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From: terryl@tekcrl.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.video
Subject: Re: Cable and scrambling
Message-ID: <414@tekcrl.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 22-Dec-85 17:41:14 EST
Article-I.D.: tekcrl.414
Posted: Sun Dec 22 17:41:14 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 25-Dec-85 01:30:23 EST
References: <201@hoqam.UUCP> <16300001@datacube.UUCP>
Lines: 27

> 
> You should note that the cable companies consider your VCR competition
> against their service. You going out and renting a movie and playing
> it on your VCR is direct competition against their service. There are
> many other ways your VCR competes, either legally or illegally, against
> ....
> ....
> ....
> This may go a small way twards explaining why your cable company is 
> not jumping up and down trying to make the remotes for all your video 
> goodies work like they should. 
> 

    Well, then, it looks like the cable companies are going to lose out
on a lot of business. A co-worker and I were discussing this recently,
and came to the same conclusion: cable does not offer us what we want, and
how we want it. Now we may be the exception, and not the rule, but I do
not keep any movies I tape off of cable. I just use my VCR for time shifting,
and with scrambled channels, my VCR is useless. That's the reason I gave up
HBO and Cinemax, because I couldn't (and refused to) re-arrange my schedule
to watch their movies AT THEIR TIMES. Most premium channels usually have
the biggest movies on just once or twice a month at reasonable times, but
usually show the movies at least 10-15 times a month (although at really
lousy times, like 4:00 AM).

    Until the cable companies address people like me, they'll keep losing
business.