CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Spanky Ham]

My father asked me about putting a HD box on the kitchen TV. He currently has Comcast directly plugged in using the analog feed. It looks like crap. My understanding is Comcast charges like an extra $12 for another HD box per month. My first question relates to Motorola. Does anyone have a Motorola 6200? I see them going on ebay for decent prices. The second question is will Comcast still charge a monthly fee for the cablecard? I will call and find out eventually. I guess I really need to know how good the Motorola box is or if there are better alternatives for Comcast?

[WanMan]

I am not aware that any cable television provider would allow you to BYOB. The way the cable industry is setup within any one company the local county-level franchises are operated dang near independently. The net result is that two neighboring Comcast franchises can use different equipment that is not operationally compatible within a given franchise.

For instance, Forsythe county likes to use the Scientific Atlanta STBs, but the Gwinnett county franchise uses the Motorola STBs. When I investigated options for getting increased storage capacity for HD content, the SA STB was the best option, but upon calling the Gwinnett franchise they said it will not work on their local network, would have no firmware to allow for it to operate on their headend's, and would not be creating accounts without the paid-for rental on their Motorola equipment.

All within Comcast, with two neighboring franchises, using differing equipment they supply. I even offered to buy an SA STB, but that meant nothing, operationally. I am pretty sure Comcast will not allow you to buy your own STB and use it on their network, even if its an exact make/model they use. Strange? Heck yes, because their Internet division actually encourages their users to go into retail stores and buy cable modems.

You could ask this question on DSL Reports (www.dslreports.com) in the Comcast forum. There are several Comcast employees that interact with the public.

[Spanky Ham]

Wan,
I thought that is what the cablecard was for. If you can't BYOB, then how does TIVO even have any sales? I will probably give them a call and see what they say. Personally, I think Comcast is kind of a rip off compared to the satellites.

[WanMan]

Comcast is a ripoff, but when you are a COWsumer you are in blissful ignorance that you are bending over.

[ralpharch]

[WanMan]

Are these cablecard specific codes?

[ralpharch]