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[John Bayesdow Disciple]

Originally posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?
Well, in every single apartment I've lived in Chicago, I've never paid for cable. Ever. I've always just plugged it in right when I moved in and there it was. This is not an uncommon occurrence. I think the cable company just assumes you'll call to have it set up. Now, of course there are some disadvantages to this: you don't receive digital cable with a caption telling you what every program is. And it's not "digital cable" which apparently transmits a clearer picture, although I've seen zero evidence (at least here ) that other people's digital is better than what I have. It looks the same except for the captions. And I would know - I have a 53 inch TV.

Nothing feels better than fleecing a utility. Especially when you're me and you hate government regulated monopolies. Is it stealing? Probably. Do I care? Not at all.

Now, to answer your question. You're correct, everyone I know with legal digital cable is shown the "order and pay" screen. If you don't have HBO 1,2,3,4, etc, you're shown a screen that says "You're plan doesn't include this channel." However, for the cable that just exists without ordering digitial cable, all of these channels are scrambled. Coincidentally, a descrambler fell off a truck at the right time. Now I get: 4 HBOS, 3 Showtimes, 9 PPVs (3 of them porn - well 2, one is Playboy), god knows how many Cinemaxes, etc. It's great.

Until HDTV becomes implemented in it's entirety, I'll stick with what I have. I see only minimal advantages to digital cable. Plus, what would normally cost me $80/month is free except for the initial $190 I had to pay for the descrambler (that fell off a truck).

How do I get a descrambler? Does it bring you reception?