atkins@opus.UUCP (Brian Atkins) (04/08/85)
*** Inews didn't like this the first time, so here it goes again. ***
*** Sorry if it gets to some of you more than once. ***
Is seems to me that getting a cable ready TV is a fools
bet. No TV company can anticipate the method of encoding or addressing,
is this not so? Is there a generic modification that is applicable
in all cable method cases and can be done at the factory? Also, are
there any standards for TV peripheral interfaces/buses?
Also, is the stereo ready TV that needs an "adapter" (ie. stereo ADAPTER
ready TV) a smart buy, or should the extra bucks for a truly
stereo ready TV be shelled out?
I am looking at the Mitsubishi (sp?) 19" TV recommended by Consumer Reports
1985 buying guide, any comments, especially limiting price suggestions?
The big questions are:
Cable ready or not cable ready, and if so, what kind?
Stereo ready or not stereo ready, and if so, what kind?
TIA
Brian Atkins ...{attunix, hao, allegra, ucbvax}!nbires!atkins
Zippy is sooooo confused..."ekrell@ucla-cs.UUCP (04/11/85)
In article <1146@opus.UUCP> atkins@opus.UUCP (Brian Atkins) writes: >The big questions are: > > Cable ready or not cable ready, and if so, what kind? I have a cable ready TV and subscribe to cable, so this is what I have to offer: There is a big advantage to use a cable ready TV since you won't need the cable box converter and tune to channel 3 everytime. If you want to watch channel 29, you just tune your TV to channel 29. That's it. The big plus is that you can use your own TV remote control instead of paying the cable company for renting their remote control unit. Also, if you have a VCR, you can record one cable channel while watching another. Now, the big problem is that this doesn't work for scrambled stations, like HBO, since these have to go thru the cable box to be discrambled. I still can operate my TV as usual, but when I want to see (or record) HBO, I have to turn on the cable box and switch to channel 3 on the TV. One warning: you have seen cable ready TVs with 40, 50 and over 100 channels. Well, it does make a difference. My cable TV has only 41 channels. Now, as long as your local cable doesn't have any cable channel over 41, that's fine. However, my local cable carrier added to new stations in channels 46 and 47 so I'm unable to watch them directly with the TV. My suggestion would be to buy a cable ready TV with at least 55 channels (this is the maximum number of stations the cable box converter has anyway). -- Eduardo Krell UCLA Computer Science Department ekrell@ucla-locus.arpa ..!{sdcrdcf,ihnp4,trwspp,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!ekrell
jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos) (04/15/85)
>Now, the big problem is that this doesn't work for scrambled stations, like >HBO, since these have to go thru the cable box to be discrambled. I still can >operate my TV as usual, but when I want to see (or record) HBO, I have to >turn on the cable box and switch to channel 3 on the TV. I keep seeing comments like this. Here in Orlando, at least, it's not correct. Here if you get a cable-ready TV, the cable company will come out and put a "descrambler" box in your TV for the one channel that requires it -- most of the scrambled stations are scrambled out at the junction box site, however, apparently to reduce the ability of people to circumvent the scrambling. You don't have to have the cable box at all. Otherwise, the arguments for cable-ready TV wouldn't make much sense, since you'd still have to have the cable tuner just to receive the one scrambled station. -- Full-Name: J. Eric Roskos UUCP: ..!{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!vax135!petsd!peora!jer US Mail: MS 795; Perkin-Elmer SDC; 2486 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL 32809-7642