[mythtv-users] Scrambling analog channels

Joseph A. Caputo jcaputo1 at comcast.net
Fri Sep 23 17:08:32 UTC 2005


On Friday 23 September 2005 11:52, Paul Schied wrote:
> Just thought people might be interested in this. When deciding whether 
> or 
> not to go ahead and attempt to pull together a mythtv setup I came 
> accross 
> the unfortunate reality that my cable company (comcast in Philly) 
> scrambles 
> almost all of my analog channels. If i hook up my direct cable feed to 
> my tv 
> I am only able to get about a dozen basic channels, almost all cable
> channels are scrambled. I only have basic extended cable and from what 
> I've 
> been reading most people think that cable companies do not scramble 
> analog 
> channels even if they give you a cable box. Just an example where they
> definitely do.
>  If anyone has any possible work arounds (I'm doubtful) I would love 
>  to hear 
> them as this has been a definite bummer for me.


Are you sure you've got your TV set up properly?  When plugging analog 
cable directly into your TV, some TV's have a setup switch (older TVs) 
or a menu option that tells the TV whether it should try and tune to 
antenna (ANT) or cable (CATV) standards.  You wouldn't have had to 
bother with this if you were previously using a converter box, as the 
box typically outputs S-video or Composite video, which don't need a 
tuning standard; or else it outputs a broadcast-type signal on VHF 
channel 3 or 4, which wouldn't be a problem regardless of which tuning 
standard the TV was set for.

What you're describing sounds exactly like what would happen if your TV 
thought it was tuning OTA via an antenna -- you're getting just the VHF 
channels.

I live right across the river from Philly and I'm pretty sure the analog 
channels aren't scrambled.

-JAC


More information about the mythtv-users mailing list