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Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

Stan888
I've been here awhile

Hi,

 

Am thinking of possibly becoming a Rogers cable TV subscriber again.

Do the following boxes still work on Rogers:

HD Explorer 4250

Nextbox PVR3.0

 

Thanks,

Stan

 

 

 

***Edited Labels***

27 REPLIES 27

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

Biollw
I'm a senior advisor

Boxes do not matter. If resubscibe you will be offered ignite TV only, no legacy cable will be available.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

Stan888
I've been here awhile

I was still using these boxes 1.5 years ago. 

Wondering if they will work if I get the Starter package with some theme packs.

Had the VIP package then.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

Biollw
I'm a senior advisor

I refer you to my previous post. But if you think you can get legacy cable more power to you.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

Stan888
I've been here awhile

Sorry! I may be misunderstanding you!

So there is no more Digital TV?

Only Ignite TV which I am assuming is a different platform so the even the Nextbox PVR 3.0 will not work?

Sorry for my ignorance - have not kept up with the Rogers landscape of products since cutting the cord back then.

Just hoping to get some basic channels and not have to rent a box/device - like the Nextbox 4.0 or an Ignite box.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

Babylegs1
I'm a reliable contributor
The only digital cable TV you can get now with Rogers is the starter package and you can use the boxes you have. If you decide to add Internet you must go over to ignite TV. With the starter package you can add separate channels and theme packs.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

-G-
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@Stan888  You may still be able to get Digital TV with the Starter Package, if it is available in your area.  See the FAQ for more info.

 

You can't order the basic Starter Package online and others have reported difficulties getting the Rogers sales rep to book their order, so getting it may require some persistence on your part.  Also, if you currently subscribe to Ignite Internet, Rogers will only allow you to subscribe to Ignite TV.

 

I would still advise you to investigate Ignite TV options prior to calling Rogers, especially if you already have Ignite Internet.  The Rogers reps may be able to offer you a compelling discount and waive setup fees.  If you require a home phone service, it only costs $10/month to add Ignite Home Phone to the bundle.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

Biollw
I'm a senior advisor

Gone

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

JeffLR
I plan to stick around

I have an Explorer 8300 HD PVR. Recently it has stopped pulling in some channels. Rebooting doesn't help. Tech support person comes in and says I have no choice but to switch to Ignite. Not really interested in switching systems. I understand change but Rogers should be supporting all their legacy customers

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

57
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@JeffLR 1. Your 8300HD is around 20 years old it has reached EOL (end of life).  I'm surprised it's still working at all.

2. The rumour is that legacy digital cable will no longer be available to single family homes or similar at the end of this year.  MDUs with contracts that last longer may be supported past that date.

3. Rogers cannot economically support both Legacy Digital and Ignite.

4. Rogers will therefore only have IgniteTV available after this year.

5. Rogers will make it very difficult for people still on digital cable, by declining to troubleshoot old technology and "encouraging" people to switch to IgniteTV.

6. You therefore have the choice of switching to IgniteTV or to another provider or streaming, etc.

7. IgniteTV has been around for 5 years and I'm a bit surprised that the migration to IgniteTV has taken this long.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

JeffLR
I plan to stick around

so they dont have the "old" boxes?

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

57
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

I don't believe they will rent you an old box. They will not sell you an old box - haven't for years. Since almost everyone has now migrated to IgniteTV, you can probably find a box at something like Kijiji for free or next to nothing, but beware that they may be stolen or Rogers may not even activate them on your account any more.  There are very few months left in 2023 - time to make a decision on IgniteTV or another provider.

 

https://www.digitalhome.ca/threads/guidelines-for-selling-and-buying-a-used-rogers-set-top-box-in-on...

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

JeffLR
I plan to stick around

no reason Rogers can't do both systems, sort of like offering something for everyone

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

-G-
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@JeffLR wrote:

I have an Explorer 8300 HD PVR. Recently it has stopped pulling in some channels. Rebooting doesn't help. Tech support person comes in and says I have no choice but to switch to Ignite.


I have not seen an official announcement of any end date for Digital TV but Rogers has posted publicly that as of May, 2023, any further support for the service will be on a best-effort basis.  They will no longer dispatch field techs to troubleshoot problems and will not be able to replace rental equipment.

 

Not really interested in switching systems. I understand change but Rogers should be supporting all their legacy customers


By the way, which channels are you no longer receiving?

 

FYI, Rogers is currently in the process of upgrading their old analog fibre nodes with newer technology, and also making other engineering changes to support the transition of their cable plant to carry purely DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 4.0 traffic.  This could potentially impact Digital TV.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

-G-
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@JeffLR wrote:

no reason Rogers can't do both systems, sort of like offering something for everyone


Digital TV and Ignite TV are based on totally different technologies.  It does not make business sense to maintain and power old legacy infrastructure that is used by very few customers, nor it is sustainable to run a service whose technology has also reached end-of-life and no longer supported by their vendors.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

JeffLR
I plan to stick around

channels like 50-56

funny thing though, an hour ago get an email from them

We heard from you on July 28, 2023 about a problem you were having with your Rogers Cable Television Service.

We’re sorry to say there's been a delay in fixing this problem. Thank you for your patience as our technical teams work on this.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

JeffLR
I plan to stick around

also my wife is very untech savvy so learning a new system is very difficult for her

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

Pauly
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@JeffLR wrote:

no reason Rogers can't do both systems, sort of like offering something for everyone


They currently have both systems running, however as others have mentioned, digital cable is at the end of its life.  They don't just pull a date out of a hat, there's more to it.  No one supports this technology anymore, and its not just the technology you see with your eyes, there's literally a large amount of tech behind the scenes you do not see that is in the neighbourhoods and in the head end that if something goes wrong with, it will be very difficult and expensive to repair or maintain it and it could take much longer and customers will not be happy.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

57
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@JeffLR wrote:

no reason Rogers can't do both systems, sort of like offering something for everyone


There is actually a very good reason. It costs too much money to offer both in parallel in terms of operating cost, capital cost and troubleshooting both systems.  No company would do this. Digital Cable technology has been around for over 30 years and is being replaced by IPTV in the same way that digital cable replaced analogue technology years ago.  The migration from analogue to digital took a few years and the migration from digital cable to IPTV has already taken over 5 years.  It's time to let it go for financial and technological reasons.  Old technologies are always being replaced with newer technologies for a variety of reasons.  For example some cell phone bands are no longer utilized for cell phones, etc.

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

JeffLR
I plan to stick around

someone from Rogers told me that if I switch to Ignite for TV then have to give them home phone and internet as well

that's crazy!

on other hand there are Rogers PVR boxes out there for sale on the market

Re: Which Digital Boxes Are Currently Supported?

57
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@JeffLR wrote:

someone from Rogers told me that if I switch to Ignite for TV then have to give them home phone and internet as well


Home Phone is always an option. Lots of people don't have home phones any more, relying on cell phones.

 

You can get Ignite Internet by itself.

 

You may be able to get the TV portion on it's own, but since IgniteTV relies on the Internet and the Gateway Hardware, in order to avoid finger pointing if something goes wrong, I highly suggest getting TV and Internet from Rogers.

 


@JeffLR wrote: there are Rogers PVR boxes out there for sale on the market

There are lots out there since everyone is being migrated to IgniteTV, sometimes the boxes are free, but you need to check to see if Rogers will authorize those boxes as I indicated in my previous post (with the link to purchasing a used box) and you need to wonder if it's worthwhile going to all that trouble for just a few months of digital cable service.

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