bought a new hd set - questions about cable tv

[Aarong]

I just bought a 50" Samsung DLP set this weekend. I got it home and ran the autoprogramming to set all of the cable channels available. Upon going through these channels and weeding out all of the shopping channels and such, I happened upon a handful of what seem to be digital channels, and a few HD channels. It's hard to tell what these channels are since they do not show up in my usual channel lineup. So far I've identified DiscoveryHD, Showtime, ShoW, the Disney Channel, the local Fox HD broadcast, and a few others. One channel seems to be dedicated purely to movie previews. I am currently on the standard cable plan, with no premium channels.

I'm confused as to how I'm receiving these channels. I have no set-top-box, and I am not a subscriber to digital cable. I simply have the the cable plugged into the back of the TV. The channels are displaying on the TV as '83-12' or '83-6', for example. I had planned on getting a CableCard and going digital, but since I'm already receiving these channels.....

This is my first digital set, so my previous tv didn't pick up these extra channels, of course.

Is this a fluke? Anyone else with similar experiences?

[BMXTRIX]

I believe, cable networks are required to give for free certain broadcast available HD channels without any need for additional hardware. No CableCard, no antenna. Just hook cable up, and you get the channels for free.

I have had zero confirmation of this other than what I have read and no magazine has gone into detail on it.

But, what you are saying falls directly in line with what I have been thinking. IF you have a CableCard ready televsion, with ATSC tuner, then you can get digital cable and CableCard to get a whole bunch of channels including premium HD channels. But, the networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, etc.) are supposed to not just be free, but to be there all the time for you to enjoy.

Any premium channels you get are either a fluke, or part of a 'free' promotional weekend thing.