Standard Cable w/o STB thru VCR will allow digital stations?

[rcholden]

If I hookup my standard cable directly to my HDTV I get 70 analog and 40 stations, great but I want to
continue to use my VCR/DVD combo unit. I know that I will only be able to record analog stations but will
the RF/coax hookup through the VCR allow me to see the digital stations on the HDTV? In other words, will
the digital stations "pass through" the VCR?

[jagabo]

You could always use a splitter instead.
http://www.amazon.com/Acoustic-Research-PR430-Performance-splitter/dp/B00008VSLA/

[edDV]

In other words, will the digital stations "pass through" the VCR?

First scan the TV with a direct connection. Note the stations.

Then scan the TV with the VCR in the loop and see what you get. Test when the VCR is recording an analog channel and when stopped.

I use the splitter myself.

[usually_quiet]

I also suggest you scan using the pass-through and scan using a direct connection, and see if there's any difference in the list of channels that you can see. There's a good chance they'll be none.

I hooked up an HDTV to a VCR using its pass-through for analog cable, about a year ago, for relatives. It's still working fine, even after they had SD digital cable installed. a couple of weeks ago. (I split the cable at the wall and added the STB to the other leg.) They can still record their remaining analog stations and watch their HD locals as before. and they are also able to get all their available clear QAM channels using the VCR's pass through.

Too bad all the HD cable-only channels in their package are scrambled. A couple of their HD locals are scrambled as well. Apparently they decided to opt out of must-carry sometime prior to 2007, when my relatives bought a digital TV,

The biggest downside is that watching their clear QAM cable-only channels without using the STB requires channel surfing or maintaining their own channel list, since the cableco's list assigns different channel numbers.