Archive through November 11, 2006
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Anonymous | Forgive my ignorance, but I'm trying to get a straight answer. I have Time Warner cable in the Raleigh/Durham area of NC. Basic, analog cable. I am considering buying a basic HDTV, and a remote STB that is QAM-capable -- specifically the LG LST-4200a. The question is, if I use my basic analog cable feed, will this tuner be able to pick-up the Local HD channels? I expect TWC's channels like ESPN-HD, etc., to be encrypted, but I'm talking about just the locals. I would really prefer NOT to install and OTA antenna if I don't have to. Depending on whom I've talked to, I get answers like: "Nah, you need a cable card or Time Warner's own digital STB to get ANY HD over the cable," or: "No, by law, TWC can't encrypt local HD." ???? Thx |
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Anonymous | The HD tuner you mentioned needs to receive HD signal. Your existing analog cable feed does not carry any HD signal and hence it would not give you HD picture. There are 2 basic ways to get HD programs. 1 is to get a HD tuner (if you don't have a built-in tuner in your HDTV) like the one you are thinking along with an antenna. If you live in the right area and direction to the towers, you may get by with an indoor antenna. The other way is to subscribe to cable or satellite and they will provide you with a tuner that would receive local HD programs. |
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Anonymous | I disagree with you, which is why I asked the original question. A lot of cable providers do not encrypt the local HD channels, and someone with a QAM-clear capable tuner can use his or her HD Tuner, with QAM capability, just like an STB that the cable-company would provide, if you upgraded to the digital tier with HD package. The exception being, you wouldn't get things like ESPN-HD, etc., which ARE encrypted. No biggie. My question can be summarized: does anyone know if Time Warner Cable in the Raleigh/Durham area of NC encypts their local channel HD feed? Thx |
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Anonymous | I don't know what you disagree on. The simple fact is that the TWC analog cable feed does not carry any local HD signal so no matter what kind of HD tuner you have, you won't get any HD program out of it. HD signal is in a totally different bandwidth. I am not talking about encyption here. You cannot creat HD program out of nothing. |
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Peas Unregistered guest | My question can be summarized: does anyone know if Time Warner Cable in the Raleigh/Durham area of NC encypts their local channel HD feed? Yes, the CS reps at Time Warner know, ask them. Peas |
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Anonymous | OK Mr Summarization, My brother-in-law lives in raleigh. He had to purchase an antenna and HD box because he didn't want to upgrade to digital cable with HD add-on. The analog cable you get (read this VERY carefully) DOES NOT CARRY<---an HD SIGNAL! Did you ge that? The HD signal is ABSENT on your (read this one, too) ANALOG<--FEED!! Have a nice day  |
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Bronze Member Username: Thomas_friederStaten Island, New York USA Post Number: 11 Registered: Dec-04 | one quik suggestion..if you are going to post more than one time... take the time and use and signin with a name so we can distinguish between the many anon? posts?... now as to the hd question, I can only answer for the TWC in my area in NYC...we are not able to access any HD via the cable lines unless thru a cable card or their provided HDTV cable box. |
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Unregistered guest | I read the posts regading HDTV and broadcast basic (analog) service. I am an HDTV newbie. I only have (analog) broadcase basic Cablevision (Long Island) service. On my cable ready TV, I can set it to CATV and tune UHF stations all the way up to 117 (or something like that) Now if instead of my TV cable ready tuner, I purchased a QAM capable box, like the Samsung 451, or that LG LST-4200a, I was hoping to be able to watch the superbowl FOX 5-1 HDTV subchannel. Through the air it is UHF 44 from NYC, but on Cablevision on think it is CATV channel 79. It is 705 on the official cablevision supplied SA4200HD. Yes, I know I would have to use a HDTV capable display. I am a old amateur radio operator (HAM). I think the stuff on the cable wire is just frequency stuff. Meaning if you have the right tuner electronics you can get a useful signal out. The difference between "analog" and "digital" is the way the frequency/amplitude changes on the cabl wire are USED to represent CONTENT. So I was hoping that a QAM digital aware tuner would get the HDTV FOX subchannel off the cable in a useable form. Providing of course the FOX 5-1 HDTV subchannel is on the cable in my home with my broadcast basic (so be it "analog") service. After all this is a shared bus system. The SAME cable is used for ALL the content. Yes there could be a per user "TRAP" device on the pole that makes the last 100 feet of cable to your house different by removing certain frequencies. But most systems are getting away from this because frequencies these days are all over the place and because traps require the labor of field people to set up and change. Forgive this rant, but if anyone here can throw any light on this I would greatly appreciate it. Hope you can and will respond. Thanks |
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Bronze Member Username: Thomas_friederStaten Island, New York USA Post Number: 22 Registered: Dec-04 | first of all to all these newbies, take the extra minute to register so you'll get emailed when someone answers you. leave out the personal info if that worries you. Without going in too deeply, you should read some of the HDTV websites that explain the digital/analog differences more. First of all, UHF channels stop at 69, so if your TV channels are going as high as 117, you may have your TV tuner set to cable, not VHF/UHF (earlier UHF tuners went to 83 but when cell phones arrived the FCC removed 14 of those channels). Secondly, you not only need a digital/HD tuner, you also need a monitor or HD set capable of displaying those signals, sometimes a PC monitor might work but those screens are usually smaller than your tv set...a regular set would probably display it in a distorted form, and those images would proably be compressed so it would look worse than a regular analog showing. Stick with trying to get the best analog signal you can recieve or find a local pub that has an HDTV set if you are not ready to upgrade yet because I cannot see where you could find any middle ground here between the 2 signal/display choices, it's one or the other (HD or regular) |
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Anonymous | TWC in Charlotte, NC carries local broadcast HD channels on basic cable. I was able to get them without cable box or cable card using QAM tuner built-in my TV. As far as I know, all cable providers are requiered to do so. If they not, you should send your complaint to FCC. |
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Bronze Member Username: Thomas_friederStaten Island, New York USA Post Number: 23 Registered: Dec-04 | I cannot find any documents that say that local channels have to be unscrambled, only that local channels in a certain radius and signal strength be made available and still cannot find anything that states they have to even be in HD becuz not all are being carried yet (the WB channel in NY, for one), at least they appear to be trying to provide more than satellite so far. The scrambling/unscrambling feature may be a location thing, urban cable companies were always the first to start scrambling channels due to more theft of service in the past. If you could provide any links? |
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xvxvxvx Unregistered guest | It is called the "Must Carry" rule. All local channels (local as defined by the FCC) must be provided at no extra charge within the cost of the most basic cable subscription provided by the respective cable company. These need not necessarily be digital until all transmission becomes digital but they must be unscrambled. HD signals need not be provided unscrambled although a majority of the cable companies are doing so for the non-subscription cable channels available. xvxvxvx |
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Bronze Member Username: Thomas_friederStaten Island, New York USA Post Number: 24 Registered: Dec-04 | Once again, I'm looking at the "must carry" document provided by my cable company when you first subscribe (TWC in NYC throws these in since there's so many smaller stations in the NYC area that try to get included in the local packages). Nowhere does it state anything about whether the local channels have to be scrambled or unscrambled (although TWC in my area does provide the local channels unscrambled, they are sent on different channels, ie. NBC4 is carried on cable channel 12, etc.). As to HD channels, my guess is when the FCC actually determines when HD must be broadcast by the networks, as of right now, they are only required to be "digital" by mid-2006 and still carry analog for another 10 years...no deadline on HD yet" then they(FCC) will probably amend the must carry rule to include HD, thus giving cable time to up their needed support bandwidth for the HD channels...now it may be in the cable company's interest to leave local stations unscrambled to avoid service calls on a portion of their service they recieve no fees /profit on and also to avoid that same thing with HD locals but just doing a quik survey among cable providers in the NYC/NY area, it's about 5--50 scrambled/unscrambled...more scrambled if you include NJ in the mix...when I lived out west in the rockies in the mid 90's, practically nothing was scrambled(only the premiums), so it may just be region needs based |
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xvxvxvx Unregistered guest | Once again, I'm looking at the "must carry" document provided by my cable company.... Therein lies your mistake, you might try a search on the FCC website to read the entire applicable statute. xvxvxvx |
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Bronze Member Username: Thomas_friederStaten Island, New York USA Post Number: 25 Registered: Dec-04 | As I asked 3 comments earlier, please provide a link to this. On every site that professes to be a consumer watchdog for cable TV services nationwide ... all I have found is that cable must provide local channels that fall into a general local radius and certain signal strength but not one item on whether they are to be scrambled or not. Seeing how NYC has so many litigious consumer groups available, I cannot see how if even one cable company in the NYC area did not follow the FCC guidelines, they would not be sued immediately. |
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xvxvxvx Unregistered guest | As I wrote 2 posts earlier search www.fcc.gov, all the information is there. The only exceptions to the "must carry" rules are very small cable TV companies. I repeat when you go to the trouble of searching yourself you will find that locals cannot be scrambled. xvxvxvx |
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Bronze Member Username: Thomas_friederStaten Island, New York USA Post Number: 26 Registered: Dec-04 | For the last time, b4 i stop wasting my time with this. By the way, take the time to register if you are going to keep posting. There is nothing in that "must carry" document (which is the exact document TWC included in their starter packet) that requires a cable company to carry a channel "unscrambled" if channels were sent that way before, only that they offer it free to their customers...for new channels, a cable company can always get a "theft of service" waiver if they can show that their signal has been consistantly weakened by theft, which almost any provider can prove in urban areas (in fact I think at the inception of that documnent, most city serviced cable recieved an automatic waiver, recent news articles state that theft is as high as 5% in larger apartment complexes). Actually, since this thread began, I have dumped my cable now in favor of Directv, since our TWC lines had been going down almost once a week, I was constantly missing Hidef Jet's games and I tired of our cable service's (TWC) lack of return calls or blaming the problem on nearby construction after 2 hour waits placing the initial service call. Frankly, it's of no consequence to me anymore. I can even take my directv up with me to our ski house using a temporary mount on extended visits and I'm now getting about equal the number of HDTV local channels now (missing PBS only) via the dish and do not have to deal with a monopoly anymore. Good luck to others still using TWC. |
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xvxvxvx Unregistered guest | Since Thomas is unable to search the FCC site and prefers to believe otherwise I will post the pertinent links to official government documents online that answer his questions: FCC Sec. 76.901 (Basic Service Minimums) FCC Sec. 76.630 (shall not scramble) Section 76.630 ( Basic Tier Encryption Prohibited) http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-225A1.pdf comments from the EFF to FCC http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_publ...CC-03-273A1.pdf Now no more complaints from the peanut gallery please. xvxvxvx |
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Bronze Member Username: Thomas_friederStaten Island, New York USA Post Number: 31 Registered: Dec-04 | peanut gallery here....I would gladly do most anything to backup a debate but a search on the FCC site for "must carry" brought up 43 pages of links and i was not going to waste my time with someone who could just be playing around (if you register, you can leave out personal info but you then get emailed replies which is quicker...and certainly appear to be more forthright ) This should settle this quickly...as of 12/31/2004, 72% of the cable companies east of the Mississippi (the more populated area of the country) have waivers for scrambled local channels (not all use them though...)... this from a phone call to the FCC Monday...I got tired of playing ecoustics message tag every 3 days and my cable operator assured me they were within their legal rights (the one time I actually believed them)...and it's 96% in new york state!...hope this settles this...in fact i could not find one person in the NYC suburbs in my office whose basic cable was not scrambled in some manner, I asked at least 50 people for a good sampling |
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xvxvxvx Unregistered guest | Like you asked me Thomas, please provide a link. I am sure you are trustworthy but after all you doubted me so a helping hand would be appreciated. As for not registering: Do you have any doubt I am the same xvxvxvx that has been having this discussion with you throughout this thread? xvxvxvx |
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Bronze Member Username: Thomas_friederStaten Island, New York USA Post Number: 32 Registered: Dec-04 | I've saved all the pdf's to hard drive via links you provided and told you already that after tiring of sitting around for a reply and getting this settled more quickly, I went directly to my cable company head office (she is the person who supplied me with the phone number for the FCC) and a woman named Dierdre (in the Vienna, Virginia office) supplied me with the data that the majority of cable companies (70% plus) have waivers allowing them to scramble their local signals as what my initial point "that most people do not get their locals scrambled" was.....my guest/ID point is that anyone who simply types in a bunch of letters for ID without offering contact info cannot be held to the same standards of trust / respect as you seem to be asking for. We finished? |
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xvxvxvx Unregistered guest | We finished? Absolutely! Why I even bothered to attempt an intelligent discussion with a New Yorker in the first place eludes me now. PS: I called the FCC too, according to my source less than 4% of the cable companies nationwide qualify for waivers. Perhaps the New Yorkers whine loud enough to get all the waivers in the entire country. If so that is another good reason to live in a civilized portion of the world. xvxvxvx |
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Bronze Member Username: Thomas_friederStaten Island, New York USA Post Number: 33 Registered: Dec-04 | The problem is we were lacking some items needed for an intelligent conversation, for a start, intelligence on your end. By the way, I'm from Colorado, location listed is temporary. I am going to try to get a letter or email listing exactly what cable services have this waiver since I think we are entitled (freedom of information act??) from this woman at the FCC, you can have access to it if you want. As to your 4% figure, how could that ever be possible? It's already established that the majority of NY/NJ cable is scrambled in some way, and that's over 10% of the USA by themselves and urban areas outside of NYC would also qualify. Perhaps math was skipped when you went to those non-whining country schools, we know spelling was...who spells their name (xvxvxvx) or your parents related to the Zappa's? :-) . |
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Frustrated Unregistered guest | Comcast has scrambled the HD channels here in Chicago. I get the sound but not the picture. I have Comcast Digital Service. I get my HD broadcasts through a UHF antenna in the attic. |
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Frustrated Unregistered guest | Comcast has scrambled the HD channels here in Chicago. I get the sound but not the picture. I have Comcast Digital Service. I get my HD broadcasts through a UHF antenna in the attic. |
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Ted in NYC Unregistered guest | Hi, fascinating discussion. I was thinking of getting an EyeTV 500 DVR which requires Clear QAM to work (or OTA). I am in Manhattan -- so if I read this thread correctly Time Warner Cable scrambles the basic HD channels, so my only possible option is OTA. Correct? Thanks, Ted |
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cableguy Unregistered guest | Here's the easier solution, contact your respective local cable companies and ask them to put you in touch with a tech supervisor. Explain to him what you're trying to find an answer to, and see if he can assist. In our system, local HD channels are clear to air and not scrambled. If your TV has the "right stuff" you can get the channels without any additional equipment. Each cable system is different, just like every opinion, and if you have a question, ask the people who provide the service....then it's not an opinion, it's factual and you know what you're dealing with in your area. Now before anybody says " well I called the cable co and the people there had no idea about what I was asking", customer service reps don't usually know technical information about HD signals, the keyword being usually, that's why I said to get in touch with a tech supervisor, they can contact the headend and find out the answer very quickly if they don't already know. hope this helps, and doesn't create any confusion, I'm speaking from my system knowledge and not pretending to know what other systems are doing. P.S. this is a Time Warner system |
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Unregistered guest | Well cableguy, I believe you are in the minority. I've found that most cable techs do not know diddly and while opinions may always be different, some carry more weight. Sorry, but experience speaks the truth, going back to 1980, owning my first Sony Pro-feel component television, when the NJ Storer cable install tech walked out on me when he could not find an antenna input on the 25" monitor and claimed I was trying to get him to hook up an illegal install (even when I tried to explain there was a separate tuner involved). To top it off, I had to personally return the installation bill on that one to get the fee credited after the fact, too. It's also on the office end of the phone service line too. In August 2004, after buying my first cable-card ready set in July and after being told there was "no such thing" by my Time Warner reps even after insisting on speaking to a manager again and again in a third try to get one installed, I had to physically drive down with printouts of 3 web articles on the technology and be armed with phone numbers and names from another Time Warner office to get my local TWC office to finally pursue what a cable card was even. When I finally got a Time Warner install rep into my home (2 weeks later !!) and with an hour or so wasted with nothing accomplished, I had to insist on installing the card myself using instructions I found on the web and in the guide that came with my set. So while we (the electronic junkie homeowners) may not speak the tech lingo or work in the field, it'll take more than just one knowledgable cable person as yourself to win me over. I say question everything and don't assume the cable tech knows any more than the homeowner, By the way it never got any better, 4 months later, when trying to get my second cable card installed, it still took some heavy insistence on my end that "TWC did handle this" when a phone rep AGAIN told me they did not offer cable card services. It might be a great opportunity for some consumer watchdog group to pose as simple homeowners and report firsthand the fiasco's I've seen involving cable service and installations time and time again. |
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Bronze Member Username: SharonfLake Havasu City, Arizona USA Post Number: 29 Registered: Jan-05 | I live in Arizona and have a HDTV with a built in Qam tuner. I have a Motorola 6208 DVR but use a direct cable connection to the TV to watch the analog channels because I get a much clearer picture that way. While going through every channel on the direct connection to see what was there, I discovered that the HD channels were coming in...just different channel numbers. The digital channels however are all scrambled. |
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cableguy Unregistered guest | ziggyf, I'm truely sorry about the problems you've encountered. Yes I seem to be in the minority when it comes to knowledge of what products are available. Let me tell you first hand, this is a huge grey area we're dealing with. Cable plant related problems, cable card problems, and manufacturer problems. The technology is very new and there's still a lot of bugs to work out of the system. I make it very clear to not point fingers, the bottom line it's new and there's not a lot of resources available to figure out where to go when it's not working properly. I deal with these issues first hand, so my knowledge base has grown immensely. If it offers some peace of mind, I like to relate this to windows operating systems, 3.1.1, 95, 98, 98 SE, ME, XP they're still working out the kinks and I feel the industry in general, and this is everybody involved is on win95. In another 2 years we won't be seeing the problems we're seeing now, patience is required but not always available. Ponder this, when they come out with the two-way system that will allow access to MOD/VOD/PPV, and you have the one-way system that is currently available...who is gonna eat the cost of making your TV complient with the two-way system? It's a shame new products are released without fully checking the compatiblity of them in real world scenarios, but alas as consumer's we want the best technology has to offer yesterday, and not 2 years from now. I take pride in learning about what's available because I see the need to know what I'm dealing with BEFORE I go into a paying customer's house. I've heard it a thousand times from customer's " why didn't the other guys that came out know what I know?" I don't have a valid answer to that question...I just know I don't like to look like a complete tool when I do show up. If I don't know the answer, I will get the answer and I let my customer's know as soon as I get them. Most cable guys I work with are having fun just learning the business, I've had enough years under my belt to learn it, and can spend time to learn things outside the box. I know it seems like eternity to get to people with knowledge, but eventually somebody does know what's going on. Best of luck with your system and keep us posted. I come here to learn, and offer advice when I can... respectfully, cableguy |
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Unregistered guest | It's always good to know someone with ethics is looking out for the "Average Joe", cableguy, but hopefully your Microsoft Windows analogy won't come to fruition (smile)...all Windows has become/devolved(??) is get 900% bigger, sends personal info back to Microsoft the user did not even give the direct OK to do (even the Windows media player tells Microsoft what CD's you're playing now) and has more security holes than ever before. I can only pray that will not happen with your field of business...cheers zigman |
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cableguy Unregistered guest | ziggyf, I hear ya, bad example with good intentions? grin |
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Unregistered guest | I just got a Panasonic LCD with built in HDTV tuner. After a channel search, it programmed in lots of channels and sub channels, i.e. 110-21, 110-22, etc. Most of these channels have nothing, but I am able to get HD feeds for all the major broadcast networks. For awhile I was getting PPV! But that stopped after about an hour. Hope it comes back! But, I do get the HD feeds off basic cable! I don't even need my antenna! |
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Anonymous | While the Cable company CSRs have very little knowledge about these things, the fact that consumers have even less knowledge about the newer technology isn't preventing them from overcharging or selling services the consumers don't need. Comcast in my area wants $15/month to give me a cable card. Haven't been able to convince them I don't need the digital service. On the other hand, the HDTV channels (including some non-basic ones) aren't scrambled and can be received with a HDTV tuner built into your TV or a separate box. You don't even need a cable card for this. I am sure the above is a temporary situation and exists only because Comcast doesn't think too many people have HDTV tuners on their own and instead sign up to receive their digital service as soon as they buy their flat panel TV. To address some of the issues above, there is only one cable into the house and analog/digital signals all come over the same wire. There is no such thing as an "analog feed only" unless there is no digital service in your area. In theory, they could place filters before it comes to the house to give you analog feed only but no company I know does this. So if you get analog feeds and you live in an area with digital service, all of it enters your house. Now, if you have the cable carrying the signals, your analog tuner would tune in the analog channels but will not be able to tune into digital signals even if they were unscrambled unless it has a digital tuner. Note that many TVs have a SEPARATE input for the digital tuner. Even some cable installers don't know this. You have to split or otherwise feed your incoming coax to the digital tuner input to tune in the digital channels. Now assuming you have the connection set up to your digital tuner, you can receive all unencrypted channels without any other equipment (what is legal to receive this way isn't clear). Items like cable cards and digital set top boxes serve two purposes which is the cause of some of these problems. One to prevent theft (like someone splitting a cable in the basement) and two, to allow two-way value added services like DVR, VOD, interactive programs/guides, etc. The latter is much more important to the cable company than the former. This is where they are muddling the ethics a bit trying to upsell consumers to get the value added digital services rather than just provide them the theft-proof means to receive the basic channels they are already paying for (my cable company includes broadcast HDTV channels in my basic package but will not allow me to receive it unless I pay $15/month!). You will not get any reasonable answers talking to the cable company CSRs either because they are totally clueless or their business model is still in a flux to give you things without overcharging for it. The best bet is to find a friendly technical "cable guy" who knows what is actually happening in the system and get the infor from him. Going forward cable companies have two options, keep the basic channels (including HD) clear and let it be received without any additional equipment or encrypt them and provide the required boxes or cards at a minimal one-time cost. Installing cable cards and getting it to work is too expensive for them at the moment and not worthwhile unless they can get people to buy up to a monthly service, so many of them are just putting the HD channels in the clear AND trying to upsell people to get digital services like VOD, Program guide, etc., by not informing them of the above fact even if people just want the basic HD channels they have aleady paid for in their basic service. The best we can do is to educate people about this and registering the issues with the local regulatory bodies. Situation on the tech-savvy west coast seems to be much better in this regard (and hence Comcast providing cable cards at a one-time installation fee) than the east coast where the regulator bodies and even the consumer watch groups are living in last century. |
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cableguy Unregistered guest | P.S. Just reflecting back on the initial thread that started this whole brew-HAHA ~grin~ The statement can he get locally broadcast HD channels on his basic cable feed? Yes and No. The argument that analog cable feed does not carry any HD signal and hence it would not give you HD picture, is kind of misleading because the same "basic analog" feed that is going into his house, also carries digital and HD signals (like anonymous#2005 March 10 8:53 correctly stated) Without a cablecard or STB that can decrypt encrypted channels it doesn't matter if the TV is HD ready or compatible. What does matter is if the locally broadcast HD channels, which are carried through the same RF connection to his house is encrypted and scrambled by his local cable company. Our system allows all local content to be viewed without the need for a STB or CableCARD as long as the TV is capable of doing so. I'm not trying to say who's right and who's wrong, just pointing out the clarification of how the system works. If you are not sure if your local cable company does or does not "scramble" local HD signals, call them up and ask to speak with a technical supervisor and he can clarify the issue for you. Now can somebody help me figure out how to get my 1959 Zenith black and white TV to stop the picture from jumping every time I try to watch HD? lol |
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Anonymous | Does anyone know if Comcast in Howard Conty, Maryland sends their feed unscrambled for local HD brodcasts? I recntly brought a Samsung STR-451 QAM capable tuner but can't seem to get anything from cable. |
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Unregistered guest | I live in Miami and have Adelphia cable and I can get my 4 local HD cable channels just fine through my LG HD- 3510A QAM tuner. The people who have posted that it wont work are theorist with bad info. My proof is empirical. IT WORKS!! My problem is I cant receive any of the non HD channels. I can't figure out why not? I have done Eazy scans of every variety and I can not pick up one non HD channels. PLEASE HELP OR I WILL RETURN MY NEW RECEIVER!!! 4 Channels and a dvd player do not cut it for me. |
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Anonymous | I LIVE IN KC AND I RECEIVE ABOUT 20 CHANNELS ON MY LG-HD 3510A QAM TUNER. AND THE ONES I GET IN HD ARE DISCOVERY, TNT, PBS, 1 SHOTIME (OUT OF 5 CHANNELS), AND A FEW OTHERS I DON'T RECOGNIZE. AND SHOULD THE LOCAL CHANNELS BROADCAST THE TIMESLOT IN HD, SUCH AS MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, I ALSO RECEIVE IT IN HD. ALL THIS ON BASIC CABLE WITHOUT A STB PROVIDED BY TIME WARNER..I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT DIGITAL CABLE BUT I'M NOT GONNA COMPLAIN...JUST HOPE THEY START TO UNSCRAMBLE ESPN IN TIME FOR MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IN 2006. |
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Bronze Member Username: CableguyDeep in the ... U.S. Post Number: 62 Registered: Mar-05 | Sounds like the encryption for those channels is turned off. Consider yourself lucky. Believe it or not I've actually had service calls to a customers house because they were getting channels they weren't paying for and wanted them removed lol. Gotta love the honesty factor with them. |
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VFS Unregistered guest | Great to see a user from KC post here. I was actaully looking at getting a QAM tuner for my PC. Does anyone know anything about this device? http://www.twinhan.com/product_cable_2.asp Looks like a cable card device for the PC, but not sure. |
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HD Guy Unregistered guest | There is no such thing as "must carry" for local HD channels. Each cable company has to negotiate with the local network to carry its HD feed. Wrinvest, QAM tuners are built to receive HD signals. You can split your input and display non-HD channels through your NTSC antenna input. |
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Anonymous | To answer the original question: YES!! the local HDTV signals are available unencrypted with basic analog service. I just got my pchdtv card running and did a channel scan. all the channels I could pull in over the air are available from the cable feed as well as a few others (PN1-4, PBS channels it seems) looking forward to getting my HDTV TV now. |
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Anonymous | By the way, in case it isn't obvious I'm also in Raleigh. |
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BeefyBen Unregistered guest | I'm new to HDTV and totally confused! It looks like you guys know what's going on, so here's my question: I'm thinking about buying an HDTV tuner for my PC (FusionHDTV 3) which can only receive HD via OTA & unencrypted cable. Is this a worthwhile HD solution? I don't know what qualifies as a local channel, and what cable channels will be unecrypted. Namely, I want to at least be able to watch NBC, ABC, and Fox in HD. It'd be nice if I could watch ESPN or TNT in HD too. Which of those above would I be able to/not be able to watch with a card that only supports OTA & unencrypted cable? Right now, I pay $10 a month and get ESPN analog. Is there any way to pay something similar and get ESPN HD that my tuner can view? I live in Southeast Michigan. |
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fx Unregistered guest | Go to wwww.antennaweb.org and put in your zipcode. This will tell you what type of antenna you need and which HD stations you should be able to receive OTA. xvxvxvx |
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Unregistered guest | I work in the A/V industry near Raleigh. We have basic cable running into a couple of QAM enabled TV's. The HD locals + some come in clear. |
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thedj Unregistered guest | it may be of some intrest to you all but the anologue system is in its dieing days. In the UK the only way to get HDTV is to get an HDTV set (ie capable of displaying the 1024 lines rather than 512 or what ever the specs are i cant remeber from the top of my head) and conect to a reciving box via a digital conection box. Here in the UK there are 5 (and in some very small areas 6) channels that come down the antenna. Around 20-30 in cable areas (most are shopping... yawn) and 4 english satalite. digital via antenner there are around 90 tv and radio stations, around 700 on satalite and a few hundred on cable. SKY (our only satalite provider and the market leader in TV in the UK) are about to launch a HDTV service which requires a SKY digital reciver with the integrated bits and pieces to output HDTV signal via a special lead to digitaly connect to the HDTV. Oh and HDTV sets have only just come onto the mainstream market. I dont know if this tells you anything new .. old or indifferent. it may be just a load of useless rubbish but hay I am at work and very board. ed |
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Unregistered guest | Cableguy, I read one of your posts in the cablecard thread about FDC power and snr, and have a few questions. I don't have a cablecard which is why I came to a different thread. I have Bright House (used to be TWR) in Tampa. I have a pace 550 box. We get alot of storms in the summer. After one about a month ago, all my analog channels went to hell(grainy, CNN goes BW sometimes, etc.). I have had at least 5 Bright house people out. They have replaced the amp, every splitter, the line to the pole, something up the street, etc., some things twice. Every time the service person thinks he "found " it. Last time it seemed better for about an hour then went back to bad - maybe it was never better, i am not sure. Anyway, I got into the pace box diagnostic screen and the FDC 'level" says "< Range" in pink(red?) and the snr is 21. This would be bad, right? FDC is the downstream coming into the box, right? thanks |
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Silver Member Username: CableguyDeep in the ... U.S. Post Number: 308 Registered: Mar-05 | wtilton, that is correct...snr at 21 is definately a bad thing. Since I don't work on Pace equipment I can't say if the Range in pink(red) is stating there is a problem. I know in our system when it used to display colors red meant out of range. Sounds to me like something took a hit (quote "We get alot of storms in the summer"), it's possible they are missing what is causing the problem. Is it intermittantly going grainy or does it stay grainy until they come out, and 1. do they correct the problem? 2. how long after they correct the problem does it last? |
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Unregistered guest | I wasn't home when they "fixed" it last time -my wife thought it was better for about an hour, but my daughter says it wasn't. I have never seen an improvement, in fact I think it has gotten worse every time they "fix" it. They are replacing good equipment with different equipment so the results will be mixed. Its pretty much grainy or noisy all the time, different artifacts on different channels, but each channel is consistently bad in its own way. Now that I have a way to check myself, I can put bullets in line and bypass components till I find the problem. What should these numbers be if you are coming in straight from the service drop, into the house wiring and straight into the pace box? I.E., no splitters, no amps, etc.? Thanks |
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Unregistered guest | I too live in the Raleigh, NC Area (Cary). I have a 42" Plasma screen (Panasonic) with a built-in ATSC/QAM tuner. Up until last week I was getting my HD content over the air. It worked "okay"...but it was very inconsistent. I would have great reception for weeks...just to then have awful reception for days on end. After reading the poster who was able to get QAM over his basic cable subscription, I called TWC and ordered my own basic cable. The installer came in on Wed and after removing the trap in my line (I am already a RoadRunner subscriber) I had my basic cable up and running. I immediately began the auto-scan and was thrilled to find that I indeed had access to all the digital HD chanels! I was tickled pink. Life was good... and it was only $11.95/mo. This Saturday, life turned bad. Sometime on Sunday morning, I lost ALL of my HD chanels. They were not encrypted...they are simply gone. Does anybody else live in Raleigh? Have they seen this? |
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Silver Member Username: CableguyDeep in the ... U.S. Post Number: 377 Registered: Mar-05 | Wilton, at minimum those levels should be above 30 and below 40. |
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grivas Unregistered guest | I am a TWC subscriber in Houston and recently purchasd an HDTV with ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuner and I can get the local HD broadcasts without issue but I also can pull up the digital music channels and oddly enough, what I can only believe is my neighbor's iControl (TWC's video on demand offering). It's funny because I can watch them buy it and even see them fast-forward. I was just wondering if there is any resource to find a table that compares digital channels on the set top box to the channels tuned on my TV (just so I can make sure I'm making use of everything unencrypted)? |
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Silver Member Username: CableguyDeep in the ... U.S. Post Number: 389 Registered: Mar-05 | When you do a channel scan, it will pick up any channels that are in the clear...it's that easy |
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grivas Unregistered guest | Cool. I had done that and perused everything there. Just wanted to make sure there was nothing I hadn't missed. Very cool forum, btw. |
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TampaHD Unregistered guest | I'm getting my HD over basic cable as well and have had a similar problem as cachaca, except it isn't all channnels. I've had a channel go missing, and then come back. (Same TV, Panasonic 42") Today - I was ready to watch the game and when I went over to Fox, the HD Fox was missing. I watch the game last week on HD Fox. (Both were home games) |
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Anonymous | I am a headend technician for a cable company and the hdtv local channels should will be in the clear format but in most cases they are just moved on to the catv band. Any qam compatible hdtv tuner should find them and display them they are broadcast. |
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New member Username: Jake_ironshirtFort Mohave, Arizona USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Jan-06 | I called my Cable provider today which is NPG of Arizona. I asked them if I had a QAM tuner in my HDTV set if I would receive the local networks in HD. They said no because it's too expensive for them to carry them...huh. I'm going to get a Sony SXRD61" by the end of this year so it doesn't matter, so I'm asking does there answer sound correct? They said the only way to get HD is with there STB with the digital package, and it's also too expensive for them to support cable cards. Thanks |
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fx Unregistered guest | Jake, Unless their system is the old 8VSB type (which it may be) your QAM tuner will tune in any unscrambled HD channels. They must provide cablecard support, it is an FCC regulation. xvxvxvx |
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Jim Wahlgren Unregistered guest | IM south of PHX AZ We send out all HD chns that we recieve from PHX, 4 PBS chns 1 we do not carry on our service 4 PAX 2 we do not carry on our cable service. Customers have to have a digital Quam tuner. Alot of sets are sold with terestrial digital tuners which need HD rabbit ears |
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New member Username: PavelowPost Number: 4 Registered: Sep-05 | I'm in Albuquerque. Comcast claims that the reason I'm receiving the HD broadcasts without a Cable Card or SetTopBox is that the cable is acting as an antenna. They are wrong!! I have a QAM tuner. They are carrying the local HD channels on the cable line. My QAM tuner is picking them up without CableCard or STB. The don't seem to believe this and they won't support an service issues regarding these channels unless I rent the Card or Box (even though they list the channels as "B" for basic service). Here is the difinitive asnwer for all: http://resmagonline.com/articles/publish/article_435.shtml "ATSC" tuning allows a set to tune to those same frequencies, but when it "sees" a DTV or HDTV signal, it is able to receive, demodulate and decode it. This gets you the local, over-the-air HD signals, but not anything from a cable hook-up. The key there is to look for sets that have "QAM" tuners built-in. That lets the set deal with digital cable signals. Remember that a QAM tuner alone, without a CableCard, will only allow reception of "in the clear" digital cable channels, and there aren't many of those. |
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Cravin Morhead Unregistered guest | You all sound like f**king children bickering back and forth. Just subscribe, plug it in and enjoy. Done. Stop trying to re-invent the wheel. The time I just spent reading all your dumbass posts could have paid for one month of service. |
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Anonymous | With your own digital tuner and a time warner coax cable, you'll get a smattering of random local HD channels in clear digital, and amongst thousands of digital channels, you might be able to randomly stumble on what people are watching on video on demand. So, in short, you'll get some digital channels, but it's all pretty random. |
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BobbytheBeast Unregistered guest | My friend bought a Sony Bravia LCD with an ATSC/QAM tuner. He plugged in his basic analog cable (Adelphia), split the signal to both the analog input and the digital input, scanned for all analog and digital channels and found he received 5 of the six local Cincinnati HD broadcasts (but not the multicast DTV channels), about 50 music channels, and 3 or 4 other digital channels, not to mention an occasional movie channel which we assume was something one of his neighbors was ordering on VOD or PPV bleeding onto his line. In other words, he seemed to be receiving whatever digital channels Adelphia was sending in the clear. We took the same TV across the river to Burlington KY, plugged in a basic analog cable the same way(Insight Cable), scanned for all analog and digital channels, and only got the basic analog cable channels. This test seems to support those on here that say that it's up to the cable company to decide what digital channels they send out in the clear, if any. Time Warner services most of Cincinnati, but we haven't tested them yet. |
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Say What? Unregistered guest | Partly true, Bobby. The TW system I work in has ABC, Fox, NBC, and PBS HDs in the clear. We do not have CBS and have been unable to reach agreement on carriage of their signal. I am not involved in the negotiations, so I do not know what obstacles need to be resolved. They may involve money, they may be connected to the power they are transmitting at, and our ability to obtain a reliable signal without running fiber optics. One of our stations is operating at low power, so without the dedicated fiber connection we have, they would likely not be on the air either. Folks living more than a few miles from their transmitter are unable to reliably view their digital signal OTA. They hope to be full power by this summer. If our fiber gets cut, that channel will go away, until it is repaired. I can't just switch to an antenna, as I can with their analog signal. It is a common misconception, and seems like great ammunition for the conspiracy theorists out there, that we can just throw whatever digital on the system as soon as they have a signal out there. Wish it were so, but the reality is there must be an agreement in place before we can. Our government looking out for the consumer's interests again. LOL Some cable systems do not have the bandwidth available to add HDs, IF they are RELIABLY available, and IF they could reach agreements. Some of the Adelphia systems in our area only have 40 channels, or less. If they have no room for additional analogs, commonly added 1 or 2 at a time every year to raise the monthly rate for a cable tier, they sure can't put on any digital or HD. Those systems will likely see major changes after TW or Comcast take over, but it will take time. Major expense, and effort to upgrade a 300-330 MHz system. For our NBC, and PBS we do carry the multicast, and anyone gets those with a STB, or QAM tuner. We encrypted our movies on demand, and PPV so no one should see them anymore that did not buy it. Depending on the manufacturer of their STBs, the version of the software they use, not all operators, or systems have encypted their movies, so if the stream is playing, you live in the same area, and you are on that channel, you see it. You might also see them pause, or rewind, just like you are sitting in their house. Eventually, that will go away as systems upgrade. No operator wants to give stuff away, but may not want to spend the money to upgrade just yet, given the number of folks who have the capability to see the freebies right now, and the random chance of them seeing it. Point is while cable operators do control some of the reasons a channel appears or not, there are many reasons why you will see different things in different systems. Gotta compare apples to apples. |
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Johnny Puzzled Unregistered guest | Question regarding QAM: My dad was picking up a couple of the HD channels I assume through the QAM tuner, since he only has basic cable straight in. When he put a vcr/dvd player in the middle (in line between TV and the wall), those digital and HD channels were lost. Why? |
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Silver Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 751 Registered: Feb-04 | The entire cable signal should pass through the player as long as the power is off on the player. This is assuming you have the antenna output hooked up from the player to the TV. |
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BobbytheBeast Unregistered guest | Normally if you have a TV with a QAM tuner, you would have a separate analog RF input for a VCR and/or composite or component inputs for a DVD player. Hooking up an analog VCR in line between an incoming digital cable signal and a digital input on the TV doesn't make sense.I haven't seen a lot of TVs with QAM (DCR) tuners, but the ones I have seen all split the incoming cable to both an analog input and a digital input. I suppose if there are QAM equipped TVs with only one coax input that can read both digital and analog signals, and send those signals to the appropriate tuner, then I would agree with John S, the signal should go right through the VCR when the VCR is off. But surely your dad's TV has a separate input for the VCR??? |
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New member Username: Jake_ironshirtFort Mohave, Arizona USA Post Number: 4 Registered: Jan-06 | I just got my Sony KDF-E60A20 last weekend and it has a QAM tuner. I have extended basic with no STB. I now receive four HD channels and all the digital music ones. I don't receive any premium channel guides or digital channels, plus I don't receive any local channels in HD. I guess the next stop is a OTA but first I want to see if I'm even in range...are there any sites I can search by my zip-code? I'm in 86426 Fort Mohave AZ Thanks |
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Silver Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 805 Registered: Feb-04 | Jake, click "choose an antenna" and put in your zip. If you also do your address, it'll be even more specific. http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx |
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New member Username: BeenersRaleigh, NC USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Jun-06 | Status update on the Raleigh/Cary NC TWC system as of June 2006: I am a Cary NC Time Warner cable basic + standard subscriber. I get 20 to 40 digital channels (mostly SD with a few HD) using the QAM tuner in my LG-LST 3510a dvd-tuner. All the local broadcast stations, including their cable-only news, weather, etc channels are available. The channel numbers do not match TWC's listed numbers. For example WRALDT (hd) is channel 255 but it comes in on 85-2. Also, a few months ago when I first channel scanned, I got a few different channels (other than the locals) than I get now. For example I was getting Discover HD Theatre (HD) and no longer do, but now I get BBC America (SD). I have called TWC cable company three times over the past 6 months and asked "Do I need your box to get digital channels if I have my own digital tuner?" Each time the answer has been a firm, but incorrect, "yes". No complaints here, just a reference point of information |
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Silver Member Username: CableguyDeep in the ... U.S. Post Number: 768 Registered: Mar-05 | Mike~ for what it's worth the channel 85-2 is the normal designated channel location for that area. The only way that channel would appear on 255 would be if you were using a cable card or a stb in order for your provider to "map" the channel to it's normal line-up. Since you are pulling this in straight off the cable there is no way to map it, so it appears in it's normal digital designation. Your TV doesn't know how to map it because it's not designed to without external help. As for the freebies you're getting, any channel in the clear, or not scrambled will come through on your digital tuner. As you've already seen channels can appear and disappear at random as your provider turns things on and off. |
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New member Username: BobbythebeastPost Number: 9 Registered: Mar-06 | Cableguy, You helped me out with this a few months ago, but I need your help again. I was the guy who couldn't get the "in-the-clear" digital channels on my new Sony SXRD, until you guys helped me realize I had an old splitter and an old signal amplifier hooked in my system which prevented the higher frequency digital channels from getting through. I got a digital splitter and a digital signal amplifier with a higher frequency response, and everything has been great for the past few months. Recently I've noticed that many of my digital channels began breaking up, and now many of them are no longer coming in. Adelphia hasn't changed anything because my friend up the street still gets all of his digital channels. I disconnected the splitter and signal amplifier (one in-four out) and hooked the cable directly to the TV, but the same channels are still missing, plus one more. This would seem to indicate that I need the signal amplifier to get a strong enough digital signal, but my $50 Radio Shack piece of crap has either weakened (only boosted a max of 8dB to begin with), or it has lost some of it range of frequency. Currently the main cable goes into the signal amp and then out to four TVs, one of which is my SXRD. Is it possible to get a single in-line digital booster (which I can get for around $10) and add it between the current 1/4 booster and my SXRD (or would that even work?)? Or would it be better to spend some bucks and get a new 1-in/4-out amplifier? |
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Silver Member Username: CableguyDeep in the ... U.S. Post Number: 773 Registered: Mar-05 | Robert~ I would not advise connecting an in-line amplifier under any circumstances...you amp it at the first location you can and no further after that. Boosting the signal twice will give you more signal then you need and to be honest I really don't think it's a signal level issue, it sounds more like there is a problem with some wiring. Call your cable provider and have them come out and inspect your outside wiring, and if possible have them run a temporary line right from the tap right to your TV to see if the problem goes away. If they do this (good luck btw) and the problem goes away, there is a problem with the wiring coming into your house or wires in your house. If the problem is still there the problem is with the main line that feeds through your neighborhood. |
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New member Username: BobbythebeastPost Number: 10 Registered: Mar-06 | Cableguy, thanks. I'm sure you're right. I swapped out the signal amp for a new one and the problem is still there. I don't think I'll have much luck getting my cable service to come out and check, since I'm only subscribing to the analog service, and those channels come in fine. I still get the local digital (HD) signal but the 10 other in-the-clear channels I was receiving are gone or broken up to the point they're unwatchable. I'll recheck my inside wiring. |
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New member Username: WaiferPost Number: 1 Registered: Aug-06 | I HAVE A SONY HDTV TELEVISION THAT HAS A QAM TUNER AND I RECEIVE ALL THE LOCAL BROADCAST HD CHANNELS WITHOUT A CABLE BOX,CABLE CARD OR ANTENNA. I ALSO HAVE A VIZIO WITH QAM TUNER AND I CAN'T GET THE SAME CHANNELS. I DON'T KNOW IF SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THIS TELEVISION OR NOT. IT'S NEW AND CUSTOMER SERVICE DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE. I CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT. SAME HOUSE, SAME CABLE COMPANY (CABLEVISION). DOES ANYONE HAVE AN ANSWER? |
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New member Username: CrussPost Number: 1 Registered: Aug-06 | I suspect that the originator of this is correct. I do not know about TWC in his area, but I have Cox in Northern Virginia and they carry local HDTV unscrambled on their cable. I was going to but an antenna and now don't need it; I can reveive local broadcast HDTV from thier cable with my set's ATSC/QAM receiver with no problem. I cannot get the other HDTV offerings like InHD, ESPN, Discovery, etc. |
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Silver Member Username: Formerly_fxDallas, Tx Post Number: 159 Registered: Mar-06 | Sylvia, I don't think your Vizio has a QAM tuner, it has an ATSC tuner. xvxvxvx |
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New member Username: WaiferPost Number: 2 Registered: Aug-06 | Thank you, Scooby Doo. That is the conclusion I came to also, but according to the user manual,available online,the VIZIO (l32-10a)has a QAM tuner. A call to their technical department confirmed this. They are replacing the set for me. We will wait and see. Perhaps it is just a faulty set. |
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Bronze Member Username: PedrinPost Number: 57 Registered: Apr-06 | Helo everyone |
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Bronze Member Username: PedrinPost Number: 58 Registered: Apr-06 | Anyone have an answer |
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Bronze Member Username: PedrinPost Number: 59 Registered: Apr-06 | I need answer |
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Bronze Member Username: PedrinPost Number: 60 Registered: Apr-06 | THANK |
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Silver Member Username: CableguyDeep in the ... U.S. Post Number: 832 Registered: Mar-05 | 1)Hello Pedro 2)Depends on the question 3)We need question 4)welcome |
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New member Username: BrodiepdxPost Number: 1 Registered: Aug-06 | Hi everyone. I am in Portland, Oregon and I am trying to recieve OTA HDTV and analog cable at the same time. I have a basic cable subscription with no cable box. I just bought a Samsung SIR T451 HDTV receiver and connected it to my projector. Using a simple $10 antenna, I receive all of the OTA HDTV stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.). If I disconnect the antenna and connect my cable feed to the RF port of the receiver, I pick up some of my normal cable, plus HBO, Showtime, and other cable channels that I never received in the past. The problem is that the antenna and the cable feed share the same input (Rf port, i think) on the Samsung receiver. Surely there is some way to have both connected, save all of the channels, and seamlessly move between OTA HDTV and basic cable? Any suggestions? |
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Gold Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 1078 Registered: Feb-04 | Brody, too bad that Samsung doesn't have switchable A/B antenna inputs. You'll have to supply that by yourself with an external two-in-one-out switcher like this: http://www.yourbroadbandstore.com/product.php?pid=130684 |
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New member Username: BrodiepdxPost Number: 2 Registered: Aug-06 | If I use that switcher, will I have to press the toggle button everytime I want to switch from OTA HDTV (say ABC HD) to cable (say ESPN)? Do you know if the receiver will save all the channels? Or will I have to scan/memorize channels each time I switch. If so, I'll probably just sell it on eBay. Its not really worth if I have to choose btw 5 HD channels and my analog cable channels. |
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Gold Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 1079 Registered: Feb-04 | If I use that switcher, will I have to press the toggle button everytime I want to switch from OTA HDTV (say ABC HD) to cable (say ESPN)? Yes. Somebody probably makes a wireless remote switch at a much higher cost, of course. Do you know if the receiver will save all the channels? Or will I have to scan/memorize channels each time I switch. Earlier you wrote: If I disconnect the antenna and connect my cable feed to the RF port of the receiver, I pick up some of my normal cable, plus HBO, Showtime, and other cable channels that I never received in the past. Did you have to re-scan the channels then? |
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New member Username: Itsme13Post Number: 1 Registered: Sep-06 | SYLVIA BESEN, Visio has two tunners one for analog and the other for digital(QAM). There are two seprate cable in pioints. One on the left at the back(DTV) and the other on the right(analog). make sure youconnect your caable to DTV and then on your remote press TV twice it should cycle through TV<->DTV, once in DTV do a auto scan -mand7 |
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New member Username: GinobMadison Heights, Michigan USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Aug-06 | Just finished connecting my Samsung STR -451 digital receiver to the Comcast Cable out of Pt Austin, MI. To my delight It picked up CBS, ABC (3ch's, NBC, TNT and ESPN 2. These stations are being indicated on Channels 59,60 and 65. The picture is great on the 50" Sony. The Comcast lineup calls for them on Digital channels in the 230 range. |
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New member Username: MonagalGeorgetown, Tx Usa Post Number: 1 Registered: Sep-06 | Local brodcaster can either choose MustCarry or consent to carry. Most choose the fromer in order to barter with the cable companies for money or carrage of channes, to date their is no rule on MustCarry for digital channels other than the primary analog channel, in fact their are several bills in congress over this same issue. For now the cable companies don't have to offer HDTV service on their system. Most often they do as part of anyone who subscribes to their digital service ie cable card ect. |
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Bronze Member Username: BobbythebeastPost Number: 11 Registered: Mar-06 | Time Warner Cable of Cincinnati just took over my previous Adelphia service. Adelphia was transmitting the NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS local digital broadcasts in the clear, so I was able to pick them up w/o a cable box on my new Sony SXRD. TWC has moved the channels around, forcing me to do another auto-program of channels. NBC, ABC, and PBS are there. CBS and FOX are not. In the place where the CBS digital channel was (129.1) they have placed a continuous ad for their "digital sports package". The chief engineer for the local CBS affiliate says TWC is in violation of their agreement with the station. You can't talk with anyone locally at TWC. Their only contact is a sales office in Florida. I'm about ready to say bye bye to TWC. |
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Bronze Member Username: BobbythebeastPost Number: 12 Registered: Mar-06 | OK, I've just talked to the chief engineer of a local station here in Cincinnati, and he advised me that since they and other local channels needed a "bigger space" to expand, that they have raised their frequency to a higher level. He gave me all of the frequencies of every local Cincinnati digital station (15 of them). The funny thing is my auto-channel scan on my Sony SXRD doesn't detect any of them. So consequently I can't store them in my channel line-up. I have to punch in the numbers and they come in fine. Why is that??? Cableguy, any clues??? |
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New member Username: WaiferPost Number: 3 Registered: Aug-06 | I can't figure this out. I posted in August that I had a Sony LCD RPTV HDTV and a VIZIO LCD HDTV. Both have QAM tuners. I have "Cablevision" (NOT DIGITAL) service. The VIZIO did not bring in any local HI DEF channels. The SONY brought in all the local HI DEF channels and then some (24 total). VIZIO replaced my set. I now receive CBS, PBS, CW and two music channels on the VIZIO. What explains this? Am I missing something here? Am I wrong to expect both sets to pick up the same HI DEF channels? Has anyone had the same problem? THANK YOU |
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Bronze Member Username: BobbythebeastPost Number: 13 Registered: Mar-06 | Can someone tell me how a QAM tuner (in a Sony SXRD) can pick-up and display a digital channel when you punch in the channel frequency on the remote, but it can't be detected by the TV's auto-scanner? The set detects 366 digital channels, both encrypted and unencrypted, and it displays the unecrypted ones. But for some reason it will not detect the 15 local digital channels I mentioned above. They come in fine when I punch in the numbers, but I can't store them in my channel line-up because they are not being detected. Perhaps is TWC attaching some kind of code which prevents TV channel scanners from detecting them? It's obvious the cable company doesn't want customers to know about these. If anyone has any ideas I'd be eternally grateful. |
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Silver Member Username: Formerly_fxDallas, Tx Post Number: 187 Registered: Mar-06 | I will explain: They are sub-channels, the flaw is in your Sony, not some cable company conspiracy. xvxvxvx |
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Gold Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 1163 Registered: Feb-04 | So....not all QAMs are equal? |
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Bronze Member Username: BobbythebeastPost Number: 14 Registered: Mar-06 | I find that hard to believe. The Sony tuner detects all of the other subchannels (eg. 129.1, 127.11, etc.), even some bizarre ones like 89.6529. It actually detects 366 of them (subchannels). And it displays the detected ones whose signal is not encrypted. Why would my Sony QAM tuner mysteriously not detect just the 15 local frequencies, which are obviously not encrypted because the set will display the content when you punch in the frequency number (or subchannel if you want to call it that)? |
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Silver Member Username: Formerly_fxDallas, Tx Post Number: 188 Registered: Mar-06 | I find it hard to believe your cable system has 366 sub channels. Where the heck do you live, NYC? Anyway I assume you have rescanned? Here is the problem: I have never heard of nor can I conceive any manner where your cable company could conceal without scrambling the sub channels. Are you sure you don't also have an antenna hooked to your Sony? xvxvxvx |
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Bronze Member Username: BobbythebeastPost Number: 15 Registered: Mar-06 | I live in Cincinnati. 93 of those digital channels are music. Actually 366 is a conservative amount when you consider all of the tiers (sports, Spanish, HBO, Showtime, and all the other premium movie tiers. Some cable companies carry over 500 digital frequencies). And what difference would it be if I had an antenna hooked up? That's a completely different tuner. These are digital frequencies (like 114.22, 105.12, etc.) given to me by the chief engineer of a local broadcast TV station, I punched them into my remote, they come in perfectly, but my tuner can't detect them (I've rescanned 6 or 7 times), and consequently they can't be stored in my channel guide - ie. I must punch them in every time. The only plausible explanation I've been given is that a code is transmitted with each digital frequency that scanners can read, and TWC is deliberately removing that code from the local stations. They obviously don't want anyone to know about them. Their employees haven't got a clue that they are there. They don't tell their customers. They know that all newly manufactured HD TVs now have digital cable tuners in them. They have invested millions in digital set top boxes, and all of their employees are instructed to say "you gotta have the box". Not to mention they do everything to discourage using the cable card. And by the way, I have two friends on the same cable service with QAM tuners, experiencing the same thing. I gave them the frequencies, they get the signal, but the subchannel isn't recognized by the scanner. So I'm pretty sure it's not my tuner. |
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