BTW, nobody has mentioned the obvious: WHY does the FPB signal have to be encrypted, which is the whole reason for having the cable box???

IMHO, charging for cable boxes is akin to paying for gas for a car. Sure, you paid a lot for the good or service, but, you gotta keep paying to keep the beast going! However, I think it's grossly unfair that anyone sells cable or satellite boxes which allows only the currently set channel to be recorded, which means that those of us with multiple VCR's or similar have to rent a cable box for each such device (i.e., the cable boxes have no programmable tuner; why couldn't they have something like VCR+ built-in?). Except for Tivo and similar expensive devices that charge you on top of the hardware, I can't find a single VCR or DVD recorder on the market that has a QAM tuner. And what about an option to buy outright or after 2 years of service? Of course, the allegedly free dish boxes cost up to $6/month for HD or similar services, so, by contrast, FPB's cable box is a bargain at $1/month; of course, it offers only a fraction of the channels/networks, so, maybe it evens out?

The plant board did tell you. YOu were not listeing or not interested in a push back.

If you are unhappy with the FPB cable, get a disconect and then watch the three Lex stations for free.

I guess you look to see if the light is red before you cross the street?

Same thing here> Plenty of explns were made.

It appears that Motorola \ or other makers,can sell cable boxes retail. However, a public utility is not allowed to sell the cable box.

Check further . . .

A standard cable box would not work because of the software that performs encryption. There are phases of the box software that are only available to public utilities. It allows the Cable Company to further automate their service.

Therefore the standard cable box would not have the same performance as the cable box rented by the plant board.

With these FEDERAL restrictions and tight copywriter laws it appears the local cable company does not have a choice.

Congrats to the FPB for paying attention to my post yesterday. After many weeks, today there is a video feed (instead of just audio) on digital channels A&E (45.1) and Lifetime (40.1)!!!

Steve you are starting to repeat yourself. The customers of the FPB know what the options are.

Even with a QAM tuner, FPB can't fully deliver right now. For example, the A&E digital channel (45.1) delivers only audio, no picture. The same is true with Lifetime (40.1), only audio, no picture.

P.S. AsommanofGod, you have cluttered up the front-end of the SJ site with 6 to 8 entries about your cable concern. Enough is enough! I have a suggestion.

Refer to the menu bar that is located at the top of the page and select "Services" and navigate to "Forums". You will be able to post your madness within the forums area to your heart's content.

Please note that I do appreciate your concerns as a FPB customer but, in my opinion, you have taken things a bit too far. Use the forums area as an outlet, please.

Thanks ever so....

"Is a Cable box or a qam even needed ?"
Yes!

ATSC tuners are designed to receive OTA (over-the air)digital broadcasts via an antenna.

The digital signal from cable outlets are of a different modulation therefore a QAM turner is required unless a dta box is offered as an alternative to those without a digital ready tv.

pianoman1 is correct. "It's that simple and doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

However, if a cable provider encrypts their entire programming QAM is useless and a digital cable box capable of decryption must be rented.

Let's put it this way. When the time comes, you won't be able to view your analog television. What do you think? You will need this box or buy a new digital television that has a "QAM". Take your choice. It's that simple and doesn't take a genius to figure it out.