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Comcast internet & internet TV don't get along?

Is it illegal to hook up your tv to your internet box to get LOCAL TV channels instead of using an antenna?

  • Two friends of mine want to buy an antenna for their TV so that they can get LOCAL TV channels (CBS, NBC, ABC, ect). I told them that I was able to get local channels by using a splitter and hooking up my tv to the internet box using a TV cable. I think it's hooked up to the 'cable box' but calling it that is confusing because the cord is called a cable and it's hooked up to a cable box, but I don't pay for cable TV! I don't pay for cable TV, and I don't get any cable channels. Just the local channels without an antenna. Is this illegal? I don't see why someone with a new TV would pay money for an antenna, when you can just connect your TV to the cable connection that comes in for the internet. I understand that you are splitting it and possibly weakening it, but please help me out! I don't know all the lingo for this stuff, if you can't already tell! :)

  • Answer:

    It's not illegal. But it's not something that everyone can count on. Here's the usual reason for your circumstances: The previous occupant of your home or apartment had a paid subscription with the local cable company and canceled when he left. But the cable tech ordinarily won't get out to a customer's premises to physically disconnect the service for weeks or months later. In the interim, the new occupant, in effect, has free cable service. It's okay, but it won't last. Those channels will eventually be gone. If that's not your situation, something similar is happening. You have access to cable channels that should not be there. Since you've done nothing to the cable company's property to receive those channels, it's not illegal and you don't have to pay. But again, they'll eventually be gone, and again, the majority of people won't see the same thing in their homes. ------------------- Followup per another answer: it only becomes illegal when you (a) tamper with property belonging to the cable company, (b) decrypt the company's encrypted services with a device that they have not authorized, or (c) tap into someone else's service, like feed from a splitter at your next door neighbor's house. You're doing none of those, so you're in the clear.

Lizzy602 at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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Other answers

Yes it is illegal. You are distributing the programming without consent. Because it is broadcast does not mean it is public domain and you can do what you want with it. Receiving the TV channels from a cabler povider if you are not paying to receive them, is also illegal. Receiving from antenna is perfectly legal. *In either case "Illegal" is one form of copyright infringment or another, where you can get sued or fined.

classicsat

The cable wire may be acting as an antenna and that is not illegal. If you are receiving local cable stations that match the cable channel lineup, than yes, you are a thief.

steven

It is perfectly legal to hook an antenna up to your TV and watch local programming. That's what it's for. If you are hooking up your TV to a cable outlet in your house and picking up only the local broadcast channels, that might not be a cable TV connection. If you live in an apartment or condo building, it might be what's called a community antenna. This is where a master antenna on the building is split and wired to every unit in the building, so everyone can hook the antenna to their TV. Or, what could be happening is that the cable is not hooked up to the cable company's network. And, the wires themselves are acting like an antenna to pick up the local channels. Finally, you could have the cable attached to the cable company's network, because the previous tenant canceled their cable service, but the cable company did not actually disconnect it yet. This would happen for a couple of reasons. First, it's not that urgent for the cable company to disconnect the cable from the system. And, they usually have a backlog for disconnects that could be a couple of months. Second, especially for apartments, they leave the cable connected for a month or two, so the next tenant will plug it into their TV and enjoy their "free" service. Then the sales rep comes around and tells them that they will disconnect the cable if the new tenant doesn't subscribe to the cable service. The thinking is that, by this time, the new tenant will have gotten used to the fact that they have cable and will be more likely to subscribe to the service. Plus they may be feeling guilty about having had the service for free for a couple of months.

Paul in San Diego

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