I've been searching for over a month now, trying to find any information on whether or not Cox cable in CT has any clear QAM cable capabilities.

A month ago I bought an HDHR and during setup found only a few digital stations (mostly pay per view and ad pages etc) and NO local digital stations. I have about 10 stations here in Central CT that are broadcasting OTA digital. But my Cox cable only has the analog versions.

I've been to many forums over the last month and searched thousands of posts regarding clear QAM on Cable. And there is VERY little information regarding Cox Cable here in CT.

It looks like I AM able to receive them, but they seem to be scrambled. Talking with Cox has not helped at all. And I went through their entire service tier all the up to the regional guy. They say I HAVE to 1. subscribe to their digital service to get those local TV stations in digital format and 2. must rent their cable box.

Note ... I'm not talking about High Def. or any type of subscription added service like HBO or even cable only channels like ESPN etc. JUST the local digital stations.

I'd really appreciate the help if someone (anyone) can confirm that in CT the Cox cable service does not have local SD digital Clear QAM service.

By the way, the highest tier in their service started telling me that they don't HAVE to provide any digital until February 2009 referring to the OTA terrestrial analog TV change over to digital. I tried telling him that was TERRESTRIAL analog transmitting analog stations that were going to be taken off the air and NOT cable companies. This meant to me that they don't have a clue.

Also. I have also spent many hours searching the FCC web site and the local Dept. of Public Utilities as well as the CT Cable TV Franchise area and still can not find anything definitive on this.

Lots of information for Comcast, Charter Com. and all the other Cable providers. Also some info for Cox out of Arizona and other states (where they DO provide Clear QAM channels for local digital stations) But nothing for Cox Cable here in Central Connecticut. Sorry for the long post .. I'm really frustrated. I have posted in several other forums and everyone keeps sending me to the same links that don't have any info. pertinent to Cox and Clear QAM in CT Arrghhhhh.

See the local topic for your area, in the HDTV Locals Forum.

See the local topic for your area, in the HDTV Locals Forum.

Thanks Ken,

I think I've spent too much time on this as things are just becoming confusing. I went to that forum. There were 16 pages of postings. The first 8 or so pages had channel line ups but only found 3 regarding Cox and only one of those was in CT.

I'm looking for info on Clear QAM channels (unencrypted) that Cox provides. After the first 7 or 8 pages the topics went off from channels listings and mostly talked about how Cox didn't have ABC HiDef and other topics. I read all the posts in all 16 pages and DID finally find some talk about Clear QAM. It seems some people in Cheshire and Newington and a few other Cox cable towns ARE getting clear QAM LOCAL digital stations.

But how do I use this information when dealing with Cox. They are telling me that they do NOT provide clear QAM here and I MUST use their box and subscribe to their digital service. So there ARE people out there that prove to me that Cox is just plain lying to me. How the heck do I convince them here that they are incorrect? They just refuse to do anything for me. Especially since I'm using my own QAM tuner. Perhaps I need to bring a person from Cheshire down to the Cox office with me and let him TELL them that he is indeed getting the local digital channels via his Clear QAM tuner. Is there some government entity that I can complain to ??

I'm looking for info on Clear QAM channels (unencrypted) that Cox provides.In general, Cox will provide all the local HD they carry in the clear QAM, but none of the other HD channels.

After the first 7 or 8 pages the topics went off from channels listings and mostly talked about how Cox didn't have ABC HiDef and other topics.It's possible they don't offer ABC HD in your area. You should post a question about QAM in the clear for your specific area.

But how do I use this information when dealing with Cox. They are telling me that they do NOT provide clear QAM here and I MUST use their box and subscribe to their digital service.You will need to contact someone who knows the corporate policy, which I'm pretty sure is QAM in the clear for local HD. Get in touch again with the regional guy, and explain you know for a fact other Cox customers are getting local HD in the clear, and although you don't want to, you will contact the corporate office if necessary. It's all a matter of finding the right contact.

Thanks Ken,

I think I've spent too much time on this as things are just becoming confusing. I went to that forum. There were 16 pages of postings. The first 8 or so pages had channel line ups but only found 3 regarding Cox and only one of those was in CT.

I'm looking for info on Clear QAM channels (unencrypted) that Cox provides. After the first 7 or 8 pages the topics went off from channels listings and mostly talked about how Cox didn't have ABC HiDef and other topics. I read all the posts in all 16 pages and DID finally find some talk about Clear QAM. It seems some people in Cheshire and Newington and a few other Cox cable towns ARE getting clear QAM LOCAL digital stations.

But how do I use this information when dealing with Cox. They are telling me that they do NOT provide clear QAM here and I MUST use their box and subscribe to their digital service. So there ARE people out there that prove to me that Cox is just plain lying to me. How the heck do I convince them here that they are incorrect? They just refuse to do anything for me. Especially since I'm using my own QAM tuner. Perhaps I need to bring a person from Cheshire down to the Cox office with me and let him TELL them that he is indeed getting the local digital channels via his Clear QAM tuner. Is there some government entity that I can complain to ??

Cox in CT has WFSB, WVIT, WTNH, WTIC, PBS, WCTX and WTXX in clear QAM. They also have some barker channels in clear. Eveything else is encrypted.

Just get lifeline cable service, then do a channel search on your TV and you will get all clear QAM channels.

Cox in CT has WFSB, WVIT, WTNH, WTIC, PBS, WCTX and WTXX in clear QAM. They also have some barker channels in clear. Eveything else is encrypted.

Just get lifeline cable service, then do a channel search on your TV and you will get all clear QAM channels.

Thanks for the reply. Well I have since confirmed exactly what you said. However at my house any channel above 90 is dead space. There are NO signals of any kind coming in off the street from 90 and up. And my Clear QAM channes are in the 100 to 120 range.

I'm now going through my own in house A/V distribution system to see if something is wrong there. But I designed and installed this system and I'm almost positive everything is proper.

I'm wondering if they have put some sort of a filter specific to my house to block all signals above 90 ?? I think that is most likely not the case though. I checked with a neighbor down the street who has a QAM tuner TV and he is getting all the Clear Qam without a problem. But here it's a different story. Sigh ....

What QAM tuner are you using? HD locals via cable are QAM256. If your tuner is QAM64... you may be SOL.

What QAM tuner are you using? HD locals via cable are QAM256. If your tuner is QAM64... you may be SOL.

HD is not the issue here. Many people interchange HD with digital. You can have digital without HD. I'm just looking for the digital stations of any type.

The tuner I'm using here is a SilconDust HD Home Run tuner. It has two inputs which can be using to decode OTA ATSC or Clear QAM via digtal. When setting up I have a few different types of digital to scan for. I DO get the digital signals via this tuner, but ONLY the channels below 90. My tuner finds NO signals (NTSC, analog or digital) above 90. And my local stations are all being rebroadcast in the 100 to 120 block of channels. Others are using this tuner for both OTA and cable, both SD and HD all the way up to 1080.

I'm thinking the local cable company has some kind of filter outside my house that is blocking the 90 and up signals. Why? I have no idea. This may also be why they insist I rent their box and pay extra for the Clear QAM digital Signals that EVERYONE else is getting free. (yes I've checked with neighbors now and they are able to get these clear qam local TV stations without a problem.

If possible, test your QAM tuner at another house in the neighborhood.

There are filters that cableco's use, but most all are for channels above ~20.

HD is not the issue here. Many people interchange HD with digital. You can have digital without HD. I'm just looking for the digital stations of any type.

Yes, it is the issue, as all the other digital cable channels are encrypted.

Thanks for the reply. Well I have since confirmed exactly what you said. However at my house any channel above 90 is dead space. There are NO signals of any kind coming in off the street from 90 and up. And my Clear QAM channes are in the 100 to 120 range.

I'm now going through my own in house A/V distribution system to see if something is wrong there. But I designed and installed this system and I'm almost positive everything is proper.

I'm wondering if they have put some sort of a filter specific to my house to block all signals above 90 ?? I think that is most likely not the case though. I checked with a neighbor down the street who has a QAM tuner TV and he is getting all the Clear Qam without a problem. But here it's a different story. Sigh ....

Cox does not have any filters for channels above 60. They only filter out 25 thru 60. If you are not getting anything above 90, then there is something wrong. There could be problem with the tap or their amp on the street.

Yes, it is the issue, as all the other digital cable channels are encrypted.I don't see that anyone has suggested that, before dragging the set to a neighbors house, you connect it directly to the input connector, bypassing all the stuff in the house. There have been more than 1 report of "defective" splitters and bad cable connections doing stranger things than this.

Good Luck!

I am on a different cable system, but thought I would mention some things which might be relevant.

Before I got my HDTV, I checked my cable company's website and verified that they offered HD service. Shortly after I got my HDTV, I called my cable company only to find out that I can't get HD service in my area. The "old" copper coax lines in my area just didn't have the bandwidth. I was lucky, and less than a year later, the installed all new fiber. With that, they had the required bandwidth.

Speaking of bandwidth, make sure you don't have any old RG59U cable, or old coax splitters, in your house. Either can quickly attenuate any higher frequency channels or data streams into nothing.

Thanks everyone. I did find the problem. I wired my house a few years ago for a whole house distribution system. I have a home theater with a home theater PC set up and the HT is set up so I can either watch TV/DVD etc in the home theater or watch the video coming out of the HTPC from any room in the house that has a TV.

I put a three channel modulator in my distribution system so I could also watch two outdoor cameras and also the output of the HTPC from any TV in the house.

I'm totally embarrassed to admit I forgot about the wiring. Bare with me here.

My modulated channels are on channels 93, 94 and 95. I only have analog cable TV and I get all my HD and digital from OTA. Of course I did the job right and since all my analog signals were below 90, I added a sharp cut off low pass filter to BLOCK my modulated signals from going back out the cable to my neighbor's homes.

Yes it's embarrassing .. I designed and installed the whole thing. And the simple problem was my LOW PASS filter .. cutting off all the channels above 90 .. where I was trying to get my digital channels.

I installed a LAN based QAM dual tuner simply because there is one OTA network that is just too far and too weak to pull in and another that is sometimes less than great. So as soon as there was support in my HTPC software for a Clear QAM capable tuner I thought I would add it so I could get those digital channels off the cable feed. Their analog versions aren't so great either.

My cable is split two ways coming into the distribution panel. One feed goes to my broadband cable modem for Internet, and the other (with the low pass filter) feeds the house cable distribution. So the easy fix was just to change to a three way splitter, with the third feed going to the HDHomeRun tuner. So I still have my filter and now also have all the clear QAM digital off the cable.

I get all the local stations and a few extra and yes I do get HD when it is broadcast. Of course the OTA HD is better than the cable, but I only wanted a couple of SD digital stations anyway.

Sigh .. next time I'll make a schematic and REFER to it before I go nuts. :o

Hey Rich A,

I understand most of your post,

I have COX in So CAL, I can get Digital Local Channels on my TV that does not have a Cable Box, The issue is that I can not get digital Channels on my HTPC running Vista Media Center. I have updates to the TV Media Pack 2008 still not luck.

I have checked all my splitters etc I can connect the TV up and it gets digital with channels up to 111.4

If I move that Cable to my Media Center I get channels 2-99 in analogue only..

Cox told me I need to get a HTPC that supports a cable card of us their box with an IR Blaster.. I am sure their is a better way but I am missing something. Any advise will be appreciated...

Vista Ultimate 64 Bit
AMD 9750 Quad
8GB RAM
2 x 1TB HD's
ATI 3650 512MB Video card with HDMI out.
Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1800 - ATSC HDTV / QAM receiver

I have installed TV Media pack 2008 and do get HD & Digital through over the air TV which is very frustrating cause I I want to get this quality from my cable line.. The TV Antenna picks up all the 6.1, 8.1 etc but I live near the coast and get poor antenna coverage..

I am thinking of getting HDHomeRun will this allow me to get the digital channels into my HDPC or am I just stupid.

Thx for any help..

Hey Rich A,

I understand most of your post,

I have COX in So CAL, I can get Digital Local Channels on my TV that does not have a Cable Box, The issue is that I can not get digital Channels on my HTPC running Vista Media Center. I have updates to the TV Media Pack 2008 still not luck.
I don't think (not 100% sure) Media Center supports clear QAM channels. You could use the tuner card software without Media Center for local HD from Cox.

Cox is correct about you needing a CableCARD PC for cable HD, other than local HD.

I don't think (not 100% sure) Media Center supports clear QAM channels.

You are correct. WMC does not support QAM, nor from my reading do they have any intent (last I read) of providing support/upgrades/patches.

At this time you are limited to using the 3rd party software that is probably/should be included with the tuner card.

Hey Rich A,

I understand most of your post,

<SNIP>

Cox told me I need to get a HTPC that supports a cable card of us their box with an IR Blaster.. I am sure their is a better way but I am missing something. Any advise will be appreciated...


Thx for any help..

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Your problem is MS and Vista most likely. MS is very much tied into DRM and such. You don't need a cable card. I have both an Hauppauge Hybrid tuner AND an HD Home Run. Both work fine with my Cox expanded basic. Of course I can only get the "clear QAM" channels provided by Cox. These are all the local OTA channels, as well as a few others (Discovery Kids, TCM, and such) But everything else is scrambled.

I use Beyond TV for my HTPC which has been running 24/7 for 5 1/2 years last May. FWIW, my own Cox cable franchise has told me that I can't get any digital without either a converter box OR a cable card. So I just smile as I've been getting digital clear QAM since the first digital clear QAM tuner card became available. (a few years now I guess)

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I am thinking of getting HDHomeRun will this allow me to get the digital channels into my HDPC or am I just stupid.
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The HDHomeRun is also a clear QAM capable device. It's only difference is that it sends the video it's tuners decodes via your LAN to the LAN port on your PC. I'm pretty sure you'd still have the same problem. There are several decent PC based PVR applications out there. I've been with SnapStream's Beyond TV since it was first released.

I have 5 tuners ... one is OTA, two are using Cox Cable Clear QAM, two are analog. My analysis has shown that an OTA signal (IF you can receive it at better than 75 percent) will usually be superior to the cable companies digital version. The problem is usually in high motion or action scenes. The cable companies have to cram a lot of signals down their fiber or coaxial which requires that they either compress or run at lower bit rates. The OTA stations each have an entire 6 Mhz of bandwidth available to them so when they are transmitting full 1080 with Dolby etc., it is generally at higher average bit rates. Some shows that are full 1080 have really nice video, and those I usually use the OTA tuner to capture when the show is on one of the local terrestrial TV stations.

Our local PBS stations really stand out. Their OTA high def programs are impressive. Much better than the Cox digital version. (but of course I'm being very critical, and the Cox digital is far and away better than an old analog feed) I can see the difference most likely because I'm looking at a six foot wide screen.

By the way. Over the last few months I've seen the reception of some of my weaker terrestrial stations improve noticeably. They have been running their digital counterparts for some time at lower power. Now with the transition to all digital, the digital stations are getting the premiere spot on the towers and have greatly increased their power.