So I bought a 32" Sony Bravia a few weeks ago. When I got it I plugged it in to the wall, and plugged in the cable coax from the wall straight into the TV.

I let it do its auto-programming thing which took about 5-10 minutes. I noticed during the auto-programming it was saying it was picking up HD stations... weird.

So afterwords I started browsing through the channels, 3,4,5,6... 6.1 ... huh? It was the HD version of channel 6 (FOX here) and it was showing an NFL game in HD.

I had no cable card. I had no cable box. No HD cable box. No Antenna hooked up. Only the normal coax cable straight from the wall.

How am I getting HD? Cause I sure as heck have no idea.

It's Time Warner cable btw and I am not paying for HD on my bill.

Anyone have any clues? Does the Bravia have some sort of hidden internal HD OTA antenna or something?

Your local TWC is sending your HD channels in clear QAM. YOur TV has a QAM tuner. As long as you're paying for at least lifeline cable - you'll continue to get them.

However, they may change the channel assignments every so often, just to bug you into eventually paying for HD cable box. Just rescan, and enjoy.

In my area I can tune in On Demand programs that neighbors have ordered thanks to my TV's built-in QAM tuner. One thing happens when someone pauses the program, and another happens on screen when the viewer stops the program. Also, I know what it looks like when someone starts a program and when someone just finished a program but seemingly hasn't tuned away or turned off the STB.

The original poster might get lucky like me. However, I wonder if On Demand programs channel hop during play so the orderer's STB follows the program across channels, while I, with a plain QAM tuner, don't know which channel the program went to?

Usually if someone changes programs, it goes from the first program to ads for on demand stuff and then to the new program.

On the other hand, I've seen things stop at the climax. In these instances, it doesn't look paused or as if they turned of their STB or stopped the program; sometimes it just cuts out.

And once or twice, another program came on in the middle of the first program or the first program cut out to black instead of ads and then another program came on.

So I wonder if the cable co's are messing with QAM users by channel hopping programs and also airing bits of programs then cutting out at the climax or if what I've seen is just due to channel surfing viewers in conjunction with a complicated cable company system for assigning on demand programs to open QAM channels?