[Bill45]

Hello friends,

My ISP is Comcast, & I have their internet only. For a number of years I have been watching full episodes of TV series from the
distant, middle and very recent past, free online.

At first I used AOL TV, but at one point they didn't have a particular program I wanted, so I looked elsewhere. I'm almost
sure, but couldn't prove it, that I found the program I wanted on Comcast with a similar service, tho I sometimes went directly
to Hulu.

Today, on the main page of Comcast, I tried to do the same thing again, altho the wording and configuration were a little
different from what I remembered. When I clicked on the most likely description, I got a little msg box that said, in effect, "Sorry,
but since you do not have the proper cable box, you do not have access to these programs." I will admit that back on the main page I
did find 4 categories of accessible online free TV, but each offered only 3 options.

I called Comcast Cust. Serv., and after being transferred twice, I talked to someone who said that what I described had never been pos-
sible on their internet only service, and there must have been an error which has now been corrected. Same story from a supervisor. So I
just went directly to Hulu and found all the free TV I could possibly want.

Has anyone else had this experience with Comcast, or is my memory faulty here?

Thank you very much.

Bill

[smax013]

Bill45, on 18 July 2011 - 02:49 PM, said:

Hello friends,

My ISP is Comcast, & I have their internet only. For a number of years I have been watching full episodes of TV series from the
distant, middle and very recent past, free online.

At first I used AOL TV, but at one point they didn't have a particular program I wanted, so I looked elsewhere. I'm almost
sure, but couldn't prove it, that I found the program I wanted on Comcast with a similar service, tho I sometimes went directly
to Hulu.

Today, on the main page of Comcast, I tried to do the same thing again, altho the wording and configuration were a little
different from what I remembered. When I clicked on the most likely description, I got a little msg box that said, in effect, "Sorry,
but since you do not have the proper cable box, you do not have access to these programs." I will admit that back on the main page I
did find 4 categories of accessible online free TV, but each offered only 3 options.

I called Comcast Cust. Serv., and after being transferred twice, I talked to someone who said that what I described had never been pos-
sible on their internet only service, and there must have been an error which has now been corrected. Same story from a supervisor. So I
just went directly to Hulu and found all the free TV I could possibly want.

Has anyone else had this experience with Comcast, or is my memory faulty here?

Thank you very much.

Bill

It is possible that they used to allow that, either on purpose or by mistake, but I would not know...I have always had cable TV with my Internet.

It is also possible that you found the stuff elsewhere. In addition to Hulu, many TV and cable networks offer their shows online for viewing. I have watch stuff on ABC and NBC and other networks when my cable was out such that my DVR could not record the show.

[LiveBrianD]

I heard that if you have comcast cable internet you can also connect the cable to a tv and receive the unscrambled channels (you need a cablecard for the scrambled ones). It's probably not on purpose, but supposedly you can do it. (I think my dad tried it and got some stations, we have comcast cable internet but not tv) Just like the OP's instance, I don't think this is supposed to be allowed, it might just be a mistake that was fixed.

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 19 July 2011 - 02:34 PM, said:

I heard that if you have comcast cable internet you can also connect the cable to a tv and receive the unscrambled channels (you need a cablecard for the scrambled ones). It's probably not on purpose, but supposedly you can do it. (I think my dad tried it and got some stations, we have comcast cable internet but not tv) Just like the OP's instance, I don't think this is supposed to be allowed, it might just be a mistake that was fixed.

In today's world, in most places, the only unscrambled channels left are the local affiliates of major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS, and maybe the CW) and local access/government stations. Pretty much every thing else is encrypted/scrambled and requires a digital cable box. As such, it is certainly feasible/possible that when they "turn on" the cable line for the Internet connection it will also turn on the unscrambled cable channels because they don't have an effective way to block that stream of video data.

[coastie65]

LiveBrianD, on 19 July 2011 - 02:34 PM, said:

I heard that if you have comcast cable internet you can also connect the cable to a tv and receive the unscrambled channels (you need a cablecard for the scrambled ones). It's probably not on purpose, but supposedly you can do it. (I think my dad tried it and got some stations, we have comcast cable internet but not tv) Just like the OP's instance, I don't think this is supposed to be allowed, it might just be a mistake that was fixed.

If the TV has an ATSC ( Digital ) tuner, you can get some channels, but not all. It would depend on which tier the channels are in. As smax said, some are encrypted ( usually Premium Channels at least ). You may able to get TBS, TNT, WGN , USA, and etc., as well as the local channels as smax mentioned. I ran the cable direct to one TV with an ATSC tuner and autotuned. I had quite a few channels, but no where near what I had with the Box.

[smax013]

coastie65, on 26 July 2011 - 03:41 PM, said:

If the TV has an ATSC ( Digital ) tuner, you can get some channels, but not all. It would depend on which tier the channels are in. As smax said, some are encrypted ( usually Premium Channels at least ). You may able to get TBS, TNT, WGN , USA, and etc., as well as the local channels as smax mentioned. I ran the cable direct to one TV with an ATSC tuner and autotuned. I had quite a few channels, but no where near what I had with the Box.

These days in many places, you will NOT get TBS, TNT, WGN, USA, Fox News, CNN, and other "cable" stations unscrambled with digital cable connection without a box.

For example, where I am, I don't get much beyond the major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, The CW, PBS) and local access. About the only "cable" station that I get with a "raw" cable feed is HSN and the like. The only other thing that I get is CBC (Canadian Broadcast Network) since I am fairly close to the Canadian border (this used to be useful as I could watch the CBC's Olympic coverage, which was usually about 5 times better than NBC's typically as well as some NHL playoff games until they lost much of those coverages). This is with Comcast cable and will generally be true to my knowledge in most Comcast service areas.

Before Comcast went "officially" 100% digital (which has NOTHING to do with the whole "digital switch"), I could get a LOT of the cable networks (USA, TNT, TBS, WGN, CNN, ESPN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc) with just my "raw" cable connection (i.e. no box needed). But, that ended about two years ago when Comcast when "fully" digital.