Sneaky way to find Universal Sports on your cable system

[Query]

According to Comcast in my area Universal Sports (which has Olympic stuff) is not available in my area.

To determine this, I checked at

https://www.comcast.com/Localization/localize.cspx?eqs=57D1BC66B6B0C45EA0543225705ACB6A DB4E58B27FDE6EBCC4D34901B84D3BB727264238706F614998 9C442349257391

entered my address, clicked on one of the "channel line-up" links, then selected my cable plan.

But, if you have a TV or VCR or DVR with a QAM compatible tuner (typically marked as having an NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner), you can bypass your set-top box (if you have one) and get more channels.

Unfortunately you then have to tell the TV or VCR or DVR to scan all available channels, and look at them. (Some of the channels you can get with a box may be missing, or moved, by the way.) What a waste of time. Universal Sports has a "US" logo on the screen. In the case of Comcast for Prince George's County, MD, there are a bunch of channels with two part channel numbers (an integer, followed by a dash, followed by another integer) that are not listed as available no matter what you do. In particular, channel 4-3 is Universal Sports. I'm told the channel assignments for these "QAM channels" change once in a while, so don't expect them to be permanent. Honestly, it usually isn't worth the trouble. But I can't record Universal Sports any other way. I'm not sure I will, because of all this hassle, but I may.

As I speak, they are airing figure skating on this channel right now. I'm confused, because I don't see it on the website, but it's there.

Of course Universal Sports has a website http://www.universalsports.com where I believe you can view the Olympics directly. But I think I want to record it for later viewing on my VCR.

[Query]

I discovered from the Universal Sports website that this is actually an NBC over-the-air broadcast on QAM channel 4.3. So anyone that receives NBC over-the-air - meaning through an antenna - and with a QAM tuner - which I think is in many (most?) HDTVs and in many (most?) recorders sold in the U.S. over the past few years - may actually be able to get it directly.

So you don't need cable - and you don't need to be sneaky.

You can find out where to receive Universal Sports at other locations here:

http://www.universalsports.tv/Universal_Sports_on_TV.html

This may also be of interest:

http://www.nbcolympics.com

http://www.nbcolympics.com/figure-skating/index.html


What they were broadcasting last night was "Countdown to Vancouver" - which were just replays of prior competitions.

[Isk8NYC]

I discovered from the Universal Sports website that this is actually an NBC over-the-air broadcast on QAM channel 4.3. So anyone that receives NBC over-the-air - meaning through an antenna - and with a QAM tuner - which I think is in many (most?) HDTVs and in many (most?) recorders sold in the U.S. over the past few years - may actually be able to get it directly.

So you don't need cable - and you don't need to be sneaky.

DirecTV doesn't carry Universal Sports unless you subscribe to their HD packages. Out of the question in my house - we watch maybe eight hours of TV a week.

Another board member suggested I scan the over-the-air broadcast channels. I have an old Zenith upstairs with a DTV converter box and an indoor antenna because I'm too cheap to pay for a satellite connection for a TV that is rarely used.

Our local NBC affiliate has been broadcasting UnivSports as their ~~.2 channel for some time.
Good reception, and I get the queen-sized guest room bed all to myself. Which was good for the US Nationals since they were on so late in my time zone. zzzzzz..........

[Skittl1321]

So anyone that receives NBC over-the-air - meaning through an antenna - and with a QAM tuner - which I think is in many (most?) HDTVs and in many (most?) recorders sold in the U.S. over the past few years - may actually be able to get it directly.



Sadly, it's not anyone who can get it over the air- you also have to have a station that has decided to use universal sports as a substation. Our NBC affiliate broadcasts low budget music videos instead :(

There is no Universal Sports coverage at all in my state- cable, satellite, or over the air, according to their website. It's really annoying since so much of the Olympic coverage is on U.S. (And mine isn't the only state where that's the case if you look at their list...) I think households with access are the minority.

[Isk8NYC]

I wouldn't go by the Universal Sports website listings too much. They seem to be very interested in attracting new viewers. During the nationals, they expanded their coverage on very short notice but they didn't update their online schedule. I wouldn't be surprised if their list is out of date.

Send your NBC affiliate an email to ask if they could put UnivSports on as a substation for the Games.
Say it makes more sense than music videos. You might be surprised by their response.

[Query]

In addition, you can watch Universal Sports through their website, that I listed above.

If you want to get fancy, you can figure out a way to input the VGA connector (monitor) signal from your computer into a VCR or DVR or DVD Recorder. What you need is a box that converts VGA to television signals - they sell for $100 or less at Radio Shack, and probably cheaper if you look on-line. Then get your computer to watch the website all the time, and set your VCR, etc. to record it at the desired times. Many laptop and media computers already have a TV output - sometimes as S-Video connector and RCA audio connectors, which many (most?) recorders can input through S video and audio cables.

There is also software, some of it free, that can record streaming video onto your hard drive, for later viewing. For example, search
at http://download.com for

record streaming video

I haven't tried the latest VLC Media Player, but it says it can record streaming video, and it's free. Most web video seems to play with fewer glitches in that player than in Microsoft's Windows Media Player, and it doesn't have the latter's spyware component.

I have no idea why Comcast includes all these channels - surely it costs them money to do so - if it doesn't then sell them to their customers. (Unless they are legally required to do so?) I wonder if there is some sort of secondary distribution market, that uses Comcast lines to transmit their signals. All kinds of stuff - Christian, Jewish and Muslim interest channels, Many Russian Television channels (with English language sound), Univision (Spanish Language), Eurovision, African news, Chinese and Japanese and other Asian news and music, Music channels, and more. Around here - metropolitan DC - many people would love to buy access to this stuff, and would pay for it if Comcast advertised it. I bet most people use a cable set-top box and don't realize they can currently get all these channels at no extra charge by not using the box.

Maybe Comcast plans to encrypt everything in the future, and charge extra for it.

I've also gotten inconsistent info on whether you need a "Digitial TV antenna" to receive these channels over the air. Some sites say any TV antenna will do, but Radio Shacks site (usually pretty good) says Digital specific antennas are desirable.

I also haven't figured out a way to get a listing and viewers guide of HDTV and QAM channels for my area yet. My regular channels I can search through my TIVO box (I bought an old pre-HDTV one with a lifetime TIVO subscription cheap), but that only includes the official line-up, not the over-100 QAM channels that Comcast pretends it doesn't include, like Universal Sports, or for local broadcast & QAM channels. I'd love to find this info.

[Query]

Hallmark in PG County is 81-511 - has Ice Castles movie

[dbny]

One of the things you will need to get Universal Sports via digital broadcast is an antenna capable of picking up the signals. Unlike analog, digital really does need that antenna. Luckily for us, our huge attic analog antenna is working for digital also, and we are getting Universal Sports as channel 4-4. I have to say that I love their coverage.

[FSWer]

According to Comcast in my area Universal Sports (which has Olympic stuff) is not available in my area.

To determine this, I checked at

https://www.comcast.com/Localization/localize.cspx?eqs=57D1BC66B6B0C45EA0543225705ACB6A DB4E58B27FDE6EBCC4D34901B84D3BB727264238706F614998 9C442349257391

entered my address, clicked on one of the "channel line-up" links, then selected my cable plan.

But, if you have a TV or VCR or DVR with a QAM compatible tuner (typically marked as having an NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner), you can bypass your set-top box (if you have one) and get more channels.

Unfortunately you then have to tell the TV or VCR or DVR to scan all available channels, and look at them. (Some of the channels you can get with a box may be missing, or moved, by the way.) What a waste of time. Universal Sports has a "US" logo on the screen. In the case of Comcast for Prince George's County, MD, there are a bunch of channels with two part channel numbers (an integer, followed by a dash, followed by another integer) that are not listed as available no matter what you do. In particular, channel 4-3 is Universal Sports. I'm told the channel assignments for these "QAM channels" change once in a while, so don't expect them to be permanent. Honestly, it usually isn't worth the trouble. But I can't record Universal Sports any other way. I'm not sure I will, because of all this hassle, but I may.

As I speak, they are airing figure skating on this channel right now. I'm confused, because I don't see it on the website, but it's there.

Of course Universal Sports has a website http://www.universalsports.com where I believe you can view the Olympics directly. But I think I want to record it for later viewing on my VCR.

I wish THEY would also Broadcast the WHOLE Skating events HERE equivalent to Sportsnet in Canada. Basicly that's all THEY are here. Is OUR version of it.