If you ONLY have cable internet can you still get tv channels?

davecramer74

theres nothing illegal about it. Bickers full of it. Some places block it, others dont. Especially in apartments they leave it on so they can lure you into signing up with them.

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Vizio 42" LCD
Phillips 50" plasma

bicker

No, I'm not "full of it". It's called "theft of service". It's the law.

Stop trying to rationalize breaking the law, eh?

Sykotic

I hope that the local MSO gets thier act together and audit thier techs work to make sure that thier service is NOT being given away. I am not saying that its the customers fault, its just the local providers fault. If they were more on top of thier operation, this wouldnt be a topic. But this kind of service theft probably accounts for very little of total overal theft. There are alot of people that attempt to remove the filter or stupid techs that for a fee, wont install it. But the most loss of revenue comes from people that have the knowledge to hook up not only thier own cable but friends cable as well. They lack the knowledge to properly install the service and end up causing signal loss that affects not only the paying customers on that tap but also downstream. This causes an errosion of customer base.
BTW, a previous MSO for my area was caught sending a power surge down the cable line on all the lines of illegal hooked up cable, causing electrical damage to the tv, if any, on the other end of the line.
Most cable providers provide rewards for information leading to the arrests & conviction of anyone tampering with or stealing cable service.
Also the op was questioning getting free cable with internet only. If your just paying for internet, you should only get internet. As an install tech there have been many times I was to install just internet only but the customer had illegal cable connected and was mad when I trapped it.

Filekhasper

How is getting something for free, possibly indefinetly, going to lure you into signing up? Some techs are contractors who don't do their job. That doesn't mean you can get something for free and think its right...

I would love to know where you all work so that I can give you a great example of how this is stealing or what ever you want to sugar coat it with, whether it be the service itself or the money they could be making with the service you are using.

Yea, I know, Comcast and everything other profit loving company is evil and everyone else is perfect in their daily endevours. Would you work for free? Even if its for 1 hour a day? Most likely not, you would be irate.

oblioman

If comcast is aware of it, yet one still receives the signal, whom is at fault then? Is it still theft of service? Me thinks not. A lot of people have issues with comcast, many purported, many actual. The reality of the issue is that comcast has gained such a daggy reputation that most people who do receive unauthorized reception - just sit back and watch. The ones that hook up illegally are truly the ones stealing. For meself, if comcast is so inept as to what signal they send out and to whom gets the signal,,,,tiss shoddy business. Maybe your shareholder buddies should take note of this.

bicker

If Comcast is aware of a specific case of someone stealing service and they do not take action, then they are choosing to not to take action. Their option. It is still theft of service, but if they don't pursue it then it is like a tree falling in the forest.

You've been very regularly incorrect about matters of law and business, on this forum. The fact that you are wrong yet again isn't surprising.

Filekhasper

You should be ashamed of yourself, You've caused us to make moral decisions! Now we are responsible for our actions whether or not we like who we pay!

electrictroy

Not when Comcast *voluntarily* gives you the channel for free. It's a gift.

Furthermore, how many times does Comcast steal from its own customers? Look at this story: This customer is paying for a high-def service, but Comcast is blocking him from using it. By rights they should give him a refund on his high-def and only charge him standard-def rates since he can't see the HD. But they did not. Therefore Comcast is stealing from this man.

And apparently they don't care that they are charging for HD service plus HD DVR which the man can not see or use (they haven't fixed the problem). Comcast enjoys stealing from its customers. But apparently that's a-okay because corporations are allowed to steal from their users. That's acceptable.

(rolls eyes)

Sykotic

You think the Big Bad Cable companies gives away any free stuff. An error has been made. Maybe you didnt cause the error. But by your choice, you benefit from thier error.

I wouldnt ran arounding screaming "thief", but I would tend to judge your honesty.
GL

Filekhasper

This is not stealing. When your hdmi is blocked it is done by the equipment. Either the tv or the box, normally due to compatibility or an error with the equipment. How do you know comcast didn't give a refund? How do even know it was comcast's fault?

Saying things like "comcast enjoys stealing" is just a stupid comment.

Futhermore on the issue, Let me steal your car because you have stolen something from someone else. I'll even fill the car up when i return it. It's your fault for leaving the keys in an accessible place. I made the moral decision to steal it and use it because its accessible and since you are not out any money, it's not illegal. But its okay because I can justify my actions based on a story I googled and made deductions based on how portray a company. Haven't you all had enough of making universal statements? If I voluntarily give you a black eye, does that means its a gift? No, that sounds outrageous? I get it people take what they can get and throw their integrity out the window but that doesn't make it right...

electrictroy

Which is owned by Comcast, and they are refusing to fix the problem, which means the customer is deprived of the HDTV he is paying for. I consider that to be stealing by Comcast. If you pay for a service, you should either get the service, or else get a refund. The guy said he did not receive any help or refund from the "trained monkeys" working at Comcast. Clearly you need to spend more time reading-up on corporations like Comcast, Cox, Microsoft, Exxon, et cetera. They hire lobbyists to force Congressmen to write laws which protect their thieving practices. Like this poor guy who is paying for HD, but cannot receive it, and Comcast refuses to refund or fix the problem, because the Great CC knows there's nothing he can do about it. He's trapped by the monopoly. (Another example: AIG that was "too big too fail" so they got billions of our dollars of our money.)

Please note I'm not saying all corporations are thieves. It only tends to be those mega-corporations which grow so big, they think they can get away with anything. READ the corporate news reports and learn. I would consider that fair if I had stolen from you. Sometimes it's easier to simply right your own wrongs, then to involve $200/hour lawyers. Fortunately I haven't stolen anything worth $1000 like my car. Or anything period. (No I don't have an illegal cable hookup.) Our state has that law. Yes the criminal gets jailed for thieving, but the owner also gets fined for leaving his keys in the car. Both parties are at fault.

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TV Band/whitespace Devices will block my Baltimore/Philly stations. No more channels 2,3,6,10,11,12,13,17,35,45,57,61,65

Filekhasper

If there was a real problem then it would get fixed. If it was broken then it would get fixed also.

It's Americans fault for hiring the congressmen that they do. You must be one of those people that are never happy. If you don't like comcast service cancel it. The great thing about it is, many times you don't have a contract so there is no fee to sever the contract.

I know Comcast hires lobbyist, what company doesn't? I am still enjoying my service and if there is a problem i call and get assistance. If they can help then they will. Call dish or direct and go through the automated service, or better yet go brush the snow off you dish. You don't think they lobby? Do you believe everything you read? C'mon now... Taking something that is not yours is wrong... Whether you like it or not...

You cannot justify it, no matter what you believe... It's funny how americans have a culture to hate organizations and establishments. Any big company has got to suck and steal. That's how that got to be a big company. Grow up...

joekewl1971

This thread is way too long, mostly about Comcast. I have seen commercials for Comcast. "We have you covered in the switch to digital." So they say. Their promotion is, get internet, with TV for free. They know they are giving it away. It is definitely not stealing if it is promoted in the commercials on TV.

Sykotic

The cable line "signal" travel through your communities. Like phone, this is a public utility. Owned by the local citizens. Most, it not all, that have cable, sign contracts with a system operator. The operator then comes in and manages the cable system within that township. Paying alot of $$ in revenue and royalties to the local treasure chests. There is a small group of politians on the local board that over sees the cities interest in the cable services. I beleive that cities should get more involved in protecting its assets and revenues. Demand that its local operator secure those lines. Upgrade. satisify the customers. etc.
Knowingly receiving something that you know is not right (for whaever reason) shows dishonesty.

bicker

Public utilities are not owned by the local citizens. They're often private companies, owned by whomever. Specifically, Comcast, TWC, Cox, Charter, Cablevision, etc. -- all private companies, In generally, their assets are not owned by the localities they serve.

Yes, definitely.