I have a twitter stalker

Posted by nuxi on 2009-Jun-18 at 01:27:04 in SNAFU (Login to reply)

One of the Comcast twitter peoples saw my post and suggested I email the special help email account. While these posts have all been prompted by Comcast's push to kill analog cable, the topic at hand is more of the regulatory failures involved in digital cable than Comcast. But, I'm not about to pass up a chance to ask what I've been wondering, so I asked whether or not the service tier analog people are being moved to will be encrypted or not. Last time I heard the digital starter tier was encrypted, but that was 6 months ago.

In order to bulk move all the analog luddites like myself, they needed cheap digital to anlog converter boxes. Cheap, means no support for CableCARD. Now the FCC issued an integration ban back in 2007 that prohibits Cable providers from issuing converter boxes with integrated security modules. The integration ban forced them to start using CableCARD in their own equipment. I originally heard they were seeking a limited waiver allowing them to issue cheaper integrated boxes for limited purpose of porting their remaining analog customers to digital. I have been unable to determine if that request was approved or denied.

More recent evidence indicates the boxes have no support for a security module to begin with, but until I get my 2 free DTAs, I can't verify this. The integration ban only prohibits integrated security modules, it does not actually mandate that seperable modules exist. So a box without any security abilities at all would be perfectly permissible, it would also be even cheaper than an integrated box.

I'm hoping that my current analog channels are just transmitted in the clear since that will make it possible for me to build a DVR by just installing a QAM tuner card in one of my computers. I've been aware of the impending death of analog cable for a while now and have been putting off a DVR because of it. Yes, I still use a VCR.