The Glade 4.0

This post might also be good for the Technology forum ...

For TV, we subscribe to cable, but since I'm a product of the 70s actually paying for TV is sort of against my principles. So, instead of going the expensive (to me) route and getting a cable box and a $50-odd package of some sort, I go cheap - basic cable for $14.95 or something, no box, cable hooked up directly to the TVs.

The fun part about this is that we get a lot of channels that, as far as I can decipher the channel lineups on my provider's site, I shouldn't get. At our old house, we had dozens of these - everything from Cartoon Network to ESPN and Prime Ticket, the local feed for Dodger games, etc. When we moved - all of a half-mile away - we lost Prime Ticket, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and a few others. Nothing too major, although I'm pretty bummed not to be able to watch the ballgames.

The thing is, the channels we get occasionally change. Like, this past weekend - two out of the three Disney Channels disappeared, as well as Animal Planet and ESPN. Kind of a drag.

Just curious if anyone has any insight into why this happens. Heck, or even if anyone knows how I get these channels in the first place! Not that I'm going to give in and up the ante or anything, really just idle curiosity. The TVs I'm using are an older Vizio and a new-ish Samsung, with built-in TV tuners (I think). I guess that's why I can get channels we're probably not supposed to when I do a channel scan. And, the "Unscramble Weak or Scrambled Signal" feature doesn't seem to do either.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

No idea, never had cable. I go with DSL and Netflix/Hulu subscriptions.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

The cable providers have to license each channel/each bundle of channels individually, so if the vendor for say, Discovery, raises their prices on a few of their channels, and the cable providers don't want to pay the increase, they just drop the channel. It's unfortunate, but that's why they give you some vague wording in your cable agreement, so they can change the channels in the "bundle" and you're still just licensed for the bundle.

It's not always about the provider dropping the channel. Sometimes it's the incentive packages they get that determine how channels are bundled, and what is available on basic services...

Oh,

and MLB.tv can be attractive for a cheap way to watch baseball games, but they blackout all local broadcasts, so unless you are a fan of a non-market team it's not very useful, unless of course you don't mind using something like Tor to get around the blackouts...

Yeah, have been thinking about MLB.tv. At least I could pick up the Away games.

Oh, and Darkroland - this isn't a matter of bundling: I have no bundle. Have just always been curious how/why I get stations that I'm not particularly supposed to, and why they sometimes disappear. Maybe they track me, and I spend too much time on those channels and get noticed?

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

True, but "basic cable" is still a specific bundle of channels. I'm guessing you're getting channels you aren't supposed to because you're not using a box, and honestly, the cable company probably doesn't give a crap about people who aren't renting a box (and it's easier for them to monitor/control those systems).

Ah, I see what you mean about bundles. OK, so long as I'm not on their radar.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Doesn't work that way. If the game is broadcast on your local TV (home or away) it's blacked out.

There are ways around it... some easier than others...