The world of digital TV is still very new and there are a lot of things no one knows about how digital TV will grow and change in the future. One thing, however, is certain. The next TV you buy will be a digital TV. That's true because that's the only type of TV set sold in the US.
Digital TV sets are different from analog TV sets in many ways. There are some things you need to know and consider when you purchase a digital TV set. Of course, there are all sorts of makes, models, sizes and options with digital TV sets. I won't give any advice on brand names or features. Those are things that each individual consumer must decide.
Massillon Cable TV and Clear Picture want you to be able to use your digital TV set with or without a set-top converter. We have worked very hard to accommodate as many types of digital TV sets as possible. Most digital TV sets will work without a set-top converter. However, we know that some digital TV sets will not work unless they are connected to a set-top converter.
Massillon Cable TV and Clear Picture cannot guarantee that all digital TV sets will work properly. We do not manufacture digital TV sets. We do not write the software programs that make them work. Different manufacturers use different components and include different features into their product. We cannot guarantee that all of these products and features work properly. We work to accommodate as many types of digital TV sets as possible, but cannot guarantee that all digital TV sets will work properly when connected to the system.
Digital TV sets do function well on a cable TV system, but there are some choices you have when you purchase and install one. Most of this discussion revolves around the digital tuner built into the digital TV set.
Most digital TV sets include a QAM tuner. QAM is a term that refers to the type of tuning, like AM or FM. You don't need to know how it works. You just need to know that it exists. QAM tuners were developed as part of the digital TV standard in the early 1990s. It is how all cable TV companies transmit digital signals. Virtually every digital TV set now includes a QAM tuner. Some early digital TV sets did not include a QAM tuner and some current models include QAM tuners that don't work very well.
When connected to a cable TV system, you can use a digital TV set (with a built-in QAM tuner) with or without a converter. That may seem like a very obvious notion, but I will explain why it is not always so simple in a few minutes.
CONNECT A DIGITAL TV SET TO A SET-TOP CONVERTER
When you connect a High Definition converter or DVR to your digital TV set, you have access to the broadest range of viewing options. You will have many more High Definition channels to watch. HD is often the reason people purchase a new digital TV set, so why not enjoy as much as possible in HD? Eighty HD channels are available in all the various program categories and more are on the way. Basic Cable customers enjoy almost 50 HD channels at no extra cost. All you need is a converter.
Converters connected to digital TV sets bring other options as well. A full complement of On Demand programs is available to converter users, including all the latest movies in High Definition. Converter users also have access to pay-per-view events in High Definition.
One of the best features of a converter is the interactive program guide. It is often difficult to choose with so many program choices. The guide makes it easier by giving you a powerful tool to sort, select and schedule program viewing.
Another option with converters is a Digital Video Recorder or DVR. A DVR puts you in control. Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward and instant replay functions are available at the touch of a button. A DVR allows you to schedule recordings in the future, including your favorite series.
CONNECT A DIGITAL TV SET WITHOUT A SET-TOP CONVERTER.
You can use most digital TVs on this cable system without a converter if it includes a built-in QAM tuner. This is a great option for locations that don't have room for a converter (like a kitchen), a TV that isn't used very often (like a guest room) or simply to save the monthly expense of a converter.
Most digital TV set can be connected directly to the cable system and receive:
We are working to make more HD channels available without a converter. We are limited in this regard by the program suppliers. Most cable TV networks (like ESPN, CNN or The History Channel) require that we scramble their HD signals. They are concerned about people copying their programs and selling them. We must scramble these signals. That's why a converter is needed to view them. There is no extra cost for the programs, but a converter is required.
There are some other things we can do for digital TV users who don't want a converter. We can provide on-screen labeling of all the channels to help know what you are watching. We also provide tuning instructions to the QAM tuner so the networks appear in the same order as they do on converters. We can not provide an interactive program guide, information about all of the shows on TV or a DVR function directly to a digital TV set.
However, there is a limit to how closely we can make the viewing experience the same. That limitation is the QAM tuner built into the TV set. We have no control over the features and functions that a TV set manufacturer includes when they build a TV set. From experience, we know that the differences among the manufacturers are very large. Some sets have features that are more convenient and more powerful. These features also can be complex for consumers to understand and operate. Again, we can't control how well you, as a consumer, understand the TV set you purchase. We can try to help you understand it, but we can't force you to read the Owner's Manual or follow the instructions. That is something you need to do for yourself.
SOME DIGITAL TV SETS WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY UNLESS THEY ARE CONNECTED TO A SET-TOP CONVERTER. Some digital tuners simply cannot properly receive and process the special tuning information we include in the digital signal. There is nothing we can do to change the design of those tuners. You, as a consumer, need to be aware of this potential limitation of digital TV sets. Ask the TV retailer for information about how a digital TV set will work without a set-top converter if that is how you plan to use it.
People often ask why we are the only cable TV company to eliminate analog channels and only offer digital instead. Well, we are not the only company to do this. In fact, most of the cable industry is doing the same thing. Some are making the change to all-digital as we did. Others are taking a middle road by eliminating all but a dozen or so analog channels. Regardless of how different companies are proceeding, it is being done for the same reason. Consumers are purchasing digital TV sets and they want to see lots of HD channels.
The differences between using a digital TV set with and without a converter are not unique to MCTV/CPI. All cable consumers face the same choices. Use your digital TV set with a converter and you have more program and feature choices, but pay a monthly fee for the converter. Use your digital TV without a converter and you will have fewer channels, pay less and need to better understand how your TV set works.
While all cable consumers face the same choice, MCTV/CPI customers enjoy some very real benefits. We are very different from most other cable TV companies when it comes to the effort we take to enable digital TVs to operate without a converter. Some cable companies simply require a converter on every digital TV set, period. Others make no effort to provide on-screen channel labels or provide a channel lineup that is the same as it appears on a converter.
If you use a digital TV without a converter, there is one very important feature you must understand. You must know how to complete a channel scan. This is, perhaps, the biggest difference between an old analog TV and a new digital TV.
Analog tuners were preset. Each position on the dial corresponded to a specific frequency. If there was no signal at a specific frequency, the channel was blank. Digital tuners are very different.
Digital tuners scan all the available frequencies and "remember" where they found a valid signal. After that, they ignore all the empty frequencies so there are no gaps. But there is much more involved. Digital signals include data that is not displayed on the screen. This data is called Program and System Information Protocol or PSIP. PSIP data tells your digital TV set a lot of things. The most important is the Channel ID. Here's a good example. We all know that WKYC in Cleveland is Channel 3. It has been Channel 3 for more than 50 years and WKYC doesn't want to lose that identity. During the Digital TV Transition required by the Federal Government, WKYC stopped broadcasting on Channel 3 and now broadcasts on Channel 17. The PSIP data included with the WKYC signal tells your digital TV set to ignore the broadcast frequency of 17 and use the Channel ID of 3. You don't need to learn a new number for WKYC.
WKYC's digital signal actually includes two video channels. They deliver their HD feed of NBC programming and a second feed of local weather information. Since they can only have one Channel ID of 3, they designate the main NBC feed as 3.1 and the weather feed as 3.2. This is all part of the digital TV standard developed in the 1990s by the broadcast TV and consumer electronics industry. Your digital TV will only find this PSIP information during a channel scan.
We use the same type of PSIP information to label all cable networks. That's how your digital TV set can "learn" the position of each cable network. For example, we add information to the WTBS signal so a digital TV set recognizes it as 23.1, TNT as 24.1 and so forth. In this manner, program networks on a digital TV set appear in the same order as they do on a converter. This is an area where we are taking a different path than most other cable TV companies. Most other companies are not adding PSIP data to their cable networks. As a result, a digital TV viewer will find a confusing array of numbers if they don't use a converter. PSIP is a new innovation in the cable industry and we are proud to offer it to those of you who don't want converters.
SOME DIGITAL TV SETS DO NOT PROPERLY PROCESS THIS PSIP DATA. THEY WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT A CONVERTER. MCTV/CPI have no control over the QAM tuner or the software in any digital TV set. You should ask the TV retailer for information about how well a digital TV set will work without a set-top converter.
The quality of the installation and the wires and fittings used does affect digital TV tuning. We often find fittings purchased at home improvement stores and installed by homeowners cause problems. The same is true for wires with "push-on" connections, inexpensive splitters and other equipment. If your digital TV set cannot find all of the proper channels during a scan, it might be caused by improper wiring. Please call us to inspect for this problem.
Conducting a channel scan varies widely from one digital TV set to the next. Some sets have very, very simple menus and complete the scan in just a few minutes. Other digital sets have complex menus and take almost an hour to scan. Similarly, some digital sets give the user the ability to rearrange channels, eliminate those they don't want to see and many other features. Others do not. Some digital TV sets find and remember every single network, even those that are scrambled and can never be viewed. Others do not. All of these things are beyond our control. They are part of the TV set. A long and complex scanning process can be a very real frustration so you may want to ask the salesperson about it before you purchase your TV set. There is absolutely nothing MCTV/CPI can do to change the scanning process of a digital TV set. The only thing we can do is offer you the option of a converter to eliminate it.
Tuning to a digital channel also varies from one digital TV set to the next. Some sets require the viewer to enter the entire digital channel number, for example 23.1. The remote control will have a dot or dash to help with this. Others sets don't. They only require the viewer to enter the first few digits. For example, on some digital TV sets, you enter 23 and the set tunes directly to 23.1. This is a function of the TV set, not the cable system. There is nothing we can do to change the TV set. We can only offer a converter to bypass the tuning function of the TV set.
Periodically, digital TV users will need to rescan. Usually, a rescan is needed because we have changed something here. A digital TV remembers the frequencies it finds and ignores the rest. If we add a new network, the digital TV set will not find it until a scan is conducted. Then, it will remember. Similarly, if we move a network, a digital TV set will keep looking for it in the old location. It won't find it until the set rescans and finds the new location.
We don't know why, but some sets just seem to lose their memory every once in a while. Even though no changes have been made here, some sets will lose access to a series of channels. A rescan will restore them, but we don't understand the cause. This, again, is related to the differences among individual TV sets and is beyond our control.
Digital TV sets connected to converters do not need to scan for channels. That is because the converter acts as the tuner. Converters don't need to scan for channels either. That's because we can send instructions directly to the converter and tell it the location of all the networks. We can't send these sorts of instructions to individual TV sets.
There are a number of different reasons why we make changes to the channel locations. Usually it is to manage what is called the spectrum. Think of spectrum as shelf space in a grocery store. We want to use it efficiently. Sometimes we need to move things around a little to best use the space. We have been doing this for many years with digital signals. In the past, we managed this all on converters so no one ever noticed. We just sent new tuning instructions to the converters. Now, people have QAM tuners that enable them to see those changes. Owning those QAM tuners means they need to know how to use them. That means knowing how to complete a channel scan.
We have created a special QAM Owner list to help digital TV owners. We don't know who has a digital TV set connected to the system without a converter. As a result, we don't know who to contact before we make changes that might affect them. So, we now maintain a list of people who have a digital TV set connected without a converter. We contact everyone on that list before we make any changes that will require them to rescan. We also try to complete our work at a time that makes rescanning as convenient as possible. Please join our QAM Owner list if you have a digital TV connected without a converter.
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