[inocent]

Looks like Eastlink has enabled MOCA. They might be first in Canada. I already have a 3400 so this is going to be sweet. I wonder how you connect them though, through coax?

http://eastlink.ca/cable/multi-roomdvr/index.asp

 

[denben73]

I've heard of it coming.

I tried to view the link but their website won't let me do anything or see anything unless I have NS selected as my region. Their site is worthless for anyone outside of the maritimes. But that is a whole new rant for another thread..............

 

[Dr.Dave]

Available in Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, Sackville, St Margaret's Bay, and Mount Uniacke

 

[mediamercenary]

Cash Grab

It sounds like it requires Eastlink to network your receivers together either with CAT5 or through your coaxial wiring. Note the $49 installation for existing customers. If that is the case, then what does the $5 per month charge cover? Possibly NOTHING. It sounds like they upload firmware to your receivers, wire them together and you pay for the privilege. No bandwidth or access required outside of your home as is the case with free VOD service. For multi-room DVR, it appears that they just turn on a feature that the hardware was already capable of doing. I will call Eastlink later and find out if this is fact or fiction. But think about it, what is required to play from devices like a computer or NAS to your bluray player or an Apple TV? Nothing except networking inside your house. This should be an Eastlink Advantage and not a cash grab. If my facts are correct, this drops my satisfaction with Eastlink from 99.5% to about 45%. It's not about $5, its about the ethics of a monthly charge to use a closed network in your own house We are already paying a healthy fee for renting these boxes as is.

 

[jimbo42]

It's the way all companies work, they will gouge there customers to death. They will nickle and dime us until the end of times. No surprises there. This $5/mth charge also has me scratching my head but it's there to gouge customers plain and simple. They just purchased a new system outside of Canada in Bermuda so they need to make the money back for that acquisition, whenever there are big upgrades or purchases you can bet there is a rate increase or a new feature they will charge customers a couple of bucks for right around the corner to makeup the acquisitions/upgrades they make.

Eastlink purchased persona in Ont, rate increase, purchased delta out in BC , rate increase, now rate increase in jan this year , Eastlink purchases Bermuda Company, see the pattern??

 

[magnet]

But isn't the $5/ month MOCA fee still cheaper than renting multiple 3400's?

Once again, no one is forcing you to buy this add on feature.

 

[jimbo42]

You miss the point completely. This addon feature should be free period. It should be an incentive for others to possibly move over to Eastlink but no they got to charge you $5/mth for something that doesn't cost them anything.

 

[leaffan1967]

You miss the point completely. This addon feature should be free period. It should be an incentive for others to possibly move over to Eastlink but no they got to charge you $5/mth for something that doesn't cost them anything.

The $5 fee covers the rental of a DCX700m box. The deal says the $5 increase gives you the ability to do it, (plus the upgrade to 3400 from 6412 or 6416 - which you could probably do with a phone call anyway. So even if you OWN a 700m box, you would then have 3. As the multi-room setup is not compatible with the old boxes.

 

[Canadude]

A friend is a tech at Eastlink who has been testing the multi-room DVR and he advised not to get it yet. He said there are many bugs in the Motorola's right now and even they (Eastlink) cannot make it stable in their tests.

 

[Borb4l]

I agree the $5 monthly fee for a service which likely is just a firmware update is BS. The Eastlink rep that installed my DVR and HD box said that the two boxes are just upgraded to perform the function and they communicate to each other. This should not warrant a monthly charge.

 

[leaffan1967]

I agree the $5 monthly fee for a service which likely is just a firmware update is BS. The Eastlink rep that installed my DVR and HD box said that the two boxes are just upgraded to perform the function and they communicate to each other. This should not warrant a monthly charge.

Did people not read my earlier post that the $5 fee INCLUDES an HD rental box, I am sure that if you OWNED both boxes your could probably coax (hehe) them into waiving the fee. Seeing as its what 4.95 to rent a HD box, you are really only paying 0.05 for the multi room setup.

 

[jimbo42]

@leaffan1967, Um that first box(700M) is suppose to be free anyway so your wrong, your saying the charge is for the box but that first box (700M) is suppose to be free. You still have to pay $5.95/month for the 3rd and so on box plus the $5/mth fee for the multi-room dvr service.

 

[leaffan1967]

@leaffan1967, Um that first box(700M) is suppose to be free anyway so your wrong, your saying the charge is for the box but that first box (700M) is suppose to be free. You still have to pay $5.95/month for the 3rd and so on box plus the $5/mth fee for the multi-room dvr service.

First digital box is free for everyone with DC... nowhere does it say you get a 700m HD as your free box. In the places like Oxford/Sydney, they aren't giving 700m's to everyone I can tell you that.

 

[jimbo42]

@leaffan1967 , what do you work for Eastlink now because it sure sounds like it with the defending of this. They are moving away from the older models and bringing in the newer models to give out because of multi-room dvr and other services that won't be available to older models. If you look on Eastlinks site they even show the 700M as the boxes they rent/give out now instead of the older models but all this is irrelevant because we are talking about the "EXTRA" $5/mth fee for something that costs them "NOTHING" .

 

[leaffan1967]

@leaffan1967 , what do you work for Eastlink now because it sure sounds like it with the defending of this. They are moving away from the older models and bringing in the newer models to give out because of multi-room dvr and other services that won't be available to older models. If you look on Eastlinks site they even show the 700M as the boxes they rent/give out now instead of the older models but all this is irrelevant because we are talking about the "EXTRA" $5/mth fee for something that costs them "NOTHING" .

Your forgetting the cost of R&D and testing that goes into these things, Eastlink didn't make the firmware themselves, they probably pay a large sum of money for the program per year.

As for the cost of providing the service, it is no different than ordering an extra package on your cellphone. Sure my phone can stream NHL games, but I still have to pay the $5 a month for the package. Even though I have all the proper hardware and software, I still have to pay, which is fair, My choice to have it, so I pay for it.

I think most of this complaining is stemming from the lack of HD services and a couple people being bitter about that on here. If you aren't happy with the service, switch to another provider, or make your point known to the company in another way. Ranting on this board in which you have said no Eastlink employees read isn't going to change anything. What I can tell you that I have heard from those in the industry that over 50-60 thousand have signed intent for FibreOP in halifax when it goes live. That should be enough to get Eastlink going.

 

[mediamercenary]

As for the cost of providing the service, it is no different than ordering an extra package on your cellphone. Sure my phone can stream NHL games, but I still have to pay the $5 a month for the package. Even though I have all the proper hardware and software, I still have to pay, which is fair, My choice to have it, so I pay for it.

It is not at all the same. This is a poor comparison because although you might have the hardware and software in your phone, you are paying for bandwidth and programming rights.

The whole home scenario merely plays back a recording through your existing wiring. Exactly what does the head end of Eastlink do if I want to watch a movie in another room of my house? And what if I owned the DVR and the second box outright. Am I still going to have to pay $5 per month for Eastlink to unlock this feature? Not on my watch. I draw the line here. This is cheating the uninformed. R&D does not require a monthly fee. A feature like this is not rocket science. In fact, it is built into every Bluray player out there. I can watch recordings on my computer via my network on my TV with my Bluray player.

Here's a link to a document that explains how this works. It's all in your house. It would appear that there is no cost but a firmware update to Eastlink.

Key excerpts:

HOW IT WORKS
A media server, such as a Motorola MoCA enabled DVR set-top, delivers DVR content over the home’s existing coax network to already-installed non-DVR, MoCA enabled client set-tops in other rooms throughout the house. With a simple software download, consumers can navigate, view, rewind, pause, or fast-forward from the media server to the media clients.

XSNIPX

Since Motorola’s Follow Me TV Solutions rely on an IP network, they can be expanded to support other devices in the home over coax, Ethernet, or wireless connections.

XSNIPX

MoCA is a set of specifications for tapping into the unused bandwidth available on in-home coax cabling; http://www.mocalliance.org.

 

[jimbo42]

@mediamercenary , you are completely correct on everything, nice post buddy.

 

[Newone]

Its a cashgrab nothing more. They have to makeup for that aquisition of the Bermuda company somehow and it is subscribers that end up paying the price. I have no problems with them charging customers a fee if it is costing them money to deliver a service but this cost them nothing

 

[ignun]

Good post @mediamercenary, sums it up perfectly. I love the idea of the multi-room DVR but I already rent a DVR and two extra 700m boxes on top of a very large cable package. Charging me $6 to unlock the feature is crap. They didn't pay for the R&D, Motorola did and you can bet that is covered in the cost of the hardware...and don't get me started on the $50 install when my house has a gigabit network drop in every room.

 

[yhzhrm]

Multi-room Setup Confusion

A new feature by Eastlink but they fail to update all their CSR's with any background knowledge. It's a hit and a miss as to whether you talk to a knowledgeable CSR. This hit and a miss has left me very frustrated with the whole deal.

I was hoping to save $10 a month (yes, I rented two DVR's) because until they offered a FREE ready HD box I would have had to pay $10 for HD box, so an extra $5 was worth it for the DVR option.

I swapped my old crappy DVR for the DCX700. I was told by CSR that the multi-room uses wireless between the two boxes. We know that's not true. In attempting to find out how the two boxes talked to one another I was told that a tech had to come to the house, but they did not not why or what he/she did. CSR had no idea what was involved with that tech house call, just that the tech made the two boxes talk to one another.

As per the excellent link provided by "mediamercenary' thank you. The tech does in fact come to the house to install the MoCa software on the boxes via a USB key update.

Further updates may be needed to the boxes in the future and Eastlink hope this can be done by the homeowner (PC download).

As it stands now if one would like the multi-room feature the two newer HD boxes (one being DVR) are required with a MoCa software update to them. Now to find away around the fee for the tech visit. They encourage self installation (links to guides provided on their web-site). I'll start there plus early adapters should not be charged for something that can be done to a box with a simple USB key install.