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Will Old cable box for HDTV?

post #1 of 5
12/18/09 at 9:52pm
Thread Starter 
Will my standard Comcast box be able to get my local channels in HD? Would I be better off just bypassing the box and plugging the cable into the HD LCD?

Thanks

BTW I am aware there is a HD box.

Also, is it still necessary to rent these things from Direct TV / Comcast?
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post #2 of 5
12/18/09 at 10:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rickster9 View Post

Will my standard Comcast box be able to get my local channels in HD?

No. Even if it could process the HD signal( it can't ) if it doesn't have HDMI or component it wouldn't output in HD anyways.

Quote:


Also, is it still necessary to rent these things from Direct TV / Comcast?

Except for a very few options, yes. Even if you could buy one it would cost several hundred dollars.
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post #3 of 5
12/18/09 at 11:10pm
If the HDTV has a QAM tuner, it would at least get the local HD channels. For other HD, like USA, TNT, Discovery, you'll need a cable box or a CableCARD device.

The two currently available CableCARD boxes are TiVo HD & Moxi. See the HDTV Recorders Forum for details on both.
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post #4 of 5
12/20/09 at 10:04am
Thread Starter 
great info, thanks.
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post #5 of 5
12/20/09 at 10:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rickster9 View Post

Will my standard Comcast box be able to get my local channels in HD? Would I be better off just bypassing the box and plugging the cable into the HD LCD?

Thanks

BTW I am aware there is a HD box.

Also, is it still necessary to rent these things from Direct TV / Comcast?

It is recommended you get the HD box. QAM channels give you HD channels, but are unreliable. They change channels very frequently requiring you to rescan on a regular basis. What may be on today may be gone by tomorrow.

Comcast does not sell boxes. Not sure about Direct TV though.
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