cable tv help- hey man it's tech

[Maddmatt]

Update: Received my coupons today took about 3 weeks, so pretty quick - they specify which stores you can use them at, including Target and Sams, among others.

Target has a set top box for $49.99
http://tinyurl.com/5n2579

If I get time today I'll go pick it up and let you know how it does.

Coupons are good for 90 days, so waiting for President's day sales is probably not going to work, but now that we're down to $10, that's not too bad.
-Matt

 

[Groucho]

PS: Also check Qwest for their bundling rates - I used to have Comcast and by switching to a Qwest bundled plan I saved a noticeable amount of money - and my Qwest DSL is down much less often than my Comcast digital cable was.

I agree. Plus, after you get the bundled service, wait a month and then cancel the parts of it you don't want. We got the DSL and phone on the guaranteed for life price and then ditched our phone line and the bill is just for the DSL now.

Slightly off original topic put still pertinent....


Plain and simple, which is preferred by ye....

cable or Direct TV

If money wasn't an issue? DirecTV. Since it is, I prefer on air. But that will change as the market goes digital. Then I will use the antenna in the attic for a coat rack. My wife can watch pretty much anything that we would see on local channels on the computer anymore, pretty much whenever she wants. I am trying to figure out how I can circumvent the system to save those videos temporarily to play them on the AppleTV. Then she can watch them on the big screen w/o knowing the difference, 'cept skipping commercials.

I don't believe much in TV anyway,
it is mindless crap that is used to usurp our social values and turn us into self-centered slobs. OFF.

 

[Azrael]

I am trying to figure out how I can circumvent the system to save those videos temporarily to play them on the AppleTV.

Torrents. I don't have an AppleTV, so I don't know how friendly it is with different file formats, but I just recently downloaded the first five episodes of Life On Mars, put them on a flash drive, and watched them on my PS3. It actually looked nearly as good as live HDTV.

Also, I believe in the near future AppleTV may have support for sites like Hulu similar to how it works with YouTube and Netflix.

 

[Hulk]

Have you guys all seen this yet?

http://www.hulu.com/watch/36608/talkshow-with-spike-feresten-cable-psa

Hilarious.
"Is this my new TV?"
"Is that in Los Angeles?"

 

[Groucho]

Have you guys all seen this yet?

http://www.hulu.com/watch/36608/talkshow-with-spike-feresten-cable-psa

Hilarious.
"Is this my new TV?"
"Is that in Los Angeles?"

Funny.

It being a spoof, I can forgive the misspoken phrases that "At Midnight Feb 17th 2009, all televisions will switch from analog to 100% digital" and "If you are still receiving your signal over the air, you will have to convert your analog signal".
If it were real, I would seriously kill the folks who wrote the ad. 1--I want to meet the fairy god-mother who will wave her wand and change all televisions from being ones that receive analog signals to ones that receive digital signals, and 2--I want to know what idiot is going to convert an analog signal to digital?

I think the words missing for the first sentence is "broadcast stations" instead of televisions, and the second sentence should read "you will have to convert the digital signal to analog."

But, really, I want to know how they got the TV I had in my bedroom when I was in 6th grade (B&W Zenith with rotary channel switch, and a HORIZ and VERT dials).

 

[nuclearlemon]

ok, back to the issues. i've hooked the converter box up every way possible and run the auto scan after each try, only to have it read no signal, but when i turn it off, i get my local channels plain as day.

i originally hooked it in with the dvd player and the converter box that i have to have so my tv will get the dvd signals, then straight to the tv with no dvd and dvd converter, then with the dvd converter both before the hd converter and behind the hd converter, but no player....same f'n thing

ih8hd!

 

[Romer]

Ige - did you get it to work?

If not post up the model number of the converter box you got and we can google the specs and see if we can help you.

Isn't your TV a flat screen HDTV?

I think it would all work If you got the Comcast Cable box. I know it costs extra each mocth, but you get more channels and access to their free on Demand service which is cool and free. Lots of movies and shows you can watch whenever you want.

I thought I would mention it because my Dad had Comcast (with the box) for a year and never knew there was free on demand.

 

[nuclearlemon]

the flat tv is in the front room. the issue is with the tv in the bedroom. the tv in the bedroom was my parents and they gave it to me in 92 when they moved.

the converter box is an inet ssr1921. no urge to upgrade cable as most tv is crap anyway, so i really don't need more channels of crap (i'd rather save the money). i've tried the bedroom tv in the front room, same situation, only get the local channels and i've tried the flat tv in the bedroom and all the channels come in fine, so it's not in the connection to there.

everything involved is the hd converter box, the dvd/vcr player, the tv and a dvd converter box.

 

[Romer]

I wasnt talking about upgrading, just getting their box.

I assume the back of your TV has a coax connector

Using this diagram: http://www.ezdigitaltv.com/support-files/dtv_converter_box_hookup.pdf

Are you take the Coax Out on the box to the TV or using the Red white yellow cables?

 

[nuclearlemon]

yes, coax only. too old to have the rca plugs. i hooked it up exactly like that and after the auto scan it still said "no signal"

 

[Romer]

Maybe you have a bad box. You might take it to someone elses house and see if they get no signal or take it back to the store

 

[Romer]

Ige, thinking about this some more, there is a possibility that the converter box is not seeing a strong enough signal. Depending on how your cable was installed and splitted to give you multiple jacks, could reduce the signal levels to the point your bos doesn't see it but your TVs do.

Couple things you could do to test

1) Disconnect the TV in the other room while you do the setup. This will cut the load slightly.
2) Try the box in the other room and leave the bedroom disconnected. Could be a poor ground or something else is providing a poor signal to the bedroom.

Do you know where the T is for your cable? If so you could go to the input of the T and test it there.

If tahst it, you could get an inexpensive amplifier that plugs in and replace the T with it.

I hope that helps

 

[nuclearlemon]

personally, i think i should drive over it, send it back to inet and tell them where they can shove their box

 

[treerootCO]

Did I miss where Ige installed an HD antenna? The signal coming from Comcast is one of two things. It is a cable signal that is and will always be compressed to such a poor quality unless you pay them for HD and even then, you get really sweet 1" pixles due to the compression. The 2nd would be an off the air signal that is not the new HD signal. Your coax will serve as an antenna to pull in stations that your tv could not without an antenna. The digital converter is a tuner for the dot channels available over the air. I highly doubt Comcast will pipe these down their coax.

 

[Romer]

personally, i think i should drive over it, send it back to inet and tell them where they can shove their box

That will show them

They can't drag Ige into the Digital age

 

[Romer]

Did I miss where Ige installed an HD antenna? The signal coming from Comcast is one of two things. It is a cable signal that is and will always be compressed to such a poor quality unless you pay them for HD and even then, you get really sweet 1" pixles due to the compression. The 2nd would be an off the air signal that is not the new HD signal. Your coax will serve as an antenna to pull in stations that your tv could not without an antenna. The digital converter is a tuner for the dot channels available over the air. I highly doubt Comcast will pipe these down their coax.

The box is suppose to work for Cable companies who convert their analog signals to digital and the user does not have a box. Thats at least what I read

 

[Ron Helmuth]

make em roll a truck Ige.... service call should be free-call first they should be able to
"address" the converter from the Comcast office.

But I do think Romer is on right track-the signal to the box is too weak. Not necessarily internal wiring but most likely. Comcast had to swap out my splitters when I was living down in Denver for a similar weak signal problem.

 

[Groucho]

Over the air antenna

I'm telling you, Ige, just cancel cable and with the monthly bill buy a $50 over the air antenna for your roof. I'll help you put it up and point it for maximum efficiency. Any TV will be able to receive the HD channels out of the HD receiver box. It becomes the receiver. Plus, just as MikeD pointed out, comcast is not the I(heart)HD like they claim. Its smoke and mirrors and the general public eats it up. The compression used by comcast results in worse signal than before HD. Over the air uses no compression, so you get the best picture using over the air anyway.

And everyone here has been right (Romer). If the signal does not have enough strength (another flaw of compression-uncompression right now), it will show nothing. IMHO, get rid of cable, those blood sucking leeches. Then lets feel good about getting our TV for free, all the time. Plus that might put some much needed $$$ in your pocket for Moab.

If you really want the cable because you can't live without something (I don't buy it Ige), ask Comcast to come out and install the newest package of hardware in your house and wire up for multiple rooms. They're giving it away for free for new customers, why is a long time customer supposed to receive anything less?

If you have to, get angry. Hey, after all, you're the customer, right?

 

[Romer]

The comcast people are always able to deal. If you tell them the signal is so poor its crap and your going to switch to satellite, they likely will come fix it for you putting an amplifier in

Whenever the deal expires they gave me that is bundled, I call to take off the premium channels because they aren't worth the price, they always reup the deal. I have found the people in the offices have more leway than those on the phone

 

[nuclearlemon]

don't have to live with cable but most of what i watch is on cable. i like many of the shows on the history channel and occasionally watch usa and discovery channel. i watch those more than the local channels.

maybe i need to break down and buy a tv that's newer than the 1980s. i'll have to hit craigslist and see what's out there.