Operators should have an encryption “transition plan,” said a maker of consumer...
Operators should have an encryption “transition plan,” said a maker of consumer electronics connecting to cable systems through unencrypted clear QAM. Hauppauge Computer Works said the plan will “minimize consumer costs, minimize power consumption” and let CE companies “continue to…
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sell ATSC and clear QAM TV products.” But the company still believes encrypting the basic-programming tier would cause “harm to the environment,” said an FCC filing from CEO Ken Plotkin posted Monday in docket 11-169 (http://xrl.us/bmw9bz). The Media Bureau is working on an order to OK scrambling channels, with some consumers to get free set-top boxes and other CE gear (CD March 2 p2) and Hauppauge among the CE companies pushing for operators to use radio-frequency traps so clear QAM works in all-digital systems. The first transition step is for the companies to “alert their customers” of the elimination of clear QAM, and then subscribers should get a digital-to-digital (DTD) converter box, Hauppauge said. “Cable operators should provide, upon request, to any customer who subscribes to any level of cable TV service, up to two ‘free of charge’ DTD boxes” and the devices shouldn’t downconvert programming, the company said. “Support the S3 power down mode, to cut power consumption to close to 0 when the DTD box is not being used. Though not as energy efficient as clear QAM cable TV (which requires no power), S3 mode brings the power consumed by the DTD box to as low a level as possible."