When Cox is All Digital Why will the signal not be compatible with my HDTV & Smart TV's built in digital tuners?

Because it will now all be encrypted.

Understood, but why is basic service being encrypted in this manner.  When everyone knows that most TV's now can tune into standard HDTV signals. This all digital change over will require 25% of cox customers, the ones who choose not to use digital box tuner, to acquire these tuner boxes.  Even with a discount after a year there will be a fee accessed for each box.  This makes this conversion to digital a forced rate increase per TV on those customers who choose not to have digital box in the past.

Cable TV is a dying medium, we watch it less and less.  Cox should focus on keeping its current customer base, instead of forcing unwanted hardware on long term customers who may choose to discontinue services rather than be using tuner boxes they do not want.

Teck is correct ... one word ... encryption.  Don't blame it all on Cox, the cable lobby in Washington and the FCC are a lot to blame.  The FCC passed a regulation allowing cable operators to encrypt digital signals as long their system is all-digital.  See FCC statement here.  Some blame also falls on the TV manufactures as the got rid of cable card support.

You can always vote with your feet, you can cut the cord and go streaming and OTA.  That is your option.  IMHO that's the future anyway, cable as we know it will go to way of the 8-track and cd and all content will be delivered over the net.

Tesseract257 said:

but why is basic service being encrypted in this manner.

Because they can & it will save them $$$ on theft of services and truck rolls.  See link in previous post.

AllenP said:
Because they can & it will save them $$$ on theft of services and truck rolls

+1 There may be some changes coming though. Cox just got sued and lost for the way they handle receiver requirement. I suspect they will wait until a lot of people switch, then come out with equipment that can be installed at the d-mark that will offer CATV to the entire house. Thats what FIOS does.  

I wasn't aware FIOS works at the demark & doesn't require a STB at each TV.  I was under the impression it uses MoCA but still requires a receiver, it can't go directly into a QAM tuner.  We don't have FIOS in our area so don't know first hand ... please let me know how it actually works.  Thanks.

Just my opinion but I think the suit is meaningless.  A $6 million settlement ... that's only $1 per Cox customer.  A drop in the bucket for a company the size of Cox.  As I posted earlier, I think the final bullet for CATV will be streaming.  My crystal ball shows cable providers becoming ISPs only, voice, video and data will become one.

AllenP said:
it can't go directly into a QAM tuner.

I think they use something attached to the ONT, but Im not sure what. It can work with a QAM tuner though, as per their support site;

"TV: FiOS TV is compatible with all TV types. A cable-ready TV tuner gives you reception of local service below channels 49. To take advantage of the FiOS TV Digital Video Recorder (DVR) service, a TV must have a video and audio input. The input can be the typical yellow, white and red cables, a 3 wire component, or an S-Video along with audio cables. High Definition (HDTV) service requires an HDTV, an HD Set-Top Box, and HDMI or DVI cables with an adapter."

AllenP said:

I wasn't aware FIOS works at the demark & doesn't require a STB at each TV.  I was under the impression it uses MoCA but still requires a receiver, it can't go directly into a QAM tuner.  We don't have FIOS in our area so don't know first hand ... please let me know how it actually works.  Thanks.

Just my opinion but I think the suit is meaningless.  A $6 million settlement ... that's only $1 per Cox customer.  A drop in the bucket for a company the size of Cox.  As I posted earlier, I think the final bullet for CATV will be streaming.  My crystal ball shows cable providers becoming ISPs only, voice, video and data will become one.

How does one record streamed video on a DVR? I record 100% of my primetime schedule for later viewing.

" the final bullet for CATV will be streaming." - I completely agree.

I have no use for 100s of channels and I rarely watch things the time they are broadcast..  I wait till something has two tor three seasons (and has not been canceled) and then I watch it via whatever streaming service I choose.   I view cable boxes as a step back and will not be forced to lease them for a something that I have less and less need for. 

so for me its time to cut the cord. I'll keep my high speed internet and for local channels I'll just install a HD antenna.  With local channels, and multiple streaming services I think I will be covered.  

Domino said:

How does one record streamed video on a DVR? I record 100% of my primetime schedule for later viewing.

Think Over-the-top, not the conventional primetime network schedule model.  Everything on demand, no schedule that has to be recorded.  That would eliminate one need for the DVR.  The other, commercial skipping, is still TBD.  HBO Go is available as an internet subscription service, no CATV required and no commercials.  How the networks will handle this is anybodies guess.  They have many options, time will tell.  Look at the movies, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, revenue from downloading and streaming will overtake DVD sales in 2015.  The times - they are a changin'

Tecknowhelp said:

I think the lawsuit is a little unfair, because Cox isn't the only person to jump on the band wagon, but I still think the general practice could be done better. The mini boxes should be able to tune everything a cable box can, with the exception of EOD, PPV and 1Ghz channels.

The mini-boxes have 1GHz capable tuners in them.

AllenP said:

Domino said:

How does one record streamed video on a DVR? I record 100% of my primetime schedule for later viewing.

Think Over-the-top, not the conventional primetime network schedule model.  Everything on demand, no schedule that has to be recorded.  That would eliminate one need for the DVR.  The other, commercial skipping, is still TBD.  HBO Go is available as an internet subscription service, no CATV required and no commercials.  How the networks will handle this is anybodies guess.  They have many options, time will tell.  Look at the movies, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, revenue from downloading and streaming will overtake DVD sales in 2015.  The times - they are a changin'

Will not using streaming exclusively bring one closer to their data cap sooner?

Domino said:
The mini-boxes have 1GHz capable tuners in them.

I know. So do other Cox receivers. I said channels. As in the "Contour HD Channels" that only come with Contour even though other receivers have 1Ghz tuners. FCC made Cox make them available with Cablecards if you have a 1Ghz tuner Tivo, but still not available on non-contour receivers even if they have 1Ghz tuners.

I pay for the highest tier internet plan and when I have exceeded the data cap they have never sent me a complaint email.. this used to happen when I had lower tier service.  Also all the data caps have been increased. Highest Tier used to be 500gb a month, now it 2,000gb a month.

Tecknowhelp said:

Domino said:
The mini-boxes have 1GHz capable tuners in them.

I know. So do other Cox receivers. I said channels. As in the "Contour HD Channels" that only come with Contour even though other receivers have 1Ghz tuners. FCC made Cox make them available with Cablecards if you have a 1Ghz tuner Tivo, but still not available on non-contour receivers even if they have 1Ghz tuners.

A. This is kinda a moot point since - IIRC - none of the Starter/Essential HD channels use 1GHz/H.264.

B. All 1GHz STBs Cox use (except Motorola) use Contour. There is no version of Contour for Motorola, and the guide for Motorola's Passport does not include any 1GHz/H.264 HD channels.