Comcast has encrypted even the basic channels

[rdefino]

So comcast has encrypted the basic channels as of yesterday, so no I cannot use my hd home runs anymore.

this is getting insane. I do not want to go back to an OTA antenna, I always had issues with it.

They have a SD transport box they will rent me, but I'll need to change the channels on the box itself, can't use the hdhome run to change the channels.

Anyone has any thoughts or solutions for this.

thanks

[Beefcake550]

You have 3 choices as I see it:

1) Move on to WMC as it's the only game in town that "supports" DRM-enabled channels. I agree, this option is sub-optimal.

2) Get Colossus cards and either use the component inputs that are driven by cable boxes from Comcast. Control the boxes through SageTV with a USB-IRT.

3) Get Colossus cards using the HDMI input along with an HDMI splitter capable of "stripping" off the HDCP. There are a few threads on this forum about what to purchase. You don't actually use the splitter capabilities. You then control the boxes from Comcast through a USB-UIRT.

Good Luck!

[bcjenkins]

NOTE: I am not in a Comcast service area so this is anecdotal.

I have heard that Comcast is pretty open with cable card. If you were to use that implementation, you could get access to the channels you subscribe to. I'd suggest either finding someone in your area on CC and check the copy flag or buy a CC adapter, set it up and test.

B

[Skirge01]

I don't know where you live or how difficult/feasible it would be, but the OTA antenna I put on the roof was the best investment ever. Since almost all of our shows are OTA, getting reliable reception was worth the effort. I made sure to get a quality antenna which could pick up the stations we needed (TVfool and antennaweb are great) and amplified it just to be on the safe side and then ensured that there was a strong enough signal going to the tuners.

I'd suggest doing an ROI analysis to figure out what it would cost to get OTA and then what it would cost to go with a non-OTA solution. The OTA solution is generally a one time cost, while the non-OTA could be an ongoing cost. If you can recoup the OTA expense in a few years, then it might be a worthwhile investment.

EDIT: Also, keep in mind that the OTA setup won't need to constantly be monitored to see if channels are now being blocked or switched around. Peace of mind that your recordings are happening as expected has its own value.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by rdefino

So comcast has encrypted the basic channels as of yesterday, so no I cannot use my hd home runs anymore.

this is getting insane. I do not want to go back to an OTA antenna, I always had issues with it.

They have a SD transport box they will rent me, but I'll need to change the channels on the box itself, can't use the hdhome run to change the channels.

Anyone has any thoughts or solutions for this.

thanks

What area are you at. Try an OTA antenna as others have suggested here. Try a cheap rabbit ear one see how reception is. In my case I only needed an Indoor amplified antenna to get all the OTA channels in the Portland area.

[rdefino]

I'm in Haverhill, ma. I used an antenna before, but I think I never was able to position it correctly. I thinking of calling an antenna installer to point it correctly.

What do you think, should I use an installer?

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by rdefino

I'm in Haverhill, ma. I used an antenna before, but I think I never was able to position it correctly. I thinking of calling an antenna installer to point it correctly.

What do you think, should I use an installer?

There is a plugin that helped me point my indoor antenna right and that is the Signal OSD display.

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by rdefino

So comcast has encrypted the basic channels as of yesterday, so no I cannot use my hd home runs anymore.

this is getting insane. I do not want to go back to an OTA antenna, I always had issues with it.

They have a SD transport box they will rent me, but I'll need to change the channels on the box itself, can't use the hdhome run to change the channels.

Anyone has any thoughts or solutions for this.

thanks

u can use a usbuirt to control the comcast DTA boxes. I did this back when i had comcast and its DTA boxes. I had 3 actually working perfectly fine with the usbuirt.

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by rdefino

I'm in Haverhill, ma. I used an antenna before, but I think I never was able to position it correctly. I thinking of calling an antenna installer to point it correctly.

What do you think, should I use an installer?

Great info in this thread i started... tools to use, pointing directions, etc.

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48146

[mechling-burgh]

I'm Comcast Pittsburgh and have the cable card setup on my Sage installation because they encrypted all channels but the over the air channels. With the cable card in this area I can watch almost every station, just not the premium channels HBO Showtime, etc... If you a have a tuner box look up the service code online to see the flags settings for the channels you care about most. Comcast as a general rule right now does not copy flag anything but the premium channels. I believe I pay $7.00 a month for the card and can get three stations at one time with the HD Homerun Prime. This has been the best addition to my setup since the HD Homeruns.

[Skirge01]

Originally Posted by rdefino

I'm in Haverhill, ma. I used an antenna before, but I think I never was able to position it correctly. I thinking of calling an antenna installer to point it correctly.

What do you think, should I use an installer?

I put mine on peak of the roof, so I hired someone to do that. For ~$100, they mounted the antenna, attached the amplifier, aligned it, and ran some coax cable inside the house. I thought it was well worth it.

[reggie14]

If you're going to have a cable TV subscription anyway, then I highly recommend just picking up an HDHR Prime and getting a CableCard from comcast.

But, the antenna route is great if you just watch network TV, as it would allow you to drop your subscription.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

I put mine on peak of the roof, so I hired someone to do that. For ~$100, they mounted the antenna, attached the amplifier, aligned it, and ran some coax cable inside the house. I thought it was well worth it.

Cost me $500 for Antenna and mounting.

[Skirge01]

Originally Posted by BobPhoenix

Cost me $500 for Antenna and mounting.

What I quoted was just for attaching the amp to the antenna and mounting the antenna on the roof, plus running the coax back inside the house. Sorry if that wasn't entirely clear. But, I don't think the whole thing cost me anywhere near $500.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

What I quoted was just for attaching the amp to the antenna and mounting the antenna on the roof, plus running the coax back inside the house. Sorry if that wasn't entirely clear. But, I don't think the whole thing cost me anywhere near $500.

I didn't expect it to be that high but they had already started the install. Maybe they were also charging for removing the old shaft (the antenna already rusted away) - don't know/remember. I wasn't happy with the idiot installers in any case. They may have pointed it at the strongest signal. But I don't think it was the correct signal because I am unable to get one of the stations from the farm where they are located. It is 35 miles away from my house on a level plain but I have lots of trees in my neighborhood. I also loose the signal on a few others when storms roll through. Needless to say I will NOT be visiting them again. I use to feel guilty that I went to BestBuy to get my TV instead of them - but not any more.

[checkbin]

I concur with what reggie14 and mechling-burgh said about a cablecard and HDHomerun Prime. Although I have FIOS, if Comcast has all the channels you watch marked copy freely, the Prime and SageTV is an awesome combination. I can record everything except premiums like HBO, Showtime,etc. with Prime and the SageDCT add-on, and it works great!

[troycheek]

Originally Posted by rdefino

So comcast has encrypted the basic channels as of yesterday, so no I cannot use my hd home runs anymore.

Do you get any channels on the HDHomeRun at all? Comcast went full digital and encrypted basic cable here, but we still get about 30 unencrypted local channels, a couple of basics (WGN and I forget what else), and PBS stuff, about what we'd get OTA I figure. I kept my HDHomeRun for those and use a Comcast set top box with IR blaster (feeding composite into an analog tuner) for the rest, including HBO.

The IR blaster works well but about once a week it fails to tune the box properly. Considering it's recording almost non-stop most days, I think that's a pretty good average. I have a back burner project involving cardboard and duck tape.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by troycheek

Do you get any channels on the HDHomeRun at all? Comcast went full digital and encrypted basic cable here, but we still get about 30 unencrypted local channels, a couple of basics (WGN and I forget what else), and PBS stuff, about what we'd get OTA I figure. I kept my HDHomeRun for those and use a Comcast set top box with IR blaster (feeding composite into an analog tuner) for the rest, including HBO.

The IR blaster works well but about once a week it fails to tune the box properly. Considering it's recording almost non-stop most days, I think that's a pretty good average. I have a back burner project involving cardboard and duck tape.

Comcast will completely block all Broadcast stations abc cbs nbc etc... So an Hd Homerun will be useless unless you use an OTA antenna. They started in Ma as the user posted.

http://stopthecap.com/2013/04/17/com...le-tv-service/

[rdefino]

Originally Posted by troycheek

Do you get any channels on the HDHomeRun at all? Comcast went full digital and encrypted basic cable here, but we still get about 30 unencrypted local channels, a couple of basics (WGN and I forget what else), and PBS stuff, about what we'd get OTA I figure. I kept my HDHomeRun for those and use a Comcast set top box with IR blaster (feeding composite into an analog tuner) for the rest, including HBO.

The IR blaster works well but about once a week it fails to tune the box properly. Considering it's recording almost non-stop most days, I think that's a pretty good average. I have a back burner project involving cardboard and duck tape.

Nope, just 2 obscure channels when scanning with the HDHOMErun.

So get ready, it's coming.

[troycheek]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Comcast will completely block all Broadcast stations abc cbs nbc etc... So an Hd Homerun will be useless unless you use an OTA antenna.

I was just checking to make sure the original poster had actually checked instead of taking Comcast's word for it. Sometimes, they lie. According to a letter I got from them some months ago, they've already encrypted all my channels. As stated above, I still get some use from the HDHR and my TV sets with digital tuners. I'm sure total encryption will happen someday, but as I remember it was literally years after they told me that analog would no longer be available in my area before the analog channels actually went away. There are some advantages to living in a fringe area.