Can someone please explain (technically) why I need a cable box for my Spectrum app service to work on my Roku boxes?
You can get by renting a cable card for $2.50 a month, twc needs some mac address to link the streaming and SDV channels from your account to the devices you own. The experimental "boxless " service from 3 years ago was never fully implemented.
So I guess they can't use the MAC address of a Roku box?
They'd rather rent you something. They need to tie the devices mac addy to your modem so they know you're "at home" and not stealing cable at a relatives house...
LOL O OK..
Thanks
MsRaye wrote:They'd rather rent you something. They need to tie the devices mac addy to your modem so they know you're "at home" and not stealing cable at a relatives house...
I do not have a cable box, only the DTA's. I can use my Roku's to watch TV on sets w/o the DTA's when I am at home. I can also watch on my iPod Touch when at home. If I try doing it from outside the home, I get a message on the iPod to the effect, "You are not at home, therefore some channels may not be available", which is pretty much all of them except FX and the C-Spans. When I tried to use the Roku while on vacation, the app tells me, "Sorry. To use this app you must be on a network behind the modem attached to the account credentials you are using to access the app."
So I do not rent a box, but my ability to watch on a Roku / iPod touch inside the home must be tied to the MAC address of my modem (which is mine - not rented.)
Your mileage may vary.
Spectrum does not rent DTA's, they were around the same cost as a cablecard at TWC..
MsRaye wrote:Spectrum does not rent DTA's, they were around the same cost as a cablecard at TWC..
I know that they no longer rent them, but I still have them, and my app(s) still work when I am at home.... YMMV.
preproman wrote:Can someone please explain (technically) why I need a cable box for my Spectrum app service to work on my Roku boxes?
Were you told by a rep that you had to have a set top box for the app to operate? The app detects the home network through the modem, not the set top box. Is it required to have a set top or DTA as a condition of being subscribed to a tv package?
reds91185 wrote:
preproman wrote:Can someone please explain (technically) why I need a cable box for my Spectrum app service to work on my Roku boxes?
Were you told by a rep that you had to have a set top box for the app to operate? The app detects the home network through the modem, not the set top box. Is it required to have a set top or DTA as a condition of being subscribed to a tv package?
Yes, you must rent either a cable card, cable box, dvr or a dta as part of the tv package to enable TWCTV.com -- now '" watch.spectrum.net "' thru your home modem. The boxless service was beta only and for a couple months in 2014 if someone want's to look back 10,000 posts or so... TWC has to tie the tv service to a device they have a mac of, even if it's not connected to an active cable.
At one time, you had to reboot the cable box on a good coax connection to get the TWCTV back up.