Cable TV question

krackeer · 10-21-2013, 05:28 PM

I am a Charter Communications cable subscriber. As of 10/29/13, Charter is going completely digital in my area. In order to get any tv stations at all, through cable, you will need a digital cable box, supplied by Charter for a price. Hooking the cable directly to your tv will no longer get you a picture. You probably see where I am going with this. If this happens everywhere, what will happen to RV owners and campgrounds? The cg where my TT is stored has Time Warner Cable. If they go totally digital, I will no longer have cable at the cg, unless I lease a box from Time Warner. I'm not a "true" Time Warner customer, so I imagine I would have to jump through some hoops to even get one of their boxes. I'm sure that this has happened elsewhere. What did you do?

Dan-Phyllis · 10-21-2013, 06:27 PM

we recently stayed at a campground in Cape May NJ that offered free cable. they supplied a cable box while you were there ($50 deposit required). we opted not to use their box and when i hooked up our tt the tv worked fine (50 channels). our tt is a 2014 however i believe most newer televisions have a built in digital tuner. if yours doesnt i think you can just get a box at most electronics stores that will convert a digital signal into an analog signal for older televisions. usually a true cable box is needed only for the non basic channels(they unlock the premium channels by sending a signal to the cable box)
. i would think that if your 2012 came with a tv it would work like ours did.

**Mustang65** · 10-21-2013, 06:57 PM

How is your Internet connection speed at the CG? If it is good, (does not have to be great) you can do what I did. I purchased a Slingbox and hooked it up to our main TV at home and it sends the output from the home DVR to my computer/tablet in the TT, which is hooked up to HDMI 2 on our tv. You then connect to the Slingbox from your TT and there is an on screen remote that allows you to control your home DVR as if you were there. Works great for us at all the CG's we stayed at this summer (11). Was able to watch the local news, the Tampa Bay Ray,s games and we still get to watch our regular recordings. The Slingbox unit I purchased was a refurbished unit for $99. If Slingbox does not have any refurbished units, try Amazon or Ebay. I also have a Dish Tailgater setup in the TT, but only activate it if all else fails.
Don
http://www.slingbox.com/

**norty1** · 10-21-2013, 06:59 PM

We had to get a digital box in Maggie Valley this time cause they just cut over to a digital signal. Charter Communications too! We had to leave a refundable deposit.

We have had to do the same in Florida in the past. It is a pain for the customers and CG folks.

I plan to look at dropping my cable at home and going to satellite. Take one receiver with me on the road.

I have not tried it without the converter, but will tomorrow. This is not a digital to analog converter like we had when the broadcasts went digital.

clubhouse · 10-21-2013, 07:08 PM

Comcast did this in our area several years ago, and over the air went digital in 2006, if your RV can receive over the air signals then the TV has a digital converter. In our area Comcast provided, at not cost, a digital converter box for old televisions. I would be surprised if Charter didn't have a no cost option. The comcast one for my garage TV isnt much larger than a deck of cards and basically has no "intelligence", it's simple digital decoder.

Additionally, all the CG I have stayed at that offer cable are more like the cable service provided In a hotel. They get special packages and services as commercial customers. I imagine the cable providers have a plan for CG--Simply raising the price would bring about the real probability that CG drop cable at their sites. Not what the providers want to see happen.

clutch · 10-21-2013, 07:57 PM

Only older televisions require a box. The park we stay in has digital cable and people with older televisions have to use a box. The park provides the box which is furnished by the cable company. No deposit here, if someone takes the box they are charged with either theft or defrauding an innkeeper. You check in and they have all of your information.

**norty1** · 10-22-2013, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by norty1

We had to get a digital box in Maggie Valley this time cause they just cut over to a digital signal. Charter Communications too! We had to leave a refundable deposit.

We have had to do the same in Florida in the past. It is a pain for the customers and CG folks.

I plan to look at dropping my cable at home and going to satellite. Take one receiver with me on the road.

Ok, I tried it this morning w/o the little box and although it worked fine 2 months ago, now I get only one channel telling me to get a digital box.The box is required to decode the signal no matter what kind of tv you have. Mine is new.

This may be the straw that sends me to satellite service.

This is not a digital to analog converter like we had when the broadcasts went digital.

krackeer · 10-23-2013, 02:45 AM

It just occurred to me, I have 3 tv's in my tt. I'm really in trouble now!

**norty1** · 10-23-2013, 07:40 AM

I think that these could be purchased if you were going to be using them a lot. At home. have all digital ready tv sets and each one has to have the little digital box.

Or get rid of some tv sets. LOL

LiftedAWDAstro · 10-23-2013, 01:11 PM

We have Time Warner Cable here and do not need a cable box to see channels. The picture is not in HD when plugged in directly though. Also in our area, you can still get all the local stations like CBS, ABC, NBC etc. over the air waves. Just need a digital antenna and TV.

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