[mythtv-users] Analog and Digital - Do i have this straight?

[Greg Woods]

On Sat, 2008-12-27 at 08:20 -0700, Brian Wood wrote:

> If you happpen to know anyone on the same cable system who owns a new-ish TV 
> set with a clear QAM tuner (a common feature), you might be able to determine 
> what channels are unencrypted.
> 
> I'd go with this sort of empirical evidence, rather then the word of a "tech" 
> who may not have the best info, or even understand it.

I strongly second this. While I don't think as many of the customer
service people are morons as is commonly believed, the training they do
have applies to the environment that the vast majority of their
customers live in. That means a set-top box in places where the majority
of channels are encrypted (such as Comcast in Denver/Boulder). The
customer service people honestly do not know which channels are
unencrypted so they cannot tell you. Almost nobody really uses a TV's
digital tuner connected to the cable line directly, because almost
everybody using digital cable subscribes to at least one channel that
requires a set-top box, so the customer service people are going to be
trained for the set-top box case.

The bottom line is that direct empirical test is the only way to really
know what channels are unencrypted. That means either having a digital
tuner yourself or finding someone on the same cable system who does.

--Greg