What is CATV box?

Question

was talking to tech team since my coax cable wasd broken from tv...and just wondering whats a CATV box?

Answer 1

In the olden days, cable service was sent out scrambled.  You needed to have a cable tv box (CATV) to "unscramble" the signal before it went to your TV.  That prevented folks from stealing cable service.

Today, it usually means a converter box that takes the digital signal sent by the cable company and converts it into  signals your TV can use.

Answer 2

It's any box that goes between the cable company and your TV set.  They are usually supplied by the cable company.

In the old days, circa 1970s, TV sets typically had over the air tuners, only.  The "box" was needed to tune in all the cable channels above channel 13.

When smarter boxes came out (1980s), they would allow cable companies to scramble premium channels to prevent unauthorized viewing.

Modern boxes do all of the above, plus they can convert digital cable to analog and provide for interactive viewing (allow a user to get more information or order a service like Pay Per View).

I hope this helps.