No stereo audio on Cable TV

[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by YamahaFreak

Having owned half a dozen RF-only TVs... that produced stereo sound connected directly to the coax jack in the wall or an antenna

You are describing a different case that is exactly at the center of this discussion. Stereo sound was widely available from over-the-air analog stations since the mid-1980s, and also from analog cable-TV providers (initially only on a few channels such as the premium movies, and maybe MTV) starting some time later. But, stereo sound from consumer devices with RF modulators (VCRs, video game boxes, Laser Disc players, and cable boxes) has always been super-rare, almost nonexistent (on their RF outputs).

The very few exceptions I know of, that essentially were actual BTSC-type stereo RF outputs on channel-3/4 TV RF modulators, were some high-end big-dish satellite TV tuners in the early 1990s (Chaparral Monterey was one brand), and Radio Shack did sell one model of RF modulator that had a stereo output.

(Of course, do not confuse stereo RF output with any modulators that just have stereo audio INPUT jacks; most of the ones made since the 1990s probably had those jacks.)