Posts Tagged ‘Digital Cable’

Streaming to Tablets–Part Deux

In: Technology

By: Steve Stanfill on Aug 12, 2011 at 9:27 am

Several weeks ago I wrote a piece on the dispute between Time Warner and Viacom. (See that article here.)  At the center of the “TV Everywhere” paradigm is the legal question whether consumers should have access to content on any device that they’ve paid for as part of their cable subscription without additional fees being levied on the cable provider and consumer.  Most cable companies, as you would expect, feel that a cable subscription to a channel should extend to every viewable device within the home at no extra charge to the distributor or consumer.  Content providers see additional screens as an opportunity for more revenue.

In an announcement made this afternoon, CableVision (another large cable player who had introduced a “TV Everywhere” service) and Viacom announced that they had settled this dispute to their mutual satisfaction.  In a joint statement, the companies said: “Viacom and Cablevision have agreed to resolve their pending litigation, and the Viacom programming will continue to appear on Cablevision’s Optimum Apps for iPad and other IP devices. In reaching the settlement agreement, Cablevision and Viacom were able to resolve the iPad matter and an unrelated business matter to their mutual satisfaction. Neither side is conceding its original legal position or will have further comment.”

Hmmm….wonder what that means.  At least one on line source opined that Viacom had indeed bowed to the legal opinion of Cablevision, but I’ve been unable to find any other corroboration of that possibility.

As I indicated in a previous post, the cat is out of the proverbial (technical) bag IMHO.  I do not believe that the content providers’ desire for more revenue based on screen size or portability is a sustainable model.

Case in point:

Several weeks ago I replaced one of my televisions with a Samsung 7000 series LED HDTV. Samsung calls it a “Smart TV”, and indeed, carries with it a full series of apps as well as a QWERTY remote and the ability to surf the net via its built in wifi.  Guess what else is part of the technology?  Yup…streaming all channels from the TV set to a second screen, the Samsung Galaxy tablet!  Now at present, there are some limitations on this paradigm if you are not using the built in digital QAM or ATSC tuners, but I suspect that it is only a matter of time before enterprising manufacturers increase the functionality of the app and extend the option to iOS devices as well as other screens using the Android OS.

The point is that this idea has consumer inertia that will push continued development of multiple screen access to content.  Try as they might, content providers have historically had little control over the consumer electronics industry generally, and I don’t believe that they will bear sway here either.

These developments in the industry should help the content providers realize that forcing distributors of content to pay additional freight for implementing elegant solutions to “TV Everywhere” makes little sense, and is not a sustainable business model.

Until next time…

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Digital Video Transition–Almost complete

In: Technology

By: Steve Stanfill on Jul 22, 2011 at 4:01 pm

It’s been a long hot summer, though not over yet by any means.  WOW!’s video teams have been very busy with the digital video transition, which is complete in Michigan and Ohio, and in full swing in Illinois and Indiana.  The transition should be complete in Illinois by the end of August, with the Evansville market complete the following week.  We anxiously await the completion of this massive undertaking, which will allow expanded programming options for our customers.  High Definition channel lineups particularly will be beefed up as a result of this process.

I admit that I’m a selective TV viewer–part of this selectivity is that I seldom watch a program that isn’t in Hi-Def anymore.  Just can’t hardly bring myself to do it.  I relax that standard, obviously, as I enjoy some older content that didn’t have the benefit of HD technology when it was filmed, but even here, there are some pretty amazing HD transfers of older, film-based content.  The stuff that can’t be helped much is that which was shot  with analog standard-def video production techniques in the 70’s and 80’s.

Interestingly, video took a significant uptick in quality in the 90’s, driven by improvements in professional video gear that supported upwards of 540 scan lines.  Most of the video produced in the 20 years previous to that was between 240 and 300 scan lines–read: “not that great”.  These aforementioned production upgrades may have been as a result of anticipated demand for analog “Laserdisc” recordings that were offered to consumers in the 90’s.

Considered obsolete in this digital age, Laserdiscs looked pretty amazing on “enhanced definition” sets of the time.  Based on optical disc technology, the Laserdisc was, nonetheless, an analog format that had been refined to a “fare-thee-well”, and it still looks pretty good on present day HD sets, for that matter.  It was the pinnacle of analog-based consumer media.  I still have, though do not use, a Sony player and about 20 discs–big 12 inch diameter numbers that could be used as lethal weapons if thrown like a frisbee at an unsuspecting target.  DVD’s and Blu-ray are much more convenient–and safer ;)

So as WOW! officially retires its analog lineup with the completion of the digital transition, I may put my LaserDisc collection up on ebay to celebrate.  I hope that you find a way to celebrate the new HD content and viewing options this transition enables.

Until next time….

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Digital Transition Revisited

In: Blog, Technology

By: Steve Stanfill on Mar 30, 2011 at 1:38 pm

Over the course of the last two weeks, there has been quite a bit of blog activity around various aspects of the digital video transition.  The primary concern voiced by many customers has been the encryption of the basic cable channels moving to digital.  The requirement for a Digital Terminal Adapter (DTA) that would both decode the encryption and convert the signal to analog was obvious for older analog sets.  But many customers correctly pointed out that newer sets with digital QAM tuner capabilities could tune the signals directly if they were unencrypted.  This approach would save customers lease fees for DTA equipment, and save WOW! the capital expense of deploying that same equipment in many cases.

In light of customer feedback on this issue, our executive team revisited various issues surrounding the encryption of digital content. Since I’m a technical guy, I’m not sure precisely what went on “behind the scenes”, but the determination was made that WOW! digital signals in the basic tier will no longer be encrypted in any market post digital transition.

This means that if you have a digital television with a digital QAM tuner, a DTA will not be required to receive the basic cable tier of channels that was historically transmitted on the analog spectrum.  This change has already been effected in the Columbus market, and will be implemented in the Cleveland market within the next two weeks.  Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois customers have not yet gone through any phase of the digital transition, so digital channels there will be unencrypted from the “get go”.

I have included a channel grid for the Columbus market below.  Most of the new QAM tuner televisions will display the actual WOW channel number, but some older digital sets will display the actual RF channel followed by an MPEG ID shown in the grid below.  A fewer number of older sets will display the RF number followed by a number internally generated by the set itself, indicated by a “?” in the grid below. Customers may need to perform channel “rescans” after channels become available, also indicated in the grid below.

We appreciate your patience with this process.  As I’ve indicated before, this is necessary to provide the channel line ups that our customers request, including new HD channels.

Until next time….

Service

WOW channel #

RF/MPEG

Other

Date Avail

PAX – WSFJ

2

115-

2

115-

?

NBC – WCMH

4

115-

4

115-

?

CW – WWHO

5

115-

5

115-

?

ABC – WSYX

6

115-

6

115-

?

PBS -WOSU

7

115-

7

115-

?

FOX – WTTE

8

115-

8

115-

?

WGN

9

114-

9

114-

?

CBS -WBNS

10

115-

10

115-

?

QVC

11

115-

11

115-

?

23-May-11

USA

12

110-

12

110-

?

23-May-11

NICK

13

110-

13

110-

?

23-May-11

ONN

14

115-

14

115-

?

HSN

16

115-

16

115-

?

TBS

17

110-

17

110-

?

Inspiration

18

114-

18

114-

?

CSPAN 1

19

114-

19

114-

?

TOON

23

110-

23

110-

?

23-May-11

DISNEY

24

114-

24

114-

?

23-May-11

Lifetime

25

110-

25

110-

?

23-May-11

ETV

26

110-

26

110-

?

23-May-11

Comedy

27

112-

27

112-

?

23-May-11

VH-1

28

110-

28

110-

?

23-May-11

MTV

29

110-

29

110-

?

23-May-11

FSN-Ohio

30

110-

30

110-

?

23-May-11

Golf

31

110-

31

110-

?

23-May-11

ESPN

33

111-

33

111-

?

23-May-11

ESPN2

34

111-

34

111-

?

25-Apr-11

TNT

35

111-

35

111-

?

25-Apr-11

AMC

36

111-

36

111-

?

25-Apr-11

Bravo

37

112-

37

112-

?

25-Apr-11

Food

38

111-

38

111-

?

25-Apr-11

HGTV

39

111-

39

111-

?

25-Apr-11

TCM

40

114-

40

114-

?

25-Apr-11

Family

41

111-

41

111-

?

25-Apr-11

TLC

42

111-

42

111-

?

25-Apr-11

Nat Geo

43

111-

43

111-

?

25-Apr-11

SciFi

44

112-

44

112-

?

25-Apr-11

E&E

45

112-

45

112-

?

25-Apr-11

History

46

112-

46

112-

?

25-Apr-11

NOGGIN

47

114-

47

114-

?

25-Apr-11

Discovery

48

112-

48

112-

?

25-Apr-11

CNBC

50

112-

50

112-

?

25-Apr-11

CNN

51

112-

51

112-

?

25-Apr-11

Headline

52

111-

52

111-

?

25-Apr-11

MSNBC

53

112-

53

112-

?

28-Mar-11

Animal Planet

54

112-

54

112-

?

28-Mar-11

FOX News

55

112-

55

112-

?

28-Mar-11

Sports Time Ohio

57

112-

57

112-

?

28-Mar-11

Spike

58

113-

58

113-

?

28-Mar-11

BET

59

113-

59

113-

?

28-Mar-11

CMT

60

113-

60

113-

?

28-Mar-11

Travel

61

113-

61

113-

?

28-Mar-11

The Weather Chan.

62

111-

62

111-

?

28-Mar-11

Shop NBC

63

114-

63

114-

?

28-Mar-11

FX

64

113-

64

113-

?

28-Mar-11

Disney

65

114-

65

114-

?

28-Mar-11

TV Land

66

113-

66

113-

?

28-Mar-11

CRTV

67

111-

67

111-

?

28-Mar-11

OWN

68

113-

68

113-

?

28-Mar-11

MTV2

69

113-

69

113-

?

28-Mar-11

Speed

70

113-

70

113-

?

28-Mar-11

Hallmark

81

113-

81

113-

?

28-Mar-11

Big 10

87

113-

87

113-

?

28-Mar-11

Versus

88

113-

88

113-

?

28-Mar-11

Nick Toons

93

114-

93

114-

?

28-Mar-11

WBNS2

101

95-

101

95-

?

Available

Telemundo

102

76-

102

76-

?

Available

Uni Sports

103

76-

103

76-

?

Available

RTV

130

114-

130

114-

?

Available

OSUO

150

92-

150

92-

?

Available

CBSHD

201

82-

201

82-

?

Available

NBCHD

203

94-

203

94-

?

Available

WHODT – CW HD

204

96-

204

96-

?

Available

OSUHD

205

92-

205

92-

?

Available

ABCHD

206

71-

206

71-

?

Available

FOX HD

208

71-

208

71-

?

Available

ABCNN

317

95-

317

95-

?

Available

PPVB

399

71-

399

71-

?

Available
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Followup on All Digital Transition

In: Technology

By: Steve Stanfill on Feb 17, 2011 at 8:28 am

There have been quite a number of comments on the Facebook page of WOW! which run the gamut from excitement at the potential of additional channels and HD content to concern about what this all means.  I thought I would take a few FAQ on the digital transition and address them here.

Question:  Is this technology going to translate into a rate increase?

Answer:  Absolutely not!  The move to all digital is prompted by numerous requests from customers to increase our content options and HD line up.  It is all about getting additional bandwidth on the cable system to allow increased content options for our customers.  Here’s the thing:  The same bandwidth required to carry a single analog channel can carry between 3-6 standard definition digital streams, up to three HD streams. or a combination of the two types (one HD channel and 3 standard Def channels, for example).  So moving to an all digital line up is absolutely the thing to do to allow future customer options.  Rate increases will occur from time to time as content providers increase their rates to WOW!, but not as a direct result of this transition activity.

Question:  How about the Digital Terminal Adapters?  Are we going to be charged a monthly lease?

Answer:  Up to two DTA’s will be furnished by WOW! at no charge to the customer until 2013, at which point a $1.99/month per DTA will be charged.  Additional (more than 2) DTA’s requested will be charged at $1.99 per month from day one.  But here’s the thing.  If the DTA is placed on an old analog set, it will be as if nothing changed–all basic cable channels would be available.  Further, if for some reason you do not want a DTA on a particular analog set, the set will still be able to receive a limited basic line up  which will include your local broadcast channels and public access channels. as well as other content (approximately 20 channels).  This effectively extends the useful life of these older technologies either way you go.  While we can’t furnish customer equipment for free, we’ve endeavored to build a value equation that multiple TV households will embrace.

Question:  If we have digital televisions for our 2nd and 3rd sets, will we need the DTA or other customer equipment?

Answer:  If you have a cable card equipped QAM digital tuner, you would be able to receive not only the basic tier but other services to which you’ve subscribed.  If the set is not cable card equipped, but has a QAM digital tuner (not just an ATSC tuner), all unencrypted content would be available (including local HD content) without any additional equipment.  Most cable channels these days are encrypted, so you would require a digital set top box to view these channels, even on the digitally equipped sets.

I hope this has been helpful in further explaining this transition.

Until next time…

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All Digital Rollout in Cleveland/Columbus

In: Technology

By: Steve Stanfill on Feb 09, 2011 at 8:30 am

Over the coming year, WOW! will be rolling out a full digital lineup in the Berea OH and Columbus OH markets.  “Hmmm”, you say, “I thought that WOW! was digital right now?”  True enough.

Here’s the thing.  WOW! has offered digital services in all markets for some time, and it’s been possible to purchase channels that “are on the digital tier”.  Historically, though, we have continued to offer analog content as well.  This has had its advantages; specifically, if you had an older analog television in your home and didn’t want to be bothered with a cable box on that set, it could receive the analog tier signal just fine for about 70 channels, thank you very much.

With the broadcast all digital conversion, those same analog sets would have required a converter to receive the new digital broadcasts. but because WOW! continued to offer analog content, it wasn’t necessary to use a converter of any kind on these sets as long as you had WOW! service.  As we expand our HD and channel lineup however, we have known for some time that a full digital conversion would be necessary to offer the content that our customers demand. Freeing up the bandwidth consumed by the analog signals will allow WOW! to increase its channel and HD lineup.

Another upside to this conversion will be digital quality on every channel–a very good thing.  While WOW!’s analog signal has always been very good, digital delivery will ensure no deterioration between the video head end and the set top box.  Older analog tuner sets will be able to continue to receive signal with the addition of a small, relatively inexpensive digital terminal adapter (DTA) box on the new service.

While the actual conversion will be quite involved, it is our intent to make this transition as seamless to our customers as possible.  In the end, we feel that our customers will be delighted with the additional content options available to them.

The conversion is scheduled at various points in the next 12 months.  Watch these pages as we will let you know when specifically these upgrades will be scheduled, and how to receive and connect the all digital boxes that will be required.

Until next time…

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