Cable gets a leg up...

[mattb]

http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5074425.html?tag=fd_top

According to this article on news.com looks like cable TV will get a leg up from the TV makers on cable ready tv's for Digital.

Boohoo.. I still perfer Satellite over the land line cable :)

[waydwolf]

It's about to get worse than that. One of the things holding up tuner manufacturers was the difference between the two dominant systems from Motorola and Scientific Atlanta. IIRC, Sony designed their Passage system around the fact that instead of encrypting ALL digital packets, encrypting only a very small percentage would render the overall stream useless so by doubling a given percentage of packets and encrypting each bunch differently, you could transmit for both systems and use either or both boxes within such a digital cable system with only minor overhead increase. (kind of hazy on the article I read)

Meanwhile, DBS manufacturers have made no real initiative to get tuner builders to make them compatible with either DTV or E* or both. They show no sign of trying to spread mobile installations even as flat screens and DVDs are put into increasing numbers of campers, RVs, SUVs, and minivans.

And they still don't have all the premiums I watch. Neither covers all of them.

If DBS had any sense, they'd stop trying to compete as they are technologically not in the same category(bandwidth alone limits them extremely), and instead get allied with cable operators to offer mobile subsets of digital cable and data services.

Instead, they've allied themselves with the telephone companies who are rapidly being turned on by the public, tired of their inane monopolistic attitudes, turning to cable and IP phone technology, and especially wireless. I've got a dozen friends with no land lines, just cell phones. Verizon is a very dirty word in their houses.

[Mark Holtz]

I thought that there was some sets made specifically for DirecTV, but I'm not sure.

[James]

I thought that there was some sets made specifically for DirecTV, but I'm not sure.


RCA MADE THEM BUT QUIT

jAMES

[Jacob S]

This seems good for cable but I thought I heard that 50-75% (somewhere in that area) of cable subscribers would have DVR's by a given year in which was not too far off in the future. If that is the case then there would still be a need for an external box unless they built those within tv's as well in which is what I look to manufacturers doing in the future.

Perhaps when the technology comes around to where hard drives are not needed anymore but all information would be stored on chips, or a smaller less sensative hard drive or device with less cost, then maybe that would happen.

[BobMurdoch]

Funny, when I read your subject title I had visions of a big dog lifting his rear leg to relieve himself on a hydrant......

Which is exactly what they will do to satellite if the Congress removes the restrictions against them to insure carriage access like they are trying to do (think Philadelphia)....