ext_348897 ([identity profile] evilcrayon.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] davis_square2008-12-15 08:38 pm
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RCN Cable

I pay for basic cable, no cable box. But I don't use rabbit ears and now I have no channels whatsoever. Does anyone know what is going on? I thought that the only people affected by the switch to digital in February were people who did not get their tv signal through a cable already.
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[personal profile] ron_newman 2008-12-16 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
Also, if [livejournal.com profile] somerville311 is correct in this statement, RCN is violating its agreement with the city by encrypting non-premium HD and digital channels.

[identity profile] nowalmart.livejournal.com 2008-12-16 02:34 am (UTC)(link)
I do not use RCN, but chances are they are using Clear QAM. This is a non-encrypted digital standard. Television sets are not required to have a QAM tuner by law, but most have it anyway.

It allows for, among other things, HD broadcast of local channels. It is annoying if you have an older television without a QAM tuner, but does mean you can get nice HD reception without a cable box if you have a QAM HD television.

Looking at the thread you reference, I would not be surprised if RCN is violating its franchise with Somerville if they are encrypting local (non-premium) HD broadcasts.

[identity profile] warlord-mit.livejournal.com 2008-12-16 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
Unfortunately, no, RCN is *NOT* using Clear QAM. They were, but back in May they started encrypting all their QAM, including all the local (non-premium) HD channels. I posted about this here (http://warlord-mit.livejournal.com/13759.html) back in June.

So if the franchise agreement is correct, yes, RCN *IS* violating it and has been since May.

[identity profile] pzykotic.livejournal.com 2008-12-16 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
The FCC (and possibly franchise agreement) require that cable companies dropping analog channels continue to broadcast locals (over the air) channels in at least Standard Definition, which RCN is doing. There's no requirement for High Def from the FCC, you'd have to read Somerville's franchise agreement to see the language in it. ClearQAM is not automatically High Def (I'm sure you know it, but others might not)

[identity profile] tfarrell.livejournal.com 2008-12-16 06:11 am (UTC)(link)
I phoned RCN and asked: "Does this mean that all customers are required to have a cable box from RCN?" and they replied "Yes."

Again, I don't know if this corresponds to reality, but this is what they claimed to me.
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