Purchase Your Own Cable Box?
Early B.
Posts: 7,900
I recall back in the day when you could save money in the long run by purchasing your own cable box? Is this still an option? I have Comcast and they charge about $10/month for an HD box.
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"God grooves with tubes."
"God grooves with tubes."
Post edited by Early B. on
Comments
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Here's the way I look at EB. If you purchased the HD box for lets say $400 in a little over three years you would have made up the cost. However one problem lays in your path. . . the everchanging and improving nature of technology.
I was going to do this a few years ago with a cable modem and a DVR which had HD capability in it. Both of those items that I would have purchased would now be so obselete that I wouldn't even be able to sell then to recoup some money for newer technology. -
The only cable boxes I ever recall for sale were illegal, as you didn't have to pay for premium channels.
I'd agree with Hearings point as well, except the cable modem part. I bought a Motorola SB5100 back in 2001 for $69, it still works fine, it's not obsolete at all. The cable company was charging $4.95 a month. Saved over $300 so far, not a huge amount of money, but it all counts. -
The only cable boxes I ever recall for sale were illegal, as you didn't have to pay for premium channels.
I'd agree with Hearings point as well, except the cable modem part. I bought a Motorola SB5100 back in 2001 for $69, it still works fine, it's not obsolete at all. The cable company was charging $4.95 a month. Saved over $300 so far, not a huge amount of money, but it all counts.
Can you run HD through the Motorola? -
The technology does change a bit too often for me to feel comfortable investing the money in a cable box.
Also, there are some things I don't understand. For example, the firmware / software on my cable box are provided by Comcast to be compatible with their network. If I buy my own box somewhere, does it download Comcast software? What if the box isn't a box Comcast supports? Will its own software be compatible with their system (for example, the Guide?) And I wouldn't have access to Comcast features (OnDemand, for example). So beyond the price thing I think there's a lot of other things you'd need to figure out before giving it a try, and good luck getting any answers from Comcast.If you will it, dude, it is no dream. -
hearingimpared wrote: »Can you run HD through the Motorola?
HD? It's a cable modem, it's hooked up to my computer. -
TWC absolutely WILL NOT support any cable box that they are not renting you.
About 99% of the cable boxes out there for sale are stolen and they've all got an unique address (like a MAC address on an ethernet card) so if that's in your cable companies database, you also stand a good chance of them asking for it back when you try to get it activated.Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
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Yeah I agree. I asked Cox if I could by my own box and they said no. I googled it also only to find many people like us wanting to buy one but not being able to because of cable companies unwillingness to let us.
And hearing could not have said it any better. -
In Canada we can buy the boxes if we please. I thought about it, but as mentioned tech changes so fast and so often, plus if it dies, it's a 10min drive for a new one.
