FAQ: DVD Recorders and the Analog to Digital Transition - Page 8

Do your recorders have QAM (unscrambled digital cable) tuners, or just ATSC OTA digital tuners?

My Toshiba D-R560 says: The builtin ATSC/NTSC/QAM digital/analog tuner allows you to tune analog or digital channels from OTA, or cable, including "cable in the clear" digital channels. It handles all my extended basic analog cable channels very well. I also used it to check out my OTA options and found the OTA gives me 30 DTA channels. Low is channel 3-1 NBC(HD), Highest is 50-2 Jewelry TV. It records the OTA digital channels crisp and clear. I also have it split to my cable in case I want to record a cable channel not available on OTA. Of course to do that I would need to rescan the channels so the NTSC tuner picks up all my cable analog channels. My Toshiba DVR670 also has the same tuners and works just as well. My added bonus here is the fact that this DVDR/VCR combo is capable of recording to a VHS tape from the ATSC tuner when the unit is set to Antenna input.

When scanned to my analog cable input, the units pick up my 70 basic extended cable plus 24 DTV stations.

I also have 3 NTSC tuner VCRs and right now they work fine with my analog cable. I did get 2 Zenith CECB (DTV Tuner converter boxes) for the future. I believe I will be able to use them as I did in the 1980's when cable first came to my home in Calif. This was before I got a cable ready TV set. I had to rent 2 STBs so I had one I could watch and the other went to my VCR for taping. Not fond of the fact that the future seems determined to send us consumers back to the past...until by some miracle the future will again have cable ready TVs...only they will be for digital...and no STBs needed.
(Sigh.......a nice dream..not impossible but not easy to happen for consumers).

Even though I do have my 1995 RCA analog TV which still looks great...I also do have 2 32" HDTVs, a Viewsonic which has "Antenna/NTSC + ATSC cable/CATV+Digital Cable....has a Clear Qam Tuner". The other is a LG, says it as NTSC-M, aTSC, 64 and 256 QAM, so I believe I am pretty set up for digital as far as TVs go and I do enjoy watching DVDs on the Widescreen TVs.

Hope this answered your question. I only briefly know about the Clear QAM since right now I am still in the analog world until my cable company moves everyone over to the digital. For simply TV timeshifting, right now analog works perfect, as I only watch tapes or DVDs and so all my machines are quite busy filling up our TV watching week. Daytimes are usually sports but evenings we look to our VCRs, DVD Players, and streaming from Netflix and a few other channels in our Channel Store.

Going to enjoy all the convenience as long as I am able to. I don't record anything to keep...only to watch one time...then reuse the recording space. Have enjoyed not having box rentals these past years...been there, done that years ago...not looking forward to going back to that sometime next year. But we do what we can to cope with what is given to us....and sometimes we do actually come out ahead of the plans of cable companies.

The Zenith coupon eligible boxes will not work with cable. They are over the air only.

Your 2 HDTV sets and your Toshiba recorder are ready for the future IF your cable company doesn't scramble everything above limited basic when they eventually discontinue all analog service. If they do go the encrypted QAM route then you will need a box from the cable company to receive anything above the limited basic tier. Coupon boxes will not work for that.

Comcast in MI does not send out any analog above 21. They do scramble everything above that, and you do need their DTA to even get those channels in Standard Digital.

On October 4th, they have moved "on demand" to their digital package, and you can no longer get it on basic (analog). They have not moved their basic to digital (yet) and are still sending channels 21 and below in analog even though most local stations are now totally high def.

Desert Hawk and Kelson: Thanks for the input. I said so many things that I didn't complete the idea of the CECBs. I know they are only for OTA which works great with my ATSC Toshiba Recorders' tuners and when Cox Cable here goes all digital, I will split my antenna to those boxes for the recorders with no ATSC tuner and my antenna will also go to the Toshibas with the ATSC tuner to cut down on the number of cable STBs and/or Tivo boxes needed for what I want to record. The majority of my recordings are available on the stations my Antenna picks up...so that helps. Won't know just how well all will work out until it is time to do it.

I do recordings of the national networks (ABC, etc..) and a couple of our local stations have some good series. So I figure I can basically record easily any of those with the number of ATSC tuners I have available so that recording sessions will be almost what I have now available. My Antenna connection will be used for those stations.

But any actual cable only channels...that is where there is limited recording. I do like USA, FX, and a couple of others so there is where my STB comes in and the decision on how many I really need. I know there will always be one for watching all cable as I am sure what I get now is extended basic and those will be scrambled in the future when digital. And as long as stations like ESPN keep getting sports that used to only be on the big national networks, I will have some type of STB that can receive the digital cable signal. I remember someone on this forum mentioning they have digital cable and also their wife watched analog cable...not sure if that means both signals are sent in the future or not.

timtofly: I can understand what you are talking about. My Cox cable has been slowly moving analog cable stations to digital, like they took away the Hallmark Channel which was part of my analog package..Funny....even with channels disappearing into the digital signal area.....my monthly cable package still costs the same and still goes up every year.....imagine that!

A few months ago a young woman knocked at our door. She was from Comcast. She was promoting a new Triple play bundled service. After looking at our current bill she said she could switch us to a Triple play bundled service including a higher tier of cable service, the best tier of wireless internet and a landline phone at the very same price we were currently paying, around $199 per month.

Well, to make a long story short we're now paying $240-$250 per month. She had said that if we have any problems to give her a call. We called her number where we heard an announcement something like "Hi, this is ........ I'm no longer with Comcast so if you have any questions please call Comcast at ........."

We've called and visited Comcast. Utter futility.

We were scammed. It isn't funny.

I totally agree. It isn't funny...not at all. The Smilies said rolling eyes meant "sarcastic" so I put the little face there. Couldn't think of a way to be even more sarcastic at such situations.

Hope you are able to see if there are alternatives in your area at a lesser price than you are now paying. Only competition seems to be of any help to consumers...true competition that is. We don't always get that.

comcast in metro detroit sends out CBC on channel 99.... and other channels in the hi-90's...

Call them or start a chat session and say your upset about your much too high bill and are thinking of canceling service and what can they do to save you some money so you wont. Most time they will offer some sort of package that will save you a bunch of money rather then loose a customer.
they have done it for me before through their online chat support and I'll probably do it again soon as one of my promos from my upgrade to a lesser triple play package has expired and we're paying about 150 now, still cheaper though then we were paying for phone seperately and getting no HD in our TV package.
The worse they can say is no and you just wait a bit and try again, you'll eventually get a rep that will cut you a good deal I'd bet. They do seem to hate loosing customers after all.
I also like how they forget to mention all the extra taxes and fees they tack on to any bill so you always pay at least 15 more a month then you are quoted, they should be required to state those extra charges up front.

You move the thread, and it gets over fifteen posts in the next week.