HDTV

My cable tv company switched the signal to HDTV, so naturally my tube TV doesn't pick up the signal. All I get is fuzz.

I have found not one converter that switches HDTV back down to analog. All the ones on the market are for antennas only. They try to dupe you that it converts a coaxial cable HDTV signal from the cable company to analog, but none of them do that.

It's like taking an upgrade from the past and downgrading it to the past again. Nobody is making such junk. Prove me wrong, but I have found nothing.

The only solution I have in sight is to buy an HD TV for hundreds of dollars.

I've been checkmated.

Reply to
Humbled Survivor
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Per Humbled Survivor:

If you don't need a huge screen, think more like $130-$200 for something in the twenties size-wise.... at least that's what I saw today at HH Gregg.

OTOH, I wonder if the cable supplier has done something proprietary to the signal and you would need some sort of box (which might make the converter work) even for a new TV...

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Pete Cresswell
Reply to
(PeteCresswell)

Wrong. You unspecified cable company (probably Comcast) switched from analog to QAM modulation. If your unspecified cable company just happens to be Comcast, you can call them and ask for a DTA It was free, but I keep seeing rumors that they're charging for one. With that you can have your intentionally fuzzy analog channels back as well as the FM broadcast channels that were moved to digital.

That's true. Those are ATSC to analog converters that have absolutely nothing to do with what the cable companies are sending. A clue is that the box for these converters usually says something like "For OTA (over the air) use only. Not for cable TV".

Correct.

There was a time when the FCC was considering "mandating" different connectors or connections for CATV and OTA (antenna), to avoid such confusion. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

No need to prove you wrong. You've done an adequate job of doing that yourself.

To get your TV back, you are going to need either a DTA (digital TV tuner) or a cable converter box from your benevolent cable provider. Have your credit card handy.

Nope. HDTV defines the screen resolution. This week, HD is considered anything over 720p to be HDTV. HDTV does not define anything to do with the methods used by either the OTA broadcasters or the cable companies to deliver that resolution picture. If you buy an HDTV, you will get an ATSC tuner for OTA, which is useless on cable, and HDMI input connectors, which is what you need for cable. The HDMI cable goes between the digital cable box and your nice new HDTV.

However, if you get the DTA box from your benevolent cable provider, it will output either RF on channel 3 or 4 or on some models, composite video (yellow,white,red cable). If you want composite, you'll need to ask for it as Comcast as this is not included on all their DTA offerings. Neither will give you an HD quality picture. This is intentional as the benevolent cable company wants to sell or rent you a digital cable box. However, with the DTA, you will be able to continue watching fuzzy pictures in low resolution.

However, Comcast is still sending some "basic" channels in HD. You'll need a more complexicated derangement to do that:

Nope. You're suffering from acronym infestation. Take 2 aspirin and call your cable provider in the morning.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Stuff a QAM tuner in your computer. Hapaugue cards are on Ebay for about $23, and the work OK. You need an original install disk to install WinTV7, or Windows Media Center. I've had one for about six months, in a spare PC running Vista Basic & WinTV7.

Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

Comcast has been slowly turning off Clear QAM for the last year or so. They just turned off Santa Cruz CA about 4 days ago. Welcome to the "digital migration".

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

More:

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

When Canada went to DTV in September 2 years ago, I did put off dealing with it until the May of that year. We didn't get the free converter deal that the US got, and initially the flyers were showing $80 coverters.

And at that point I decided I might as well spend $120 more and get an actual HDTV set. I got the better definition, I got an LCD set (so much smaller, and less heat it seems), I got closed captions (I was using a Commodore monitor with a VCR for reception for about 15 years, before that a TV set too old to do captions), and some other new and neat things. It was also the first new tv set I'd gotten since 1982. SO the money wasnt' that bad, and I would have had to spend just under half for a converter.

Sometimes change is good, you'll actually get better definition, rather than the new transmission on an old tv set.

Mytv set runs Linux, my old tv set didn't even have a computer. And that blu-ray player that I found in the garbage on July 1st is working fine, and it too runs Linux.

Michael

Reply to
Michael Black

You can buy a converter. I have an unused Zenith I'd be happy to sell.

Reply to
William Sommerwerck

Whoops. I posted without reading carefully. I thought the OP said broadcast.

The cable company's conversion is to digital, not HD. As someone else pointed out, Comcast provides a free converter that feeds channel 3 or 4 on an analog set. (It has no baseband output.)

Reply to
William Sommerwerck

I looked around and determined this is what I should get:

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Thank all of you for your feedback.

Reply to
Humbled Survivor

I don't have Comcast, Verizon or any of the big places. My cable company is a one-man show out of Bellaire, Ohio called Bellaire Television Cable Co. Inc. I called in and they said try back in a week as they are testing units to see which worked. Depending on the cost I may rent/buy one, or just get a new flat screen with a QAM tuner built into it. I don't watch much TV anyway. I just use cable broadband from him, which I can't get unless I have TV too. But if I get TV and am paying for it, I'd like to have TV to watch an occasional show. Do you get what I'm saying?

Reply to
Humbled Survivor

Totally. Lima Charlie.

Reply to
dave

Per Humbled Survivor:

This might be a long shot, but it might be worth checking into how many OTA stations you have access to.

We are in a built-up area, have a rooftop antenna and; personally, I have yet to see a reason to spend money on cable.

There's a little more to it than I'm saying.... but I'd still check what local OTA stations are available. NB that with digital, rabbit ears don't do the job (at least around here) and a rooftop antenna is needed.

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Pete Cresswell
Reply to
(PeteCresswell)

He gets high speed internet from the cable company. He has to take cable tbv along with it. Hence he might as well watch tv, and that's where the issue of being compatible with the digital signal from the cable company comes in.

If he relied on over the air, then he'd not need cable, but he'd lose his internet connection.

Michael

Reply to
Michael Black

Per Michael Black:

I didn't think of that.

For me, cable and internet are unbundled. I just pay $40 per month for the internet access.

As a side benefit, every few months a nice young person comes to the door to call my attention that fact that we are apparently the only household for many miles that don't have cable and wouldn't we like to join the 21st century....

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Pete Cresswell
Reply to
(PeteCresswell)

He said he buys broadband and the cable is part of the deal.

Reply to
dave

Nobody around you has DiSH or DTV?

Reply to
dave

Per dave:

Audio-visual Luddite that I am, when I think "cable" it includes all of the above.

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Pete Cresswell
Reply to
(PeteCresswell)

Unless the cable guy has looked in back yards and such I don't see how he'd know.

Reply to
dave

Perhaps they have a deal with NSA? The cable company provides NSA with access to your internet usage, and NSA gives the cable company surveillance photos to scout for sattelite dishes?

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Husk kørelys bagpå, hvis din bilfabrikant har taget den idiotiske  
beslutning at undlade det.
Reply to
Leif Neland

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