Does anyone know if it is possible to buy the same type of HDTV set top box that Comcast charges a monthly rental fee to borrow? If so, will it work the same way? That is, I pay for cable with HBO right now. I have a HD capable TV. If I bought the Motorola DCT6200 (which is what Comcast uses) am I in business?
J. Vigne
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No, it has to have the software to unscramble your signal.
cable guy
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yes you can actually. but it doent make sense because the box is too expensive and if something happens to it you are screwed. the software can be downloaded to your box thorugh the cable line by a tech. you would still have to pay for hbo and hdtv though, you are better off paying the 7.50 for the box.
I keep hearing that on 1/1/05 all cable feeds in the US will switch over to HDTV and that all non HDTV's will not work unless you have a chip to put in your tv or HDTV box. Is this true, will i need a box for my plasma that I spent thousands of dollars on a year ago. And if so where can i get the stuff I need to convert it?
xvxvxvx
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"I keep hearing that on 1/1/05 all cable feeds in the US will switch over to HDTV and that all non HDTV's will not work unless you have a chip to put in your tv or HDTV box. Is this true, will i need a box for my plasma that I spent thousands of dollars on a year ago. And if so where can i get the stuff I need to convert it?"
You may in fact be hearing this although I doubt anyone is actually saying that. What they should be saying is that on 01/01/05 you will be able to purchase a STB and your cable company must configure it for you. They will no longer be able to charge you a monthly rental fee for your STB if you would rather own one yourself.
Now the FCC has approved a regulation regarding transmission of digital signals and dropping analog signals but that is not scheduled to occur until the latter of 2006 or until 80% of the people in broadcast areas own digital TV's. Reasonable speculation says this will not occur until 2008 or later.
As far as all staions being required to transmit HDTV, that ain't gonna happen in your lifetime. Feel better now? Ralax, have a martini with an extra olive and take a break from that cold sweat you have on your forehead.
Anonymous
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I have a basic analog signal from Comcast in Det Mi. Is there a receiver I can buy that will unscamble and allow me to view all the digital channels? If so, where and how much?
Anonymous
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How does "xvxvxvx" know that "no idea" would not live past 2008? You are making him worry more than just HD transmission now.
xvxvxvx
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"How does "xvxvxvx" know that "no idea" would not live past 2008? You are making him worry more than just HD transmission now."
If you read my post carefully or read the FCC regulations you would see that there are absoultly no regs regarding HDTV but only digital transmission of all OTA signals. Do not confuse HD and digital. I apologize if I was not perfectly clear.
xvxvxvx
xvxvxvx
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" I have a basic analog signal from Comcast in Det Mi. Is there a receiver I can buy that will unscamble and allow me to view all the digital channels? If so, where and how much?"
Comcast will sell your their box, it should be priced between $250 and $270. However you must still subscribe to their digital tier package to get an unscrambled digital signal. All that you save is the monthly STB rental fee from Comcast. You cannot steal the digital channels even with an STB from an outside vendor since it will need to be configured by a download from Comcast.
xvxvxvx
tp
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I'm in Toronto, using the local cable company ("Rogers"). Their set top box doesn't have a HDMI output, and although it does have a DVI output it isn't operational yet (apparently awaiting software upgrades). Anyone know if I can buy and use a box from somewhere else that DOES have functional DVI or HDMI outputs? Do cable companies generally allow this?
I have Time Warner digital and I send the output of the box thru a splitter to feed several TVs (all with the same channel, of course). When I switch to HDTV, will I be able to do the same thing or will I need a seperate STB for each TV? Incidentally, will I be able to use the old TVs at all after changing to a HDTV box? Thanks ...John
xvxvxvx
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"Incidentally, will I be able to use the old TVs at all after changing to a HDTV box?"
If your TV's are not HDTV ready you can still use them but you will be viewing SD not HD so not any reason to upgrade unless you really own and HDTV.
hey tp, I am in the same boat (and same city) as you. My box (I think it's the 3200) does not even have DVI output, not even Component!! The Rogers guy talked me out of the 8000HD, he said it's a waste of money now with so few HD channels available. I want to add a second box for my new Sony grand-wega but I don't know what to get.
tp
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Leaf Fan - I'm still waiting for my HDTV to be delivered, but have the box ready and waiting. I got the HD-PVR box (whatever the model number is) from Rogers. I spoke with them about the situation re: no functional DVI output and was told that there's no way to get a non-Rogers box, even if I pay them for whatever services they need to provide. I'll see how the picture looks with the componant cables, and if I'm not happy I may get rid of Rogers altogether and get Bell Express Vu. Their HD box DOES have a DVI output that works, and it's only $15 per month for rental, on top of the $40 or so for one of their basic channel packages (which you can customize to a certain extent depending on what channels you want). So, pretty similar to Rogers in terms of price (you could also buy the Express Vu HD box for $399, but the technology is changing so quickly it likely makes sense to just pay $15 per month and trade up as the better ones come out). But, Express Vu doesn't have a box that offers both HD and PVR together (like the Rogers box does). Not a huge deal, but PVR is a cool feature and I'd like to have it if possible, so I'll see how Rogers works out before looking into a switch to Bell (I've also had nothing but headaches from Bell over the years and would be happy to avoid dealing with them, but if they have the better option I'll make the switch). Also, if you're in a condo, I don't think Bell is an option (pretty sure you need the dish, although I've heard something about their service being offered via telephone line too ...).
tp - this is great info., thanks. that is soooo lame, but so typical or Rogers. I had a Rogers contractor come to add my high-speend and he told me that the 8000 (HDTV/PVR) box HAS DVI... but he did not have any in the truck to prove it.
What kind of TV do you have? I'd like to hear how you make out with this setup.
tp
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Just got a Samsung DLP (HLP4663) delivered yesterday after a ton of delivery delays. Hooked it up and watched football all afternoon. Awesome picture quality! The Rogers box seems fine so far - in fact better than expected (I had heard that the cool picture-in-picture options offered through my TV would be limited by the box, but not true, and if anything it's better than expected because I can use the TV options and/or box options). Using Monster cables right now, but bought them as a test and will compare with basic no-name componant cables ASAP to see if it's worth the money for Monster. Haven't tried the DVI output yet, but suspect it doesn't work (box manual says "for future use").
I have a cable line in my home and I receive all basic channels plus HBO & showtime. How do I know if it is digital or analog. The line is coax to my tv. With my new EDTV is it possible to connect this line to a digital box (which one I dont know)However i don't want to contact Comcast for obvious reasons
Klaus
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Joe M.: The digital signal is most likely present as well, however gone are the old days of passive unscrambling. The cable company must turn on the various components (digital tier, hbo, showtime, etc.)actively to allow you to view them. They do this based on the electronic serial number of the box . You could possibly get a pirate box but they are cracking down on these at 10,000 a pop.
maybeadumbquestion
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I just resently bought an HDTV and connected it a Time Warner HD/Digital cable box on my own. I'm not sure that I have connected it properly? I connected 3 video wire and 2 audio wire from the cable box to the TV, and connected cable wire to the box. My question is does the cable wire need to be connected from the cable box to the TV? If so, how can I be sure that I'm receiving HD from the Cable Box? The only way I've been able to get cable to work is by connecting a cable wire from the box to the TV.
can you clarify what 2 video wires and 2 audio wires you connected from the cable box to the TV? Component (red/green/blue),Composite (yellow/white/red) S-video???? What inputs on the TV did you connect them to and did you switch inputs on your TV remote to select the proper input you connected to?