New Technology

[Matthew Copple]

On 7/5/08 4:08 PM, "Jonathan Hutchins" <hutchins at tarcanfel.org> wrote:

> There's some question what the various cable TV carriers and satellite
> companies are going to do when analog broadcasting shuts down.  Since anybody
> watching satellite already has a digital receiver, with analog output if they
> have an analog TV, not much is likely to change for DishNet or DirecTV.
> 
> I would imagine that Time Warner won't change - that would mean spending money
> on new equipment, which they don't like to do.  Ditto Comcast.
> 
> Everest, on the other hand, is making a big, mysterious fuss about "next
> year", when they're going to "overhaul the system" or "change everything".  I
> think they'd be pretty dumb to ditch every customer who doesn't need to
> replace their analog TV yet, but they don't always do what I consider smart.
> 
> Of course, getting a straight answer out of any of these companies about their
> technology strategy over the next ten years wouldn't even be likely for a
> Congressional Commission, let alone local staff.  Us customers are just going
> to take what they give us.

There was a recent article in "Red Tape Chronicles" on MSNBC.com about
precisely this. Right now, most cable companies offer the "Basic" cable tier
on an analog signal, including TWC and Comcast here in town. Older TVs with
the BNC connector on the back accept the analog signal.

Comcast has announced that it is converting to all-digital in several
markets, which will ostensibly allow for more channels and services in the
bandwidth previously taken by the analog signal. If/when this occurs, folks
with basic cable may have to upgrade to set-top boxes or newer TVs which
accept a digital signal.

Matt Copple
mcopple at kcopensource.org