Activate Your Equipment Online. Go online to register.xfinity.com to be connected to the XFINITY Activation Web page. While on the XFINITY Activation Web page, verify your identity using your account number and your phone number. Complete activation by following the activation screens. More Activate Comcast Cable Digital Boxes images. Visit www.comcast.com/activate to activate your Comcast device. Xfinity Activation. Easy instructions. Activate your Comcast Cable Box. Solved: With my new self install the set top digital box wont turn on. When i plug it in it. I am under the belief that the Scientific Atlanta / Cisco boxes need a live cable connection to power up. If the TV outlet. And comcast tells me that it will be two weeks before they can send someone else out. Greetings Forum, We are in the market for a cable converter box for our not-cable-ready TV. This is for our kitchen TV and is the only one of our three TVs still connected to the roof antenna. The customer support person at Comcast (my cable service provider) is useless. All she wants us to do is rent a box from them. I am quite miffed at their abuse of power. Technologically there is no reason why we can't own the box. I would replace the kitchen TV with a cable ready unit before we would rent a box from them. For this TV we don't need all of the digital channels -- just the basic cable. The converter box in our family room uses a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2100 which we rent from Comcast. They are available from ebay, but none of the offers assure compatibility with any service. What are our options? Cheers, Dave. Not to resurrect an old thread or anything (though that's already been done here), and no disrespect to lovechild is intended, but do not rely on his/her advice. The converter boxes that are covered by the $40 coupons are ATSC converters for over-the-air standard definition digital television broadcasts. While such a device will allow you to continue using your old television with your antenna after the digital switchover in 2009, it will be of no use whatsoever for cable service. Your best bet is indeed as the original reply suggests to get a cheap cable ready VCR, DVR, or DVDR to act as a cable tuner. Additionally, should you decide that you want to get an ATSC convertor box to continue making use of your antenna, be aware that the coupons are treated as a form of tender at the time of purchase, meaning that their value is deducted from the price you pay AFTER tax is applied. ![]() So in the above example you would pay the tax on the full $54.99. The difference is only a few dollars, of course, but is still one you should plan to encounter. I am still missing something here. I am a subscriber to Comcast Analog cable. Comcast promises to continue with it for some period of time. However, they continue to remove channels from that offering ( the history channel being the last in a series). So I assume they want to drive the subscriber to their digital offering. But the monthly rental of the converter boxes ( the digital cable to analog TV) are prohibitively expensive (it will double the monthly cost in my case). So I am looking for a way to buy my own box that will allow me to make the switch to digital. I have not been able to find any VCR, DVR, or any other boxes that claim to be digital cable ready. What is the standard that I need to be sure the box or even TV has? A new TV with a QUAM tuner would allow you to pick up any unscrambled digital channels off of the cable. How many you would get is the question? There are standalone ATSC/QUAM HD tuners available but they would be at least $250 and your old TV would need at least a composite video and audio input which it probable doesn't have. A new TV makes more sense and you would get over the air Digital TV as well. If you wanted just the analog signals then get an old analog cable box If you can get a model that Comcast used from a local source it should work. Try a flea market or garage sale. Old analog boxes that were hacked to get free premium services are useless today so would be very cheap and pick up the channels still available. Cable companies rent their boxes to minimize theft of services so they don't want them on the market. Digital cable boxes are much harder to hack than the old analog boxes. Did you ever get your cable box? I bought one on ebay from a comcast user who switched to satellite. It's the identical Scientific Atlanta box that Cox uses but somehow they know it's not theirs so all I get is a screen with an 800 # to call and be told I have to rent from them. Seems illegal, especially under the present administration that just wants the rich to get richer and let's the cable companies do whatever they want to make more money. If Comcast would allow you to use it, I'm only asking $20 + shipping from Mesa, az, 85207. Mike [email protected]. I read this thread and I had to respond. A lot of the comments on the tread couldn't be more misleading. I mean no disrespect to anyone nor am I forcing my information on anyone. Without further delay, here is your answer. Analog On February 17, everything (supposedly) will change over to digital and no more analog. That means, they will shut down the broadcast of all analog signals. It DOES NOT matter how old your tv is or if it has a digital or analog tuner. TV's have came with Analog tuners for a long time. Analog tuners will not work with Digital signals. Here is the kicker, newer TV's have been coming with digital ATSC tuners. ATSC tuners are for over the air DIGITAL signals which will not work for cable signals. A QAM tuner, will allow you to pick up UNSCRAMBLED cable TV signals. QAM tuners will not get you the mtv's, hgtv, etc. Channels because the cable company SCRAMBLES those signals. End result is you will need a cable box to UNSCRAMBLE the encrypted signal that the cable company puts out. So to go with a VCR tuner WILL NOT work either. Because the tuner in VCR's are ANALOG (some may have an ATSC or an ATSC and QAM digital tuner but this will not work for scrambled digital signals). They may work now but will not work after Feb. So with all the responses to this thread, the only option you have is to rent a cable box from your cable company so that you will be able to unscramble the digital signal they are putting out. Here is a quick guide for you to follow: -------------------------------------- Analog TV with Analog Tuner: You will get nothing!!! Digital TV with Analog Tuner: You will get nothing!!! -------------------------------------- Analog TV with Analog and ATSC Digital Tuner: You will need a TV antenna to get Digital signals over the air. Good ole rabbit ears of the past. Digital TV with Analog and ATSC Digital Tuner: You will need a TV antenna to get Digital signals over the air. Good ole rabbit ears of the past. --------------------------------------- Analog TV with Analog and ATSC Digital Tuner with QAM capability: You will be able to plug in the coax cable from the cable company and be able to watch all UNSCRAMBLED digital broadcasts by your cable company. Additionally, if you throw in some rabbit ears, you can get over the air ATSC digital signals. Digital TV with Analog and ATSC Digital Tuner with QAM capability: You will be able to plug in the coax cable from the cable company and be able to watch all UNSCRAMBLED digital broadcasts by your cable company. Additionally, if you throw in some rabbit ears, you can get over the air ATSC digital signals. ---------------------------------------- Analog TV with Cable box from your cable company: You get to watch everything you are paying for. Digital TV with Cable box from your cable company: You get to watch everything you are paying for. ----------------------------------------- Notice the pattern? It doesn't matter how old your TV is. It is all about what kind of Tuner you have. For your reference: Your cable company's cable box IS??? The cable box is a Tuner!!! Not just any tuner but a tuner that they have programmed to unencrypt the signals they are broadcasting. That is the reason why it has to come from your subscriber. You cannot throw a cable box from WOW onto a Comcast cable feed and expect it to work. It is their way of controlling who gets what based on what a person is paying for. The cable is a Digital to Digital passthru AND a Digital to Analog converter. The reason why they are built like this is so it doesn't matter what kind of TV you have. You can have an old tv or a new tv. Now not all old TV's will work, you might have to buy a box to convert coax to composite, S-video or component. That is a topic for another discussion and is specific to what kind of inputs your tv has. So the bottomline. Unless you can get a hold of a cable box configured for your cable company provider and is activated to work, then you are pretty much stuck renting. Keep in mind that it needs to be activated. So if you go online and buy one from somebody on eBay, it may or may not work. And if it is working, the cable company can shut it down without setting a foot in your home. My credentials: I have nothing to do with the cable company or anyone for that matter. I am just like most people that dont want to rent 6 cable boxes from the cable company and also looking for a way to get it to all my TV's without paying monthly. I am an RCN customer in Boston, and they have just switched to digital cable -- requiring their cable boxes for each TV (although based on your post, it sounds like I also have the option of getting new TVs with ATSC/QUAM HD tuners). I also had a cable connected to my PC so that I could watch TV. Do you know of any application that I could load to continue watching the new digital TV, or would I have to get a new TV tuner card with ATSC/QUAM HD (do these exist?)?? Here is the answer to this question. They do have QAM TV Tuner cards out there for your PC. One that I have used is made by Avermedia. BUT BUT BUT!!! This will only work with CLEAR QAM or in otherwords Unencrypted digital cable broadcasts. I am still missing something here. I am a subscriber to Comcast Analog cable. Comcast promises to continue with it for some period of time. However, they continue to remove channels from that offering ( the history channel being the last in a series). So I assume they want to drive the subscriber to their digital offering. But the monthly rental of the converter boxes ( the digital cable to analog TV) are prohibitively expensive (it will double the monthly cost in my case). So I am looking for a way to buy my own box that will allow me to make the switch to digital. I have not been able to find any VCR, DVR, or any other boxes that claim to be digital cable ready. What is the standard that I need to be sure the box or even TV has? Here is the answer to this question: What you are looking for is a VCR or DVR that is QAM capable. However all you will get will be unencrypted digital signals. To get the the encrypted digital signal, you will need a box from your cable provider. I'm receiving digital channels from my cable w/o a cable box I live in an apartment where we LEGALLY get Comcast cable as part of our rent. Converter boxes don't work. However, my DVD recorder (+/-R/RW)has a tuner in it and I get both digital and analog channels from the tuner through the cable connection. My old analog TV has 'TV, video 1, video 2' and I have the DVD recorder in Video 1. When analog TV goes kaput, I will not be able to watch any channel on the TV setting, but will get all the cable digital channels on the Video 1 setting. (I have a receiver and attached DVD player hooked in through Video 2 and do not get any television reception there.). I'm receiving digital channels from my cable w/o a cable box I live in an apartment where we LEGALLY get Comcast cable as part of our rent. Converter boxes don't work. However, my DVD recorder (+/-R/RW)has a tuner in it and I get both digital and analog channels from the tuner through the cable connection. My old analog TV has 'TV, video 1, video 2' and I have the DVD recorder in Video 1. When analog TV goes kaput, I will not be able to watch any channel on the TV setting, but will get all the cable digital channels on the Video 1 setting. (I have a receiver and attached DVD player hooked in through Video 2 and do not get any television reception there.) What do you mean you are receiving digital channels? Are you getting ALL digital channels or just some? There could be 2 different things happening. You are getting ONLY unencrypted digital channles. Which would mean you have a QAM tuner in your digital recorder. Your DVD recorder somehow is able to decrypt the encrypted digital signal sent by Comcast. Bottomline is something has to be decrypting the encrypted comcast signal for you to get it. My guess is you are only getting the unencrypted digital channels and not all the channels. It's a JVC DR-MV100. We only have basic cable. Its specifications state, 'ATSC QAM clear.' You're obviously more in the technical know than I am. I found Tom's by using Dogpile search engine. Until three hours on the phone with customer service from Insignia (brand of converter box we have), Comcast and Best Buy (where we got the Insignia) did I realize the converter boxes are useless on cable and only good for rooftop or rabbit ears antennae and only for local channels. We are getting all of the same cable channels we have on analog now, on digital. It takes some searching to find them, though. It's a JVC DR-MV100. We only have basic cable. Its specifications state, 'ATSC QAM clear.' You're obviously more in the technical know than I am. I found Tom's by using Dogpile search engine. Until three hours on the phone with customer service from Insignia (brand of converter box we have), Comcast and Best Buy (where we got the Insignia) did I realize the converter boxes are useless on cable and only good for rooftop or rabbit ears antennae and only for local channels. We are getting all of the same cable channels we have on analog now, on digital. It takes some searching to find them, though. Still a little bit fuzzy to me. Do you get lets say MTV in analog and you can get MTV in digital? If that is the case, you are lucky. MTV would have to be unencrypted for it to work through your QAM tuner or should I say Clear QAM tuner. Now I'm on hold with the DTA orderling line. Tech Support told me they will send us 2 digital adapter boxes at no charge. The apartment complex is on a bulk account and none of us has a cable box or individual account number so they are setting up an account number now. I think lots of people are going to be surprised. I could only find this type of DTV information that was truthful about cable vs. Rabbit ears/rooftop by going to tech talk boards. That's not much of a percentage of the total population who uses cable and thinks they're either doing OK with the unscrambled channels, or doing something wrong for their converter box to not work with cable. Jherome Your post is the very best I've seen so far. I have been trying to sort out what to do since the middle of last month. I thought I was ok since I have cable but now comcast is 'enhancing' HAH! Their service making all channels over 33 digital that will force us to have a cable box beginning on the 22nd. When I learned this I thought I would just go out and buy two new HDTVs. Problem solved? Not even close! First, let me tell you about my current system. I live in a small apartment and have two analog TVs--one in the living room and one in the bedroom. Each is connected to a vcr. The living room tv is also connected to a dvd player and the tv in the bedroom has a built in dvd player. I don't have any cable boxes. The cable comes in, is on a splitter and the two cables that come off that are connected to the vcrs and the vcrs are connected to the tvs. In doing some research, I have learned that my vcrs won't be able to be programmed to switch channels anymore when I'm away. I'm told that I will have to physically change the channel. I have two vcrs in the first place because when I'm away in the evening I sometimes have different shows that I record on different channels at the same time. I also record multiple different programs over several days on different channels if I'm away. I had planned to buy a combination DVR/VCR with digital tuner to solve the problem but have learned that that even if that would be able to be programmed to switch channels for the near future, Comcast will be making changes so it can't. I did pick up the boxes that Comcast says I will need for my analog sets to read their new digital transmission. I was excited about buying new HDTVs but I can't afford expensive monthly charges that Comcast will charge for DVRs for both tvs on top of the additional monthly costs for HD boxes. I never wanted cable boxes because I don't have any more space. Is there any solution you can think of for me? I had also thought maybe Tivo but it looks like that would cost about $400 for the two boxes if I would need two plus an additional $12.99/month/box. I'm desperate and would greatly appreciate any suggestions you may have. Thanks so much--Kathy. Hey Kathy, I figured since I got the email that there was a new post and saw what you said, I'd let you know what happened to me. First, I didn't have to buy anything new for media center on my PC. I have the new small cable box hooked up there, as well as on the TV in the bedroom. What you do to record is, you set your channel to 3 on the TV's/VCR's and then you use the small remote that came with the small box to change the cable channels. Leave the device to record channel 3 and then put your cable remote to the channel you want to record and manually program the time. For example, set your VCR to Channel 3, use your cable remote to go to the actual channel you want to record, and say you want to record Price is Right off of CBS at 10am - program your VCR for 10am - 11am to record Channel 3, and then use your cable remote to set the channel to the CBS affiliate in your area. I did find that in order to get the HDTV channels, you need the more expensive box. So we have that one in our living room and if you want the HDTV channels from Comcast, you might as well get the DVR box they offer since it doesn't cost any more to get the DVR box than it does to get the HDTV channels. We have that DVR/HDTV box ONLY on the 'main TV' in the living room, and are using the smaller Comcast boxes on the Media Center computer (didn't need any other computer upgrades) and the TV in the bedroom. Jherome, thanks for your information - that definitely got me on the right track! One more point of view, and a question: I am a comcast customer in MPLS. I have 3 tvs, but only one has a cable converter box. My other 2 TV's are hooked up to cable outlets directly and have continued to work just fine after the digital cutover. I think Comcast is 'interpreting' the digital signals, and still sending channels through. Neither of my old TV's go above channel 99, so I am not getting the 'digital' versions of the channels, but all the same channels that worked on these tvs still work after the digital cutover. I am on the extended basic level, so I don't have HBO or other premium channels anywhere. But I do have MTV, VH1, TLC, A&E, etc. On all my TV's. My question is would I be able to use a DVR with a digital tuner to watch channels beyond 99 on my older TVs using Comcast's signal? I got an htpc my pc came built in with a tuner card im not sure the brand but its atsc and quam clear and fm tuner. Ive got windows 7 running on it with activation just updated from vista sorry system. I used a splitter from my cable to hook up to both tuners. Although the tuner card is only considered one tuner by the pc. Meaning i cant use it as a dvr but i can use it as a pvr.it gets both digital and analog cable. That dude who wouldnt cough up money for a box that his cable provider would give him got screwed he ended getting another box that wont work because cable boxes are pretty much area specific. Plus the cable company would have to turn it on and there going to tell him its no good. Haha what an idiot should of listened to the post. Might as well hack that box now if possible maybe he would get some ppv. Usbbdsm cable. He should of gone with an old vcr and pick up analog cable no one said analog cable was gonna go out. As far as what quam clear tuner gets through most cable providers is the basic cable digital signals and it most often also picks up a lot of the video on demand that some of your neighbors might be watching. Still dont know exactly how that works but i can tell you that if someone out there is fast forwarding you will see it and if they stop the vod show you wont be able to turn it on. So your screwed i dont like watching those channels i always get cut off. Defenetely the htpc is my best bet ever since dishnetwork implemented there nagravision 3 and my fta box is useless where i live and for the programming i watch. I would use a hacked cable box but its hard to find one for my area that i can hack. So now im using this htpc i can download tons of movies brand new. Watch ppv fight through justin tv. Unlimited porn haha. I use hulu desktop its awesome. I get the cable guide just like a real cable box. I get internet tv. Hulu desktop offers like a million shows with like a whole lot less commercials and its more like video on demand. I can get youtube. Its the way to go. Kathy your way behind the times still using a vcr i dindt even knwo they existed anymore. Dont be cheap get one dvr box you can record two things at once theres a billion other ways to get a show. Sandanie your analog tuner card on your htpc will only pick up analog cable you need atsc clear quam tuner to pick up digital from the cable provider and that dont mean your going to get everything haha it will just be the basic digital and open vod. You wont be able to upgrade packages through your new quam tuner either because the cable company relys on the box to tell it to unscramble this and that. Im still waiting however on some hacker to make an emulator for a cable box. They seem to emulate everything else why not a cable box. Think about it you can emulate the box you might be able to unscramble all signals to your place that be awesome. Great posts here. I want to review what others have said compared with my set up.I have a digital DVR box in one room where I pay for all the digital channels from Comcast and a cable in the other room straight into the back of the old-ish TV and we get expanded basic up to 99. The only way to see the digital channels I pay for in the second room is to rent another digital box, correct? If the TV is pretty old (like say 5 years or so) - and you plug it straight into the cable outlet - you will get all unscrambled signals coming from Comcast up to the channel number your set goes to (usually about 99 or so). I am a Comcast customer. I still have 2 TVs like that. And that's what happens. I also have 2 newer sets with clear QAM tuners plugged directly into the cable outlet. They will also get unscrambled signals only - but the numbers of the stations will go higher than 99. One is a hi-def set. It will also get unscrambled hi-def broadcasts (basically the network hi-def programs but also - for some reason - stations like HGTV hi-def). Finally - I have 2 other hi-def sets - one with a DVR box - another with a cablecard. They will get everything. Note that I also had a super old (15+ years) portable TV that I used for emergencies (could run on batteries). After the 'digital switch' - it was ready for the trash (could have worked with a converter box - but that hardly makes sense for a TV I only use when the power goes out ). So the issue comes down to what you want to watch - and the numbers of the channels your local Comcast is broadcasting on - and whether the signals on those stations are scrambled. For example - if you want to get digital station 153 - and it's not a scrambled signal - you will be able to get it with a new TV without a converter box. Comcast ought to be able to tell you whether or not a particular station is scrambled (but I wouldn't count on it). Note that the answers to the last 2 questions are kind of a moving target these days. Where I live - channels are being moved all the time - mostly to make way for new hi-def stations. Anyway - I don't know what size your second TV is. If it's a small one - I'd definitely replace it with a new hi-def TV with a clear QAM tuner. Picked up a nice 19' Sony like that for my kitchen a few months ago for about $250 at Costco. If and when the stations I usually watch on that TV (and the other TVs without boxes) get scrambled - I will be forced to go to a converter box. If it's a larger TV - you might pick up one at Costco - see exactly what you get without a converter box - and if those stations are enough for you. And - if you're not happy - you can return the TV (Costco has a liberal return policy) - and rent the converter box instead. Hope this helps. If the TV is pretty old (like say 5 years or so) - and you plug it straight into the cable outlet - you will get all unscrambled signals coming from Comcast up to the channel number your set goes to (usually about 99 or so). I am a Comcast customer. I still have 2 TVs like that. And that's what happens. I also have 2 newer sets with clear QAM tuners plugged directly into the cable outlet. They will also get unscrambled signals only - but the numbers of the stations will go higher than 99. One is a hi-def set. It will also get unscrambled hi-def broadcasts (basically the network hi-def programs but also - for some reason - stations like HGTV hi-def). Finally - I have 2 other hi-def sets - one with a DVR box - another with a cablecard. They will get everything. Note that I also had a super old (15+ years) portable TV that I used for emergencies (could run on batteries). After the 'digital switch' - it was ready for the trash (could have worked with a converter box - but that hardly makes sense for a TV I only use when the power goes out ). So the issue comes down to what you want to watch - and the numbers of the channels your local Comcast is broadcasting on - and whether the signals on those stations are scrambled. For example - if you want to get digital station 153 - and it's not a scrambled signal - you will be able to get it with a new TV without a converter box. Comcast ought to be able to tell you whether or not a particular station is scrambled (but I wouldn't count on it). Note that the answers to the last 2 questions are kind of a moving target these days. Where I live - channels are being moved all the time - mostly to make way for new hi-def stations. Anyway - I don't know what size your second TV is. If it's a small one - I'd definitely replace it with a new hi-def TV with a clear QAM tuner. Picked up a nice 19' Sony like that for my kitchen a few months ago for about $250 at Costco. If and when the stations I usually watch on that TV (and the other TVs without boxes) get scrambled - I will be forced to go to a converter box. If it's a larger TV - you might pick up one at Costco - see exactly what you get without a converter box - and if those stations are enough for you. And - if you're not happy - you can return the TV (Costco has a liberal return policy) - and rent the converter box instead. Hope this helps. Robyn Channels 2-99 are not unscrambled signal well technically they are but they should not be thought of as digital. Channels 2 trought 99 are still coming in to your tv sets as analog. Cable is cable and thats the way they always have done business. So yes technically their unscrambled because if you look back in the old days when they would scramble their old ppv events you would get diagonal lines sometimes even sound but no picture or you would try to make it out by twitching your eyes. Well you needed a cable box to unscramble signal although there were many people who were able to unscramble scrambled analog signal by just using thin foil. So please dont think of 2-99 as digital in the clear. Digital is digital and thin foil is not going to work so you must have a tuner with atsc tuner on it to receive digital even through cable. Channels 2-99 are not unscrambled signal well technically they are but they should not be thought of as digital. Channels 2 trought 99 are still coming in to your tv sets as analog. Cable is cable and thats the way they always have done business. So yes technically their unscrambled because if you look back in the old days when they would scramble their old ppv events you would get diagonal lines sometimes even sound but no picture or you would try to make it out by twitching your eyes. Well you needed a cable box to unscramble signal although there were many people who were able to unscramble scrambled analog signal by just using thin foil. So please dont think of 2-99 as digital in the clear. Digital is digital and thin foil is not going to work so you must have a tuner with atsc tuner on it to receive digital even through cable. While everything you just said may have been true for the last several decades, it is not quite true anymore. Most major cities already have or are in the process of transitioning to only digital cable, which means you MUST have a digital reciever or QAM tuner on each TV, computer, etc. Even in order to watch channels 20-99. So far channels 2-99 have generally been unencrypted so any clearQAM reciever could get them, but nobody knows if cable companies will leave them unencrypted or will start encrypting them, meaning only a qam with cablecard or a reciever from the company is possible. The only analog channels left will be something like 2-20. Meaning the locals, HSN, and public access. If you plug the cable straight into the TV, these are the only ones you can get. If it hasnt happened in your city yet, it is probably only a matter of time. While everything you just said may have been true for the last several decades, it is not quite true anymore. Most major cities already have or are in the process of transitioning to only digital cable, which means you MUST have a digital reciever or QAM tuner on each TV, computer, etc. Even in order to watch channels 20-99. So far channels 2-99 have generally been unencrypted so any clearQAM reciever could get them, but nobody knows if cable companies will leave them unencrypted or will start encrypting them, meaning only a qam with cablecard or a reciever from the company is possible. The only analog channels left will be something like 2-20. Meaning the locals, HSN, and public access. If you plug the cable straight into the TV, these are the only ones you can get. If it hasnt happened in your city yet, it is probably only a matter of time. I work for charter and have previously worked for time warner. Cable companys biggest exploitation over direct tv and dish netwok and uverse and fios is the fact that you dont need cable boxes to run your tv. Its what sells a lot of customers especially in tough economic times. Cable companys will continue to run analog cable i would say for at least the next 5 to 10 years just enough time to give people the opportunity to get digital tvs. I mean all that is sold now a days is flat screen tvs and those are all digital so the transition has been met. Now when those 5 to 10 years come and cable wants to shut analog for good so they have more room for hd programming they will leave their regular analog programming what was available open in the clear its my guess. We are also a Comcast subscriber. The big change that has us disgruntled is the fact that Comcast is now scrambling many channels even ones such as the Weather channel! We rent a dvr from them for our main viewing TV but I can't justify monthly fees for bedroom sets! Comcast gives away at N/C, 2 additional digital converters for unscrambling signals on such 'Premium' channels as the Weather Channel but these give away converters also degrade the signal to Low Definition - 480p on all channels! So now any other Hi-Def tvs we own are all down converted to low def by Comcast unless we pay for additional hi-def converter boxes with monthly rental fees! Even channels that are normally broadcast for free in hi-def such as Major networks are now premium channels by comcast!!!! This post is very helpful. I have basic cable, around $15-20/month and use Verizon DSL for another $20/mo. I don't use a cable box but rather connect directly from the wall and use the TV's internal tuner. 2 days ago Comcast in the Philadelphia surburbs also started scrambling more analog channels such as the Food and Animal Channel. TVs that I have QAM tuners are still able to pick up unscrambled digital versions of these channels but my old analog tube TV in my bedroom didn't fair as well. I think I was under the impression, maybe like some people, that if you are a cable customer you will not be affected by the DTV transition. I guess they're technically seperate issues but it sure can be confusing when you start to lose some of the channels you're used to getting. Hey SWIPS question. I have same issue with Comcast they are 'enhancing' the network and thus scrambling channels that used to be clear. We lost TLC, History some others. Of the channels that you lost and got that lovely you need a Comcast DTA or Cable-box message did the DTA box bring those back? (albeit at the low 480p)??? Don't want to pay the extra money for the cable-box (they say an extra $7 per.) Follow up on this - so for the two digital TV with internal digital tuners and the Pinnacle PC Card Tuner (clear QAM). I re-ran Channel Search. Found a good portion of the channels that disappeared up in the 106 to 108 range. With channel #'s like this 107.9, 107.11, etc. Obviously the analog only tvs I have are SOL for getting the digitally 'enchanced' channels still. So try the auto-channel search on a Digital TV before you get sucked into Comcast's you need the DTA or cable-box mantra!!! If I get my two free digital adapters (these are the ones for the analog TVs that are plugged directly into the cable in the wall) from Comcast and then borrow a couple from someone else who doesn't need them, will Comcast see that I am using more than my two free ones and charge me a monthly fee for other two? I'm pretty sure they can detect cable boxes, but I don't know if they can detect these new adapters. It does say that I have to have them all plugged in before I activate them so it does seem that they would see them. Everyone, Sorry been away for a while, just been busy. Bostongirl, They probably will NOT be able to detect how many you have. The purpose of that adapter is to allow for you to receive the digital signal. Meaning the signal is already on the line but you have nothing to allow the signal to be viewed. I myself dont have one yet so I cannot tell you the exact way this thing works. I have looked at what they look like online and they dont look like much of anything other than a way to actually receive signals. A caveat to my response however is this, if there is some kind of activation that needs to be done on this digital converter, then my guess is they can track it. However if all you had to do is plug your cable into one end and plug your tv to the other end, I would say you have nothing to worry about. Did I screw the pooch?? I have had free Comcast extended basic cable service since I bought my house about 6 years ago. We plugged the cable into the wall, and the TV worked. As discussed in previous posts, we began losing channels, finally ending up with only being able to watch channels 2-34. A friend of mine works for comcast and told me it was due to digital conversion, and that I could get a converter box from Best Buy to restore the channels that I had 'lost.' I purchased the converter box, and installed it. The box couldn't read any of the channels, including the channels 2-34. I disconnected the converter box and put everything back. Now I don't receive ANY channels. I then tried plugging the cable from the wall directly into the back of the TV and still I have no picture.Is it possible that Comcast detected the converter box and cut off all cable connection? If not, I will try to troubleshoot the mechanicals. I confirmed that the output from the VCR and TIVO boxes to the TV work fine. Thanks, SJSU Fan Wow, that makes no sense to me. This is what I do understand. If you bought a converter box from Best Buy, my assumption is that you bought an ATSC converter box or simply put an over the air digital to analog converter. Which will not work with comcast. Well then again it opens up a new can of worms. Was your 2-34 an analog signal and not digital? My guess is it was analog. So no converter box needed. That being the case, if that doesnt work, then either comcast stopped broadcasting analog across the wire OR they disconnected your cable. Back to your converter box that you bought. The standard converter box would be to convert ATSC digital signals or whats known as over the air digital. The only way to get the comcast digital signal is to get a QAM tuner. Only then will you get the Clear QAM signal. If you want your full lineup of Comcast channels, you will need a box from Comcast to decrypt the digital signals coming from Comcast. The fact that you get nothing tells me either they stopped broadcasting even analog across the wire which would be really strange to do it all at once. OR they physically disconnected the cable running to your house. I know the answer to this once, since I just got done installing two units this week. Each one has to be activated and the serial numbers for each are registed to your account with Comcast. So they only activate what is assigned to you. Also, they told me if I have a power outage or unplug a unit, it should work fine when power is restored. But, if you disconnect the cable, or move the unit to another room, you will need to reactivate the unit. So, you cannot even have it activated at your friend's house and move it to your house, let alone move one within your own house (without reactivating). Hope that helps! I am here because I too am looking for a way around this Comcast-created issue!! Well, this is becoming more complicated than I knew. I already pay comcast an outrageous sum for their various services, but obviously, from what I read here, they are using their conversion to 'all digital' to try to milk more from me. Our transition started about a week ago, and in anticiplation, I ordered and installed to two 'free' converters for my 'ancient' analog equipment. I just got a brand new digital Audiovox KLV3913 12' undercabinet unit for my kitchen (HDTV/DVD Combo). I figured I would need nothing from comcast for that unit. I hooked it up last night and did a scan for channels. Everything was great up to cannel 50.0 However, I got the Comcast 'call us' message on 10 channels between Channel 58 and Channel 72, I got channel 70 eith no problem and got every channel between 75 and my hightest channel #254 with no problem. I'm gessing these are the 'newly scrambled' channels that were part of our subscription. As a different confusion, for me, is that the channels this new unit have a decimal point and other numbers that follow. For most of the channels, if there is regular definition it will be on, like 23.0 with lower 'high def' at 23.1 and 1040i high def at 23.2 Some of the channels have from up to 12 'sub-channels' not always the just different definitions. Like for station 75 I have 75.0 through 75.12, for channel 101 it is 101.0, 101.7, and 101.12. I havn't seen this before. If someone understands this system and can point me to a link where I can educate myself, maybe I'll learn what channel I need to tune to watch what I want. Steve, Any of those channels with wierd numbers, ie. 51-3 are digital channels. Our setup: we pay cable for basic cable, plus $5 for SportsView package so spouse can view tennis channel and extra football games. (You have to ask directed questions to realize you are not required to pay for expanded basic in order to get the basic sports package!) We also pay for one analog $1.75 cable box a month plus TV guide fee. So with that box any TV old or new will get basic channels (1-30), various unscrambled junk channels, and the sports package. Our new lcd TV with QAM tuner plugged DIRECTLY into the wall will also get all of the latter except the sports package, all of the main network unscrambled HD channels and ALSO 'extra' HD channels whose analog equivalents are scrambled on Expanded Basic! (a wierd scattering of channels including AMC and ShowTime movie channels!) As a consequence we have put a splitter on the cable, and use the TV input from 'ant' direct from the wall' when we want to access these HD channels, and on 'video 1' (connected to cable box via red/white/yellow video cable) when we want to access the rxtra sports channels. Unfortunately the HD channels do not match the channel numbers from the guide, but I won't complain, as they are free. In short, there are still some unscrambled HD channels accessible directly on the cable if you have a QAM tuner. Enjoy while you can! Note: We recently added a $6.75 per month HD cable box in order to turn a HD equipped 22' computer monitor ($99) into a HD TV with no computer necesssary. We plug the audio into the ipod speaker next to it. Works fantastic, and now we have an extra HD TV and can access HD channel guide which helps us figure what is playing on those 'extra channels'. The numbers still don't match. We still don't get the scrambled HD channels, and, interestingly enough, don't get the 'extra' channels referenced above. So the Showtime movie channel that we are getting direct from the wall will NOT play on the HD cable box (as the box knows we aren't paying for it so it just posts a message to 'order, etc') Wierd stuff. One small negative is that every box you get from them multiplies the charge for channel guide also. I read this thread and I had to respond. A lot of the comments on the tread couldn't be more misleading. I mean no disrespect to anyone nor am I forcing my information on anyone. Without further delay, here is your answer. Analog On February 17, everything (supposedly) will change over to digital and no more analog. That means, they will shut down the broadcast of all analog signals. It DOES NOT matter how old your tv is or if it has a digital or analog tuner. TV's have came with Analog tuners for a long time. Analog tuners will not work with Digital signals. Here is the kicker, newer TV's have been coming with digital ATSC tuners. ATSC tuners are for over the air DIGITAL signals which will not work for cable signals. A QAM tuner, will allow you to pick up UNSCRAMBLED cable TV signals. QAM tuners will not get you the mtv's, hgtv, etc. Channels because the cable company SCRAMBLES those signals. End result is you will need a cable box to UNSCRAMBLE the encrypted signal that the cable company puts out. So to go with a VCR tuner WILL NOT work either. Because the tuner in VCR's are ANALOG (some may have an ATSC or an ATSC and QAM digital tuner but this will not work for scrambled digital signals). They may work now but will not work after Feb. So with all the responses to this thread, the only option you have is to rent a cable box from your cable company so that you will be able to unscramble the digital signal they are putting out. Here is a quick guide for you to follow: -------------------------------------- Analog TV with Analog Tuner: You will get nothing!!! Digital TV with Analog Tuner: You will get nothing!!! -------------------------------------- Analog TV with Analog and ATSC Digital Tuner: You will need a TV antenna to get Digital signals over the air. Good ole rabbit ears of the past. Digital TV with Analog and ATSC Digital Tuner: You will need a TV antenna to get Digital signals over the air. Good ole rabbit ears of the past. --------------------------------------- Analog TV with Analog and ATSC Digital Tuner with QAM capability: You will be able to plug in the coax cable from the cable company and be able to watch all UNSCRAMBLED digital broadcasts by your cable company. Additionally, if you throw in some rabbit ears, you can get over the air ATSC digital signals. Digital TV with Analog and ATSC Digital Tuner with QAM capability: You will be able to plug in the coax cable from the cable company and be able to watch all UNSCRAMBLED digital broadcasts by your cable company. Additionally, if you throw in some rabbit ears, you can get over the air ATSC digital signals. ---------------------------------------- Analog TV with Cable box from your cable company: You get to watch everything you are paying for. Digital TV with Cable box from your cable company: You get to watch everything you are paying for. ----------------------------------------- Notice the pattern? It doesn't matter how old your TV is. It is all about what kind of Tuner you have. For your reference: Your cable company's cable box IS??? The cable box is a Tuner!!! Not just any tuner but a tuner that they have programmed to unencrypt the signals they are broadcasting. That is the reason why it has to come from your subscriber. You cannot throw a cable box from WOW onto a Comcast cable feed and expect it to work. It is their way of controlling who gets what based on what a person is paying for. The cable is a Digital to Digital passthru AND a Digital to Analog converter. The reason why they are built like this is so it doesn't matter what kind of TV you have. You can have an old tv or a new tv. Now not all old TV's will work, you might have to buy a box to convert coax to composite, S-video or component. Watching tv on High-Definition is an extraordinary thing that you will ever get in your life. Install a set box of the cable operator you wish for. For instance, Comcast can be a good choice. It is the second largest cable tv service operator after AT&T. So, if you have decided to buy one or you have bought it already but still confused how to set it up, then all you need to do is read and implement the following guide. Activate Comcast cable box “Online” • Press the power button if your cable box has one. It may take few minutes to power up, in some cases 20 minutes. • Quick Fix your activation visiting the website. Here is a link(xfinity.com/activate). • Open your web browser. Copy the link and paste it. • Type in your account number and phone number. • Wait for 20 minutes and your cable box will be activated. Activate Comcast cable box by calling Comcast Customer Support: Online service may be down or won’t be available to you for some reason. At this time, you need to call Comcast to Activate your cable box. Here are the few requirements to do it. Your account number, cable box serial number, and digital adapter serial number. It is time to use your phone. Call 1-855-OK-BEGIN (1-855-652-3446). After you get the response from the number, be ready to do as they instruct you to do. Enter the numbers as per their request along with the phone number connected to the account. Wait for 20 minutes and your cable box will be activated. Share what you have learned with the people around you. Who knows they may need a guide like this to get out of the trouble of activating the cable box like you do.
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