Cox mini-box VS Government provided analog to digital converter "boxes"

no it will not that is for over the airs signals(broadcast networks) the cox mini boxes allow for the viewing of the channelsin the starter channel lineup anything you could get with a coax cable from the wall to the tv.

wees41 is correct.  OTA uses ATSC standards, cable uses QAM.  The original boxes which allowed analog TV sets to receive digital OTA transmission had an ATSC tuner.  You need a QAM tuner for cable.  Most modern TVs do have a QAM tuner built-in but even that won't help as Cox is encrypting all channels when they go all digital.  So, you will need a minibox, set-top box or cable card (if your device supports it) once the transition is complete.

Do we have a date for when the transition will be complete?

Wait, seriously?  Why would they scramble ALL channels?  I could understand with the pay/premium channels, but why do that for standard broadcast?

Seems like a money grab.  Cox should really re-think this.  I can understand dropping the old lo-def NTSC signals, but there doesn't seem to be a need to  encrypt the QAM signals.

psa928 said:

Wait, seriously?  Why would they scramble ALL channels?  I could understand with the pay/premium channels, but why do that for standard broadcast?

To prevent cable theft.  As long as the basic channels are not encrypted, anyone subscribing to just internet service can grab those channels on any tv with a QAM tuner.

psa928 said:

Seems like a money grab.  Cox should really re-think this.  I can understand dropping the old lo-def NTSC signals, but there doesn't seem to be a need to  encrypt the QAM signals.

My market converted in April.  In spite of customer complaints, Cox is going ahead at full speed.

Well, count me in as another complaint filed with Cox.  Not that I expect it will accomplish anything.

I had to laugh out loud when I called the local office and asked about this, then asked if there was a way to file a complaint (over the phone) -- and was told "sorry, we don't have a department to handle complaints".  Now THERE's great customer service!

Hopefully they will e-mail you a survey about your CS contact.  Express your opinion.  In the past I've received phone calls regarding what I wrote in there survey so I know someone @ Cox is reading them.  That's your chance to get to the "complaint dept".

psa928 said:

Wait, seriously?  Why would they scramble ALL channels?  I could understand with the pay/premium channels, but why do that for standard broadcast?

Seems like a money grab.  Cox should really re-think this.  I can understand dropping the old lo-def NTSC signals, but there doesn't seem to be a need to  encrypt the QAM signals.

All digital cable channels are QAM signals. Without encryption (conditional access), how do you make sure a customer only receives the channels he/she paid for?

why should they leave them unscrambled?  if Cox has to pay to carry the channel they should be be scrambled even the OTA local channels if they want Cox to pay them for the rebrodcast rights Cox should scramble them.

The issue is it changes how we used our analog TV sets to perform the tuning. 

I would prefer to use my TV set to tune channels and not the Cox Mini Box.

This is why I purchased an HDTV in the first place. 

I guess it is now time to drop cable tv with this inconvenience and just get the broadcast channels. 

Cox is going to lose a lot of customers with this decision to scramble TV channels.