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What's up with these new channels I'm getting?
Treeloot
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
My family got a new TV a few days ago, and we've discovered some new channels. We get a few channels (Something called HDNet, PBS, Fuel TV, NBC, and "Espn fullcourt") in the 100+ range we wouldn't have been able to access before (our old TV topped out at 99), and a Spanish channel on channel 1.
What's up with these channels? We have regular cable (not digital), but these channels automatically switch to 16:9 ratio and have say they're in 720p or 1080i. For the most part the picture on these channels looks the same (or in NBC's case worse), except for HDNet which looked pretty damn good. Am I actually receiving some HD broadcasts in high definition here, or is my TV lying to me when it says they're in 1080i? I thought I had to call my cable company and have them do some things so I could receive HD broadcasts.
What's up with these channels? We have regular cable (not digital), but these channels automatically switch to 16:9 ratio and have say they're in 720p or 1080i. For the most part the picture on these channels looks the same (or in NBC's case worse), except for HDNet which looked pretty damn good. Am I actually receiving some HD broadcasts in high definition here, or is my TV lying to me when it says they're in 1080i? I thought I had to call my cable company and have them do some things so I could receive HD broadcasts.
Treeloot on
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why not call and ask them what's up?
Because last time I called them I was on the phone for like 15 minutes before they answered.
I was under the impression it was impossible to receive HD broadcasts without subscribing to an HD package. Was I wrong?
Thanks! I looked it up and my TV does indeed have a QAM tuner. Since we've got one, I think we'll be able to get HD programming when we upgrade our cable package without having to pay extra for a set top cablebox.
Yes. Its actually possible to get HD via rabbit ears. :P Obviously you need a decent antenna, but there are a fair number of stations broadcasting it now.
We're getting what seems like it's someone else's Pay-Per-View movie orders, as well as a 12 stations sports package we don't pay for. My dad claims he saw one of the movies rewinding when he was flipping through channels, and today while I flipped through channels there was a porno on!
While I understand why I'm getting PBS and the like, how in the world am I getting pornography? I'm pretty baffled here.
It does get annoying trying to watch a movie and have the guy who paid for it keep rewinding to rewatch a scene. Of course, can't really complain as I'm not paying for it...
Haha, I wonder which one of my neighbors ordered a porno?
Why does this happen? Shouldn't it be easy for the cable company to send the movie to only one person?
You'd be surprised. Networks are easy to accidentally fuck up, especially crazy custom ones with lots of built-in protection, like the cable services.
No. Their technology is surprisingly simple for the amount of data they deal with. Like the stupid frequency filters they put on for "local cable" packages that simply filter out the upper analog channels, rather than simply running 2 separate broadcasts.
Cable providers are cheapskates. They're also somewhat ambivalent and figure that people will not complain about getting more than they paid for -- as long as they're paying customers. It's an odd business model but it makes sense when you think about it. Say you pay for regular cable, and your neighbor pays for a sports package. And you also receive the sports package without paying for it. Are you going to complain about receiving more channels? No. Are you likely to keep the service since you're getting more than you paid for? Yes. In order to fix it, they would have to spend time and money fixing their network, which would cause viewers like you, who would not otherwise upgrade, to be mildly upset that you lost a freebie.
It's one of the reasons I usually recommend cable internet over DSL -- you can often get free bonuses if you do anything with the TV.