[EAS] Cable TV Problems

[Richard Rudman]

Hi, Jim:

The process for on-air stations to ask a cable company to not interrupt their on air channel has been in place for years.

As I and some others told the FCC before this process went into effect, it is set up backwards.

The default should be that cable systems should not interrupt on air channels.

As has been pointed out in other recent posts, much of the current head end and set top box installed base equipment can't do that.

I think the best we can hope for is and FCC today that sees this as a serious issue and takes action so the next generation of cable head end and set top devices can be fully CAP compliant, do selective override, and  maybe even turn new set top converters into what I call "warning appliances" that can sound alarms, provide contact closures, record warnings, and play them back independent of video monitors connected to the converter being turned on.

Richard Rudman

On Nov 28, 2011, at 7:35 PM, Jim McKinnon wrote:

> My local company, Cable One, tells me that they are resticted by the FCC 
> from interferring with or otherwise altering our broadcast signal without 
> our prior approval in writing.
> This came about when changing equipment on our second digital program stream 
> and we asked the cable company to insert EAS tests on our behalf for a short 
> period.
> Not to say that cable compression schemes are not altering to content.
> 
> Jim McKinnon