time warner and cable box stuff..

[jjaomni]

my dad and me are wondering if there are cable boxs that can be bought 3rd party so we dont have to pay the 10$ from the cable company in 2009. i have qam tuner in the computer so i would like something that can do the qam stuff with. can someone point me in the right direction on where to go? i have time warner cable and dad has comcast.

[bogyver]

As far as 3rd party cable boxes that's a no, because of people using so called black market boxes to steal cable. The only real option for if you don't want to pay for a box would be to use cable card with a cable card tv or a Tivo 3. The problem with this is they charge about the same for the cable cards as the boxes.

For the qam on the computer, it will only be able to receive the unencrypted signals, usually just the locals.

[pastro]

As far as 3rd party cable boxes that's a no, because of people using so called black market boxes to steal cable. The only real option for if you don't want to pay for a box would be to use cable card with a cable card tv or a Tivo 3. The problem with this is they charge about the same for the cable cards as the boxes.

For the qam on the computer, it will only be able to receive the unencrypted signals, usually just the locals.

Here in Austin it's $7 for a converter box and $3 for a cable card. All of the analog channels are still there with digital cable service.

[whurlston]

You won't need the cable box if you only want to use QAM. Unencrypted QAM in usually available with the most basic tier of service. Note: for most people, unencrypted QAM means only the local stations.

As for purchasing a cable box. You are allowed to do it but I have yet to find anywhere in the US that sells them that the cable companies will accept as "authorized sellers". I've been able to find them at Best Buy Canada but they will not ship to the US. Ebay is not considered an "authorized seller".

[flyswatta]

Ebay is not considered an "authorized seller".

ROFLMAO

[jjaomni]

i don't see why the cable companies went this way. the phone companies stopped the leasing of equipment a long time ago. although i did find a leased phone on my parents phone bill about 7 years ago and it was a rotary phone that had been in the basement since the late 80's... i think they paid about 1500$ for the phone after i added up the charges on the phone bill.

[dgeezer]

Ebay is not considered an "authorized seller"

ROFLMAO

Uh-Oh. A few weeks ago I evicted this guy from a rental house that I own. One of the things he left behind was a time warner cable box. I sold it on ebay for about $75.00. I wonder if the buyer will ever be able to use it?

[jjaomni]

those boxes have mac address that they can be kicked off the "network" when the customer don't pay their bill from the way i understand it.
another good reason why i dont see why the cable company dont allow 3rd party cable boxes.

[jjaomni]

in the US can you buy a pizza pie satellite dish and get digital tv like from what i heard from people in Europe?