Can I still get my locals via my QAM tuner + Cable company line if I cancel cable?

blackbird3216

blackbird3216

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I was recently looking over my finances and I realized that I was paying $21.60 a month for basic cable, which I doesn't even have alot of good content to watch. I was wondering if I canceled cable and used the money I saved to open a netflix account w/roku box for about $10 a month, instead of the $20 I pay now for basic cable. However, I am worried about how I will get my local channels because I live in Manhattan and I think I might have alot of trouble getting a good signal with all the high-rises here. Can I still get them through the Time Warner's coax cable after the service is canceled? I have a Panasonic TH42PZ80U.

BTW, I recently bought Prison Break:Season 1 due to a recommondation from a friend, so I didn't hesitate because it was only $19.99@BB. It didn't look that bad considering its 480p, which would be upscaled to 1080p(my plasma's native resolution). If i watched season 2-3 on Netflix Instant Stream via the roku box connected with HDMI, how would the quality of the 720p material compare to a standard definition 480p disc connected via Component? Would I really miss anything by canceling basic cable(which is extremly expensive nowadays considering the type and amount of content that I am receiving). I figured it'll be worth it by the simple fact that there would be more HD content.
 
I am not an expert on this but I think the answer would be no. I think in apartments the cable connection is tied to the cable provider - no payment = no service. So I think to get your local channels you would need an antenna - either rabbit ears or something else. Don't know if your apartment has a line built for cable and a line built for an antenna that supplies the whole building. (I'm assuming you live in an apartment). If the apartment does have a big antenna for the building you would need to insure that the cable company reconnected your line to the main antenna after you cancel and you would also need to make sure your tv has a digital tuner or you buy a box for it. All this is conjecture and best guess - we might need more detail to fully answer - did you have local channels before cable? Is this a house or apartment?


As for the cable question - basic cable w/ no HD compared to online streaming isn't going to be a big big difference I think. As far as resolution 720p should look better than 480i/p regardless of the source but it also depends on the connection. I don't think you will be missing a lot of quality if anything. Why not try the trial before you decide and see how it looks? Maybe connecting it through S-video to your TV?
 
I cancelled my cable and still get a lot through the coax with my TV's tuner... my old DLP got about 20 channels, mostly locals (including HD)... my CRT (also HD w/tuner) got a lot more, even about 100 channels, including Comedy Central and Cartoon Network.

I know for sure they installed a filter, because before they did my DLP caught everything straight out the wall, then I started having internet problems. They called a guy out here 3 or 4 times and eventually determined the problem with my internet was a crappy filter, so they replaced it. Yet my CRT still catches just about everything.

I just Hulu, though. Screw cable, too many commercials.
 
I'm going to say yes, you can. I do anyway.

I only have internet. I get all the locals in HD from the cable company and I'm tuning them in using my TVs built in QAM tuner.

I also still get a bunch of analog stations I don't care about (ESPN was one of them) and HGTV HD and Food TV HD. Both of which I don't care about.
 
Getting over the air broadcasts has been completely hopeless everywhere I've ever lived. My childhood home of Thousand Oaks got cable very early in the 70s because the market was so ripe after early deployments in Colorado proved the concept was viable.

But given a choice between broadband and cable, I'd take the broadband. Plenty of legit material available for free via broadband. Almost every good show ever made is on DVD for increasingly more reasonable prices. And so on.

It took them multiple visits to isolate a bad filter? That is really pathetic. When I was doing DSL tech support that was an angle to pursue immediately if the line test numbers were ugly. OTOH, I hated that job and quit after a few months because it got so depressing talking to painfully obtuse people. So I imagine it's hard to get competent people for the gig.
 
It depends. The cableco I worked for will completely disconnect the line when you cancel, so you wouldn't. Disconnects are our lowest priority though, so sometimes even though you cancel, it can be a matter of days and even a few weeks before they send someone out to do it.
 
[quote name='b3b0p']I'm going to say yes, you can. I do anyway.

I only have internet. I get all the locals in HD from the cable company and I'm tuning them in using my TVs built in QAM tuner.

I also still get a bunch of analog stations I don't care about (ESPN was one of them) and HGTV HD and Food TV HD. Both of which I don't care about.[/quote]
You have cable internet yes? Unless they install a filter specifically onto your TV's connection at the box, the "cable" signal will still come through.
 
[quote name='jlseal']You have cable internet yes? Unless they install a filter specifically onto your TV's connection at the box, the "cable" signal will still come through.[/QUOTE]

Correct, I have cable. When I read the OP, I was thinking he was keeping cable internet, but canceling the TV. Just because the signal is there, doesn't mean you can get anything from it.
 
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