[mythtv-users] CableCard Chain.

[Michael T. Dean]

On 07/25/2012 06:45 AM, Simon Hobson wrote:
> Ben Kamen wrote:
>
>> It's truly sad that people have forgotten how to vote with their wallet.
>
> Unfortunately, in many cases it's no longer practical. Back in the 
> days when there were many small companies it worked, now each area has 
> more or less a monopoly - your cable co can simply turn round and say 
> "so which other cable company are you going to ?" knowing that the 
> answer is "err, there isn't one".

This is the root of the problem.  Too many believe that cable TV (or 
even TV itself) is a necessity and fail to realize it's just a luxury.  
Yes, it's possible to do without TV--I went without any TV 
reception/service at all for many years, a while back, when I couldn't 
receive terrestrial broadcasts (analog "class B" reception wasn't 
usable--fortunately, digital TV is all or nothing, so I now have 
terrestrial reception) and I refused to send money to the cable or 
satellite TV industry.

And, FWIW, I currently have only OTA TV.  Any cable-only shows that are 
worth watching, I buy on DVD, and doing so is significantly cheaper than 
paying a cable TV subscription to get a license to view those shows, and 
in the end, I actually own DVD media with the shows rather than a 
fair-use exemption allowing me to time-shift (not archive forever) some 
recorded shows.

>> Imagine if everyone  cancelled their Cable for just 3 months with the 
>> message to their provider at disconnection that, "I'm unhappy how 
>> you've been railroading me to pay more for less content and even less 
>> choice. Bring back my choice and my content without the fees that 
>> goes with DRM everything, and I'll happily sign up."
>
> But the problem is that the vast majority don't see any problem.
> Talk to msot people and they can't see a problem - there are hundreds 
> of fart apps for i<stuff> so why does it matter that it's a closed 
> system ?
> Try explaining and you tend to get lumped into one of two crowds. As 
> Nick Rout wrote :
>> ... the blame will be squarely laid at the pinko long haired cheating 
>> pirates who broke their previous TVs safety features...
>
> To those doing the screwing over, anyone questioning it must be either 
> an extremist against any form of copyright at all (Richard Stallman 
> doesn't exactly do much to dispel this image), or a pirate simply out 
> to steal. Somehow we need to break down those sterotypes and persuade 
> people (especially politicians) that there are people who just want to 
> make fair use of what they are paying for.
>
> **** knows how we do that when we're up against people with vested 
> interests and very deep pockets to buy laws with.
>

Agreed.  Convincing people that there's a problem is nearly impossible.  
Too many believe it's "just the way it is."  A lot of my (well-educated, 
believe it or not) friends actually believe I'm stealing TV because I 
don't pay for cable or satellite service.  They grew up in families that 
never had OTA systems, so they think TV is something that comes from the 
cable company.  When I try to explain that local broadcasters actually 
send a signal over the air for anyone who can receive it to watch, they 
have no idea what I'm talking about...

Mike