Do TV tuners work with digital cable?

[erikiksaz]

I wanted to buy a TV tuner, but i have digital cable. I have the Atlantic cable box, with the interactive menus and all that crap. If i were to buy a tv tuner card, say, this one this one. Would it work with my digital cable? I'll be using it in winxp. Btw, digital cable goes up to around 900 channels.

 

[IamDavid]

If you run the cable from the box to the card it will work but you have to use the box remote to change the channel and stuff. If you run the cable right to the TV card you will only get basic cable..

 

[Wolfsraider]

yes but you have to use the box and set the tv on pc to channel 3 or 4 like an old tv

i used digital cable with my all in one radeon that way and got a remote with the box to change volume and channels

mike

 

[erikiksaz]

Originally posted by: IamDavid
If you run the cable from the box to the card it will work but you have to use the box remote to change the channel and stuff. If you run the cable right to the TV card you will only get basic cable..

Ahh, all i really need are the first 50 channels or so, i guess. So just pluggin the cable straight into the card WILL work for sure right? I want my mtv and all that other schtuff

 

[vailr]

The Leadtek tuner card you mention will only receive analog cable. You'll get the same channels as you'd get if hooking the incoming cable signal directly (no set-top box) to a "cable-ready" TV or VCR. Most, if not all, cable TV systems use both analog and digital. The 80 or so most popular TV channels (such as MTV) are available on both analog and digital signals. There are some (expensive) TV tuner cards which can handle digital cable signals. This one is $379: Text

 

[Pauli]

Hey vailr-
Correct me if I'm wrong, but those digital TV tuners are for HDTV broadcasts, aren't they? I have digital cable and I don't think the digital channels are HDTV format. Or maybe they are, I don't really know.

 

[Wah]

I have time warner digital cable. My living room and bedroom both have boxes and TVs. My computer room does not have a box but I have a line going from the wall to my TV tuner and I can watch most channels up to 99. All the premium channels are scrambled (except HBO), but its enough to watch TV while I surf.

Hope this helps.

 

[kazamobah]

HDTV and digital cable are two separate things.

Digital cable usually refers to a standard NTSC signal compressed using mpeg.

HDTV is explained here.

 

[vailr]

Some cable companies are beginning to add (a few) HDTV channels to the lineup of their digital cable channels. Such as HBO or Discovery HDTV. The $379 tuner card could tune "off the air" HDTV stations, as well as "off the air" analog, and also cable signals, both analog & digital.

 

[Dari]

Most cable channels are scrambled so you will need to connect the box to the TV tuner. However, the tv tuner I have (ATI Wonder) can unscramble a very few amount. Another thing is that the cable companies change the frequency when it's a direct connection (why? Cause they can). The box descrambles the channels and maps them to the "correct" channels.

 

[erikiksaz]

Originally posted by: Dari
Most cable channels are scrambled so you will need to connect the box to the TV tuner. However, the tv tuner I have (ATI Wonder) can unscramble a very few amount. Another thing is that the cable companies change the frequency when it's a direct connection (why? Cause they can). The box descrambles the channels and maps them to the "correct" channels.

If this is true, this will be uber ghey. But, if i was able to directly connect the coax cable into a tv without the cable box, and still receive mtv and all the goods, this should work on my comp right?

 

[Bovinicus]

Connecting the box to the TV tuner card is probably the best way to go about it. That way you can have cable on the TV and on the computer. Or, you could go with a splitter, and connect it directly into the TV tuner card and into the box simultaneously.

 

[erikiksaz]

Originally posted by: Bovinicus
Connecting the box to the TV tuner card is probably the best way to go about it. That way you can have cable on the TV and on the computer. Or, you could go with a splitter, and connect it directly into the TV tuner card and into the box simultaneously.

Connecting it to the box, or splitting the line that goes to the box isn't really an option, it's a ways off. I guess i forgot to mention, i also have cable internet. I figure that i would split that line, one to the cable modem, one to the tv.

 

[Occifer]

Originally posted by: erikiksaz

Originally posted by: Dari
Most cable channels are scrambled so you will need to connect the box to the TV tuner. However, the tv tuner I have (ATI Wonder) can unscramble a very few amount. Another thing is that the cable companies change the frequency when it's a direct connection (why? Cause they can). The box descrambles the channels and maps them to the "correct" channels.

If this is true, this will be uber ghey. But, if i was able to directly connect the coax cable into a tv without the cable box, and still receive mtv and all the goods, this should work on my comp right?

That's what I did and it worked for me. I get up to channel 125 because thats all that the Leadtek supports. Go for it!