I could be getting free cable !!!!

[emperor_black]

I've always fantasized about it. No more $110 comcast bills for 90% crappy channels and they wont let me order only the few I actually watch. I'm moving into my new house which has dish installed and I can finally get dish tv. Just when I'm thinking things could not be better, when I connected my small tv to one of the stray cables in the house, I'm getting a LOT of channels! I've always thought it was a myth. free cable? Nah! That's almost as good as $1.75 for a gallon of gas!

Now how can I tap this resource? What do I need to buy so I can watch the higher number channels than the 109 the tv's inbuilt channel numbers can handle? If I connect a cable box, will comcast/disk network come to know and disconnect it? Lot of questions. Anyone else struck oil ?

[resestove]

Most areas still have the basic-extended packages on the analog frequencies of the cable. Just plug in your TV. You don't really need more than that.
Also, outside, make sure to remove the disconnect tab from the cable drop...if there is one.

To tap the resource just make your tv do a wire/channel scan.. and let it complete.
You'll find everything but the digital services and channels. Comcast is pretty good about provisioning....leave things alone at that and you'll be fine. Before digital came along, you could put a trap on the coax at the drop connect, and get the good channels.... those were the days.

[resestove]

That being said,

The basic extended package is usually analog channels 2-98...with a few oddballs after that.. You won't take up all 109 (most tv's are cable ready 120 chan..)

Any "cable" box you put it will get shut down, if it works to begin with. All they do is inventory tracking, run across your box, update the records.. and bad... resets the firmware to "walled garden"- meaning its unregistered equipment, and will not validate.

You dish box will not work on Comcast. And all cable boxes validate thru the firmware, and send a return signal, and it will eventually show up in inventory.

Keep it simple when it comes to getting free utilities. Don't get greedy. Don't tell your neighbors...


Ben doing it for years.

Worst case scenario... they come by, unhook your cable from the tap on the pole, and put a blocker on it. Grab a 8 foor latter, climb the pole, find your drop... remove disconnect tag (usually orange), and the blocker comes right off.. just push and pull and screw, they are supposed to be reversed threaded, but they are real not, you just have to make it catch to get the nut tu turn. I had to do this once in a ice storm... even more fun was, a cop saw me. He didn't care... was just making sure I wasn't going to get hurt... I showed him how it went on the pole ... the top level being power, 2nd tier telco, 3rd beng cable... he said thanks and drive off,

[Ben...]

Hello Resestove. Welcome. I don't think I saw any "hello" threads made by you so welcome to the JCF. You already seem to have some good info to share.

[Axewielder]

It's funny, of the dozens of times the incompetent cable company has screwed up and made mistakes with my service, they have NEVER left me with a single channel that I didn't pay out the ass for.

[Joelski]

THey probably don't care. When HD kicks in come February, you'll have to have a converter box to decode the signal anyway. No more analog signal.

[Cleveland Metal]

No, cable companies are distributing their own analog signal autonymous from TV Broadcast signal. I think it will still work just fine.

Overal cable rates will probably go up I'm thinking tho, haha...

[emperor_black]

Resestove, man, that's a lot of info. thanks! I dont think there is any "pole" near my house. I dont think its the same analog tv that I'm used to. This has lot more channels. Its defnitely free cable.

Now, I remember. When I was studying in Oklahoma state university, there was a friend of mine who used to get free cable. AND he used to get ALL the packages. I dont remember how we used to watch cinemax at his place. I think he just had the tv and no cable box.

Joelski, you're talking about "over the air" analog which will become digital and all the "rabbit-ear" antenna's will stop working. I'm not using one of those. I'm plugging my tv into the cable connection in the new house and I'm getting free cable. But just until channel 109. I need to find a way to tap into the higher than 125 channel numbers.

[Cleveland Metal]

You wont find a way

The reason you aren't getting the higher channels are that they are digital, you would only get them if you have the digital service package, requiring the respective company's digital receiver etc. They then control what you get and don't get on that box remotely from their site.

They keep the lower channels are unscrambled (not digital) as they are for basic service packages that don't require the digital receiver. For people that just want cheap basic service and dont want a box etc... Don't want pay per view or premium channels.

Things have changed a lot in the last few years. Not long ago, you could get chipsets to add to many boxes that would descramble signals. Most major cities have upgraded their systems to difital to combat piracy etc...

So far, there's no way to get the digital "cable" signals that I've seen yet. People get the satelite signals with help from specially burnt cards that get zapped a lot and require people to play the card game to get them back on. Not really quite cost effective either unless you're burning them yourself. Even then, it takes a lot of playing around, and some technical savvy...

[SEEGERMANY]

Keep it simple when it comes to getting free utilities. Don't get greedy. Don't tell your neighbors...

And for God's sake, don't announce it over the Internet!

[dg]

+1

There's a guy from here doing Federal time for being involved with a satellite piracy site. He may have been selling parts, too.

[joelayres]

Don't be a cheap ass - pay for what you use like the rest of us.
You WILL get busted - it's not a matter of if, but when.

[clifffclaven]

Don't be a cheap ass - pay for what you use like the rest of us.
You WILL get busted - it's not a matter of if, but when.

All they do when they "bust you" is shut it off. I had it happen 3 times at my old house.

[wilkinsi]

My family subscribe to a "cable TV + Telephone + Broadband" package. Personally, I'd be happy with just the broadband. The rest is a waste of money.

[Spivonious]

You won't get any more channels just using the analog tuner, but you might be able to get a few unencrypted digital channels. You just need a digital tuner that supports QAM. We have one built-in to the TV and it picks up the Music Choice channels, HD versions of the local networks, and some digital versions of other cable channels that we get analog versions of. All this with a basic cable package of 25 analog channels and <$20 a month. Imagine my surprise when I did an autoscan with the new TV and it picked up 98 digital channels!

The encrypted digital channels will require a box from the cable company.

I used to think I would miss the cable channels I watched (Discovery, TLC, Food Network, AMC, TCM, Comedy Central, etc.), but it's been a few months now and I really don't miss them at all. I especially don't miss paying the extra $40/month to get them all.

From my limited research, the cable companies have to broadcast digital versions of the local networks with all packages, so that explains why I get HD versions of NBC,ABC,CBS,UPN, and Fox. Anything else I pick up is simply unencrypted digital signals.

On a sidenote, anyone considering Comcast's Digital Voice VoIP service need to take a look at the price after the promo runs out: $34.99/month. I pay Vonage $14.99/month for 500 minutes a month, which I never come close to using all of. It's only $24.99/month for unlimited minutes.

Also, Comcast doesn't advertise it, but they have a 1Mbps internet connection that's $20/month. If you're not downloading lots of files and want to save some money, that's the way to go. Still plenty of speed left for YouTube.