OTA from basic analog cable feed

[mlh422]

Is it possible to utilize the "cable in" feed from a basic cable TV service (analog) as the "OTA" antenna? (not the output from a basic Cable converter box...just the feed from the street). I still have basic cable service from Comcast and I thought this should work (since I can plug this into the VHF in on my TV and get a bunch of channels, e.g., 2-35 or so). My thinking is that I can get "some" service through my Satellite box in the event of a "deep cloud cover" blackout of satellite service (and actually get a 3rd channel to "view" while everything is up and running).

Using an D* HR20-700....I tried to set this up on OTA, but didn't get anything to work.... thx
-M

[OneOfOne]

you need a qam tuner. I have comcast and they provide for the 3.50 basic cable fee all the ota hdtv in your local market. and it looks good. I dont believe it will work in a satellite box though. only on a box or tv that has qam built in.

[ItsMeJTO]

The HR20 gives you the choice of inputs for the RF input on the back, go to antenna setup and choose cable or antenna for that input. It should work with basic cable channels. i'm not sure if it's digital/analog complient though.

[Coolbrz]

I have Mediacom non-HD service to my house. When I split the cable from the wall and connected it directly to my TV I saw the analog tuner stations which I expected but when I turned on the HD tuner (I press the TV button on the remote again to switch tuners) I was able to pick up two HD channels and one 480i repeat of one of the HD channels. I attribute this to the coax running through the house out to the cable box acting as an antenna.