Hello all,

This is a great site, I've been popping in and out frequently since my parents and I are building a new home and moving soon. We'll be investing in a lot of electronics. I've been doing a lot of reading, but I could really use some verification.

I just bought a Sharp 42" Aquos LC42D64 with QAM. I currently have cable internet with Time Warner Cable and Road Runner ISP here in Orange County, CA. The modem is in the living and the TV will be in my bedroom. My question is would it be possible for me to split the cable line and plug it directly into my TV and use the QAM and pick up local HD and SD channels? Or will this not work since I'm not subscribe to their actual cable tv packages.

I think as long as the channels aren't encrypted, it should work, right? Will I lose quality in my internet or tv signal due to having it also connected to a cable modem?

Otherwise, we have a 20 yr old roof mounted antenna, which picks up decent reception to our regular old tvs. I haven't tried the new tv yet, but I would have to go up there and connect a line into my bedroom. I would imagine that would work too, and should give the same level of clarity, since it's digital, right?

Also, rather than splitting an existing line, if I connect the line directly to the antenna, then I wouldn't be degrading the quality of the signal, right?

Sorry if any of these are really noob questions, I'd really like to learn and become an active member of the community. Thanks!

Just use a decent splitter and hook up the TV and see what you get.

Just use a decent splitter and hook up the TV and see what you get.Yes, but CAUTION: if you do this and you are not paying for "cable" then you could be nailed for "theft of service". You might want to check with cable and see how much the more the lowest cost basic cable service will cost. You might be surprised. Around here its less than $8/month and RoadRunner is $5/month less if you have any cable. That would make the effective cost only $3/month (or something like that).

I'd say to avoid QAM over cable TV and go with the antenna connection only. Yes, digital works the same no matter what the source, even antenna -- you get the solid picture, you can't get any better of one. Antenna signals usually have better picture quality than cable, since most of the time, they go through less compression than cable.

Dave, good catch, you can sign up for the basic tier which usually offsets any additional fees you are paying for your cable modem for not having TV service.

Around my way Comcast Internet is $15 more if you don't have TV and the basic tier is $17.

Antenna signals usually have better picture quality than cable, since most of the time, they go through less compression than cable.That is a common misconception. In regards to cable carrying the local OTA HD signals, the FCC prohibits cable from materially degrading these channels. In fact, in many areas, cable is superior to OTA where the stations have subchannels OTA, and feed their HD signal to cable directly (via fiber or microwave).