
The FCC wants to totally overhaul how cable boxes work - graghav
http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/27/10840722/fcc-cable-box-rulemaking-proposal
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hackuser
_The proposed framework introduces measures that would eventually allow cable
and satellite customers to use whatever set-top box they want, as opposed to
having to rent one directly from their provider._

I had hardly considered that possibility, but I embrace it. I don't like my
box at all:

* It doesn't store data through power outages: If it loses power, it loses the channel guide and takes maybe 20 min. to reload it. How hard is it to store that data locally?

* The channel guide takes ~20 min. to load: How much data could there be?

* It wastes energy: It's power on state uses 29W; it's sleep/off state uses 22W. What does it need 22W for? Think of all those cable boxes in all those homes, sitting there unused and wasting 22W. My cable provider is just imposing this on cost on its customers and the environment. Regulations require other electronics to minimize their off/sleep power usage; something needs to be done here too. (My prior box used 29W on or "off", so 22W is an improvement.)

* The DVR doesn't stop/rewind/fast forward responsively, so it often over/undershoots the point in time I'm seeking. It's capacity is also very limited.

* The remote still requires line-of-sight. Plenty of tech exists to save me from this headache; my remote for another device simply uses Wifi, for example.

