Digital Cable Box....

[MJ]

Time Warner has finally upgraded from analog to digital. Any idea where I can get a digital cable box??

I was told not to buy on ebay because after you purchase, they turn you in.

Any ideas??

[mojo]

you should be able to rent one from them directly.

they've actually been using digital for years. but maybe in your area they stopped their analog signal. which basically means that everything was upconverted, and if you were getting service without a box you now need one.

if you don't want to rent one from them, and you have a QAM tuner tv, you should be able to pick up the channels with a search. or if your tv has a cablecard slot, you can rent the card from them for less than you'd get a box for. but you would't get interactive services with that.

if you rent a box, you get the ability to trade the box in in a few years when the "next best thing" comes out. also if it breaks, they fix it.

if you really want to buy one, you should be able to pick up a cablecard host somewhere. the key here is that the cable company has to be able to address the box from where they are, and a cablecard allows them to do that. they can turn on or off services from their plant.

it's possible that you may be able to buy a used one on ebay. i'd call them and ask. if it's a used cable box (canada actually has them buy their boxes), it could be a legal purchase, but you'd still have to know if it's compatible with their system.

on the off-chance that you are talking about off-air services, then i'll include this link https://www.dtv2009.gov/. it's a coupon that will allow you to buy a box that's just for conversion of off-air services. but i don't think you mean that, since you mentioned TW.

[MJ]

I think the cable companys have finally figured it out.

Its almost impossible to get a digital box that will work.

Unlike the analog boxes that always worked....

oh well

[mojo]

analog boxes use up 10x the bandwidth per channel to get less resolution. and you also can't have HD without upconversion, VOD, or interactive PPV. you get fewer channels, and it costs more to maintain. not to mention the FCC is the one that mandated the dropping of analog.

analog is the old stuff. it's easier to crack and steal. so in the long run, it costs everyone more. plus, digital boxes are more reliable.

if you're having problems with a digital box, call your cable company and have them fix the problem. if you have a specific problem you're dealing with, feel free to ask here if you wish. or you can ask at broadband reports. but trust me, digital cable is not impossible by any means.

[Markel]

analog boxes use up 10x the bandwidth per channel to get less resolution. and you also can't have HD without upconversion, VOD, or interactive PPV. you get fewer channels, and it costs more to maintain. not to mention the FCC is the one that mandated the dropping of analog.

analog is the old stuff. it's easier to crack and steal. so in the long run, it costs everyone more. plus, digital boxes are more reliable.
The FCC mandated that cable to continue to carry analog (at least for local channels) until 2012. What I want to know is, if digital is so much cheaper than analog, why does the cable company need to charge at least double to go from the cheapest analog service to the cheapest digital? :confused:

[mojo]

The FCC mandated that cable to continue to carry analog (at least for local channels) until 2012. What I want to know is, if digital is so much cheaper than analog, why does the cable company need to charge at least double to go from the cheapest analog service to the cheapest digital? :confused:
i wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, as the date has been changed 425 times in the last 5 years (give or take 420 times). however, my current figure is feb 17, 2009 (http://dtvfacts.com/60/when-will-analog-tv-broadcasts-end/).

what the cable company charges is their thing. however, the equipment that goes into give you all the features and stuff is pretty expensive. as is maintaining the plant overall, competing with other technologies, etc. those costs will be the same whether or not they carry analog, but they will be able to offer more with digital.

basically, analog takes up too much room and would have to bump off quite a few other services. so, the "cheaper" thing is that they can offer 500 channels with the same effort as 79 channels (oversimplification, but still).

if you really need cheaper cable, ask for the cheapest and don't settle for the $50 package. there should still be some limited packages that give you the first 79 or so channels for less. i wouldn't know how each cable company does it, but i would ask for whatever gives just the local channels and a few others.

or go to the link provided earlier for the for-purchase box. that should allow you to get a few channels without the cable co.

[Hopper1]

I think the cable companys have finally figured it out.

Its almost impossible to get a digital box that will work.

Unlike the analog boxes that always worked....

oh well

It sounds like MJ is looking for a descrambler type of box.

[MJ]

yes.....I have 2 analog boxes...that no longer work...

no-one seems to know how/where to obtain a digital one...

[mojo]

It sounds like MJ is looking for a descrambler type of box.
what's a descrambler type of box? is it for cable, or digital broadcast over the air?

if it's for cable, you have to go thru the cable company. if it's brought in by antenna, i put the link in my original reply.


yes.....I have 2 analog boxes...that no longer work...

no-one seems to know how/where to obtain a digital one...

trying to help, but help me out too. you mentioned that you were going to try ebay, but then something about them "turning you in." that would only happen if the box is stolen.

the thing of the matter is you need a box that's compatible with the system. you have to call them and ask them if you can purchase a box for use on their system. if that's possible, buy one wherever you can find one. that may be ebay, craigslist, or whatever.

now, in order for you to buy a new box, you will need it to have removable security (cable card). that's because of FCC rules. if you don't want it to have that, look at used.

speaking of cable cards, you can buy one of those and throw it in a tv that has a cable card slot. that will make your tv addressable to your cable company. addressable as in they can control who gets what services without going to your house and putting on a million barney rubble type filters. you won't get any interactive services tho. that's the limitation of today's tv's.

you can also use a regular QAM tuner tv to get whatever services are sent down without encryption. those are typically the local channels and a few others. you can check with TW to see which you'd get.

if you feel sketchy about buying a box on craigslist or ebay, you can try buying from a reputable source. other than that, i dunno how to answer this one. this isn't an item that you go to best buy for :shrug:

[DarkFury]

Time Warner has finally upgraded from analog to digital. Any idea where I can get a digital cable box??

I was told not to buy on ebay because after you purchase, they turn you in.

Any ideas??
My suggestion...

Switch to AT&T Uverse if it is available in your area. Most likely you'll get more channels of television for cheaper.

Either way, I wouldn't trust a "black market" digital cable box these days. The digital signals are definitely tracked by 2 way communication with the cable company so why risk it?

[mojo]

My suggestion...

Switch to AT&T Uverse if it is available in your area. Most likely you'll get more channels of television for cheaper.

Either way, I wouldn't trust a "black market" digital cable box these days. The digital signals are definitely tracked by 2 way communication with the cable company so why risk it?
the 2 way communication is to provide services like VOD. it's not to track the boxes, per se. it's just to make sure that people pay for the services they receive, like PPV and whatnot.

basically, if you want to buy a box, you can call and find out if that's ok. if it's not, you can still use a QAM tv or a cablecard tv. i'm sure the cable company just doesn't want a box used on their system that was stolen from them. but if you buy one from someone else, who cares? :shrug:

in this particular situation, i'd buy a QAM tuner tv. that way you don't have to have a box, and you'd get a few channels. if you want more channels, you can get a cablecard for it (if it has a slot), or get a box.

[DarkFury]

Yeah.. but wasn't it the cable companies that sent out those "electronic bullets" back in the day to kill all of the black market boxes?

I'm sure that they have their ways of knowing who is and is not on their line, and the 2 way communication is most likely got some kind of tracking (can't prove it... but it's just my opinion).

[mojo]

these days it's probably easy enough to get cheap cable legally (QAM tuner tv) that people don't have to worry about the "black market boxes." but one thing is for sure...it's the people who steal cable that are a good part of the reason why cable costs so much for the rest of us :mad3:

[Thesifer]

these days it's probably easy enough to get cheap cable legally (QAM tuner tv) that people don't have to worry about the "black market boxes." but one thing is for sure...it's the people who steal cable that are a good part of the reason why cable costs so much for the rest of us :mad3:

For some reason I don't think this is the case. Maybe the excuse, but not the truth. I don't think there are many people out there anymore "Stealing" cable anymore. And if they are, it's from their neighbors, which is pretty easy to catch. The Analog boxes were easy to steal with. Digital, not so easy.

Cable charges so much because they can, not because of "theft."

[mojo]

i said it's part of the reason. it's not the whole picture.

a few factors driving cable costs-

1. preventing theft
2. keeping up with FCC regulations (upgrade to digital, removable security, etc)
3. competing with other technologies (if dish offers 100 HD channels, cable wants to offer 110)
4. maintaining the plant


it's not as easy to run a cable company as people seem to think. there are smaller cable companies out there that are actually run on a "shoestring operation" that don't charge that much less than the bigger ones. that's because the cost to run it, not inherent evil.

[DarkFury]

Cable charges so much because they can, not because of "theft."
:agree:

Honestly, they rape you because they already know that your hands and feet are already bound and that they can have their way with you at their pleasure...

Thank goodness for other choices being available these days... Seriously, cable TV can burn in hell (just my opinion once again.. :D )

[mojo]

maybe this should be moved to the political section, since it's obviously a conspiracy :heh:

[DarkFury]

maybe this should be moved to the political section, since it's obviously a conspiracy :heh:
It's not a conspiracy when they actually do it to ya.

They got me before... but now, I've cut them off. No more free soup for j00. :D

[ArkiStan]

Thank goodness for other choices being available these days... Seriously, cable TV can burn in hell (just my opinion once again.. :D )

so what are some cheap alternatives if I want just the good, important channels in HD (not all 5000 of them) but don't want to sign up for digital cable? once again, i want them in HD on my LCD TV, so watching them on the internet doesn't count. ;)

[DarkFury]

so what are some cheap alternatives if I want just the good, important channels in HD (not all 5000 of them) but don't want to sign up for digital cable? once again, i want them in HD on my LCD TV, so watching them on the internet doesn't count. ;)
Depends on if you want to combine your internet services or not...

If you don't want to combine your internet services, satellite TV is somewhat cheaper than what the cable company offers...

However I personally made the switch to AT&T Uverse with TV services and internet combined for just a little bit more than I was paying locally for just "basic cable". Comcast locally wanted well over $150 per month for just their digital tv and limited HD service, then they wanted to add another $49 per month for internet service. I pay about $112 per month for AT&T uverse, and I have almost twice as many channels as I would have had with Comcast plus I have the pro package internet (which is sufficient for my needs).

[mojo]

so what are some cheap alternatives if I want just the good, important channels in HD (not all 5000 of them) but don't want to sign up for digital cable? once again, i want them in HD on my LCD TV, so watching them on the internet doesn't count. ;)
there's a difference between "limited basic" and "basic cable." but whatever you get will end up being digital.

the thing you have to remember is that you will get a starting price for an introduction, and then you have to find out what it goes up to after that. also remember to include the number of boxes that you want, and find out how many you will need vs how many you can do without. sometimes satellite is less expensive. sometimes fiber, and sometimes cable.

i say go with what's least expensive, as long as it meets your needs.

your handy HDTV may have a cablecard slot in it that will allow you to get channels like HBO. but you wouldn't be able to get VOD. if you don't need VOD, you can find out how much it would be for a package that has what you want, minus the box. if you don't need HBO, find out how many channels you will get with just your QAM tuner.

df mentioned the at&t u-verse service. it uses an IPTV box that runs on windows ce (but used to be a linux box). it actually still is on other systems, and as that technology expands the linux box will have some pretty impressive capabilities.

if you're in an area that offers FIOS, you might look into that. their home networking solution for TV runs very smoothly.

but the least expensive will have to be your antenna. take a look at this site (http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/dtvantennas.html) to see if that will work for you. in some areas you can get quite a few HD channels that way.

[kame]

this thread is a good read....

thx