Quote:
Originally Posted by DSperber 
I may be off base here, but your question sounds like you're trying to get an "analog" tuner (e.g. in an old analog VCR) to work, connecting a cable coax directly to that box and you have to set "cable/antenna type".
I believe cable systems are all-digital now. In fact, what is needed is a digital-capable tuner capable of using the digital "QAM" method of tuning which is what TWC and all other cable systems deliver, not STD, HRC or IRC which are analog. New TV's with built-in digital tuners are capable of accepting this digital QAM method, at least for non-encrypted free OTA channels that get delivered by TWC over coax. If the TV's are cablecard-enabled then you can also tune to encrypted QAM channels.
But the modern tuners in TVs are digital QAM tuners for cable-delivered source, not analog STD, HRC or IRC. If you had a roof antenna connected to "antenna input" of a new digital-tuner TV, that digital tuner in the TV would be of a type named 8VSB in order to pick off the digital OTA programs from the roof antenna. But the cable companies deliver their digital signals over coax using digital QAM technology (not analog STD, HRC or IRC) . So today, a modern TV that can accept free OTA roof antenna input (for OTA digital) supports 8VSB tuning, and if it also supports digital cable company coax input then it also has a QAM tuner. In fact, these TVs even have TWO coax inputs... one for digital OTA antenna input and one for digital cable coax input, for exactly this reason. Separate 8VSB and QAM digital tuners. No more analog.
These old STD/HRC/IRC settings for tuner-type no longer apply. For example, the old analog NBC/4 is now delivered by TWC as digital 480i (SD) on TWC channel 4, and the new digital NBC/4.1 1080i (HD) is delivered on 404 (which is the TWC-provided equivalent of digital OTA 4.1). In fact, I don't even think that NBC delivers the SD 480i channel, either OTA or to TWC. I think TWC actually "center-cuts" the 4:3 image out of the one and only 1080i 16:9 image provided by NBC and then downconverts the 1080i signal to 480i for delivery as "channel 4" on their coax. But it's delivered digitally, not analog... as digital 480i 4:3 on channel 4.
I believe you now need a STB/DVR if you want to receive what look like old fashioned analog 4:3 SD channels on an old TV or VCR. The external STB/DVR will deliver 4:3 analog output either over "channel 3" (via RF coax) or over video output (S-video or composite) to an old TV or VCR.
America went "all digital TV" last year. Feb 2009, delayed to June 2009. Old analog equipment is no longer supported directly. Either upgrade to new digital equipment, or buy/rent STB/DVR tuning adapter interfaces that accept new digital source signals and deliver old fashioned analog output to old fashioned analog equipment.
I may be off base here, but your question sounds like you're trying to get an "analog" tuner (e.g. in an old analog VCR) to work, connecting a cable coax directly to that box and you have to set "cable/antenna type".
I believe cable systems are all-digital now. In fact, what is needed is a digital-capable tuner capable of using the digital "QAM" method of tuning which is what TWC and all other cable systems deliver, not STD, HRC or IRC which are analog. New TV's with built-in digital tuners are capable of accepting this digital QAM method, at least for non-encrypted free OTA channels that get delivered by TWC over coax. If the TV's are cablecard-enabled then you can also tune to encrypted QAM channels.
But the modern tuners in TVs are digital QAM tuners for cable-delivered source, not analog STD, HRC or IRC. If you had a roof antenna connected to "antenna input" of a new digital-tuner TV, that digital tuner in the TV would be of a type named 8VSB in order to pick off the digital OTA programs from the roof antenna. But the cable companies deliver their digital signals over coax using digital QAM technology (not analog STD, HRC or IRC) . So today, a modern TV that can accept free OTA roof antenna input (for OTA digital) supports 8VSB tuning, and if it also supports digital cable company coax input then it also has a QAM tuner. In fact, these TVs even have TWO coax inputs... one for digital OTA antenna input and one for digital cable coax input, for exactly this reason. Separate 8VSB and QAM digital tuners. No more analog.
These old STD/HRC/IRC settings for tuner-type no longer apply. For example, the old analog NBC/4 is now delivered by TWC as digital 480i (SD) on TWC channel 4, and the new digital NBC/4.1 1080i (HD) is delivered on 404 (which is the TWC-provided equivalent of digital OTA 4.1). In fact, I don't even think that NBC delivers the SD 480i channel, either OTA or to TWC. I think TWC actually "center-cuts" the 4:3 image out of the one and only 1080i 16:9 image provided by NBC and then downconverts the 1080i signal to 480i for delivery as "channel 4" on their coax. But it's delivered digitally, not analog... as digital 480i 4:3 on channel 4.
I believe you now need a STB/DVR if you want to receive what look like old fashioned analog 4:3 SD channels on an old TV or VCR. The external STB/DVR will deliver 4:3 analog output either over "channel 3" (via RF coax) or over video output (S-video or composite) to an old TV or VCR.
America went "all digital TV" last year. Feb 2009, delayed to June 2009. Old analog equipment is no longer supported directly. Either upgrade to new digital equipment, or buy/rent STB/DVR tuning adapter interfaces that accept new digital source signals and deliver old fashioned analog output to old fashioned analog equipment.
Thanks for the response. I know about the whole digital transition and was ready for it since 2007 -- that's when I purchased first HDTV.
Anyway, I just purchased a new HDTV computer monitor (Samsung B2330HD) and during the setup process, it asks to choose a cable system type for both digital and analog cable. This is my first TV with a QAM (?) tuner and was confused with the whole STD/HRC/IRC thing. Well, I kind of figured that STD stood for standard and not the other thing.
