HD digital tuner

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Liver

Supreme [H]ardness
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Oct 24, 2005
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Admittedly I don't know what device I'm asking for. I will describe what I'm trying to do.

I don't want anything illegal or theft of services. Please tell me if that is the case.

First time I've had more than one TV in the house. The main tv has the tuning adapter that connects to. TiVo with a cable card. The second tv has the coax cable plugged directly into it (I also have an appletv, but whatever) I get channels 1-99 in low def.

Was wondering is there a HD tuner I can buy to get HD channels? No need for premium, ppv, or recording? Edit. It would be a standalone device, no htpc.

I would rather not get cox equipment since it is so expensive over a year. I'd rather get a tivo mini with lifetime for $250 if it came to that.
 
Your TV getting 1-99 in low-def is probably getting them over an analog connection. What you're looking for is a way to tune Clear QAM. Most cable providers only broadcast the locals in Clear QAM, with the rest encrypted. Many (most?) recent HDTV's have Clear QAM tuners built into them already, but it sounds like you've got SDV (switched digital video, requires tuning adapters) so I'm not sure how that works with ClearQAM, if at all. If your TV doesn't have a built-in tuner, it sounds like what you're looking for is a Clear QAM STB. Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to get more than a few channels in HD using it and they're not dirt cheap from what I can see (which isn't much), so I'm not sure it justifies the expense.

TL;DR: Its not that easy and its not that great... just the way Cox intends so you have to rent their gear.
I hope that wasn't too complicated!
 
Activate: AMD said:
Your TV getting 1-99 in low-def is probably getting them over an analog connection. What you're looking for is a way to tune Clear QAM. Most cable providers only broadcast the locals in Clear QAM, with the rest encrypted. Many (most?) recent HDTV's have Clear QAM tuners built into them already, but it sounds like you've got SDV (switched digital video, requires tuning adapters) so I'm not sure how that works with ClearQAM, if at all. If your TV doesn't have a built-in tuner, it sounds like what you're looking for is a Clear QAM STB. Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to get more than a few channels in HD using it and they're not dirt cheap from what I can see (which isn't much), so I'm not sure it justifies the expense.

TL;DR: Its not that easy and its not that great... just the way Cox intends so you have to rent their gear.
I hope that wasn't too complicated!
Click to expand...

I did some reading before I posted so the terms are not that unfamiliar. However, you summed up the points and tied them all together. Thanks, that is exactly why I asked.

Looks like I'll have to get a TiVo Roamio (6 tuner) and then get a TiVo Mini.

Going to be very expensive initially, but the alternative is to rent gear. I calculated my break even time and it is less than 36 months. Cox charges over $35 a month for whole home DVR and the ability to use it (programming), that does not include additional HD tuners.

I'd ditch it all if I was single and did not watch a lot of sports.
 
be careful, i expect you will need cablecards for the roamio if you want digital channels. Cox assuredly charges for those, which may alter the financial aspects.
 
ambientZ said:
be careful, i expect you will need cablecards for the roamio if you want digital channels. Cox assuredly charges for those, which may alter the financial aspects.
Click to expand...

The charge for the tuning adapter and the cable card (I have one in my current TiVo). Its less than $5 a month for both.
 
The tuning adapter is free with the rental of a cablecard. I have two cablecards from cox and I think its $1.99 per cablecard.
 
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