Must Carry 720p?

[EdwardATeller]

I just lost my Clear QAM signal for Fox 29 out of Philly. RCN is rolling a truck tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure they simply scrambled the signal, and the truck roll will be a waste of time. Fox 29 broadcasts OTA a fine 720p signal. Does my cable company have to carry the same resolution? Thanks.

[sainswor99]

Must-carry has become increasingly convoluted with the transition to digital broadcasting, since many stations are broadcasting both analog and digital signals. Assuming that the station has a must-carry contract with the cable provider, some cable operators are interpreting the law to refer to only the analog broadcast. Others make the argument that if the station is broadcasting in digital and they "must carry" the signal, they can meet that requirement by carrying the station with a digital box (i.e., no Clear QAM).

In other words, the law is open to interpretation, and it depends on how the cable operator interprets it, and whether or not anyone has challenged it.

[EdwardATeller]

Thanks for the explanation. I guess I'll be watching my Fox shows in 480i. BTW, they are carrying ABC, NBC, and CBS in Clear QAM HD, for now.

[sandor]

How far from the Roxborough antenna farm are you? could you just switch to getting all the locals OTA?

[EdwardATeller]

OTA is a nice long-term solution. We are looking to move, and I might use the availability of OTA as one of the criteria. What do they grow on the farm?

[Fluffdaddy]

Large fresh antennas

[sandor]

Originally Posted by Fluffdaddy

Large fresh antennas

[ChrisNH]

Have you tried doing a rescan? I know that my cable company has shifted stuff around from time to time.

Chris

[Ryokurin]

I think it just matters that they provide the locals in a clear open format. Some companies are putting the HDs out, and others like mines is only putting a few locals out in HD, but the rest are just clear SD versions. It's why I still record off the air.