Any actual data to support that position?
There’s 55 million+ CableCard devices out in the market. TiVo and Comcast signed an agreement (as part of licensing) that keeps CableCards around to 2030+. TiVo itself is today still selling CableCard receivers. Xfinity publicly states they’ll support CableCards well into the future.
So why the belief it’s less/more perilous than TVE or OTA which have none of the same support?
For one thing, the option to request a Cable Card while signing up for an Xfinity package no longer exists on the website. The website forces you to choose one of their X1 receivers, which wasn't the case before. There may still be back channels to obtain and activate Cable cards, but they definitely aren't making it easy. Some packages are already impossible to activate on a Cable Card. A few years back, I spent hours on the phone with various levels of support, trying to add the Sports & Entertainment package, but it just wouldn't go through. I consistently received the same answer, that their system simply wouldn't allow that package to be activated on a Cable card. They aren't just going to cut off existing Cable cards users, but they will likely do anything they can to push those people to Xfinity owned boxes. Don't be surprised if more channels move to IP-only over time, with Xfinity sending notifications to their customers - "If you want to continue receiving Fox Sports 1, you must obtain an X1 box."
Charter has already stopped giving new cablecards to resellers:
There would need to be law changes to truly kill OTA (must-carry, DMA exclusivity, etc). ATSC3 is moving at a glacial pace. It's easily the "safest" from major change.
TVE, I stated before. CableCards and TVE are both pretty perilous. 1a and 1b. The difference is that the net has been pulled out of CableCards by dropping the FCC requirement. Physical hardware manufacturing will stop, if it hasn't already. HDHR Prime's are old stock only, with no new hardware on horizon. TVE doesn't need hardware, and can evolve.
Largely, I'm on board with you that CableCard > TVE, but saying the OP was trolling is still wrong, due to the above
Same exact boat. Long-time DBS user that switched for pricing.
I'm in an almost-perfect situation because Spectrum allows for something resembling an a-la-carte setup with a small number of channels for a small price, which gets me 2 local network areas. Fubo provides me my main RSN/cable channels lineup and some 4K (along with their AWESOME multiview), Spectrum gives me locals + the turners, which Fubo lacks. OTA supplements.
Channels has made this frankensetup unbelievably manageable. It's really a godsend. I just worry about my cablecards going away, as Spectrum also sent me a survey asking what i would do if they went away.
For me, I told them I was willing to stay if they gave me the current promo rate or I would cancel. They said no, and I cancelled. Now I have more and better content at $35/month less.
I was paying $40.10 in taxes and fees alone. These costs did not follow me to Philo. My total monthly savings is $99.61 even after adding Showtime. And the super cool part is that I did all this with zero end user impact thanks to Channels. The only way I could have pulled this off before Channels would be with new boxes, remotes, and apps and a ton of user frustration -- and the effort probably would have failed in the end.
I found FUBO to be a very good replacement for Comcast. It is about $70 a month and has locals and cloud based DVR included. It works great with Channels.
As a longtime TiVo user I can't recall any point in time in which getting (and activating) a CableCARD was as easy as getting a set top box. It almost always involved at least a phone call or maybe an online chat.
In store salespeople have been saying they "aren't supported" or "going away" since like 2005.
If you have working cards or can get them via phone call there is probably no reason to worry about it. They will most likely work as long as they continue to support the hundreds of thousands of set top boxes they have in the field with internal CableCARDs.
Once CableCARD support is gone there will be no provider/network supported way to use your own DVR of any sort. As the OP suggested, that would be the end of Channels DVR for cable tv use.
I can't imagine many people would pay a traditional cable provider $80-$100/mo to use TVE (30 fps / stereo sound) as the only way to view the content they paid for.
Comcast Provides XFINITY app on firetv devices and you can setup passes and record.... So Boxes are no longer a requirement for additional outlets.... only 1 Box is needed... So if the Cable cards die there are already options in place. I have 2 Primes if they die I will not stop using Channels DVR TVE or XFINITY.
Where I live, Comcast/Xfinity has a 100% monopoly on high speed Internet. It's my only choice. And they know it. Comcast has priced their stand-alone Internet package such that it's only about $10 less than their Internet+CATV package. So Xfinity Internet-only plus any streaming service is way more than the Xfinity Internet+CATV package. So I went all-in and bought a used HDHR prime. After trading in my Xfinity STB for a CableCard, I now save quite a bit on my bill... I don't incur the STB lease fee AND they give me a monthly credit for supplying my own equipment.
I would be very sad, indeed to see CableCard disappear.
I also have that problem. However, I got fed up with Xfinity rising prices. So, I went to Internet only. False advertising, as I am paying for 300Mbs and getting only 200Mbs. The combo packages get much more expensive when the taxes and fee are added. No tax on Internet.
Odd, must be your area then, cause they never had an option to not have a one of their cable boxes here. It was included (charged) to you weather or not you wanted it or used it. No option to "trade in" and only have a cable card on account. It was insane. near the time i canceled, on the bill they detailed, they were charging $14.99 for box and $5.99 for the remote...pluss all the fees i did not want to pay, Reginal Sports fee ( I do NOT and have never watched Sports on any channel and never wanted them) and other BS fees that made the base bill around $60 just fees, not including taxes and the actual package.
I ported ours to ooma. device plugs into your internet connection and you plug your traditional phone line into it. All I pay is around $6 month in local taxes and includes location based 911 service. Call quality is as good or better than what I had from my cable co.
Have not paid for the home "landline" for nearly a decade. I get it free.
I bought a Obdi adapter off amazon for $30 and it is easy to setup with Google Voice, and is Free.
U can pay some third party plugin for E911 if you want.
I thought I was the old guy here.
You guys still have a 4 digit home phone number? Have to wait until the neighbor is done using the party line before you get on it? Does Ethel down on the next farm still listen in to your phone conversations?
Not sure what you mean?
Even landline phone numbers have always been 7 digits, area code + number
Well played.
O. And, I must say that ever since I moved from crappy Comcast Cable box, to a Shield and Apple TV in the house, the quality of the picture is drastically better and no additional charge.
When we first got an HD HDMI TV, went to comcast and they be like, ok, an HD Cable box is $10 more per month equipment rental fee (SD is $5) + we add on a $15 per month for "HD Technology Fee" to your plan. They didn't tell us that, we found out on the next bill.
Even the top o line X1 HD box my folks have, picture does not look as good as mine does.
I have Emby and Channels both running, with my Channels TVE lineup doubled up on Emby using the exposed Channels m3u and xmltv urls. Took 30 seconds to setup.
I have it setup the same way