Comcast will treat Rokus like CableCARDs, not set-top boxes
techcrunch.com
techcrunch.com
* randomly degrades to unwatchable resolutions at least once during a game (and immediately switching to Netflix or Amazon or doing traceroutes on my network show the problem isn't mine).
* it randomly goes back in time, sometimes 5-10 minutes and you can't FF.
* it both allows live viewing of games and replays. For replays, FF does not work. It pretends to work, but when you find your spot it randomly skips forward and backward.
* when you start it, it automatically plays a commercial (for me, for Honda). Even if you stop streaming and go right back in (to fix problems caused by the above), it plays the commercial.
* the commercials clip the game play. Often when live action is rejoined, a minute or two have been missed of the game.
Comcast is terrible. I hate them. They have a monopoly on the NBA team I love. I hate them.
It's how I am able to keep up with the wizards/capitals while living in the bay area (where media monopoly actually helps me). I wish fox sports go worked the same way (but it only lets you watch what you can see based on geographic area, not based on what your cable subscription would give you access to)
the commercial thing hasn't bit me with the CSN-MA broadcasts though I see the commercials (thy might be better at syncing the commercials correctly), but I have seen it on things like MLB-TV as well. It's a function of how these streaming services sell ad)
The main reason I stream torrents on my second TV (even though like 98% of the content is stuff that I could watch on the cable package I pay for) is because I don't want to rent yet another box just to watch something in another room. This is yet another example of how the box isn't just to address a technical need but rather a cash cow that you can't get around paying for.
Seems pretty normal to me.
Maybe at the federal level, but nothing is stopping the states from intervening.
When Comcast and Time Warner Cable were planning on merging, New York State hinted that they would consider blocking the merger (within New York) if it went through. Ultimately the deal fell apart before the FCC had a chance to announce their decision, let alone NYS, but it's definitely possible for that to happen here.
Obama and Wheeler had proposed a universal cablebox rule, but later decided having a device with an "app" was instead acceptable.
The FCC had tried to mandate a universal receiver box in the 1970s.
It is a Trump issue.
As much as many people would have liked it, the EC did not go against the wishes of the voters in their states.
Are you telling me an app on a Roku is the equivalent?
If we can buy our own DOCSIS modems, why can't we buy our own cablebox?
http://www.businessinsider.com/fcc-cable-box-vote-2016-2
http://www.businessinsider.com/fcc-cable-box-new-proposal-ap...
This isn't like AT&T. For one thing, cable television is a luxury service, not a necessity for modern life like telecommunications (telephones back in AT&T/Ma Bell's days, cellular + internet these days). Secondly, the regulatory environment back then was rather different. These days, the government doesn't really believe in strong regulation, and we've elected a new administration and Congress who greatly oppose regulation, even more than the previous ones.
So again, if you don't like it, you don't have to buy it. And if you're mad that the government isn't reining in a monopoly, you can blame your fellow voters for that.
My point is, the same people who now use Roku likely don't want the Comcast box. They want to use Roku as the one and only box, but Comcast charges them "for having two", even though they leave these customers no choice but to use two since the first one is mandatory.
It may be normal for a cable company to nickle and dime their subscribers, but it's still frustrating.
The "Comcast TV" app for iOS and Android is basically the same thing as the Roku app and doesn't cost extra.
Overall, if it wasn't for Comcast on-demand being supported on Tivo, we'd just switch to FiOS and keep the Tivo system, which works marvelously. As it is on-demand is just too convenient for catching up on recent episodes of a show if you forget to Tivo it.
I would overdose on blood pressure meds.
Edit: Do you know that you can set a 'season pass' on your TiVO for any show? Personally, I'm just aggressive and set-up any show as a season pass
Why almost? Do it. I haven't had cable for over 10 years. There are plenty of better things to do other than watch hours of TV every night.
The only real reason I wanted to stream to chromecast is that my treadmill has a tv and use it during lunch.
Because it's something that you value, and they have the ability to charge for it. So they do. It has nothing to do with their own cost function.
In an uncompetitive market (which largely describes the residential cable market, at least to a first-order approximation), there is no pressure for the price to converge to the average cost[0] of delivering the service.
[0] economic cost - ie, including opportunity costs
I've looked into this before, and TiVo is the ONLY device that accepts CableCard and output to HDMI. There is no competition. Everything else is a tuner, that outputs to your network, which is not same because it requires a PC to receive the signal.
I have a used, non-subscription, TiVo box that allows me to watch Comcast TV through a CableCard. The benefit is that I can watch local channels in HD through the TiVo. If I used a Comcast box, I'd have to pay extra for HD programming and an HD box.
I guess this Roku app would now be an alternative to that hack.
Silicondust would like a word, sir: https://www.silicondust.com/product/hdhomerun-prime/
>Everything else is a PC-required tuner, which is not same.
"HDHomeRun streams to DLNA compatible devices on your network" - HD Homerun Prime website
The TiVo has a HDMI-out, so you can hook it directly to your TV.
What is incentive to the consumer for using a Roku instead of a second set-top box then?