterans are not dying waiting for appointments. Let's use that money and get homeless people off the streets. Let's use that money to further educate our kids, and let's stop blaming others for what we made happen. It truly wasn't the big bad evil tv company that made this happen, it was the consumers that paid them to do it.

 

[dangue]

Free market, a true free market, is regulated by the people willing to pay for it. Tv is a luxury. It's not necessary to survive. Yet people shell out big money for it... Why? Because obviously in their head, even when they complain about how unfair it is, choose to pay for their service. So yes it is still a free market situation. People have the choice of just doing ANYTHING else, and can still get OTA free, or they can use their newly government regulated Internet to watch on demand. With all the issues in the world and this is what we choose to waste valuable time and money on debating in Washington? Let's use that money and... I don't know... Maybe fix the VA healthcare so veterans are not dying waiting for appointments. Let's use that money and get homeless people off the streets. Let's use that money to further educate our kids, and let's stop blaming others for what we made happen. It truly wasn't the big bad evil tv company that made this happen, it was the consumers that paid them to do it.

Blah blah blah. As worthwhile as the other things you lost are, they're all red herrings since they're not under the purview of the FCC. If the FCC wasn't working on this, they couldn't work on any of those. In fact, they'd probably just be working on some other regulation you'd reflexively complain about. Sigh.

 

[ChadT41]

You're right, I will likely complain about government sticking their nose where it doesn't belong, every time. It's a big issue and in the last 15 years has become way to normal. But this is a pit conversation. The fact remains, we are at fault and if we want changes we vote with our wallets. Free enterprise use to be nice.

 

[Dan748]

Reading beyond the article I wonder why every piece of electronics on earth gets cheaper with time. Why do set top boxes keep going up and up and up. Because they can. You guys can argue about set top boxes but the fact remains set top boxes go up every year or every other year. You don't see that with computers, phones or video game consoles.

The companies that sell all those products put a lot of time in marketing and development of new products with profit off old. Still all their electronics go down in price. Except the stet top box. Hmmm