Bermuda CableVision subscribers will loose some of the functionality of their televisions when they connect the digital descramblers being introduced by the company.

CableVision general manager Jeremy Elmas said yesterday subscribers would not be able to use picture-in-picture or record and watch two different cable stations simultaneously because the new "black box" only outputs one station at a time. He added that the technology was the same as that used by many cable companies in the US.

A customer service agent told The Royal Gazette on Wednesday that picture-in-picture and VCR recording would not be affected.

CableVision introduced the new boxes, which customers will need to view its signal after August 1, to reduce piracy. According to Mr. Elmas, between three and four thousand people receive cable without paying for it. The company has 16,000 legitimate subscribers.

CableVision first offered the boxes - some new, some refurbished - on Tuesday, when 800 were collected. However, no more will be distributed until next Wednesday as the manufacturer failed to programme all of them, according to Mr. Elmas.

The first box is free, and additional ones for extra televisions will cost $7.50 a month. The charge will be accompanied by rate hikes for subscription packages. The top-tier package will cost $43 a month, to which premium channels can be added individually for $10 each.

Consumers complained that CableVision's poor service does not warrant price increases.

But service appears to be improving under the management of WestStar Cable of the Cayman Islands, which bought a 32 percent stake in CableVision from the Alabama-based McDonald Group in January. KeyTech, which owns Bermuda Telephone Company, is the cable company's other major shareholder. Mr. Elmas admitted that the previous managment did little to maintain the existing system.

The new system will allow CableVision to add new channels to a customer's line up right from its office, whereas before a technician needed to visit the residence.

And more channels will be included, bringing the total number available to 60 - the maximum allowed by the current system. The additions will include Home and Garden Television (HGTV), Entertainment Television, the History Channel, the Sci-Fi Channel and music channel VH1, according to Mr. Elmas.

Cinemax will also join the existing offering of premium movie channels.

Mr. Elmas said STARZ!, the movie channel currently airing for no additional charge on channel 18, is a temporary replacement for British Columbia Television. CableVision lost that station, as well as CITV (channel 37), when provider CANCOM converted to digital. Once CableVision finds a new provider, STARZ! will become a premium channel available for an additional monthly fee.

Cablevision will not offer Music Television (MTV) as it did not score as high as VH1 on a customer survey conducted in March. 1300 people responded to the survey, published in The Royal Gazette and The Bermuda Sun.

The transition to a scrambled signal is the first phase in a major upgrading project for CableVision. This summer, the company will begin to digitise its system, which will require converting 60 miles of the company's 340 miles of cable to fibre optic. The upgrade will take between 12 and 18 months, Mr. Elmas said.

In the US, where about 60 million households subscribe to cable, only five to ten million receive digital service.

"A lot of the companies are upgrading to digital now," Mr. Elmas said, adding that the new system will provide capacity for hundreds of channels and interactive services customised for each subscriber.

With a permit, the company could provide high-speed Internet service through its wires, a service already commonplace among cable providers in many foreign cities.

The company is also looking to improve its customer service - the standard of which is poor, judging by the numerous complaints received by the Consumer Affairs Bureau. With high call volumes, many customers have encountered busy signals when calling CableVision and last night the voice mailbox was full and not recording any further messages.