Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with TV and cable

Need cable tv in Toronto (Bell and Rogers need not apply).

jmmpangaea — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:27:06 -0800

Torontofilter: Can anyone recommend a good cable tv provider that is not Bell or Rogers? I've finally had it with Rogers and Bell. Their customer service is appalling. I did a metafilter search on internet providers and found a good company, now I need to find someone that can handle cable tv.
HD, is not necessary, but would be a bonus if they provide it.

Will I get a a refund for the time spent lauching a new satellite?

Jimbob — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:44:41 -0800

What happens when the satellite my pay-tv satellite-dish is pointing at dies? Like tens of thousands of people in my part of the world, I get my "cable" TV via a satellite dish on my roof, pointing at a geostationary satellite. By my understanding, satellites have a limited life-span - am I right in thinking that this is probably more relevant to orbital satellites that will eventually fall out of orbit? - but in any case, a stray rock might hit my Austar satellite and render it useless.

Will my cable company then devote itself visiting every subscriber and pointing their dish at a new satellite? Is there any precedent for this?

Building my own DVR with Linux and Comcast

dcrocha — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:03:17 -0800

I want to build my own Linux-based DVR. Need some help on the specs and interop with Comcast Digital Starter Cable. Hi all,

I have decided to build my own Linux-based DVR to record and play the shows I get with Comcast Digital Starter cable package. I have read quite a few tutorials and all seems "easy" at first. However I would like to double-check with the hivemind on a few things.

My setup:

- Standard Dell destkop computer with 160 GB of Hard Drive and 2 GB of RAM
- Linux Ubuntu 9.04
- Comcast Digital Starter package with Motorola DCH70 set-top box. no HiDef channels.

1) I understand that I must buy a TV tuner card to receive the digital cable signal. Given my hw/sw setup, will this one do? Does it have a Linux driver?

2) Most tutorials and articles speak of "clear" vs "encrypted" cable signals. Why is that important? I "kind of" understood that encrypted = HD. However I don't have HD definition currently, and don't plan to get it. Will the TV tuner card mentioned above receive correctly the signal from Comcast?

3) The same articles say "plug the cable to your computer as you'd to your TV". However my cable doesn't plug directly into the TV. It goes first into the DCH70 box then there's another cable from there to the TV. Does that mean that I have to keep the set-top box and plug the cable going out of it (RF out) to the computer, then from the computer to the TV? Or should I insert the computer between the wall cable and the DCH70?

4) Using one of the standard DVR softwares for Linux (MythTV, Sage TV) will I be able to record more than one channel at the same time? How about watching a channel live and recording another at the same time?

I got excited about this DIY project and I feel like going through with it, but would like a little help from MeFi so I don't shell out some bucks just to find out that the setup doesn't work because Comcast blocks something or the setup is somehow incompatible with it.

I don't want my MTV.

nushustu — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:42:25 -0800

I want to dump cable, but I still want to be able to watch particular shows. Can I do this? I don't want to pay for cable any more, but I still want to watch Mad Men and a few other shows on my tv. Plus, I'd like to be able to record certain shows from the networks. But I'm completely overwhelmed with the possibilities on how to do this. I would rather not shell out thousands for an HTPC, nor do I have the time to build my own for cheap.

If I hook up a new non-apple laptop with internet access to my SDTV, will I be able to watch hulu, or shows I've purchased via Amazon, etc.? Also, if I wanted to record shows off of PBS without a VCR, would I be able to subscribe to tivo and have that happen without cable access? Will the quality of these shows suck? Again, we're only talking standard definition tv right now. I just want to be able to watch shows w/out jaggy, stuttery playback. Should I buy an Apple TV?

I'm completely flummoxed by the possibilities. If someone has a step-by-step guide on how to do this, I'd appreciate it.

Is there such a thing as an HD DVR?

jackypaper — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:55:13 -0800

My HD cable channels route through a DVR. I have an HD TV. Do I need an HD DVR to take full advantage of HD? Is there such a thing? Thanks!

Rogers or Bell for cable tv (Cake or death? Death or death?)

maudlin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:43:57 -0800

Toronto cable tv frustration: should I dump Rogers for Bell? I have a basic cable package with Rogers and have added on a few extra channels, like BBC World News. I'm pretty fine with the selection of channels that I have.

However, dealing with Rogers for any kind of service or billing issue is incredibly frustrating. I just got off the phone with my third different CSR regarding a switch of a couple of the extra channels that resulted in additional fees despite being told explicitly by an earlier CSR that no additional fees would be applied. The fees were finally removed today, but it's not the first time I've had to make multiple calls to resolve something.

So I'm looking at Bell and have found a comparable package that I could live with. But in your experience, is Bell generally more or less frustrating than Rogers when it comes to billing, support and installation? Are there any obvious benefits or drawbacks to making the switch that I should know about?

What you call "free AMC access" was invented by guys like me to sell nylons.

zoomorphic — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:59:27 -0800

I am crazy-excited about Mad Men season 3 airing this week. Unfortunately, my friends and I are frugal New Yorkers who don't get extra channels like AMC. Are there any bars in NYC that play Mad Men where we could actually hear the show? Or are there places where we could rent a TV and a room without going broke? Last year I bought all the seasons on iTunes and watched (agape!) on my little laptop, but I'd love to see season 3 episodes a) the night they air, and b) on a larger teevee screen. This is mainly because I want to gather loads of friends together who are equally obsessed, and maybe have a dress-up theme party.

I know that Times Square is playing the first episode this Sunday, but that only takes care of the first episode. Bars often play certain shows if you request them, but the TVs are usually small and in loud areas.

This hope seems a little dim, but I thought I'd invoke the Hive before I resigned myself to my small, lonely laptop screen. If anyone figures out this conundrum, I will take your secret identity to the grave.

DirecTV, DishNetwork or uVerse?

tippiedog — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:00:56 -0800

Dish Network, DirecTV or uVerse? We are a family of four living in suburban Austin, Texas. Our local cable service has changed hands two times in the last few years and is now owned by Suddenlink. We've had cable (with their provided DVR, a Motorola 6400 series) and internet with them for years, and have not been particularly unhappy until recently. With one of the buyouts, they removed some channels that we like (BBC America primarily) from our package and we really don't want to pay more for them.

But here's the big problem: I knew the DVR was not anywhere close to TiVo in functionality, but it did the job. In the last two weeks, however, they REPLACED the OS on the DVR (and cable box for our non-DVR TV, but that has less of an impact) and as a result, our DVR has lost some significant functionality and is practically unusable. That really pisses me off!

We're thinking of going elsewhere for TV and I would like your feedback.

NOTE: Our neighborhood was recently wired for AT&T uVerse, so that's an option, in addition to satellite.

Based on recent threads, it looks like MeFites generally prefer DirecTV over Dish, but Uverse is so new, I'm not seeing much about it on the green.

Here is some relevant info about us:

I'm not unhappy with my cable internet service; I don't see any reason to change it from Suddenlink unless there's a big bundling advantage

We have landline phone service with AT&T; we have tried Vonage and Suddenlink's VoIP but had voice quality problems (which may indicate that our internet service isn't that great; see first bullet item above)

We don't care a whit about sports on TV

We currently subscribe to basic cable + the big package of miscellaneous stuff: SciFi, Discovery, Comedy, TBS, etc., which is about what we would like to keep

We live by the DVR, so it's a must whichever way we go. Obviously, DVR usability is an issue

We get movies via NetFlix, so don't want to want to pay for premium movie channels

We watch primarily PBS, documentaries, some re-run sitcoms, etc.

We have one HDTV (with the DVR) where we do about 95% of our TV watching. We have a second, small analog TV in a study that hardly gets used for anything but gaming; we don't need a DVR for it

Watching iTunes shows on a Roku player?

The corpse in the library — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:29:56 -0800

Is there a simple way to watch an iTunes download on my TV set? I just canceled my cable and bought a Roku box (AKA The Netflix Player). I'm set up for Netflix and Amazon downloads. There's just one problem: some of the shows I want to watch -- notably new episodes of Lost -- don't seem to be available. I can get Lost on iTunes, but then it's on my computer and I'd rather watch it on my TV. My computer and my TV are at opposite ends of the house.

Is there a simple way to get an iTunes download onto my TV set?

Presume I know nothing about how any of this works. Some details that may or may not be useful: the computer is an iMac. We have an Airport and everything is wireless. I don't mind paying for my downloads -- that's not the issue. I have an older, half-broken Powerbook that could be involved somehow (can I hook it up to my TV?), and also a Series 1, coal-powered Tivo that isn't being used (we don't have a land line for it to call the mothership).

Trying to get PC/TV AND PVR functionality to merge onto my 42" lcd

prodevel — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:08:14 -0800

Is there a PC tuner card that can read from my Comcast digi-set-top box that I can control w/a wifi/bluetooth remote from 20-30 ft.? So after getting a graphics card with an hdmi adapter and a 30' cable to my living room, bluetooth keyboard, I'm in heaven - hulu.com 1 second, ReplayTV (Tivo type box) the next. The ATI DVI card and HDMI adapter somehow carry the sound... Well.

So now I want to replace my ReplayTV that I pay $13/mo for with a pctv card that will accept bluetooth/wifi remote signals from the living room. I'd like to use either SageTV or GBPVR for the software, but I'm somewhat open.

Also, If anyone has experience with a mouse that'll do 20/30 ft. reliably, that'd be awesome.

Thanks in advance.

Madamina's Hi-Def Comedy Jam

Madamina — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:31:43 -0800

Okay, I am clueless about matching up a possible new TV and TiVo unit with all of the HDTV/digital transition rigamarole coming up in the next few months. Complicating that, my cable (expanded basic) is included in my apartment building, and I probably can't upgrade service. Help? I'm thinking of buying something like this or this (the second one, although fancier than I need, has 120Hz refresh rate). I basically watch a lot of regular cable, mostly movies and Bravo and not a lot of sports, but I want to get a really nice solid all-around performer that I won't have to upgrade for a long time and won't notice on the occasions when I do watch, say, hockey or the Super Bowl. I also have TiVo, so I'll probably need to upgrade that as well. (Current TV is a little 20" Toshiba CRT, which is perfectly fine for my studio apartment, but I will likely get a bigger place in the next six months after I graduate and foof up my crib.)

My building currently has expanded basic cable from Charter. If I stick with these landlords later, I'll probably continue to have something similar. I looked on Charter's website, and I don't see any indication that they'll be upgrading to all-digital service anytime soon. (Love ya, Charter.)

So here are my questions:
--I recall that having an HDTV makes "regular" programming look like poop. Can I expect this to be any better after the digital transition?
--Does digital cable look any better on an HDTV than regular cable?
--For what I'm watching, will regular or digital cable generally be okay, or will I really want to upgrade to an HD package?
--If I keep regular or digital cable, will I need a special antenna to receive the broadcast channels in HD?

I want all-around service so that I don't enjoy most stuff and then suddenly turn to a forgotten channel and go, "Wait, but this looks awful!" I am lazy and don't want to keep upgrading a TV every time I find myself able to get better service. Basically... if I just have regular cable, is it even worth getting a new TV at this point?

NTSC needs to die, already.

Inspector.Gadget — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:47:06 -0800

My LCD TV, capable of displaying up to 720p content, doesn't (properly) deinterlace 480i cable content. What do I do? I have an Insignia NS-LCD19 television hooked up directly to cable (not through a box). I receive a mix of content from Comcast, including 720p and 480p content that looks fine and 480i content that looks awful and is full of jaggies. I have basic cable for free because the installer decided to split the cable (from my original work order for cable to be laid and cable internet set up) in order to compensate me for his godawful mechanical skills and the fact that I had to spend most of a day spackling and painting to fix the damage he did to the wall.

So getting a cable box isn't an option, because a) I don't/won't pay for cable and b) the TV should do the deinterlacing anyway, as far as I'm aware. I've looked through all the menus as well as the TVs manual and it doesn't seem like I can change any deinterlacing settings. What can I do for free or for very cheap that will result in the display of properly deinterlaced content on my TV? Am I missing something fundamental either in setting up the TV or otherwise?

What are the best options for cable TV + Internet in Chicago?

c:\awesome — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:43:52 -0800

What are the best options for cable TV + Internet in Chicago? Is it basically a choice between the lesser of two evils, Comcast and RCN? I'm not 100% sure RCN is available in my area, because their database says my address is unknown. But I'll be living in North Center, if that changes anything. Are there any other players in the Cable game?

I work from home so I need a good, solid Internet connection. I have an HDTV, so ideally I'd like a cable solution that offers the most bang for my buck.

Can't do Dish unfortunately.

Would I be better off doing a separate company for TV and Internet? Any benefit to that?

Help a Chicago cable newb.

Olympics 2008 on TV

hipersons — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:17:34 -0800

In the US, what cable channels do I need to have complete coverage of the 2008 Olympics? NBC is quite vague on their website, simply saying there will be 5 channels of coverage. I don't have cable currently, but I'm thinking about getting it for a month to watch the games. Thanks.

Replacing Analog Cable TV

hexatron — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:46:44 -0800

My analog cable(vision) just dropped 9 channels--prices remain the same. It's time for a change. I woud like to use another service. I would like to be able to record stuff on my computer. I am currently using a Hauppauge card on the analog signal, but can stand downloads from a proprietary box, I guess.

Is this possible? If so, who is best, or at least workable: FIOS, Dish, or DirecTV?

Help me identify Jon Stewart's accent

gregb1007 — Fri, 16 May 2008 01:04:01 -0800

Help me identify Jon Stewart's accent I was watching the Daily show the other day and had the stunning realization that Jon Stewart's accent is a rarity among television personalities, at least on the cable networks. (I don't really watch the broadcast networks anymore.) Since I really like it, I'd like to figure out what his accent actually is and what segment of society or region generally speaks it.

Will they find the pirated cable?

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:28:34 -0800

Will the cable installation guy find my roommate's pirated cable? I just moved into a new apartment, and found out from the current tenants that they have pirated cable- a guy who lived there about five years ago set it up, and even though he's long gone they keep using it.

I'd like to get actual cable, since the pirated stuff is only about 20 channels and I want to pay for a zillion channels of HD. My roommates are concerned that if I get someone out to install my cable, they'll find the pirated stuff (it's the same company, since only one company services our area). They aren't so much worried that they'd get in trouble since it's been there for so long and they aren't the ones that did it, but they don't want to lose their free cable. And I don't want to create strife between us, but I want real cable!

Is there a way around this issue? I want to ask if there's a way for my roommates to hide the lines, but I know that's ethically dubious so I'll stick to this- will the cable guy, with the equipment that he has, necessarily find the pirated cable line just in the normal course of installing real cable in my bedroom? ( The pirated stuff comes in through the living room wall, god knows where it originates from). Won't he have equipment capable of detecting that there's already active cable in the building?

Thanks....

Best options for non-broadcast television and the internet?

Lesser Shrew — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:46:19 -0800

Rejoining the current century – best options for non-broadcast television and the internet? Recently has a terrible case of poison ivy and wanted to work from home, but thanks to a combination of penny-pinching and laziness I got no internets at home and had to drag my oozing self into work for two itchy weeks.

To avoid this in future and watch Generation Kill in my own home – and because one hears my out-of-date tuners will grow legs and kill me in my sleep mid 2009 - something must be done.

Can I just pay someone $20 a month and slingbox all TV and have unlimited wireless everywhere on earth? Or is dealing with cable as horrible as it was a few years back when I moved and left it behind?

My local cable option is Comcast (formerly Warner Cable), and it looks like Harris County satellite could be limited to Direct TV and the Dish Network.

As long as I’m doing this, I’ll want the basic channels on at least 3 TVs so it would be best if I had something that would carry a solid signal on cable throughout the attic and maybe even out to the shed.

My current ISP, which has handled my email and some hosting for my entire adult life is okay with a dish.

On-demand programming, digital recording, and VOIP are not selling points for me.

I am open to either a internet/TV bundle, or to having different vendors for the TV and for the internet access.

Okay with connecting wires and boxes and splitters and and running cable through walls and basic box set-up/install. Not prepared for any custom programming or DIY with radio shack parts.

Cable TV weirdness

Cosine — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:22:15 -0800

Why is my cable TV signal acting differently and is this just me/just my provider? For the past 2-3 months I have noticed some changes to my TV signal, I have plain cable but no cable box. I'm wondering if this makes sense to anyone else.

The changes are;

1. Commercials are now much, much louder than programs; since the dawn of time this has been true but in the past few months the difference has become so great that my wife and I have to dive for the remote whenever one comes on because it blasts out as twice the volume of the show we were watching.

2. Audio/video unsynced; more and more often this is happeneing, sometimes the audio is as much as a second out of sync with the video, this seems worse on some channels than others.

3. Shows cut off at the end; more and more often shows are cut off before they finish, the most consistant one is Letterman, the last 2-4 minutes of the show are replaced with any number of other shows that I have never heard of.

4. Digital type interference; sometimes the video but most often the audio is garbled in that "digital interference" way, just for a split second at a time, the most consistant case is the first split second of each commerical or each show when it comes back from commercial, there is always a little, quick glitch of garbled audio, it's so short my wife didn't even notice it until I pointed it out.

Is anyone out there seeing any of these symptoms or am I losing my mind.. or both? Perhaps they are getting sloppy due to the looming darkening of analogue cable?

I want my Cable TV Recalibration? (Zenith TV circa 1990)

rumbles — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:53:28 -0800

Our TV is a Zenith Space Command (circa 1990, serial # SG5245S). At present it's hooked up to cable from Shaw (connections are all connected), but we only get about 4 channels (the rest are fuzz). Can the TV be re-calibrated? We have no TV manual (bought it used), and there is no apparent "reset" button, etc. There are buttons that say: Skip, Add, Band, AFC (?). Any guidance is appreciated....

Closed-captioning and cable TV.

desjardins — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 08:28:27 -0800

The FCC seems to indicate that broadcasters are required to include closed captioning, at least for new programming, but I have purchased several very recent movies on cable that lack closed captioning. How are the cable companies getting around these requirements? Why is closed captioning so inconsistent? If I rent a recent movie (last 10 years) from the local video store, it will almost always be closed-captioned. If I watch it on regular cable TV, there is a very good chance it will be captioned. If I PAY for it on cable TV (Comcast's On Demand service), it's a total crapshoot. What the heck? Lack of captioning makes the movie essentially worthless to me (I am hearing-impaired).

Can I use an old TiVo without a program guide?

UMDirector — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:43:39 -0800

Using TiVo Series 1 without programming guide? Can I still tape stuff? I am getting a free series 1 TiVo that a friend does not use. I only want it to record basically one show to watch in the other room where I do not have a DVR (treadmill TV!). I don't want to pay a fee for the programming guide for one show. So what are my options? Is there any sort of manual record this channel at this time?

Any suggestions if I decide later to expand the functionality? Not sure if I will but maybe.

FYI I have Comcast Digital Cable but plug in Analog stuff seems to work as well..if that matters.

Tivo filter: Can I take working cablecards from one Tivo and put them into another Tivo?

VeniceGlass — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:16:34 -0800

Have a Tivo HD with two working cablecards, but about to get a Tivo S3 - can I just take the cards and put them into the S3 until I get the installer out to put in new cards?

movie filter

queue_strategy — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:19:58 -0800

Cable TV Movie filter Been searching for an application that will alert me on new movies and other content premiering on my local cable provider (Cox cable). Would love to see a weekly email with personalized listings so that I could peruse and schedule interesting movies and other programs to be recorded.
Any ideas?

What's the best TV/Internet/Phone bundle?

doctorschlock — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:11:58 -0800

I've noticed that the cable/phone/internet companies are offering bundle packages. What's the best package: Verizon or Comcast?