Solved! Incoming change to digital...(noob quest.)

salomon_grundy

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Hi:
I received a letter from my cable company, OneLink (formerly Adelphia) that they are now changing to digital and I will need to have a specific decoder box to view the channel. So, I think, that means that I won't be able to change channel from my TV but from the BOX. Then I won't really need a TV but a monitor display since the tuner will be external. The questions are: do I really need their box to watch their channels? and, is there a kind of box that I can just plug in and change channels with my TV, not with the box itself? Thanks.
 
Solution


the industry doesnt really make available any product that will all you to change the channel with the television from a box.
the two ways that would work are:
1. all of the content is stored...

anwaypasible

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the industry doesnt really make available any product that will all you to change the channel with the television from a box.
the two ways that would work are:
1. all of the content is stored in the box and the television accesses that content.
2. the box channels channels at the same time the television changes channels and the box also switches its output channel to be received by the television.
since all outputs from the box would need a designated channel to output at, it would be the same as the hundreds of thousands of vcr's that gave the option to use channel 3 or 4.
instead of using only one of those two, the box would have to use all of the channels that the television could turn to.

back in the analog days.. usually televisions would stop at channel 125.
so if you built a box to do this, it would prove to be wasteful?
or
would it simply amount to the fact that there are more than 125 channels available and your television would not receive all of the channels.
you would have to create a custom list of channels to pick and choose which ones you want, so there is enough room within the 125 channel limit.

probably easier to rent a box from the cable company.
or
ask if you can buy your own box and use it.
 
Solution

salomon_grundy

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Thanks for the prompt answer. So now my question is, what kind of boxes are there for me to buy? Because probably, whatever my cable company offers will be lesser of quality (or features) and more expensive than what I can buy outside.
 

anwaypasible

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digital cable is of a 'telco' franchise..
and because of that, the FCC and FTC require that these companies use a minimum quality that has been previously set forth by their decisions.
so to be authorized doing business with digital cable, they would have to pick from a selection of digital cable boxes from a list.
you might try to get the same brand name and lower model number, only to find that the quality is vastly inferior.

quite often people try to run out and grab a piece of equipment that works better than what they get from the company.. and they see themselves fail because the FCC and FTC doesnt require the same high standards from the equipment that is bought 'aftermarket' or 'consumer-level'


that is a matter of 'industrial-grade' stomping and embarassing 'commercial-grade'
as 'commercial-grade' has been well known to have grown questionable about the quality of their products.
 

anwaypasible

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that i dont know.
only two names i can remember is motorola and scientific atlanta.
and maybe the scientific atlanta is not supported anymore.
but
comcast uses motorola for their modems and their digital boxes.. so maybe that means they have a massive deal with motorola.. and that the scientific atlanta boxes would still work.
 

anwaypasible

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true words from wolfshadw.

for the dedicated subscriber, i really feel for them when they say the HD channels are included with the lower definition channels.. but it costs $8.95 per month to rent the HD capable box.
$107.40 per year for the box.. how much does a box cost - $300 ?
i see used ones are like $200
and that means you need to stay subscribed for TWO years before you start to see any profit.

again, for the dedicated subscriber.. this is quite a choice you should be willing to take.
that $8.95 per month could come in handy more often than some would care to think about.
for example.. say you want some cleaning product and their is a 'concentrated' version.
you could get more cleaning power and use the monthly savings to pay for it.
maybe you have a cookout and spend the savings on ketchup and mustard.
and perhaps you put that money into the gas tank.. or spend it on an oil change.