With the current addition of Comcast’s new Digital Adapter (DTA) remote controls, the anger and complexity about this service provider has tripled. Everyone is waiting to see how long it will take for their cable bills to triple. Currently the cost for cable is close to some of their utility bills.
Due to this current solution for digital cable access, clients, both small (residential) and large (sports facilities), are cancelling their Comcast accounts daily. And we, as an integration firm, have been getting bombarded with calls.
The general public has been used to turning on their TV and watching cable, plain and simple. It’s no longer that easy.
Our industry is in need of product that would switch multiple sources (analog, digital, and HD) over a single coax with IR or RF transfer included, while keeping the retail price under $2K total.
There are current products available, but they cost more than $4K, and the general public (those that have not canceled yet) are not willing to pay this much in today’s economy.
Another viable solution would be distributed audio/video, but the new-construction business has stalled, and retrofit is a costly adventure.
I would love to hear what others think about this situation.
Clients expect us to know the answers and supply them with a solution. This has been very challenging, and we are not getting answers or solutions from Comcast. Gone are the days of simple modulation.
–John P. Goldenne, Digital Home Technologies, Chicago-area
