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<TITLE>Re: ATSC/QAM tuner card recommendations</TITLE>
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<FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>I’m new to this list so please forgive me if I say anything redundant or break any “rules.”<BR>
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As for the days of unencrypted QAM, I have two stories to share:<BR>
My dad, who lives in Texas and subscribes to TW, has an HDTV with built in QAM. The tuner decodes quite a few HD channels that are not available over the air, such as ESPN, ESPN 2, and HD Theater. IN addition, the tuner brings several channels that normally require the cable company’s digital converter. That is how things were last time I saw him early last month.<BR>
I live in Southern California and recently purchased the AverMedia Volar MAX Hybrid USB TV tuner. This card has both NTSC and QAM tuners. The QAM tuner does not decode much at all. Several QAM channels show up with lock icons next to them when I perform a scan using the manufacturer’s software. This leads me to believe that the majority of channels can only be decrypted by the cable company’s equipment.<BR>
I am unaware if my dad’s TV still receives the channels it did before the FCC ruling this past week.<BR>
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I hope this provides some insight and I look forward to future messages on this list.<BR>
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Brian Wood wrote: <BR>
<FONT COLOR="#660065">> Though several people have indicated they think the days of unencrypted QAM <BR>
> may be limited. <BR>
> <BR>
</FONT>That has been completely blown out of proportion. The fact that cable <BR>
companies can turn on 'privacy mode' on their cheap DTAs means that <BR>
extended basic will no longer be available over clear QAM for those <BR>
markets. That also got people worried that if they already had a good <BR>
number of cable channels over clear QAM, those would be deactivated in <BR>
the future. However, the vast majority of people only ever got the <BR>
local broadcast channels over clear QAM, and cable companies are <BR>
required by law to have those 'must carry' channels available on their <BR>
network over clear QAM. That is not going to change. </SPAN></FONT></FONT>
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