Time Warner gives CableCard customers 44 reasons to cancel their service

If you patted yourself on the back for discovering the joys of the CableCard — a device that allows you to watch digital cable without having to stick one more black box above, behind or below your TV set — well, kick yourself in the shin, because you shoulda figured Time Warner Cable was going to figure out a way to cripple your card.

Let's go to the letter, being sent out today by TWC Kansas City:

Time Warner Cable would like to thank you for choosing us to be your video provider. We are writing to you as a valued CableCARD customer in order to provide advance notice of important upcoming changes that may affect your ability to access certain channels on your one-way CableCARD-equipped retail device (also known as a “UDCP”).

Time Warner Cable is rolling out a new interactive technology in your area known as Switched Digital Video (“SDV”). SDV is a particularly exciting bandwidth-management breakthrough that makes it possible for us to offer many additional services, including new HD channels and HD versions of popular existing channels, to our customers. SDV allows us to provide these additional services, while at the same time continuing to offer existing services, because channels delivered using SDV are only transmitted over the cable system on an as-needed basis. As a result, SDV uses system capacity more efficiently than the traditional, always-on method. However, in order to launch all the new services our customers want, first we must migrate some existing services to SDV in order to make additional bandwidth available.

Starting on August 20th, Time Warner Cable will begin providing a number of our existing, lesser-viewed channels via SDV. The list is as follows:

Video Rola 157
Canal Sur 159
HITN 167
EWTN 190
TBN 191
The Word 192
American Life 193
Inspiration 194
Inspiration Life 195
The Gospel Music Channel 196
Daystar 197
Family Net 198
Outdoor Channel 202
G4 216
Biography 217
History International 218
Military Channel 224
Investigation Discovery 225
Planet Green 226
Bloomberg 227
CNBC World 228
Fox Business 230
C-SPAN 3 232
Gameshow 240
Wam 242
The N 245
Boomerang 246
Fuse 250
Ovation 251
TV One 253
Sleuth 255
VH-1 Classic 258
Fine Living 260
Lifetime Real Women 261
BBC America 263
Fit TV 264
Sundance 285
IFC 287
HBO Signature W 305
HBO Family W 307
HBO Comedy W 309
HBO Latino W 313
Showtime Too 342
SHOSHCS 344

The current generation of CableCARD-compatible devices sold at retail are only capable of accessing our one-way services. They were not designed to be compatible with SDV, which is a two-way service. As a result, once the channels listed above are migrated to SDV, they no longer will be available to UDCPs. However, Time Warner Cable has worked with the rest of the cable industry and TiVo Inc. to develop an external device called a Tuning Adapter that will allow certain UDCPs, including TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD digital video recorders, to access channels delivered using SDV.

We expect to be able to offer Tuning Adapters to customers with compatible UDCPs later this year. At that time we will provide you with additional information on availability and device compatibility. It is currently contemplated that the Tuning Adapter will be provided at no additional charge. Until the Tuning Adapter becomes available, however, a Time Warner Cable digital cable set-top box will be required to view channels migrated to SDV – even if you own a Tuning Adapter-compatible UDCP. In addition, certain non-TiVo UDCP models may not work with the Tuning Adapter.

So yeah, it's temporary. Still, I'm not sure what bothers me more: the fact that TWC couldn't bother to wait until it had acquired enough replacement CableCards to take care of its current CableCard customers (including me) ... the fact that its letter repeats word for word the text from a letter Cox Cable sent out to its customers recently ... or the fact that Sundance, Planet Green (home of the Kansas-based program "Greensburg") and BBC America are too insignificant for Time Warner to keep carrying to its entire base.

As for Lifetime Real Women being a "lesser-viewed channel," all I can say is ... don't tell that to the Time Warner Cable sales staff, which tells prospective advertisers that "Among women, LRW ranks #2 in interest among all ad-supported emerging networks" and "LRW ranks #2 among all Adults who subscribe or would subscribe to digital cable." Did that survey question indicate if those potential subscribers owned a friggin Series 3 TiVo??

Previously on TV Barn:

• This is an upgrade? Time Warner Navigator woes run rampant

Comments

[CableTechTalk]

I hear your pain. Issues arising from the switched digital video transition have been cropping up for a few months (for example, see here). I'm not understanding part of your complaint. Yes, it wasn't anticipated that the two-way issue would create this particular set of problems, but there is a solution on the way. See this coverage for more information on how we got here.

But your post also complains that TWC didn't have "enough replacement CableCards," but you don't say why you think that. The CableCARDs have nothing to do with this. Just this morning, I posted some background on CableCARDs that addresses some of this confusion.

Finally, you're clearly upset about what is getting transitioned to SDV delivery. Everybody would like their favorite networks on analog basic. But some things are put on digital tiers and some things will be the first to move to SDV. There's not infinite bandwidth and something's got to be chosen for the move. Sorry if it's your favorites. I'd be bummed if it happened to me.

[Aaron]

Paul, this isn't a matter of wanting to watch a channel on "analog cable." This is about wanting TO WATCH A CHANNEL I AM PAYING FOR. I mean, if I'm going to be gone from my house for three weeks I cancel the paper. If Time Warner is not going to give me "Torchwood" or "Greensburg" or Sundance's "The Green" for several months until they can figure out how to get me a damn CableCARD capable of receiving it, why should I pay for digital cable until they do?

[MGZ]

I'm from NJ and my local cable provider has just begun to deploy SDV. Be forewarned, you will notice slow channel changing and sporatic pixeling as SDV tries to manage the bandwith. If you are on an overused node (over 2000 users) their fiber optic network is not going to help you. They will also make attempts to move many or all analog channels to digital in order to increase the bandwith. Boxless subscribers will lose the channels or will be forced to rent a digital box and/or get a digital adapter (usually offered by the cable provider) in order to get the moved channels. Further, the digital cable card is being slowly killed via political moves in Washington by the cable industry trade groups.

Bottom line, your pockets will be fleeced.

[Scott Simerly]

Isn't it amazing how TWC can devote so much time to coming up with new technologies when it still hasn't fixed problems with its current program guide and DVR software? Of course, creating new technology would save TWC money while also providing an incentive for customers to switch from a Tivo (where TWC receives no payment) to a TWC DVR.

With tough economic times ahead, TWC may soon find that its poor customer relations and pricing plans have deemed it a luxury item not worth the trouble. After all, most programming can be found online or through Netflix.

BTW, I couldn't agree more that the channel switch for BBC America was appalling. Interesting how TWC fears switching out other channels like Nickelodeon, Disney and MTV.

As for Paul at CableTechTalk what would you expect from a paid shill for the cable industry.

[CableTechTalk]

MGZ: I'm curious when you state this: "the digital cable card is being slowly killed via political moves in Washington by the cable industry trade groups."

I work in D.C. at NCTA, which is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry. What political moves are you referring to?

Engadget HD has a post today explaining what switched digital video is, although they make the mistake of referring to CableCARDs as being one-way or two-way.

[Big Wizz]

@CableTechTalk,

Ummm, CableCard 1.0 IS one-way communication.

CableCard 2.0 (now know as tru2way) is two-way communication. (which, btw, needs NEW hardware to work. So, all those TVs, TiVo's, etc people have bought for their cablecards won't work with tru2way cards)

So how, exactly, was EngadgetHD mistaken?

And please don't insult us, by insinuating the cable industry doesn't have lobbyists in D.C. Every major industry does and they all have their underlying motives.

[MGZ]

Scott Simerly:

In regards to "political moves", you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see the forest for the trees. Since the CableCard was announced the cable industry has shown little or no support for the technology. It does not generate any decent revenue for them and only causes them support issues. The cable techs in my area I have spoken to (one is a personal friend of mine) tell me the same thing. They try to convince customers not to get the cable card as per undocumented instructions from the cable company. I'm quite sure the same is happening in Washington but in a suttle way. The FCC rammed the cable card down the throats of the cable companines. By making the experience unrewarding to the customer, the cable industry is hoping to be rid of this technology so they can push their more expensive services.

[TexasLabRat]

@ Big Wizz:

Almost correct. The cable cards remain the same (there's no special "tru2way" cable card..there are only singe-stream cards and multi-stream cards just as there have been up to this point). What is different is the presence of a transceiver that can talk upstream to the head-end *in the device itself* (or attached to it in some way eg via USB). Such a transceiver is physically separate from the cable cards...which remain dedicated to authentication/authorization and decrypting streams. Any "legacy" cable-card enabled device with a USB port *and* the ability to take an upgraded firmware image can utilize the "tuning resolvers" that will be released in late summer/early fall by the cable companies. Of course, the number of devices that qualify for that is rather small...Series-3 Tivos' (including the little-brother "HD" variant) seem to be the main beneficiaries. Point being, it's not quite as gloom-and-doom as you've made it out to be, due to the factual errors in your argument. For those who have cable-card enabled televisions without USB ports, yeah..it sucks for them. But the other main example..cable-card tivos...they will be just fine once the tuning resolvers are available to plug into them.

[jeff]

Well, "later this year" is what TWC said. I have a Tivo, and as far as I can get out of TWC, they still don't have the adapter and they still won't tell me when. Heard anything?????

[Jim]

I cancelled time warner cable over this cablecard scam. I had purchased a top shelf tivo with the promise that I could get my digital hd service through the company's cable cards. Only when the tech's actually arrived was I told about the fact I could not get most of my premium packages since the cable cards need two way communication to access these under the SDV limitations. No one, up to the level of the corporate offices, warned me about these problems, even when questioned well in advance. Fortunately tivo was willing to refund my thousand some bucks, but it still was a C ote worth of shipping and aggravation. Goodbye and good riddance Time Warner.