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brad6
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Re: MBCD (18.3) - free 24hr over the air channel starting Aug 1 2008
Just to add my two cents....
this is a complete mystery to me. I have cable with Cox Cable. I get LA18 on Channel 35 here in OC. Where to find the other channels is beyond me. I have not mentioned it before because I am technically challenged but it all sounds very interesting.
I would like to know what it is all about so you are not the only one knocking at the door Simon.
Peg
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8/29/2008, 5:15 pm
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SimonUCLA
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MBCD (18.3) - free 24hr over the air channel starting Aug 1 2008
I called Time Warner again, and finally after almost 10 minutes of listening to elevator music I finally got an operator, and when I asked my question... she hung up on me LOL! I was so shocked I couldn't even get angry, just laugh.
So anyway, my search for an answer continues lol.
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8/29/2008, 8:24 pm
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hantaejun
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Re: MBCD (18.3) - free 24hr over the air channel starting Aug 1 2008
 I see from the postings in this thread that confusion is still the order of the day when it comes to over-the-air DTV reception.
As the SoCal market is not my area, let me try and help with a general rule of thumb. IF a "digital" channel is ONLY available "over-the-air" (as may be the case with this MBCD channel), then there are only TWO solutions to this issue (NEITHER of which involve the cable company).
Solution 1:
If you bought a NEW (digital) TV within the past year or so, then you already have everything you need to receive this station. Just plug an antenna/rabbit ears into the ANTENNA INPUT, read the owners manual, scan the OVER-THE-AIR channels and MBCD may or may not appear depending on your location and signal strength.
Solution 2:
If you own and older ANALOG tv set, then you need to get yourself a $40 government coupon (see earlier posts in this thread for the link), go to Circuit City, Best Buy, Target, etc. and buy a Digital-to-Analog DTV Converter box (approx $60). Also buy some rabbit ears if you do not have an antenna on the roof.
Now comes the tricky part.... IF your analog TV has a VIDEO INPUT then just plug the box into the video input, read the converter owners manual, scan the over-the-air channels, set the analog tv to VIDEO IN and see if MBCD shows up.
If your analog TV set is soooo old that there is NO VIDEO INPUT, then you have to go in through the RF INPUT. (This is the tricky part). Given that most people already have their cable TV connected to the RF INPUT of their TV, you have to SHARE the input connection. Radio Shack can probably set you up with an RF "A/B" switch.
IN ANY CASE, after you get the DTV converter box, READ THE OWNERS MANUAL.... it will tell you how to do this. READ THE MANUAL.
That's it. Depending on your distance from the TV tower, and your antenna arrangement, you will/or will not get MBCD in the L.A. area. This also applies to any other DTV over the air signal in any other TV market.
Oh, another thing to remember about the new DTV signals.... there is NO snow. The signal is either crystal clear...or you get nothing at all. The nature of the digital signal may cause the picture to break up into little squares (or pixels) if you are on the edge of the reception area. This is cured with a better antenna (stronger signal).
Last edited by hantaejun, 8/31/2008, 8:55 am
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"Sometimes the truth hurts..." - Henry Rollins
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8/31/2008, 8:50 am
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hantaejun
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Re: MBCD (18.3) - free 24hr over the air channel starting Aug 1 2008
class blockquote nchristi wrote:
Thanks for your clarification, hantaejun. I knew if we annoyed you techies enough with inaccurate info, you'd just have to jump in and straighten it all out.  Thanks. No problem, glad to help. I see a lot of people (including yourself) are under the false assumption that cable companies in general carry ALL the over-the-air channels/sub-channels on their systems. Nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, the cable bandwidth is not large enough to do such a thing, and secondly, the cable companies will be burdened with carrying "analog" signals for years to come because of the millions of households out there with older analog sets. These "legacy" channels eat up cable bandwidth and prevent the cable companies from adding more digital only signals. The first thing to go are the sub-channels. In addition, cable companies are reluctant to paying the over-the-air broadcasters to carry their signal. So channels like MBCD (which I assume is owned by the huge MBC television network in Korea) which provide 100% of their content want to be compensated for their programming. I don't suspect this channel will be seen on basic cable anytime soon. People need to realize that they will still need the new over-the-air digital channels to receive some of their niche programming.
This seems obvious to people who already own digital TV sets, but there is some interesting new and original programming on the over-the-air sub-channels that cable subscribers will NEVER see. I think that TV viewers need to have both cable and over-the-air TV capability to get the full user experience. Besides, analog TVs will never give you the HD experience that a digital TV can, even for basic cable subscribers. (but we all know how hard it is to fight inertia). 
Happiest day was when I junked the old analog TV and got my first digital HD tv. What an eye opening experience. Now I can have my cable and get niche programming over-the-air. 
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"Sometimes the truth hurts..." - Henry Rollins
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8/31/2008, 10:15 am
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nchristi
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Location: Hotel California
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Re: MBCD (18.3) - free 24hr over the air channel starting Aug 1 2008
One more question, hantaejun. class blockquote hantaejun wrote:
... the cable companies will be burdened with carrying "analog" signals for years to come because of the millions of households out there with older analog sets.....Guess I really misunderstood this. I was under the impression that all analog TV program broadcast signals were being stopped, changing to digital transmission, by February 17, 2009. After that date, analog TV sets would get only "snow" on their screens via analog. But the converter boxes would change all TV programming from digital transmission to analog, which then could be viewed on an old analog TV set.
The exception, as I understood it, would be that public safety communications such as police, fire departments, and rescue squads would be using the analog bandwidth and some of the old analog spectrum would be sold to companies for wireless services. But no TV programming to the public would be transmitted via analog, only via digital after Feb. 19, 2009.
I don't understand how "cable companies will be burdened with with carrying "analog" signals for years to come because of the millions of households out there with older analog sets."
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8/31/2008, 11:41 am
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hantaejun
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Re: MBCD (18.3) - free 24hr over the air channel starting Aug 1 2008
 OK, you got it half right...let me splain it!
True, all "analog" broadcasting will stop as of Feb, 2009. IF you are receiving your TV programming ONLY with an antenna, then your analog TV will go blank (unless you get a digital TV or get a DTV converter box). You got that right.
However, as you recall from all those government TV commercials about the big DTV switch, IF you are a cable subscriber ot direct TV subscriber, you don't HAVE to to anything. Your cable TV will not go blank, your analog TV will continue to work. The reason being, after Feb, 2009, the cable companies will take those new digital channels and CONVERT them to analog for the millions of basic cable subscribers with analog sets. They will continue to do this for years to come, as the older sets will eventually be phased out over time. This is a marketing decision that the cable companies made to prevent people to go back to over-the-air reception.
So, basic cable will continue to be analog (assuming you do not require a cable box to receive your basic cable signals). This will eat up bandwidth and keep cable companies from adding more digital programming. This varies among the cable tv markets. Consult your local cable system for details. The bottom line is that you will not see any change after Feb. 2009 on your cable system.
Your situation is different as you are exclusively receiving your programming over-the-air. Your TV's "analog tuner" will be "dead in the water" after Feb. 2009, but the "cable tuner" in your tv will still work with basic cable.
Clear as mud, huh?
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"Sometimes the truth hurts..." - Henry Rollins
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8/31/2008, 11:59 am
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SimonUCLA
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Registered: 08-2008
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MBCD (18.3) - free 24hr over the air channel starting Aug 1 2008
Thanks for all the great info hantaejun.
To clarify for myself, a "Digital-to-Analog DTV Converter box" is NOT the same thing as the digital cable box provided to me by the cable company? So what I'm asking is, can't I connect an antenna to the digital cable box from the cable company to catch OTA channels? Sorry for my confusion.
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8/31/2008, 7:01 pm
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Ducky111
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Registered: 03-2008
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Re: MBCD (18.3) - free 24hr over the air channel starting Aug 1 2008
class blockquote hantaejun wrote: True, all "analog" broadcasting will stop as of Feb, 2009. IF you are receiving your TV programming ONLY with an antenna, then your analog TV will go blank (unless you get a digital TV or get a DTV converter box).
Actually that is a myth...Not all stations are going digital... class blockquote Class A and low-power stations tend to serve smaller communities, and a translator station rebroadcasts the programs of a full-power station to areas that otherwise are too far away to receive them. These types of stations are not required to switch to digital broadcasting, and many will continue to broadcast in analog after February.I live in Chicago, and Channel 41 (our Korean station), will continue to broadcast in analog only after February...
It is a "Class A" station, and is not required to change...
If I give up my analog tuner, I'd be giving up free KBS broadcasts...
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8/31/2008, 7:51 pm
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