Support Center » Knowledgebase » What unencrypted Digital Cable (Clear QAM) channels can HDHomeRun (2011, Dual) receive?
 What unencrypted Digital Cable (Clear QAM) channels can HDHomeRun (2011, Dual) receive?
Solution HDHomeRun (2011, Dual) has two tuners, and can receive either Digital Antenna (ATSC) or unencrypted DigitalCable (Clear QAM).

Digital cable service typically is made up of a few different types of signals, all on the same cable line:

1) Unscrambled analog cable - "Basic Cable" is what many people are familiar with, offering up to 125 channels of standard definition analog content. Analog services are being phased out.

2) Scrambled analog cable - "Premium Cable" includes channels like HBO, that can't be viewed without a cable box. No EyeTV product can receive premium analog cable directly. Analog services are being phased out.

3) Unencrypted digital cable - "Clear QAM" is similar to basic cable, but in digital form. The channels are not scrambled or blocked, but only a small number of channels are available for viewing. Some channels may be SDTV (standard), and some may be HDTV (high definition). Typically, networks like NBC or FOX will be present, along with public access, shopping, local, PBS, and perhaps some radio channels.

4) Encrypted digital cable - "Digital Cable" is typically encrypted, or encoded so that you need a cable box (or CableCARD) to view it. If you have 500 digital cable channels that you receive with a cable box, then the majority of these channels will be encrypted. A Clear QAM tuner can't receive encrypted digital cable; HDHomeRun (2011, Dual) can't receive the majority of your digital cable channels.

Therefore, HDHomeRun (2011, Dual) only receives a few cable channels, those that are Clear QAM (unencrypted). It cannot use a cable box, and it can't receive most of your channels. The channels it can receive vary city by city, and some channels may be there one day, and gone in a few months. Essentially, your cable company reserves the right to encrypt and decrypt channels at will, but usually you'll see the networks, and some other content.

To find out what Clear QAM channels may be available in your area, please use this website:

http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/

That said, Clear QAM tuners can receive HDTV content, if available. For example, ABC may start airing HDTV content at 8PM nightly. That may be 720p or 1080i, depending on the channel.

Clear QAM also sometimes offers more than one channel on the same frequency. In that case, EyeTV can open up all channels on the same frequency, at the same time (or any combination of channels on that frequency).

If you use digital cable, please be aware of the strengths and limitations of Clear QAM tuners before purchasing HDHomeRun (2011, Dual). You may want to contact your cable company, to find out if any of their channels are in Clear QAM format. You can also search the internet for such information - it's common to find an article or message board post from people in your same city who are already using Clear QAM content. Unfortunately, no master list of Clear QAM service providers is available to Elgato.

If your goal is to receive all of the channels that your Cable Box can get, including HDTV, then please consider EyeTV HD hardware.


Article Details
Article ID: 4182
Created On: 13 May 2011 06:20 PM

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