PBS on TWC basic cable

[MarkK]

I thought you would be interested in this exchange I had with TWC.  In essence, they told me that to view the digital PBS stations in their line-up, it requires a cable card (or cable box), even though these channels are included in Basic Cable.

First, their response:
"In order to view the remaining PBS HD channels you would need a cable card, since you have a cablecard slot with your TV set.
Your assumptions for questions or statements 1 through 11 are correct."

[Dear TWC,]
I want to be clear in my understanding of the PBS digital signals. Are you stating the following?

1. PBS channel 10 analog signal is carried on channel 10.

2. Of the six PBS digital signals 10.1 through 10.6, only 10.1 is broadcast unencrypted.

3. Channel 10.1 is carried on frequency 116.1. If I received digital cable (or had a cable card), this would display on channel 550.

4. If I lease a cable card from Time Warner, I would get the other five PBS signals, even if I didn't subscribe to a digital cable package.

5. I'm probably not understanding you exactly, because according to your website channels 550 through 554 are included in basic cable. How may I view these channels? Does viewing channels included in Basic Cable really require a cable card?

Thanks for your clarification. I do in fact have a cable card slot on my TV, so this is a possible route to take. If I get a cable card, may I assume:

6. The additional monthly cost is about $2

7. There is an installation fee of about $20-$30

8. The cable card maps the channels to those seen in your program guide - e.g. 504, 505, 506, 512, 550, etc.

9. I'll also be able to view channel 510 (PBS HD)

10. If I upgrade to Digital Cable, e.g. Digipic 1000, in the future, another service call will be needed, at additional expense. (in addition to a $7 increase in my monthly fee)

11. If I upgrade to Digital Cable in conjunction with adding a cable card, only one service call charge will be levied. My monthly fee would be about $9 higher than current.

If it helps, my TV is a Panasonic plasma TV, model TH42PX600U. It has a QAM tuner, TVGuide onscreen, and a cable card slot.

[RS922]

The list of services available in 256 QAM locally has been answered quite a bit on the forum.  Sorry you got bad info on what was needed with your setup.  The PBS services are not encrypted.

[kevbeck122]

I get all PBS channels with my basic cable, QAM tuner on the TV.  I have no idea why you'd need another service call to upgrade to DigiPic 1000 if you already have the cablecard.  They just need to send the authorization to your card so that you can decrypt those channels.

[afa3]

I have a Panasonic TH42PD50U (last year's ED model) and I use the QAM tuner on basic TW cable (no cable card or set-top box).

I don't know about this year's models, but older Panasonics can be quirky about QAM tuning. Mine sure is. You may have to experiment to find out how to tune some of the digital channels. For me, they may or may not appear as 5xx channels, and it changes from time to time. Sometimes I have to enter the channel frequency, with or without the subchannel.

For example, right now I can get PBS 10.1, but I have to enter 116 (not 0-550 or 116-1) to tune it. 0-504, 0-505, 0-506, and 0-512 are fine.

This doesn't seem to be a problem for anyone else on this board, so I think it's the Panasonic tuner, not TW. I've seen a few similar reports from other Panasonic users on AVS Forum.

[MarkK]

After (or in the middle of) a lengthy e-mail "conversation", TWC is now admitting that once a cable card is installed, no additional service call is needed to upgrade one's service level.

However, she is still insisting that a cable card is needed to receive PBS HD station 510 as well as the other PBS stations, as they are all encrypted. Is this consistent with your understanding?

She also stated that TWC does not disclose the frequencies of digital transmissions.  Which I find really interesting... I'm paying for standard cable, which includes the PBS stations.  I can't tune to the PBS stations on 510, etc., and they won't tell me where to find them in the digital frequencies.  But they will rent me a cable card for $1.75 which will get the channels.  Go figure.

[RS922]

The local PBS HD signal and the multiplex SD signals are on 747 Mhz and a cable card is not needed to receive them using the QAM tuner in your television or other receiver.  If I remember right, that converts to ch 115-1 to 115-6.  If you want to receive them on the same display channel as advertised by TW (510, 550-554), then you would need a cable card to load the channel lineup as broadcast to the TW converters, but the cable card does not decrypt something that is not encrypted to begin with.