Sidestepping A-to-D Convertors For Town Government's Cable TV? 539
jake-itguy writes "I am the IT guy for a small town municipality. Comcast called me the other day and told me I had to have a digital-to-analog converter for each TV in the municipality, as Comcast is turning off analog cable in September. I did a quick count, and we have 32 TVs across 6 buildings (22 being in the police and fire departments). Most of the TVs are hung on the walls. I told Comcast having a box for each TV was not acceptable and wanted a different solution. Comcast told me there was no other solution." Read on for more details of the situation, and to see if you can offer Jake any advice for distributing cable service within his Indiana town.
jake-itguy continues: "They told me they have been putting these boxes on every TV in each classroom in each school. I laughed when I heard that. I said, 'Do you know how much electricity is going to be needed for each box?' They didn't know the answer. I was bumped up to the next guy in the Comcast hierarchy, who said there was no other solution and I had to pay $3 per month for each box. Being a municipality, we are entitled to free expanded basic cable as a part of the franchise agreement back in 1982.I know there is a solution, as hospitals and hotels don't have little boxes next their TVs. Unfortunately I haven't found a specific answer to this problem so I am asking Slashdot. Is there a box that can be put in the basement of the town hall that will convert the Comcast signal into a regular digital signal? Most of the TVs in the town have digital tuners per last years a2d conversion of the airwaves. I would be willing to replace the few analog sets with new ones if there is a good solution for this. Each building's cable feed is fed from the town hall. We have a nice big 1-inch cable coming into the building with some splitters coming off the line. Each building gets a 1/2 inch cable. Is there a box that will convert the Comcast signal to analog for the schools? I am sure the schools don't have TVs with digital tuners."
Are they all tuned to the same channel? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Are they all tuned to the same channel? (Score:5, Informative)
This is how we offer TV service to our dorms.
We have 1 box per 2 channels of directTV (or dishnetwork I can't recall which). Each one pushes out to a tv channel that their TV can tune in to watch.
We offer 30 channels so we have 15 boxes.
Re:Are they all tuned to the same channel? (Score:5, Insightful)
If you just need to tune to a local news channel for weather alerts and to a few public service channels, Channel Plus makes a nice looking (on paper anyway) four channel modulator for about $150.
In any case, it doesn't sound to me like Comcast is acting in good faith (like any sane person would expect them to). Probably your best bet is to get your data together. Write up the information in a form that will make sense to an intelligent adult. No easy job. Some of the posts in this thread will give you an idea of the amount of stupidity you will encounter. Estimate current and ongoing costs to maintain your current level of service.
Armed with your whitepaper, your boss or your boss'es boss should sit down with the town attorney and decide whether to escalate to the state government and/or the Public Utility Commission. Assuming that the franchise agreement supports it, I'd have the suits argue to higher authority that Comcast is obligated to deliver you expanded basic service in analog (or replace your TVs) and how they do it should not be your problem. Comcast should be responsible for the engineering, installation, and maintenance of their solution whatever it is. Who knows, Comcast being possibly the second most despised company (after BP) in many parts of America. The PUC or whoever may see things your way.
Re:Are they all tuned to the same channel? (Score:5, Insightful)
"For some people that's half a week's take home pay."
If someone is only making $170 a week in take home pay, maybe they should stop paying for fucking cable. There are bigger priorities at that point.
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Re:Are they all tuned to the same channel? (Score:4, Interesting)
I read the whole post and everything after the hard numbers was irrelevant. The point was that if someone is living on that meager of an income, television service of ANY kind is the last thing they need to worry about.
Cable television isn't going to increase your earning potential unless you happen to fancy yourself the next Cake Boss.
For the record, I don't have cable. I use an OTA antennae to get the few shows we watch with the kids - mostly PBS. The rest we get from Netflix either streaming on the xbox or shipped.
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>>>that the TV's QAM receiver is incapable of uncompressing it?
QAM is perfectly capable of receiving the signal and uncompressing it, just the same way my ATSC receiver receives channel 35 and uncompresses it into Mind, Global, Link, and the Extra channels. It's part of the standard. In fact there still are a few unscrambled QAM signals that people watch. It's only the scrambled ones that require the box.
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No, madam, the basic digital signals are encrypted nowadays. It's not compression, not intended to compress anything.
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That will effectively force people to upgrade to Comcast TV or Comcast Internet" in order to get decent television.
It can't force anyone to do anything. Watching TV is not a necessity of life and thus there is nothing forcing you to continue buying it other than one's own choice to do so.
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Nobody has a CableCard-capable TV. They were vaporware a few years ago, and now they're superceded by Tru2Way, which is also vaporware. Cable Labs (run by -- guess who -- Comcast, among other cable companies) gives lip service to developing these things, but really tries to avoid it as much as possible because the assholes in charge would rather everyone have to rent boxes.
Besides, even cable cards, which still entail a per-TV rental fee, are asinine compared to simply shutting off the fucking encryption a
Wait, you have ASTC TVs? (Score:2)
Isn't digital cable ASTC compatible if it is not encrypted?
Re:Wait, you have ASTC TVs? (Score:5, Interesting)
In the US, afaik, no, they use QAM encoding, same as cable modems. However, many TV's can tune 'Clear' (unencrypted) QAM and ATSC, and all channels that are available over the air (OTA) should be unencrypted on Cable (I believe it's a legal requirement, but cable co's continueally 'accidently' encrypt channels
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
In some places, it isn't so much that there's encryption than that the signal is slightly out of specification such that typical authorized devices work fine but that most editing tools can't access the video signal. Fox prime-time programming seems to be a consistent problem. For example, a recorded stream from a Firewire port on a cable box won't decode properly in MPEG StreamClip, but a TiVoToGo transfer can be extracted and converted to editable HDV using Roxio Toast Titanium. (MPEG StreamClip though is
Re:Wait, you have ASTC TVs? (Score:5, Informative)
U.S. digital cable is not ATSC (8-VSB modulation) over-the-air broadcast signal compatible. Instead, the main MPEG2 payload is carried in 64-QAM or 256-QAM modulation, within RF channels that fit the usual US-standard 6 MHz spacing. Alongside this, are one or more "out-of-band" carriers that use a different modulation format and lower data rate, that carry channel maps and other administrative information. Finally, there is an upstream (settop box to head-end) channel in RF bands lower in frequency than the downstream RF, that is used for administrative purposes and for pay-per-view.
The signal structures are described in published standards freely available from SCTE. The out-of-band and reverse channels have two different standards, reflecting the original developments by General Instrument (now Motorola) of one standard, and by Scientific Atlanta (now Cisco) of the other.
Much (but not all) of the content is covered by "conditional access" (encryption), the details of which are of course unpublished.
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>>>Isn't digital cable ASTC compatible if it is not encrypted?
Yes and no. ATSC chips are designed for the dual purpose of interpreting both the 8/16VSB and QAM signals. The question is whether or not the engineer enabled the QAM capability. In most cases the answer is yes but not always.
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Why do you need cable? (Score:3, Insightful)
Get antennas and cheap converter boxes. Or get a Channel Plus 3025 and only buy one cable box per building and pay $3 a month per box forever.
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Re:Why do you need cable? (Score:4, Interesting)
Stupid, off topic question, but is there any place you know of online to read up on things like the Channel Plus? I've been dreaming for a long time of setting up an 'in-home' network where I've got my OTA channels as well as a few 'computer run' channels setup to pass through preexisting coax I have in my home. But have so little knowledge about the topic that I haven't been able to even craft a relevant Google query to start off from.
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Its range is only 20-25 miles. The CM4228HD has a range of 50-60 miles which is why I would go with that.
Place them "elsewhere" (Score:5, Insightful)
If several TVs are tuned into the same channel in a building, you could use one box at the point-of-ingest into the building.
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Re:Place them "elsewhere" (Score:4, Informative)
Hotels (Score:5, Informative)
Hotels frequently have a bank of converters, each tuned to a different digital channel. The outputs of all of the converter boxes are put onto separate analog channels, multiplexed and fed through a distribution amplifier.
You would need a box for each channel you wish to receive. While this may work with a hotel where they own all of the premise wiring to the rooms it would be impractical for a widespread system across a city.
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On a side note: Im not sure about commercial settings, but in residential setting
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That is incorrect. Comcast encrypts virtually all channels, so a standard ClearQAM tuner that is available on the television set will not work. Comcast will require an external box for all their channels (they may not today for OTA channels, but they will as of 2012 when they are legally allowed to encrypt EVERYTHING).
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>>>If all you had to do was buy TVs with built-in digital tuners -- you'd be fine. But because Comcast ENCRYPTS THEIR CABLE TV CHANNELS... you can't.
Comcast sucks
Comsucks.
A little box that doesn't use electricity... (Score:4, Funny)
and provides an alternative to Comcast digital cable?
Hmm, sounds like a book to me.
Re-distribute necessary channels yourself? (Score:2, Informative)
Maybe the Digi TV's are already compatible? (Score:5, Interesting)
Couple of points - a "regular" signal is defined as digital! The other is that I would imagine that if you are only watching "basic" cable, then your digital tuners should cover the same frequencies. So there likely isn't any conversion for the digital TVs you already have.
As for the Dig to Ana converters - remember the ads the cable TV folks ran - "You won't have to change a thing if you have cable because we'll keep the analog signal around." Well - Comcast lied! I have to rent 6 (*^#(#^^ boxes for my house!
franchise agreement (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It looks like Comcast is trying to make the tradition "boxless cable option" disappear.
I say: the city should push back on this. If nothing else, there should be a boxless cable
option for any TV that can tune into digital signals with a built in tuner. A special cable
box should simply not be required.
There should be some cable package that can be used without a box.
Basic cable from Comcast should be tunable with an HDHR or a naked HDTV.
Get satellite (Score:5, Interesting)
I witnessed, many many years ago, a satellite setup for an apartment complex that used a Big Ugly Dish that muxed into a matrix of little individual tuner devices, the signals were recombined and then fed into the local F-type cable netwok, with repeater/amps behind that most likely. I wish I could tell you the brand names of these devices but I just don't remember. Let it be said; Comcrap is not the way to go, you could do much better with Dish/DirecTV (or anyone else's) service, I would suspect, and those companies would be much more helpful than your current "provider." Don't let your F-type cable go to waste, ditch Comcast and mux in the channels to your cable network from another vendor.
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Outlaw digital encryption (Score:4, Insightful)
Get all of the police and firemen to go to the city council and demand they end the Comcast monopoly and while they are at it, have the city council ban encryption of the digital signal.
Without a doubt, Comcast will find a solution for you!!!
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Re:Outlaw digital encryption (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Outlaw digital encryption (Score:4, Funny)
Nice office youse have here. It'd be a real shame if something happened and all the police and firemen were too busy trying to get a signal on their TV to do anything about it...
More seriously, yes, it sounds like this at the least violates the spirit of the franchise agreement (and perhaps the letter as well). Might be time to reconsider.
Pretend you're a small cable company. (Score:3, Informative)
Get a converter for every digital channel you care about and retransmit on analog channels. Don't interfere with other channels. You can do this per-building or for the whole town if it's small enough.
Actually, don't, since that would cost too much for the little benefit you would gain.
Put just a few converters in each building and have a remote switch to pick your digital channel and analog channel.
This is the box you're looking for (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.vecima.com/products.php?line=1026&item=1083
It does the digital to analog conversion in one spot, and is used to handle doing so for large buildings such as hospitals or apartment blocks.
Re:This is the box you're looking for (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.vecima.com/products.php?line=1026&item=1083 [vecima.com]
Disclaimer: I work for Vecima networks, but this system does do exactly what you want, and is already being used in that capacity in many other places, including some hotels.
IPTV over Multicast (Score:5, Interesting)
What you want is IPTV over multicast. A number of universities have done this - one is the University of Wisconsin at Madison [wisc.edu], which has a pretty bare bones approach using IP multicast and Apple Quicktime. They are also pretty good about giving technical clue if you run into trouble and ask nicely. If you want to spend more money, there is the HaiVision Video Furnace [haivision.com], which is used by, e.g., Brown University [brown.edu].
I have no idea if your contract with Comcast will let you do this, but I believe that the Universities do it by restricting use to only people on campus, so you might be able to do the same.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Neat stuff, but how does it eliminate the need for set-top boxes?
Cable feed... (Score:2)
Since all the other users are fed from your town hall, why feed them comcast cable?
Receive comcast at the townhall, and then transmit analog cable down the lines to all your other locations?
Most hotels do this, they have a single feed into the building and then handle their own feeds into all the sets via various methods (some hotels use iptv for instance).
Hotel solution? (Score:2)
Surely your town has a hotel. Every hotel I've stayed in for the last 15 years (mostly Hampton Inns) has had an analog TV with a fancy remote that looked like a digital interface. Once I saw "rain fade" revealing it was Dish Network behind the covers. If you have credentials to prove you work for the municipality, stop by a few hotels and ask if you can see the equipment that drives their TV system.
And while I'd think it would be nice to cancel the cable and save the town some cash (like another poster s
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The solution hotels/hospitals use (massive tuner banks + RF modulators + RF combiner hiding in a rack somewhere) is only economical for large scale (hundreds of TVs) installations. Usually where num_TVs > 2*total_tunable_channels or so.
Plus most hotels I have been in recently had custom boxes designed for the TV system in use at the hotel (to support all the shiny VOD/PPV stuff.)
In addition to the technical solution (Score:5, Insightful)
Being a municipality, we are entitled to free expanded basic cable as a part of the franchise agreement back in 1982.
Sounds like you may need to have a quick chat with your city's lawyer about whether Comcast is trying to do an end-run around that agreement. That section may make your problem their problem instead.
Call the lawyers for a chat... (Score:5, Informative)
If the franchise agreement really says you get expanded basic in exchange for them getting the franchise, then I'd have a word with the township's lawyers. Depending on how the deal is stated, it's probably Comcast's problem to make this work, not yours. I suspect that if the town's lawyers had a word with Comcast's lawyers, then someone in Comcast's engineering department would sort things out right quick.
Alternative (Score:2)
There are two ways to use Comcast digital cable; set top box and CableCard http://customer.comcast.com/Pages/FAQViewer.aspx?seoid=What-is-a-CableCARD [comcast.com]
Personal CATV system? (Score:2)
Remember back a couple of years ago when the cable industry ran those ads (on Comcast here in W. Mass.) reassuring us all that we didn't have to worry about all this digital nonsense because they had our backs? And here we are a short time later, where they've deleted 3/4 of the channels and reduced the signal quality of what's left. Thanks a ton guys, and you're welcome for all that money I've sent you over the years. I refuse to get their digital box because I don't want Comcast always knowing what cha
Being ridiculous (Score:2)
Of all the objections to make, this one is silly:
'Do you know how much electricity is going to be needed for each box?'
Cable boxes run pretty warm, but nothing compared to almost any sized CRT TV.
I'm assuming you don't have LCDs or plasmas hung on the walls, since most of them have included Clear QAM support since their prices became reasonable.
If you want encrypted channels (basically anything other than the broadcast networks), you need a cable box, period. (Yeah there is CableCard, but CableCard was an
Master antenna distribution system (Score:2)
It is common for hotels and the like to have a master antenna distribution system. The head end has the antenna combiners, modulators (digital and or analog) tuners/antennas and other program material. You will want an engineer to design the distribution system so each outlet receives the same signal strength and each channel has the correct audio and video levels into the respective modulators.
The general arrangement for a typical system is a tuner for each channel desired feeding a modulator on each des
comcast DTA are a joke and you get less analog (Score:2)
comcast DTA's are a joke and you get less then what used to be on analog cable.
In Chicago land that's
CSN +
CLTV
SCI-FI
Speed (parts of the area)
and more.
STB per TV may be your best option (Score:5, Informative)
I actually work for a TV company... might be able to give a little insight.
Most headends for hotels, hospitals and the like are comprised of a rack of STBs, each tuned to a specific channel. The output is modulated as an RF signal and combined with all the others, so the incoming digital signal is effectively converted to analog for redistribution on the local coax network.
So, if you're wanting to display more than 32 services, you'll need at least that many STBs at your analog headend. You'll also need to manage the infrastructure to distribute it to the six buildings, which would probably mean running underground cables underground, and if there is any sort of distance you'd need some RF amplifiers. You might be able to get around some of that using something like a slingbox over IP, but again, added cost.
Finally, there's the management aspect. What happens if a channel moves to another channel number? You'll have to retune the box. If a box goes down for any reason, you'll have to replace it as the channel will be knocked out. And one of the less fun aspects of managing a TV system is that people treat it as a utility... if it's down, expect to get a call, even at 3AM.
If I were you, I'd push your cable company to donate STBs in order to keep your relationship rosy. That way, no $3/month fee (which does seem wrong based on your agreement), and none of the buildout/management headaches.
Best of luck.
Use another cable provider! (Score:2)
I mean, since the market has been deregulated, there must be some competitors in the market that can offer you cable besides whatever you have now. That's the point of the free market, to allow competitors to offer better service and have people choose which offering they want to take - there should be no state-subsidized monopoly on either cable or internet providers.
You could also use another type of TV provider: IPTV, Satellite - they should all have something in their commercial range that allows you t
complain to the right people (Score:2)
put together the numbers of what this will cost, and complain to your elected supervisors. suggest terminating the cableco's franchise. god forbid they should lose their right to print money by ... delivering service.
Ceton/ATX Networks - exactly what you want (Score:2)
http://www.atxnetworks.com/bulk-qam-to-qam-gige-analog [atxnetworks.com]
Does exactly what you want - it can bulk-decrypt cable channels and output them as CleaQAM. Unfortunately, if you only have 32 TVs, you likely can't afford it.
To be quite frank, Comcast doesn't care about you. 32 sets is a small setup. Something like that, or using modulators is how the big boys do it, but you're talking $10,000+ (if not $100,000+) depending on your requiements.
make Comcast put the full analog line in clear QAM (Score:2)
make Comcast put the full analog line up + HD ver of the old analog channels in clear QAM.
To bad with comcast it's OTA clear qam or the at junk DTA that does not even get the full starter line up or the $8 per tv box / cable outlet fee.
Missing the point entirely (Score:2, Insightful)
MDTA (Score:5, Informative)
First, disclaimers. I don't work for Comcast, but I do consult to them. I don't speak for Comcast in any way. I am under NDA, so I can't give you the sort of specific technical information you need. There may be any number of reasons why this thing wouldn't work in your circumstances, or why Comcast wouldn't choose to provide you one.
Having said all of that, you might want to look into the MDTA [multichannel.com]. It's the "solution" you're sure exists ;-)
It is POSSIBLE that one of these could be connected to your 1 inch (probably 850) hardline. But be aware that it doesn't mix with digital video services, though CableModems and MTAs work fine when hung off of it.
-Peter
Why isn't Comcast using ATSC for "basic" cable? (Score:3, Insightful)
There was a local newspaper column about Comcast's switch to digital encoding for everything and the requirement that everyone have a cable box (shades of pre-cable ready TV again). As with all things local newspaper + technology, it was shockingly short of facts.
What I don't understand is why Comcast doesn't use in the clear ATSC digital encoding for their "analog to digital" conversion? I finally got a TV with an ATSC tuner and was surprised to see ATSC digital channels on the cable coming out of the wall without a box.
Of course I know the conspiracy angle is Comcast just wants to nickel and dime everyone as much as possible, but the ability to just connect a TV to cable without a box has been a strength of cable vs. satellite (along with a simpler wiring scheme). When the box becomes a requirement to get ANY TV, I think they lose a competitive advantage over satellite.
The article I read said they would be supplying 1-2 boxes for free to all subscribers. Given the relative stupidity of most people and the inherent added complexity this adds to cable, wouldn't it be more profitable in the long run to just encode via ATSC and not deal with all the nuisance of boxes and box support and box replacement, ad nauseum?
My mom's retirement community... (Score:3, Funny)
They've tried hiding the old TV remotes in drawers but then the residents get mad and want to know who stole them.
Re:Haft inch (Score:5, Informative)
If you use haft-inch and one inch do describe coax cables maybe your not the best guy for the job.
Half inch, 1 inch, and "625" (which stands for 0.625", or 5/8 inch) are all industry-standard ways to specify the different sizes of 75 Ohm CATV coax Mr. anonymous dumbass. Yes, I am a CATV engineer.
Re:Why haven't we heard about this? (Score:5, Funny)
way to confuse the government mandated OTA switch from analog to digital with Comcast's decision to turn off analog cable. You even managed to sound like a pompous, condescending ass while being completely wrong.
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I read a funny post recently from a New Comcast subscriber.
Well it would have been funny if it had not been so sad.
Quoting from memory:
"They said they would take care of us when the Analog switched off. Just pay $10 a month and you'll get all your local stations with your old set. So I signed up. Great deal. Now less than a year later they are telling us we need to rent boxes for $5 per set, per month, if we want to keep getting our local stations. Thanks a lot Comsucks. Had I known that we would have
Re:advice: (Score:5, Informative)
Better advice: sue. The FCC is requiring cable providers to maintain analog cable until 2012 [arstechnica.com] unless they provide converters for their customers. Unless I'm misunderstanding, charging their customers to rent the boxes was NOT one of their options.
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...who said there was no other solution and I had to pay $3 per month for each box.
About the third line of the second quoted section.
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Exactly where in the 'article' is the information about Comcast charging? It's not.
Last time I used cable, the box came free with the service. If you wanted a better box, you paid more. ($10 more for HD, or DVR, or HD-DVR. Yeah, they were all the same.)
You are partially correct. Comcast charges a per box fee past 4 boxes. If you only have 4 TVs, no extra fee.
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Then use four boxes to convert to analog and then amplify the signal into your own analog network.
The alternative is to just flip them the bird and forget about having TV at all on the premises and stick to using radio channels. NPR would do fine.
Life still goes on without TV.
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Exactly where in the 'article' is the information about Comcast charging? It's not.
Go back and read it again, focusing in particular on the paragraph after "jake-itguy continues". You'll find what you missed there. You might want to rethink your comment. Personally, I think forcibly phasing out analog and charging extra rent for the digital converters smells more like a less than ethical money grab to me.
Re:advice: (Score:5, Funny)
"There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now."
Comcast: That'll be $12 per month please.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The problem isn't with his employer, hence no point resigning. Me I'd rather have people in government who in the interest of reducing government expense would actually care enough to doubt what some kid at Comcast says and look for advice elsewhere, despite the hordes of idiots who would surely be jerks when given the opportunity.
Time to whip out the old "do not hire" list...
Name : Larry Bagina.
Reason: Quitter, can't read, anti-social dispenser of useless advice.
Re:Cut the cable (Score:4, Informative)
If you bothered to read the complete submission, you would have noticed it's free to their municipality due to an existing agreement.
"Being a municipality, we are entitled to free expanded basic cable as a part of the franchise agreement back in 1982."
At this point, he's trying to stop from using taxpayer money to pay for and run the cable boxes. Hence the point of the submission.
Re:Cut the cable (Score:5, Interesting)
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crap, mis-modded you redundant so this post fixes that :-(
a contract's a contract (Score:2)
It's probably cheaper for Comcast to provide the equipment to do single point D-to-A for the city than to lose their franchise. But I could be wrong.
Re:Cut the cable (Score:4, Insightful)
Reasons for TV in a City:
City/Police/Fire - Weather Disasters
Fire - 24 hr shifts.
Re: (Score:2)
Education: View Presidential speeches, inauguration or other important government functions like the Senate floor.
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Being a municipality, we are entitled to free expanded basic cable as a part of the franchise agreement back in 1982.
They are not 'paying' for the cable TV.
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As he noted, they have free basic as part of their franchise agreement with Comcast, so there's no out-of-pocket from the city budget for this service.
As to why they need TV: on-duty firefighters between calls, idling in the station, waiting rooms in city offices, conference rooms with local/national news, TVs displaying city meetings over the city channel, etc.
Re:Cut the cable (Score:5, Insightful)
Enough of this shit. I want my cops & fire department on break to feel like they're well-trained and compensated, trusted professionals, not slave-wagers in the "all your base are belong to the company man" plan. (Also, I want tough and transparent oversight.) Otherwise you get the TSA.
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Well, if they're like my small town, it's very handy to have the regional (and cable only) news network available to the police, fire, and other emergency during severe weather conditions. This lets them both learn about conditions across the region, but what other cities in the region are doing. During winter severe weather, it's handy to make sure school closures and shelter openings information is going out properly (on local news providers).
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Re: (Score:2, Redundant)
Yep. Those D-to-A boxes function as the tuner for the TV. Places where you can change the channel have one box for every channel you can choose, with more gear to recombine all the channels back into an analog cable on different analog station numbers (plus amplification) so cable channel 142 is TV channel 3, 248 becomes 4 and so on.
Your alternative is to get CableCARD TVs and hope comcast and CableCARD play nice in your region (hint: comcast doesn't get to soak you for settop box rental if you use cablecar
Re:So? (Score:4, Informative)
Analog broadcast to digital you mean, HD doesn't enter into it. If a station wanted to broadcast multiple SD channels instead of HD, they would have the FCC's blessing.
Sorry to nitpick, but too many people think the digital transition was all about HD, when it was in reality nothing to do with HD.
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Comcast hierarchy, who said there was no other solution and I had to pay $3 per month for each box. Being a municipality, we are entitled to free expanded basic cable as a part of the franchise agreement back in 1982.
It looks to me, like Mr. Government employee has a point, and that Comcast is contractually obligated to provide those "$3 per month" boxes for free - part of the cost of getting the franchise.
Maybe then you guys will learn to count and balance your budgets.
While the IT guy generally isn't responsible for balancing the budget, as you seem to think, he actually is doing a good job of it here by trying to get rid of unnecessary costs.
What would you have him do? Roll over and take the added costs lying down?
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A Very selfish attitude. "Give ME fast internet and to $%^ with those poor people who have old TVs"
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digital cable boxes will work just fine on old CRT TV's. all they do is understand a different signal. and in NYC digital cable has been the same price or cheaper for years. only reason people stuck with analog is the ability to use pirated boxes that get every channel
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Exactly. I wouldn't even bother with the city attorney yet. Just tell them that as part of the franchise agreement they are to provide free extended cable. Tell them where to deliver the boxes if they bawk explain that if they do not you will then be in touch with the city attorney. It will be a lot cheaper for Comcast to just give you the boxes than deal with a single letter from the city attorney much less fines.
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Really? People need this explained?
Police and firemen are two kinds of jobs which can have different definitions of "work". Jobs in which you are waiting for a call (something to happen) often allow for personal time and even sleep such as in the case of firemen. Same deal for soldiers- you're always "at work", but not always on patrol.
Hell, I was a third-shift NOC guy for a while and there was very little actual work to do during a routine shift.
Re:How many TV's?? (Score:5, Insightful)