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Receiving HD Channels without HD Package


WickedYoungMan

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Hi guys, do you know if people should get HD channels without an HD package? We just got an HD TV, running directly through the cable and am actually pulling in some Digital/HD channels. I got my TV from a Best Buy in the next city and it was doing the same over there, which I had thought you needed to have a cable box or whatever package through your carrier that is HD ready in order to do this.

 

I promise I'm not doing anything illegal! I just plugged my cable straight in, it read through the channels and picked up 10 digital channels.

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Are they your basic local channels, or are they actually some premium channels (TLC HD, that kind of thing)

 

They are the basic locals and digital substations.

 

Though interestingly, the TV suddenly picked up some odd high end channels (for basic that is) of 84.4, 92.1 and 92.3. For a day or so, one was National Geographic (but it didn't seem to be Hi-Def,) one was an "Arts" channel and the other I couldn't identify but it was in Hi-Def. It still picks them up but displays "channel not available" with a black screen.

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It's not illegal. It's Clear QAM, unencrypted digital cable signals, which are usually HD. They're mapped to random numbers set by the cable company. It's pretty much the same as OTA ATSC, except EPG data is often "stripped" off the signal. If you're getting extra stations, it's fine. They're obviously unencrypted, so you have the right to watch them. For the channels that have gone away, just do a rescan. Cable companies often switch the frequencies the channels are on.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner

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You know what, I did the exact same thing when I programmed an SDTV (not HD) yesterday. I ended up picking up Comcast's Channel 1 On Demand video, and it's not even hooked up to a cable box. Aside from that, got a couple of local HD feeds in letterbox, though I'm still wondering why one channel shows up three times instead of once on a digital feed.

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Strange... My Vizio TV in my basement picks up channels like "84-10" and "RF18." They are mostly (what appears to be) a better quality picture of WZMY and NECN, but one advertises Comcrap's NBA Package.

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It's not illegal. It's Clear QAM, unencrypted digital cable signals, which are usually HD. They're mapped to random numbers set by the cable company. It's pretty much the same as OTA ATSC, except EPG data is often "stripped" off the signal. If you're getting extra stations, it's fine. They're obviously unencrypted, so you have the right to watch them. For the channels that have gone away, just do a rescan. Cable companies often switch the frequencies the channels are on.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner

 

Translated, it's digital cable without the digital cable box. All the box does is "map" the signals to their respective channels. This, of course, only applies to the un-encrypted channels.

 

If you're lucky, you can sometimes see what someone else is watching On-Demand...

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I just discovered the joys of QAM this weekend. I won't give away exactly what cable networks I'm picking up (let's just say some are premium channels that should be scrambled, and they aren't). I'll concur that the channel assignments are incredibly weird. Random ones like 117.9 and 100.15.

 

Since Comcrap took away three cable channels recently on the analog tier, I'll consider these QAM signals a nice replacement.:(

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  • 2 weeks later...

TWCSD does have a bunch of QAM channels. Even the SD VOD channel is unencyrpted but you need a cable box to access it. TWC uses the OTA channel numbers for the local HD QAM channels. Some FM radio stations can be access through QAM as well.

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Guest Former Member 207

I both cable (Time Warner) and DirecTV in our home...the reason why we have TW is for their internet service. I have a second cable outlet in my bedroom, in addition to the satellite service, I have the cable connected directly to the TV. I bought my digital TV more than a year ago, and and it has a QAM tuner.

 

Anywho...I do a channel memory scan at least a couple of times a month, just instance of pulling in new channels. Pretty much all of the channels I pick up via cable have much better picture quality than their DirecTV counterparts. I get both the SD and analog version of the local stations, plus WGN America, QVC (three versions--two SD, one analog), TV Guide Network (analog and SD version of my local listing, plus another SD channel with the South Los Angeles listings, since Inglewood and South LA have the same head-end), The Weather Channel, the L.A. City government channel, LA36 (a community access channel), two other public access stations, HD versions of KCBS, KNBC, KTLA, KABC, KCAL, KTTV, KCET, and KOCE (different from the regular KOCE), the digital subchannels V-Me (KCET), NBC Weather Plus and News Raw (KNBC), ABC7 Plus and ABC7 Weather Now (KABC), and all the Music Choice channels.

 

I can't count many exact total channels I get, but it has to be at least over 100.

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TWCSD does have a bunch of QAM channels. Even the SD VOD channel is unencyrpted but you need a cable box to access it. TWC uses the OTA channel numbers for the local HD QAM channels. Some FM radio stations can be access through QAM as well.

 

I use regular cable and not a digital cable box, but my TV picks up HD Channels as well as the radio stations and hidden on demand preview channels. Since our cable system have different VHF and UHF Signals heres how my cable line up when channel surfing would be like...

 

5: KSWB (CW)

6: XETV (FOX)

6-1: XETV HD

7: KNSD (NBC)

8: KFMB (CBS)

8-1: KFMB HD

9: KUSI (INDEPENDENT)

10: KGTV (ABC)

10-1: KGTV HD

11: KPBS

 

SKIP A FEW CHANNELS

 

15: KZSD (KGTV'S SISTER STATION - AZETCA AMERICA)

15-1: KPBS HD

15-2: KPBS V-ME SPANISH

 

SKIP A FEW CHANNELS

 

39: COURT TV

39-1: KNSD HD

39-2 IS SUPPOSED TO BE KNSD WEATHER PLUS, BUT IT DOESNT WORK ON CABLE. YOU GOTTA HAVE A DIGITAL CABLE BOX TO RECEIVE IT

 

SKIP A FEW CHANNELS

 

69: BET

69-1: KSWB HD

 

TIME WARNER DOESNT PICK UP KUSI IN HD BUT COX DOES ON DIGITAL CABLE ON 709

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