A cable converter box or television converter box is an electronic tuning device that transposes/converts channels from a

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

service to an

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analo ...

RF signal on a single channel, usually

VHF Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF ...

or 4, or to a different output for digital televisions such as

HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controll ...

. The device allows a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

set that is not "cable ready" to receive cable channels. While later televisions were "cable ready" with a standard converter built-in, the existence of

premium television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but ...

(aka

pay per view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

) and the advent of

digital cable Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previo ...

have continued the need for various forms of these devices for cable television reception. While not an explicit part of signal conversion, many cable converter boxes include forms of descrambling to manage carrier-controlled access restriction to various channels. Cable-ready televisions and other cable-aware A/V devices such as video recorders can similarly convert cable channels to a regular

television set A television set or television receiver, more commonly called the television, TV, TV set, telly, tele, or tube, is a device that combines a tuner, display, and loudspeakers, for the purpose of viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or using ...

, but these do not include advanced capabilities such as descrambling or digital downconversion. The task of a cable box is to convert a television channel from those transmitted over the CATV wire.

Technological description

The basic converter box is passive and does not communicate back to the carrier. It simply tunes to one of the channels being transmitted together over the wire and re-transmits it to a television or other video device on a standard broadcast frequency (usually a customer-selected, locally unused frequency between and 4). Like other set-top boxes, converter boxes usually provide multiple options for the output channel (either 2/3 or 3/4) so that the same box can be used, with simple configuration, in multiple television markets. Despite not having a broadcast reception

television antenna A television antenna (TV aerial) is an antenna specifically designed for use with a television receiver (TV) to receive over-the-air broadcast television signals from a television station. Television reception is dependent upon the antenna a ...

, a strong local television station can cause interference with the TV's reception of the cable converter's signal, resulting in undesired static or ghosting. Later cable boxes became addressable, allowing the carrier to independently identify one cable box from another. In early systems, this permitted the carrier to send instructions to the boxes by addressing them over the wire. This allowed customers to subscribe to

and

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

. More recent cable boxes, particularly those for digital cable, engage in two-way communication with the carrier central office, allowing for more advanced and

interactive Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but m ...

features. Typically, a cable converter box has two coaxial F-type female connectors; one "Cable In" for a

coaxial cable Coaxial cable, or coax (pronounced ) is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with the two separated by a dielectric ( insulating material); many coaxial cables also have a ...

from the wall jack (containing the CATV signal), one "TV Out" connected to the television where an antenna or other RF device (such as a VCR) would be connected. Newer cable boxes also tend to come standard with an

IEEE 1394 interface IEEE 1394 is an interface standard for a serial bus for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer. It was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Apple in cooperation with a number of companies, primarily Sony a ...

(aka "FireWire") All USA Cable TV box have working 1394 ports, FCC rule CS Docket 97-80" and "section 47 C.F.R. 76.640(b)(4) and RCA jacks for

composite video Composite video is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video (typically at 525 lines or 625 lines) as a single channel. Video information is encoded on one channel, unlike the higher-quality S-Video (two channe ...

and

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

audio. More advanced

analog video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...

devices may have

S-video S-Video (also known as separate video, Y/C, and erroneously Super-Video ) is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video, typically at 525 lines or 625 lines. It encodes video luma and chrominance on two separate chan ...

and/or

outputs to support

HDTV High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the ...

. In early days, before televisions came standard with 75Ω coaxial antenna connectors, cable boxes came with adapters that would allow the coaxial cable to connect to the 300Ω twin lead screws used with traditional antennas. Major manufacturers of cable boxes have included Jerrold Electronics,

General Instrument General Instrument (GI) was an American electronics manufacturer based in Horsham, Pennsylvania, specializing in semiconductors and cable television equipment. They formed in New York City in 1923 as an electronics manufacturer. During the 1950s ...

(which Jerrold merged into),

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develo ...

(which

Scientific Atlanta Scientific Atlanta, Inc. was a Georgia, United States-based manufacturer of cable television, telecommunications, and broadband equipment. Scientific Atlanta was founded in 1951 by a group of engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an ...

merged into), and

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...

(which General Instruments merged into).

Addressable cable box

An ''addressable cable box'' is one that can be controlled by the local cable company.

Addressability Addressability is the ability of a digital device to individually respond to a message sent to many similar devices. Examples include pagers, mobile phones and set-top boxes for pay TV. Computer networks are also addressable, such as via the MAC ...

is the process by which (optionally encrypted) messages are sent from the cable provider for a particular cable box via the cable signal. The cable company can "address" a particular customer's cable box to command it to activate or deactivate the descrambling of selected premium or pay-per view channels. The system can also send messages. This function affords the cable company the ability to add or delete descrambling on the channels that come in through the coaxial cable line. It also allows them to remotely disable the box, for reasons such as non-payment of the cable bill or theft of the unit itself. Such commands are referred to as bullets and are a transmitted message which affects the cable box program effectively disabling or "killing" it. "Bullets" do not affect the electronics inside converters or descramblers, only the programming. Non-addressable boxes are "bulletproof", as they are unable to detect such messages.

Analog cable

Descrambling

A descrambler is a device that unscrambles the encoded signal and restores the picture and sound of a scrambled channel. Typical modern cable boxes include some form of descrambling ability. Such a cable box must also be addressable (see below) in order to be told to descramble the signal for a given channel. Early electronic cable boxes, for example, could descramble channels that used signal inversion as a scrambling method. In many markets, carriers provided devices with simple or no descrambling capability, although the carrier may use different forms of scrambling for different premium channels. Certain premium channels or services could require an upgrade to a more advanced converter box that was capable of the necessary descrambling method. This is less true in the era of

and cheap consumer electronics. When a descrambler is included in a cable converter box, it is sometimes referred to as a converter/descrambler, or combination unit.

Digital cable

Digital cable Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previo ...

is a method of delivering cable television as digital

data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpret ...

instead of

frequency. Many modern cable systems provide digital cable for at least part of their channel lineup. Because many carriers continue to use analog transmission for legacy and low-numbered channels, and digital transmission for higher channels, a typical digital cable box is also able to convert traditional analog cable signals.

Digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative advanc ...

allows higher quality and quantity of cable TV signals. Digital transmission is compressed and allows a much greater capacity than analog signals; it almost completely eliminates interference, which has always been a hindrance to the cable TV industry. Digital converters have the same purpose as analog ones but are able to receive

signals. With more data than analog in the same bandwidth, the system delivers superior picture and sound quality. Despite the advance of cable-ready television sets, most users will need a cable box to receive digital channels. However, customers who do not subscribe to any digital channels can go without; many carriers provide "basic cable" service within the analog range, avoiding the need for distributing a box. However, advanced carrier services such as

and

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

will require a box.

Decryption

CableCARD technology allows a third-party digital converter device to connect to and receive signals from a digital cable provider, instead of being reliant on a box provided by the cable provider. AllVid is a CableCARD replacement proposed by the FCC, intended to provide bidirectional compatibilities such as interactive programming guides, video-on-demand and pay-per-view, since retail CableCARD-ready devices are unable to access such systems.
AllVid Notice of Inquiry
', 25 FCC Rcdbr>4275
(adopted April 21, 2010)25 FCC Rcdbr>1465714661
(adopted October 14, 2010)

Other cable box services

Modern cable boxes are digital and not only addressable but can also perform

two-way communication Two-way communication is a form of transmission in which both parties involved transmit information. Two-way communication has also been referred to as interpersonal communication. Common forms of two-way communication are: * Amateur radio, CB or ...

between the box and the provider. In addition, they include built-in programming guide and schedule information, in addition to weather, messaging, and on-demand services. Some carriers have made available combination DVR/cable box devices, which include all the features of a modern digital cable converter box with the ability to record shows. These are intended to compete with stand-alone DVRs such as

TiVo TiVo ( ) is a digital video recorder (DVR) developed and marketed by Xperi (previously by TiVo Corporation and TiVo Inc.) and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose fe ...

, although the cable provider can exert far more control over the operation of the combination units, leading to undesirable provider-mandated restrictions on the recordability and replayability of programs. Amateur television (ham TV) operators use the frequencies corresponding to Cable channels 57-60 hooked up to outdoor UHF antennas.

Future of cable boxes

Analog cable-ready televisions and other cable-capable devices (such as VCRs) eliminated many, but not all, applications where cable boxes were needed. Digital cable, however, made cable boxes more of a necessity as it provided channels that cable-ready televisions could not. CableCARD technology allows a third-party digital converter device to connect to and receive signals from a digital cable provider, instead of being reliant on a box provided by the cable provider. This technology is being integrated into other devices such as DVRs and even personal computers, allowing them to take over all the capabilities of a carrier-provided cable converter box. However, carriers have been slow to distribute and fully support CableCARD technology. AllVid is a CableCARD replacement proposed by the FCC, intended to provide bidirectional compatibilities such as interactive programming guides, video-on-demand and pay-per-view, since retail CableCARD-ready devices are unable to access such systems.

Cable-ready sets

Cable-ready television sets have coaxial cable F connectors. One end connects to the cable, antenna, or VHF jack on the back of the television set; the other end connects to the wall CATV outlet. Once the television is connected through the cable to the wall CATV outlet, the television will need to be programmed to receive the cable channels. The instruction manual that came with the television should have instructions on how to program cable channels. Non-cable-ready television sets are older televisions (e.g., with a rotary knob) with no coaxial cable F connector; a cable converter box or a cable-ready VCR is necessary to receive cable. After ending the analogue CATV transmissions, an (analogue) cable-ready TV or VCR is no longer be able to tune cable channels directly. A customer needs to install a digital cable box or a

digital television adapter A digital television adapter (DTA), commonly known as a converter box or decoder box, is a television tuner that receives a digital television (DTV) transmission, and converts the digital signal into an analog signal that can be received and dis ...

(which is a very basic kind of digital cable box). Newer TVs, however, often feature digital tuners including digital cable tuners (QAM for USA, DVB-C for Europe). But cable providers often encrypt all of most of the channels, causing the TV to be unable to receive these channels directly. In USA, there were TVs with CableCARD slot to allow decryption without a cable box. However, they are now gone. But there are other devices like

that can accept a CableCARD and decrypt channels the customer subscribes to without need of a cable box.

Cable services

Basic cable service is the least expensive cable service provided by cable companies to their customers. This service usually includes local TV channels. Premium cable service includes additional programming service provided by the cable company to subscribing customers. The extra fee for such additional service may be per channel, per group of channels, or based on any other combination of channels. With

services, selected channels offer movies and special events such as sports or adult entertainment, for an additional fee, on a per-movie or per-program basis. A special addressable converter is furnished by the cable company to subscribers of this service. Through the use of special equipment, the cable company can direct the customer's cable box to descramble the program for which the fee was paid.

References

Digital TV Converter Box
DTVFacts

NY Times
Basic Cable-Ready TV Hookup with a Cable Converter
Time Warner Cable
TV Converters Help
Expedient * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cable Converter Box Converter box Set-top box Television terminology