From: consp03@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu (Kriston J. Rehberg)
Newsgroups: rec.video.cable-tv
Subject: Re: PARAGON CABLE TV = BASTARDS
Date: 23 Jul 92 08:17:18 GMT
Organization: Binghamton University Computing Services - The POD Staff

In article <1992Jul22.005731.4517@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> mperlman@nyx.cs.du.edu (Marshal "Airborne" Perlman) writes:

>A bitch from Paragon cable calls me, and tells me that soon
>they are going to scramble all the stuff. They are doing this so they
>can start sending out HBO 1 2 3 and SHOW 1 2. BUT they are going 
>to require everyone who gets pay channels now (we get HBO and SHOW)
>to Buy/rent a box.....it isn't so much the box..but is the fact
>that it will be a pain in the ass to watch tv.

In a way this is better, because you won't have the danger of a
cable-TV serviceperson falling off the telephone pole in front of your
dwelling to adjust the channel-blockers.

>anything we want to do will have to be done VIA the box! do you know what I 
>mean? for example..if I want to record HBO from 8 to 9 tonite..and SHOW
>from 9 to 10.. i just tell my VCR to do that.BUT after they start scramble
>(ing) stuff...I'll have to set the VCR to CH 3, manually enter
>the tuner on HBO..and record ch 3' w/ the vcr for that time..and to 
>record HBO..i'll have to manually switch the tuner over to SHOW!

This can be a royal pain, but how many times will you really want to
change the channels?  However, our cable system at home uses
Scientific Atlanta boxes, and here at school we use Jerrolds, and they
all appear to have programmable channel-changers for just such a
purpose.

If you don't have such a box or are lazy, here's another solution.  If
your area doesn't provide things like "basic, extended basic" (where a
great many of the "regular" channels are NOT scrambled) you can go to
Radio Shack and either get a "Cable Converter To UHF" which puts all
cable channels on UHF and then feed the cable box into VHF channel 3
on the VCR (an excellent and elegant solution, I might add), or you
can get one of their "channel 3 attenuators" to block channel 3 and
put the box on that channel, but still let the other channels go to
the cable-ready portion of your VCR.  Note again this is undesireable
if your system has separate "basic" and "extended basic" service where
things like Sportschannel and Discovery Channel may be scrambled.

>HOW can they do this? it makes cable ready TV w/ PIP , channel labeling
>etc etc USELESS! How the hell can they do this? Please help me..

Those can be solved with the UHF converter but you'd be forced to
watch the scrambled stuff on one of the video sources.. Note that you
may even be able to get a straight descrambler box that you can hook
up to a video loop on suitably-equipped VCR or PIP televisions (a
respectable PIP television should have an external video loop for
descrambling purposes, but you have to look in your manual).

>=-> mperlman@nyx.cs.du.edu <-=  *  Huntington Beach, California  * NOT
>___ANYONE UNDER 18 IS A MINER___
                         ^^^^^ don't you mean 'minor'?

Kris

--
Kriston J. Rehberg, POD Consultant          consp03@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu
Binghamton University Computing Services    CONSP03@BINGVAXA.BITNet
#include <stddisclaimer.h>                  "Labra lege:  Hackito ergo sum"
"Your lack of common decency reminds me of a computer" - emacs M-x flame
Newsgroups: rec.video.cable-tv