Almost cut my cable

[archiver_tim]

Comcast cable is switching some of it's upper channels to digital only and taking away the analogue feed on channels such as SyFy. For me, It would have meant installing their box and only being able to see or record what is on the box or aux adapters. Installation does not just mean installation to me, it means a good cleaning session behind the

Comments

[poltr1]

Not yet. I still have "analog" cable, with no converter boxes necessary (i.e. straight into to the TV). Oh yeah...my provider is Time Warner. I think I'd like them better if they didn't keep advertising how great their services are. So what if RoadRunner is faster than DSL? I don't watch a lot of online video -- I mostly download files -- so that extra speed isn't a critical issue.

[sffilk]

I have Comcast's basic cable as well, but for some reason I was getting all the other channels for the past 6 years or so. When I was told that my monthly rate would jump from $20.95 to $55.75, I told them "NO!", even though I had gotten the warning notice about the upper channels going to digital. What I found out was that for a year I'd be paying $29.95 a month, and then the final jump. When I told them, "Let's make a deal. I keep the channels I want, and you take away the channels I don't want," they were not amused. Well, the dreaded red crawl at the bottom of the screen says that instead of losing the channels on October 13, I'll be losing them "soon." I'm going to enjoy the channels for as long as I can, and if I lose them, I've got a 500gb hard drive with 40 seasons of Dr. Who.

Oh, and what channels didn't I want? The ones that are trying to sell me stuff and the ones that tell me that the only way for me to get into heaven is to become an apostate to my faith and follow someone else's.

[archiver_tim]

I have the same idea about only buying the channels I want.
I would prefer the cable channels that want *me*. That is, offer their programming only based on advertising, not this 1980 idea of a per-subscriber fee per channel plus the advertisments. They should now compete on an equal footing with the on-air networks with ad revenue only. What was good for 15-20 channels in 1980 is too much for the 60 to 80 channels or more today.

[sffilk]

The channels I didn't want are part of the free basic cable package. That's the problem.