Cable users confused about DTV transition

Some cable subscribers are beneath the consequence that they charge to buy a agenda TV advocate box or they'll lose assertive channels they now get in analog—all because of the DTV transition.

That's not the case, but an adventure accompanying by our accompany at the Consumerist shows there's a lot of abashing here. Folks afraid about accident analog cable channels charge a agenda cable TV box, not a DTV advocate box, and the acumen they charge one is because their cable aggregation has absitively to bead some analog channels for business reasons—not because the government told them to do that. (Lest every cable subscriber account this blog panic, let me assure you that a lot of cable users don't accept to do annihilation to accumulate accepting the stations they now get.)

The changes in a cable company's approach calendar accept annihilation to do with the DTV transition, admitting some cable TV companies' ads ability assume to advance that. A DTV advocate box works alone with an antenna to cull in chargeless over-the-air TV programming, the above networks and a few added channels. You charge a advocate for any TV (or VCR) that doesn't accept a congenital agenda ATSC tuner. You accept to buy one from a abundance such as Radio Shack or an online retailer.

A cable TV box, on the added hand, can be absorbed up alone to a cable TV service. It can accompany you hundreds of channels, including the above networks additional stations such as CNN, ESPN, Disney, and others that are accessible alone on for-pay services. A cable TV box can be acclimated with any TV, including HD sets. You can't buy a box absolute (at atomic not at present); you accept to hire it from your cable TV company.

So if your cable TV aggregation says you charge a advocate box to get channels they’re "migrating to digital," what they beggarly is a cable TV box that can unscramble signals the aggregation is now sending you in encrypted agenda format.

Why are cable companies bottomward analog service? The acumen usually cited is that they can fit abounding added agenda approach into the bandwidth appropriate by one analog channel, absolution up amplitude for added high-definition and video-on-demand programming.

The aggregation have to acquaint afflicted consumers (it ability be in baby blazon in your account bill) and action the accessories they need—not necessarily for free, apperception you. A agenda cable TV box and limited about amount about $6 to $7 a ages for anniversary TV. So even admitting the aggregation is not adopting your ante or affective channels to a argent or gold tier, you'll wind up paying added to accumulate accepting all the channels you did afore on all your TVs.

Most cable TV companies are affective steadily to agenda TV manual (satellite and buzz companies are already there), so the autography is on the wall. Unfortunately, there's not a heck of a lot you can do about this, added than paying added or accepting less—either by watching alone what you can get on cable after a box, or by bottomward for-pay cable TV account absolutely and watching alone chargeless TV over the air. You won't get all the channels cable TV account has, but you ability be afraid by the superior of chargeless agenda TV broadcasts, including HD, which rivals or even surpasses what you get from cable. It's your call. —Eileen McCooey