Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016/02/24 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2016 ST. LOUIS PARK COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Maren Anderson, Bruce Browning, Dale Hartman, Cindy Hoffman and Rolf Peterson MEMBERS ABSENT: Toby Keeler and Andrew Reinhardt STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator; and, Jacqueline Larson, Communications and Marketing Manager OTHERS PRESENT: Kate Hensing, Comcast Cable 1. Call to Order Chair Peterson called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Anderson, Browning, Hartman, Hoffman and Peterson. 3. Approval of Minutes for December 9, 2015 It was moved by Commissioner Browning, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the minutes of December 9, 2015, without changes. The motion passed 5-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda It was moved by Commissioner Browning, seconded by Commissioner Hartman, to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed 5-0. 5. Public Comment - None 6. New Business A. Park TV marketing, publicity & program report Mr. Dunlap referred to the memo sent summarizing the programming. Channel 14 is educational access with a total of 135 shows. On Channel 15, staff produced over 100 shows. Channel 16 is the on location channel, aka “van channel,” with the majority of program being sporting events. Channel 17 is the civic channel with 75% of program hours being meetings. Channel 96 is the second community TV channel with 82% performances. Each of the channels is streamed live on the Internet and most shows are available on YouTube. Ms. Larson stated that they were completing new Park TV program brochures. They will be available on the web site and some printed to distribute. They will be hiring a new production assistant, possibly two. These are part time, 20 hrs/week. Mr. McHugh added that they are premiering new Park TV golf shirts this spring. Commissioners can attend the volunteer appreciation event where they will also be handing out Park TV bumper stickers. Ms. Larson indicated she talked with Scott Smith about Life in the Park and the program will be changing to every other week due to viewership and the amount of work needed for the program. They are going to look at what other communities are doing and have something new in June. Commissioner Browning asked if they could tell how many people were watching the shows on cable TV? Mr. Dunlap responded a survey had been done ten years ago and that was one of the questions, but that information was old. Another technology survey is planned at some point, and that would be a good time to get those numbers. B. Cable TV technology presentation, including fiber optic technology Mr. Dunlap showed the YouTube video, How Stuff Works: Fiber Optic Cable. Chair Peterson felt the demonstration with the stream was a great visual. It was also interesting how they used amplifiers for the cable that crosses the ocean. Mr. Dunlap noted the Comcast cable system is called HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coax). They use fiber around town to bring the signal to a neighborhood node, which was 400-500 homes when the system was built. It possible they have added a few more nodes. The Commission toured the Comcast Roseville head end in the past and can have further discussion about a meeting at the CenturyLink head end facility in Golden Valley, which is different because it is IP and internet based. All of the information Comcast sends you is available at all times to their cable box, whereas with the CenturyLink product, you get one stream at a time, which is why they can use a smaller bandwidth cable in your home. Commissioner Browning said that fiber is getting faster, so with those kinds of speeds you can download much more quickly. The world of coaxial cable will go away at some point because fiber just makes sense. Chair Peterson noted there are a lot of other benefits to fiber as well, including electrical resistance to lightening. It is fascinating technology, and the sooner it gets to our homes, the better. Commissioner Browning asked when Comcast would be running fiber to the home? Ms. Hensing responded they do run it to some homes. They use fiber, but coax is still a great product. Mr. Dunlap said that by the end of the year the DOCSIS 3.1 modem would be introduced. It will be a better price point and provide greater speeds. It is expensive to connect people with fiber all the way to the home, hundreds of dollars per month, but it is an option. C. Brainstorm future topics for Commission action, based on discussion at the Council Study Session February 22 Commissioner Browning said that he made the presentation to the City Council and eight other commissions were also there. Commissioner Browning talked about CenturyLink, which they spent time on most of last year. He also said there should be more promotion for Park TV, including signage (electronic signs.) They can also do bumper stickers. Commissioner Hoffman asked if the City Council gave any direction? Mr. Dunlap replied there was no specific direction given but Commissioner Browning answered a few of their questions. Mr. Pires can address the appropriate role for the Commission with the Council, and ask for feedback on technology issues. Commissioner Browning asked if it would be helpful to have a study session with City Council to get feedback? Mr. Dunlap replied that technology issues probably would come from Mr. Pires to the Commission. Chair Peterson suggested that they could do five year planning, and that it was very helpful when he was on the School Board. Ms. Larson noted that Council does have a strategic direction and technology is one of the goals. They can provide the commission with a copy of the plan. D. Comcast HD enhancements and set-top box exchanges Kate Hensing, Comcast, stated that they would be introducing MPEG 4 technology at the end of May, which allow more HD channels and more efficient use of bandwidth. Customers can go to channel 95 to find out if the box they have is compatible. They can order a new box from the screen, call or go into one of their stores. The store employees will show customers how to install it. It is a pretty seamless process and being done nationwide. The transition to new boxes needs to be done by the end of May or customers will lose some channels (a few at a time) through the end of May. Customers will be given warnings, but only a handful of customers are affected. There will be 3 notifications, letters and Emails sent. Customers can switch now. Commissioner Hoffman asked how old the boxes were that are being replaced? Ms. Hensing replied there are 20 types that are fine and at least 20 types that are ten plus years old. The old boxes can’t handle new technology. Commissioner Browning said it was probably because of decoding, hardware and chip sets. Commissioner Hoffman felt it would be more expensive to get the X1 box, and a hassle to get a new box. Ms. Hensing said that customers don’t have to get the X1 box, there are other boxes they won’t have to pay extra for. Chair Peterson recalled when the toured the Roseville head end, they had many different types of boxes and it made sense to consolidate. They had legacy brands and boxes. Ms. Hensing encouraged commissioners to tour the head end facility when possible. Mr. McHugh asked if customers that use DTA boxes would be affected? Ms. Hensing replied it depends on which one. There are some legacy DTA’s but the newer DTA’s are fine. Customers will get a scroll on their TV if they need to make a change. Mr. McHugh asked if there would be a mix of MPEG2 and MPEG4 channels after the switch? Ms. Hensing said no, it will be all MPEG4. One other good thing about MPEG4 is that it doubles DVR storage. Ms. Hoffman asked about current DVR storage, and Ms. Hensing said it varies by the DVR models. Mr. Dunlap said the X1 has approximately 100 hours of HD storage. Commissioner Browning felt that MPEG4 was better quality and a better approach, and that DirecTV uses MPEG4. He asked about the Comcast bills being revised? Ms. Hensing replied that the biggest complaint is billing. Comcast had just done a pilot project and with bills that were easier to read. After that, call volumes went down dramatically. They will be changing the billing format in the Twin Cities soon. Commissioner Browning agreed that a lot of complaints relate to billing. A lot of people get “specials” and when they end, the cost goes up and they are upset. Comcast should have something to let them know on their bill about the cost changing at the end of the special term. Ms. Hensing stated that they currently have call centers in Minnetonka and St. Paul. They will be hiring 400 new employees and opening an additional call center in St. Paul by the end of quarter 1, and have invested $300 million to improve the customer experience because we know this is a problem that we have. She also wanted to share that Comcast Care Day will be done again in St. Louis Park at Perspectives Inc. They have a lot of volunteers and it is a fun day. It will be done April 30th. Mr. McHugh asked the projected date for bills to change? Ms. Hensing replied she had nothing specific, but it would be before the end of year. E. Complaint logs Chair Peterson noted as discussed, most were billing concerns. Commissioner Browning noted one was a problem with an X1 box needing to be re-set every week or ten days. That could be a problem with the strength of the signal to his facility. Mr. Dunlap noted he wasn’t sure if it had been resolved, but that the customer had already swapped boxes a few times, which means you lose the recorded material on your DVR. He agreed it could be the signal level. Commissioner Browning asked if CenturyLink had an escalation team? Mr. Dunlap replied he sends complaints to Kirstin Sersland, and copy another administrative person, but there have been few complaints so there is no track record yet. Commissioner Hoffman was alarmed by the complaint related to a customers Life Line not working, and they are always supposed to work. Mr. Dunlap noted it could be converted to Comcast technology, and that customer was resolved that day. The customer went to the cable store on Excelsior Boulevard and was taken care of immediately, so this is one of those times when it’s really nice to have the local office. I found out about this after the packet was sent. 7. Communication from the Chair, Commissioners and City Staff Mr. Dunlap said this would be recording secretary Stegora-Peterson’s last meeting, and thanked her for saving hundreds of hours of work over the years. Chair Peterson also thanked her, and said they joined the Commission about the same time. 8. Adjournment Commissioner Browning made a motion, Commission Hartman seconded to adjourn at 7:58. The motion passed. Respectfully submitted by: Amy L. Stegora-Peterson Recording Secretary