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by twoodfin 5191 days ago
That's another reason why the cable companies will be thrilled to help Apple sell televisions next year. Those sets will probably look a lot like your box-less solution on the inside, with the added benefit of a "real" computer and OS developed by a company that has some experience with such things.

The main reason, of course, is that their biggest threat will be taken away: An ever-growing segment of their customer base cancelling $100+ TV service in favor of $50 IP-only service, with the other $50 being spent on NetFlix, iTunes, Hulu.... Required "Apple TV" plans will include whatever mix of traditional signal and IP is needed to deliver a "magical experience" and will be priced accordingly.
1 comments
drzaiusapelord 5191 days ago
Well, they had the option to do this with Tivo and instead they developed their own shitty boxes instead of going with a world leader in DVR and interfaces. Why would they go with Apple when they've already dismissed Tivo and are extremely hostile when you try to get cable card service "whats that? Oh , we'll need a contract from you and a large deposit."

I'm not sure if the grandfather's post is accurate. Yes those boxes cost money but Comcast and other video providers have been very hesitant to give up the proprietary video cash cow for over the internet solutions that may cut them out of a revenue stream or make people realize they don't need to buy the "gold" package.

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nknight 5191 days ago
> extremely hostile when you try to get cable card service "whats that? Oh , we'll need a contract from you and a large deposit."

That depends heavily on the market. Comcast is internally dysfunctional. Although they've achieved significant technological unification, they have roughly a gazillion Battling Business Units serving different regions as a result of mergers and other insanity. Each is run by its own local tyrants, some of whom routinely ignore both law and corporate policy, while others behave quite reasonably. The dysfunction is further amplified because even within a single unit's region, local franchise agreements vary in details.

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