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Sony Introduces Passage

Posted by Hemos on from the making-the-world-work dept.

UncleCrispy writes "Sony, a newcomer in the cable industry announced its new technology, Passage, on the opening day of the BroadBand Plus Show to the receptive ears of the cable community. "Sony's Passage Technology is a simple, elegant solution that allows equipment from multiple vendors to peacefully co-exist on legacy digital CATV networks" Now you won't be stuck with the SetTopBox your cable provider forces on you, but with Passage you should be able to go to the store and buy any box you want. If you want a DVR box, you can buy it, and you'll no longer be stuck with the rental fees. Sounds like it's a good deal for the cable providers and consumers, but how will current SetTopBox monopolies take the news?"

8 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. rental fees ain't bad. by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    hmm my cablemodem costs $100.00 in the stores. my rental fee is $5.00 a month. I have had the cable modem die twice in 2 years and they replaced it for free because I was renting it while my neighbor had to go buy a new one from the store..

    I figure that I'm way ahead of the game because I rented. and next year when the Cable company changes a few things and requires a change in the calbe modems, I get a free one while he has to buy another modem...

    what's the advantage of owning your cable equipment again?

    BTW, I had my digital cable box replaced once in the past 2 years also...

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  2. Perhaps I'm missing something... by Blacklaw · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...but it sounds similar to something we've already got here in the UK. When ITVDigital went bust, the old set-top boxes could still receive the 'free-to-air' digital channels, such as BBC4 and ITV2. To get more people to switch on (no pun intended) to digital television, the Government (who are talking about switching off the old analogue system sometime in 2004) told set-top manufacturers to make more of these old boxes.

    The result is that you can buy FreeView boxes for £100 which pick up around thirty digital channels - without paying a subscription fee. And it's not just a BBC monopoly - any broadcaster who shoves out a free-to-air digital channel can be picked up on a FreeView box.

    I dunno, I'm probably missing something incredibly clever that Sony have done to make this 'new'.

    -Blacklaw

  3. Flashback by 1stflight · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm remembering how a Sony exec once said they'd "firewall file trading at your PC". And I can't help but wonder if this is somehow part of that ?

    --
    3000 dead over past 2 years, still no free Palestinians, still
  4. Sony is stupid- this has already happened!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting


    People, go to www.opencable.com.

    Moderator: please moderate this up.

    1. Re:Sony is stupid- this has already happened!!! by DkHelmet · · Score: 2, Interesting

      He's right. Around 2005 all MSO's have to implement OpenCable, which will allow any box to interoperate with any MSO, using a pluggable encryption module called a POD.

      The better thing is that OpenCable is based on DVB-MHP and DVB-C, which is based on DVB-S. PCI cards for all! (well, sometime around 2006)

  5. TiVo owners say "yayy" by jspayne · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Don't forget now that Sony is a major licnesor of TiVo software...can you say TiVo in a cable box? I knew you could...

    Jeff

  6. Sorry this is SONY we're talking about by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    SONY is very, very prorietary, owns signifcant music and video properties, and is very Digital Wrongs Management(TM) oriented. IF you do get a selection of devices, they'll all use memory sticks for RAM, require a Clio for use as a remote control, and every music and viedo device will be locked down under RIAA and MPAA approved techniques. No thanks.

  7. Hmmm... by dasmegabyte · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think General Instruments, Scientific Atlanta, Toshiba, Telstra and the half dozen other set top box developers might be a little surprised that they are "monopolies." They might wonder why the face such stiff competition every time a cable agency adopts a new technology.

    Of course, if you're talking about a local monopoly you may be misunderstanding the problem. You rent a box from your cable provider but they don't make much out of the deal. A modern digital box might be about $100 on the open market vs the $30 your telco pays when buying in bulk, plus the cost of remotes, maintenance and so forth. The new DVR boxes are even more expensive. And your average cable co charges less than $5 to rent the box. Around here, Time Warner is considering charging $15 per month for a 30 gig DVR box, which is only $5 over what Tivo costs per month. And if you want a new box...well, just break the one you've got :).

    I remember when TW brought out the first box with an on-screen guide. I was totally impressed -- they were selling on screen guide services at $5 per month and here TW was offering it for free with the normal addressable units. When they brought out the first boxes with digital audio out, there was no additional charge -- just ask for one. To this day you have a choice of optical or coax when ordering a new box. They also have a number of different remotes.

    Choice seems like a good idea, but cable companies are in the business of getting you to pay monthly. They find little ways to make this affordable, no matter how much you think they're fleecing you. And covering the huge up front cost on boxes with that small rental fee is one of them. That's why AOLTW's cable division reports a nice profit every quarter while AOL bleeds like a stuck pig.

    --
    Hey freaks: now you're ju