cable 101

[cellio]

There's a question for the LiveJournal brain trust at the end of this entry.

We need to install cable service in the new TV room. We had an electrician in anyway for something else and asked him to just do that too, but it didn't work and he's not returning phone calls. Rather than put up with the extension cords across the hall forever, we decided to just get the cable company to do it.

The popular wisdom seems to be that you order digital cable service for a month, which forces them to upgrade the wiring and not just use whatever crap is lying around, and then if you don't really want digital cable you just cancel it. This is ethically (and halachically) quite iffy, and were it not for the "try it! you'll like it! really1 we'll even give you the first month free if you stick around!" stuff plastered all over their web site, I might hesitate.

But they're pushing it in the way I just described, so I've just ordered it. My goal is to have installation happen on one of the days when Dani will be home from work anyway (next week or the week after); they're supposed to call to confirm.

I think this is going to mess up our VCR setup, but I am naive in the ways of cable. We do not currently use any sort of special cable box; the wire comes out of the wall, plugs into our "surge protector", and goes out from there to the VCRs and TV (via splitter). The web site seems to be saying that you can't get any signal without the converter box (which they'll supply). It used to be that cable service came with an A/B switch, so you could at least plug the bands into different VCRs if that helped you resolve a conflict. No more, I gather.

My question is about simultaneous recording from a single cable feed -- our problem is Wednesday nights, when we currently record "West Wing" on one VCR and "Twilight Zone" on another. I gather that this will not be possible with a converter box. Is that right? Is there a solution other than renting a second converter box?

This, and price, have actually been my barriers against getting "real" cable service for years. I get almost everyhing I need for $12/month and no box; getting the Sci-Fi channel (and some others) would be worth some boost in cost, but not if the converter box limits me in that way.

Comments

[geekosaur]

They've been gradually upgrading from A/B to single cable. However, I am under the impression that this in itself doesn't require a converter box; and only the digital channels require the box, unless something has changed recently.

[jducoeur]

If they're telling the truth that you can only get signal through the cable box, then yes, you'd have to rent a second one. This is unlikely, though. In most systems, the bottom hundred or so channels are still analog, and the unscrambled ones (which presumably includes anything you're currently watching) can still be pulled from the wall. Only the fancy digital channels require the converter. You will need a splitter, though, and an A/B switch if the TV doesn't have dual inputs built in.

Also, keep in mind that, if you want to tape stuff coming out of the cable box (the fancy digital channels), the VCR has to feed from the box. This typically makes programming more complex, since the VCR can't just change the channel -- you have to have the VCR timed to start recording, and the cable box timed to change the channel. (Some of the fancier boxes and VCRs have ways around this, but it's all very inconsistent.)

-- Justin
Whose TV setup involves a four-way split: one going to the cable box, thence to the best VCR, and thence to the TV; one going directly to the TV; and two going to the lesser VCRs, thence to the receiver and thence to the TV. Yes, I have multi-page instructions on how to turn on the television set...

[beegle.livejournal.com]

My question is about simultaneous recording from a single cable feed -- our problem is Wednesday nights, when we currently record "West Wing" on one VCR and "Twilight Zone" on another. I gather that this will not be possible with a converter box. Is that right? Is there a solution other than renting a second converter box?

A second converter box is the least painful option. :)

You can split the cables before the converter box (before is important). At that point, you attach one set of cables to the converter box and the other set to an A/B switch (which the cable guy'll probably give you if you ask nicely).

You record one program through the converter box. You set the channel on the converter box and tell your VCR to record channel 3.

You record the other channel from a VCR hooked up to the "out" side of the A/B switch. In the TV guide, there are "cable-ready" channel listings like 34A or 71B. These channels are different from the channels with the converter box. If you wanted to watch something on 21A, be sure that the switch is set to the right side (A), and tell your VCR to record channel 21. You won't be able to get digital channels through this side of the setup.

The upside is that if you're recording a regular show, you only need to figure the whole mess out once and then remember it.