[mythtv-users] Can Myth 'tune' these 'free' converter boxes?

[Neil Salstrom]

On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 6:13 PM, Larry K <lunchtimelarry at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Be careful with your HDHR money. There are enough posts here about
>> Comcast starting to encrypt everything that they aren't legally
>> required to transmit in the clear so that one of these days soon we
>> may only get the OTA channels unencrypted and the HDHR wouldn't any
>> longer get Comedy Central, TNT, TBS, etc. While I don't like that idea
>> at all I must admit that those channels are services I pay for and if
>> Comcast chooses to go the direction of making me use their equipment
>> to see them - i.e. rent a STB or give them up - then what can I do
>> besides rent STBs or not record them?
>
> I agree that unencrypted QAM may not last much longer, so an HDHR may be a
> dead end.
>
>>
>> Purchasing a second HDHR is maybe $150.
>
> I only tossed out the HDHR idea because of a slickdeal I just saw for a $90
> HDHR at radio shack.
>
>> Renting two STBs at $7/month
>> is $168 so for the first year it's sort of beak even. Might make sense
>> to just live with a few months of STB rental and see how it shakes out
>> vs. purchase another HDHR and find that it's worthless 3 months from
>> now?
>>
>> Personally I don't much care about the picture quality. It's more
>> about the convenience....
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Mark
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
>

Why all the HDHR hate?  It does exactly what it claims to... network
ATSC / ClearQAM tuner.  With Comcast (and others) encrypting channels
all QAM tuners (network, PCI or otherwise) are in the same boat.

Sure, a cablecard solution would be great but then you're still at the
mercy of DRM and the cable company.  I'm in the process of getting an
antenna set up so I can kill the Comcast monster once and for all.
Everything I want is OTA and what is not available there is picked up
online or Netflix.