Here's the setup:
TV: Sharp 37" LCD TV (LC-37D90U), has a built-in digital tuner.
Cable Service: Comcast "Basic" cable, no digital box/tuner.
Location: Medium density apartment complex (may be important info later...).
I have a TiVo box (which does not have a digital tuner), so I always use that to view my cable programming. For whatever reason, I decided last night that I would see what digital channels my TV's tuner could pick up. First, I let my TV do a channel search to get all of the available channels (in case any new ones had popped up since I bought the thing). On my TV, the digital channels usually appear in between normal channels. For instance channel 11 is CW (analog), but channel 11.1 is CW-HD (digital). Hey, cool, I didn't sign up for HD programming, but ok! Beyond my last channel number (99) my TV finds about a hundred or so digital channels. (100.1 - 119.53). Most of the channels display a blank screen, but there are a decent dozen or two that give me a message: "No Broadcast Now [E203]." This message is an error message generated by the TV itself, not the cable company.
Every now and then, those channels that tell me that there isn't a broadcast have something on them. Last night, I was able to find Slingblade on one channel, Stranger Than Fiction on another, and Platoon on the other. I did a quick search on my channel listings to see if those were playing on my "Basic" channels, and none showed up. When the movie ends, it goes back to the "No broadcast" message. So, I was getting some kind of access to movie channels possibly? The weirdness does not end there...
I continued browsing to see if anything else was on and inadvertently come across some kind of softcore porn channel, or so I thought. The actors had just finished what they were doing and were dressing. A few moments later the video sped up, as if someone had hit a fast-forward button. The video on the channel had fast-forwarded through a bunch of dialog and story, and resumed normal play when the actors began undressing again. A moment later, the video paused, and I got the "No broadcast" message again. It was like I was viewing the content of someone's OnDemand programming while they were watching it.
Now, as I mentioned, I don't have Comcast's digital box and I live in a medium-density apartment community. My only thought is that for whatever reason, because my TV has a digital tuner built-in, I am able to get signal from the OnDemand (or whatever) programming the other people in the nearby apartments are getting. Why would this be possible? Would it be due to the fact that a large number of us have a single central location where our coax cables join up in a Comcast box?
I don't know what is going on here. All I have is my own speculation, which I can't really rely on. While I can't argue having the occasional free movie, it would be nice to know why. Does anyone have any insight as to what is going on? Has anyone had any similar experiences? I am out of solid ideas, and if you can shine some light on the subject, it would be awesome! Thanks!
-JPFlash
TV: Sharp 37" LCD TV (LC-37D90U), has a built-in digital tuner.
Cable Service: Comcast "Basic" cable, no digital box/tuner.
Location: Medium density apartment complex (may be important info later...).
I have a TiVo box (which does not have a digital tuner), so I always use that to view my cable programming. For whatever reason, I decided last night that I would see what digital channels my TV's tuner could pick up. First, I let my TV do a channel search to get all of the available channels (in case any new ones had popped up since I bought the thing). On my TV, the digital channels usually appear in between normal channels. For instance channel 11 is CW (analog), but channel 11.1 is CW-HD (digital). Hey, cool, I didn't sign up for HD programming, but ok! Beyond my last channel number (99) my TV finds about a hundred or so digital channels. (100.1 - 119.53). Most of the channels display a blank screen, but there are a decent dozen or two that give me a message: "No Broadcast Now [E203]." This message is an error message generated by the TV itself, not the cable company.
Every now and then, those channels that tell me that there isn't a broadcast have something on them. Last night, I was able to find Slingblade on one channel, Stranger Than Fiction on another, and Platoon on the other. I did a quick search on my channel listings to see if those were playing on my "Basic" channels, and none showed up. When the movie ends, it goes back to the "No broadcast" message. So, I was getting some kind of access to movie channels possibly? The weirdness does not end there...
I continued browsing to see if anything else was on and inadvertently come across some kind of softcore porn channel, or so I thought. The actors had just finished what they were doing and were dressing. A few moments later the video sped up, as if someone had hit a fast-forward button. The video on the channel had fast-forwarded through a bunch of dialog and story, and resumed normal play when the actors began undressing again. A moment later, the video paused, and I got the "No broadcast" message again. It was like I was viewing the content of someone's OnDemand programming while they were watching it.
Now, as I mentioned, I don't have Comcast's digital box and I live in a medium-density apartment community. My only thought is that for whatever reason, because my TV has a digital tuner built-in, I am able to get signal from the OnDemand (or whatever) programming the other people in the nearby apartments are getting. Why would this be possible? Would it be due to the fact that a large number of us have a single central location where our coax cables join up in a Comcast box?
I don't know what is going on here. All I have is my own speculation, which I can't really rely on. While I can't argue having the occasional free movie, it would be nice to know why. Does anyone have any insight as to what is going on? Has anyone had any similar experiences? I am out of solid ideas, and if you can shine some light on the subject, it would be awesome! Thanks!
-JPFlash
. I have 3 HDTVs and have to go through the 30-minute scan about every 2-3 months, it seems..
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