Do I need a HDTV Cable Boxes for each TV?

What is happening in Canada?

The question below was originally submitted to us by by Barb

Why do I need a box to bring cable to each tv in my house?

Here is the result of the research we did:

The short answer is YES, and the reason . . .

You get what you pay for
Cable offers a wide choice of programming and as you would expect you have to pay for what you get. Each TV needs the Box (PVR) in order to decode the encrypted data that it receives. Hence one Box per TV.

In order for you to have access to the full line-up of Digital TV channels, you have to install a separate box for each television in your home.

Without a separate Digital TV box other TV's in your home cannot have access to "On Demand", "pay-per-view", the "interactive program guide" and other services.

However in the UK, if you watch Sky (satellite) it is possible buy a device called "Sky Link Box" also known as a "magic eye" for about £12 on eBay. This enables you to control your PVR from another TV room and watch it in there. But the content is identical on both, so when you switch one TV over the other one changes to the same channel. This setup requires a second remote control.

We don't know if this would work on a Cable box, as it depends on the connectors on the back.

Free channels are available
But as you would expect the choice is limited. It is possible to watch a free channels without a cable box - these are picked up over-the-air from an antenna