[CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

[CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners
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anon @ 19th Oct 03:59PM:
[CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

Has anyone been able to receive any channels without the converter after the crush with a TV equipped with a QAM tuner. I have heard rumors that some people can still get all their channels without the converter after the crush.
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kentonet @ 19th Oct 05:07PM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

Any such rumors are lies.

All you'll be able to get are the over-the-air local channels in standard definition (ie. Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS)
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hjdiet @ 20th Oct 08:44AM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

Got crushed this morning (Bethlehem Twsp).... all analog channels gone... (there are some that just display a RCN message saying you've been crushed)...
I do not have a converter and we just get some network channels (in HD too).
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shadyman777 @ 20th Oct 08:50AM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

no converter boxes? Did you not get the two warnings RCN has been sending out? Or did you plan to lose services for the limited cable? Curious... that's all.
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mjr @ 20th Oct 10:31AM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

I actually have to say, I think the notification was clear this time around. Postcards in the mail, notes on statements, and a couple of robocalls all to insure I knew what was happening. Would have been difficult to miss...
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JimF @ 20th Oct 11:02AM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

There are occasionally some additional odd channels that come through unencrypted. I can at the moment get a few sports channels, including the Big Ten, and CNN in Spanish. It is of no use to me, and may not last long, but you might scan around.
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hjdiet @ 20th Oct 03:25PM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

In addition to our DirecTV, we have (or had) RCN Limited basic package (around $15.00 per month)... my wife liked some of the channels that we didn't get on sat (NY channels)... so I thought we would wait this out and see what happens... now I know.
I checked RCN's website and I cannot find the limited basic package...
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wbertram @ 20th Oct 04:02PM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

Unfortunately, the RCN web site only addresses pre-crush prices. Nothing about post-crush.

However, my latest post-crush bill states the cost of limited basic as 17.95, I believe.
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hjdiet @ 21st Oct 09:49PM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

I called them (RCN) today to discuss my options... I was going to cancel completely..but they lowered the price $10 dollars a month.
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Flyersfan72 @ 26th Oct 02:54PM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

hjdiet - did you get a postcard in the mail prior to the crush? I'm curious because I saw THREE RCN trucks working on a line on Roosevelt St. in Coplay - about 3/4 of a mile from my house. Of course they were south of where I live - closer to the two way area but the fact that I saw trucks is a sign they're getting close but I still haven't received any postcard.

Anyway, I'm still not clear what kind of channel line up I can expect given that I'm in a non rebuild/one way area. Do my "old" lines have the bandwidth to support the increased number of channels yet still not provide two way functionality?
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Enjoralas @ 26th Oct 11:55PM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

said by Flyersfan72 :

hjdiet - did you get a postcard in the mail prior to the crush? I'm curious because I saw THREE RCN trucks working on a line on Roosevelt St. in Coplay - about 3/4 of a mile from my house. Of course they were south of where I live - closer to the two way area but the fact that I saw trucks is a sign they're getting close but I still haven't received any postcard.

Anyway, I'm still not clear what kind of channel line up I can expect given that I'm in a non rebuild/one way area. Do my "old" lines have the bandwidth to support the increased number of channels yet still not provide two way functionality?

If I had to guess, and it's only a guess, I would say that the lines can support all of the channels. Do you currently receive all of the channels RCN offers? I don't really have any experience with one-way cable, but I would bet that the issues are mainly in the actives, amplifiers, nodes, etc. If they're not return capable they would all have to be changed. The return path for CATV is all below 50mhz, so if the cable is not able, it should be on this low end where it is deficient. Can you get travel HD? Looks like that is at 771 mhz, which is near the upper limit of what coax can (currently) handle.

EDIT - After seeing your other message in another thread I checked out the "Non-Rebuild" lineup on RCN.com. Wow, that's pretty bad. Do they charge the same rates as in the rebuild areas?
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hjdiet @ 27th Oct 08:21AM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

FF,
We did get a postcard and knew the date of the crushing.. (Oct 20th) but because we have DirecTV...I was not going to get another tuner box.
When is your crush date???
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Flyersfan72 @ 27th Oct 06:54PM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

Yes - RCN charges the same amount for rebuild and non-rebuild. Notice there is no distinction on their main page that lists prices? Same thing goes for cable modem. My max download is 3mb and upload is over a 33.6K old school modem. So in addition to paying for the cable modem service I also am required to subscribe to a phone line for another $30 a month.

I b****ed about the cost a few times. Most recently I've gotten some people to help out and the bill is a little more respectable but I don't expect that to last long - never seems to.

Interestingly enough we woke up to no internet, no cable tv this morning. Checked with a couple neighbors - they were out as well. I apparently was the first (or one of the very early ones) to call because I was told there was no report of a general outage. They were going to send someone out today - between 8am and 9pm. I asked if, since the guy was coming to my house anyway, could I get him to bring some new boxes and do the installation while he was here. Basically she nicely told me we're not colse to being done yet and that I should wait for the letter in the mail. No problem - if they want to come back a second time - so be it.

I got two of my neighbors to call in and they were told there was a general outage and someone would be out to fix it "a.s.a.p.".

My one neighbor was told that she no longer was receiving tv because she had not yet requested her new cable boxes. They set her up with an appointment for tomorrow to have two boxes installed at which time her television service would be restored.

Ironically enough she had just called RCN yesterday about this after seeing a commercial encouraging customers to call and make an appointment to have the new boxes installed. Yesterday she was told they weren't ready to do this area yet and she should wait for a postcard in the mail at which time she could call and make the appointment. Miscommunication somewhere.

So I started to wonder - could it be that they did the upgrade here without letting us know? I figured naaaaaah - not RCN. ;)

So I called back and spoke to another rep (just in case) who said no, we had not been crushed - it was some kind of general service outage. Same story as before - wait for the postcard in the mail then call to make the appointment.

So my neighbor (the one who was told she'd have to wait until tomorrow sometime to get her tv's working) called me around 2:30 to say that she noticed her tv's were working again. Strange how that happened without having the new boxes installed.

So blah blah blah, sorry for the long ranting post but this kind of stuff is too funny not to be shared.

I'm not sure when our area is set to be done. If they're on schedule to complete everything by the end of the year I'd assume I'll get a postcard within the next couple weeks at the latest if they are going to give us at least 30 days heads-up - as I've been told.

Another day in the life of an RCN customer........
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Flyersfan72 @ 28th Oct 11:47AM:
Re: [CATV] Crush and QAM Tuners

Just a quick follow up - my neighbor had her new converters installed today. Apparently the installation went smoothly - the guy was there for about 10 minutes after hooking them up to make sure everything was working and then left.

About 10 minutes after he left - the signal went out....no tv. They called RCN who tried to contact the guy but were unable to reach him. So now they have a service appointment set up for tomorrow sometime between 8am and 9pm.

Nice.
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