HDTV and cable TV

Hello everyone,

I got today my Samsung LN-S4095D TV. Yeah!
About 3 years ago I became Comcast Cable TV and internet customer (I
was only interested in the internet since I don't really watch TV). I
soon canceled my TV and later internet service with Comecast and
switched to Verizon (smart move). About 1 year after that I turned on
my TV Tuner and I realized the Comecast never turned off my cable
service...

So now I have Comcast Cable TV (no cable box) and HD 1080 TV but the
HD shows and news does not look like HD quality. Is my 3 year old
cable not HD, or do I need HD cable box, or maybe there is something
else I need in order to watch HD listings in HD quality?

Thanks,
JP

On Feb 27, 12:21 am, "JackpipE" wrote:
Hello everyone,

I got today my Samsung LN-S4095D TV. Yeah!
About 3 years ago I became Comcast Cable TV and internet customer (I
was only interested in the internet since I don't really watch TV). I
soon canceled my TV and later internet service with Comecast and
switched to Verizon (smart move). About 1 year after that I turned on
my TV Tuner and I realized the Comecast never turned off my cable
service...

So now I have Comcast Cable TV (no cable box) and HD 1080 TV but the
HD shows and news does not look like HD quality. Is my 3 year old
cable not HD, or do I need HD cable box, or maybe there is something
else I need in order to watch HD listings in HD quality?

Thanks,
JP

You would need a cable box to receive the HD signal, also the box
would probably have to be registered on their network (by MAC address
manually on their end) so getting a HD box wouldn't solve your
dilemma... If you want cable in HD you're probably going to have to
pay them. Alternatively you could check out if OTA HD (over the air)
is available in your area, just requires an antenna.

You can read up on it he
http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/01/30...d-demystified/

JackpipE wrote:
Hello everyone,

I got today my Samsung LN-S4095D TV. Yeah!
About 3 years ago I became Comcast Cable TV and internet customer (I
was only interested in the internet since I don't really watch TV). I
soon canceled my TV and later internet service with Comecast and
switched to Verizon (smart move). About 1 year after that I turned on
my TV Tuner and I realized the Comecast never turned off my cable
service...

So now I have Comcast Cable TV (no cable box) and HD 1080 TV but the
HD shows and news does not look like HD quality. Is my 3 year old
cable not HD, or do I need HD cable box, or maybe there is something
else I need in order to watch HD listings in HD quality?

Thanks,
JP

If you were visiting the local convenience store and noticed an unlocked
car parked there with keys in the ignition would you fell entitled to
jump in and drive it off? Although the value is a bit smaller, viewing
cable TV you aren't paying for is no more honest AND exposes you to
misdemeanor CRIMINAL charges.

If he had tapped into the cable system, I agree a crime would be
committed. But the fact that he receives cable is the fault of the
cable company.

The courts have ruled that unsolicited items delivered to your door
(or via mail) are yours to keep without obligation. We may be in a
gray area, but his unsolicited reception is not theft.

With that said, when I had Comcast, I recieved my local HD channels
for free without a cable box. I did not receive ESPN or TBS in HD,
just my local stations. You need to find them. The best suggestion
is to have your HDTV autoscan the cable looking for the digital
signals. However, if you recieve your local HD stations over-the-air
(OTA), stick with that. OTA HD beats Comcast HD hands down. When I
learned that, I dumped Comcast.

RobertVA wrote:
JackpipE wrote:
Hello everyone,

I got today my Samsung LN-S4095D TV. Yeah!
About 3 years ago I became Comcast Cable TV and internet customer (I
was only interested in the internet since I don't really watch TV). I
soon canceled my TV and later internet service with Comecast and
switched to Verizon (smart move). About 1 year after that I turned on
my TV Tuner and I realized the Comecast never turned off my cable
service...

So now I have Comcast Cable TV (no cable box) and HD 1080 TV but the
HD shows and news does not look like HD quality. Is my 3 year old
cable not HD, or do I need HD cable box, or maybe there is something
else I need in order to watch HD listings in HD quality?

Thanks,
JP

If you were visiting the local convenience store and noticed an unlocked
car parked there with keys in the ignition would you fell entitled to
jump in and drive it off? Although the value is a bit smaller, viewing
cable TV you aren't paying for is no more honest AND exposes you to
misdemeanor CRIMINAL charges.

Better analogy: If you opened up your garage and found an unlocked
car parked in there with the keys in the ignition, would you feel
entitled to drive it around?

Thanks all of you for reply.

Let me clarify my usage of the cable television. I'm aware of the
cable signal in my house for almost 3 years. During that time I
watched maybe 5 movies, 10 baseball games, 1 superbowl and 10 soccer
games. Once Verizon hooks up FIOS in my area I'll switch to FIOS and
I'll pay for it.

Anyhow, I watched CH4 HD news last night and the image did not look
like HD quality. Is is it possible that my cable does not support HD
(even the local channels) or could it be something in my TV I need to
setup? I just plugged the cable wire into the TV and did auto scan for
channels.

Thanks,
JP

"JackpipE" wrote:
Thanks all of you for reply.

Let me clarify my usage of the cable television. I'm aware of the
cable signal in my house for almost 3 years. During that time I
watched maybe 5 movies, 10 baseball games, 1 superbowl and 10 soccer
games. Once Verizon hooks up FIOS in my area I'll switch to FIOS and
I'll pay for it.

Anyhow, I watched CH4 HD news last night and the image did not look
like HD quality. Is is it possible that my cable does not support HD
(even the local channels) or could it be something in my TV I need to
setup? I just plugged the cable wire into the TV and did auto scan for
channels.

Thanks,
JP

You may not have the cable in the correct input. I would check the online information available for you, but you don't seem to care that you are stealing. Regardless of what some of the other posters may think, if you know that you haven't paid for it and are getting it anyway, that is stealing! The cable company may have made a mistake in not shutting it off, but you don't have the right to take it anyway. Like I said, that is stealing. Just my two cents.

Chip

--
-------------------- http://NewsReader.Com/ --------------------
Usenet Newsgroup Service $9.95/Month 30GB

"JackpipE" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks all of you for reply.

Let me clarify my usage of the cable television. I'm aware of the
cable signal in my house for almost 3 years. During that time I
watched maybe 5 movies, 10 baseball games, 1 superbowl and 10 soccer
games. Once Verizon hooks up FIOS in my area I'll switch to FIOS and
I'll pay for it.

Anyhow, I watched CH4 HD news last night and the image did not look
like HD quality. Is is it possible that my cable does not support HD
(even the local channels) or could it be something in my TV I need to
setup? I just plugged the cable wire into the TV and did auto scan for
channels.

Thanks,
JP



Few local stations have bought the equipment to broadcast HD from their
studios. What is broadcast HD comes from the national feed. So the News
being transmitted in SD is what would normally be expected.

Your set doesn't appear to have a tuner capable of tuning QAM so you won't
be able to tune cable HD, you will need to explore receiving OTA digital for
HD programming.

"JackpipE" wrote (in part):

Anyhow, I watched CH4 HD news last night and the image did not look
like HD quality. Is is it possible that my cable does not support HD
(even the local channels) or could it be something in my TV I need to
setup? I just plugged the cable wire into the TV and did auto scan for
channels.

What channel are you watching CH4 on? That may sound like a dumb
question, but if the answer is "CH4" then you are not watching HD or
even digital. Cable companies can put their digital channels anywhere
they want, but all the ones I've seen leave the lower channels for
traditional analog, with the digital channels starting in the 70s or
80s. They can also give the channel any number they want (within a
practical limit of 4 digits), unrelated to the real (RF) channel it's
on. But they wouldn't just call it 4 if they also have an analog
channel 4. Might be 1804 or 236 or anything else that doesn't
conflict with other channels.

Other possibilities:

Your TV might not tune clear QAM (I don't recall if you said so, or
gave the make and model).

If it does tune QAM, you might have to enable that ability in a setup
menu.

There might be separate RF inputs for analog and digital signals.
Stupid design, but I've seen one set that was that way. Separate
inputs for antenna and cable would make sense.

Outside possibility: real cable channels are defined up to 158, but
few tuners go above 135 and many only go to 125. I've heard of a few
cable systems that put the locals on channels in the 126-135 range.
That complies with the requirement that they be unencrypted, but still
prevents many customers from seeing them without the cable STB.

Does your cable company even offer digital? I recently visited a
fairly large and rapidly growing town (Casa Grande, AZ) where the
local Cox cable has no digital at all. Incredible.

"Jonathan Zeppettini" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Feb 27, 12:21 am, "JackpipE" wrote:
Hello everyone,

I got today my Samsung LN-S4095D TV. Yeah!
About 3 years ago I became Comcast Cable TV and internet customer (I
was only interested in the internet since I don't really watch TV). I
soon canceled my TV and later internet service with Comecast and
switched to Verizon (smart move). About 1 year after that I turned on
my TV Tuner and I realized the Comecast never turned off my cable
service...

So now I have Comcast Cable TV (no cable box) and HD 1080 TV but the
HD shows and news does not look like HD quality. Is my 3 year old
cable not HD, or do I need HD cable box, or maybe there is something
else I need in order to watch HD listings in HD quality?

Thanks,
JP

You would need a cable box to receive the HD signal, also the box
would probably have to be registered on their network (by MAC address
manually on their end) so getting a HD box wouldn't solve your
dilemma...

I don't think this is true. I am receiving HD locals from my cable on my
HDTV without a box. I don't get the premium channles, but I do get the
locals in HD. The set indicates that the resolution is in the HD range. My
set also measures the HD signal strength as excellent.

Nate

If you want cable in HD you're probably going to have to
pay them. Alternatively you could check out if OTA HD (over the air)
is available in your area, just requires an antenna.

You can read up on it he
http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/01/30...d-demystified/