 tomkb
Premium Member
join:2000-11-15
Tampa, FL |
tomkb
Premium Member
2012-Feb-11 5:19 pm
Buying verizon cable boxesHi all,
I've just moved to Tampa and I'm new to Verizon cable and FIOS.
We currently live in an apartment and are only running 2 TV's because of the apartment size. One TV has a Verizon HD box and the other TV just has the regular non-HD box.
I went on ebay and noticed there are several boxes available for sale that match my current cable box, QIP-2500-3
Our new home will have several more TV's with all the additional rooms. Does anyone know if I can just buy the boxes, or for that matter, can I just plug the cable lines directly into the TV's?
I don't want to have to spend $10/month for each additional cable box. |
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kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA |
kes601
Member
2012-Feb-11 5:31 pm
Won't work. Vz has to activate the boxes.
You can get local channels and maybe still the music choice channels plugging straight into the tv if it has the proper type of tuner (having brain fart now, can't remember name). |
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said by kes601:if it has the proper type of tuner (having brain fart now, can't remember name).
QAM Tuner (or Digital Cable Tuner). |
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kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA |
kes601
Member
2012-Feb-11 5:45 pm
Ok, that is what I had down and then second guessed myself.....oh well. |
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to tomkb
Those boxes on ebay are basically stolen property. And even if you paid the 200+ for them, as soon as you activated them with VZ, they'd bill you for the box monthly anyway. |
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kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA |
kes601
Member
2012-Feb-11 5:55 pm
said by matthewh16:Those boxes on ebay are basically stolen property. And even if you paid the 200+ for them, as soon as you activated them with VZ, they'd bill you for the box monthly anyway.
Vz would never activate them anyway. |
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 WK2
Premium Member
join:2006-12-28
united state |
WK2 to tomkb
Premium Member
2012-Feb-11 6:09 pm
to tomkb
Do they fine you if you try to activate these boxes? I thought I heard that they did |
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 PoloDude
Premium Member
join:2006-03-29
Aiken, SC |
PoloDude
Premium Member
2012-Feb-11 6:21 pm
No Fiosman, they don't fine you.
@Tomkb DO NOT BUY BOXES OFF EBAY OR ELSE WHERE! Vz will not activate them. They are considered stolen equipment.
Yes even after the account holder gets charged the non-return fee. They are still considered by the company as stolen. |
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And because there is no activation as such for the routers, any VZ-branded Rev.G or Rev.I Actiontecs you get off eBay, while still "having fallen off the truck", are not considered stolen. Hmm.
Oh, well, any time there's a multi-billion dollar company, you'll find plenty of wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
Uh, oh. Cat's out of the bag. Authenticated routers coming soon. You didn't hear it from me. |
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tomkb
Premium Member
join:2000-11-15
Tampa, FL |
tomkb
Premium Member
2012-Feb-11 11:29 pm
I know the HD channels are in the 500 channel plus range, but what about non-hd, can I just plug my TV's in? There are lots of channels in the sub 100 range. |
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 Zero5
join:2009-07-01
Collegeville, PA |
Zero5
Member
2012-Feb-12 2:58 am
If your TV has a QAM tuner, it will receive all non-encrypted channels. On FiOS TV, this is SD/HD local channels (1-49 & 460-549). |
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to birdfeedr
said by birdfeedr:And because there is no activation as such for the routers, any VZ-branded Rev.G or Rev.I Actiontecs you get off eBay, while still "having fallen off the truck", are not considered stolen. Hmm. The routers aren't rented to customers. They're "sold" (at $0.00, but theoretically it's a sale). So there's no reason for them to be non-transferable. tomkb: The channel numbers are meaningless; they're virtual. Verizon is all-digital. An analog tuner will get nothing. A QAM tuner will pick up the locals, but they will not be mapped to their virtual numbers. If you'd like to own a device that can tune all channels, as well as map them, then you need something that takes CableCards. But you still have to rent the cards. |
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tomkb
Premium Member
join:2000-11-15
Tampa, FL |
tomkb
Premium Member
2012-Feb-12 9:55 am
Do I care about mapping channels though? As long as all the channels come in, I can memorize new channel numbers, will that work? Just get one of these QAM boxes and learn the new channel numbers? |
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kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA |
kes601
Member
2012-Feb-12 11:25 am
They aren't standard numbers, they are like 744.13. |
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Mine map just fine on my TV. They usually map to their broadcast channel number not the FIOS channel number.
But as always, YMMV. |
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kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA |
kes601
Member
2012-Feb-12 1:29 pm
said by CrobertGauth:Mine map just fine on my TV. They usually map to their broadcast channel number not the FIOS channel number.
But as always, YMMV.
Wish that were the case here. |
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to wmcbrine
said by wmcbrine:said by birdfeedr:And because there is no activation as such for the routers, any VZ-branded Rev.G or Rev.I Actiontecs you get off eBay, while still "having fallen off the truck", are not considered stolen. Hmm. The routers aren't rented to customers. They're "sold" (at $0.00, but theoretically it's a sale). So there's no reason for them to be non-transferable. tomkb: The channel numbers are meaningless; they're virtual. Verizon is all-digital. An analog tuner will get nothing. A QAM tuner will pick up the locals, but they will not be mapped to their virtual numbers. If you'd like to own a device that can tune all channels, as well as map them, then you need something that takes CableCards. But you still have to rent the cards. not to mention there isnt anything that needs to be activated with a router, unlike a cable box or card. |
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Tazman818 to kes601
Anon
2012-Feb-13 12:28 am
to kes601
Just curious.... I already have 3 Verizon SD boxes and one HD DVR. Since SD boxes are already enabled and if one was to purchase a Verizon HD box via ebay to replace one SD box, would the HD box via ebay work properly or does it still have to be enabled by Verizon?? |
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Why are people so hard-core determined to traffic in stolen property?
If you want to own a cable box, buy a TiVo or buy a Cable-Card tuner like the Ceton InfiniTV and build an HTPC. |
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tazman818
Anon
2012-Feb-13 2:50 am
Even though it's not right, I guess because I have been a faithful Fios customer for 5 yrs and get tired of paying basically $40 monthly for the boxes that I currently have and Verizon will not work with me to reduce the costs. Where as new customers get certain boxes free for life. |
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to tomkb
said by tomkb:Do I care about mapping channels though? As long as all the channels come in, I can memorize new channel numbers, will that work? Just get one of these QAM boxes and learn the new channel numbers?
You will only get the free over the air channels and some of the local public access stations. Everything else is encrypted. |
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to tazman818
What boxes can you get free for life? |
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Strommy
join:2010-04-23
King Of Prussia, PA |
to Tazman818
said by Tazman818 :Just curious.... I already have 3 Verizon SD boxes and one HD DVR. Since SD boxes are already enabled and if one was to purchase a Verizon HD box via ebay to replace one SD box, would the HD box via ebay work properly or does it still have to be enabled by Verizon??
No, in this day and age all boxes are encoded. If a specific box is not registered to your account it's not going to work unless they enable it. Just plugging a new box in is not going to work. eBay kills me, they know the boxes are not "legal" yet they still allow people to sell them and rip people off. |
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ftaok to siersema
Anon
2012-Feb-14 9:52 am
to siersema
I signed up for service right before Christmas 2011. We get the Multi-Room DVR (Cisco box) for free. I basically get a $20 credit every month.
I get to keep the box as long as I stay with a "qualifying" triple-play plan. |
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tazman818 to Strommy
Anon
2012-Feb-14 11:59 am
to Strommy
Thanks for the info... that's what I thought but wanted to hear it from others. |
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