The Middle

Yesterday was of course Xbox Live Maintenance Day. As a few people noticed, myself included, this impacted the ability for 360 users to connect to their MS Vista Media Center PC's, getting a message along the lines of "Xbox Live connectivity required to play this game".

Upon seeing this yesterday, I naturally became completely irate with MS and started swearing at the idiotic decision to require an internet connection for my Xbox to talk to my PC. There's no 'internet' between them, just an ethernet cable and a cheapo switch.

But, as I traversed the green button to arm myself with more tales of user woe, I stumbled upon this thread.

Sure enough, consulting the release notes that came with my Vista pre-release build, I found this gem:

Description: For the length of the beta program the Xbox 360 must have access to Xbox Live. This is typically accomplished by connecting your Xbox360 to your home network such that the Xbox360 has Internet access.

Alright, I'll let them get away with it this time. If this makes it into the final release, it could really become a deal breaker. After all, that's what TV is for in the first place, entertaining you while your internet connection is down.

It would appear that Time Warner Cable, the local cable monopolist here in Raleigh, NC, is doing its best to drive users to its cash-cow High Definition DVR service.

As a loyal Windows Media Center Edition user, I've long awaited the upcoming release of Windows Vista for the native Cable Card support that's been promised.

Sadly, I learned today that TWC has essentially crippled the Cable Cards in this area by using switched channel technology, the end result of which is the inability to receive the digital versions of basic cable channels. Additionly, the early Tivo crowds are indicating that Universal HD is also unavailble, and TWCNC plans to add all new HD channels in a manner unavailable to Cable Card users. And we're talking about ESPN2HD here, not LifetimeHD. Is this sort of thing even allowed under the Cable Card regulations?

Can I still use a Cable Card to watch MNF on ESPN-HD? Yes, and that will be a great day. Can I watch the digital version of Monk on USA? No, that's restricted to the poor people using the TWC-supplied DVR.

I realize that it's a step in the right direction to have CC support, but the problem is the digital versions of these channels are so vastly superior to the analog counterparts, that you essentially lose these channels (at least on a wildly oversized HDTV, which is what I have, of course). At best, you're forced to pay our good friends at Time Warner for both the Cable Card(s) and the DVR, with all the associated hassle of switching between the two.

If you appreciate the Cable Card concept at all, I suggest you call 1-866-4TWC-NOW and voice your opinion on this matter. Tell them you want the digital versions of these channels, and remind them what an attractive package DirectTV puts together. Finally, go to this thread on the Tivo Community Forum and offer this gentleman any support or insight that you can.