rg@eisx.UUCP (R. Gilbert) (01/25/84)
Cable Ready. What does it really mean? I've been to several stores looking for a 13" color TV and have asked about cable ready sets. I get different answers. I thought it meant that I could hook the TV cable directly up to the TV without going through the cable company's selector box. This is what I need. The selector box is downstairs next to my main TV. I want to run a branch off of the cable up to the bedroom where I will have the new 13" set. I don't want to have to run downstairs to select which station to watch; and I don't want to have to pay for another selector box. I want to tap the cable before it goes into the selector box. This means that the new TV set has to be able to act like the selector box. I think that is what cable ready means. Am I correct? How do you tune in these cable stations? Do I need a set with direct tuning (i.e., able to tune to any station) instead of the type where you preset the 15 or so buttons to those 15 stations you want to watch? I'm confused (I think). Can someone please explain exactly what cable ready means and exactly how it works? Also if anyone has a recommendation for a 13" (or 15") color TV with wireless remote, I would appreciate it. Bob Gilbert
twh@mb2c.UUCP (Tim Hitchcock) (01/26/84)
CABLE READY is suppose to mean that you will be able
to hook your TV directly to the cable and use your set
as you would for broadcast TV. There is usually a switch
on the back of the set that will say [ NORM -- CATV ].
There should also be a jack for the 75 OHM cable to screw into.
If the 75 OHM jack isn't there, you can buy a 300/75 OHM converter
for about $5.
Problem: If the TV can receive at least *ONE* cable channel,
the manufacturer will say it is "cable ready." Most
TV's/VCR's do NOT get ALL the cable channels. My VCR tuner
can tune in "133" channels. It works great with MY cable
company's cablecast.
P2: There are at least several types of cable signals also !
I don't know much about the technical end of it, but I do know a
person who bought a Sears brand "CABLE READY" TV that doesn't work
well with MY city's cable system. It doesn't get all the channels,
and some are fuzzy. I bought a RCA 900 VCR (133 CH. and 3
possible CATV settings) and it receives ALL cable channels
clearly.
I guess you should buy the TV like you would your personnel computer,
don't take the salesperson's word for anything, see it being done
as it would in your home.smeier@ihuxt.UUCP (S. Meier) (01/27/84)
<> "Normal" TVs are set up to receive 12 VHF and a bunch (~69) of UHF channels. Cable television uses the regular VHF frequencies for the first 12 channels, which they may number 1 through 12, or 2 through 13. IF they have more than 12 channels, they then use a couple of other frequency bands which are not the same as UHF for channels 13..n (or 14..n+1) (I think n is 36 or so) "Cable ready" means the TV set has inside it a tuner which is capable of tuning in cable channels 13..36, in addition to the normal VHF and UHF channels. Usually there is a switch so that you can select either VHF/UHF, or cable (which includes VHF). The box which you get from the cable company is simply a tuner which tunes in the VHF and cable frequencies. You can actually buy your own cable tuner which works just like the "real" ones. So if a television set has such a tuner in it, you can simply hook up the cable directly, without going through any box. As far as pay channels such as HBO goes, you still have to pay the cable company for those. S Meier ihnp4!ihuxt!smeier
ags@pucc-i (Seaman) (01/27/84)
A cable-ready set may or may not be able to pick up premium channels such as HBO -- it depends on how your cable company chooses to transmit these channels. It used to be that my cable-ready TV and VCR could pick up the premium channels HBO and SPOTLIGHT without any converter at all (I took my converter back and turned it in, since I didn't need it -- but I was still paying for the service). The company relied on filters in the line to keep the premium channels from reaching non-paying customers. Recently when new channels were added, all of the premium channels were scrambled. The company distributed a new kind of converter/descrambler to all customers. Even if you have a cable-ready set, you still need the descrambler to watch the premium channels. If you have another set tapped into the line ahead of the converter, you can watch only non-scrambled channels. Possibly you may still be able to watch some of the cable channels with numbers higher than 13 (examples might be things like ESPN, Cable News Network, or other channels which your cable company chooses to make available at no extra charge). The remaining channels (HBO, etc.) will not be viewable on your remote set unless you get a second converter.
michael1@ihuxi.UUCP (M.K.PULA) (01/27/84)
Q: For cable ready TV's, does one just plug the coax into the
TV rather than into the cable box and into the TV? If so
what about the "access code" which must be entered for
HBO,SHO,MAX etc.?sims@hou2b.UUCP (01/28/84)
<Wombat suppressant>
I don't know how general this is, but I can tell you how my
cable-ready TV (19" RCA portable) works. If the coax cable
is connected directly to the coax plug on the set, I can get
all of the standard cable channels EXCEPT for any pay
channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.) which require unscrambling.
The selector box supplied by the cable company contains the
necessary filters for de-scrambling said pay channels.
An interesting sidelight - a co-worker who subscribes to basic
cable service recently purchased a VCR (don't know the brand).
Upon hooking it up she discovered, much to her surprise, that
she can now get Showtime. Apparently the synch locking
electronics in the VCR happen to match (or override?) the
scrambling signal put on by the cable company.
--
Jim
..!houxm!hou2b!simsrs55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Robert E. Schleicher) (01/30/84)
Cable-ready just means that the tuner section of the VCR or TV can be tuned to some (but not necessarily all) of the frequency bands used for cable channels. Between VHF and UHF you get 82 channels. Unfortunately, UHF frequencies (ch 14-83) are too high for cable transmission. Therefore, the cable companies use the VHF (channels 2-13), the midband (9 channels in the gap between channels 6 and 7, along with FM radio), the superband (11 channels betwwen VHF and UHF). This gives 105 (oops, I think my 11 superband channels should be 14), which is the number of channels that many cable-ready sets can pull in. This only allows 35 cable stations. Too allow more cable channels, some cable companies cram more channels into the midband and superband, and also use something called the hyperband, increasing the total channel count to various levels like 117, 129, 136, etc. Thus, you should check with your cable company (or a local expert if you don't want to talk to the cable company), to determine how many channels will be needed. A cable-ready set doesn't solve the problem of scrambled pay channels, however, which means that the cable box may still be needed for HBO and other pay-extra channels. Another possibility to consider is the use of a block converter. Since cable systems don't use the UHF band, which has plenty of channels, a block converter "up-converts" the cable frequencies to the UHF band, so that any set can tune in the cable frequencies. This makes any old TV/VCR "cable-ready", although there may be some potential for interference between adjacent stations after up-converting. Bob Schleicher ihuxk!rs55611 AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, Ill.
wjr@rayssd.UUCP (02/01/84)
You say the TV has to act like a selector box...I think your wrong on that one. My TV is "cable" ready, but the term is misleading. Every- one assumes cable television but in reality, there is a hookup for 75 ohm coaxial cable versus 300 ohm antenna wire. Therefore my TV is "cable" ready. I also know that when I'm, using the cable, my channel capability is extended to (approx.) 127 channels. With the previous cable I had, I still had to use a selector box. Without the selector box and having the cable "straight" into the set I was loosing a few of the channels. So just add a "T" to the input of the selector box and run an extension cable to the other set. You may lose a few channels but what the hell. Bill Ramey
ags@pucc-i (Seaman) (02/03/84)
If you can get Showtime (or any other premium channel) on your TV or VCR, without going through the cable box, that means that the channel is not scrambled in your area. TV's and VCR's are not capable of unscrambling programs. If you are not paying for the channel, it means that the company failed to filter it out. You may manage to get a free ride for a while, but there is a good chance that your cable company will eventually start scrambling. -- Dave Seaman ..!pur-ee!pucc-i:ags "Against people who give vent to their loquacity by extraneous bombastic circumlocution."
sims@hou2b.UUCP (J.SIMESTER) (02/04/84)
Regarding my recent note on a friend picking up Showtime on
their new VCR: at least one person has responded that this
is not possible, that any premium channel being picked up through
a VCR must not be filtered. It's neither my VCR nor my house, so
I admit I'm taking the word of my co-worker (whom I have no
reason to distrust), but the facts of the matter (as explained
by her) are:
1) They had ordinary cable service - no premium channels -
and did not receive any such channels.
2) They bought and installed their VCR.
3) They now can get Showtime (but only through their VCR).
It seems clear to me that the VCR must be having SOME effect!!!
--
Jim
..!houxm!hou2b!simsags@pucc-i (Seaman) (02/06/84)
There seems to be some confusion about what "scrambling" means. --------------------------------------------------------------- > 1) They had ordinary cable service - no premium channels - > and did not receive any such channels. > > 2) They bought and installed their VCR. > > 3) They now can get Showtime (but only through their VCR). > > It seems clear to me that the VCR must be having SOME effect!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------ I agree that the VCR is doing something, but it is not DESCRAMBLING. Try this simple test: (a) Tune in Showtime on the VCR. (b) Note what channel the VCR is tuned to. (c) Tune to the same channel on the TV. What do you see? Most likely, you cannot do (c) at all. You may not be able to do (b) either, but that is another story. If you cannot do (c), this simply means that the VCR picks up more channels than the TV does (very likely, the VCR is cable-ready and the TV is not). This has nothing to do with scrambling. In our area, Showtime is on superband channel 24 (not UHF channel 24 -- this channel is located in the gap between channels 13 (VHF) and 14 (UHF) and can be picked up only on cable-ready TV sets and VCR's). If you tune it in directly, without going through a cable box, you will see: (1) The picture appears to be out of adjustment, as if someone had done something strange to the "horizontal hold" control. (2) The picture cannot be corrected by the controls on the set. (3) As you watch, the picture occasionally flip-flops. Parts of the picture are sometimes plainly visible, but distorted. (4) The sound is normal. These are the symptoms of scrambling. In order to see Showtime normally, you must get a converter/descrambler from the cable company. If you browse the back pages of electronics magazines, you may find ads for descrambling devices. It is not legal to own these devices. Needless to say, no TV or VCR contains a built-in descrambling device. -- Dave Seaman ..!pur-ee!pucc-i:ags "Against people who give vent to their loquacity by extraneous bombastic circumlocution."
rs55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Robert E. Schleicher) (02/07/84)
In the situation described (had no premium cable channels, got a VCR, now pick up Showtime through VCR, without bable box, and TV without cable box shows no Showtime), the explanation is as follows: 1. The cable company does not filter out premium channels from non-paying customers cables, by using trap filters at the customer's drop box. 2. Also, the cable company does not scramble the pay channels. 3. Access to pay channels is only controlled by programming of the cable box tuner to not allow tuning in of the pay channels. Thus, a cable-ready VCR can tune in the pay channels without paying for them. Showtime doesn't appear on a TV without the cable box because the TV's tuner can't tune in anything but normal VHF on the cable.
jlilien@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Joel Lilienkamp) (02/07/84)
Some cable TV companies "encode" their signals by reducing the size of the blanking pulse, which a TV uses for synchronization. If the VCR's tuner was more sensitive than the regular TV's tuner, than I suppose it is possible for the VCR to receive Showtime with the reduced pulses, and construct a signal the TV can receive when it remodulates the signal onto channel 3 (or 4). I have never observed this first hand, however. Joel
jeff@heurikon.UUCP (02/08/84)
Regarding being able to receive Showtime via a VCR w/o a special box:
I'm sure it's possible.
Here in Madison, they scramble Showtime by adding a (strong) signal
at about 3.5 MHz above the video carrier. This drives most sets
crazy. However, VCRs have signal processing circuits in them and
some just *might* be able to reduce this signal to a level which
the TV would accept. No doubt the result was still full of noise,
but visible. It is also possible for some old B&W sets, which have
a more limited bandwidth, to lock onto the "proper" signal and reject
the scrambling signal.
If the signal comes into your house (no trap) you have a fighting
chance to get the intelligence out of the noise. Like here, with
Showtime. It's interesting that our cable company uses a trap for
HBO. I guess they like variety. (I think they switched because all
the traps cost them too much money.)
--
/"""\ Jeffrey Mattox, Heurikon Corp, Madison, WI
|O.O| {harpo, hao, philabs}!seismo!uwvax!heurikon!jeff (news & mail)
\_=_/ ihnp4!heurikon!jeff (mail - fast)pso@utastro.UUCP (P Samuel Odoms) (02/09/84)
The use of a block converter to 'up-convert' cable channels to UHF can be a real headache at times. I've had a block converter for a little over a year and in general it's been a good investment. But our cable company doesn't seem to know its *** from a hole in the ground. By the laws put down by the city on our cable company, they must supply a signal which can be used by consumer-purchased converter or whatever. And they do. BUT the signal is not really strong enough to go through the extra converting. Some days things are good. Other days I get a lot of fuzz on about 4 or 5 of my most watched channels. And frequently I have to re-adjust the convert between morning/afternoon/evening/night viewing because of cable changes due to temperature, humidity, etc. Other people in my quadru-plex (a 4 apartment building) have problems with their reception and they use the cable company supplied selector box. And our cable company wants to expand from (approximately) 24 channels now to 54 channels by 1986?