Review on Samsung GX-SM530CF Cable Box and Streaming Media Player with Wi-Fi (2013 Model) by Mark Deuschle

I've decided to stop paying Charter/Spectrums $7.99 (per box) for cable box rentals. Instead, I pay $2.00 (per CableCARD). For those considering this route, you will need to request a CableCARD and adapter to set it up on Charter/Spectrum. If you don't have a tuning adapter (Cisco STA1520), you will lose SDV (Switched Digital Video) channels, which are about half your channels. Setup instructions come with Samsung box and setup adapter. One suggestion I would like to make is this: instead of using a straight-through adapter to set up the coax, use a splitter to connect the coax to the Samsung box. and adapters for customization. You must then call Charter/Spectrum to activate your CableCARD and setup adapter. Ask Charter/Spectrum to speak to the "CableCARD Team” who will guide you through the entire process. This process can take a few hours, so make sure you have enough time. Now that I have everything set up I get all my channels including premium channels (HBO, Cinemax). Cable TV (including channel guide) works as expected. Please note that Pay Per View (PPV) and On Demand are not compatible with this setting. A small inconvenience: the remote control that came with Samsung is not compatible with all my TVs. If you read the manual, you will see that it is only compatible with a few brands of TV. Also, the TV's only function on the remote control is to turn the TV on and off. If you want a remote control for your Samsung box and TV, you probably need to buy a universal remote.