Some Cable QAM Questions

[Reel]

1) Are cable companies obligated to provide unencrypted QAM of local broadcast channels or is that a "kindness of their (black) hearts" thing?

2) Has anyone found a good way to explain QAM to the tech support drones when you call to discuss it? (I thought I explained it well to one guy and he told me to make sure my cable box was plugged in so they could send a signal to it. Clearly he did not understand.)

And the story:
My QAM channels which I use to record in HD using MythTV have been significantly reduced. I lost all but 2 of the networks and I have tried multiple tuners, cables, and times of day and I have been unable to rediscover the channels. This not a huge problem while we are in the hiatus of network programming but will become frustrating in a couple months when the seasons resume. The end result of my call to technical support is that a technician is coming to visit tomorrow. I doubt they will identify anything since I suspect that it is a larger problem because I had a friend approximately two miles away scan the QAM using his HDTV tuner and he found the same ones I found as well as not finding the ones I recently lost.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Reel
1) Are cable companies obligated to provide unencrypted QAM of local broadcast channels or is that a "kindness of their (black) hearts" thing?

Yes. It's an FCC rule.

2) Has anyone found a good way to explain QAM to the tech support drones when you call to discuss it? (I thought I explained it well to one guy and he told me to make sure my cable box was plugged in so they could send a signal to it. Clearly he did not understand.)

Why are you explaining QAM to them? Tell them you can't get channels X, Y, and Z on your TV any more.

 

[Reel]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: Reel
1) Are cable companies obligated to provide unencrypted QAM of local broadcast channels or is that a "kindness of their (black) hearts" thing?

Yes. It's an FCC rule.

2) Has anyone found a good way to explain QAM to the tech support drones when you call to discuss it? (I thought I explained it well to one guy and he told me to make sure my cable box was plugged in so they could send a signal to it. Clearly he did not understand.)

Why are you explaining QAM to them? Tell them you can't get channels X, Y, and Z on your TV any more.

They automatically assume I am talking about the cable box. If I am not getting channels, then the cable box is broken. Hopefully the technician coming out tomorrow will be more knowledgeable. Thanks for the answers.

 

[Slick5150]

The actual techs are usually fairly knowledgable from my experience. But I'm not shocked the person on the phone had no idea about HD channels without a cable box.

 

[Reel]

Well, the tech just left. My signals were a bit low but unfortunately fixing the signal strength did not restore my missing QAM channels. He did not know much about QAM and claims that he will call the headend, inquire more about it, then call me back.

 

[erwos]

If they give you the run-around for much longer, just file a complaint with the FCC. They all take notice of that _really quick_.

http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm

 

[Reel]

Awesome link! Thanks very much!

 

[Shawn]

Are you sure the channel numbers weren't just reassigned? They do that every so often.

 

[XMan]

Here's a good resource to find out what QAM channels might be available in your area.

 

[Reel]

Originally posted by: Shawn
Are you sure the channel numbers weren't just reassigned? They do that every so often.

Yeah. I rescanned a few times and only a few show up that are not pulling the channel number and name from the cable. I checked those and none are the ones I have lost.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

afaik, the cable companies are required to provide local channels unencrypted but that doesn't necessarily imply they must do that for HD channels. If they are providing a digital broadcast of a local SD channel they may not be required to provide that same channel unencrypted in HD.