Rogers Announces New Lower Price for HDTV Digital Terminal.

[57]

Good news came in the mail today.

Rogers is reducing the rental price of the HDTV Digital Terminal from $19.95 to $14.95 - save $5 per month, effective March 1, 2003.

Some bundle pricing that includes the HD terminal is also $5 lower effective January 7, depending on your bundle....

The letter also stated that we'll get up to 10 HD channels...

[bolmsted]

That's awesome and I don't even have the HD service (yet).... less money out to the coffers while I wait for the 8000HD or whatever to come to market and then buy outright.

[lpr]

I wish Videotron would rent the HDTV terminal. You guys are lucky, enjoy the fun.

Take care,
lpr

[dialog_gvf]

Sounds like Roger's is planning to kick-start HD. Or perhaps it is manoevering to begin to offer only a single box with the next gen. Then the extra $5 would be for HD content.

The costs savings of a single box are formidable.

10 channels eh?

HDNBC, HDCBS, HDABC, HDPBS, HDFOX
HDCITY, HDTMN, HDPPV1, HDPPV2

Hmmm. HDNET?

Gary

[57]

You forgot 280 - Rogers Preview.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by 57

You forgot 280 - Rogers Preview.

Actually, I deliberately left it off. I don't consider it a real channel. The same short program played continuously for months? Accuracy in advertising laws would kick in refering to that as a content channel, don't you think?

Gary

[Cdn_Photo]

When Rogers has in it's past refered to the number of channels in HD, they haven't counted the preview (280) channel.

Over on AVS, there is a discussion in a thread that includes a section about HDNet making an announcement with a large cable co. So far everyone is assuming it's a US cable co. I'm thinking it's Rogers. Rogers has made reference to HDNet being added on in the New Year.

Here's to a year of even more HDTV for us to pick from.

[JohnnyG]

Or perhaps it is manoevering to begin to offer only a single box with the next gen. Then the extra $5 would be for HD content.

The costs savings of a single box are formidable.

Not sure what you're getting at here?? Are you suggesting that Rogers might issue an HD-capable box to everyone?

[HDTV_fan]

This is good news for consumer and sharp marketing ploy considering the large sale of HD-capable sets during the holiday period. Estimate from FS alone are for sale of over 6,000 Big-screen sets in the boxing week.

This is unscientific number so take it with a grain of salt. However, considering the perceptible explosion of number of users on this forum interested in HD, an educated guess about the meteoric rise in HD viewers is not far-fetched.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by JohnnyG

Are you suggesting that Rogers might issue an HD-capable box to everyone?

Possibly. It depends on the cost numbers for the boxes.

They currently have to manage and support two boxes. For a company that probably doesn't want to be in the hardware business at all, this is considerable expense.

It may be that the cost numbers wouldn't make sense. It depends on what the prices of non-HD boxes are like. But, if it makes financial sense (i.e. $10 - $15 a month rental works) then it has some interesting possibilities.

Rogers knows they have and will continue to have a significant competitive edge in HD for years to come. Satellite will improve, but is unlikely to be able to spend such a huge bandwidth per channel. VDSL won't be an option for HD for years to come.

So, you give everyone an HD ready box, and then you launch "HD on the box you already have" commercials. Push the idea of HD because they have a massive competitive edge in HD. Continue the combo deals with HD makers.

With Bell undoubtedly going to start to try and suck away customers using DSL, you want to position yourself so that DSL isn't really an option to your customers. If they've been enticed to move to HD then you have them locked in for years to come.

If they think it makes sense to drop the HD rental to $15 already, after all they aren't doing it as a public service, it must be possible to consider the above strategy as well.

Rogers is a very smart company. The push to 860Mhz and what amounts to already the best HD service on the continent and getting better is a clear indication they want to be well ahead of the HD curve.

Gary

[jvillain]

I would imagine that all the BDU's would want to switch to only distributing HD boxes as soon as financially possible. In the future (near or far ) channels are going to start switching to HD and Rogers won't want to have to caryy and analogue, an SD and an HD signal. It would make more sence to start swapping out the SD cable boxes as soon as possible. The fewer there are out there to begin with the fewer you have to swap out.

Then again it would make more sence to wait for the 'Open Cable' standard boxes to come along and standardise on that. Unless their box will already meet the standard.

[travisc]

I think the point of the OpenCable standard is that there won't need to be any boxes. You throw a card into your TV, and off you go. I could be wrong on that, however.