On Mar 26, 10:07*am, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
Hello,

This is not really a "repair" question, but I am still looking for some
info. please. Comcast Cable is doing some kind of switchover to mostly
all digital channels on April 15th of this year, I believe it is. They
say that channels 23-69 are all going to be in digital, and the only way
you can view them is if you have either #1 a "Digital Converter Box", OR
#2 a "DTA Box, both if which you get from Comcast.

If you don't use one of those 2 boxes, then you won't be able to view
channels 23-69 after April 15th, 2010. Anyway my question is, in the
living room where we have our TV and the Comcast "Digital Converter
Box", we have the A/B Switch hooked up to the VCR, so that we can record
one show on the VCR while watching another show on the "Digital
Converter Box". But now when they do the switch over, the VCR will no
longer get channels 23-69.

I know that you can hook up the "RCA Plugs" to the "Digital Converter
Box" and plug them into the VCR, but the problem with that is you HAVE
to watch whatever your taping. So what happens if you want to tape
something on your VCR, and watch a different channel with the Converter
Box??

According to Comcast, the analog VCR will no longer be able to get
channels 23-69. So basically they are forcing you to USE either the
"Digital Converter Box" or "DTA Box" at all times.

They say that you CAN'T use both boxes together, it's either one or the
other. So what happens if I want to tape something on say channel 49 at
8:00 pm, and watch something on channel 31 at 8:00 pm as well? Channel
49 won't come in on the VCR and only on the "Converter Box", so I can't
tape one thing and watch another.

Does anyone know if there is a way around this? Is there a VCR with a
digital scrambler in it to pick up the digital channels, so that I can
continue to tape one show while watching another?

Any info. would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

I think your chances of finding anything vcr that deals with new
digital stuff are about zip. It's just about impossible to find a vcr
period. You will need a second converter box and I also suspect
comcast charges by the month per box? You may find it is no savings
over going ahead with a dvr and dumping your vcr. On the plus side
the dvr makes scheduling recordings far easier.

On Mar 26, 10:22*am, jamesgangnc wrote:
On Mar 26, 10:07*am, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:





Hello,

This is not really a "repair" question, but I am still looking for some
info. please. Comcast Cable is doing some kind of switchover to mostly
all digital channels on April 15th of this year, I believe it is. They
say that channels 23-69 are all going to be in digital, and the only way
you can view them is if you have either #1 a "Digital Converter Box", OR
#2 a "DTA Box, both if which you get from Comcast.

If you don't use one of those 2 boxes, then you won't be able to view
channels 23-69 after April 15th, 2010. Anyway my question is, in the
living room where we have our TV and the Comcast "Digital Converter
Box", we have the A/B Switch hooked up to the VCR, so that we can record
one show on the VCR while watching another show on the "Digital
Converter Box". But now when they do the switch over, the VCR will no
longer get channels 23-69.

I know that you can hook up the "RCA Plugs" to the "Digital Converter
Box" and plug them into the VCR, but the problem with that is you HAVE
to watch whatever your taping. So what happens if you want to tape
something on your VCR, and watch a different channel with the Converter
Box??

According to Comcast, the analog VCR will no longer be able to get
channels 23-69. So basically they are forcing you to USE either the
"Digital Converter Box" or "DTA Box" at all times.

They say that you CAN'T use both boxes together, it's either one or the
other. So what happens if I want to tape something on say channel 49 at
8:00 pm, and watch something on channel 31 at 8:00 pm as well? Channel
49 won't come in on the VCR and only on the "Converter Box", so I can't
tape one thing and watch another.

Does anyone know if there is a way around this? Is there a VCR with a
digital scrambler in it to pick up the digital channels, so that I can
continue to tape one show while watching another?

Any info. would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

I think your chances of finding anything vcr that deals with new
digital stuff are about zip.

I don't have Comcast, but from the description of the problem, I
agree. Most of the cable companies are going to digital to pack more
channels into the same system. But you then need a QAM digital tuner
to receive that channel.





*It's just about impossible to find a vcr
period. *You will need a second converter box and I also suspect
comcast charges by the month per box? *You may find it is no savings
over going ahead with a dvr and dumping your vcr. *On the plus side
the dvr makes scheduling recordings far easier.- Hide quoted text -

I think you probably mean a DVR supplied by Comcast, which is just a
different cable box that cable companies typically charge about $10/
mth extra for that include recording capability. That would solve the
problem, because all the ones I've seen let you record one program
while watching another. On the other hand, a second cable box is
probably only about half that. But I agree that the DVR makes
recording and watching things MUCH easier.

The other choice is to buy a standalone DVR with a QAM tuner. For
example, you can buy a Tivo and a plug-in cable card. I've used Tivo
and Cablevisions DVR, made by Scientifc-Atlanta. And I can tell you
there is no comparison in ease of use. The Tivo is far superior.
However, the Tivo together with the service aren't cheap. It would
probably take 5 years to break even, after that you;d be ahead.

You might also be able to find some standalone QAM tuner product on
Ebay or someplace. But that leaves one big problem, which is unless
the existing VCR can talk to and change the tuner, it won't be able to
switch among the channels. So, to record something, you'd have to
set the QAM tuner to the channel and the VCR to the record time for a
one time recording.

Which gets back to what James said about DVRs being so much more user
friendly. If you're looking for a cheap non hidef DVR solution,
another possibility might be to find a used Tivo on Ebay that is
bundled with lifetime service. People might be dumping them when
moving to HD, etc. Just make sure you get one with a cablecard, as
that is the critical piece to receive the digital channels.

On 3/26/2010 10:59 AM, wrote:

You might also be able to find some standalone QAM tuner product on
Ebay or someplace. But that leaves one big problem, which is unless
the existing VCR can talk to and change the tuner, it won't be able to
switch among the channels. So, to record something, you'd have to
set the QAM tuner to the channel and the VCR to the record time for a
one time recording.

Which gets back to what James said about DVRs being so much more user
friendly. If you're looking for a cheap non hidef DVR solution,
another possibility might be to find a used Tivo on Ebay that is
bundled with lifetime service. People might be dumping them when
moving to HD, etc. Just make sure you get one with a cablecard, as
that is the critical piece to receive the digital channels.


The OP should also consider the Magnavox H2160MW9, which is a non-TIVO DVR with
built-in ATSC and QAM tuner. It sells at walmart.com and target.com although it
is usually a better buy at walmart. I paid $248 last year, including shipping
directly to my home. I've used it extensively and have been entirely satisfied
with it. (It also has a DVD player/recorder built-in and you can dub either way
from hard drive to DVD, or vice versa.) Although it only records/plays back in
standard definition, it's HDMI output format can be set to 480P, 720P, 1080i, or
1080P to get the best quality picture your TV is capable of providing.

The DVR has an antenna out jack which is a pass through analogous to a VCR's
antenna out connection. Although I receive over the air reception only, it
seems to me that you could connect the COMCAST cable directly to the DVR (and
choose which digital signal you want to record) and then connect the antenna out
from the DVR to where the cable is usually connected to the COMCAST box.
Although the DVR would not be able to receive scrambled signals from premium
subscriptions, I suspect that all the standard package signals would be viewable
and recordable.

On 3/26/2010 11:25 AM, Peter wrote:
On 3/26/2010 10:59 AM, wrote:

You might also be able to find some standalone QAM tuner product on
Ebay or someplace. But that leaves one big problem, which is unless
the existing VCR can talk to and change the tuner, it won't be able to
switch among the channels. So, to record something, you'd have to
set the QAM tuner to the channel and the VCR to the record time for a
one time recording.

Which gets back to what James said about DVRs being so much more user
friendly. If you're looking for a cheap non hidef DVR solution,
another possibility might be to find a used Tivo on Ebay that is
bundled with lifetime service. People might be dumping them when
moving to HD, etc. Just make sure you get one with a cablecard, as
that is the critical piece to receive the digital channels.


The OP should also consider the Magnavox H2160MW9, which is a non-TIVO
DVR with built-in ATSC and QAM tuner. It sells at walmart.com and
target.com although it is usually a better buy at walmart. I paid $248
last year, including shipping directly to my home. I've used it
extensively and have been entirely satisfied with it. (It also has a DVD
player/recorder built-in and you can dub either way from hard drive to
DVD, or vice versa.) Although it only records/plays back in standard
definition, it's HDMI output format can be set to 480P, 720P, 1080i, or
1080P to get the best quality picture your TV is capable of providing.

Main issue about using a DVR is that Comcast is quite variable about
what they encrypt. In some markets only a handful of channels are
unencrypted which would render the built-in tuner almost useless.



The DVR has an antenna out jack which is a pass through analogous to a
VCR's antenna out connection. Although I receive over the air reception
only, it seems to me that you could connect the COMCAST cable directly
to the DVR (and choose which digital signal you want to record) and then
connect the antenna out from the DVR to where the cable is usually
connected to the COMCAST box. Although the DVR would not be able to
receive scrambled signals from premium subscriptions, I suspect that all
the standard package signals would be viewable and recordable.

Yes, Comcast charges like $6 bucks a month for the "Box Rental", and
then it's like a $3 bucks a month for the "Remote Control Rental" as
well.

jamesgangnc wrote:
On Mar 26, 10:07 am, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
Hello,

This is not really a "repair" question, but I am still looking for some
info. please. Comcast Cable is doing some kind of switchover to mostly
all digital channels on April 15th of this year, I believe it is. They
say that channels 23-69 are all going to be in digital, and the only way
you can view them is if you have either #1 a "Digital Converter Box", OR
#2 a "DTA Box, both if which you get from Comcast.

If you don't use one of those 2 boxes, then you won't be able to view
channels 23-69 after April 15th, 2010. Anyway my question is, in the
living room where we have our TV and the Comcast "Digital Converter
Box", we have the A/B Switch hooked up to the VCR, so that we can record
one show on the VCR while watching another show on the "Digital
Converter Box". But now when they do the switch over, the VCR will no
longer get channels 23-69.

I know that you can hook up the "RCA Plugs" to the "Digital Converter
Box" and plug them into the VCR, but the problem with that is you HAVE
to watch whatever your taping. So what happens if you want to tape
something on your VCR, and watch a different channel with the Converter
Box??

According to Comcast, the analog VCR will no longer be able to get
channels 23-69. So basically they are forcing you to USE either the
"Digital Converter Box" or "DTA Box" at all times.

They say that you CAN'T use both boxes together, it's either one or the
other. So what happens if I want to tape something on say channel 49 at
8:00 pm, and watch something on channel 31 at 8:00 pm as well? Channel
49 won't come in on the VCR and only on the "Converter Box", so I can't
tape one thing and watch another.

Does anyone know if there is a way around this? Is there a VCR with a
digital scrambler in it to pick up the digital channels, so that I can
continue to tape one show while watching another?

Any info. would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

I think your chances of finding anything vcr that deals with new
digital stuff are about zip. It's just about impossible to find a vcr
period. You will need a second converter box and I also suspect
comcast charges by the month per box? You may find it is no savings
over going ahead with a dvr and dumping your vcr. On the plus side
the dvr makes scheduling recordings far easier.

I have Comcast and have been trying to figure out what it all means.

The FCC forced the cable industry to allow a "cable card" to decode
signals. Some DVRs have cable card built in, some have a slot to install
them. Comcast will probably lease you a DVR, or I believe Tvio can be used.

Some cable cards can decode multiple channels at the same time (so a DVR
can record multiple channels). I don't have one - probably can record
and pass through different channels.

Some TVs also have a cable card slot. I have read the FCC set a max fee
of $2 for a cable card. Here the first one is free. A cable card in the
TV and a converter ahead of the VCR is the equivalent of 2 converters.

From what I have read "Tru2way" capability built into a TV allows
watching pay-per-view, which Comcast would like you to do. As far as I
know, if your TV does not have Tru2way you can still use a cable card
and just not have the interactive functions.

The only way around having some kind of decoder for the upper channels
is if one of the channels you want is direct broadcast and use an
antenna. Those channels are probably available on Comcast as the low
channels unencoded anyway.

The reason for the digital changeover is, presumably, when Comcast gets
rid of the old "analog" channels and switches to "digital" they can add
more channels. This is partly because digital takes less bandwidth. They
can also compress digital to reduce bandwidth (which degrades the signal).

I have found it real annoying how hard it is to get good information on
all of this. (Anyone have any good sources?)