[mythtv-users] Best method to change from OTA to Unencrypted Cable Channels

Fred Squires fsquires at gmail.com
Mon Mar 8 21:18:44 UTC 2010


On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 3:52 PM, robert Larson <dewmanstl at gmail.com> wrote:
> So what do I do about the channels that are not HD since you said not
> so scan for them?
>> If you use Schedules Direct, you should not scan for analog channels.
>
>  How does mythtv know about the analog channels? Or will they just come in?
>
> some of the channels are in analog and some are in digital. (Assuming
> you meant, is the HD channels and non-hd channels?) I do know that my
> tv will not produce the HD channels in HD when the coax is plugged
> into cable, but it does get the channels that are in HD when the coax
> is plugged into antenna. (Does this make sense?)
>
> Jerry asked me how did I know the channels are unencrypted and I
> assumed that if I didn't have a cable box the 80 or so channels would
> be unencrypted.
>
> Thanks!

For Analog Channels they are always broadcast on the channel that is
reported in Schedules Direct (of course there could be a problem where
they don't match but that should be reported to Schedules Direct and
fixed). So, when you use Schedules Direct your analog lineup gets
imported and your channels are added with the lineup. any premium
channels you don't receive should be removed on the schedules direct
site by clicking on the channel in the lineup to unselect it. So,
there's no need to scan for analog channels.

For Digital Channels, they are NOT always broadcast on the channel
that Schedules Direct lists (for instance in my Area ABC 2 shows up on
TV as channel 2.1 but is broadcast on channel 38). For these channels
you have to scan to find the channels, over the air channels will
report what channel they should be listed as (which is what schedules
direct has), but often cable channels don't, so you you'll then have
to manually fill in the information about that channel. Either way
you'll still have to scan for channels to match the listings that
schedules direct has with what you actually receive.

As for unencrypted channels, any digital channel you can watch on a
digital TV without the aid of a cable box or cable card is
unencrypted. You'll also be able to watch any analog stations without
the aid of a box, so your 80 channels might be unencrypted digital but
they could also be analog. Usually a digital channel with have a
decimal point in the number (such as 2.1) unless you're using a cable
box, but an analog station will not. So, if you have no decimal point
in your channel numbers most likely you're watching analog TV (unless
you're using a cable box).


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