Use Standard Cable to view HD channels

[Cabexas]

Hi,
I had just purchased a HDTV recently. Now before putting out money in a Set top box can anyone tell me that a standard cable be used to view HD channels. I had not tried but just taking a chance. And if yes then what about the quality of the channels. Does the quality of Digital channels will be the same of there will be steep downfall. Any suggestions really appreciated.

[Killen]

The first thing you will need to do is that configure the set top box properly. It is possible to do but the reason is that if the configuration setting are fine then you can get the same HD quality. Set the default display resolution of the box for 480p. The channels will become more clear. If still the problem is there then contact your cable tv provider.

[Maxforu]

There are some HD channels which are encrypted by the cable provider. For that either you need a cable card or subscribe service. Well it not make a much difference you can receive some digital channels via standard cable. Normally the QAM channels to OTA ATSC channel will not display. They need some special hardware for encoding.

[Fabian]

Here you can try to get some limited numbers of channels from Standard cable but not the entire list what you get in a subscription service. First you need a cable service and then you need a digital cable box which you already have. Then from your new HTDV configure the QAM tuner. The TV guide can help you in this. But if you feel the output quality difference then you can get a HD cable.