[mythtv-users] HDTV: channel num versus program id (off-topic response)

John Patrick Poet john at BlueSkyTours.com
Thu Jul 22 11:49:21 EDT 2004


On Thu, 22 Jul 2004, Brandon Beattie wrote:

> On Mon, Jul 19, 2004 at 02:00:53PM -0600, John Patrick Poet wrote:
> >
> > On Mon, 19 Jul 2004, John Sturgeon wrote:
> >
> > > wow.... Completely off-topic response, but how cool is that?  It had
> > > never occurred to me that cable/sat companies could/would pump their
> > > signals OTA once Digital TV becomes pervasive.  What are the logistics
> > > of decoding those shows?  I'm assuming they must provide a proprietary
> > > receiver.  Are they encrypted over the air?
> > >
> > > - --
> > > John Sturgeon <><
> >
> >
> > You can buy the receiver boxes at Walmart for a couple hundred dollars.
> > These boxes will tune in normal HDTV non-encrypted material, as well as
> > allowing you to subscribe to the "other" channels.
> >
> > It is actually one of the cheapest ways to get an HDTV receiver.  I have
> > been told that you don't HAVE to subscribe to the USDTV service to use the
> > box for normal HDTV content.
> >
> > USDTV is only available in a few cities.  The first city was Salt Lake
> > City.  Albuquerque was added a bit later.
> >
> >
> > John
> >
>
> The boxes are $99 at my local walmart.  You can pick up regular OTA
> HDTV but to get the box to work you have to signup for their service.
> If you stop service before 6 months they will disable your box because
> they have not made up the difference for selling the box at a loss.  If
> you keep it for atleast 6 months and then stop service they will only
> disable you being able to watch the encrypted stations.  USDTV does not
> (Currently) provide HDTV content.  It's not a bad way to get 20 of the
> more popular channels for $20 a month.  Just treat it like any satellite
> or cable box when using it with Myth.  Oh incase there is any confusion,
> the box does output HDTV, not just s-video and component.
>
> --Brandon

I have not verified this, but I was told that they raised the price of the
box to a couple hundred, and changed the policy to allow use as a HDTV
receiver without the requirement to subscribe.  The reason had to do with
pressure from cable companies.  It is possible that this is true in only
some areas, however.

John



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