[mythtv-users] (US) Goodbye to unencrypted QAM...

Allen Edwards allen.p.edwards at gmail.com
Wed Aug 26 21:04:54 UTC 2009


I strongly recommend over the air ATSC if you possibly can.  Cable is just
500 channels of a vast waist land, remember?   ;-)
Allen




On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 2:49 AM, Marc Tousignant <drayson at net1plus.com>wrote:

> > Hey all,
> >
> > Though I hate to be a bearer of bad news, the FCC made a decision
> > yesterday to permit cable MSOs to turn on the limited encryption on
> > their "DTA" boxes.  This has some fairly far-reaching implications.
> > To put it simply, it permits the cable companies to roll out low cost
> > analog terminal adapters and lock down all the unencrypted QAM
> > (besides, possibly, the local broadcasts).  I strongly suspect,
> > especially given the ominous tone of the quote from the MSO in the
> > Update at the bottom of the second article below, that we will see a
> > mass rollout of DTAs in most cable markets, and unencrypted QAM being
> > phased out.
> >
> > I could be wrong, but this article hits all the right keys to make me
> > feel that I am not.
> >
> > http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=180850&site=cdn
> > http://www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?blog_sectionid=419&doc_id=180878&s
> > ite=cdn&
> >
> > Meaningful quotes:
> >
> > "The waivers give Comcast and, potentially, other operators the green
> > light to deploy those inexpensive, one-way "channel zappers" (they
> > cost about $35 each) with security enabled, thereby sidestepping an
> > integrated security ban that took effect in July 2007."
> >
> > In the first comment (which was written by the article author):
> >
> > "Probably not a huge surprise, but The Consumer Electronics
> > Association was a tad dissapointed in Monday's waiver order, claiming
> > that consumers will be the ones losing out.  also, doing some checking
> > with the MSOs to see if the new waiver order will have any affect on
> > thier DTA plans, and at least one among the majors said that "this
> > [order] is what we've been waiting for." "
> >
> > Troubling news.  If having access to basic cable with the QAM tuner
> > you bought in your television means something to you, now would be a
> > fantastic time to start making people aware of this.  With analog
> > television one could reasonably expect to get the basic lineup by
> > simply plugging in the cable-- With this decision, that capability
> > seems on the verge of extinction.
> >
> > Robert
>
> Already sent a letter off to my Senator.
>
> Marc
>
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