Free cable?
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,143
Likes: 18
Free cable?
Here's the deal. I use an antenna on my tv cause I'm too cheap to get cable or satellite. Being bored tonight, I plugged my tv into the cable jack sticking out of the wall just for the heck of it.
I HAVE OVER 70 CHANNELS!! FREE!!
Now, before I get anymore ecstatic, I need to know if this is legal. All I did was plug my tv in cause I was bored. The jack was already sticking out of the wall. I did nothing to manipulate connections or wiring.
Can I watch cable tv free legally?
Is there any way that the cable company can find out?
I HAVE OVER 70 CHANNELS!! FREE!!
Now, before I get anymore ecstatic, I need to know if this is legal. All I did was plug my tv in cause I was bored. The jack was already sticking out of the wall. I did nothing to manipulate connections or wiring.
Can I watch cable tv free legally?
Is there any way that the cable company can find out?
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 279
Likes: 1
Free cable?
In an ideal world I'd say "Yes it's legal".
It's your house, and the wires are yours. It's the cable companys responsibility to disconnect it from the street.
They tend to check connections from time to time. Or at least, around here, they pretend to. That will tell them if it's hooked up at the street.
Can they tell that your tv is hooked up? How loud is the volume?
They could argue that since you hooked up to the line your now receiving their service and so owe them for it. I don't see it that way, but I am neither a lawyer nor a judge.
It's your house, and the wires are yours. It's the cable companys responsibility to disconnect it from the street.
They tend to check connections from time to time. Or at least, around here, they pretend to. That will tell them if it's hooked up at the street.
Can they tell that your tv is hooked up? How loud is the volume?
They could argue that since you hooked up to the line your now receiving their service and so owe them for it. I don't see it that way, but I am neither a lawyer nor a judge.
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,628
Likes: 0
From: Baileyton, TN
Free cable?
Because of the problem of pirated cable, it is a FELONY to watch cable without paying for it.. (I would have thought that a little excessive, but law is never simple)
That is the fact of law, so you now know, but what you do with that knowledge is your business.
That is the fact of law, so you now know, but what you do with that knowledge is your business.
Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,775
Likes: 2
From: Conway Arkansas
Free cable?
Unhook it.
My dad did that when he moved into his apartment while building his house.
THey were there the next day to tell him to disconnect it, and they cut the cable outside from the box.
They have ways of detecting it...
Ive heard of several ways, but I do know they can find out.
My dad did that when he moved into his apartment while building his house.
THey were there the next day to tell him to disconnect it, and they cut the cable outside from the box.
They have ways of detecting it...
Ive heard of several ways, but I do know they can find out.
Thread Starter
|
Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,143
Likes: 18
Free cable?
The thing is: I've been living in this apartment for 3 years and have never tried it before. I also have cable internet, but in a different room. Could that make a difference?
What to do? What to do?
What to do? What to do?
Last edited by 88grandmarquis; Aug 1, 2003 at 11:31 PM.
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Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,628
Likes: 0
From: Baileyton, TN
Free cable?
Maybe your internet hookup comes with basic cable - mine did. Call the company and ask.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,205
Likes: 1
From: Vancouver WA
Free cable?
Yes you can get cable internet without cable TV. You have to be ABLE to get cable TV in your house to get the internet, but you don't have to have it. Had a buddy that was set up that way for a couple years. Had a big C-band dish for his TV, but had cable internet. Now he works for Comcast, so he gets everything free anyway.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 364
Likes: 0
From: Minneapolis USA
Free cable?
If you have cable internet then you have some cable most likely. If you dont have cable internet and you plugged your cable into the cable jack in the house, you're pretty much fine....it's up to the cable company to disconnect your cable from the street to the house. If the cable company is still sending the cable to your house and you didnt alter or pirate out of the box on the street you are pretty much safe, that is provided the cable box on the street has a lock on it. If it doesnt have a lock on it they will most likey blame you for pirating the cable. But if the box is locked on the street and you have cable you're pretty much safe. I've got friends that work for the cable company in MN and that's how it works here, if the box on the street is locked they assume you have cable, if the box is not locked and they open it and see you're plugged into it then you're busted for pirating!
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 260
Likes: 0
From: Conyers,Ga.
Free cable?
When I bought my house it had cable running to it. One day I hooked up my TV to the cable to see if it worked and it did. I got FREE cable for about 5 years. One day a cable guy came and told us we were not subscribers and if we didn't want cable he would have to disconect it at the street. Well we called cable company to subscribe and had no problems with them for the Free cable we had for 5 years.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,007
Likes: 0
From: Oregon
Free cable?
The Wiz is right. They don't "turn off" anything. Sometimes they forget to install the blocking filter when they hook you up for cable internet. The workload some of those installers are under is incredible.
