bnelson0808's profile

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Sunday, December 15th, 2019 12:00 PM

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new to cable

how do I watch cable tv without a cable box

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Gold Problem Solver

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5.9K Messages

6 years ago

You will need a cable-box.

Problem Solver

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836 Messages

6 years ago

I think the days of being able to plug a coaxial cable directly into the back of a TV without a box ended when all TV signals had to become digital about 10 years ago.

Besides - what's wrong with using a cable box? Without it, you don't get, among other things, the channel guide.


 

Gold Problem Solver

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25.9K Messages

6 years ago

You don’t necessarily need a cable box. You can use the Xfinity stream app or website without a physical cable box.
https://www.xfinity.com/learn/instant-tv?pc=1

Contributor

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390 Messages

6 years ago


@ThatDonGuy wrote:

I think the days of being able to plug a coaxial cable directly into the back of a TV without a box ended when all TV signals had to become digital about 10 years ago.

Besides - what's wrong with using a cable box? Without it, you don't get, among other things, the channel guide.


 


My cable provider allows for a coaxial cable to provide about 75 channels, but none in HD.

Gold Problem Solver

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26.5K Messages

6 years ago


@ThatDonGuy wrote: I think the days of being able to plug a coaxial cable directly into the back of a TV without a box ended when all TV signals had to become digital about 10 years ago. ...

The "digital mandate" applied to broadcast stations, not cable networks. See https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/dtv-transition-did-not-require-cable-systems-switch-digital.

 

Many cable systems added digital channels well before the broadcast transition, and continued to carry analog channels a few years after. Cable systems switched not because of any federal mandate, but because, among other things, digital can carry more channels using less bandwidth than analog, it can be secured, and it can deliver HD.

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