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Sidestepping A-to-D Convertors For Town Government's Cable TV?
jake-itguy writes "I am the IT guy for a small town municipality. Comcast called me the other day and told me I had to have a digital-to-analog converter for each TV in the municipality, as Comcast is turning off analog cable in September. I did a quick count, and we have 32 TVs across 6 buildings (22 being in the police and fire departments). Most of the TVs are hung on the walls. I told Comcast having a box for each TV was not acceptable and wanted a different solution. Comcast told me there was no other solution." Read on for more details of the situation, and to see if you can offer Jake any advice for distributing cable service within his Indiana town.
jake-itguy continues: "They told me they have been putting these boxes on every TV in each classroom in each school. I laughed when I heard that. I said, 'Do you know how much electricity is going to be needed for each box?' They didn't know the answer. I was bumped up to the next guy in the Comcast hierarchy, who said there was no other solution and I had to pay $3 per month for each box. Being a municipality, we are entitled to free expanded basic cable as a part of the franchise agreement back in 1982.
I know there is a solution, as hospitals and hotels don't have little boxes next their TVs. Unfortunately I haven't found a specific answer to this problem so I am asking Slashdot. Is there a box that can be put in the basement of the town hall that will convert the Comcast signal into a regular digital signal? Most of the TVs in the town have digital tuners per last years a2d conversion of the airwaves. I would be willing to replace the few analog sets with new ones if there is a good solution for this. Each building's cable feed is fed from the town hall. We have a nice big 1-inch cable coming into the building with some splitters coming off the line. Each building gets a 1/2 inch cable. Is there a box that will convert the Comcast signal to analog for the schools? I am sure the schools don't have TVs with digital tuners."
I know there is a solution, as hospitals and hotels don't have little boxes next their TVs. Unfortunately I haven't found a specific answer to this problem so I am asking Slashdot. Is there a box that can be put in the basement of the town hall that will convert the Comcast signal into a regular digital signal? Most of the TVs in the town have digital tuners per last years a2d conversion of the airwaves. I would be willing to replace the few analog sets with new ones if there is a good solution for this. Each building's cable feed is fed from the town hall. We have a nice big 1-inch cable coming into the building with some splitters coming off the line. Each building gets a 1/2 inch cable. Is there a box that will convert the Comcast signal to analog for the schools? I am sure the schools don't have TVs with digital tuners."
So why are they special? The rest of America had to switch...
Yes.
If they're not interested in providing you the service then find someone else.
The police and fire department really shouldn't be watching TV at work anyway.
Small town government with 32 TVs? Exactly what function do they serve? Is there a reason that a small town government needs this many (any?) TVs? A government has really lost touch when that many TVs is considered essential. Are you paying your politicians & police officers to watch TV? That's really messed up.
Why does a city government need cable TV in the first place? Save the tax payers some money and get rid of it.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
It's actually very good that Comcast is doing this since it allows them to speed up internet access. Analog cable takes too much bandwidth. NYC recently allowed the cable companies here to shut down analog and it couldn't have come too soon.
And welcome to the "real world" the rest of us have had to deal with. FCC mandated an OTA (I know, not cable) change from analog to digital some time back. All us "normal" folks had to get boxes - add them to our "TV stacks". In spite of "coupons" from the Uncle Sam (Obama's stash?), many of us still had to drop coin to maintain a current level of functionality. (ie. No ROI on this deal, if you conveniently ignore the plan for public safety spectrum).
I run into this mentality every frack'n day. Municipalities and their employees who feel that somehow they deserve "special" treatment because they're "the City". I can see now why some shops won't do business with municipalities. Damn near as bad as trying to do business with some churches.
What on earth does city hall need with all those TVs on the wall anyway? How about patching a few potholes instead of staying up to date on , eh? If they're in the jail - been to Arizona lately?
First, disclaimers. I don't work for Comcast, but I do consult to them. I don't speak for Comcast in any way. I am under NDA, so I can't give you the sort of specific technical information you need. There may be any number of reasons why this thing wouldn't work in your circumstances, or why Comcast wouldn't choose to provide you one.
Then why the hell did you even bring it up? Some sort of penis waving? You bring something up, and then say you can't talk about it.
OTOH, based on Comcast history, I expect people working for them to behave that way.
Bold added by me. You heard me.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
>>>maybe they should stop paying for fucking cable
Ya know it helps if you read the WHOLE post, because I already addressed that issue. Quote: "And next Comcast (along with the FCC and other CATV companies) want to shutdown channels 25 and up to eliminate competition from Free TV. That will effectively force people to upgrade to Comcast TV or Comcast Internet." i.e. They'd have no choice but to "pay the fucking cable" bill.
You addressed the issue? Where?
And there's plenty of choice. Maybe you can start by lifting that lumbering fat ass from the couch and turning off the television.