Free cable?

[Colly0410]

Here in England if you take your broadband/landline phone from Virgin Media you get their medium cable TV package free. It has all the Freeview (TV via the antenna) channels plus radio & you get guest channels for a few weeks at Christmas, these are to try & get you to upgrade to their large, extra large, sports & movie channel packages, they also phone you every few months to try & get you to upgrade. (In other words give them more money) Does any phone company in USA offer free cable TV?

[Electronic M]

I know of a cable company that offers phone and internet. Time Warner Cable provides us with all 3, and all 3 come through coax. The Phone and net come from the same cable modem.
IIRC in Chicago in the early 2000's AT&T had a cable service we were on.

We have more than basic cable since OTA reception is good here, and I don't particularly like much* of anything that is OTA.
*The only things I like are the old classic shows that fall into that "there just ain't enough hours in a day to watch this" category. Most days I only watch 0-0.5 hours of TV.

[jsowers]

My phone company offers cable and broadband internet and phone, but not for free. It's called Windstream and they bought out the local telco, an independent company that already had a good cable TV option covering about half of the county, so they continued it.

I switched to their cable a year ago, from having Time-Warner cable for 25 years, and haven't regretted it one bit. These people know how to do it and it's much better in every way than Time-Warner cable. They still offer analog cable with digital local channels including the sub-channels. No box required and it works with my old TVs.

I didn't opt for the cable modem phone line since it didn't work in a power outage and also probably wouldn't work with rotary phones, which I still use. I kept my POTS line. I told someone I got the "grampaw" package.

What they did do for free was install it, including burying a new line from the pole to the back of my house. My picture is much better and more reliable than Time-Warner and they have enough sense not to put the digital channels on the same channel number as over the air. With Time-Warner, the channels fought and sometimes I had TWO channels with the same number.

[Jeffhs]

The title of this thread is misleading, IMHO. There is no free lunch, as the expression goes. I don't care what cable service you have, you're going to pay for that service even if you have basic cable (broadcast channels only), as Time Warner refers to its lowest tier of cable TV service. No payment, no cable. It's as simple as that.

I have TW basic cable, phone and Internet, and like it a lot. I'm not using the cable, as I have a Roku player with the TWC TV app. This means, of course, I am watching TV via streaming video, not over the cable. The only reason I have cable on my account at all is so the TWC TV app will receive my area's local channels (this is, as I understand it, a quirk in the cable operator's billing system--at least Starter TV service [broadcast channels only] is required if you want local TV channels through your Roku as well as other streaming services; I seriously doubt, however, if this policy will change any time soon). There is absolutely no way to legally circumvent this requirement; it is impossible, as access (or lack thereof) to any cable channel is controlled at the headend and also dictated by the service package you currently subscribe to. This means Roku's claim that the player can receive 200 or more channels (with the TWC TV app if local channels are desired) is valid only if you have a subscription to a video package which offers this many channels. This also means many of the streaming channels in Roku's "channel store" will not work unless you have a video package which carries those channels; in other words, don't try to add, for example, the National Geographic channel from the channel store if your cable service is Starter TV--it won't work. The channel will be added to your Roku's home screen, but any attempt to set it up will fail immediately (you will get a window on your TV screen asking you to contact your cable operator to upgrade your service) and the channel, of course, will not work until or unless your cable service is upgraded to a package which has this channel in its lineup. The cable system is set up such that, again, there is no way to legally get around this, so please, don't even try--you will get nowhere fast and, at worst, you could lose your cable service or even face charges of cable theft if you somehow manage to receive cable channels for which you are not paying.

[Electronic M]

I missed the 'free' part of the title...No part of TWC is free.

Originally Posted by jsowers

My phone company offers cable and broadband internet and phone, but not for free. It's called Windstream and they bought out the local telco, an independent company that already had a good cable TV option covering about half of the county, so they continued it.

I switched to their cable a year ago, from having Time-Warner cable for 25 years, and haven't regretted it one bit. These people know how to do it and it's much better in every way than Time-Warner cable. They still offer analog cable with digital local channels including the sub-channels. No box required and it works with my old TVs.

I didn't opt for the cable modem phone line since it didn't work in a power outage and also probably wouldn't work with rotary phones, which I still use. I kept my POTS line. I told someone I got the "grampaw" package.

What they did do for free was install it, including burying a new line from the pole to the back of my house. My picture is much better and more reliable than Time-Warner and they have enough sense not to put the digital channels on the same channel number as over the air. With Time-Warner, the channels fought and sometimes I had TWO channels with the same number.

You are lucky to still have analog cable. TWC killed that here this summer, and I believe they were the last analog TV holdout in my area.

Service is pretty good, but the digital changeover instituted some things that don't sit well with me.

Surprisingly the cable modem/phone service box works great with rotary dial phones. Me and a friend, have the same service with different model phone modems, and both support rotary dialing and have the oomph to drive at least 3 ringers easily.

My modem has a connector for a rechargeable back up battery, but no battery, so my solution to outages is to connect the modem power cord to the same cheap Uninteruptable-Power-Supply (battery powered AC backup system) the main computer is powered through. If the computer is on I have 30 minutes of modem operation, MUCH more if the computer is off.

Having a cell phone (essential for road emergencies/leaving home IMO) makes a %100 reliable landline unnecessary anyway.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I missed the 'free' part of the title...No part of TWC is free.


You are lucky to still have analog cable. TWC killed that here this summer, and I believe they were the last analog TV holdout in my area.

Time Warner will eliminate analog cable in my area, 30 miles east of Cleveland, by the end of this year. I got a letter from them yesterday stating that two channels would be moved to digital tiers next month, being watchable only with a digital transfer adapter (DTA) or a TWC-issued cable box ahead of the TV. The letter did not go into any further detail as to when the remaining analog channels will be moved to digital.

If, like myself, you are using a Roku player ahead of your television instead of a TWC-issued cable box, however, you may notice two sets of channels on the channel listing which shows on the left side of your TV screen, which is used to change channels using the up/down buttons on the remote control. (There is also an on-screen channel guide, accessed from the Roku home screen and operated via the remote.) TWC tech support says the lower numbered channels (2, 3, 4...etc.) are standard definition channels, whereas the second set of channels are the HD ones, and are numbered starting with 1001. Both sets of channels will be available even after TWC eliminates analog cable, although older TVs will only show the SD (standard definition) channels.

Note that Time Warner Cable is the last cable operator in the US which still has analog channels on its systems. Since they are transitioning to all-digital service (have been for some time), however, the removal of analog channels is a logical step toward this goal, as most people now have flat screen TVs these days. The exceptions are antique/classic TV collectors who may be able, if they are TW Cable subscribers, to use their treasured old sets with the SD service without the use of a cable box.

If you have cable service with Comcast (parent company of NBC Universal) or most other US cable operators, however, you will need a cable box ahead of your TV to get anything at all. Canadian cable operators still have analog service in some areas; however, I do not know if they have plans to eventually convert every cable system in the country to DTV, as American cable operators did years ago.

BTW: Tom C. (VK member Electronic M), you are absolutely correct. As I mentioned in the first sentence of my post, there is no free lunch and, of course, no free service on Time Warner Cable or any other US or Canadian cable company. If you want free TV, hook up your old classic set(s) to a DTV converter box and an antenna. DTV converter boxes are still available on eBay and probably CL as I write this, although since most average TV viewers now have flat screens and have almost certainly junked or otherwise disposed of their old CRT televisions, I honestly don't know how much longer converter boxes will be available, even on the used market.

[Colly0410]

Interesting replies, thanks. There are lots of Telco's who do broadband/landline cheaper for the first year or so, but you have to have a live British Telecom line installed, we have a BT socket in the house but it's dead. They want 100's of pounds to make the line live again & this would wipe out any savings I'd make by changing Telco. I'm considering having the landline disconnected so saving a few pounds a month as we have 3 cell phones & hardly ever use the landline. BTW forgot to mention: with the cable TV you get BBC i-player, ITV Hub, channels 4 & 5 catch up services & You Tube thrown in as well...

[centralradio]

After seeing the thread title.I'll say yes years ago but not now to get free cable.I remember those old Radio Electronics articles on how those descramblers work.See the old RE Mag on American Radio History website.

http://www.americanradiohistory.com/...IDX/search.cgi

Even with all the disclaimers in the articles .I'm still surprised they got away printing those articles.Freedom of the press is it .Analog has been gone from here since December 2012

[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by Colly0410

Does any phone company in USA offer free cable TV?

The nearest thing to free might be when they have "package discounts", which is what you have (pay for data and phone, get TV "for free"). Such packages are often available here, but I never saw one where any of the parts was "free".

When I wanted to replace my DSL data circuit with AT&T's U-verse service (which is really just high-rate DSL itself), they essentially paid me US$250 to take their TV service for two months. Free installation, which would have cost $150 for Internet-only service, plus $250 worth of gift debit cards, minus the $75 per month the TV service cost. After the two-month period, I had received the gift cards and cancelled the TV service. This was in 2010.

[Colly0410]

When the virgin media statement comes it charges for the medium TV package, then at the end it refunds the exact same amount. When the guy turned up to install the broadband: after it was all set up & the modem was running OK he said "where do you want this?" I said "what is it?" He said "the cable TV box!" I said "I didn't order cable TV!" he said "it's FREE!" I said "put it over there near the TV please!" Well you don't refuse something that's free do you? Lol. If they ever start charging me for the cable TV then it's out pronto, I'll just go back to OTA Freeview TV through the antenna....

[jr_tech]

Is there still a "viewing tax" per tv set levied in England? I remember reading years ago that "video sniffer" vans randomly drove through neighborhoods, monitoring tv usage, so that people that were not paying the tax could be fined.

jr

[centralradio]

I'm only paying, US $35 bucks here for basic 25 cable channels with Comcast.I would not pay them anymore.Meantime I can watch most of other stuff via Youtube and other free video websites.

[Colly0410]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Is there still a "viewing tax" per tv set levied in England? I remember reading years ago that "video sniffer" vans randomly drove through neighborhoods, monitoring tv usage, so that people that were not paying the tax could be fined.

jr

Yes; they call it a TV licence but it's a tax in all but name, it covers unlimited TV's in a home (I've got 5 TV's) & pays for the BBC. It's 146 pounds a years. (about 175 dollars)

[Colly0410]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Is there still a "viewing tax" per tv set levied in England? I remember reading years ago that "video sniffer" vans randomly drove through neighborhoods, monitoring tv usage, so that people that were not paying the tax could be fined.

jr

Originally Posted by centralradio

I'm only paying, US $35 bucks here for basic 25 cable channels with Comcast.I would not pay them anymore.Meantime I can watch most of other stuff via Youtube and other free video websites.

The cable TV part of the bill is 15 pounds, but that is refunded so it's in effect free. I would never pay for it as Freeview (OTA antenna TV) is free + I watch You Tube & other free video streaming websites..

[centralradio]

Originally Posted by Colly0410

The cable TV part of the bill is 15 pounds, but that is refunded so it's in effect free. I would never pay for it as Freeview (OTA antenna TV) is free + I watch You Tube & other free video streaming websites..

Yes .You guys have the TV licence over there.in the last few years our cable companies had to tack on a a $5.00 dollar broadcast fee to our cable bills every month to recoup the rebroadcast rights fee that the station charge to have them on the cable line up.I think its BS since the station are already making money with their adverts with better coverage.I say the stations are corrupt.