I got a message on my DVR box this morning that said "Watch the olympics in HD on WCAU-D and UHD from 2/10 till ...."

Also confirm I am getting UHD on 208, in Lower Bucks. If it's taking away PQ as a temp station, then ditch it after the olympics, I don't see a compeling list of programming for UHD. I'd much rather have ESPN2HD :)

No one that is why it will disappear after the Olympics.

Well, it would be nice to get Battlestar Galactica in HD, but that's the only reason I can think to have that channel. :(

It is at least good to see that the bandwidth is there for another HD channel. I am confident that a new one will be added within the next couple of months. It will NOT be HDNet.

Deja Vu.

I am getting picture tiling and audio dropouts but only on the second tuner of the Comcast Motorola 6412. Unlike last time, many digital channels (not just HD locals) are affected. Is anyone else seeing this? Was there ever an official explanation of what caused the problem last time.

Thanks

I have been experiencing tiling and audio dropouts since November here in Yardley. I have had Comcast "rebuild" my entire feed from their equipment into my house, and it has only helped with the tiling. I still get dropouts on the analog channels, but have not experienced this with any of the digital or high def channels, so I've stopped calling them every day! I'm looking forward to Verizon to provide cable on their FIOS optical lines, and then maybe we'll have a better chance at proper service.

... I'm looking forward to Verizon to provide cable on their FIOS optical lines, and then maybe we'll have a better chance at proper service.

We don't even get FIOS here in the low-rent district. :D

Luckily, Yardley is a test site for FIOS, and I'm connected right now with their 15 Mb modem. However, they initially thought TV cable was this spring, but now they say it may not be this year at all. Seems the franchising licenses in PA are on a township by township basis, and that means they may need to change that so they can distribute cable also.

Luckily, Yardley is a test site for FIOS, and I'm connected right now with their 15 Mb modem. However, they initially thought TV cable was this spring, but now they say it may not be this year at all. Seems the franchising licenses in PA are on a township by township basis, and that means they may need to change that so they can distribute cable also.
Yes, in some areas Verizon was able to get State Franchise Licenses, even a County license would be better than the arduous process of licensing each Municipality.
Do you really think they won't distribute cable, if they don't have enough contiguous Municipalities to form big service areas?

Just wanted everyone to know that tonight, FOX is going to be exercising their new and improved HD Technology at 8pm EST. I'm personally excited, as its been rumored to absolutely be above and beyond anything we've seen on Comcast Phila so far.



















...my most shameless AD plug yet.

Why do they even bother showing the Olympics in HD? Picture is horrible, nothing but blocking every time there is any movement.... NBC this ...

Looked good to me

Deja Vu.

I am getting picture tiling and audio dropouts but only on the second tuner of the Comcast Motorola 6412. Unlike last time, many digital channels (not just HD locals) are affected. Is anyone else seeing this? Was there ever an official explanation of what caused the problem last time.

Thanks
This happened on my first box. The tech told me the box was bad and swapped it out. Problem solved.

i wouldnt mind having uhd so i could see what this new BG show is all about.
as for movies and other "classic" tv shows, everything is cropped.
knight rider is a joke to look at with the entire show appearing as if it was shot in close-up mode.

i had airport '77 on for a few minutes and it was so zoomed in it was impossable to look at.

Deja Vu.

I am getting picture tiling and audio dropouts but only on the second tuner of the Comcast Motorola 6412. Unlike last time, many digital channels (not just HD locals) are affected. Is anyone else seeing this? Was there ever an official explanation of what caused the problem last time.
I am also on the Willow Grove system. A while ago, the whole region had problems for a few weeks, some for a longer period; it was never explained, AFAIK. I don't have any second tuner problems now.

You should set your DVR to the same HD channel on both tuners, turn off the box and immediately press OK, to get into the Diagnostics Menu, and look at 'OOB' and 'In-Band' SNR and AGC on both channels.

The 6412 typically has less signal strength on the second tuner. So you might have just enough signal on the first but not enough on the second. You should have min. of 33db SNR, but down to 32db usually works fine. AGC, I was told, is optimal at 50%, but up to 65% seems fine. Post your readings, if they are fine, then it is a defective box.

Saw quite a few signal drop-outs tonight on NBC-10 from both Comcast Lower Bucks and OTA. Would cut them a break tonight due to the heavy snow.

Lots of breakups on NBCHD tonight in Bensalem, due to the heavy snow.

It's hard to explain that to the visiting family(used to a 25'' non-HDTV) that don't understand how HD works and how crappy our NBC HD signal is, and the HD nat'l feed that goes out when there is bad weather in NYC... :rolleyes:

You should have min. of 33db SNR, but down to 32db usually works fine. AGC, I was told, is optimal at 50%, but up to 65% seems fine. Post your readings, if they are fine, then it is a defective box.

I had 37 dB on tuner 1, 34+ dB on tuner 2, AGCs <50%, and yada, yada, yada...I now have a DCT3412.

Thanks

It's only getting worse tonight..... It's like watching satellite, no wait satellite was never this bad.

Oh, and why is the replay of the Soul game on Comcast Sportsnet not in HD. The game was on inHD earlier tonight but blacked out. I just don't get it.

Nice to see that Comcast in SJ has been sitting on this unused bandwidth for a few months now just for the Olympics.... idiots. They even added back some of the PPV channels they took away a few months ago. Which is stupid, we only need 1 PPV plus adult channels. The rest should be VOD.

UHD is such a waste. We should have had TNT awhile ago. Plenty of basketball has been missed so far, and I'm sure those who like Nascar, not me, would have liked it too.

They don't hav an agreemt with TNTHD, thats what iwas told, either they are stupid or just liars

I'm not sure why you don't have TNT HD...it's 204 on my Comcast service. And, INHD2 wasn't removed for the UHD here either...UHD is 208. Am I missing something that Comcast does differently for other franchise areas?

JWhip wrote, in part: "Looks like there must have been a change in plans as we are getting it too. I [am] checking on seeing whether they have changed their minds and have decided to keep it on full time. I will say that it looks way better than it does for me on Directv, not that there is anything on that I want to watch anyway."

Thanks for checking into these things for us.

The older shows that were originally broadcast in SD - am I correct in assuming that they just zoom in order to fill up a 16 x 9 screen? If that is the case, is it really a worthy use of the precious bandwith?

But showing some additional Olympic events that are truly in HD is nice and I thank Comcast for paying to add that if it's costing them anything.

shades, they have had an agreement for awhile. CSR's aren't given all the information, more of a need to know thing.

My assumption is that they held off on adding any channels because they knew they would be adding UHD just in time for the Olympics, whether it be part or full time.

shades, they have had an agreement for awhile. CSR's aren't given all the information, more of a need to know thing.

My assumption is that they held off on adding any channels because they knew they would be adding UHD just in time for the Olympics, whether it be part or full time.

To repeat: UHD will be gone on or around Feb. 26th. It is up only temporarily for the duration of the Olympics. You've been warned so don't whine when it is removed.

And the ONLY Olympics on it is hockey? What a waste.

And the ONLY Olympics on it is hockey? What a waste.


What you will primarily see on UHD is the HD simulcast of whatever the NBC cable networks is running (USA, CNBC, MSNBC). It won't always be hockey, but 99% of all hockey will be relegated to cable, thus UHD...so it will be alot of hockey, but hopefully there will be some other sports for you to enjoy.

The fact that we can see an Olympic hockey game, in its entirety, in HD, at no additional cost is hardly a waste. The channel is not taking the spot of any other channel and will be gone after the olympics. Comcast listened to its subs complaints about not having UHD for the Olympics and added it, again not a waste. It shows that maybe, just maybe, Comcast IS listening to us on other matters as well.

shades, they have had an agreement for awhile. CSR's aren't given all the information, more of a need to know thing.

My assumption is that they held off on adding any channels because they knew they would be adding UHD just in time for the Olympics, whether it be part or full time.

so they could have added TNT and broadcast UHD on INHD2 like they have been doing on some systems, The olympics and TNTHD have nothing to do with each other

I bet these channels show up, unbeliveable

Starz Channles (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6306771.html?display=Search+Results&text=comcast)

Anybody here in the Philly area have any experience or second-hand knowledge of this MovieBeam service?

http://www.moviebeam.com

I'm curious about the HD movies they claim are available and the overall quality of the picture and product.

JWB

Anybody here in the Philly area have any experience or second-hand knowledge of this MovieBeam service?

http://www.moviebeam.com

I'm curious about the HD movies they claim are available and the overall quality of the picture and product.

JWB

They don't offer the service here in Southern Chester County. They do offer it in the northest Philadelphia suburb where my mom lives. The HD equipment costs $327. That seems like an awful lot for the privilege of renting a movie. They state that not all movies are in HD, and I could not find out how many actually are HD. And of course, when they go out of business you are stuck with useless equipment. Anybody want a VOOM dish?

Am I missing something that Comcast does differently for other franchise areas?

Yes. In my area, I have NEVER got the TNT HD.

The HD equipment costs $327. That seems like an awful lot for the privilege of renting a movie.
The Moviebeam box (after rebate) is $200 and the activation is $30. As long as you already have a HDMI cable and a high def TV, you are ready to go for $230.
Matt

why would anyone even want uhd? I havnt seen one thing on there that i wanted to watch yet. And so far only coverage of hockey games. What a waste. Lets get some other deals worked out and other channels up on there, since there seems to be enough bandwidth to add more channels. ESPN2 please.

MovieBeam is one of a number of companies using datacasting to broadcast over the terrestrial digital TV data stream. Here's what I could find on it: http://broadcastengineering.com/ar/broadcasting_challenges_datacasting/
As long as you have OTA high-def TV (note the required antenna), you should be OK. What happens when you have multipath and get an intermittent signal? Are you going to get a refund if you only could see part of the movie? This is the downside of one-way communications- i.e., error on receive, please resend...

Apparently MovieBeam was in financial trouble and taken offline by Disney last May. Sounds like they finally got their act together. It all boils down to the financial model. How to compete with DVD pricing?

I just replaced my ComCast STB (620x no DVR) because it was having problems. Question: The STB I was given as a replacement did not have the 1394 Firewire port. Did they give me the wrong box or is this a trend? I've been reading on the forums that maybe ComCast will enable 5C (copy protection) for a lot of channels. I occasionally use the port to stream broadcast feeds to my PC.

Comcast ad in the Star Ledger today, 02/14/06:

"On February 15th, Comcast is adding TV One to Digital Classic on channel 173!
...
Channel addition applies to Comcast of: New Jersey II(Union), Plainfield, Jersey City, Meadowlands, Monmouth County, Ocean County, Central New Jersey, Toms river, Long Beach Island, Mercer County(trenton), Southeast Pennsylvania(Lambertville), Garden State, Maple Shade, Gloucester County, Burlington County, South Jersey (Vineland/Pleasantvillie), Wildwood and Avalon".


bandwidth locked my rear :mad:

As long as you have OTA high-def TV (note the required antenna), you should be OK. What happens when you have multipath and get an intermittent signal? Are you going to get a refund if you only could see part of the movie? ... Moviebeam movie watching is not done real time. You will only be notified that a new movie is available for watching after the entire movie is on the hard drive.

It comes with an amplified indoor antenna (you should not use an outside antenna) and the data comes off the analog KPBS broadcast. Those not in the coverage area (the Moviebeam website checks coverage) are out of luck.

The Moviebeam thread is http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=644619&highlight=moviebeam
Matt

I stand corrected. Thats a smart way to do it. Thanks.

Moviebeam movie watching is not done real time. You will only be notified that a new movie is available for watching after the entire movie is on the hard drive.

It comes with an amplified indoor antenna (you should not use an outside antenna) and the data comes off the analog KPBS broadcast. Those not in the coverage area (the Moviebeam website checks coverage) are out of luck.

The Moviebeam thread is http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=644619&highlight=moviebeam
Matt

This sounds like a really cool technology that is absolutely doomed to failure. Paying a lot of money up front for a relatively small selection of movies does not sound like something that would threaten the local Blockbuster very much. We in the HD forum may be willing to be the first on the block and to spend the money, but I doubt many would follow. The success of the DVD was due to its portability, ease of playback, superior playback over tape, and the ability to own a movie in a compact package. Asking people to add another box and complexity to the living room, and spend a lot of money for a relatively modest benefit, sounds like a loser (see LaserDisc, Selectavision, VOOM, etc.)

Ch 204 TNT-HD seems to have been deleted from my Comcast channel line up. I'm getting the 'Not Authorized' screen.

I'm in North Wales, Pa. It was working until Monday (2/13) night.

Anyone know what's going on?

:confused:

Probably just technical problems, what do expect for $800 a month, good service all the time? :rolleyes:

why would anyone even want uhd? I havnt seen one thing on there that i wanted to watch yet. And so far only coverage of hockey games. What a waste. Lets get some other deals worked out and other channels up on there, since there seems to be enough bandwidth to add more channels. ESPN2 please.

Westminster Dog Show!!! Wait, I'm kidding. I kid. I'm a kidder...

My question is this: Why did Comcast add UHD on channel 208 for the Olympics and then also map it to channel 207 (INHD2)? Why didn't they just temporarily replace channel 207 (INHD2) with UHD. I'll bet there would have been less confusion if they had done this and simply sent a broadcast message to all of the boxes: "The Olympics are being broadcast temporarily via UHD on channel 207. INHD2 will return when the Olympics are over." Doesn't this make more sense? Oh right, this is Comcast.

I get INHD2 on 207 and UHD on 208 in Lower Bucks County.

anyone have a problem with the sixers game last night? Guess they forgot to broadcast in HD. Bars where on teh screnn the entire time for me.

Also gotta say, ESPNHD has really stepped up there HD coverage. NCAA game and a NBA game last night in HD. Everytime i tune in, the college game is in HD. Big props to ESPNHD.

anyone have a problem with the sixers game last night? Guess they forgot to broadcast in HD. Bars where on teh screnn the entire time for me.

Also gotta say, ESPNHD has really stepped up there HD coverage. NCAA game and a NBA game last night in HD. Everytime i tune in, the college game is in HD. Big props to ESPNHD.

Wasn't the Sixers game in San Antonio? I believe most Sixers away games are still SD.

I get INHD2 on 207 and UHD on 208 in Lower Bucks County.

I just checked and UHD (mens hockey) is on 207 and 208 although the guide for INHD2 is still being displayed on 207. Go figure...

I didn't see the first half of the game last night as I was out. Saw the fourth quarter and overtime and both were HD, no bars.

This sounds like a really cool technology that is absolutely doomed to failure. Paying a lot of money up front for a relatively small selection of movies does not sound like something that would threaten the local Blockbuster very much. We in the HD forum may be willing to be the first on the block and to spend the money, but I doubt many would follow. The success of the DVD was due to its portability, ease of playback, superior playback over tape, and the ability to own a movie in a compact package. Asking people to add another box and complexity to the living room, and spend a lot of money for a relatively modest benefit, sounds like a loser (see LaserDisc, Selectavision, VOOM, etc.)

I agree that this approach will fail. One of the reasons is that movie studios wouldn't want to cannibalize their DVD sales and rentals right now. It costs them almost nothing to press DVD disks so the profit margin is fairly high. But DVD can be and are copied/ripped. With HD-DVD and Blu-Ray movie studios are facing a nightmare where people will be so confused about formats they won't buy neither and chances are the new DRM (AACS) will be cracked sooner or later.

With datacasting technology they're just testing the waters with alternative distribution. They need a new business model where they can control distribution end-to-end. As the prolifiration of HDTV sets increases people will start demanding more and more of the content to be available in HD. So it would be much easier to control (read dynamically encrypt) everything in the pipeline end-to-end. And by using datacasting they completelly bypass cable/satelite PPV/VOD offerings and get to keep all the money.

With datacasting technology they're just testing the waters with alternative distribution. They need a new business model where they can control distribution end-to-end. As the prolifiration of HDTV sets increases people will start demanding more and more of the content to be available in HD. So it would be much easier to control (read dynamically encrypt) everything in the pipeline end-to-end. And by using datacasting they completelly bypass cable/satelite PPV/VOD offerings and get to keep all the money.

Another thing possibly dooming MovieBeam is the shutdown of analog transmissions in 2009. If the box only receives the data on an analog broadcast then it will become a 120 volt warmed brick on February 18, 2009. Will MovieBeam buy all early adopters a new box to get data from the ATSC transmissions?

The sixers game looks great tonite on TNTHD :mad:

The sixers game looks great tonite on TNTHD :mad:

too bad the sixers don't.

To repeat: UHD will be gone on or around Feb. 26th. It is up only temporarily for the duration of the Olympics. You've been warned so don't whine when it is removed.
Why would I whine. UHD sucks.

UHD sucks, is much much worse than INHD2. And Comcrap will still keep it for one week.

I just replaced my ComCast STB (620x no DVR) because it was having problems....
My STB is the 5100 series, and has the two Firewire ports. I guess the newer boxes are eliminating this, although were you using it?

My STB is the 5100 series, and has the two Firewire ports. I guess the newer boxes are eliminating this, although were you using it?

No. Firewire ports are to stay on cable boxes. FCC regulations. Cable companies are allowed to purchase new HD cable boxes only with IEEE-1394 ports present from 7/1/2005 and on. And they have to be working Firewire ports at that too. So if you have a set-top with 1394 from a cable company that is manufactured on 7/1/2005 and after it should have 1394 ports lit up.

I was using the Firewire port to view the HD broadcast and analog channels on my PC. When I exchanged the STB at the ComCast office, the women told me that this was identical to what I returned. I didn't notice that the Firewire ports were missing until I got it home and hooked it up.

If you say that the newer boxes must have working IEEE-1394 ports, then I'm going to insist on a new box. In fact, the replacement STB looked like it was an older refurb- a few marks on the cover, etc. Thanks for the help!

I was using the Firewire port to view the HD broadcast and analog channels on my PC. When I exchanged the STB at the ComCast office, the women told me that this was identical to what I returned. I didn't notice that the Firewire ports were missing until I got it home and hooked it up.

If you say that the newer boxes must have working IEEE-1394 ports, then I'm going to insist on a new box. In fact, the replacement STB looked like it was an older refurb- a few marks on the cover, etc. Thanks for the help!

Check out this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=639349), someone else got a 6200 box that didn't have a working 1394 port, and basically showed them the FCC mandate in writing, and made them give them a 6412 DVR box that has working 1394 ports, for no extra charge or something.

The bottom line is that you ARE entitled to a box with WORKING 1394 ports. Period. Per the FCC.

anyone check out that free nascar in car for the daytona 500? I think they are having another free preview this weekend because the weather was so bad that most of the cameras where down. Really cool watching what i could get in. Tony Stewart cursing a storm. Pretty entertaining. Wouldnt pay for it, as im not a big nascar fan but it was neat to watch teh race from teh drivers view.

anyone check out that free nascar in car for the daytona 500? I think they are having another free preview this weekend because the weather was so bad that most of the cameras where down. Really cool watching what i could get in. Tony Stewart cursing a storm. Pretty entertaining. Wouldnt pay for it, as im not a big nascar fan but it was neat to watch teh race from teh drivers view.

Agreed, I only watched the start of the race, but it was kinda neat to see in car cameras. I don't like or watch NASCAR in any way shape or form. Something about cars driving in a circle doesn't interest me. But it was kinda cool.

I loved how they delayed the start of the race for a stray bag that got caught on one of the roof cameras of a car.

ak3833: Thanks! I even found the FCC mandate. Won't be able to get to Comcast until the end of the week. This is gonna be fun. Will let you know what happens. (FYI - Samsung HLR-6768W will recognize the Motorola 6208 1394 interface)

On the Willow Grove system we got our new price list effective in March. I remember seeing a list from a system in Bucks Co., earlier this month, and it looked similar, it is in letter form with just with Prices of each package, but not telling what Channels are in each package. (In the past we got a pamphlet with all the info. )
Anyone in Montg. Co. or Bucks Co. notice this?
Will they send the channel/packages list out next month?

I know their site has supposedly up to date channel/package listings, but when choosing one of a few packages, it shows, what I know is not one package, rather it is two or more packages together.

Did they raise the prices on these packages? :rolleyes:

Oooh yea they raised the price. The front is a nice letter explaining their commitment to qualtiy, more HDTV, blah blah blah and oh yea, we are raping you for more money, HAHA. Soon as I saw "Dear Comcast Customer" i flipped right over to the back to see the damage.

Std. shot up to over $50 I think, digi classic and plus went up about $2-4 I think.

They got me by the jugular, I can't give up my ESPN for college hoops, and D* isn't an option since my apartment complex doesn't allow sat dishes.

But the extra $10 for DVR/HD is so worth it. You WILL get hooked on the DVR if you ever try it, and not want to give it up, just a warning!

Rarely have i had signal problems, now the DVR box, that's a whole other thread's worth of problems

Right, but did they send you a list of channels in each package?

Do I have a problem or is there an extreme amount of compression on Lower Bucks Comcast? It seems like all the channels, including all HD, are dropping a significant amount of frames. I even see motion artifacts. INHD looks as bad as SD. Sixers game (Comcast Sportsnet HD) shows some problems as well. Problem seemed to occur after 7 PM.

Using STB DVI output. This is the 2nd STB I have seen this on (the 1st was returned for a reboot problem).

Right, but did they send you a list of channels in each package?

No they did not.

Do I have a problem or is there an extreme amount of compression on Lower Bucks Comcast? It seems like all the channels, including all HD, are dropping a significant amount of frames. I even see motion artifacts. INHD looks as bad as SD. Sixers game (Comcast Sportsnet HD) shows some problems as well. Problem seemed to occur after 7 PM.

Using STB DVI output. This is the 2nd STB I have seen this on (the 1st was returned for a reboot problem).

Everything seems normal over here in Bensalem. I think we are on a diff system/headend though, on titanTV I am listed as "Comcast - Bensalem" and our office is right smack in the middle of Bensalem.

I was going to ask if anyone else watched Letterman, I'm having audio problems on the HD feed. Constant crackeling on all voices.

My signal levels seem normal, no error counts or anything. I have the 6412 PII w/ DVI as well. Mine has started the common problem of no video upon startup, w/o starting and stopping something on the hard drive. So no more turning off the box for me anymore.

Quote:
Originally Posted by QZ1
Right, but did they send you a list of channels in each package?

No they did not.
Glad it just wan't us that didn't get them. :)
Maybe they want to get the channel list as up-to-date as possible, to coincide with the new prices in March. I expect to see the list next month, but it would suprise me, if we didn't. :rolleyes:
There website channel list would be a good resource, except it is so woefully inaccurate; channel packages combined, missing, and channels missing.

If it make any of you Comcast subscribers feel any better, Dish Network just raised package prices by $3 per month. They didn't add any channels either. :mad:

If it make any of you Comcast subscribers feel any better, Dish Network just raised package prices by $3 per month. They didn't add any channels either. :mad:

That's not entirely true. Dish just recently within the past month or two has added Oxygen, Fine Living and The Tennis Channel. They also in the past year have caught up more with Directv's Sports offerings and now offer NFL Network, CSTV and ESPNU.

Seems good enough to justify a price increase.

I have the America's Top 60 package, and I don't have CSTV, ESPNU, NFL Network, and I haven't seen those added to my package. I haven't seen the other channels you mention either. So, as far as I am concerned, it's just a price increase with nothing added to this package. If cable goes a la carte, I am there.

Do I have a problem....
I am in the Delavue section off Edgewood Road, and complained two or three times a week between the beginning of November and the middle of January about video tiling and audio drop-outs. They rewired my entire property, and had construction guys running the neighborhood for quite awhile. The video portion seems to be fixed, but the audio still drops out on some analogue channels, namely MSNBC and Bravo for some reason. You really need to call them constantly, but the problem is you need to have an "appointment" with a tech each time. I believe it's their way of keeping you from making too many calls to them. In the meantime, I'm anxiously awaiting Verizon FIOS TV...I have the fiber optic modem now!

Is TNTHD stuttering for anyone else?

Is TNTHD stuttering for anyone else?

maybe someone's trying to break in and show more porn again

You really need to call them constantly, but the problem is you need to have an "appointment" with a tech each time. I believe it's their way of keeping you from making too many calls to them.

You need to call Comcast's Executive Customer Service number (you should be able to find it by searching this thread). I had similar problems, which were very quickly and diligently resolved once I called that number. I had a higher level person assigned directly to my problem, who I was encouraged to call directly as needed. The service was outstanding. It was ultimately determined that there was some defective piece of equipment at a node in the area. I have not had a single instance of tiling/pixellating/drops since then.

Trickd, thanks for that info, and I'll try to search for that phone number. Amusingly, as I became more frustrated by the need to make constant calls, and they wouldn't send a "maintenance" person to find the problem, I told them I wanted to be switched over to Mr. Roberts office. Not a single phone operator knew who Mr. Roberts was! I guess that's not the Executive you refer to!

I am in the Delavue section off Edgewood Road, and complained two or three times a week between the beginning of November and the middle of January about video tiling and audio drop-outs. ...
I'm just west of the Yardley Country Club, between Edgewood Road and College Ave. Today, I just exchanged my suspect refurbed 6200 with no Firewire ports for a brand new DCT-6200/2005 (s/w 72.46, f/w 8.14, yes- the Firewire is active). This STB is loaded to the gills- 1394, USB, Ethernet 10BaseT, DOCSIS tuner. The picture looks the best I have seen in several months. No drop outs or pixelation. My first impression is that this was an STB problem. I'll continue to monitor. The only thing I notice now are latency issues between audio and video (lip sync), a common complaint of digital displays (Samsung HL-R6768W) not related to Comcast.

I recommend visiting the headend / main Comcast office in Levittown in person, as the tech guys are there on-site. Newtown is only an office with a limited selection of equipment. The guy in Levittown was very courteous and immediately exchanged the STB with no questions asked. Maybe they can help you find the right person to help you (FYI - they have Saturday hours).

Maybe your area has had a lot of new cable customers. Cable system designers layout the distribution network against a forecast of how many customers they will have and where they are located. If the original capacity of the system is exceeded (new installations), a drop in signal quality will result. The right way to do it is to add amplifiers to the distribution network (on the poles) to accommodate the new cable drops, a very expensive proposition.

I'm going to hold-off on my cable complaint until I get a better understanding of what this new STB is doing.

....brand new DCT-6200/2005 (s/w 72.46, f/w 8.14, yes- the Firewire is active). This STB is loaded to the gills- 1394, USB, Ethernet 10BaseT, DOCSIS tuner. I did a detailed review of the HD Olympics on ch. 232 this afternoon FYI, of all the interconnectivity you list, only the Firewire (IEEE1394) works.

Wow Ken. You are omni present. How can you possibly monitor so many sites? Or is Philly somehow special??

...Maybe your area has had a lot of new cable customers....
Doubtful that is the problem. More likely it's that the equipment is older. I've had cable service since 1983 or so, and they're constantly working on the aerial equipment in my neighborhood. I'm very familiar with the Levittown office, and yes they are quite helpful there. I'm going to try the Executive Customer Service route next week and see if that helps. My entire experience with this problem has been that they really don't have a quality approach to customer service due to the lack of competition. "Don't like us, go to the other cable provider...oh, that's right, there isn't one!"

I am hoping that here in jersey after the olympics are over that we will finally get TNTHD in place of UHD....any word on that?

no we will ge the excuse there is not enough bandwidth and they actually will expect people to believe that and what is worse is some people actually will

Funny, here over in Wayne, PA, some of us are hoping when UHD goes that it will be replaced by ESPN2! Note: normally I see the upcoming HD channels tested out in the 'clear QAM' (saw TNT-HD and UHD about a week before going primetime). Just last night I scanned the channels in the clear and no new ones are currently present. :(

at least you already have TNT-HD....unlike us

at least you already have TNT-HD....unlike us

Yeah, whatever happened to TNT-HD in NJ? Comcast seems to be playing hardball with us, when we already pay a ton of money to them a month.

Just not fair. :( We need competition!

Doubtful that is the problem... they really don't have a quality approach to customer service...
One of the first things they should do is measure the RF carrier power at the service entrance. There are FCC standards they have to meet, I think it's around 0 dBmV. You have a case if it doesn't meet spec, i.e. grounds for a formal FCC complaint. That gets around the "we are a monopoly" problem.

My installation has an 8-way ChannelVision distribution amp feeding my TV. Here's the signal levels at the TV, taken in April 04:
CATV Channel: ...2 ..36 .54 112 117
Signal (dBmV): +12 +17 +15 +8 +12

The reason it's measured over several channels is to see if the frequency response of the distribution system is flat. If the level at your house is OK, then they should have someone use a spectrum analyzer and take a good look at what's fed to your STB. A possibility is that there may be interference at the channel you are watching due to the line amp (up on the pole) being over-driven and causing distortion.

Does anyone in SJ know if UHD was off the system this morning? I did not check.

Does anyone in SJ know if UHD was off the system this morning? I did not check.
Yea, it is gone

Thanks,

I though it would be. Now the million dollar question: Will anything of value take it's place?

so now I know that there is bandwidth available, as they made UHD available during the Olympics. Now where is the TNTHD?

Channel 6 is now broadcasting their newschopper footage in HD!

On 6.1? How are you seeing it? 4:3? 16:9?

On 6.1? How are you seeing it? 4:3? 16:9?

It was in 16:9. Great PQ. No sound, but it had a WPVI HD logo.

16:9.. awesome PQ, no sound. I guess they have to work out the bugs.

Geekgirl, thanks for the info! The problem has been that the service interruptions are random, and not constant. My service is up to spec at each outlet within my home, and at the entrance. They've worked several times at the amp located in front of my home, but will not tell me what they have found. It's just frustrating.

I did learn today that Lower Makefield is in negotiations with Verizon to grant them a franchise...isn't that nice of them!

Yes, Universal HD is gone from the Lower Bucks cable as of this afternoon. They didn't waste any time getting rid of it, but rather than just having it not exist, when you page through the channels, you get a "subscription required" screen instead of just passing by that number.

Was the HD chopper video on 6.1 or 6.0?

Was the HD chopper video on 6.1 or 6.0?
did they show anything interesting?

i'll have to watch at 11 to see if they use it again.

I wonder if they will start using the chopper for such things as watching boyscouts help old ladies across the st just for a reason to use it

I heard on NJ 101.5 yesterday (Monday) that Comcast is going to drop west coast feeds of the premium channels starting in March. Will this free up bandwidth?

I heard on NJ 101.5 yesterday (Monday) that Comcast is going to drop west coast feeds of the premium channels starting in March. Will this free up bandwidth?

Are you located in SJ? Because here in Brick and in other parts of the state, the west coast feeds were dropped December 1.

I did learn today that Lower Makefield is in negotiations with Verizon to grant them a franchise...isn't that nice of them!
How did you find this out, is there a site for this or did someone tell you?

Are you located in SJ? Because here in Brick and in other parts of the state, the west coast feeds were dropped December 1.

Ewing/Lawrence/Trenton/Hopewell still have West Coast feeds.

Hdtivo: isolated incident or signs of failing tuner?

Turned to 6-1 philly abc and said no signal (ditto 6-2 6-3). Meter said 85 strength. All the other OTA channels came in fine and had great signals. Of course rebooted as first line of defense and waited for the painful time out since I can't get 119. Had a grey screen which did nothing. Rebooted again. Now everything is working fine.

One other note, when I first went to check the signal, channel 64 said 64-3 on the signal meter. I can't swear to it, but I'm pretty sure that when it's functioning correctly that it doesn't say 64-3 on the signal meter. So did that mean anything either?

edit: it does say only 6-1 HD on the meter now, weird to see 64-3 on there

Ewing/Lawrence/Trenton/Hopewell still have West Coast feeds.

I realize that. But a lot of systems including my one and one of the largest ones Comcast Of New Jersey Union/Verona lost them on Dec. 1 and got Hallmark Channel, AZN Television and some international channels. Was just wondering if this announcement was for South Jersey or systems in NJ that haven't lost the west coast premium feeds yet?

Is 6ABC news all in HD now...or is it just the chopper? I was watching yesterday for a little while and I noticed the new set, but the picture was still SD.

I Was just wondering if this announcement was for South Jersey or systems in NJ that haven't lost the west coast premium feeds yet?

we will find out soon

West coast feeds gone here a total of 22 channels removed, i think maybe TNTHD and ESPN2 HD could be squeezed in now :rolleyes:

I realize that. But a lot of systems including my one and one of the largest ones Comcast Of New Jersey Union/Verona lost them on Dec. 1 and got Hallmark Channel, AZN Television and some international channels. Was just wondering if this announcement was for South Jersey or systems in NJ that haven't lost the west coast premium feeds yet?

Our system seems to run 3-12 months behind everyone else. I'm sure we'll eventually lose those feeds.

What the heck is AZN, and is it an HD channel? Is Hallmark HD?

Is 6ABC news all in HD now...or is it just the chopper? I was watching yesterday for a little while and I noticed the new set, but the picture was still SD.

Watched Ch 6 news a bit last night, no HD yet. They had the chopper over the shooting in Chester, and it was NOT HD, I guess maybe b/c it was night? They loooked like they were using some kind of night filter, the HD cam might not work in the dark, who knows.

Our system seems to run 3-12 months behind everyone else. I'm sure we'll eventually lose those feeds.

What the heck is AZN, and is it an HD channel? Is Hallmark HD?

AZN Television is a channel owned by Comcast that focuses primarily on news, entertainment etc. from Asian countries. Here we got it Dec. 1 on ch.108 along with Hallmark Channel on ch.137. They are both SD.

West coast feeds gone here a total of 22 channels removed, i think maybe TNTHD and ESPN2 HD could be squeezed in now :rolleyes:

LOL :D It would be funny if they still said that they had bandwidth problems after all the deletions that they did.

How did you find this out?
I emailed to the five Supervisors, and a week later, only Steve Santarsiero has returned the message, stating simply "We're currently negotiating with verizon over a franchise agreement." In a followup, he stated he had no idea of timeframe, and may know more after the March meeting (I guess of the Township TV cable committee).

Here in Vineland (south jersey) the pq on the network stations over Comcast look HORRIBLE, there is a lot of haloing. The picture is not as sharp and the colors are not as crisp. Is anyone else experiencing this?

LOL :D It would be funny if they still said that they had bandwidth problems after all the deletions that they did.

You might get TNT-HD, but don't bet on anything else. There really isnt any room right now.

New set, new helecopter, new computers, new everything (except for that theme music) and they are ready and willing to go HD...one problem...Jim Gardner, there lead anchor. He thinks he'll be ugly, wrinkly in HD...who cares! they should go HD soon...i hope they do, atleast.

New set, new helecopter, new computers, new everything (except for that theme music) and they are ready and willing to go HD...one problem...Jim Gardner, there lead anchor. He thinks he'll be ugly, wrinkly in HD...who cares! they should go HD soon...i hope they do, atleast.

Now if only a local TV newscast offered a REAL reason to watch besides fluff, domestic fights, "please feel sorry me" stories and old news that was on the local radio station or internet earlier in the day. The anchors (Ken and Barbie) could simply say, "Yada yada yada."

I asked someone at WPVI about this today and was told there were no immediate plans for HD news.

They took all the West Coast Feeds, even Encore, and we still have no new channels. I better get something soon before I flip out.

You might get TNT-HD, but don't bet on anything else. There really isnt any room right now.

how exactly is there no room? 22 channels were just removed

from the info i get, an inside source, the reason they aren't in HD yet is because of gardner...they even have chroma key monitors that are HD

Their field cameras are not HD. I don't see how they can be a fully HD newscast without those cameras.

actually...i can see how much clearer some of wpvi's cameras are than the network cameras. I think WPVI will do a 16:9 SD feed that will fit HDTV's. KABC in LA is doing that

from the info i get, an inside source, the reason they aren't in HD yet is because of gardner...they even have chroma key monitors that are HD

he shouldn't care...now monica..that's another story..they've been trying to prevent her aging for years

RE: The Bandwith Situation in SE PA:

The Willow Grove, Mont. Co. system still has two premium services, totalling five channels residing in Analog; that is ten HD channels of space, IIRC.

Now, I saw a prices/services list from the Bensalem, Bucks Co. system, and they have no premiums in Analog; same with another system, Bethlehem, I think.

So, I have been wondering, do all the SE PA systems have the same number of Analog and Digital channels?
(I think HD is always the same)
IOW, are we missing five other Analog channels because of this?

If not, that means they wait to have bandwith on all systems the region, before adding HD channels.

I ask because the new lists don't show the channels available, maybe we will all get that eventually, though. In the past, they had all the info in one pamphlet.

New HD channels are added system wide in SE Pa and Northern Delaware.

...In the past, they had all the info in one pamphlet.
Head to www.comcast.com, click on Channel Lineups on the left of the page, and then fill in your location. The complete list will show for each segment of the cable.

New HD channels are added system wide in SE Pa and Northern Delaware.
So, I guess, if we aren't missing five other Analogs, which I doubt, then the systems with Analog Premiums are stopping the entire region from getting more HD. :(

What makes a few systems keep some Analog Premiums, is it strictly that they are more popular in those areas?

Thanks for your insight.

Head to www.comcast.com, click on Channel Lineups on the left of the page, and then fill in your location. The complete list will show for each segment of the cable.
Yes, I am aware of that; but, unfortunately, for our area, that channel package listing is not accurate, it doesn't segment by package correctly, it leaves off some channels sometimes, it is a joke.

I have an interim channel/pacakge list from my parents' recent upgrade, that is labeled January, rather than March (March 1 was when new prices took effect), so that will have to suffice for now. I have to believe they will send something next month; other areas got the same letter w/o channel/package listings.

Hdtivo: isolated incident or signs of failing tuner?

Turned to 6-1 philly abc and said no signal (ditto 6-2 6-3). Meter said 85 strength. All the other OTA channels came in fine and had great signals. Of course rebooted as first line of defense and waited for the painful time out since I can't get 119. Had a grey screen which did nothing. Rebooted again. Now everything is working fine.

One other note, when I first went to check the signal, channel 64 said 64-3 on the signal meter. I can't swear to it, but I'm pretty sure that when it's functioning correctly that it doesn't say 64-3 on the signal meter. So did that mean anything either?

edit: it does say only 6-1 HD on the meter now, weird to see 64-3 on there

So the post above went un-addressed. I also lost 6-1,2,3 on 2 D* receivers in the last day. I also note that 64-4 and 64-5 are now picked up on scan. Like the other gentleman, I have 80-90 signal strength but the receivers arent decoding them off air.

My antenna feeds a third rcvr, a hipix card on an HTPC. it seems to be unaffected. ideas?

i get ota hd via indoor atenna. decoding with ati hdtv wonder. but WPVI-HD shows black screen but has sound. signal level is good. anyone has the same problem?



update:
now it's back to normal. they must have messed up their signals.

So the post above went un-addressed. I also lost 6-1,2,3 on 2 D* receivers in the last day. I also note that 64-4 and 64-5 are now picked up on scan. Like the other gentleman, I have 80-90 signal strength but the receivers arent decoding them off air.

My antenna feeds a third rcvr, a hipix card on an HTPC. it seems to be unaffected. ideas?


I am having the same exact issue and am VERY interested in resolution.

i get ota hd via indoor atenna. decoding with ati hdtv wonder. but WPVI-HD shows black screen but has sound. signal level is good. anyone has the same problem?


Just checked mine, it now says WPVI is 640.1?????????

OTA via Fusion card in HTPC.

if so many of us have a problem with 6, and we are all using different equipment, it HAS to be on their end. The reboot of my HDtivo fixed it the other day. Someone on another forum mentioned something about PSIP but i dont know what that is.

maybe they are going from WPVI-TV/DT to WPVI-DT/TV....making there main feed HD...idk thats my reasoning

i live very close (2 Miles) to WTVE-DT tower. Could this mess with my signal from Philly stations?

RE: Comcast Ewing/Lawrence/Trenton/Hopewell.

Today we lost all west coast premium channel feeds except HBO-W and Cin-W.

I'm sure many HD channels will now be launched...

New set, new helecopter, new computers, new everything (except for that theme music) and they are ready and willing to go HD...one problem...Jim Gardner, there lead anchor. He thinks he'll be ugly, wrinkly in HD...who cares! they should go HD soon...i hope they do, atleast.

This just in....an HD photo of Jim Gardner

http://www.udel.edu/brentt/cryptkeeper.gif

This just in....an HD photo of Jim Gardner

http://www.udel.edu/brentt/cryptkeeper.gif

:D If that's Jim Gardner, than I'm afraid of what Joan Rivers would look like in HD :p

i get ota hd via indoor atenna. decoding with ati hdtv wonder. but WPVI-HD shows black screen but has sound. signal level is good. anyone has the same problem?



update:
now it's back to normal. they must have messed up their signals.

Yesterday (Saturday) when I turned on WPVI there was no signal, but a signal strength of 98. Today no signal and 0 signal strength.

I have an indoor Terk HDTVi that gives me 98 signal strength for all of the locals, except 17 (89). Always had a problem with 6, the signal will just drop to 41 and then right back to 98 for no reason.

Anyway, today I went into my setup on my Sony KDF-50WE655 and had it search for digital channels. It found a new one, WPVI, same frequency, but all 3 channels are now coming in again.

Wow, I have same problem 6-1 6-2 6-3 all say 95% strenght but no picture. Set says poor signal quality (Pany plasma with intergal HD tuner). My home theater FP with OTA box is getting all WPVI just fine? I tried re-scanned, power off on TV. Still no WPVI. What is going on?

Wow, I have same problem 6-1 6-2 6-3 all say 95% strenght but no picture. Set says poor signal quality (Pany plasma with intergal HD tuner). My home theater FP with OTA box is getting all WPVI just fine? I tried re-scanned, power off on TV. Still no WPVI. What is going on?

I have D* with the 5 lnb dish and H20 receiver (not OTA) and noticed extra pixelation on WPVI yesterday (Saturday) but didn't check the status today. Maybe they're attempting something on their end?

Wow, I have same problem 6-1 6-2 6-3 all say 95% strenght but no picture. Set says poor signal quality (Pany plasma with intergal HD tuner). My home theater FP with OTA box is getting all WPVI just fine? I tried re-scanned, power off on TV. Still no WPVI. What is going on?

Try tuning directly to 64-1. Sometimes tuning to the actual channel, rather than the virtual channel helps. I am getting WPVI-DT without problem with my old Samsung SIRT-150 and an antenna in my attic. I live in southern Chester County about 40 miles from the transmitter. I haven't seen any change in signal strength or quality except in 6.3 which seems to have a little more pixelation.

I have a Samsung SIR-TS360. I had to re-boot the box and then re-scan the channels last evening. 6-1 is back again (On a related note - I still don't understand the purpose of 6-2, when much of the time it has the same programming as 6-1. What a waste of bandwidth).

Hmmm...they are back this morning!

I have a Samsung SIR-TS360. I had to re-boot the box and then re-scan the channels last evening. 6-1 is back again (On a related note - I still don't understand the purpose of 6-2, when much of the time it has the same programming as 6-1. What a waste of bandwidth).Going over the Schedule (http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=tvlistings&id=3639825) I don't see much of the same programming on 6.1 and 6.2.

6 is by far the worst HD OTA I have of all the locals. And I am only 14 miles from the tower.

For those of you who complained about channel 10 and their use of bandwidth to make the HD less palatable, look at channel 6's HD picture. It flat out could use a ton more bandwidth. 6.2 is a waste of space. Then again, so is 6.3.

On a related note - I still don't understand the purpose of 6-2, when much of the time it has the same programming as 6-1. What a waste of bandwidth.

More opportunities for advertising dollars...

More opportunities for advertising dollars...I'm not buying from their advertisers.

Mine are all back today! That was weird......

why no 5.1 on the oscars?

why no 5.1 on the oscars?

After 45 minutes they turned it on. Bunch of morons at WPVI -- I belive that is controlled locally. The feed comes in nationally at 5.1 -- but they have to turn it on at the local affiliate.

i think master-control is all new...so they have to figure out how to do everything all over again...the video cueing during the news is always early...they run out of video now all the time...and sometimes you see the video edit bay coundown with Independance Hall in the background lately...and the day they did the news from the newsroom, without a teleprompter about a month ago...i think they were redoing control and they were running master control in an ENG truck...

i thought both basketball games on abc yesterday looked awesome. Better quality from them for the basketball then they usually have.

Looked pixelated to me, though I didn't really see the late game.

Great Flyers game on OLN (INHD) tonight. HD quality looked a bit better than what ComCast normally does- wonder if they're using the same cameras / studio equipment? The ice-level cameras by the penalty box looked very good.

Anyone notice the double-wide HD displays behind Bill Clement during the 1st intermission? They stretched the picture to 2x HD width. Was wondering if they modded the Zamboni for a "stretch" option when it appeared on camera.:)

Great Flyers game on OLN (INHD) tonight. HD quality looked a bit better than what ComCast normally does- wonder if they're using the same cameras / studio equipment? The ice-level cameras by the penalty box looked very good.

Anyone notice the double-wide HD displays behind Bill Clement during the 1st intermission? They stretched the picture to 2x HD width. Was wondering if they modded the Zamboni for a "stretch" option when it appeared on camera.:)

Did anyone else notice some of the text at the bottom of the screen that OLN would occassionally throw up getting cut off? The bar at the bottom with the score and time clock was fine, but when OLN would put other graphics up on the bottom of the screen it would often get cropped out of the picture and cut off.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer (3/7/06):

Dish Network satellite television is now broadcasting local Philadelphia stations in high definition, its owner, EchoStar Communications Corp., said. The $5 monthly add-on offers high-definition versions of KYW-TV (Channel 3), WCAU-TV (Channel 10), WPVI-TV (Channel 6) and WTXF-TV (Channel 29.) Now boasting a lineup of 23 HD channels, Dish is taking aim at Comcast Corp.'s cable service, which offers 17, including eight local stations.

zippychimp: Noticed the crop also. Was wondering if that was a problem trying to fit both SD and HD aspect ratios. Cropping ads (even a text promo) is a big no-no - somebody's going to get yelled at. As long as they don't override when I hit MUTE during commercials, I consider it a definite improvement.

I've had the Sony KDL-V40XBR1 since November and have been quite happy. I have Comcast in South NJ, and have cable plugged in directly to the cable connection - no CableCARD or converter box. I get all the analog stations, and digital versions of each analog, plus the HD channels 231 through 24x.

During the Olympics I started to get periods when the screen went black, and "No Signal" in the upper left corner. However, all the other channels are OK, including CBS-HD on 233. At other times, the same thing would happen on ABC-HD on 231. When I'd enter the number, it would say "tuning" for a few seconds, and then say "Not Authorized". Sony support suggested that I needed to get the Comcast box, because sometimes the QAM is a problem, though he never said anything was wrong with the set. ABC HD and NBC HD are sometimes there, sometimes not. Some channels like MSNBC digital version used to come in fine, but for the past few week are totally gone, though the analog version always it.

I have only one Comcast installed splitter between the Sony and the street. The other end of the split goes into the house at another point feeding my computer. It splits again to my cable modem, and to my FusionHDTV USB tuner box (which does OTA and QAM).

Now for the big kicker. The $149 FushionHDTV box has -always- had a good solid signal and picture, when the $3500 Sony XBR showed "no signal"!! And the FusionHDTV box has at least 3db less signal (one more splitter)!!!

My question to this thread is the following:

Has anyone with Comcast in South NJ with a built-in QAM tuner and my setup had a situation where digital channels they used to be able to see go away with the "no signal" or "not authorized" indication? I'm trying to figure out if :
this is a problem with my TV,
this is a problem with QAM tuners in general, or
just a problem with Comcast.


Any ideas????

I have a CableCARD here in south jersey, and i've never had a problem with recieving digital channels. In fact, it has better reception than the HD Boxes. I have a Hitachi 60VS810, so i dont know if it is your TV or not, but I don't think it's they're signal or QAM tuners in general.

Sounds like low signal level. HD signals require more signal level than analog (SD digital is in between if it's 64-QAM), so you may be right at the threshold of working or not.

Was there any construction during this time that was near the cable run? Maybe something got kicked / pulled loose that was coincident with the Olympics. RF connectors will work if the center conductor is even remotely in contact with what it's plugged in to, but not very well.

I have only one Comcast installed splitter between the Sony and the street. The other end of the split goes into the house at another point feeding my computer. It splits again to my cable modem, and to my FusionHDTV USB tuner box (which does OTA and QAM).

Now for the big kicker. The $149 FushionHDTV box has -always- had a good solid signal and picture, when the $3500 Sony XBR showed "no signal"!! And the FusionHDTV box has at least 3db less signal (one more splitter)!!!

My question to this thread is the following:

Has anyone with Comcast in South NJ with a built-in QAM tuner and my setup had a situation where digital channels they used to be able to see go away with the "no signal" or "not authorized" indication? I'm trying to figure out if :
this is a problem with my TV,
this is a problem with QAM tuners in general, or
just a problem with Comcast.


Any ideas????

As GeekGirl suggests, it sounds like a cabling issue. How long is the run to your TV? It could also be a bad cable, connector or splitter. You can also try swapping the outputs on the first splitter and see if that helps. If your Sony tuner clears up and your cable modem and USB tuner start acting up, you found the problem.

I'm also in SJ and have a similar setup, but I have never seen any of the issues you are experiencing. My outside line goes into the first splitter, one output to the cablemodem, the other output to a 2nd splitter. The 2nd splitter feeds my 6412 DVR and my 6 month old Sony XBR960 CRT's internal QAM tuner. The XBR's QAM tuner has performed flawlessly since it has been connected. I've never seen a not authorized message on any channel and only see the no signal message on the VOD and PPV channels when they aren't in use. HTH.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer (3/7/06):

Newsman-
I finally got fed up with Comcast's TV service (love my HSI and CDV though) - and got installed with DISH this past Saturday.

The HD quality is AS good if not BETTER on the 4 locals - as well as ESPN2HD, Universal HD, and the HD Nets. Throw in the 15 VOOM HD channels - and well, i'm in heaven.

They are holding off on adding the WB and UPN HD's since they are merging - and the PBS stations will come at a later time.

I finally got fed up with Comcast's TV service (love my HSI and CDV though) - and got installed with DISH this past Saturday.

Unfortunately this is not even a possibility for those of us who want our Sixers/Flyers/Phillies in HD.

While I like Comcast, it stinks that there is not a level playing field for competition in this market.

Unfortunately this is not even a possibility for those of us who want our Sixers/Flyers/Phillies in HD.

While I like Comcast, it stinks that there is not a level playing field for competition in this market.

TrickD-
Believe me - i'm as big a Philly sports fan as anyone - I'm sucking it up for the better "overall" view. Now I just have an excuse to go to a bar and watch the Flyers playoff games. :D

Since the City of Philadelphia is a partner to the teams, providing them with a structure in which to play their games and to make their huge profits, why didn't the City negotiate that the games had to be broadcast, in all formats, over the "free" channels? It would have been simple at the time, and Comcast's sports channel wouldn't be the only "game" in town for high def for the two teams.

Newsman-
I finally got fed up with Comcast's TV service (love my HSI and CDV though) - and got installed with DISH this past Saturday.

The HD quality is AS good if not BETTER on the 4 locals - as well as ESPN2HD, Universal HD, and the HD Nets. Throw in the 15 VOOM HD channels - and well, i'm in heaven.

They are holding off on adding the WB and UPN HD's since they are merging - and the PBS stations will come at a later time.Matt, glad to read that you are seeing the HD light! ;) I love all the HD channels available. As for the local teams, I am not a Philadelphia sports fan. I like teams from outside of this market, the CSN deal makes no difference to me. The DN PQ is light years ahead of Comcast. Enjoy the view! :D

Matt, glad to read that you are seeing the HD light! ;)

I think you meant HD-Lite:)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=650955

Dish HD PQ light years ahead of Comcast? Really Newsman? How so? Dish's HD is at reduced bit rate and resolution than what you get from Comcast. I have a lot of experience with that from Directv and the difference between what I get from Comcast and Directv with HD is night and day. Comcast has a far better picture than Directv with CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, ESPNHD, DiscoveryHD and now TNT-HD. When Comcast had Universal HD, it was light years ahead of what I get from Directv. On the other hand, OTA and what I get from Comcast are identical in terms of PQ. Directv and Dish are doing the same thing with bit rate and resolution as noted on the Programming section of this forum as well as forums other than AVS devoted to DBS. Therefore, I can confidently that the HD PQ on Dish is not LIGHT YEARS ahead of Comcast. Quite the contrary. Now, Dish does have more HD channels but few if any are what I want. They do have ESPN2HD and the HDNets but I get them from Directv anyway. While Comcast will not be carrying the two HDNet channels any time soon, they will be adding ESPN2HD, UniversalHD and likely the National Geographic HD channel as well in the next several months. There is only so much HD I can watch. Years ago, when there was precious little HD on I would watch almost any HD. Now there is so much to choose from and Comcast has more than enough for me with even more to come. Enjoy the HD you get from DISH but do not claim that their HD PQ is light years ahead of anyone elses.

Whew! A little angry today JWhip? You are right, I shouldn't have mentioned PQ. How about customer service? How about not having to beg and grovel for TNTHD or other channels? As far as I am concerned, DN is ahead of your local monopolistic cable company in customer service.

Customer service among all cable companies and DBS providers are awful, period. Try dealing with the CSR's at Directv. I have friends that have DISH around the country with the same complaints. I have attempted to try to help Comcast out in this regard but my efforts have fallen on deaf ears. I keep trying however. I have problems with Comcast in a number of areas. I do not like their customer service and CSR's. I do not like their pricing models and continual price increases. I want more HD and less SD and for the life of me can't understand why TNT-HD is not on in NJ. I think that the DVR's still need work and need bigger hard drives. However, I have no complaints at all about the quality of their picture and audio. Even the SD channels look good on my 50PHD7UY. I just don't want the wrong info posted on this forum and try to correct what I perceive to be factual errors. I have no problem with you liking DISH's overall service to be better for you. That afterall, is an individual judgment.

I bet we get screwed over with espn2 :mad: 22 channels removed and no TNTHD added, amazing

Shades, don't be surprised if you get ESPN2HD before TNT-HD.

Iwould rather have have ESPN2 overall but TNT for basketball season, i can not understand the hold up with TNT

Neither can I!

Not to sound like a commercial but Directv has both ESPN2 HD and TNT-HD.

Neither can I!

I don't have any inside info, but it seems to me that the most logical explanation is that while the majority of franchises in NJ have the bandwidth available to add TNT, there are probably one or two franchises that do not. Comcast probably decided that adding TNT in NJ is an all or nothing proposition, either everyone gets it or no one gets it. If I were in their shoes, I'd probably do the same thing. It's easier to have the CSR's say it's "TNT is coming soon.." than to explain why my friends in the next town have TNT but I don't. I guess we'll all find out soon enough...

Very simple way to find out:

Which Comcast NJ areas still have not had their West Coast feeds (22 channels)removed?

Comcast of Central NJ -Middlesex County has been removed as of December 1st!

Very simple way to find out:

Which Comcast NJ areas still have not had their West Coast feeds (22 channels)removed?

Comcast of Central NJ -Middlesex County has been removed as of December 1st!

Unlike Comcast of Mercer County, which just shut off west coast feeds this week.

Concerning Comcast cable systems:

When an SD channel is eliminated, how many HD channels can take it's place?

I've also seen discussions about the different hardware systems in place in New Jersey. Does anyone know how advanced or behind the Mercer system is?

I would enjoy seeing what channels are available in "Western" versions that total 22! We still have a total of 13, but most often the content is the same, just delayed for the time zone differences.

Comcast in Northern New Jersey(Union system) removed the west coast feeds this week.

Does it matter whether or not your system is full DS or not? Because on my system Comcast of Ocean County (Brick) we still have two channels that aren't DS, WNYE on ch.14 and the Leased Access channel on ch.81 with a cable box.

Concerning Comcast cable systems:

When an SD channel is eliminated, how many HD channels can take it's place?

I've also seen discussions about the different hardware systems in place in New Jersey. Does anyone know how advanced or behind the Mercer system is?


I believe that it is
1 Analog SD = 1 HD
4 Digital SD = 1 HD

I probably am wrong, but close.

I've been hearing that we haven't received any new HD channels in NJ, due to Comcast focusing a lot on the Comcast Digital Voice service. Is this true??

what does that have to do with anything, can't they walk and chew gum at the same time so to speak

I believe that it is
1 Analog SD = 1 HD
4 Digital SD = 1 HD

I probably am wrong, but close.

you are wrong but i am not sure what it is

what does that have to do with anything, can't they walk and chew gum at the same time so to speak

I've heard that they are using a lot of the freed up bandwidth for the Digital Voice service, hence why we haven't seen any new HD channels yet.

but we did see one, UHD, then they removed it , they removed 22 channels so please i don't want to hear lack of bandwidth anymore, it was nonsense then and its nonsense now.

I don't think its true as well, but it is somewhat of a possibility. I think with Comcast in NJ, you just have to accept that they are slow to add new channels and really have no incentice to do so. I mean they have monopolies over the majority of their service areas, so they probably feel they can take their sweet ass time unfortunately.

I know in my community its either Comcast or satellite, and since I'm not a fan of Directv and Dish I'm stuck with Comcast atleast until FIOS comes.

It's not fair but what can you do?

They have monopolies in philly and just about everywhere really

I'm actually kind of envious of Philly Comcast. At least they have TNT-HD, Oxygen and Great American Country. Three channels I'd like to have in NJ. I'm tired of the bandwidth excuse. They sure found room to add their own African American network TVONE.

Thanks to all who responded to my call for help.

No outdoor work in the area - not that I saw.

My thoughts are that it's low signal level too, but I'll go outside tomorrow and try to swap output cables on the first splitter, before I call Comcast.

Also, the cable from the outside (1st) splitter to the TV is the original cable that's been there for at least 20 years - the other cable from outside splitter is all less than a year old (as is the splitter). I've had a Comcast tech in the house before and he measured the signal at both TV and computer, and he said they were OK. I told him that I was considering putting in HDTV, and he said I shouldn't have any problem.

On analog stations, some channels don't look as well as others - FNC on Ch 72 has always looked snowy; this has been true for ages.

Thanks to all who responded to my call for help...the cable from the outside (1st) splitter to the TV is the original cable that's been there for at least 20 years.
Your first clue. My guess it's the classic problem. Slow degradation until something breaks. Corrosion and degradation of the cable jacket (like UV exposure if it's outside) increase the signal loss over a long period of time. In other words, you didn't know the car was running low on oil until the piston rod snapped.

I'd just replace the cable. Get yourself a length of RG-59 coax, the "deluxe" version with quad shielding if you can find it. Extra channels are added by going up in frequency. Original systems used to have 400 MHz of bandwidth. Now, they're pushing 800 MHz. Amazing performance for an 'F' connector (it's not even a real connector - the cable is the center conductor). That's an extra 3 dB of loss for the same length of cable. Coupled with the higher signal requirements of HD, I'd bet that you were running on the edge.

My question to this thread is the following:

Has anyone with Comcast in South NJ with a built-in QAM tuner and my setup had a situation where digital channels they used to be able to see go away with the "no signal" or "not authorized" indication? I'm trying to figure out if :
this is a problem with my TV,
this is a problem with QAM tuners in general, or
just a problem with Comcast.


Any ideas????

Located in South Jersey and having the same problem. I'm using an LG 3510a and lost almost all the unscrambled SD digital channels in the past few days. In fact, I was watching ESPN around 9pm tonight and after a quick channel change, poof, it was gone. All that's left are the SD and HD network stations and a few random SD cable stations. It's unfortunate because my receiver lacks an NTSC tuner and I was able to view all the available stations without switching components.

Get yourself a length of RG-59 coax, the "deluxe" version with quad shielding if you can find it. Extra channels are added by going up in frequency. .

I dont have cable but found that statement interesting. You mean with cable you get more channels with better cable? Why and why do they limit people with old crappy wiring from getting everything? Then shouldn't they go up to RG6 or is that bad for cabletv?

i wish i got more channels on directv if i got better cable :)

Comcast has a near monopoly in the Philly region due to CSN. In fact, DBS penetration in the Philly DBA is the lowest of any major market. This is not the case elsewhere where the competition from DBS is much more substantial. No monopolies there.

Use RG-6 quad...It's a thicker conductor, which can carry more signal over greater distances. Especially with modern two-way communication (internet, voice, interactive tv, etc.)

Why and why do they limit people with old crappy wiring from getting everything? Then shouldn't they go up to RG6 or is that bad for cabletv? i wish i got more channels on directv if i got better cable :)
It's a matter of cost and ease of installation. The "why" can be found in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_cable. Thicker cable and better shielding (tightly woven like quad-shield) will have the lowest loss. Hard line has the best shielding, so it has the lowest loss (per diameter). However, it's a solid copper pipe and I'm not about to use a pipe bender to run cable.

To see the numbers for yourself, Times Microwave has an on-line calculator http://www.timesmicrowave.com/cgi-bin/calculate.pl . Select "RG-59" and look at the attenuation (dB/100 feet). Change the frequency from 400 MHz to 800 MHz and see the attenuation increase. Compare with "RG-6". You can use this calculator for calculating the attenuation of cable runs. RG-6 is better in theory, but it costs more and is also slightly larger in diameter.

The coax coming from your DirecTV dish is different than CATV. The little gray box that's connected to the arm on the dish is called an LNB - Low Noise Block converter. Your STB sends commands and DC power (about 18 V) up the coax to the LNB. The LNB selects the right satellite transponder and antenna polarization (V/H). What comes down to the STB is a small chunk of channels centered around 1 GHz. That's why quad-shielded cable is needed for satellite- low loss is really important at this frequency.

I believe that it is
1 Analog SD = 1 HD
4 Digital SD = 1 HD

I probably am wrong, but close.

1 RF channel = 6 MHz = 1 analog channel = 10-12 SD digital channels = 2 HD digital channels.

...wonder if they're using the same cameras / studio equipment?...

Not to beat my framing dead-horse any further, but the camera work that game was much much better than usual. The framing was perfect, just a little more snugness (not much) makes a huge world of difference.

1 RF channel = 6 MHz = 1 analog channel = 10-12 SD digital channels = 2 HD digital channels.

OK, so I was not that far off in the HD part!

Located in South Jersey and having the same problem. I'm using an LG 3510a and lost almost all the unscrambled SD digital channels in the past few days. In fact, I was watching ESPN around 9pm tonight and after a quick channel change, poof, it was gone. All that's left are the SD and HD network stations and a few random SD cable stations. It's unfortunate because my receiver lacks an NTSC tuner and I was able to view all the available stations without switching components.

I noticed that comcast south jersey re-mapped some of the SD digital channels over the last couple of days. I'll have to check to see if ESPN disappeared. I'm also using a LST-3510A.

March 11th: Yes I've also lost ESPN, etc. Actually most of the cable only channels have disappeared, leaving the OTA channels plus CSPAN, etc, just as you reported above. Oh well it was nice while it lasted.

So if they removed 22 Digital channels (West Coast feeds) they now have room to add 2 HD channels.

So if they removed 22 Digital channels (West Coast feeds) they now have room to add 2 HD channels.

Yes, Also I believe that the also removed the Analog Priemium Channles, So that should have fred'e up some space as well.

If xela is right than for each Analog channel they removed that alone frees up bandwidth for 2 HD channels.

JWhip - regarding comcast Sportsnet NY where do they plan on Brodacasting the HD showing of the Mets home games. Do they plan on using INHD2?

I thought they would have their own dedicated channel. They certainly spent enough money on a new Hd studio.

JWhip - regarding comcast Sportsnet NY where do they plan on Brodacasting the HD showing of the Mets home games. Do they plan on using INHD2?

Comcast will probably dedicate a seperate HD channel to it, just like they do with Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia.

Use RG-6 quad...It's a thicker conductor, which can carry more signal over greater distances. Especially with modern two-way communication (internet, voice, interactive tv, etc.)

My neighbor just had his outdoor run replaced, and the tech said I should do the same. He said that the new cable is "320". I know the different coax standards (RG-59, RG6). Does anyone know what 320 is? It looks thicker and it also looks like it has a separate ground attached, although I don't think it is being used.

Couldn't find 320 anywhere. I think that the tech quoted the part number of an integrated coax / ground wire assembly. The extra wire is molded to the RF coax so they can easily run a new line and ground it in one shot. It's also used for physical support- take a look how the tech anchored the cable to the pole or house.

Your first clue. My guess it's the classic problem. Slow degradation until something breaks. Corrosion and degradation of the cable jacket (like UV exposure if it's outside) increase the signal loss over a long period of time. In other words, you didn't know the car was running low on oil until the piston rod snapped.


I tried feeding the TV with the cable that goes to my cable modem (not using the old cable at all). Unfortunately, nothing on the TV changed (i.e. the channels that came up "not authorized" still came the same way).

The TV has a diagnostics that show In Band (FAT) that, among other things, has SNR: 33dB and AGC: 45% on a channel that has the "not authorized", while other channels that I can view have: SNR 28 and AGC 52. Doesn't this lead one to believe the problem is uneven attenuation across the frequency range?

I've found that Comcast people (at least the ones the consumer deals with), for the most part, are technically illiterate...so I'm hoping this forum can help. Thanks!!


UPDATE

I just did a rescan on my FusionHDTV box, and several channels are now "missing" on the PC, too. Also, some that show up as available channels, get nothing when you select them. It's looking a lot more like the problem is on the Comcast side! While MSNBC was available on the PC, but not on the TV, it is now gone from both - the analog version is still there.

The TV has a diagnostics that show In Band (FAT) that, among other things, has SNR: 33dB and AGC: 45% on a channel that has the "not authorized", while other channels that I can view have: SNR 28 and AGC 52. Doesn't this lead one to believe the problem is uneven attenuation across the frequency range?
There's always some variation. I would think that you would get a "No signal" instead of "Not Authorized" if it's a level problem. My guess is that it's locked onto the channel, but is getting told to not display it. Does the Fusion card have similar signal level diagnostics? At least you can compare.

Maybe it's your service level? My local ComCast requires a STB for all "digital" channels (except HD broadcast). If you can get MSNBC analog, then that's all they are required to supply. A lot of changes were going on to support the Olympics (like Universal HD) so maybe it's as simple as they finally got around to "cleaning up" their RF spectrum and vòila- no more digital.

I tried feeding the TV with the cable that goes to my cable modem (not using the old cable at all). Unfortunately, nothing on the TV changed (i.e. the channels that came up "not authorized" still came the same way).

The TV has a diagnostics that show In Band (FAT) that, among other things, has SNR: 33dB and AGC: 45% on a channel that has the "not authorized", while other channels that I can view have: SNR 28 and AGC 52. Doesn't this lead one to believe the problem is uneven attenuation across the frequency range?

I've found that Comcast people (at least the ones the consumer deals with), for the most part, are technically illiterate...so I'm hoping this forum can help. Thanks!!


UPDATE

I just did a rescan on my FusionHDTV box, and several channels are now "missing" on the PC, too. Also, some that show up as available channels, get nothing when you select them. It's looking a lot more like the problem is on the Comcast side! While MSNBC was available on the PC, but not on the TV, it is now gone from both - the analog version is still there.


Dumb dumb dumb suggestion I'm sure you already tried: unplug and replug in the TV. The reason I say this is b/c this last week when I was messing around trying to get my DVHS deck to work over firewire, somehow my tv's firewire ports would not display signal, and the TV's tuner would not show HDTV or digital channels. I would get "no signal" or "scrambled or weak signal". Analog channels worked fine, as did the HDMI input. I unplugged the tv and plugged it back in, figuring that might reset something. It did, and everything works fine now.

Of course my Sammy DLP isn't a Sony, but you never know.

Since the City of Philadelphia is a partner to the teams, providing them with a structure in which to play their games and to make their huge profits, why didn't the City negotiate that the games had to be broadcast, in all formats, over the "free" channels? It would have been simple at the time, and Comcast's sports channel wouldn't be the only "game" in town for high def for the two teams.

The decision to make Comcast SportsNet unavailable to Dish subscribers was made in defense only after DirecTV secured the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket, and insisted on EXCLUSIVITY so they wouldn't have to share it with cable.

So, you can thank the satellite providers for the reason Comcast SportsNet is not distributed locally. I don't blame Comcast, they were making a defensive move based on the game satellite decided to implement of acquiring exclusive sports programming it did not want to share with terrestial cable.

I would love to get the Sunday Ticket through Comcast digital cable, but thanks to DirecTV's hardball negotiating, I cannot for several years. It's a helpless feeling so I have no pity for them crying because Comcast won't "share" Comcast SportsNet.

Maybe it's your service level? My local ComCast requires a STB for all "digital" channels (except HD broadcast). If you can get MSNBC analog, then that's all they are required to supply. A lot of changes were going on to support the Olympics (like Universal HD) so maybe it's as simple as they finally got around to "cleaning up" their RF spectrum and vòila- no more digital.

Well, I called Comcast, and ended up with a guy telling me that I shouldn't have been getting the digital channels in the first place. I explained to him that I was not getting any channels that weren't in my lineup, it's just that I was also getting digital version of all the analog ones, plus the broadcast HD channels of 231 and up.

He insisted that the digital versions were not in my lineup and to get them I'd have to sign up for Digital Plus for about $15/mo more, which would include the converter box or cablecard. I told him that I had a QAM tuner and didn't need a decoder, nor would I need anything from them, if they didn't encrypt digital non-premium channels. I told him I didn't want those extra channels between 100 and 200, the music, and on-demand, but he insisted that the only way I could get digital channels would be to get Digital Plus.

What's really interesting is that if you go to the www.comcast.com website and look at "My Channel Lineup" for Preferred Service (that I have), you see that the broadcast HD channels from 231 to 248 are included. Also, several stations, including DiscoveryHD, ESPN HD, etc. have the asterisk indicating "Available in HD format".

Their website has no mention of TVs with built-in HD tuners that can handle QAM. The FACT is that these sets don't need anything to decode the digital signal, something they don't recognize on the website. In fact, the "technical reps" I've spoken to don't understand any of this, nor do they know the difference between encoding and encryption. How do you deal with ignorance accompanied by arrogance? Can't wait for Verizon FIOS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Has anyone noticed a "skip" on NBC10 via Comcast cable? It is very noticible during the news. A "skip" is the only way to describe it, the picture freezes for a nanosecond then continues.

Well, I called Comcast, and ended up with a guy telling me...that the digital versions were not in my lineup and to get them I'd have to sign up for Digital Plus for about $15/mo more... the only way I could get digital channels would be to get Digital Plus.
..look at "My Channel Lineup" for Preferred Service (that I have), you see that the broadcast HD channels from 231 to 248 are included.
Take another look at the fine print. Zip code 08043 (Voorhees) has preferred service, but Bucks County (Morrisville 19067) does not (?).

Bucks Co: 19067: *HDTV broadcast signals are included with Basic Service. To receive HDTV signals provided by the Company, an HDTV capable television set (not provided by the Company) and an HDTV capable digital converter are required. --- "*" Covers 232-240.

Garden State 08043: ++HDTV broadcast feeds are included in Limited Basic Service. To receive HDTV feeds provided by the Company, HDTV capable television set (not provided by the Company), HDTV equipment and/or an HDTV capable digital converter are required. --- There are NO channels marked with " ++ "! 231 - 240 are just listed as HD.

Note that Bucks says "and" an HDTV converter, Garden State says "and/or" (huh??) an HDTV converter. Let me know how FIOS works out.

new info on WPVI
the chopper image is now in HD...it even has a little symbol on it...

Well, I called Comcast, and ended up with a guy telling me that I shouldn't have been getting the digital channels in the first place. I explained to him that I was not getting any channels that weren't in my lineup, it's just that I was also getting digital version of all the analog ones, plus the broadcast HD channels of 231 and up.
Calling Comcast was your first mistake. :D Seriously, it is usually useless to call them. The site isn't even reliable; channel lists are not grouped correctly, all services are not offered.

It is better to pick up your local prices/services list from your local office, they also mail this out annually. Since the list is FCC-mandated, it is the definitive source of info. Our local Willow Grove list and the SE PA HDTV page says this:

*HDTV broadcast feeds are included in limited basic service. A subscription to HBO, Showtime, Cinemax or Starz! is required to receive the HDTV channel from that service. HDTV programming is limited to the programs delivered to Comcast in HDTV format by the underlying program provider. Programming is subject to change. Comcast SportsNet, Discovery HD Theater, ESPN, TNT, INHD and INHD2 are included with a subscription to Comcast Digital Cable. An additional monthly equipment charge may apply.

http://www.comcast.com/phlhdtvtvg/

To put it simply:
HD Locals = Ltd. Basic
HD Premiums = Respective Premium
HD Cable such as ESPN, Disc. = Digital Classic

Our area, and possibly all SE PA, allows Digital Classic w/o Standard. But you will probably want Std. anyway.

So, you see just because you get SD channels on Std., you don't get the HD versions until you get Digital Classic for $10; Digital Plus for $15 is not necessary. He was correct about the channels, but trying to over sell Plus instead of Classic.

If you were getting some Digital Classic HD with a QAM tuner, it was because they were unencrypted up until now. Eventually, all Comcast areas will encrypt all HD, except Locals. So, for Digital Classic/Plus, you need a STB or CC.

The decision to make Comcast SportsNet unavailable to Dish subscribers was made in defense only after DirecTV secured the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket, and insisted on EXCLUSIVITY so they wouldn't have to share it with cable.

So, you can thank the satellite providers for the reason Comcast SportsNet is not distributed locally. I don't blame Comcast, they were making a defensive move based on the game satellite decided to implement of acquiring exclusive sports programming it did not want to share with terrestial cable.
CSN-Phila's predecessor, PRISM, operated from 1976 - 1997, and it was transmitted terrestrially, so it was not made available to C-Band. C-Band was the only competitor until ~1994 when small DBS dishes debuted, and PRISM maintained terrestrial lines for the time it competed with DirecTV, and later, Dish Network. When CSN debuted in 1997, they used PRISM's terrestrial lines to transmit CSN, therefore, they maintained the FCC loophole.

So, to say they withheld programming as a defensive move is silly. You would have to believe, after all of those years withholding programming, they were going make CSN available, but Sunday Ticket led them to maintain their stance. Now, you know that is not the case. This is a competitive advantage that they have held for many years, and don't plan to give up.

Anyone see the info on KYW's website for the NCAA tourney games?

ANALOG GAMES
12:20pm Wichita State vs. Seton Hall Greensboro I
2:40pm Marquette vs. Alabama San Diego I
7:20pm Gonzaga vs. Xavier Salt Lake City III
9:30pm Syracuse vs. Texas A&M Jacksonville IV
HD GAMES
12:20pm Wichita State vs. Seton Hall Greensboro I
2:40pm Tennessee vs.Winthrop Greensboro II
7:10pm George Washington vs. UNC Greensboro III
9:30pm Duke vs. Southern Greensboro IV

Looks like they will split the HD and SD channels to different games. Seton Hall is constant b/c it's close geographically, so we get a constant feed to that game on both channels. I'm sure the Villanova game will be the same way on Friday.

Too bad there aren't 2 more different games on UPN57 :(

I would draw the conclusion that only certain venues will have HD production. Those games will definitely be broadcast on the digital channel in HD, while the analog channels will carry the games which the local affiliate chooses and/or must carry (such as local teams). I believe this has been the case in the past. Hopefully Wachovia Center will get an HD production unit given the presence of two number one seeds, plus Kentucky.

Philly is one of the 4 first round sites that will have HD. Detroit is the other one on Friday. Greensboro is the third and San Diego the last one. This was announced back in the fall.

So KYWDT will have an HD game from somewhere, and a different game on the analog channel.

CSN-Phila's predecessor, PRISM, operated from 1976 - 1997, and it was transmitted terrestrially, so it was not made available to C-Band. C-Band was the only competitor until ~1994 when small DBS dishes debuted, and PRISM maintained terrestrial lines for the time it competed with DirecTV, and later, Dish Network. When CSN debuted in 1997, they used PRISM's terrestrial lines to transmit CSN, therefore, they maintained the FCC loophole.

So, to say they withheld programming as a defensive move is silly. You would have to believe, after all of those years withholding programming, they were going make CSN available, but Sunday Ticket led them to maintain their stance. Now, you know that is not the case. This is a competitive advantage that they have held for many years, and don't plan to give up.

Other regional Comcast SportsNet stations, such as Washington, D.C. and Chicago, are made available to dish subscribers in other parts of the country. My point is this: why are dish subscribers in the Philadelphia area continually able to complain about CSN not being on the dish? You don't hear Comcast digital cable subscribers up in arms over the fact they cannot purchase the NFL Sunday Ticket because DirecTV mandated it not be shared with cable.

It's the consumer's CHOICE to select Comcast or DirecTV as their television provider. You need to evaluate/weigh what is important to you and make your choice.

There are billions of dollars at stake, and to think these companies won't continue to try to gain advantage by acquiring exclusive content is ignorant.

It's fashionable to bash Comcast, but hold the Dish to the same standard and you'll see they are doing the exact same thing.

Calling Comcast was your first mistake. :D Seriously, it is usually useless to call them. The site isn't even reliable; channel lists are not grouped correctly, all services are not offered....

So, you see just because you get SD channels on Std., you don't get the HD versions until you get Digital Classic for $10; Digital Plus for $15 is not necessary. He was correct about the channels, but trying to over sell Plus instead of Classic.

If you were getting some Digital Classic HD with a QAM tuner, it was because they were unencrypted up until now. Eventually, all Comcast areas will encrypt all HD, except Locals. So, for Digital Classic/Plus, you need a STB or CC.

I just got tired of fighting with them, and decided that for $15/month more, it was worth it to get INHD, INHD2, and Discovery HD, and they're supposed to come on Saturday to put in the cablecard. I was told that the cablecard was included in the price... let's hope he was correct. It does say on their web site that pricing does include a digital converter box...whatever that is...assume it's the cablecard, in my case... we'll have to see when the bill shows up. very confusing web site.

From what I can tell for my zip code, there was no "classic" package. Even if there were, I don't think that would have gotten me the INHDs and DiscoveryHD.

The only reason I'm still with Com**** is because FIOS is not yet available in my area.

There was a time when you could get Sunday Ticket without any other programming commitment, but I think that's no longer the case.

There was also a time--before digital cable was widely available--when you could get from DirecTV a 'plus' package that offered many of the 'newer' channels at the time, like ESPN2, foodtv, other various stations, and east and west feeds of movie packages. When you lined it up against the cable package available locally, you could see it was designed to supplement most original analog cable services, not replace them.

I was just looking over the Phillies schedule and noticed a few of the first home games are on CN8? Does Comcast still do HD for those games on some alternate channel? (Or can Sportsnet's broadcast facility only handle one event--assuming either the Flyers or Sixers are already scheduled for CSN those nights?)

Doubtful that they would broadcast the CN8 game on an alternative channel in order to provide it in HD. Besides, will the team look any better this year in high-def??? :D

Why is it that CSN Philly can only do one HD broadcast a day it seems. If there is a home Flyers, Sixers, or Phillies game they never do Daily News Live in HD?

As of right now, they only have the equipment to do one broadcast at a time in HD. They can't do DNL in HD the same night as a home HD game as the switchers , routers etc. needed are occupied for the game broadcast and can't be switched out in time. They do have enough cameras though. They are able to do a Phillies' game in HD during the day and a Sixers or Flyers home game at night as there is enough time to make the necessary switches. It is not worth the extra effort to rush the changes just for DNL. That will change later this year as more equipment is being added to do DNL and Sportnite in HD, not that some of the on air talent is anxious to see that as HD is not very kind to them.

There are reasons why Comcast Sportnet is on DBS in Chicago and D.C. In D.C., Comcast purchased Home Team Sports (HTS) which was kinda like Prism. HTS was already on D* and they couldn't take it off. In Chicago, Comcast does not own the Bulls and the other teams they show unlike Philly. Also, by the time CSN was started in Chicago, they were too late in the game to keep it from the DBS providers. In that case, Comcast was a content provider only and they wanted their channel in front of as many eyeballs as possible. CSN was not built into the model of market share dominance unlike in Philly where it is kept off DBS to keep DBS pentration as low as possible in this market. DBS penetration is much lower in Philly than compared with any other major market as a direct result of CSN. Also. having CSN-Chicago and CSN-Mid Atlantic on D* is a cheap way for the production people in Philly to keep an eye on the quality of the product when they are at home.

>>D* is a cheap way for the production people in Philly to keep an eye on the quality of the product when they are at home

Do you literally mean at their houses? Or at home in Philadelphia as opposed to on the road with the teams? If the former, I guess you're letting the cat out of the bag that CSN employees have DirecTV at home (as well as cable for CSN, I assume).

I wonder if they can write it off as a business expense? I need a job that'll allow that!

Yes, their homes, they can get a sat. down link at the Wachovia Center facilities. They used to send this feed over Comcast cable so it could be monitored but this has since been removed due to bandwidth constraints. D* is how they are monitored. You would be surprised who at Comcast also gets D*. AFter all, they need to monitor the competition!

I just got tired of fighting with them, and decided that for $15/month more, it was worth it to get INHD, INHD2, and Discovery HD, and they're supposed to come on Saturday to put in the cablecard. I was told that the cablecard was included in the price... let's hope he was correct. It does say on their web site that pricing does include a digital converter box...whatever that is...assume it's the cablecard, in my case... we'll have to see when the bill shows up. very confusing web site.

From what I can tell for my zip code, there was no "classic" package. Even if there were, I don't think that would have gotten me the INHDs and DiscoveryHD.

The only reason I'm still with Com**** is because FIOS is not yet available in my area.
I never heard of an area not having Digital Classic or Digital Basic, but I guess it is possible. It could very be that the site doesn't show this, but the local pamhlet does.

Rest assured, though, if you find that one of these services exists, and you downgrade, you would get Disc, INHD, etc., as they only require 'Digital Cable', as I quoted.

And, yes, the price of Digital service includes a Digital Converter or CableCard.

Well, I woke up this morning... (old blues)

Anyway, I woke up this morning and lo and behold - new channels! Fox News and Sportsnet New York.
Actually, Sportsnet NY is a loop saying it will debut at 5:00 PM and I am trembling with excitement.

NOT!!! That's because they are ANALOG channels!!!

No ESPN2-HD, No TNT-HD, no new HD channels!!!

This is what we get in place of West Coast feeds?

I was just looking over the Phillies schedule and noticed a few of the first home games are on CN8? Does Comcast still do HD for those games on some alternate channel? (Or can Sportsnet's broadcast facility only handle one event--assuming either the Flyers or Sixers are already scheduled for CSN those nights?)

The CN8 games will be in April and possibly May as CSN has Flyers and Sixers games that are scheduled. When the NBA & NHL Playoffs begin, usually the Phillies get bumped to CN8.

As of right now, they only have the equipment to do one broadcast at a time in HD. They can't do DNL in HD the same night as a home HD game as the switchers , routers etc. needed are occupied for the game broadcast and can't be switched out in time. They do have enough cameras though. They are able to do a Phillies' game in HD during the day and a Sixers or Flyers home game at night as there is enough time to make the necessary switches. It is not worth the extra effort to rush the changes just for DNL. That will change later this year as more equipment is being added to do DNL and Sportnite in HD, not that some of the on air talent is anxious to see that as HD is not very kind to them.
Thanks for the great answer. It has always gotton on my nerves when DNL is not in HD when it could be, but now I get it.

And, yes, the price of Digital service includes a Digital Converter or CableCard.
I'm charged an extra $5.00 / month with Digital Plus service in Bucks county. ComCast gave me the Moto 6208 (HD no DVR) when I originally subscribed. About a year or so later, they figured out that this was an "HD" converter (as opposed to an SD converter) and decided to charge me an extra fee. Be sure your CableCard works on all HD channels. Let me know when the Flyers and Phillies show up on FIOS.

has anyone ever noticed how bad the audio is when any of the teams are on wpsg. even the hd games.

the phillies had a preseason game on the other day and the sound was brutal. so they havent
fixed it from last year.

I'm charged an extra $5.00 / month with Digital Plus service in Bucks county. ComCast gave me the Moto 6208 (HD no DVR) when I originally subscribed. About a year or so later, they figured out that this was an "HD" converter (as opposed to an SD converter) and decided to charge me an extra fee. Be sure your CableCard works on all HD channels. Let me know when the Flyers and Phillies show up on FIOS.
By saying Digital service includes a Digital STB or CC, I meant an SD Digital STB or a CableCard.

A CC is able to decrypt all channels to which one subscribes.

Yes, in this area it is $5 more to upgrade the SD Digital STB to an HD Digital STB.

BTW, the HD STB to which you refer is the 6200.

The $5 extra for HD if you don't have at least "Digital Silver"(one prem) helped push me to go an extra $5 for the HD DVR. So the DVR is really only $5 more a month, than $10 since I would have HD anyway if I didn't have the DVR. This was an impulse decision at the local Bensalem office the day after I got my HDTV last spring. And I am addicted to it and will not be giving up the DVR anytime soon.

TIVO must be like the perfect DVR, I really don't think the Comcast I-guide is that bad, I can record a show a few hrs in advance pressing the buttons on the remote so fast I don't have to think about it.

A few questions if I could while I wait for another sub-standard HD broadcast of the upcoming 'Nova NCAA game. :-)

1. I've noticed here in Wayne that Comcast VODs appear to be "copy never" in the 5C system. I've tried to record a couple of them to my JVC DVHS deck w/o success. Can anyone else confirm my findings? Note: thankfully channels like HBO-HD and STARZ-HD are "copy once" and I can make a nice copy of movies I desire.

2. I have the non-PVR Moto 6200 box. Do the PVR boxes Comcast offers somehow allow recording of VODs? I'm guessing not.

3. Why doesn't ESPN re-run early morning show repeats in HD that the previous evening were in HD? For instance, the World Baseball Classic game last night was in HD, but the re-broadcast around 4 AM appeared to be an upverted SD picture.

JWB

Caught the 2nd half of the Nova game. I thought it was funny that CBS's broadcast had more detail and looked sharper then Comcast's Sixers broadcasts.

Grey's Anatomy seems to have a very choppy picture, as if frames are being dropped like crazy. Anyone else seeing this?

Yes, ab out midway through the sound dropped and picture got weird

A few questions if I could while I wait for another sub-standard HD broadcast of the upcoming 'Nova NCAA game. :-)

1. I've noticed here in Wayne that Comcast VODs appear to be "copy never" in the 5C system. I've tried to record a couple of them to my JVC DVHS deck w/o success. Can anyone else confirm my findings? Note: thankfully channels like HBO-HD and STARZ-HD are "copy once" and I can make a nice copy of movies I desire.

Some of the titles should be "Copy Never", like movies that you buy. Other titles like HBO/Showtime/Cinemax/TMC/Startz! Subscription VOD stuff should be "Copy Once".


2. I have the non-PVR Moto 6200 box. Do the PVR boxes Comcast offers somehow allow recording of VODs? I'm guessing not.

No VOD recording onto DVR boxes whatsoever. It Video On Demand so logic goes that you should be able to stream it off Comcast's VOD server anytime you'd like.


3. Why doesn't ESPN re-run early morning show repeats in HD that the previous evening were in HD? For instance, the World Baseball Classic game last night was in HD, but the re-broadcast around 4 AM appeared to be an upverted SD picture.

JWB

drhill, CBS was doing something funky with the Philly area games. The overall color palette was WAY too blue. Sunday was better than Friday which I thought looked awful. I am also wondering if some edge enhancement was being added also.

Grey's Anatomy seems to have a very choppy picture, as if frames are being dropped like crazy. Anyone else seeing this?

My wife watches and said there was one point where she couldn't hear christina but other than that the ep was flawless

edit to add we are OTA 40 miles out

i found this on the CSN website schedule, probably a mistake but maybe there will be a road game in HD finally

wednesday
@NYR/7:00
CSN-HD