Limited Basic Cable and HDTV.. is there a box??
09-28-10, 06:11 PM
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Limited Basic Cable and HDTV.. is there a box??
So for financial reasons my wife and I have had to cancel our cable tv subscription. We are with Comcast. When I called to do so I was told that the Cable company would throw in limited basic (channels 2-31) for free with my internet subscription. Since I was keeping internet service I said OK.
I asked about receiving the local affiliates HD channels that you can get via antenna since the only TVs we have in the house are HDTVs. She said I would need to pay an additional $8/month for one of their HD boxes. I said, "isn't there a box I can buy at a local retailer that will pick these HD channels up off of your cable for me without having to rent your box?" She seemed to think I was right that there was.... but now after some online searching I'm not sure I was... Is there a box I can plug my limited basic coaxial cable into that I can buy at Best Buy for under 50 bucks that will let me get local HD channels via Comcast's coaxial/limited basic service? Or am I stuck with their box for HD stuff?
An alternative would be to skip Comcast's tv service all together and go get an HD TV antenna...
I asked about receiving the local affiliates HD channels that you can get via antenna since the only TVs we have in the house are HDTVs. She said I would need to pay an additional $8/month for one of their HD boxes. I said, "isn't there a box I can buy at a local retailer that will pick these HD channels up off of your cable for me without having to rent your box?" She seemed to think I was right that there was.... but now after some online searching I'm not sure I was... Is there a box I can plug my limited basic coaxial cable into that I can buy at Best Buy for under 50 bucks that will let me get local HD channels via Comcast's coaxial/limited basic service? Or am I stuck with their box for HD stuff?
An alternative would be to skip Comcast's tv service all together and go get an HD TV antenna...
09-29-10, 10:03 AM
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Re: Limited Basic Cable and HDTV.. is there a box??
If that doesn't work, there is a box. Remember when the FCC was handing out $50 coupons when stations moved to HD? That's what you needed to get.
09-29-10, 02:42 PM
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Re: Limited Basic Cable and HDTV.. is there a box??
Well, that box is for people with SDTVs, not HDTVs. Presumably HDTVs all have tuners, now. Some didn't, from many years ago.
I still have my box, unopened.
I still have my box, unopened.
09-29-10, 05:28 PM
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Re: Limited Basic Cable and HDTV.. is there a box??
11-06-10, 02:14 PM
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Re: Limited Basic Cable and HDTV.. is there a box??
Cable companies are required to pass through the digital signal of the local affiliates that they carry. If you plug the coax cable directly into your HDTV, those digital channels will show up on their actual digital channel (ie, our Fox Station's HD channel shows up as 61.1, even though the SD signal is usually on Channel 5). You shouldn't have to do anything else! This is the set-up that I have at my house.
