Channels Available if Splitter Used with no STB?

[dmc52]

I am a new to configuring these setups, and would appreciate help on what I am sure are basic questions.

I currently have a living room TV, and a kitchen TV that is not used a lot.  I have COMCAST now, and switching to FIOS in two days.  With Comcast, the living room TV is and older cable ready unit (none LCD) and receives most channels  from 1-100 with no STB.  It does have the smaller digital converter box on it.  The kitchen was an older analog also with no STB and not cable ready.  It received channels 1-13 or so on a good day.  I am switching the kitchen to a new LCD along with the move to FIOS.  I ordered one STB for the living room. and thought I could just put in a splitter before the STB for line to the kitchen. If I go with this idea, what channels will I receive on the kitchen set and what else will I be "missing" by not having the STB ?

I assume I will receive some stations but perhaps I'm incorrect, and should be ordering a second STB.  I see people on forums talking about putting in splitters, so I assume it is common practice.  Most people seem to like to have the guide which I'm guessing is not available without a STB???

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Diane

[Keyboards]

Diane -

If your new TV in the kitchen has a QAM tuner (not an ATSC tuner) you will be able to receive channels 2 thru 49 (but they will be located by "strange" channels number like 64.1 - these are the QAM channels and sub-channels) and also all your local had stations (which should map like channel 3 main channel is 3.1 - just an example).  You will not receive and of the national channels that you used to get on Comcast (SyFy, ESPN, USA, etc.).

Again, you need to make sure that the new TV has a QAM tuner or you will require an STB of some sort.

[ekem015]

The splitter won't make a difference.

If you get a new kitchen TV, and you do not use a STB, you will receive channels 1-49, the local channels. These are the "Clear QAM" channels, the ones that are legally not encrypted and thus don't require unscrambling by a STB. However, they will not be channels 1-50 on your TV, they will most likely be 2-1 or 157-2, or something to that effect. FiOS is all-digital, so your old analog (hell, even non-cable ready) TV will get nothing just with a cable line to it. Since these Clear QAM local channels are digital, they will be in HD if available, so you will be able to watch HD using this setup and a new TV (all new TVs have a digital tuner and are HD).

I would suggest a $3.99/month digital adapter for your kitchen TV. It is about the size of a small book, and it will get you every channel EXCEPT any HD channels. So using this setup you would lose the local HD (CBS, FOX, etc.) channels you'd get with just Clear QAM, but you'd be gaining Channels 50-1999, minus the block of HD channels. This would not give you a program guide.

If you want HD channels and a program guide, then you'd have to get a $9.99/month HD STB for the new LCD kitchen TV.

For the living room, I'm assuming you ordered a $5.99/month SD STB. It doesn't sound like that TV is digital or HD, so that's what you'd want there.