I just got an HP IQ846t with TV tuner. When I ran the set up only got 12 HD channels. How do get the rest? I have Cox Cable of Newport Beach CA. I am not using a box, just the cable out of the wall. I have boxes on rest of house and don’t need another on the computer.
While the computer has a built-in TV tuner, you may need to connect to an actual box in order to receive all of the HD channels offered by your cable company or you might need Cox Cable to give your computer access to the “locked” HD content. According to HP’s Viewing TV in Media Center Guide, “HDTV content providers protect their content to prevent them from being copied and played back on other systems.”
In fact, if you were to plug in a television to the cable line without a cable box, the television would likely only receive the basic channels just as your computer’s TV tuner is doing. By equipping each television in the house with a cable box, you are able to enjoy all of the channels in your cable package on each television. Since the computer is going to be another television in your home, you can either use the “basic” cable that comes in through the cable line or you can “unlock” the additional content by using a cable box.
Try connecting your computer using one of your existing cable boxes to see if the connection via the box solves the problem. This will involve moving your computer temporarily and unhooking your cable from your television. If your computer’s tuner recognizes all HD channels offered, then you’ll need to call Cox Cable and explain your situation. The cable company may have a better solution than equipping the computer with a box of its own. For example, they might be able to register you computer as an authorized system to access the content or provide you with some sort of unlock code.
Now that more computers are being built with TV tuners and preinstalled with Media Center, cable companies will eventually recognize that their users need alternative ways to access their content. As an early adopter, you may have to settle for a cable box until a better solution is developed.
Years ago, if the TV set went on the blink and didn’t work, all we could do was suffer in sad contemplation about what was happening on our favorite television shows. Unlike some of the shows today that have more than one airing of an episode within a week’s time, television shows back then did not. Ah, what I would have given to have been able to watch a favorite television show on a computer!