Quote:
Originally Posted by whoaru99
Yes, quite likely they will (be worthless).
And, further, afaik, there is nothing that says the cable co has to provision a box that comes from outside their system. That's why most of those STBs that sell online are actually worthless in many cases.
Just for kicks, call your cable company some time an tell them you came upon a cable box and you'd like to have it activated. See what they say...  |
For some odd reason digital cable boxes go for good money on ebay. I don't know if people are clueless, or if there's something I don't know about them. As far as I know it's impossible to make them work, even for analog channels, without cable company activation. It would be nice if there was a hack to enable analog and clear QAM digital channels because flea markets are full of old digital cable boxes. These boxes would be ideal for vintage TVs since they have remote volume controls.
Don't be so sure about RF and component video lasting a long time if the MPAA has their way. They want all analog video to disappear as soon as possible (analog sunset). Encrypted digital HD(r)MI only is their goal. Cable boxes and HD/Blu-ray players already have the ability to turn off their analog video outputs if they are told to. I don't think hollywood cares if we all have to buy new TVs if it makes it harder to copy their movies.