Before buying verify your cable provider still offers CableCARDs. Verizon and Comcast/Xfinity still do as of 2023 and have dedicated support articles on this topic with it being easy to obtain one, but other cable providers like Spectrum may not give you one. This unit is one of the very few consumer orientated digital cable set top boxes you can buy besides TiVo. eBay does not let you leave links to outside sites or phone numbers in reviews but if you have Comcast/Xfinity there is a dedicated help page titled "Pair or Activate Your CableCARD — Self-Installation Setup" which has a specific dedicated phone number for CableCARD activation. You can also call this number and ask to have a CableCARD shipped to you for use in one of these units. Netflix and YouTube do work on this unit if you choose to set them up, however I do not recommend updating the YouTube app as when I did so the remote was not able to scroll anymore, I had to cast videos from my phone instead and use that to play YouTube videos on the device and at times there was a bit of a wait for it to kick in and start playing, but this is not the main purpose of the unit so it's not that big of a deal, just don't buy it exclusively for YouTube.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Overall the best current solution to replace a standard rented cablebox, as far as easiest setup, sound and picture quality are concerned but requires you to rent a cablecard and possibly a tuning adapter from your cable company. The remote is cheasy and has conflicts with some Samsung TV's. The unit runs hot and you cannot stack anything on top of it. I recommend putting some of those rubbery stick on spacers on the underside to give the unit some breathing room. As a media player for stored videos, it works for the most part but the interface is clunky and poorly implimented. It works well with Verizon FIOS, but from my research many cable companies will do everything possible to not have the required cablecard activate properly. This includes giving out known bad cablecards, creative ignorance, and general incompetance. Try and search for a specific number for your cable provider to activate cablecards, most have them, but beware of the general "tech" non-support people. Think of it this way, cable companies lose $3 to $10 per month rental fees for each of these installed.Read full review
Samsung designed this box to make older TV's 'smart TV's'. They piggybacked on the CableCARD technology that cable systems use for TiVo. By doing this, you're able to use this box in place of a cable box and gain access to Netflix, Hulu and other stuff for TV that's streamed over the Internet. You'll have to pay your cable company a small fee monthly for the CableCARD - mine is $3 per month per card (I have 3), and pay the subscription fees for the Internet streamed stuff, but it works out cheaper than doing this using vendor's boxes. The box will show both regular and HD channels as if it were the cable company's box! That's great. My area no longer has a 'TV Guide' channel on cable, and this box has a free guide that's tailored for your local cable company's programming. To go directly to the channel you want to watch just scroll down and press a button. This is a GREAT feature! A couple of limitations: the box is set up for 'newer' CableCARDs. If your cable company uses older versions, it may take some work to get it functioning with this box, or it may not work at all. That's a chance you take. However, even if it won't work with the CableCARD, it WILL work with the straight cable feed, and still let you use all the other neat features plus Netflix and so on. As the old ad says: Try It - you'll like it!Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
It works although it takes a little getting used to. Instead of renting a cable box from Optimum, I only have to rent a cable card. The numbers of the channels are different but this is for a TV that I don't use too often so it gets the job done. Probably not as good as having another cable box, but cheaper.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Refurbished
Bought this unit to replace/return my Charter Cable Box that rents for $7/mo ... took a long time to get set up with Charter Cable, but with persistence and resets and "pairing" with Charter supplied tuning adapter/card ($2/mo), finally got it going. Receives ALL my subscribed channels ... "favorites" can be assigned, but there is no way to get to use them with remote control ... there is just NO favorites button !!! ... the on-board guide channel looks nice, but the guide is generated by internet, not cable company. Have since learned that ROKU has a SPECTRUM channel, that receives Charter Cable TV HD channels for no $/mo from Charter ... and is a snap to set up.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Media Streamers
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Media Streamers