Cablecard

[K10]

is anyone successfully using a cablecard to watch HD content through TWC?  would you guys recommend buying an HDTV with cablecard?

[MarkK]

Yes and yes.  See following thread for more on this topic.

http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6602

[kevbeck122]

I would recommend it as well.

[K10]

markk & kevbeck, which HDTV do you have?  and your cablecard is only 1-way, right?

[kevbeck122]

Sony KD-30XS955 30" CRT.. yes 1 way is the only thing available right now.

[MarkK]

I have a Panasonic plasma, model TH42-PX600U

And yes, the cable card is one way.  Two-way cable cards haven't been invented yet!

[flash]

I just came from Best Buy (I know they stretch the truth) and I was asking the guy/kid there about cable cards in HDTV's and he said:

Last years models had cable cards but the manufacturers stopped putting them in the newer TV's. TWC is stopping support for cable cards because they only get $2 for the cable card and they get much more $$$ for renting out the cable boxes

I may be wrong but I thought cable card slots are getting more prevalent in the newer TV models?

Is TWC actually talking about stopping support for cable cards?



I know it's just a BB employee talking, but I was wondering if any members here have heard anything like what the BB employees are telling customers?!?!!?!?!

[Gregg Lengling]

I just came from Best Buy (I know they stretch the truth) and I was asking the guy/kid there about cable cards in HDTV's and he said:



I may be wrong but I thought cable card slots are getting more prevalent in the newer TV models?

Is TWC actually talking about stopping support for cable cards?



I know it's just a BB employee talking, but I was wondering if any members here have heard anything like what the BB employees are telling customers?!?!!?!?!

TWC cannot stop supporting CableCards as they are required by law to support them, so don't worry about that.  I think the salesperson was semi-correct on the sets having them.  I think there are still the same number of models supporting them but a lot of the newer entry level models don't have them to keep the cost down.  Legally the manufacturers only have to have an analog and digital tuner in them to call them a Television, otherwise they are monitors.

[Den Mayer]

I believe one benefit of a CableCard ready HDTV is that it

 guarantees that a QAM Cable tuner is installed in your HDTV set.

  With experimentation......     and getting boned up on QAM channel IDs.....

   you should find a lot of Digital & some HDTV channels that are

   not encrypted on the Cable feed line right from your home wall.


   Over Xmas, I found that a Charter system in WI that does not

  offer Digital nor HD nor STBs yet.....   had 4 HD and 60+ Digital channels

  "just sitting" on their Cable system.   This HDTV is now set up for

    Cable Analog via cable STB and OTA for the HD reception.

[bubbaridesfast]

I just came from Best Buy (I know they stretch the truth) and I was asking the guy/kid there about cable cards in HDTV's and he said:



I may be wrong but I thought cable card slots are getting more prevalent in the newer TV models?

Is TWC actually talking about stopping support for cable cards?



I know it's just a BB employee talking, but I was wondering if any members here have heard anything like what the BB employees are telling customers?!?!!?!?!

I seem to recall news stories a few months ago about TWC on the left coast upsetting cablecard owners because TWC was bandwith challenged and instead of running every channel into your box 24/7 they started to only run the currently viewed  channel from the neighborhood box until you changed channels so cablecards were no longer functional out there and folks with a cablecard had to get a STB anyhoo.

[flash]

I believe one benefit of a CableCard ready HDTV is that it

 guarantees that a QAM Cable tuner is installed in your HDTV set.

  With experimentation......     and getting boned up on QAM channel IDs.....

   you should find a lot of Digital & some HDTV channels that are

   not encrypted on the Cable feed line right from your home wall.


   Over Xmas, I found that a Charter system in WI that does not

  offer Digital nor HD nor STBs yet.....   had 4 HD and 60+ Digital channels

  "just sitting" on their Cable system.   This HDTV is now set up for

    Cable Analog via cable STB and OTA for the HD reception.

From your post, I should be looking for a cablecard/QAM TV. (The darn 40"  Samsung model with that installed is over $400 more. :bang: )

Is the cable card/QAM tuner faster than the cable box one?
The darn HDTV cable box is soooo slow changing channels as apposed to non-box cable reception.

[kevbeck122]

I seem to recall news stories a few months ago about TWC on the left coast upsetting cablecard owners because TWC was bandwith challenged and instead of running every channel into your box 24/7 they started to only run the currently viewed  channel from the neighborhood box until you changed channels so cablecards were no longer functional out there and folks with a cablecard had to get a STB anyhoo.

Yeah I heard this "switched digital" is coming here sometime soon too.  Once AT&T gets moving with U-verse around here, it'll push TWC to do the switched digital as soon as they can get it out.  The next version of cablecard supports it, but not the current version.

[flash]

A friend of mine told me last night that they're now testing the 2 way cable cards and they should be on the market fairly soon.

........and for all of us TWC DVR nuts out there...... we will be able to go back in time and record shows we missed via our DVR menu soon. :rock:

I know there are shows that I've missed recording and wished I could go back and record them.

My friend said he's been testing the service for a while now and it should be launched in Jan.

[kevbeck122]

Does anything even support 2 way cards yet?

[mhz40]

Does anything even support 2 way cards yet?

TW announced with great fanfare in the spring of 2006 that Samsung was going to develop something.  Maybe other manufacturers are working on it too.  I don't believe anything has hit the market yet.