A: You don't need it unless you want Discovery HD, Mojo, ESPN HD and TNT HD or subscribe to a premium channel such as HBO or Showtime; in which case you will need the box to uscramble them and get their HD versions, also. Otherwise, you will get unscrambled
What is hot?
- Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Control (Black)
CE (Hauppauge)
Price:$95.10$64.68- Easy to install, easy to carry. Includes remote control and portable TV antenna
- Includes Hauppauge's WinTV v6 application to watch and record TV in a window or full screen.
- TV StandardsNTSC Analog Cable, Over the Air TV ATSC Digital Over the Air HDTV Clear QAM Digital Cable TV
- Hauppauge WinTV DCR-2650 Dual Tuner Cable Card TV Tuner
CE (HAUPPAUGE)
Price:$149.99$106.99- Watch and record premium cable TV on your PC
- Works with Windows 7 media center
- Dual tuner
- Avertv Hybrid Volar Max TV Tuner Kit for Windows MTVHVMXSK
CE (AVer Information Inc.)
Price:$59.99$48.99- High Definition (HDTV) quality support up to 1080i
- Supports both Analog and Digital TV
- Multi-card support
- Mygica USB QAM HDTV Tuner, Clear QAM and ATSC with Bonus Antenna
CE (Geniatech)
$23.99- Watch free crystal clear HDTV ATSC (Clear QAM and 8VSB) TV on laptop and desktop - Supports up to 1920x1080i(HDTV)
- Schedule TV recording and save directly to your PC's Hard Drive
- Rewind and fast forward live TV show with Always Time Shifting recording
- Motorola SurfBoard SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem - Retail Packaging - White
Personal Computer (Motorola General Instruments)
Price:$99.99$82.00- Front panel, easy to read operational LEDs to indicate status and simplify troubleshooting
- Requires Cable Internet service
- Docsis 3.0 with backward compatibility with 2.0 and 1.x
Comcast, DTA's and once again the rise of the cable box
Comcast has decided to “digitize” everything, leaving maybe only local OTA channels on the analog side of their cable plant. I have seen this coming for a while and it has been making me more frustrated as time goes on. Right now I have 4 TV’s in the house 2 of which are analog only, and 2 of which are NTSC/ATSC/ClearQAM capable. 2 weeks ago Comcast sent me a letter saying that “if you don’t have a cable box or DTA (Digital Transport Adapter) on each of your TV’s you will cease to get the all the channels you get now on the analog side. I thought oh great here it comes, more money to the big ass Comcast to be able to continue to use my current analog tv’s.
So I went to Comcast’s “DigitalNow” web site and started reading that they would give you up to 2 DTA’s FREE in order for up to 2 TV’s to continue to receive limited/expanded basic channels. So I placed the order for 2 of them. They were supposed to be here on Monday, however when I checked UPS’ website, it showed that Comcast did not put my correct address on the shipping label and UPS couldn’t deliver the package. I called UPS and they refused to deliver it or change the address as Comcast had placed a mark on it that only they could change it. So I called Comcast and spent almost a half an hour on the phone (both wait time and talking time) trying to make them understand what they had did wrong. They finally had the light bulb moment and said she had to call me back.
Arris CEO: M&A 'Distractions' Took Toll on Motorola Home
The distractions and uncertainties that surrounded the sales process of Motorola Home division will show up in lower than expected sales in the second quarter of 2013, Arris chairman and CEO Bob Stanzione said Wednesday night during a guidance call coming about a month after Arris closed its acquisition of the set-top and broadband gear supplier.
He said second quarter sales will be in the range of $1.028 billion to $1.078 billion, centering on about $1.053 billion, roughly $53 million below the $1.105 billion the combined companies would have had in the first quarter of the year.
“Frankly, we expected some decline, but these results are weaker than our original estimate. We will have some work to do before meeting our target run rates,” Stanzione said, predicting that rosier times are ahead as Arris completes the integration. He said the company is on track to achieve the expected $100 million to $125 million of cost synergies within a year of completing the deal, but did not say how that process will affect the company’s base of 7,000 employees.