CV CABLE SERVICE

Hi All,
The following is extracted from the CV Q & A.

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Author: Jules Sitnick (---.miatflad.dynamic.covad.net)

Date: 08-05-08 15:45

At the election meeting of delegates, it seemed to me that Larry mentioned at this point in the meetings with Comcast, one of the options would be that Comcast would make available channels 2 through 29 at the current rate.

He also mentioned a charge of $3.40 per month for a box for us to get the additional channels.

At least that was my understanding.

He wanted to get a feeling of how the residents felt about it and what way they want to go.

I don't know how many channels most users watch at one time but keeping things as they are now and with no need for a converter box to retain access to channels 2 through 29 seems like a no brainer to me.

If unit owners want additional or special channels then they should be the ones paying the additional fees for what they want. I don't believe it should be made part of the common element charges. Wonder how other delegates feel.
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Hi Jules Et-Al;

What Larry Kall (Cable Chair) was discussing is known as Basic Cable and this is the way Cable service has been defined for decades.

Basic cable, is a whole lot more than just the networks. I'll put it this way: think of every cable channel that no one would bother paying extra for. Well, most of those end up in your basic Cable package. Yes, that means channels like the Golf Channel and Lifetime (no offense if you like them!), but it also means another 15-20 random channels, at least a few of which will probably strike your fancy. Some folks will be able to get by quite happily with this set of channels. Yes, there's no cable news, and no ESPN (which hurts, but there's something fun about old-fashioned sports on the radio), but there's more than enough for someone attempting to watch TV in moderation.

The standard approach has always been as Jules describes; if you want additional services, you must obtain the Set-Top box and pay for the services you desire, that is how it is for millions of Comcast customers across the Nation.

To put it bluntly we have been spoiled by our generous channel package; but Comcast simply wants to put the Village on the same system as the rest of the Country, and I doubt we can talk them out of it.
I concur with Jules’ analysis of the situation as regards Cable service.

As an afterthought; we should explore services provided by the TELCOS such as FIOS, which in addition to hundreds of TV channels also provides High-Speed INTERNET up to 30Mbit.

Dave Israel