Stay calm...do NOT panic. OK, PANIC.

[Bebop]

If this is the trend, the only way to get uncompressed signal is getting a B.U.D.

[StarvingForHDTV]

Maybe big ugly dishes will make a comeback if local stations massively degrade our quality, and the cable and satellite companies refuse to offer us the Network HD feeds.

[Doug Mohr]

If this is the trend, the only way to get uncompressed signal is getting a B.U.D.

Unfortunatly the trend is lower quality. Watching TV on your phone, Ipod,  or video game (Not HD games) is creating a profitable market for low-def.

 :bang:

[picopir8]

TWC does not care about quality and its customers know this. If they did the pathetic analogs would have been gone years ago like they have been with Comcast and other companies. Instead, they're continuing to deteriorate and still unwatchable.

Personally, analog is one reason why I switched to cable.  I have a cable box on my "good" tv and then all other TVs just take in the analog feed.  I get most channels w/o the need to pay extra for a box.   Most geeky devices such as the slingbox also have built in analog tuners but few will tune into digital channels.  I would rather see analog stay around for a few more years so I can continue surviving w/o an extra 2-4 more cable boxes. Once all electronic devices support digital cable w/o the need for a freeking cable card (which costs nearly as much as renting a cable box) then I would be happy to give up cable.

However, with TWC, we are starting to get the best of both worlds. They are beginning to overlay digital channels on top of the analog channels.  So if you have a cable box it will tune the digital channel, and if not you still get the analog feed.

[kevbeck122]

Cards don't cost nearly the same as boxes.. $1.75 a month for cablecard vs. $7.95 a month for a box.  Eventually cablecard will be in boxes, they will continue to be built into TVs and soon computers, so they aren't going away anytime soon.

[Joseph S]

I get most channels w/o the need to pay extra for a box.

If your TV can tune CATV channels, then you get all those channels in higher quality on Comcast. In addition you get all networks in HDTV QAM, free previews, and all music channels. This is with zero box costs on all your sets.

[JohnRacine]

BUD actually stands for "Big Usefull Dish".  I've had my ten footer in the backyard since 1984 - made right here in Racine.  Added the HDD200 Hi Def decoder and 4DTV 4 years ago...best investment I've ever made.  I love that first generation, uncompressed signal from outer space...looks great on my 65" Toshiba.  The ala carte packages that are available to BUD users seem to save me a lot of money. By the way, what's rain fade?

[TAS]

I have had a 7.5 foot BUD since this summer.  Just got into FTA, wild feeds, ku/c-band.  Maybe the investment in a HD satellite box (4DTV) is worth the price.  I was told there are also free HDTV channels i can receive: OutdoorTV, Discovery HD Theater, HBO HDTV West, PBS HDTV, NHL on OLN, plus sports that are feeds.  Just the receivers are very expensive if you want the free stuff.  4DTV costs monthly.

[Mark Strube]

If your TV can tune CATV channels, then you get all those channels in higher quality on Comcast. In addition you get all networks in HDTV QAM, free previews, and all music channels. This is with zero box costs on all your sets.

I'm confused... how is any 'ol TV that can tune analog CATV going to be higher quality just because it's Comcast?

[Joseph S]

I'm confused... how is any 'ol TV that can tune analog CATV going to be higher quality just because it's Comcast?

I'm not sure, but it is. Much, much, much better than AT&T, Mediaone, and Continental ever was too. The analog at these sites was never as bad as TWC, but channels at the lower and upper levels had several of the quality issues I see on the upper TWC analogs that only gets worse +68. Perhaps they're using a higher freq now or have found a better means for transmission with some modulator at the poles. Either way, they get digital quality with Digital Box or built-in tuners. The music, HD channels, and additional SD channels like Weather, Nick, Disc are also available on unecrypted QAM. This is on a 1970s era network.