Depends. If you had to get basic cable in order to get internet service (some cable companies do that), then it's perfectly legal since you're paying for basic cable. Your local Fox channel (I assume that's what you're talking about) should be "in the clear" and come in just fine without a cable box if your cable system isn't switched digital video.
OFFICIAL DISH / FOX ORDEAL DISCUSSION THREAD
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I only pay for internet now....so I take it from the couple responses, hooking the cable back to my TV is a no no? BTW...I can get FOX on my OTA antenna.
What most people don't know and the cable companies want it that way is that they are required to carry a super basic tier that consists of you locals and a few others. It generally runs about $10/mo. Where I live (east of Rochester NY) I get the locals out of Syracuse, Rochester and Elmira NY. I generally get both SD and HD out of Rochester and Syracuse. The Elmira stations come in in the digital spectrum but are the in SD. So,if your getting your internet service through the cable company, give them a call. It's always a good back up.
Yeap, I tell people about this quite often and they usually don't believe me. Then they go to the cableco's website and find no mention of it and don't believe me... Of course they don't advertise it and do the best they can to hide it !
Normally if you get internet-only from a cable company, they charge you more because you don't have TV service. They have a lifeline cable service which is broadcast only (and clear QAM). Getting that lifeline service +internet is usually the same cost as internet-only. So.... if your bill from teh cable company won't go up by adding the lifeline service, you could do that and not feel any guilt at all. AND have another option for TV.
I THINK that the QAM channels are in the same range as the cable internet so they can't really trap it at the pole. It *might* be seen as passive theft if you watch TV from cable, but you ARE paying for a cable service to your house. The fact that they haven't trapped out video is not your problem. I'm not sure they CAN trap all video if you have internet through them.
I THINK that the QAM channels are in the same range as the cable internet so they can't really trap it at the pole. It *might* be seen as passive theft if you watch TV from cable, but you ARE paying for a cable service to your house. The fact that they haven't trapped out video is not your problem. I'm not sure they CAN trap all video if you have internet through them.
I used to get them this way when I had cablevision for my internet. Never used the video feed, except to let my wife watch the Eagles games off of Fox (E* only gives us the New York Locals)
while the cable co. had both New York and Philly locals as we are between both). It was a good backup when rain fade would pop up, and we only used it for broadcast networks.
I never considered it theft as they were free channels that they weren't paying for at the time (although I was paying $65 a month for internet access.... it was 30MB downstream service which was rare at the time about 5 years ago). Used a splitter and fed one cable to the computer and one to my bedroom tv. Their self install kit they gave me when I got the internet access even supplied the splitter and told me how to do it, so I hardly consider it dishonest since they supplied me with the tools and instructions and how to do it (assuming that everyone who got internet MUST have their TV service is a bad assumption on their part).
Hehe, I just tried it and get 20 channels including Fox News. I can scrap the FTA now.
The cable companies are required to send the locals through unencrypted right now, it was a requirement of the digital conversion. So any basic service subscription will allow you to get the locals. It doesn't matter if it is basic internet or phone, locals are unencrypted.
correct
There were a 1/2 dozen stations or so that were owned by Fox that got sold to "local TV LLC"...KC, SLC and Milwaukee are a couple others. Local TV LLC is letting Fox do the negotiations for them too
If you run the cable into your TV with a digital tuner you will be able to tune any analog or digital channels which are not encrypted.
The digital channels will not be on the channel number where you were used to seeing them as the cable company probably used digital mapping so a channel you used to see on 14 might now come in on 36.9.
Jim
The digital channels will not be on the channel number where you were used to seeing them as the cable company probably used digital mapping so a channel you used to see on 14 might now come in on 36.9.
Jim
This whole situation is being propagated by one main driving force. SPORTS. FOX wants a bigger piece of the sports pie and right now ESPN rules the roost. The NFL alone has garnered over a Billion Dollars from various networks including Monday Night Football on ESPN. FOX wants some of that money. Sports broadcasts are a known value to the networks, no risk, especially college football and Pro sports. NBA on TNT and TBS, College football on FSN's and several ESPN's as well as the major networks. Local NHL, MLB, NBA, college football and basketball on the FSN's. It's a gold mine without the risk of new half hour and one hour shows, with new ones offered every year. Several have already gone bust (Outlaws etc), costing the networks lots of money. Sports = BIG reward and minimal RISK. For everything you like to watch on TV, sports is the engine that drives the bus.
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