Rogers email about decommissioning cable boxes

[wayner92]

I am still on legacy cable in Scarborough, ON.  I just got an email from Rogers that said:  "Your account shows that your current TV Box with a model number starting either with SA or PA will be decommissioned as of April 30, 2024."

Does anyone know what is behind this?  I have quite a few cable boxes of various types - SA3250HDs, SA4250HDs, SA8300HDs, etc.

Are they totally getting rid of legacy cable in my area?  Or just decommisioning some boxes?

*Added Labels*

[ostrich2]

@-G- Only a tiny, TINY minority of Rogers customers have fibre Internet. Whoever told you that this was a requirement for Ignite TV was misinformed. (My parents subscribe to Ignite TV, have multiple set-top boxes, and only have a 150 Mbps cable Internet service. They use a standard, Rogers-supplied and supported configuration, no third-party equipment, and it works great.). Rogers won't let you purchase Ignite TV (with or without Internet) if they cannot deliver a suitable Internet service to your home.

Right - I wasn't assuming that IgniteTV required fibre,  but my assumption was that Ignite internet was fibre based.  I suspect from your comment and the others that I may have an incorrect assumption in terms of how the services associated with IgniteTV work with respect to your type of internet.   The picture I had was something like:

IgniteTV --> using regular digital cable internet --> standard coax --> existing cable modem/router that IgniteTV devices and your other existing devices associate with,  IgniteTV just becomes another type of client using your cable internet connection

IgniteTV --> using Ignite internet --> fibre based infrastructure connection only --> Ignite TV services and your other internet devices interface with Ignite internet router and cable modem

I gather this picture is probably incorrect. It sounds then like normally if you're using IgniteTV,  you would also normally use Ignite internet setup, even in the standard digital cable/coax case? And the Ignite modem/hub completely replaces your existing digital cable modem and acts as your wireless router for all your other general devices accessing the external internet (you generally wouldn't use your own router in this config)? 

 So the IgniteTV set top boxes connect to the router you end up using (can be by WiFi or direct ethernet connection),  and then your TV connects to the set top box via HMDI - that's no problem, I have two TVs, they both have standard HDMI connections. 

 Does this sound correct? 

[-G-]

@ostrich2 Yes, that's pretty much it.  I'll clarify further.

From a technical perspective, there is no difference between legacy Rogers (cable) Internet and "Ignite" (cable) Internet.  You get a different cable modem but the underlying technology is the same; it is still DOCSIS (cable) Internet.  Rogers may call Ignite Internet "Fibre-powered Internet" but it is no more "fibre-powered" than the cable Internet service that we have all had for years.

With Fibre to the Home Internet, the underlying technology is XGS-PON.  The bits for your Internet service flow into your home over a fibre optic connection rather than over coaxial cable, but Internet is Internet; the underlying network protocol is still TCP/IP.

Ignite TV is an IPTV service -- TV channels get streamed over your Internet connection.  You tune to a TV channel (as you would with any TV service) with your remote control and the program airing on that channel gets streamed to your set-top box, similar to how a Netflix movie gets streamed to your computer or media player.  The Ignite TV set-top box doesn't know or care whether you get your Internet service over coax cable or fibre, or over a string between two tin cans.  When my parents had a multi-day cable Internet outage in their neighbourhood, I set up a Wi-Fi hotspot on my iPhone and connected their Ignite set-top box to my phone so that my mum could watch her favourite programs in the evening.

[Mar12]

I wonder if they’ll just keep charging the bill as they have done in the past. In Ontario currently 148$ for int and cable, with old copper cable wires …. That have been here for 40 years….

[Eliojudson]

Sorry to say but on April 30 Rogers plan to phase out the the older models of digital boxes with models starting with SA or PA. So you will have go to Ignite.
Now I know now that on November 30 Rogers plan to compete the phase out all of the rest of the digital boxes completely. They say that it's too much for them to keep up with the Ignite internet system and digital format.
I too Hate to change to Ignite wifi ,because if your internet goes out, you have NO TV OR WIFI.
EXAMPLE last month my area in High Park lost our internet for almost 3 days. I had half of my friends on my street in my house watching my TV's ,children downstairs in the wreckroom, the guy on the 2nd floor we watched sports, and ladies were watching their show upstairs. Did I mention that this was on the weekend. Rogers claims that Ignite is progress they have no IDEA how much people lose when the wifi signal is lost.
I've been with Rogers cable for over 40 years, and now I'm thinking that I may change.
I'm lucky right now, it'll November 30 cause I own all 7 of my boxes and they are all Next Box units.
Anyway Good Luck and I hope for the best too all.
Elio J.

[Mar12]

Im158$ they make up prices

[Mar12]

Right same here i own my box as well. My neighbourhood is all switching to bell because they put in all new wires. Rogers has the same cable for ever. And when wifi goes out we still have cable to. It’s sad how much they over charge and then wine when they cant make enough. Capitolism

[Mar12]

They offered me one box and wifi for 129$ a month

[Mar12]

Still
The price differences are astronimical, with everything else thats going on.

[rgabows]

Mine is down today - May 29th.  Explorer box

[tcedfc]

Yep, ours went down yesterday (SA8300HD). What sucks is you can't even access the recorded content....fortunately, we were pretty much caught up on SNL 😉.

[dittmann]

My SA8300HD went down earlier this week....cant get anything on the display other than 998 (not for lack of trying).   I guess it in becomes part of  the recycling waste ....

[Wkcp]

We are in downtown Toronto. We have
4 cable boxes of various vintages. We have not had cable service since February. I rarely use cable buy my wife wanted to keep. I gav e both Rogers and Bell a chance to bid on cable, internet, home phone. I told Rogers I would only consider their offer if I got a full refund (legacy billing of about $170 a month) February to June. I was told on the phone they would give us a refund but they continued to charge until I formally canceled a service I didn’t have. Go with Bell.

[Pauly]

It looks like people are hanging on to their Legacy Digital Cable TV service till the very very end.

While this may be okay to some customers, if everybody who waits till the very end gets shut off wants to switch over, there will be an influx of people trying to migrate over to ignite, possibly more than the current scheduling system can handle, so there is no question or no doubt that there will be a period of service disruption.  The only  way to avoid a disruption is to migrate "early" which is what all the warning emails and letters have been saying all along.

[Wkcp]

Check bell! Better service and great package pricing. Roger cut of cable service on old boxes in our area and continued to charge for almost 6 months after ending service and have only refunded $53. I am going to got to town on them, including righting reviews like this.

[Babylegs1]

been there and done Bell and they are 10x worse

[chicobaby2]

None of the old cable will work anymore, You have to get standalone boxes.