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sportscubs30
join:2009-06-10

sportscubs30

Member

New Digital Adapter for basic Cable Viewers means no Local HD Channels

I finally got my t.v. working with the new 'Digital' adapter after a couple of hair pulling calls with a WOW telephone rep a few days ago. I just realized that my favorite local channels are no longer in high definition! What's the point of calling it a digital adapter when you get zero channels in HD picture quality!? Is WOW trying to lose more customers or trying to fool them so they would upgrade to the next cable package?

I'm in a dilemma because I want to have my cable stations, but WOW is my only choice at my apartment complex. I think WOW needs to go back to the drawing board so we can have at least our local/network channels back to HD with no extra charge. *not happy at all*
uteck
join:2009-12-30
Elgin, IL

uteck

Member

I have not used the adapter, but I can plug the cable directly into my TV and the digital channels show up at the end of the line up. But depending on how the adapter connects to your TV it may not be able to pass them thru since they are 720p or 1080p resolution.
sportscubs30
join:2009-06-10

2 edits

sportscubs30

Member

I called WOW a few minutes ago and the representative told me that the adapter only gives out analog quality channels. The Evansville WOW must be very busy because they are sending non-repair people out to customers homes to install the digital adapter before the deadline. My parents have a 47 inch television and most of the channels look awful in 480i SD especially the Fox Sports channels and now the local/network ones. It is a bum deal that they took away the digital local channels and also gave us an awful/limited remote. It doesn't have a menu, sleep or a way to switch from the t.v. to my DVD player. My cheap RCA remote can illuminate my buttons in the dark, but not the lowly WOW one!

goober22
Resident Duh-Huh Member
join:2001-12-28
Panama City, FL

goober22 to sportscubs30

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FYI,

Just because a signal is digital does not mean it's HD. It's just a digital signal instead of the old analog signal. The "digital adapter" just converts the digital signal to an analog one to work with basic or older TVs - or for folks that don't want to pay for a HD package.

You would need an HD capable adapter from WOW or a TV with a QAM tuner for the unencrypted signals that are in HD.
sportscubs30
join:2009-06-10

sportscubs30

Member

My television has a built in QAM tuner because I can still see local channels in HD quality, but after next week every television needs the new adapter for basic cable. The digital adapter apparently doesn't give us an option to keep our local channels in HD. We will still have to use our other remotes to turn on or off, adjust the volume, menu, sleep and other buttons. I get screen freeze for a couple of seconds when I change channels with the adapter.

I am sure I am not the only one not happy with the changes. I think WOW should give us a good discount so we can get some channels in HD. I just like my 'free' channels in HD like it has been for several years.
alan92rttt
join:2012-02-27

alan92rttt to sportscubs30

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If you have and HD TV you should not need an adapter. Any HD TV should be able to decode the Digital signal on the cable.
sportscubs30
join:2009-06-10

sportscubs30

Member

The WOW letter states that any television with or without a QAM adapter inside them needs this digital adapter before the deadline. I don't have any other additional WOW equipment or a card built in my t.v. I was getting my basic cable and my local HD channels straight from my wall for years.

To continue uninterrupted viewing of the channels listed below, you will need to connect Digital Adapters to any televisions in your home that do not already have WOW! digital equipment. If your television currently has WOW! digital equipment (a Standard Digital Receiver, an HD Receiver, a DVR, an HD DVR, Digital Adapter, or a Cable Card) you will not have to do anything and your service will remain the same.

goober22
Resident Duh-Huh Member
join:2001-12-28
Panama City, FL

goober22

Member

What you quoted does not say anything about QAM. Did the letter? I believe I read in another thread that the WOW letter "assumed" most folks with analog setups did not have QAM based tuners.

If you can receive them now via QAM, then you should when they go "all digital". The only thing would be if they intended to encrypt the basic channels.

edit:
Here's the thread. (but I see you posted in it already) :/ )
»is WOW ending analog and/or clear QAM?
sportscubs30
join:2009-06-10

sportscubs30

Member

I like to have WOW Dan to comment on this thread. The email messages and letters I received said that people with no hardware WOW devices won't receive any channels regardless if they had a QAM Digital t.v. or not. WOW seems to want everyone to upgrade to their premium services because they aren't offering the best with basic cable anymore!

Quoted from the WOW website:

What happens if I do not plug my TV into WOW! Cable - can I still receive my local over the air channels on that TV?
If not connected to the WOW! network you can still receive digital broadcast signals by hooking up an external Antenna. If your TV cannot tune digital signals an external tuner is available from various retail outlets.

My Digital Adapter takes too long to change the channels. What can you do about that?
We understand that the experience may be different from what you are used to. Unfortunately, there may be a slight delay when you are changing channels as the Adapter works to tune from one digital signal to the next.

The remote control is small and light. Is there a different remote that I can use instead?
Unfortunately, this is the only remote control that can operate the Digital Adapter. If you are interested in a different remote and taking advantage of services like an interactive program guide and WOW! OnDemand, please call us to learn more about WOW! Digital TV.

aes128
join:2003-12-19
Warren, MI

aes128

Member

said by sportscubs30:

I like to have WOW Dan to comment on this thread. The email messages and letters I received said that people with no hardware WOW devices won't receive any channels regardless if they had a QAM Digital t.v. or not. WOW seems to want everyone to upgrade to their premium services because they aren't offering the best with basic cable anymore!

Well I guess we will see what happens soon. I am under the impression that clear QAM will stay. That said the WOW DTA is very very lame. I know for a fact that Comcast has a DTA with a HDMI output on it so at least it can pass through the local stations in HD. They sent my friend an analog only DTA but upon request exchanged it for one with HDMI out on it. Then Comcast encrypts all their basic channels.

If WOW does not encrypt then they have no real need of a HDMI DTA since pretty much all digital TVs from the last several years have a QAM tuner. I have a 12 year old Sony that has a QAM tuner in it.

If they were to encrypt all, I would drop TV altogether and put up an antenna. I would just use WOW for Internet. I have little use for the TV offerings of WOW.
adam1991
join:2012-06-16
united state

adam1991 to sportscubs30

Member

to sportscubs30
WOW communicated badly.

All channels are digital now.

When they started the transition to digital 4 years ago, they demanded adapters for analog TVs--unless you had their very basic tier, which has 12 channels (locals plus some crap). Any analog TV would continue to get those. If you had a package above that and had an analog TV, you required an adapter of some sort because channels 13 and up (or whatever) were no longer being provided in analog form.

But even 4 years ago, WOW did the smart thing and put their standard offering--83 channels or whatever--in the clear, for any digital tuner to pick up, and they even managed the numbering so that the digital channel numbers stayed the same.

So even four years ago, they had moved MOSTLY everything away from being tuned by an NTSC tuner.

So here we are today, and WOW badly communicated that even those lower 12 or so channels are going to digital only, which means that the five people in the world who have that lowest tier of local channels and who still use an analog TV with an NTSC tuner to receive them, MUST now use an adapter to get them.

Because even those lower 12 or so are going all digital.

But clear digital. If you're using an ATSC tuner in a modern digital TV, you can get the SD channels in the clear. You can also get your locals in HD, all in the clear. But again, that's if you're using a modern TV with an ATSC tuner. The cable-only channels will come in SD.

WOW has essentially changed nothing. All this hand-wringing and old-woman-whining is for nothing. WOW has simply and finally closed the analog book for good by eliminating the analog signal for the very basic local-only package channels.
EricLEdberg
join:2011-07-18
Naperville, IL

EricLEdberg to sportscubs30

Member

to sportscubs30
I recently posted a similar question about WOWs badly-worded mail I obtained in Naperville, IL.
»WOW Requiring Converter Boxes (dropping Analog Channels?) in Chigagoland

To summarize, WOW was only removing ANALOG channels from their system (in Naperville IL). Most WOW channels are already digital QUAM. If you have a newer TV that supports digital un-encrypted QUAM you do not need to take any action. This is the same format transmitted over-the-air...

If you have one of those really-really old TVs that worked over antenna before the conversion then you may loose ability to watch the few TV channels still being transmitted in analog.

I have not heard of any initiative (reading this group) that WOW will be "encrypting" clear QUAM digital channels (like Comcast and most other cable providers - those bastards) forcing users to use a digital adapter or cable box.

Your mileage may vary. I'm just reporting what I learned about our location...

Eric L. Edberg

aes128
join:2003-12-19
Warren, MI

aes128

Member

Technically an ATSC tuner does not guarantee cable reception since over the air digital and cable digital use different modulation schemes. Practically however most new TVs will do both.

From the font of all knowledge:

8VSB is the modulation method used for broadcast in the ATSC digital television standard. ATSC and 8VSB modulation is used primarily in North America; in contrast, the DVB-T standard uses COFDM.

A modulation method specifies how the radio signal fluctuates to convey information. ATSC and DVB-T specify the modulation used for over-the-air digital television; by comparison, QAM is the modulation method used for cable. The specifications for a cable-ready television, then, might state that it supports 8VSB (for broadcast TV) and QAM (for cable TV).

QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) not QUAM.
adam1991
join:2012-06-16
united state

adam1991

Member

yes, Sheldon.

aes128
join:2003-12-19
Warren, MI

1 edit

aes128

Member

said by adam1991:

yes, Sheldon.

Point taken...

It took me several seconds to get it since I am not a fan of that show at all, however I am cool with it.

I have to say your comment was quite funny and I can be quite "Sheldon" like.
adam1991
join:2012-06-16
united state

adam1991

Member

We all can be. Trust me. Ask me about color printing.

I have a friend whose wife works for a major maker of laundry products. Ask her about laundry detergent or fabric softener.

aes128
join:2003-12-19
Warren, MI

aes128

Member

Well...

Now that the dust has settled, we see the WOW letter was very badly worded and apparently some service phone reps had no clue. Then most probably have no idea what clear QAM is.

All I did was rescan to eliminate the analog channels and all is as it was.

The conspiracy folks might want to say WOW wanted people to get DTAs when they did not need them. I do not think this is the case.
adam1991
join:2012-06-16
united state

adam1991

Member

Agreed. Never ascribe to malice that which is more likely the result of ignorance.

Bill_MI
Bill In Michigan
MVM
join:2001-01-03
Royal Oak, MI
TP-Link Archer C7
Linksys WRT54GS
Linksys WRT54G v4

1 edit

Bill_MI to aes128

MVM

to aes128
said by aes128:

All I did was rescan to eliminate the analog channels and all is as it was.

Also confirmed here (but Analog-2 has color bars!)

I'm really disappointed. What I saw wasn't poorly worded - it was flat wrong. I was going to scan that letter and post it here. I remember the false wording was underlined but the wife had chucked it. Oh well.

EDIT: I find analog 2 and 17 are color bars here. Dat's all, folks.

Hmm
@rr.com

Hmm to sportscubs30

Anon

to sportscubs30
This was done over 3 years ago in the Cleveland market. Everyone needed the tuner- it was by Cisco.

mikeyj
@wideopenwest.com

mikeyj to Bill_MI

Anon

to Bill_MI

Bill_MI
Bill In Michigan
MVM
join:2001-01-03
Royal Oak, MI

Bill_MI

MVM

Thanks, mikeyj. One picture sure speaks 1000 words.
adam1991
join:2012-06-16
united state

adam1991 to mikeyj

Member

to mikeyj
I saw that letter. I also knew just from looking at it that they screwed up in wording it. They forgot the word "analog" when they described how your TV would stop getting channels.

Anyone who's dealt with WOW over the last several years, and their initial digital conversion, knew exactly what they meant.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

mix
join:2002-03-19
Romeo, MI

mix to mikeyj

Member

to mikeyj
I am sure someone from WOW will be sending out another letter to clarify that this letter is untrue...

mikeyj
@wideopenwest.com

mikeyj

Anon


So tonight I'm looking for the sox game on csn+ and can't find it so I unfortunately do a channel scan and it only hits on 2 channels ,local area broadcasts. Now I can't tune any other channels!! Even if I enter channel
# I was watching before scan I get blue screen. The only way I could make it work was to add a digital adapter I already had for an old analog tv but of course that means I no longer get the locals in HD. How the h*ll can a HD tv with a qam tuner that was receiving all the basic channels, now not be able to tune any of those channels after doing a channel scan???
adam1991
join:2012-06-16
united state

adam1991

Member

What area are you in?

WOW is busy screwing up their business, that's how.

mikeyj
@wideopenwest.com

mikeyj

Anon

I'm in the elgin area
mikeyj

mikeyj

Anon

So for shits and grins I connected second tv with qam tuner into original outlet and received all basic channels then did a channel scan and guess what same thing only able to tune 2 local area channels in analog!!!Called wow's customer service first question was will a tv with qam tuner connected directly to outlet (no cable box or digital adapter) still get basic cable channels and locals in hd. The answer was yes. I then explained problem with first tv and the advice was contact tv manufacturer!! That's when I did second tv experiment. Called customer service again
and asked same first question and got same answer so I explained problem with both tvs and he said it looks like you need digital adapter!!!
Infuriated demanded to speak with supervisor after 13 min wait time Brittany answered and agreed something wrong with signal and dispatching tech tomorrow. She also promised visit would be free of charge.

mikeyj

mikeyj to mix

Anon

to mix
said by mix:

I am sure someone from WOW will be sending out another letter to clarify that this letter is untrue...

According to tech that was here today this is just a precursor to wow encrypting everything meaning by the end of the year EVERY tv will need a box or an adapter

aes128
join:2003-12-19
Warren, MI

1 recommendation

aes128

Member

said by mikeyj :

said by mix:

I am sure someone from WOW will be sending out another letter to clarify that this letter is untrue...

According to tech that was here today this is just a precursor to wow encrypting everything meaning by the end of the year EVERY tv will need a box or an adapter

Were this really true, I would dump TV immediately. We shall see. I am going to put up an antenna this summer and if it looks good, I will dump the TV part anyway.