[ale] All the way to OT: Satellite/Cable (was Re: bandwidth competition (changing the subject))

[hbbs at comcast.net]

Lately, AT&T has been prying at me with letters, flyers, etc. about ditching Comcast.  They seem to have some sort of arrangement with one of the satellite providers (I can't recall which).

The thing is, I don't *want* to go from Comcast analog to Comcast digital.  It isn't that I don't want digital/HD - in fact, my low-end flat-screen that I got a few months ago has an ATSC tuner and it's capable of displaying HD channels that Comcast is sending over the wire (figuring out what channel is on what yyy-xx channel number is not fun and is one of the things I want to get away from somehow), but Comcast nevertheless manages to have glitches in both HD and non-HD video (freezes, pixelization) and I don't feel like rewarding them.  

Which brings me to a question:  is it possible here in the 21st century where if I walk up to the TV thinking "I wanna watch C-SPAN" that I can easily dial it up without having to remember which channel of hundred(s) is on what channel number?  What service (cable/satellite) if any have reached that level of user-interface sophistication?

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Sean <drifter at oppositelock.org>
> Within the past month or so AT&T has installed a large fiber cabinet
> at the condo's front entrance right next to the existing POTS cabinet.
> Has anyone heard when (if ever) MaBell actually plans to start offering
> television service.  The condo would _love_ to ditch Comcast.
> 
> Sean
> 
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