TV Geeks: cable box required?

Matthew Fortner · **Joined:** Sun Mar 21, 2004 12:21 am **Posts:** 384

I have a TV/cable question. Do new TV's require me to continue leasing the cable box?

ColinOConnell · **Posted:** Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:53 pm

Not required on most all of the TV's out there, they have built in tuners. A lot of HD content will only come through the HD cable box though. Standard cable (no box) only goes up to around channel 75 or so.

Dustin Fredrickson · **Posted:** Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:54 pm

Matthew Fortner wrote:

I have a TV/cable question. Do new TV's require me to continue leasing the cable box?

Assuming you want more than the 90 or so "basic cable" channels, yes, you need a digital "box" of some sort. Some of the new TV's DO support Cable Card, which is a magic decoder ring to allow the newest TV's, TIVO's, etc... to get the other 800 or so digital channels, without having to use a full-on cable box. Rental of cable cards is cheaper, too - just a few bucks a month last I checked.

Matthew Fortner · **Joined:** Sun Mar 21, 2004 12:21 am **Posts:** 384

Yeah our current TV only tunes to channel 100 and my DVD-R to 125. Speed is on ch 148. We will be buying a new TV this year. I'd love to punt the cable box back to TWC and keep my $7-8 per month. So I could search for a used cable card perhaps.

Scott Johnson · **Posted:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:12 am

Matthew Fortner wrote:

Yeah our current TV only tunes to channel 100 and my DVD-R to 125. Speed is on ch 148. We will be buying a new TV this year. I'd love to punt the cable box back to TWC and keep my $7-8 per month. So I could search for a used cable card perhaps.

The cable company owns the cable cards, there won't be used ones to find. Generally, the cable co will lease you a card for $2/month. You will need a device that has a Cable Card slot (which is virtually nothing right now, Cable Card was pretty much screwed up from the beginning and there are fewer 2007/2008 hardware models that support it than there were in 2006).

Early cable card implementations are also one-way only, so if you want to do the on-demand content, you won't be able to.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:48 am

www.DirecTV.com

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

This page gives the most comprehensive guide to what is and is not available OTA and unencryted QAM from cable (what you can get without a cablecard or cablebox)-- 35 OTA, 78 u-QAM:

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/li ... code=27519

I refuse to pay for more than one cable box. I have one cable box in the family room for full access, and use a HDHR digital network box serving Windows Media Center hooked to a projector in the theater/bonus room.

Then I got a Slingbox AV for the cable box, and if I want to watch more than those 78 channels in the bonus room, garage, or my office, I use a laptop. In fact my old laptop is the "TV" in my office, controlling the Slingbox wirelessly.

So I guess I've explored most of the options to get encrypted QAM channels from TWC without renting more boxes. Using a slingbox is about the best option as long as there aren't multiple people using the cable box.

Graham Jagger · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:53 am **Posts:** 1718

With all the money you spent on toys and gadgets you could have rented a 2nd cable box for life... They're not that expensive.

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Graham Jagger wrote:

With all the money you spent on toys and gadgets you could have rented a 2nd cable box for life... They're not that expensive.

You don't know me very well, do you Graham?

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

slingboxes are awesome too, especially when march madness hits. You can watch TV at work

Scott Johnson · **Posted:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:50 am

steve remchak wrote:

www.DirecTV.com

That doesn't seem to solve the need for a box independent of the TV.

We've got a cable box in the living room, and just hook straight to the wall in the bedroom. It's not that hard to move the box if we really need/want on-demand or high numbered channels in the bedroom.

Stacy King · **Posted:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:59 am

In addition to the "digital" channels, if you don't have TiVo, you need a box for DVR functions. But screw cable all together man...

I prefer Dish Network over DirecTV, but it's mostly a personal choice. What has me sold on Dish Network are it's DVR and it's two-room with one box capability. The DN DVR is very user friendly and intuitive, as is the whole user interface (unlike, IMHO, DirecTV with has lots of unnecessary steps to get to where you want.) The dual-room box is pure genius (except for the fact you have to run a coax cable to the other room, but it's worth it.) Basically, it allows you to use both tuners within the box to work independently OR simultaneously in two rooms. Each room has its own RF remote that individually control each "tuner". But the best part is that both rooms have access to the recorded (or recording) programs on both tuners (since its all being recorded on one hard disk.) So if we record something in one room, but want to watch it in the other, we can.

The only thing you lose with this setup is the picture-in-picture functionality... but who uses that these days anyway right?! (Although you can switch the box to a different mode to use this function if you're not also using the other room at the same time.)

steve remchak · **Posted:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:34 am

scottjohnson wrote:

steve remchak wrote:

www.DirecTV.com

That doesn't seem to solve the need for a box independent of the TV.

We've got a cable box in the living room, and just hook straight to the wall in the bedroom. It's not that hard to move the box if we really need/want on-demand or high numbered channels in the bedroom.

true. simply fuel for the fire Scott.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:38 am

Stacy King wrote:

In addition to the "digital" channels, if you don't have TiVo, you need a box for DVR functions. But screw cable all together man...

I prefer Dish Network over DirecTV, but it's mostly a personal choice. What has me sold on Dish Network are it's DVR and it's two-room with one box capability. The DN DVR is very user friendly and intuitive, as is the whole user interface (unlike, IMHO, DirecTV with has lots of unnecessary steps to get to where you want.) The dual-room box is pure genius (except for the fact you have to run a coax cable to the other room, but it's worth it.) Basically, it allows you to use both tuners within the box to work independently OR simultaneously in two rooms. Each room has its own RF remote that individually control each "tuner". But the best part is that both rooms have access to the recorded (or recording) programs on both tuners (since its all being recorded on one hard disk.) So if we record something in one room, but want to watch it in the other, we can.

The only thing you lose with this setup is the picture-in-picture functionality... but who uses that these days anyway right?! (Although you can switch the box to a different mode to use this function if you're not also using the other room at the same time.)

my Dad switched from DirecTV to Dish for the two room seperate channel technology. but of course he only has two TVs.

the only way to be boxless forever is to continually purchase the lastest and greatest system.

Graham Jagger · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:53 am **Posts:** 1718

MikeWhitney wrote:

You don't know me very well, do you Graham?

Oh I get it Mike. I guess I get enough geek stuff at work everyday. Don't need it at home unless it is a necessity. Pay TW a few bucks more and have 2nd box. Too easy. Problem solved. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best.

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