Fiber optics, coax cables, and setup boxes Oh my!

[Pachuca]

Hello,

 

Lately, I've been trying to save money by cutting back on services/fees on some of my bills that I don't really need. As I was searching every charge on each bill I noticed I was paying a rental fee for my fiber optic service. I called the provider and asked them to explain the charges to me. It turns out the setup box they installed on multiple televisions comes with a rental fee. So now I find myself paying almost the same for the rental fee as the actual service. That got me thinking. Is there a DIY alternative way around these scam boxes... i mean setup boxes. I'm not very familiar with fiber optics and would like some help from knowledgeable people. I am trying to replace my setup boxes with anything that would be compatible. Also, they will not sell the boxes to me. I'm assuming because it's more profitable for them to charge rent as I can clearly see from my bill. They told me that I'm limited to only using their boxes if I want to continue using the services because it will not be compatible with any other coax box. Does anyone know if that's true or is just another selling point on their end?

[Dr_Pleeper]

You have to use their modem, but you can use your own router.

[Pachuca]

6 minutes ago, Dr_Pleeper said:

You have to use their modem, but you can use your own router.

I'm talking about the tv boxes not the internet. I'm already using my own router with their modem, thanks.

[Dr_Pleeper]

As far as i'm aware, i'm pretty sure you cant get the service without their tv box.

[Pachuca]

I was looking at this item, but it doesn't say if it's compatible with fiber optics.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Professional-RF-Coax-To-Composite-RCA-Video-Demodulator-NTSC-CATV-Tuner-/321378879367?

[Norman]

buy used when most people switch off a provider they want to get rid of equipment cheap.  Just make sure they have released equipment with company when you buy it.  That way you can also confirm they own them and not just renting them

[brwainer]

the set top boxes used for fiber to the home providers are slightly different from those used for more traditional cable TV providers. I know Verizon's are based on traditional Motorola and other manufacturer boxes, but they appear to put their own firmware onto them. If they don't support any other set top boxes, you are out of luck. A certain number of channels (usually locals) will be available without encryption, usually broadcast as ClearQAM, but the rest of the channels require authorization keys, sometimes called hits, in order to be decrypted. The authorization keys are sent from the provider over the coax to the box being hooked up, so you have to have someone at the provider authorize any box you would use.

 

The box you linked will only work for analog NTSC channels, which I doubt they are sending over Fiber as it is a waste of bandwidth (QAM can send the same quality in 1/4 the bandwidth)

[Donut417]

7 hours ago, Pachuca said:

Hello,

 

Lately, I've been trying to save money by cutting back on services/fees on some of my bills that I don't really need. As I was searching every charge on each bill I noticed I was paying a rental fee for my fiber optic service. I called the provider and asked them to explain the charges to me. It turns out the setup box they installed on multiple televisions comes with a rental fee. So now I find myself paying almost the same for the rental fee as the actual service. That got me thinking. Is there a DIY alternative way around these scam boxes... i mean setup boxes. I'm not very familiar with fiber optics and would like some help from knowledgeable people. I am trying to replace my setup boxes with anything that would be compatible. Also, they will not sell the boxes to me. I'm assuming because it's more profitable for them to charge rent as I can clearly see from my bill. They told me that I'm limited to only using their boxes if I want to continue using the services because it will not be compatible with any other coax box. Does anyone know if that's true or is just another selling point on their end?

Currently you can only get boxes from your provider. If you provider uses cable card you can use something like a TIVO however you still have to rent the cable card. Currently the FCC is in talks that would end the need to rent boxes. However until the FCC rules on the issue, you have to pay for each cable box. Or alternatively you can cancel the TV portion of service and go OTA. 

[Pachuca]

thanks for the info everyone, it's pretty sheety of these companies to force these boxes without  being upfront about it. It should be included in their fee... not a "by the way" item later on. I will shop around for a different provider. Another thing someone told me was getting a smart tv would also do the trick, but those are crazy expensive right now.

[brwainer]

2 minutes ago, Pachuca said:

thanks for the info everyone, it's pretty sheety of these companies to force these boxes without  being upfront about it. It should be included in their fee... not a "by the way" item later on. I will shop around for a different provider. Another thing someone told me was getting a smart tv would also do the trick, but those are crazy expensive right now.

as said, any TV (assuming it has a proper tuner) can pick up at least some channels - usually the law is anything available OTA with an antenna has to be available in ClearQAM or NTSC for the rest of your TVs to pick up without a cable box. A smart TV won't have any magical ability to decrypt the rest of the channels. that can only be done with a cable box, or a device that takes a CableCard (which you also can only rent from your provider)

[Pachuca]

2 minutes ago, brwainer said:

as said, any TV (assuming it has a proper tuner) can pick up at least some channels - usually the law is anything available OTA with an antenna has to be available in ClearQAM or NTSC for the rest of your TVs to pick up without a cable box. A smart TV won't have any magical ability to decrypt the rest of the channels. that can only be done with a cable box, or a device that takes a CableCard (which you also can only rent from your provider)

no magic, but you can use the providers app on the tv and stream movies/tv that way. I haven't done it myself, but that's what the provider told me is another option.

[brwainer]

Just now, Pachuca said:

no magic, but you can use the providers app on the tv and stream movies/tv that way. I haven't done it myself, but that's what the provider told me is another option.

ahh right, for certain things. Definitely an option, depending on the TV. the downside is that you would be streaming the video versus it being delivered seperately from your upload/download speed cap.

[Pachuca]

Just now, brwainer said:

ahh right, for certain things. Definitely an option, depending on the TV. the downside is that you would be streaming the video versus it being delivered seperately from your upload/download speed cap.

oh I see... that's the catch. i figured as much, thanks for the heads up.