Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

New Services Coming To Prescott Video

New services are being added to Prescott's cable television service, including cable Internet.

Jim Dickerson, manager of Prescott Video, spoke to the Prescott City Council at its regular monthly meeting Monday, April 16, about the changes, including a rate increase.

The services, he said, are ones customers have been wanting more than a year, but the company couldn't provide with its old equipment.

Since the system has been rebuilt and is now state-of-the-art, the services are being offered, most as options.

The options, though, include 20 channels of Nickelodeon-type programming, along with 30 pay-per view stations, an interactive TV guide, about 20 different movie channels and 45 music channels. The music channels are played on a black screen, with no video involved.

Customers will need a digital receiver to access these services, as all are digital. The receiver, Dickerson said, looks like a videocassette recorder and is remote control.

In all, customers will have access to 120 channels, should they want absolutely everything offered. He said this also includes 24 channels for premium movies, along with Animal Planet, A&E and Galavision. Galavision is a Spanish access station.

Channel 18 will be a "sneak peak" station, giving previews of what's on a specified digital channel every week.

Additionally, when the Razorbacks are on pay-per-view, the game can be purchased and watched on channel 18. But, customers will need a box to decode pay-per-view stations.

CSPAN and CSPAN2 will be next to one another, as some channel shuffling will take place.

When the system was launched, Dickerson said, it had a digital weather scan. However, the company got word this programming will be canceled, so the golf channel will take its place.

Sometime in May, he said, Prescott Video will be offering Internet cable. The service is in place now, but the company is working out the bugs.

There will be several Internet packages offered, with the slowest speed being 512 kilobaud. Businesses can log on even faster.

Customers wanting the Internet cable will have to have basic cable, but not a phone line. Dickerson said this will be a non-proprietary Internet, and customers can buy modems if one's needed.

The entry cost for this service will be $44.95 per month, with a yearly contract required. For this, though, Prescott Video will throw in the modem.

The area, Dickerson said, won't be blanketed by the Internet cable at one time, as the service is still new and the company wants to make sure it's working right before it begins advertising it.

According to Dickerson, in the first three weeks there will be 200 digital boxes put out for testing, with requests being heavier.

"We had no idea the demand would be so great."

But, with the increased services comes higher prices, with the rates going up the first of May. For basic services, the increase will be $3.50 per month, making the minimum package price $33.45.

Should someone want everything offered, Dickerson said, the cost will be about $75 per month. This amounts to about 67 cents per channel, which is below rates set by the Federal Communications Commission.