Confused by Comcast "fees" & Samsung SX022ANM

[Martim Ribeiro]

I'm confused by Comcast Comcast "Broadcast TV Fee" of $6.50 and the
"Regional Sports Fee" of $4.50 and the Samsung SX022ANM "thing".

I'm trying to help someone else who is in an apartment and moving to
another apartment in the same complex due to roomate issues, where the old
apartment has a $50/month 100Mbps service and the new apartment has an
existing $85/month 100Mbps with 135 TV channels.

On the TV channel setup, there are three things I don't understand:
1. What is the Samsung SX022ANM "thing"
2. Are these "fees" legit?

Can you just give me information on these two things so I'm better armed to
help? The apartment dwellers and I aren't technical and I never had cable
anyway since I'm on wisp.

 

[Martim Ribeiro]

On Sat, 4 Feb 2017 19:17:49 -0500, in
alt.home.repair,alt.interenet.wireless,sci.electronics.repair Ed Pawlowski
wrote:

Sort of legit. The Samsung is a wireless receiver. It is common to
charge a rental fee for equipment, especially if it is a premium
featured unit.

Wireless receiver?
Hmmmmm... I'm not sure what it would do.

They have a coax coming into the apartment living room, which goes to a
modem and a router which they own.

There is apparently a TV with this Samsung SX022ANM on the TV, where this
Samsung "thing" is the only hardware they say that Comcast gave them.

I don't know cable (I'm on WISP) but I think they need some type of "TV
box", is that right?

If they need a TV box, and if that's the only thing they need from Comcast,
I'm going to "guess" (yes, I'm just guessing so I could easily be wrong)
that it's this "tv box" that is required.

But I'm just guessing about that hardware, which is why I asked here.

> Not sure about the broadcast fee, it may be for local channels.

I found out more about the broadcast fees.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/10/comcast-accused-of-falsely-promising-low-prices-hiding-bogus-fees/

They are a scam but there's nothing we can do about it.
If the lawsuit against Comcast wins, it's probably class action so, that
means any one individual gets like twenty five cents or nothing.

The regional sports fee is something the cable companies pay to LB, NFL,
etc. While legal to charge, IMO it is like going to the store and
getting a package of icecream. At the checkout they charge you $3 for
the icecream and they add a 20 cent "refrigeration fee".

After reading that article, I must agree with you completely!

If you look at your phone or electric bills you see a long list of
little charges. Cable companies do that too so they can advertise a low
price and then add in the other items.

I think the "little charges" on the phone or electric bill are "real fees"
though, although my propane bill has a "hazmat fee" which is probably a
fake fee like the Comcast fake fee.

I argued with DirecTv about the sports fee and I don't watch sports.
They would not remove it but they did give me a discount.

I told them to argue with Comcast about the fake fees, but, I can't imagine
Comcast caring.

At the moment, I'm mostly just left confused what this Samsung SXO22ANM is.

 

[Martim Ribeiro]

On Sat, 4 Feb 2017 18:58:06 -0500, in
alt.home.repair,alt.interenet.wireless,sci.electronics.repair Frank wrote:

On 2/4/2017 6:46 PM, Martim Ribeiro wrote:
Samsung SX022ANM

Samsung is DVR box rental.

I can't dispute that the Samsung SX022ANM is a "DVR Box Rental" because I
can't figure out what it is by talking to the kids over the phone. They
said it connects to the TV, so, at the moment, I'm assuming it's a "digital
cable box".

The odd thing is I can't find a user manual or even a good description of
it, so, I think I'm working with bad data from the kids (they're in their
early twenties, but they're still just kids).

> Comcast has an ng where you might ask about all.

Looking in my newsrc file, I see this one?
alt.online-service.comcast

 

[Martim Ribeiro]

On Sat, 4 Feb 2017 18:56:35 -0500, in alt.home.repair Bill wrote:

> Surely the Samsung fee is the rental for the converter box.

Thank you for that input as I'm not familiar with "converter boxes" since
wisp doesn't have them (we have rooftop antennas).

Is this "cable converter" box a requirement?

As far as the legitimacy of the fees, I guess they are part of the
contract, which has probably been approved by your municipality.

I found out more about the "Broadcast TV Fee" & "Regional Sports Fee",
which this article says are bogus and which Comcast is being sued for at
this very moment.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/10/comcast-accused-of-falsely-promising-low-prices-hiding-bogus-fees/

Personally, I grew to not like them as much, so I cancelled my Comcast
cable-tv, without replacment or regret. The 25 channels or so that I get
with a regular indoor antenna are plenty adequate. Hope that helps!

I called Comcast myself to figure out more and the sales person told me
that the fees were government taxes that Comcast has nothing to do with
(which turns out to be a lie but that's besides the point).

I couldn't get a straight answer from the Comcast guy about this reputed
Samsung SX022ANM cable converter box. He started talking about a $4/month
"digital cable box" and then extra for "HD" and "on demand" stuff, which I
know nothing about (WISP doesn't have TV channels). He also talked about
$10/month DVR boxes, which I don't think this is either.

 

[Martim Ribeiro]

On Sat, 4 Feb 2017 23:46:05 -0000 (UTC), in
alt.home.repair,alt.interenet.wireless,sci.electronics.repair Martim
Ribeiro wrote:

I'm trying to help someone else who is in an apartment and moving to
another apartment in the same complex due to roomate issues, where the old
apartment has a $50/month 100Mbps service and the new apartment has an
existing $85/month 100Mbps with 135 TV channels.

On the TV channel setup, there are three things I don't understand:
1. What is the Samsung SX022ANM "thing"
2. Are these "fees" legit?

I made a typo mistake on the number of TV channels.
It's 35 channels (not 135 channels).

So the service is 100Mbps down and 5Mbps up with 35 channels for $85/month
plus those bogus fees of about 11 bucks plus taxes of about 15 bucks.

What I know now that I didn't know earlier are that the "fees" are bogus
fees which Comcast is being sued for both hiding them from the customer at
the time of sale (which seems to be the case here also) and for
representing them as "government fees" (which they just did on the phone
for me today).

So, the fees are pretty much figured out.

The only thing that is not figured out is what this Samsung SX022ANM is,
but, I found out from the kids that it's on one girl's bedroom on top of
her TV, so, it's probably this "digital cable box" that seems to be
required in order to watch TV.

I'm pretty surprised that anything is required to watch TV, but I don't
have TV with WISP so I'm not sure. But it seems to me that the TV should
just have a tuner if it's a modern TV, so, why you need a tuner on top of a
tuner makes no sense to me.

 

[Martim Ribeiro]

On Sat, 4 Feb 2017 23:03:09 -0500, in
alt.home.repair,alt.interenet.wireless,sci.electronics.repair Ralph Mowery
wrote:

If you look on the back of the box you would find the modle numbers that
match. I am not sure of your cable system, but most cable systems
require atleast one digital box now to watch anything coming down the
cable.

That's what the Samsung sx022anm must be, which is the thing that attaches
to the cable and then to the back of the TV. The original roommate must be
renting it, even though it doesn't show up on her bill according to what
she told the other roommate (who is the one I'm trying to help) who is
moving in.

That other roommate is my own kid, where she had Comcast cable but no TV so
it was a ton simpler (without any taxes or fees whatsoever!). We simply
bought from Costco their best Docsys 3 modem (I think it was a Motorola
modem as I recall but it was years ago) and a Netgear AC router (as I
recall).

As a way for the companies to stick it to the users they usually
charge so much for each box that is hooked to a TV.

These kids are in college so I don't think they need TV but it's there now
in the new apartment, but it's useless to the second kid because she
doesn't even own a TV.

Can she watch the TV signal on a computer? (Probably not.)
(I'm not talking about a web site - I'm talking about the actual TV.)

I'm kind of out of touch with technology, but do TVs still exist?

All they are is a tuner and a monitor, where the tuner seems to be this
Samsung sxo22anm thing, so, does all she need is a monitor?

Many charge a fee
for the cable modem that is used for the internet, but you can buy your
own and it pays for its self in about 6 months to a year.

I don't remember the math, but I can't imagine NOT buying your own cable
modem because you save everywhere.
1. The self-installation fee is something like ten bucks whereas if they
give you a modem, the setup fee is something like fifty or sixty bucks so
you save about forty or fifty bucks on day 1.
2. The monthly charge is about 10 bucks (plus tax) so you save that each
month.

If the cable modem at Costco was one hundred bucks plus tax (it was
something like that as I recall), then you save half that cost on the first
day (see #1 and #2 above) and then you save the other half in ... gee ...
you're right ... about five or six months!

Ooops. I should not have doubted your math. You're correct. If you buy your
own Docsys 3 cable modem, then it only takes about six months to recoup
your costs, and then you save 10 bucks a month (plus tax) from there on in.

I think the FCC is trying or maybe they have by now where you can buy
your own digital TV box now.

If you had what you call a 'digital tv box" and a monitor, would it work?
Or do you still need a TV tuner inside the monitor?

 

[Frank]

On 2/4/2017 6:46 PM, Martim Ribeiro wrote:
> Samsung SX022ANM

Samsung is DVR box rental. Comcast has an ng where you might ask about all.

 

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 2/4/2017 6:46 PM, Martim Ribeiro wrote:

I'm confused by Comcast Comcast "Broadcast TV Fee" of $6.50 and the
"Regional Sports Fee" of $4.50 and the Samsung SX022ANM "thing".

I'm trying to help someone else who is in an apartment and moving to
another apartment in the same complex due to roomate issues, where the old
apartment has a $50/month 100Mbps service and the new apartment has an
existing $85/month 100Mbps with 135 TV channels.

On the TV channel setup, there are three things I don't understand:
1. What is the Samsung SX022ANM "thing"
2. Are these "fees" legit?

Can you just give me information on these two things so I'm better armed to
help? The apartment dwellers and I aren't technical and I never had cable
anyway since I'm on wisp.

Sort of legit. The Samsung is a wireless receiver. It is common to
charge a rental fee for equipment, especially if it is a premium
featured unit.

Not sure about the broadcast fee, it may be for local channels.

The regional sports fee is something the cable companies pay to LB, NFL,
etc. While legal to charge, IMO it is like going to the store and
getting a package of icecream. At the checkout they charge you $3 for
the icecream and they add a 20 cent "refrigeration fee".

If you look at your phone or electric bills you see a long list of
little charges. Cable companies do that too so they can advertise a low
price and then add in the other items.

I argued with DirecTv about the sports fee and I don't watch sports.
They would not remove it but they did give me a discount.

 

[Ralph Mowery]

In article <o7622t$jpo$1@news.mixmin.net>, MartimXRibeiro@meo.pt says...

The only thing that is not figured out is what this Samsung SX022ANM is,
but, I found out from the kids that it's on one girl's bedroom on top of
her TV, so, it's probably this "digital cable box" that seems to be
required in order to watch TV.

I'm pretty surprised that anything is required to watch TV, but I don't
have TV with WISP so I'm not sure. But it seems to me that the TV should
just have a tuner if it's a modern TV, so, why you need a tuner on top of a
tuner makes no sense to me.

If you look on the back of the box you would find the modle numbers that
match. I am not sure of your cable system, but most cable systems
require atleast one digital box now to watch anything coming down the
cable. As a way for the companies to stick it to the users they usually
charge so much for each box that is hooked to a TV. Many charge a fee
for the cable modem that is used for the internet, but you can buy your
own and it pays for its self in about 6 months to a year.
I think the FCC is trying or maybe they have by now where you can buy
your own digital TV box now.

 

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 2/4/2017 9:19 PM, Martim Ribeiro wrote:

The only thing that is not figured out is what this Samsung SX022ANM is,
but, I found out from the kids that it's on one girl's bedroom on top of
her TV, so, it's probably this "digital cable box" that seems to be
required in order to watch TV.

I'm pretty surprised that anything is required to watch TV, but I don't
have TV with WISP so I'm not sure. But it seems to me that the TV should
just have a tuner if it's a modern TV, so, why you need a tuner on top of a
tuner makes no sense to me.

Cable box.
http://www.justanswer.com/tv-repair/9hb56-remote-cable-box-stopped-working.html

Saw one on ebay sold for $79

 

[Andrew Rossmann]

In article <FjylA.156388$xZ1.135447@fx35.iad>, esp@snet.net says...

On 2/4/2017 9:19 PM, Martim Ribeiro wrote:


The only thing that is not figured out is what this Samsung SX022ANM is,
but, I found out from the kids that it's on one girl's bedroom on top of
her TV, so, it's probably this "digital cable box" that seems to be
required in order to watch TV.

I'm pretty surprised that anything is required to watch TV, but I don't
have TV with WISP so I'm not sure. But it seems to me that the TV should
just have a tuner if it's a modern TV, so, why you need a tuner on top of a
tuner makes no sense to me.


Cable box.
http://www.justanswer.com/tv-repair/9hb56-remote-cable-box-stopped-working.html

Saw one on ebay sold for $79

Don't try to buy one and use it with Comcast, or most any cable system.
The only non-rental equipment they will allow are devices that use
CableCard. And for Comcast, they still charge the $9.95 outlet fee, but
also give a -$2.50 device discount. (The new Roku Xfinity TV app will
probably have this fee once it gets out of Beta testing.)

--
If there is a no_junk in my address, please REMOVE it before replying!
All junk mail senders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law!!
http://home.comcast.net/~andyross

 

[Oren]

On Sun, 5 Feb 2017 02:18:48 -0000 (UTC), Martim Ribeiro
<MartimXRibeiro@meo.pt> wrote:

On 2/4/2017 6:46 PM, Martim Ribeiro wrote:
Samsung SX022ANM

Samsung is DVR box rental.

I can't dispute that the Samsung SX022ANM is a "DVR Box Rental" because I
can't figure out what it is by talking to the kids over the phone. They
said it connects to the TV, so, at the moment, I'm assuming it's a "digital
cable box".

The odd thing is I can't find a user manual or even a good description of
it, so, I think I'm working with bad data from the kids (they're in their
early twenties, but they're still just kids).

"Slingbox" ?

<https://community.slingbox.com/thread/44882>

 

[Allodoxaphobia]

On Sat, 4 Feb 2017 23:46:05 -0000 (UTC), Martim Ribeiro wrote:

I'm confused by Comcast Comcast "Broadcast TV Fee" of $6.50 and the
"Regional Sports Fee" of $4.50 and the Samsung SX022ANM "thing".

Then you ought to post you questions in a ng that's On Topic.

alt.online-service.comcast

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Martim Ribeiro wrote:

On Sat, 4 Feb 2017 19:17:49 -0500, in
alt.home.repair,alt.interenet.wireless,sci.electronics.repair Ed Pawlowski
wrote:

Sort of legit. The Samsung is a wireless receiver. It is common to
charge a rental fee for equipment, especially if it is a premium
featured unit.

Wireless receiver?
Hmmmmm... I'm not sure what it would do.

They have a coax coming into the apartment living room, which goes to a
modem and a router which they own.

There is apparently a TV with this Samsung SX022ANM on the TV, where this
Samsung "thing" is the only hardware they say that Comcast gave them.

I don't know cable (I'm on WISP) but I think they need some type of "TV
box", is that right?

Cable TV uses QAM encoding, and it has to be converted to feed the
ATSC signal that is broadcast to homes.

If they need a TV box, and if that's the only thing they need from Comcast,
I'm going to "guess" (yes, I'm just guessing so I could easily be wrong)

--
Never piss off an Engineer!

They don't get mad.

They don't get even.

They go for over unity! ;-)