i emailied comcast about the blackouts and got this back


Thank you for your e-mail to Steve Burke and Mike Doyle about the situation with ESPN HD being blacked out in error. We found an error in the routing configuration for our programming, and have made the necessary corrections so that you will be able to watch tonight’s Mets vs Red Sox game on ESPN HD, and all appropriate games going forward.

As a way of saying sorry for the games you missed in the last week or so, I have had a credit of one month’s service applied to your account.




Greg Arnold

Senior Regional Vice President

Comcast New Jersey

So, is the Mets-Red Sox game on ESPN HD tonight?

yep it was

I sent an email as well. The CSR sent me a reply and asked me for the dates and channels, I have not heard back from her as of this morning. I will be asking for a credit when I hear from her.

Lotta country music in Maple Shade?
No, I looked it up in my DirecTV guide to answer the guys question. It is another channel I have, but have never seen. What I am interested in is how is Comcast's HD and what will they be adding in the near future. DTV sucks and I am looking at Dish, but have CC for HSI and use the cable for my local HD.

Anyone in center city have a problem with channel 3 CBS ? I live in the Old City section and I get good (70% to 88% ) reception on 6,10,12,17,29,35,48,57, and 61. CBS I can't get anything consistent over 20%.
Funny you should say that. I live in CC (Logan Square area) and since July, 05, (specifically, the Live 8 concert weekend) have not been able to get 6 & 10 OTA. However, I DO get CSB at about 70%.

Funny you should say that. I live in CC (Logan Square area) and since July, 05, (specifically, the Live 8 concert weekend) have not been able to get 6 & 10 OTA. However, I DO get CSB at about 70%.
I was able to get CBS up to 65 % and all my other channels are 72% to 90% but I've been suffering from noise over the last 3 days.

Perhaps this was covered many pages ago, but I didn't see it. Does anyone else have sync issues with NBC10 HD? We get it via RCN cable in the Lehigh Valley, and the audio is always slightly out of sync. We noticed it towards the end of last TV season (final two episodes of The Office were tough to watch), and it has continued to today.

There's not a lot on NBC that we watch so it hasn't been a big deal. Come the fall season, it'll be more important.

It's been an ongoing issue for a long time. WCAU-DT used to be far worse, regularly not turning on HD until well into a show. While that issue has been ameliorated, audio sync continues as an ongoing problem. I wrote once, and it seems apparent that it is still true, that no executives of the station must own HDTV sets. Surely if they saw this at home they would take steps to fix it.

I get audio sync problems with Fox 29 both on SD and DT channels. Other stations come in fine. That's during the 10PM news cast only. I'll bet it happens during the morning show - if I were around to watch it.

Just a note from someone 40 miles out with OTA. During the regular fall/spring seasons, I use my HDtivo heavily to record everything OTA. This even includes SD stuff on the HD channel because it looks so much better than directvs locals. I've had virtually no problems with any of the big 4 plus fox upn and wb. Only things seemed to be someone hating law and order on tuesday nights and missed flipping the switch or had a video problem. And ABC seems to kick off the HD the last minute of most shows but i dont know if thats a channel 6 problem or ABC thing.

I've never had an audio synching problem at all. I assume that problem means it's like watching a bad godzilla movie.

Just moved to Conshohocken. Even though I'm ~4mi from the HD Antennas, I can't seem to get any of the OTA HD from there. I guess its the apartment I'm in.

Bizzarly enough, I just moved from outside Roanoke, VA where I could, with the same indoor antenna, get the HD channels that were 30+ miles away.

But I digress ......

My questions:
1. What non-encrypted HD channels does Comcast offer in the Conshohocken area?

2. Will they give you a Firewire enabled HD Box if you request it?

All I really want is the local HDs to record (on my own DVR) [CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX]

Thanx

Just moved to Conshohocken. Even though I'm ~4mi from the HD Antennas, I can't seem to get any of the OTA HD from there. I guess its the apartment I'm in.

Bizzarly enough, I just moved from outside Roanoke, VA where I could, with the same indoor antenna, get the HD channels that were 30+ miles away.

But I digress ......

My questions:
1. What non-encrypted HD channels does Comcast offer in the Conshohocken area?

2. Will they give you a Firewire enabled HD Box if you request it?

All I really want is the local HDs to record (on my own DVR) [CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX]

Thanx

1. I think for the most part, around the Philly area, Comcast has 5C working properly, and you can get ABC,NBC,CBS,FOX,WB,UPN,PBS all in HD non-encrypted. When universal HD was added for the olympics, it was NOT encrypted for me, but that was in the past.

2. Some seem to have had problems with the Moto 6200 box having active firewire, on my 6412 it definetly works. Any HD box you get(DVR or non-DVR) should have working firewire, from this thread it seems like most have got working firewire.

Perhaps someone from Conshy can confirm this, as I am in Lower Bucks.

Are we getting MHD in South Jersey anytime soon? It's rolling out on other Comcast systems, just wondering when it will appear on ours? Is our system 750 Mhz....or is it different across south Jersey? I'm on the pleasantville system btw. Thanks.


MHD is scheduled to be added on August 1st for most Comcast systems (August 15th for Lower Merion). It will be Channel 209.

Comcast is also adding new digital channels such as CSTV (274), Hallmark (137), Tennis Channel (277), WHYY Arts & Culture (241), WHYY Wider Horizons (242), WFPA (Telefutura) (251 & 612), and WPHL - The Tube Music Network (250).

There is a cost for this, and it is the following channels are getting removed: Encore Action West (153), Encore Mystery West (155), Encore Drama West (159), Encore Westerns West (161), Sundance West (166), Flix West (171), HBO2 West (307), HBO Signature West (308), HBO Family West (309), HBO Latino West (312).

Center City and South Philly will also get Black Family Channel (293), while the Northeast will get Black Family Channel (293) & the Outdoor Channel (270).

I'm amazed by the channels out there that exist.

Comcast got an agreement with CSTV? Will this be on the sports tier I'm assuming?

what is cstv

what is cstv

College Sports Television

Are we getting MHD in South Jersey anytime soon? It's rolling out on other Comcast systems, just wondering when it will appear on ours? Is our system 750 Mhz....or is it different across south Jersey? I'm on the pleasantville system btw. Thanks.

i am sure we will get it, bandwidth is not aproblem for us,they seem to be adding channels all over the place recently, and they still have not removed any analog like they said would start happening in early july

Got this message from WHYY today:
WHYY is pleased to announce a significant expansion of programming
services to the community.
On July 5th, two additional DTV programming channels were activated on
WHYY-DT and other scheduling changes occurred.

Channel 12.1 - Simulcast of TV12 and Y-HD (High Definition) daily
primetime and all day Sat. and Sun.

Channel 12.2 - (NEW) Standard Definition Y-Arts & Culture Channel (24
hrs, everyday)

Channel 12.3 - (NEW) Standard Definition Y-Horizons - WiderHorizons
(Mon.- Fri. 6am to 8pm)

Comcast will make these new channels available to all digital tier cable
subscribers by July 7th as channels 240, 241 and 242. Detailed program
schedules and additional information is located on WHYY's primary website,
WHYY.ORG

WHYY HD channel's bug is bigger now :mad: They had a nice small unobtrusive WHHY in the lower corner. Tad bigger now and says HD next to it.

I took a scan on my TV's QAM tuner and couldn't find the new feeds yet, but I did stumble on TNT-HD on 115-1 and ESPN2HD on 114-2. Both don't have audio, but are unencrypted for now. TNT has been for a couple weeks now. The picture seems sharper on my TV's tuner rather than the 6412, esp ESPN2HD(prob since it's 720P and so is my DLP), and of course b/c there is one less component being used. If I'm watching a game on ESPN2HD I'll be sure to put on the audio w/ the stereo and watch on the TV's tuner!

Why can't they mess up the 5C flags on those channels? ;) I check like once a week.

Has anyone heard more about the agreement with CSTV? I haven't seen anything else anywhere on the HDTV forums. I guess since CSTV is now owned by CBS(thus Viacom, who owns MTV and thus MHD), perhaps it had to do with a carriage agreement for MHD. Just taking a wild stab in the dark there.

Has anyone heard more about the agreement with CSTV? I haven't seen anything else anywhere on the HDTV forums. I guess since CSTV is now owned by CBS(thus Viacom, who owns MTV and thus MHD), perhaps it had to do with a carriage agreement for MHD. Just taking a wild stab in the dark there.

Comcast signed an agreement with CSTV before it was owned by CBS/Viacom back in 2004. Most areas received it quickly after but others like PA,NJ and DE never did. Hopefully this addition will come to NJ as well. Below is the link of the carriage agreement from 2004.

http://www.cstv.com/genrel/072904aaa.html

boy too bad 17.2 couldn't be HD....the pic sure leaves a lot to be desired.

Ok, I have Directv and have been happy with them for 6-years. However, I really miss watching the Phillies and Flyers. I'm almost considering going back to Commycast because of this reason, but I have heard rumors that D*tv may soon get RSN in our area.

First off should I wait? Has anyone else heard anything more about this?(Verizon FIoS may have the rights to compete with commycast and air RS).

Secondly, how is the PQ of comcast digital cable and HD compared to D*tv?
Can you hook up OTA antenna to the cable box?

Like I said, I'm very happy with Directv, but I can get a decent deal with Comcast and my local sports, but I hate to give in after holding out all this time.

Comcast has successfully defended their right to the famous microwave loophole and all of us satellite brethren cannot and will not get CSN on our TVs in the near future, if ever. If that is your major point then switch. From what I have read on zillions of other forums Comcast HD blows DTV away. It seems DTV compresses their signal a bit and there is a difference if you have a good set. I have CC for HSI and use the cable for my local HD channels and they are beautiful, as good as OTA. And the few digital channels I have scoped out are as good as DTVs. Some are actually brighter, like Sci-Fi. If you know someone with CC HD give their set a test whirl and see of you can bring yourself back to the dark side. The big plus is there isn't any commitment.

Just happen to have an article in today's Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/business/columnists/15017046.htm

Consumer Watch | FCC's likely cable ruling would leave out Phila.
A key condition is that Comcast and Time Warner must forswear a practice that has brought Comcast considerable notoriety: its refusal to share its Philadelphia sports channel, SportsNet, with its satellite competitors, Dish Network and DirecTV.

The rub? Martin proposes to bar the practice everywhere else, but not here - the only city where either company locks up local sports.

That's right. After years of complaints by Philadelphia sports fans that we're captive customers of Comcast, the FCC is about to take decisive action - by ignoring us.

Comcast gets away with the practice here, for reasons that are easy to speculate on. But as lawmakers and now the FCC have begun to focus on Comcast's anticompetitive aspects, the company's best defense has been: Hey, we don't do it anywhere else, so leave us alone.

It's a lousy argument, and Kevin Martin should know it. Philadelphians deserve equal protection from the FCC.



It is a long article, I just pulled a few excerpts.

Verizon Communications says it hopes to reach a deal to carry SportsNet on its new fiber-optic TV service.


This is our only hope in the Philly area (from that article) and I believe this is one reason that Directv has been working with Verizon.

As far as PQ, it's hard to tell. I went to a friends house that has a Pioneer elite and the PQ in HD was good, but I thought my Hitachi looked nicer with D*TV. However, My TV is only 6 months old and his is 3 or 4 years old and I do not believe it's been "calibrated".

SD material did look a little "brighter" on CC but I was only able to check out a few stations.

Also, his home is only 5 years old and I live in and area with homes, wiring, etc that is 30-40 years old. So cable in my area may be worse?

Now the kicker...$82 per month cc Vs $52 per month D*tv for essentially the same stations except local sports. That's a $360 a year difference...greedy....arghhh...I want to say something nasty...but, I leave it at that.

Thanks for the article. I think I'll stick to my "guns" and refuse contribute to the greediness of commycast....eventually, their greed will catch up to them.

That article is a crock of crap(about the FCC, not the actual article). Everywhere else but Philly?

I guess me not having the choice of D* over comcrap where I live(apartment doesn't allow a dish) is a mixed blessing. My PQ is great on my 1yr old HD set, but I can notice the compression just a little bit, so I know I would REALLY hate D*'s HD-Lite. I hate Verizon almost as much as Comcast, so at least this lets me not have to get DSL from them.

But if I ever get the chance for FIOS, I'm in.

Now the kicker...$82 per month cc Vs $52 per month D*tv for essentially the same stations except local sports. That's a $360 a year difference...greedy....arghhh...I want to say something nasty...but, I leave it at that.

Is that $82/month before or after they give you $25/month discount to "Buy Back The Dish" for 16 months? With no commitment it is tempting to use them for HD and a DVR, but I too have a hard time going to the dark side. I dumped them in 2000 when they took over our local cable outfit and our bill went from $43/month (with HBO on 6 sets) to $72 for essentially the same service. When they took over they promised there would be no rate increase, but of course their pricing structure would cost me $29/month extra just to have HBO on 2 sets. And since 2000 their price has never dropped, it increased 6%/year.

Is that $82/month before or after they give you $25/month discount to "Buy Back The Dish" for 16 months? With no commitment it is tempting to use them for HD and a DVR, but I too have a hard time going to the dark side. I dumped them in 2000 when they took over our local cable outfit and our bill went from $43/month (with HBO on 6 sets) to $72 for essentially the same service. When they took over they promised there would be no rate increase, but of course their pricing structure would cost me $29/month extra just to have HBO on 2 sets. And since 2000 their price has never dropped, it increased 6%/year.


That's my other concern with Commycast....it's like NJ taxes, the bill goes up annually. In the 6 years or so with D*TV my bill has only increased once by $4 and that's it.

I forgot to ask about the $25 credit for the dish. However, I'm 6 months into a 2- year contract and there is a prorated ETF which I think is $212? We'll see. I'd hate to make the switch, then be unhappy with PQ, equipment, service,rate hikes, etc.

Just happen to have an article in today's Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/business/columnists/15017046.htm

Consumer Watch | FCC's likely cable ruling would leave out Phila.

Martin proposes to bar the practice everywhere else, but not here - the only city where either company locks up local sports.
I thought the microwave/fiber loophole was that CSN-Phila. was grandfathered into being allowed exclusivity; if that is the case, then of course they wouldn't withold it anywhere else, as they can't, as of a the rule being passed some years ago!

I am pretty sure, they were grandfathered, correct me, if I am mistaken.

Even if they can do microwave/fiber in other places, saying only in Phila. will they keep exclusivity is obviously unfair.

But if I ever get the chance for FIOS, I'm in.
I'm not so sure Verizon FIOS will get CSN-Phila, either. They said they were confident they would, but I haven't heard they will be obligated, so don't bet on it.

Versizon FiOS will NOT get CSN.

JWhip - Quick question if you have a moment.

Do you know what a 'META-6' is when trying to access On-Demand ?

JWhip, welcome back. How was Germany?

Will we be seeing the new HD stations(MHD, etc) in PA subs when Aug 1 roles around?

Not Germany but was in italy for awhile. It is wild to watch World Cup games with passionate fans. I was NOT there with Bill Giles btw! It seems that MHD will be added for sure, not sure of any others. Heynow, I do not know what Meta-6 is, will have to check on that. Jet lag ( 7 hours) is a b*tch!

ok, cool. Thanks!

Almost all the non-HD channels to be added by Aug 1st have showed up. I just noticed Travel Channel, and The Tube on my guide this evening. Travel went encrypted on QAM, I found The Tube at 111-3.

I think the plan is still MHD on/around Aug 1st, on Ch 209. They leaving 208 open for if/when we get UHD here?

The channels are channel mapped, they do not have slots. They can number them anyway they want. It is called virtual channel mapping.

Comcast's arguement to the FCC and/or Congress regarding Csportsnet Philly is 'we're not breaking the rules.' No one is (any longer) accusing them of breaking the rules. We're asking for the rules to be changed!

Comcast knows that it has been granted a legal monopoly and will fight agressively to protect it. It's a lesson in the tactics of media conglomeration and vertical integration: one company (or closely held 'partner' or subsidiary companies) owns the teams, the venues, the broadcast production and the tv distribution services.

when will there be a ruling if the fcc makes them change it?

The FCC threw the Philly DMA under the bus on this one. While the FCC can't amend the congressional statute which granted this loophole, they damn well could have conditioned their approval of this merger on Comcast's waiver of the provision. This will keep CSN off DBS as well as FiOS in this region. Philadelphia is the ONLY region in the country subject to this rule and was specifically excepted by the FCC in its ruling. No rationale was given by the FCC, NONE, to justify their decision. The result will be ever increasing cable rates, something the FCC was expressly concerned about in their decision. As Whitey used to say, "Hard to believe Harry!"

The FCC has placed several conditions for the Adelphia sale to Comcast and Time Warner. Unfortunately, closing the Comcast Sportsnet loop hole is not one of them. Comcast will not have to offer Sportsnet to DirecTV and probably Verizon Fios with this ruling. One condition it did place was possible binding arbritration for MASN, the DC area sports channel.

To summarized, we got screwed again here in the Philadelphia area. This probably was our best chance and we went down in a blaze of glory.

By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable 7/13/2006 (John Higgins contributed to this report.)

As expected, the FCC Thursday approved--by a 4-1 vote--Comcast and Time Warner's $17.6 billion purchase of bankrupt Adelphia Communications, with the two dividing up the systems.

Democrat Jonathan Adelstein joined the Republicans in voting for the deal, leaving only Democrat Michael Copps opposing. Adelstein did dissent in part, saying the commission should have imposed network neutrality conditions, a deficit that also troubled Copps.

Adelstein said, on balance, that the more compelling interest was to get Adelphia out of bankruptcy and improve service to its customers. It has been "rotting on the vine," in the interim, he said.

The merger, said the commission, serves the public interest, complies with all rules and statues and whatever public interest harms there might be are outweighed by public interest benefits, including principally system upgrades that will bring high speed voice and data, HDTV and video on demand to Adelphia's systems that are upgraded, and resolving the Adelphia bankruptcy.

The key conditions the FCC did put on the merger had to do with regional sports networks. Comcast and Time Warner must put disputes over pricing or access to its regional sports networks (RSNs) to arbitration. The companies also cannot deny access to its sports networks to other multichannel programming providers, with, as expected, a carve-out for Philadelphia.

The decision does close the terrestrial loophole for regional sports networks, which means that program access rules will now apply to landline-delivered RSNs. Previously, they only applied to satellite-delivered programming. "The conditions apply regardless of the means of delivery. Terrestrial means are included."

Comcast and Mid Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) will now have to submit their dispute to binding arbitration, which means resolving a fight that has kept the Washington Nationals baseball games out of many Washington homes. That was an issue that many on Capitol Hill had pushed the FCC to address. New Commissioner Robert McDowell was given credit for working on that issue .

McDowell had some strong words for the FCC, saying it had been slow to resolve and address program carriage issues. He said he wholeheartedly supports launching a review of program access rules, which the FCC also agreed to do.

"The MASN complaint has been left to rot in some small crypt in this building," he said. McDowell said it had become clear to him that complaints wait too long for action, attributing it to an "indolent bureaucracy's failure to obey simple congressional mandates." To that end, he praised the decision to put a shot clock on resolving those complaints.

Competitors, congressmen and media reform activists had all called for some conditions on the merger, which allows the top two cable MSO's, Comcast and Time Warner, respectively, to get even bigger. Chairman Kevin Martin had telegraphed his intention to put some programming access conditions on the deal, particularly after input from many complaining of the access to home team sports broadcasts that Comcast controls.

Copps was unhappy that there were not tougher program access and other conditions, saying that "while rescuing Adelphia is laudable, the antcompetitive combination of asssets is not."

Copps said nothing in the order "rebuts the truth that competitoin means higher prices." It is big media getting bigger, he said, without sufficient protections from dominating programming and potentially broadband access as well.

Martin said he did not believe that network neutrality conditions were called for absent any showing of present harm, but said the FCC would stand by its four network neutrality principles and monitor for potential harms..

Copps also took issue with the regional sports remedies. He said arbigration was a positive step, but oppposed the carve-out for Philadelpia.

Time Warner Cable and Comcast will divvy up Adelphia systems serving 5.2 million subscribers scattered across 31 states. The two cable operators will further swap systems from their existing portfolios to create stronger geographic clusters.

The deal will allow Time Warner to emerge as the largest cable operator in the Los Angeles market, which has been the most fragmented major market in the country.

The deal will also allow Comcast to fulfill its promise to regulators to unwind its 21% ownership of Time Warner Cable, something inherited in a past deal. Antitrust regulators frowned on such a significant link between the two largest cable operators—a legacy of the AT&T deal. As part of the various system swaps, Comcast will give Time Warner that stock back.

Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Brian Coyne said two weeks ago that the analysts sees major system upgrades, and cable tech fortunes, spurred by the decision to allow Comcast and Time Warner to divvy up Adelphia's almost 5 million basic subs.

The FCC had pledged to move on its decision on the sale of Adelphia by the Aug 31 deadline for the deal to close--pushed back from an initial Aug. 31 deadline.

At the end of the day, Time Warner will grow from 10.9 million subscribers to 14.4 million. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin had wanted to move earlier on the merger approval, but was deadlocked with a 2-2 commission until recently, with the two Demcratic commissioners wanting stronger conditions put on the merger.

Utlimately, the conditions were sufficient to win over Adelstein to the majority.

In addition, Adelphia has been in protracted bankruptcy proceedings that affected the timing of the approval as well.

Coyne noted that Comcast alone plans to spend $150 million to upgrade the Adelphia systems
and Time Warner potentially more since it is getting more systems out of the deal.

In fact, Commissioner Adelstein said Thursday that the two had commited to $1.6 billion in upgrades between them.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/in...cleID=CA6352882

so in all whats this mean to philly ever getting on satellite?

It will not, for a long, long time.

Anyone here live around 65th and Lindbergh Ave. area that has good reception on OTA Fox Digital channel? If so what Antennas are you using? I have been looking at the Channel Master Stealth 3010. Should I look for something with more range?

The public of Philly should have been alerted more to this vote, the only people who seem to know about it are us folk here on AVS. I saw on small article in the Inqy last week I think, but that's it. If we had gotten pressure going on the local legislators to make some noise, perhaps we could have gotten more aware that they are excluding Philly from the loophole rule.

Personally it doesn't affect me right now as I have no choice but Comcast, and if I ever got something else I would give up 2 channels(CN8 and CSN) for savings.

One thing that's true, Comcast execs were lighting up cigars last night and laughing with delight long into the night....

The public of Philly should have been alerted more to this vote, the only people who seem to know about it are us folk here on AVS. I saw on small article in the Inqy last week I think, but that's it. If we had gotten pressure going on the local legislators to make some noise, perhaps we could have gotten more aware that they are excluding Philly from the loophole rule.

Personally it doesn't affect me right now as I have no choice but Comcast, and if I ever got something else I would give up 2 channels(CN8 and CSN) for savings.

One thing that's true, Comcast execs were lighting up cigars last night and laughing with delight long into the night....



Pennsylvania is the only state without an antitrust statute. Lots of luck getting your legislators interested.

Is anyone here using Winegard SquareShooter High-Band VHF/UHF Digital/Analog/HDTV
Antenna System (SS-1000):

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=03&PROD=SS-1000

here's some I wrote over at dbsforums (JWhip is on to something that Comcast Philly is getting benefits that no one else does):

BAsically, the FCC upheld the status quo. But now that the FCC has ruled, I'm curious to see the legal steps DirecTV/DISH/Verizon etc explore.

It seems to me that the FCC decision might not hold up to legal scrutiny as well as the previous cases where the federal law provided a technological loophole. [this ruling is an administrative loophole] That [technological] loophole still exists but it's possible that a judicial review of this decision might void it, putting us back where we were.

Legal actions could even come from other producers who might find that Comcast is receiving an advantage they are not. Think of the locally produced events like the Padres (COX) that never make it off cable. They might say 'why should we share when they don't have to?' I can easily see a judge putting a hold on this decision because it is uneven in its application to like-type companies.

Has anyone noticed reception problems with WPVI's HD broadcast channels over the past few days? I receive my HD broadcasts via antenna (no cable HD) and there is quite of bit of pixelated stuttering/freeze framing on all of WPVI's channels. These are the only channels it is happening on, even though my TV indicates there is excellent signal strength . . .

The public of Philly should have been alerted more to this vote, the only people who seem to know about it are us folk here on AVS. I saw on small article in the Inqy last week I think, but that's it. If we had gotten pressure going on the local legislators to make some noise, perhaps we could have gotten more aware that they are excluding Philly from the loophole rule.

Personally it doesn't affect me right now as I have no choice but Comcast, and if I ever got something else I would give up 2 channels(CN8 and CSN) for savings.

One thing that's true, Comcast execs were lighting up cigars last night and laughing with delight long into the night....
It was in today's Inquirer again: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/15033849.htm

FCC allows cable firms to split AdelphiaComcast doesn't have to share Philadelphia sports programs.


The FCC decision, which allows Comcast and Time Warner to acquire and split up the assets of bankrupt cable provider Adelphia Communications Corp., came with a few strings. It requires Comcast and Time Warner to share sports programming with competitors, including satellite companies, to ensure competition.

Everywhere, that is, except for Comcast's hometown. In Philadelphia, only cable customers can get SportsNet, which carries Phillies, Flyers and Sixers games.

Has anyone noticed reception problems with WPVI's HD broadcast channels over the past few days? I receive my HD broadcasts via antenna (no cable HD) and there is quite of bit of pixelated stuttering/freeze framing on all of WPVI's channels. These are the only channels it is happening on, even though my TV indicates there is excellent signal strength . . .
I always have HD problems with WPVI, OTA and through the cable. Signal loss and pixelating. Also sound not synching up. Pretty lame channel.

Not Germany but was in italy for awhile. It is wild to watch World Cup games with passionate fans. I was NOT there with Bill Giles btw! It seems that MHD will be added for sure, not sure of any others. Heynow, I do not know what Meta-6 is, will have to check on that. Jet lag ( 7 hours) is a b*tch!Jet lag is actually 6 hours. :p At least it was for me in Germany.

Pennsylvania is the only state without an antitrust statute. Lots of luck getting your legislators interested.I think he meant to get the US Senators and House of Representatives involved, not Harrisburg. It has nothing to do w/ anti-trust, and US Senators and Reps can exert some influence towards the FCC, especially, Arlen Spector.

Arlen Spector is in Comcast's back pocket.....allegedly of course.

Is anybody elses Sportsnet HD out? All my other HD channels come in, and CSN on 19 is on. Just the HD channel is out.

Are they turning it off when there's no HD programming?

Is anybody elses Sportsnet HD out? All my other HD channels come in, and CSN on 19 is on. Just the HD channel is out.

Are they turning it off when there's no HD programming?


What is up with this? the picture came on at 10:00 for the Phillies @ SF (which is in HD tonight) but there's no audio.

I guess they're trying to conserve some bandwidth or something, but I think it's a bad choice to screw around with the service like that...

They could at least put up a static mesage (which doesn't need a lot of bandwidth) telling people the programming will resume in HD at XYZ time...

Also, my DVR controls (pause, replay, etc) are not working; the icon pops up but there's no effect on the program.

So now I can't hear the game or pause it if watching in HD. Somebody dropped the ball somewhere on this one.

UPDATE: The box thinks it's paused--the pause icon and green program bar indicate that it's been paused for a couple minutes, but the program just continues on it's merry way.

Remember, every other HD channel (and SD channel was fine).

UPDATE 2: Okay, about 10:12, the sound and control have returned, but the audio is dropping in and out. Better than nothing, I guess.

Weird.

Great, now the HD is out again.

7 hour time difference in Greece!

I think he meant to get the US Senators and House of Representatives involved, not Harrisburg. It has nothing to do w/ anti-trust, and US Senators and Reps can exert some influence towards the FCC, especially, Arlen Spector.


These are the same people that created the loophole with which the FCC has to regulate in accord. It is then somewhat amusing to seek help from that lot. Yes, this situation has all to do with antitrust. The Commonwealth as sovereign is not preempted to enforce state antitrust law under California v. Arc America, 490 U.S. 93 (1989).

These are the same people that created the loophole with which the FCC has to regulate in accord. It is then somewhat amusing to seek help from that lot. Yes, this situation has all to do with antitrust. The Commonwealth as sovereign is not preempted to enforce state antitrust law under California v. Arc America, 490 U.S. 93 (1989).I stand (actually sitting) corrected. :)

I stand (actually sitting) corrected. :)

I'd be curious about this since Sportsnet Philly is available in other states. Seems that might make it a federal rather than state issue.

Oh, and regarding Specter: He got deeply involved in this issue a couple years ago after hearing from a number of citizens in the area. I don't know what kind of lobbying followed, but I know his initial reaction was concern that, although legal, Comcasts loophole was unfair.

He's spent more time on the issue than any other local pol. That doesn't mean lobbying didn't affect his interest; just that the issue barely even makes it on to anyone else's radar.

Okay, after last nights CSN-HD issues, today I'm running into some Fox digital issues (It's the Fox 480p widescreen on the Comcast digital channel feed)

I had to go downstairs to take care of my boys dinner, paused the game, came back and picked up where I left off. Shortly thereafter, I wanted to quick-repeat a play, but found the control visable disabled, like this:

http://www.pvrblog.com/photos/uncategorized/story_comcast_dvr_2_2.jpg

That 'NO DO' sign the O with the line across, appeared if I tried to rewind, ff, skip back, advance forward...anything. All I could do was continue watching the program, although delayed about 7 minutes.

Weirder...

Great...then it froze up. And I had to change channels to loosen it. Which lost all the pause time.

Did I p*off the HD gods somehow?

Great...then it froze up. And I had to change channels to loosen it. Which lost all the pause time.

Did I p*off the HD gods somehow?Yes. :p

:eek: :rolleyes: Yes. :p

:p

Did anyone else's fox widescreen (480p) suddenly drop to regular old 4x3 480i for the last 1/2 inning (once the game was reasonably in hand)?

They are F*ing with the product and without notification.

B|t(ches

Admit it - find a solution and move on....

Anywhere else changing the entire 'analog" lineup on Comcrap on Aug 1st? I saw a commercial this morning saying "Central Bucks & Bensalem" will be changing all channels 2-99. Hope they move a couple more to digital only, I will be sure to check.

I'm seeing more and more room w/ the removal of all those west coast feeds of encore, and hopefully another analog or two moved to digi. What's left after MHD? UHD, then FoodHD, HGTV-HD, what else?

Anywhere else changing the entire 'analog" lineup on Comcrap on Aug 1st? I saw a commercial this morning saying "Central Bucks & Bensalem" will be changing all channels 2-99. Hope they move a couple more to digital only, I will be sure to check.
I never knew they did system specific commercials.
What kind of changes did they mention?

I believe they entire region is ADS, so they could drop as many Analog as they see fit.
I assume that is what they will start doing on 1 August?
I doubt it is just shifting channels numbers.

here's some I wrote over at dbsforums (JWhip is on to something that Comcast Philly is getting benefits that no one else does):

BAsically, the FCC upheld the status quo. But now that the FCC has ruled, I'm curious to see the legal steps DirecTV/DISH/Verizon etc explore.

It seems to me that the FCC decision might not hold up to legal scrutiny as well as the previous cases where the federal law provided a technological loophole. [this ruling is an administrative loophole] That [technological] loophole still exists but it's possible that a judicial review of this decision might void it, putting us back where we were.

Legal actions could even come from other producers who might find that Comcast is receiving an advantage they are not. Think of the locally produced events like the Padres (COX) that never make it off cable. They might say 'why should we share when they don't have to?' I can easily see a judge putting a hold on this decision because it is uneven in its application to like-type companies.

Interesting. Also, last week I was reading an article that explains how Commycast has to pay a "fee" to townships in the tri-state area. I did not quite understand it, but it was something on the order of $165,000-$300,000 just to have the rights to "run the cable". To me, I would assume that townships would not want to lose that revenue to Sattelitte or any other loophole.

I live in central NJ - Lawrenceville. Over the last 4 or 5 days ESPN-HD channel 202 has had severe macroblocking and stuttering of the picture making it unwatchable. All other HD channels including ESPNHD-2 are O.K.

Any idea what's going on? If I call Comcast I'll probably get some idiot who won't have a clue what I mean.

Today I received a letter from Comcast claiming that they were not billing me for services for my cablecard. In the letter they claim I need to tell them whether I want to pay 9.95 or 14.95 for Digital Services that didn't work on my cablecard anyway. I have the DVR and use the cablecard only when I have a couple of things recording.
Anyway, I ended up canceling Comcast after having them (and previously Suburban Cable) for 15 years. I was told I would be billed regardless of my expllcit refusal of the service for which they wanted to charge me.
It seems that Comcast is writing their own rules. As I understood it, the FCC mandates cablecards for those that requested them and yet Comcast would not permit it without the additional $10.
Any suggestions for television, internet, and phone service in South Eastern Delco?

Comcast gave me the run a round for months on a CC as well. The bottom line for me was a $8.90 charge for "digital a/o" although they state CC is no charge. I've since returned the card & utilize the QAM tuner (bedroom TV). I don't think I could EVER give up the DVR on my main TV though.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=PA&call=&arn=&city=philadelphia&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=1&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9

i dont see an app for nbc for channel 34 anymore. I thought 34 was giving up the slot for wcau. I'm sure I even posted something like that a while ago :) Anyone hear anything about nbc's move?

I'm in the Lower Bucks area (Langhorne) and am in the process of getting a HDTV.
I currently have the standard package from Comcast (espn/cnn etc no premium) I don't use any type of cable box.

Once I get setup I may just try using the OTA HD channels rather than upgrade the Comcast package. Or I may want to be able to get OTA HD as a backup even if I do upgrade.

Does anyone use an indoor antenna? If so how well does it work?
According to the antennawb.org site I'm about 18 miles from the TV signals.

Also, does anyone using Comcast use a splitter/amplifier? My current one is an unidirectional 4way splitter/amp that goes up to 900mhz. I know bidirectional would be better (pay per view etc) but is 900mhz enough for a Comcast HD package? If not any recs for a combo 4 way splitter/amplifier? thanks

I'm in the Lower Bucks area (Langhorne) and am in the process of getting a HDTV.
I currently have the standard package from Comcast (espn/cnn etc no premium) I don't use any type of cable box.

Once I get setup I may just try using the OTA HD channels rather than upgrade the Comcast package. Or I may want to be able to get OTA HD as a backup even if I do upgrade.

Does anyone use an indoor antenna? If so how well does it work?
According to the antennawb.org site I'm about 18 miles from the TV signals.

Also, does anyone using Comcast use a splitter/amplifier? My current one is an unidirectional 4way splitter/amp that goes up to 900mhz. I know bidirectional would be better (pay per view etc) but is 900mhz enough for a Comcast HD package? If not any recs for a combo 4 way splitter/amplifier? thanks

If you get an HDTV that has a tuner built in(not a lot more money these days). With this and your current cable subscription, you will be able to get network HD channels w/o any other equipment or fees.

I have a couple 900mhz splitters(since my apt has 1 jack in the ENTIRE apartment) and I don't have problems with my HD DVR. My signal is "good" to begin with. 1st splitter goes to the computer/TV, and the TV has a 2nd one to the cable box and TV, and the computer has a 3rd to the cable modem and the TV card on the PC.

I tried my crappy $15 non-powered antenna on my set, couldn't get anything digital(I'm not much closer to the towers, Bensalem). It works for analog on my bedroom TV, pretty well.

According to either hdbeat or pvrwire, the series 3 TiVo - which is the HD, dual cable card TiVo is coming 'soon.' TiVo gave some cable companies and distributors a heads up that the product is being beta tested throughout the country and the cable companies should prepare for their introduction.

All that being said, here's the question. What's up with comcast and cable cards? In order to provide dual-tuner capability, this Tivo unit will need two revision 1 cable cards until comcast can provide a revision 2 cable card. Is Comcast going to try to charge for each of those even though they both end up in one STB?

Timing, as they say, is everything. Just today, a post on HD Beat indicates that Motorola has gotten cable labs approval for what I'd call a rev 1.5 card. It will be able to tune in more than one channel - for picture in picture TVs or dual-tuner DVRs. BUt it still doesn't offer the two-way communication necessary for a fullly-interactive experince with your cable company. For me, I'll be using the TiVo as my user interface anyway, so I guess most of what I won't get until there's a rev 2 card is the PPV and OnDemand features. I rarely utilized those anyway, so it's no deal breaker for me.

As more and more HD content becomes available OnDemand, perhaps it will become more important, but I would hope by that point comcast might be able to provide a rev 2 card.

Perhaps this a good step, in that the headend upgrade path to this '1.5' card might be easier than the full interactivity of rev. 2? And maybe that means Comcast might offer it sooner rather than later?

I'm in the Lower Bucks area (Langhorne) and am in the process of getting a HDTV...
Does anyone use an indoor antenna? If so how well does it work?
According to the antennawb.org site I'm about 18 miles from the TV signals.
Also, does anyone using Comcast use a splitter/amplifier? My current one is an unidirectional 4way splitter/amp that goes up to 900mhz. I know bidirectional would be better (pay per view etc) but is 900mhz enough for a Comcast HD package? If not any recs for a combo 4 way splitter/amplifier? thanks
Indoor antennas generally don't work well, but it's easy enough to try with a simple pair of rabbit ears. Do you have clear line-of-sight towards Roxborough? I'm going through trees, so I needed to use a high-gain Yagi / rotator. Using a Sammy HL-R6768W and it works just fine OTA with this setup (when the multipath from the trees don't get in the way).

I have a distribution amp (Channelvision 8-way output) feeding several rooms, it makes up for the cable loss.

The cable box is always bidirectional because it phones home for just about anything. It needs authorization to make sure that you can watch what you select. 900 MHz should be OK. More important is to use good low-loss coax (like quad-shield). Also be sure that the spllitter can handle the low frequencies, the return path is between 5 - 40 MHz. Comcast will do a return path check for this at install time.

TNT HD in SJ via Comcast is out.

it is working here fine

any idea if S3 will work with Service electric?

Action News (WPVI) Channel 6 was in HD for the 11pm news on Sunday night (11/23)! I watch the 11pm broadcast almost daily and this is the first time I've seen anything in HD (other than once I saw a chopper 6 shot that was in HD). The opening theme song sequence was in HD and all the studio camera work was in HD and a few graphics as well. All the on location live and recorded news segments were still in SD. Anything that was SD had a graphic background that filled up the rest of the screen.

could you please post caps?

I've already deleted it. I assume it will always be in HD from now on so there will be plenty of oportunities to see it. I don't see the need for screen caps.

Action News (WPVI) Channel 6 was in HD for the 11pm news on Sunday night (11/23)! I watch the 11pm broadcast almost daily and this is the first time I've seen anything in HD (other than once I saw a chopper 6 shot that was in HD). The opening theme song sequence was in HD and all the studio camera work was in HD and a few graphics as well. All the on location live and recorded news segments were still in SD. Anything that was SD had a graphic background that filled up the rest of the screen.


I just happened to check out Sunday evenings 6:00 PM Action News, and noticed that it was in HD. The bumper that runs a minute or two before the hour briefing a couple of the upcoming stories was in HD. I thought 'wow, I hadn't noticed anything online about that--I wonder how long this has been going on?'

The studio is all HD, the opening sequence, all the graphics, etc.

Neat that this appears to have just gone live. It was very unusual and random that I watched the 6:00 Sunday news.

I need caps because i live in florida.

Indoor antennas generally don't work well, but it's easy enough to try with a simple pair of rabbit ears. Do you have clear line-of-sight towards Roxborough? I'm going through trees, so I needed to use a high-gain Yagi / rotator. Using a Sammy HL-R6768W and it works just fine OTA with this setup (when the multipath from the trees don't get in the way).

I have a distribution amp (Channelvision 8-way output) feeding several rooms, it makes up for the cable loss.

The cable box is always bidirectional because it phones home for just about anything. It needs authorization to make sure that you can watch what you select. 900 MHz should be OK. More important is to use good low-loss coax (like quad-shield). Also be sure that the spllitter can handle the low frequencies, the return path is between 5 - 40 MHz. Comcast will do a return path check for this at install time.


Other than what's in the house (walls, etc) I don't have trees or buildings in the way as far as I can see. My current splitter is the old 4 way RCA splitter that I picked up at Home Depot. I don't think it's birectional which I believe I need.

It's also embedded in a wall. Once I open it up I was thinking of replacing it with a 4 way splitter that could also handle satellite, that way I won't have to do it again if I ever decide to go that way. Are there any small 4 way splitters with an amp hat can handle the staelitte requirements? I saw one at Best Buy that was the size of my current splitter and it had an extra 75ohm connector for the power, but it was only up to 1000mhz.

On the noon newscast that had a feature showing the difference between HD and SD,however it was all in SD.

I just happened to check out Sunday evenings 6:00 PM Action News, and noticed that it was in HD. The bumper that runs a minute or two before the hour briefing a couple of the upcoming stories was in HD. I thought 'wow, I hadn't noticed anything online about that--I wonder how long this has been going on?'

The studio is all HD, the opening sequence, all the graphics, etc.

Neat that this appears to have just gone live. It was very unusual and random that I watched the 6:00 Sunday news.

Looks like you accidentally stumbled onto the first local news broadcast in HD in the state of Pennsylvania! I checked out 6abc's website and sure enough there is a new page touting the HD news (http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=stationinfo&id=4394989), and a rather nice, detailed FAQ writeup about all the formats, definitions, etc. The page doesn't say too much about the actual news broadcast itself, if it's permanent now, if Sunday was a test, or what.

I think KYW is getting ready to move into their new digs, which since it was just built I'm guessing is/was wired and constructed to carry HD.

NBC10, i have no idea what their plans are for HD.

I'll be sure to watch tonight's news to check it out!

Looks like you accidentally stumbled onto the first local news broadcast in HD in the state of Pennsylvania! I checked out 6abc's website and sure enough there is a new page touting the HD news (http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=stationinfo&id=4394989), and a rather nice, detailed FAQ writeup about all the formats, definitions, etc. The page doesn't say too much about the actual news broadcast itself, if it's permanent now, if Sunday was a test, or what.

I think KYW is getting ready to move into their new digs, which since it was just built I'm guessing is/was wired and constructed to carry HD.

NBC10, i have no idea what their plans are for HD.

I'll be sure to watch tonight's news to check it out!

I watched the 5AM and 12 noon newscast in HD. According to their GM, its permenant.

6abc continues to be an industry leader in technology, offering three digital channels (along with analog channel 6), 6abc DT, 6abc Plus, and Action News Now.3 digital channels takes away bandwidth for the HD signal. :mad: Leading in technology doesn't mean putting up as many digital channels as possible. Channel 6.2 is a HUGE waste of space, and the Action News Now on 6.3 would have been better served by a continuous radar loop as they had in the past. Now, if channel 6 would get their live trucks to not crash (as one did on Saturday), they would be okay (the driver of the live truck is okay from what I read). ;)

I need caps because i live in florida.

OK, I understasnd. But do you really "need" caps? :) Maybe someone else will be willing to do that for you. I don't really see the need. It's not that special. :)

3 digital channels takes away bandwidth for the HD signal. :mad: Leading in technology doesn't mean putting up as many digital channels as possible. Channel 6.2 is a HUGE waste of space, and the Action News Now on 6.3 would have been better served by a continuous radar loop as they had in the past. Now, if channel 6 would get their live trucks to not crash (as one did on Saturday), they would be okay (the driver of the live truck is okay from what I read). ;)


Is 6.2 still only simulcasting the news at exactly the same time it's on 6.1?

Is 6.2 still only simulcasting the news at exactly the same time it's on 6.1?Yes. And I wonder why.

Yes. And I wonder why.

It has something to do with compensation, but I'm not sure whose. But if the news was replayed at a different time, the on-air talent and the actors in advertisements are all getting a second broadcast without any negotiated compensation. Not to mention that some advertisers are getting 'free' advertising if the run the same commercials. (Not that advertisers usually complain about gratis ads.)

It seems that there should be a way to figure out that situation, but it's easier to just say screw it and pull the rebroadcasts.

WPVI hosted a chat this morning about their new HD news operation. Mostly elementary and very basic quesions by people. I noticed JWhip asked about why they insist on using the 2 subchannels and degrading the HD stream to 14 or 15MB. Matt O'Donnell didn't even answer his question! I asked it again, and he said

"Stuart says there is some impact between the three channels. However, we cannot turn off the subchannels, particularly the digital standard channel that is offered for those without HD sets."

I didn't know that those subchannels are offered to some systems, while they don't have the main digital feed(WPVI-DT). That's a little better of an excuse I suppose. But turning them off from 8-11pm each night? I guess the 10% of people in the Philly market is less than people who have those subchannels only. But is it less than the people who WATCH those subchannels?

The news last night looked pretty good, couple seconds of breakup but not terrible. Of course, probably 75% of the news is 4:3 since it is live reports and pre-taped video. Weather was 4:3 too, although Cecile was stepping off the safe zone a little bit, thus off the screen for the SD viewers. I noticed a little "HD" next to the temp/time a few times during the broadcast. One live report from Chopper6 was in SD, but I'm assuming that's because it was using the night mode(which I think I read that HD does not do dark well at all, esp on a chopper)

I'll try to get some caps posted up tonight, there were a couple nice shots where you could see the studio and the 16:9 monitors on their desks.

The funny thing is that WPVI doesn't even know that 6.1 is available on Directv!!! I forwarded Matt the link but they chose to ignore the proof for whatever reason. If they can't even fact check that, how good are they with the rest of the news?

Weather was 4:3 too, although Cecile was stepping off the safe zone a little bit, thus off the screen for the SD viewers.

The weather pretty much has to be 4:3 so that the majority of viewers with 4:3 TVs get the proper aspect ratio on their screen. If it was 16:9, viewers with 4:3 sets would either get part of the graphics cut off or it would have to be letterboxed. As for "stepping off the safe zone" this always happens in an SD broadcast anyway. Watch the weather segment in SD and you will see they regularly partially step off the screen to allow the viewers to see the entire radar image (or whatever is on the screen). So, this wasn't a goof because they were in HD.

But when she steps out on SD she is still seen in HD. Another reason for HDTV!

>>However, we cannot turn off the subchannels, particularly the digital standard channel that is offered for those without HD sets."

Huh?

That doesn't make any sense. If you don't have an HD set, you just watch good ole analog channel 6. And if by chance you do have some set top box that receives OTA digital, but don't have an HD-capable set, it's more than likely that the STB will downrez the program to S-video or lower for analog only sets.

I smell a cop-out there.

maybe we have to 'turn to 10'

The BS and utter bad info they were giving out on that chat was staggering.

I posted some caps over on the big local news in HD thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8075581&&#post8075581)

I agree, that chat was ridiculous. I think I know less about HD than I did before I read it. And on the news Jim Gardner was like "something called high definition" acting like nobody even knew what HD was. He also said Cecile was the reason for getting HD, she didn't even get the joke at first, he had to reword it. All of that on the air, it was pretty funny.

Yes the 1st local station's news is now HD. But all they seem to care about is telling people that 6abc isn't going anywhere. 6abc seems to think people think they can't watch the news at all anymore and it's permanently going away. I don't think everyone is like the 80yr old grandma who lives below me and watches TV all day and fears technology because it might change which button they press on the remote control. People like that are a big part of what is holding up dropping all analog cable!

Never watched 6abc news anyway, and the way they are treating this HD thing isn't helping their cause. Come on KYW get that new building/set built!

I rarely watch news on the other stations. I mostly watch Action News. They rarely seem scripted with their banter like the other stations. The fact that Cecily didn't "get it" is what's great about the personalities on Action News. They can actually joke with each other on air without it being (or at least seeming) scripted.

We now have local news in HD and there are complaints. Was the chat pointless and often misinformed? Yes. They were playing to the masses who really DO NOT UNDERSTAND HD technology. We are much more informed than the average TV watcher. We need to reward the stations that do make an effort (6ABC) and pound the others (NBC10). Let us enjoy every new HD experience that we get, it was not long ago on a relative time line that we watched a B & W 13" tv with rabbit ears.

But. get your information straight. Why give out bogus information to the masses. That will not help move HD deplayment on any faster.

I can't watch fox29 since yesterday evening. Signal strenth is 70%.
when i use WatchHDTV i got no sound no image, using ATI DTV i got sound, no image
Anyone has the same problem?
all other stations are fine.

Is there any list of the current digital frequencies Comcast is currently using to assign channels (and there associations?). I know I can use the comcast box ( I have the 6412) to go to the diagnostics screen after tuning in the channel and seeing the frequency (eg 729.000 for NBC-HD) but I am using this for my EyeTv 500 to manually scan for channels and then reassign them to the Titan TV for recording.

Thanks for any help.

Adam

Watching the Phillies on UPN57 and the sound is choppy and the picture keeps pixelating and digitizing. Even during the commercials. Don't have any problems with any other station.

same here EHT, NJ

Watching the Phillies on UPN57 and the sound is choppy and the picture keeps pixelating and digitizing. Even during the commercials. Don't have any problems with any other station.

Same here in Delaware....

I just surfed past 57 and it is still having the same problems, breaking up and artifacts. Sound and video are breaking up. They must have caught the channel 6 virus.

I just surfed past 57 and it is still having the same problems, breaking up and artifacts. Sound and video are breaking up. They must have caught the channel 6 virus.


waslike that all day sunday.

i just noticed while flipping, that channel 209 iS on. no picture yet tho'

MHD

i just noticed while flipping, that channel 209 iS on. no picture yet tho'

MHD
I just seen that too. Pretty cool, I wasn't expecting a new HD channel. Is there a TBS HD? That would make my day.

its actually on now. cant use any buttons though.
no pAuse no skip nothing

I've got MTV Live on Comcast 209. Sadly, I am only getting a pixelated HBO on 215, and "Be back shortly" for all the HD broadcast channels except 236. I am on the Kennett Square network.

No problems here in Chester County.

I just seen that too. Pretty cool, I wasn't expecting a new HD channel. Is there a TBS HD? That would make my day.

It appears to be some sort of music concert channel, at least out Malvern way. The schedule for the next day or so was all concerts.

No problems here in Chester County.

The stations returned by early evening. But there has been a lot of pixelation on some of the local HD channels for the past couple weeks.

upn...wife said king of queens sunday night was bad but monday was ok. Must be the station as that was always tied for my strongest station with cbs. I even got it perfectly when my antenna was inside

New lineup active, couple things:

-Removal of channels from analog: I found these channels moved to digital only now: TVGuide Channel, CMT, CSPAN2, EWTV, HBO,Starz,Max,Showtime(all used to be on analog, according to the card I got in the mail)
-Removal of channels from digtal: 4 west coast feeds of Encore movie channels.

-Couple channels added to digital, probably around 4 or so.

With those 4 analogs gone that should clear a lot of room for more HD channels. MHD is up and running too.

Glad to see them finally get rid of some things and dump some analogs while suffling the lineup!

I am getting distorted sound from the OnDemand feed of CSN, specifically DNL. This is on Comcast GardenState. Why does Comcast have so many problems with OnDemand. It's their marketing tool when they try to convince people to choose Cable over Satellite. The sound was fine a couple weeks ago.

So let me get this straight. The Phils game on EPSN in HD was blacked out so we can watch it on Comcast in SD? :(

Are HD cameras giant or fragile or something making them difficult to take on the road? Obviously they wont use anyone else's camera feed. Or is it a transmission issues with HD content?

Looks like Radnor Township will conduct a public hearing soon to consider Verizon desiring to offer cable service in the township. Details are given here:

http://www.radnor.com/government/ezine/06_08/2.htm

I've never been to such a hearing. JWhip, can you pass along any wisdom about how to make this a reality and not have somebody/someone torpedo it? I remember reading that Treddyrin went through this recently.

Joe

So let me get this straight. The Phils game on EPSN in HD was blacked out so we can watch it on Comcast in SD? :(

Are HD cameras giant or fragile or something making them difficult to take on the road? Obviously they wont use anyone else's camera feed. Or is it a transmission issues with HD content?

I think it's a transmission issue, and much more costly to send HD feed out than SD feed. But there have been a few away games this year in HD on CSN, I think the Mets games have been, but that's because they are on SNY, which is Comcast owned.

And yes, situations like last night suck, nat'l on ESPNHD, but blacked out for us so we have to watch SD. I know ESPN has exclusive rights on like 2 nights a week(one is Sunday, the other is Tuesday maybe?) Those nights, ESPN has exclusive rights to one game that evening, and there are no blackouts.

Any chance MHD is unencrypted? My QAM LCD is at the repair shop at the moment.

I just seen that too. Pretty cool, I wasn't expecting a new HD channel. Is there a TBS HD? That would make my day.

Read back a couple weeks, I posted MHD would be added on August 1st in most Comcast systems.

no MHD in south jersey

Take it to the bank;

Universal HD coming August 15th system-wide in Philadelphia (Channel 208).

Any chance MHD is unencrypted? My QAM LCD is at the repair shop at the moment.

I couldn't find it on my system, ESPN2HD and TNT were for a couple weeks but they disapeared a little while ago. But as of Wed, 5C was OFF for it, see how long it takes for them to find that.

So let me get this straight. The Phils game on EPSN in HD was blacked out so we can watch it on Comcast in SD? :(

Are HD cameras giant or fragile or something making them difficult to take on the road? Obviously they wont use anyone else's camera feed. Or is it a transmission issues with HD content?


That's the breaks with local exclusivity. When everything was SD, it didn't matter so much, as long as you could see the game. But now when another provider offers higher quality than your desiginated feed, it's frustrating.

I'm curious to see Friday nights feed from CSN. SNY has the Phils @ Mets in HD, and so does INHD. But I'm expecting to get hosed by CSN.

Maybe we'll get lucky, as some of the games from Shea have been in HD earlier this season, but this series was not included back in this post back in May:

Originally Posted by zippychimp
Didn't see this posted...was in the 5/5 Inquirer:

Comcast SportsNet will soon announce that it will broadcast 12 Phillies road games in high definition. The high definition road games will be May 23, 24, and 25 at the New York Mets, June 23 at Boston, June 27, 28 and 29 at Baltimore, July 14 at San Francisco, and Aug. 21, 22, 23, and 24 at the Chicago Cubs.

Has anyone heard any different?

I'm getting a little tired of the excuse why not...

I'm curious to see Friday nights feed from CSN. SNY has the Phils @ Mets in HD, and so does INHD. But I'm expecting to get hosed by CSN.

The last series at NY was in HD.

Any chance MHD is unencrypted? My QAM LCD is at the repair shop at the moment.
Even if it is, it would only be for a very short time.

The last series at NY was in HD.

Yes, it was, but the series kicking off tonight was not mentioned as being in HD in the referenced article.

I certainly hope that it is, but I have strong doubts about it happening.

Even if it is, it would only be for a very short time.
What makes you say that? I still get TNTHD in the clear.

Yes, it was, but the series kicking off tonight was not mentioned as being in HD in the referenced article.

I certainly hope that it is, but I have strong doubts about it happening.


Okay, so it's on 57, so it's not CSN hosing us, but in my mind, it is.

Anyway, everywhere in the country but Philadelphia tonight, the Phillies are in HD. Some system they've got set up there.

Not that this will create any excitement, but the next HD channel after Universal HD Comcast plans on adding is CN8 - The Comcast Network.

More to come before the year is through though!

What makes you say that? I still get TNTHD in the clear.
If your area is like here, then you have had TNT-HD since the NBA Playoffs started. OK, so, that is four months, well, I guess it is worthwhile to ask about it then. :)

But any non-Local HD channel is only temporarily left unencrypted, because each 'cable' HD channel requires either a Digital Classic or a Premium sub.

If your area is like here, then you have had TNT-HD since the NBA Playoffs started. OK, so, that is four months, well, I guess it is worthwhile to ask about it then. :)

But any non-Local HD channel is only temporarily left unencrypted, because each 'cable' HD channel requires either a Digital Classic or a Premium sub.

Shhhh! This is what private messages are for....maybe they forgot!

Widescreen 480p...is there an additional cost to them over the existing 4x3 480i if CSN were to provide us with FOX-style 'enhanced definition' programing for road games?

While obviously not as high quality as HD, I would be satisfied with that for a season or two. My biggest complaint with the lack of road HD is the loss of the widescreen. I really love it for sports, and feel screwed if others can see a game in widescreen or HD and I can't.

Any ideas if the backhaul technology currently used would permit 16x9 480p?

Take it to the bank;

Universal HD coming August 15th system-wide in Philadelphia (Channel 208).
thats good.

mhd is useless.
no mtv content on there as of now.

Well what i have been sorta reading over it is rather nice to have HDTV and soon i will join yous in this with my very own HDTV set a 30 inch widescreen set from Bestbuy. This is my first post.
I have some sort of the jist here I live in the Radnor Township Area Villanova/Rosemont. I am unsure of some of the details about reception and such so i guess i might be lurking a while to learn more. I Expect i will not have any issues with reception here of the Locals even with an antenna indoors as my El. is approx 491 feet according to the NOAA site that does Elevation. I am into the Weather and am a Amature Meteorologist. But i have seen some of the CAPS ya'll refer to and the pics in there are amazingly better then SD. I am completely blown away at how clear it is and what i saw at the bestbuy location in KOP. they have SD next to a HDTV set allthroughout their store. Its amazing how much of a difference there is. I am glad i have this chance now. So has anyone in this region managed to recieve outside the box as they say maybe NY or Baltimore or DC?

Has anyone else noticed excessive pixelating this weekend on most (if not all) the HD Locals on Comcast SJ? Partcilarly, CBS, NBC, ABC?

Has anyone else noticed excessive pixelating this weekend on most (if not all) the HD Locals on Comcast SJ? Partcilarly, CBS, NBC, ABC?

Yes, I have. I'm wondering if its me (local problem) or them (the head end, or above). I'd call and complain but I don't want to take a day off to wait for the cable guy.

thats good.

mhd is useless.
no mtv content on there as of now.
I think the VH1 Storytellers programs are pretty good.

QZ1 wrote:
But any non-Local HD channel is only temporarily left unencrypted, because each 'cable' HD channel requires either a Digital Classic or a Premium sub.

Shhhh! This is what private messages are for....maybe they forgot!
The technical engineers are quite aware of what is unencrypted. It always follows the same pattern, they eventually encrypt each non-local Digital channel. Take for instance the Digitally-Simulcasted Expanded channels were unencrypted for a few months, but were just recently encrypted in almost their entirety, and surely soon all will be, if they aren't already.

Take it to the bank;

Universal HD coming August 15th system-wide in Philadelphia (Channel 208).
why did they send out the new lineup cards before adding uhd.

Alright so no issues with the Philies tonight, ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball is nat'l, including both teams markets. One of the very few times you can see them on ESPNHD if you live in Philly.

Also the PQ for the hall of fame football game is actually looking pretty good!

the sunday night game is never blacked out. as it's not available on local television.

the nbc looks mediocre on my tv. much the way the NHLhd games look.

lots of "noise" and motion blur

thats good.

mhd is useless.
no mtv content on there as of now.


I disagree. So far I have been enjoying the live concerts MHD has been heavy on their schedule with. Combined with 5.1 Surround Sound, MHD is a welcome addition and a great way to show off my home theater investment.

I disagree. So far I have been enjoying the live concerts MHD has been heavy on their schedule with. Combined with 5.1 Surround Sound, MHD is a welcome addition and a great way to show off my home theater investment.


thats cool.
i should probably have said it's useless to me.

i havent seen anything on there that i havent seen before.

its like the beginning of the hd broadcasting when there was no new content and it was the same stuff over and over again and i just watched because it was in HD

why did they send out the new lineup cards before adding uhd.
Because on 1 August they made a lot of changes to the channel lineup, so they needed to inform the customers at that time.

I thought the HOF game looked good on NBC. Nothing beats football in HD.

I'll disagree with you slightly and say hockey beats out football in HD.

I thought the HOF game looked good on NBC. Nothing beats football in HD.

New Jersey opens up competitiion for cable franchises:

http://www.state.nj.us/governor/news/news/approved/20060804a.html



and so it begins......

Finally.. something good in New Jersey happens. When was the last time government did something good in NJ?

Because on 1 August they made a lot of changes to the channel lineup, so they needed to inform the customers at that time.

right but according to someone in this thread another channel will be added on aug 15th.
why not put that on the channel list too or wait acouple weeks to put the full lineup on the list.

right but according to someone in this thread another channel will be added on aug 15th.
why not put that on the channel list too or wait acouple weeks to put the full lineup on the list.

They needed to print up those cards beforehand, and probably did so much earlier in July.

I've gotten 2 msgs on my 6412 saying Universal HD is coming on Aug 15th. There isn't much on it that interests me, but I don't complain about more HD channels. We should still have room for more, like hopefully NGCHD, since we lost 4 analogs and several digitals.

UHD is great because their movies are commerical-free and uncensored. And they play movies you actually want to watch.

I was really excited to see that UHD is being added. I'm moving back to Philly in a couple weeks and was going to miss TWC's HD lineup. Now the only channels missing will be HDnet and HDnet Movies, but I'll survive. :)

They needed to print up those cards beforehand, and probably did so much earlier in July.

I've gotten 2 msgs on my 6412 saying Universal HD is coming on Aug 15th. There isn't much on it that interests me, but I don't complain about more HD channels. We should still have room for more, like hopefully NGCHD, since we lost 4 analogs and several digitals.


good point i had forgot about that.
anyway whats ngchd

good point i had forgot about that.
anyway whats ngchd

NGCHD - National Geographic channel in HD.

Several people claim that is next to be added, including one who had a technician specifically say they were working on adding that one next.

why no MHD in jersey yet?

Bought a Panasonic 42PX60U in March. I've stuck with my regular coax cable plugged directly in the TV but now I'm springing for digital. This set has a native resolution of 768p. Although I'm sure it's not just an issue for Panny owners people complain about constantly needing to adjust the set's viewing mode (4:3, Full, Hi-Full, Just) when they change channels.

The best advice is to change the setting on the STB to 720P which apparently helps to solve the problem. Which of the HD STB's from Comcast would work best for me?

My DVD player does have an HDMI output but the Panny has two HDMI inputs so I'm guessing I won't have to run the the player through the STB

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Instead of adding MTV in HD, they should just get rid of it all together. Its not like they play videos anymore. Cribs is a joke. Pimp my ride is probably the only show worth watching.

I'd rather see NGHD instead.

just my .04...with oil and gas prices ever increasing, I can use the extra .02!!

why no MHD in jersey yet?

Bought a Panasonic 42PX60U in March. I've stuck with my regular coax cable plugged directly in the TV but now I'm springing for digital. This set has a native resolution of 768p. Although I'm sure it's not just an issue for Panny owners people complain about constantly needing to adjust the set's viewing mode (4:3, Full, Hi-Full, Just) when they change channels.

The best advice is to change the setting on the STB to 720P which apparently helps to solve the problem. Which of the HD STB's from Comcast would work best for me?

My DVD player does have an HDMI output but the Panny has two HDMI inputs so I'm guessing I won't have to run the the player through the STB

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Your only choices are the regular HD box(6200 still, I think) or the DVR box(6412, or 3412, same thing basically). In PA we have the Motorola boxes, NJ has the SA boxes. You have 2 HDMI inputs so use one for the dvd player, and one for the cable box. In many places, an HD box is $5/mo while the DVR is $10 /mo, so the DVR box really only costs $5 more a month, not $10. But some areas charge $10 on top of the $5 for an HD box. In Lower Bucks it's only $10 for my DVR box.

Instead of adding MTV in HD, they should just get rid of it all together. Its not like they play videos anymore. Cribs is a joke. Pimp my ride is probably the only show worth watching.

I'd rather see NGHD instead.

just my .04...with oil and gas prices ever increasing, I can use the extra .02!!
Apparently they don't do that on MHD... yet. It will soon enough.

I agree I don't want MHD at all. I'd much rather we get NFLHD, NBAHD, and HDNET channels first.

is tonight's eagles game in HD? On Action News, there are some shots from the field in HD.. is this a sign?

Doesn't look like it, guess I'll have to watch the game on Fox at 8PM.

no hd for eagles.
but what is that camera shot supposed to be.
it'ss 4x3 with bars on the side but the image is stretched and everything looks fat within
the window.

yeah.. this is a huge downgrade. At least now they've turned off the stretch. The pregame looked much better with at least SD widescreen

A new Comcast DVR will be available sometime in late September with a 160 gig hard drive.

I couldn't wait any longer, I got a VIP622 and it is great.

A new Comcast DVR will be available sometime in late September with a 160 gig hard drive.

Any chance it will put some relief on the shortage? I'm still trying to get my hands on a 2nd DVR. Is there an expected date on the Tivo option?

As always, thanks for the good info.

Will Comcast-Philadelphia be carrying any of the NFL Network's HD games?

A new Comcast DVR will be available sometime in late September with a 160 gig hard drive.
A Motorola 3416?
Dual or triple-tuner?

Last I read, the Panny 250GB triple-tuner was set for Q4 in our area.
Is that still true?
If so, I might just hold out for that to replace my 6412.

I will find out this week

Motorola 6416 & 3416

Any chance it will put some relief on the shortage? I'm still trying to get my hands on a 2nd DVR. Is there an expected date on the Tivo option?

As always, thanks for the good info.


I managed to get one by sending a detailed angry email to the management. I basicly told them that everywhere else people could get two and that it was poor management that caused the shortage that the in Comcasts home area a subsciber who pays them over 130 bucks a month cannot get a second dvr.

A week later a service rep called me up to schedule a delievery.

As for the 160 gig harddrive, I think I'll wait until they have the 250 gig dvr to swap it out. I don't like loosing all my recorded shows, but I guess I could dump it to my computer if I get off my lazy ass and do it.

As for the 160 gig harddrive, I think I'll wait until they have the 250 gig dvr to swap it out. I don't like loosing all my recorded shows, but I guess I could dump it to my computer
I agree, but if they would come out with even the 160GB DVR before the fall TV season, I would get one in a heartbeat. But it won't, so when the 250 GB is out, I will just record only as much as I can watch in a night, right before it is installed.

UHD is on the air WOO HOO!!


http://www.universalhd.com/

UHD is on the air WOO HOO!!


http://www.universalhd.com/

UHD is a waste of HD bandwidth. Very rarely will it be watched by anyone.

They should provide HDNET instead.

The 15th has come and no MHD for South Jersey. I was hoping against hope...

UHD is a waste of HD bandwidth. Very rarely will it be watched by anyone.

They should provide HDNET instead.

If Universal HD carries the new Battlestar Galactica episodes in HD, then it'll be watched more than very rarely in my house. :-)

Looking at their schedules...well, both have a lot of filler. HDNet has some nice shows...but I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to see Hogan's Heroes in HD, and many of their shows I can get in HD on other channels (like the travel shows from PBS, for example). Comparing them, they seem about the same, just with different stuff from different sources.

UHD up and ruNning this mOrning in lower bu5Cks.

UHD is a waste of HD bandwidth. Very rarely will it be watched by anyone.

They should provide HDNET instead.


you mean to say very rarely by you

i made the same remark earlier on mhd, but was quickly pointed out that there are those who like it.

thats good.

mhd is useless.
no mtv content on there as of now.


Quote:
Originally Posted by zippychimp
I disagree. So far I have been enjoying the live concerts MHD has been heavy on their schedule with. Combined with 5.1 Surround Sound, MHD is a welcome addition and a great way to show off my home theater investment.



thats cool.
i should probably have said it's useless to me.

i havent seen anything on there that i havent seen before.

its like the beginning of the hd broadcasting when there was no new content and it was the same stuff over and over again and i just watched because it was in HD

Just noticed this afternoon that guide data and channel name is gone for INHD, not sure if this means they are yanking it soon or what.

ESPN is carrying the 8-25 Eagles/Steelers game in HD. Will WPVI-DT carry the came in HD? If not, will the ESPN feed be blacked out?

BrentHD wrote: ESPN is carrying the 8-25 Eagles/Steelers game in HD. Will WPVI-DT carry the came in HD? If not, will the ESPN feed be blacked out?

The odds a better than usual for WPVI-DT sending the ESPN-HD feed since ESPN is carrying it and ESPN and ABC are affiliates.

Just noticed this afternoon that guide data and channel name is gone for INHD, not sure if this means they are yanking it soon or what.


I see that too...Mine was renamed to NFLHD, but channel is still playing INHD shows...


Mark

Yea I thought it had changed over to NFLHD, but just the name has changed. Got some guide info back and the program listings and actual programs are still for INHD.

I'm quite confused on this one, and don't understand why they knock INHD off(not INHD2). I know INHD had more sports games on, but usually only like 1 event during the evening. Not like we don't have the bandwidth here either...

JWhip or scanpa do you know anymore more about this?

3 points

1. NFLHD/INHD are sharing right now. Currently they are showing NFL games in HD then 6 hours from now it switches back to INHD programming.

2. The reason eagles preseason games aren't in HD is because they aren't broadcasted by a network or channel, they are broadcasted by the Eagles Television Network. Since they only do a few preseason games a year they don't spend the money for expensive HD equipment (yet). This weeks game will be in full HD regardless even if ESPN feed is blacked out the ABC feed will show the ESPN feed.

3. MHD shows live concerts, music videos, and NO mtv/vh1 crap shows...so I have found it to be pretty entertaining.

It's pretty weird that they would actually change the name of the channel on the guide to NFLHD if they're only going to show a little football. Hopefully NFLHD gets it's own channel when the season starts.

It's pretty weird that they would actually change the name of the channel on the guide to NFLHD if they're only going to show a little football. Hopefully NFLHD gets it's own channel when the season starts.

There is no reason for it to have it's own channel. We already have SD NFL network, and the only HD they show is live games(ok ok replays at 3am of games in HD). This way when there is a live HD game on NFL network they put it on INHD.

If they continue to do this all season the only thing you are missing is 3hrs of INHD programming(aka no loss) or the ability to watch the game again at 1am in HD(again no loss).

This actually makes sense, so it must only be temporary

I think they really need to add an HDSE channel in our area. A lot of the other major comcast areas have this channel, and that kind of channel would resolve any conflicts in programming we may have.

Either that or they can just cut into CSNHD.. which almost always is in SD.

and an hdse channel is what?

course id rather have NFLHD in the 200's, I dont like tuning < 200

CSNHD when its HOME programming its in HD

and i rather have 4x3 upscaled with side boarders anyday then plain SD


mitch

There is no reason for it to have it's own channel. We already have SD NFL network, and the only HD they show is live games(ok ok replays at 3am of games in HD). This way when there is a live HD game on NFL network they put it on INHD.

It seems like a good compromise to me. I like having NFL games in HD along with the INHD shows. Now, if they will also put those "Behind the Scenes Cheerleaders" shows in HD I'll have no complaints.

and an hdse channel is what?

HDSE = HD Special Events

Some systems have this channel that only shows special events in HD such as PPV boxing, NFLHD games, baseball games etc without pre-empting INHD

Yea I thought it had changed over to NFLHD, but just the name has changed. Got some guide info back and the program listings and actual programs are still for INHD.

I'm quite confused on this one, and don't understand why they knock INHD off(not INHD2). I know INHD had more sports games on, but usually only like 1 event during the evening. Not like we don't have the bandwidth here either...

JWhip or scanpa do you know anymore more about this?

NFLHD was for yesterday only and will be changed back to INHD in the programming guide by tonight. No plans for NFL HD at the moment, but INHD2 (207) will be history on or by November 15th due to bandwidth needs.

I just moved back to Philly from Boston, where I lived for about 8 years. I was shocked to see that most (all?) Phillies away games are not shown in HD. Is this just a small sampling, or is this the case? In Boston, ALL home games were in HD and about 80% of away games were HD as well. What gives?

BTW, AK3883 - it's good to see you on this thread, you know me as TwoDecks from another board.

I have cable running into my house and have a comcast account with and HD BOX. My TV has a dual tuner for picture in picture and I split the cable and ran it, without a box, into the tuner. The TV has a TV Guide, which is designed to read the channels that are coming in and list shows, etc. Of course, the channels are all off - innacurate. I did notice, though, that I am getting tons of channels - thewy are just listed wrong in the guide.

I am a newbe - can anyone explain what is going on here and if you think I can get the guide to actually list the CORRECT channels somehow?

Thanks so much.

Pyleaxp

Anybody experiencing picture freeze using the SA8300HD-DVR during Fox PrimeTime. I exchanged my last box and have same problem on my new one. Comcast Garden State. Freezes on both Prison Break and Vanished. Recorded Vanished replay on Tuesday, froze about 4 times. SVU on NBC, no freezes whatsoever.

JackStraw1- I have been having dropout problems this week as well, and while I have a motorola 6412, I counted 3 short dropouts(3-4 sec) during Prison Break on Monday. Not sure if it was my box or a network problem. You said you did as well, anyone else? I'll probably watch the encore tonight, and use the TV's QAM tuner to see if it's the cable box or not.

Pyleaxp- TV Guide is a POS and horribly designed. In order to get the listings to come in, they are sent with a certain station(on an analog, NOT digital channel), usually it's the local PBS station, but here in Philly it is our local FOX affiliate. You have to be sure that channel is selected and active in the tv guide listings, and tunes to the proper channel. There is a detailed TV Guide channel that explains a lot more about it, here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=510125)

AK i'm "glad' to hear you had problems too. Maybe it was the network after all. I've been having OTA problems with fox as well. However 'CW" is literally unwatchable for me even though my meter shows readings in the 80s on HDtivo....however the interrupted pixelation on some/all of the pic is something i've never seen, even when i had a weak indoor setup

I've been having A LOT of trouble pixelation and audio drops (during pixelation) all over, but especially on FoxHD, Comedy Central and Sci-fi. I'm in Center City Philly BTW.

I've got a 6412p2 box through comcast, and I called CS, they told me to tune to Channel 4 and they'd "fix the problem by sending something". Did this... no improvement... maybe even worse.

Anyone else having this problem? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

I too have been getting dropouts on Fox in the Philly area (Chester county). ABC does it from time to time as well. I have the Motorola 6412 DVR.

Comcast is so damn secretive. All they had to tell me was that other subscribers are having problems with Fox and I wouldn't have to have tech come by house to switch out box. They are now recycling 8300HD-DVR boxes. As they get turned in for either cancellation or repair they end up back on the truck. I was told they don't have new boxes. You never know if your box is bad or it's a network problem. The one thing I notice is there is rarely a freeze on a premium movie channel.

Still some dropouts last night on FOX, and it's not my box, watching on the tv's tuner I got them as well.

AK - thanks. I will try and set up manually so that at least the LOCAL FOX affiliate is set properly - then give it 24 hours to see if all the other channels sync up right. I am concerned that just plugging the cable directly into the receiver withour a omcast box will never work, but I guess we'll see. In your opinion, do you think setting FOX up properly will fix the issue?

Thanks again for your help.

must be fox...'good' to know

Wooo hooo... Birds game is on ESPNHD tonight, rather than watching that crappy ETN network.

You have your choice tonight. Either watch the game on ESPNHD or ABC 6.1HD. Channel 6 is simulcasting both the SD and HD of ESPN, so there is no ETN crap (agreed on the horrible ETN). Watching NFLHD, I see so many other stations provide HD broadcasts, why can't ETN do it?

It's nice to see that WPVI is able to pick up and transmit the HD feed of ESPN

anyone getting a stutter on espn?

i'm watching on a delay and the 6412 is stuttering every few secs.

Switched between ESPN-HD and WPVI-HD(OTA) and as expected ESPN looked better in HD.

anyone getting a stutter on espn?

i'm watching on a delay and the 6412 is stuttering every few secs.



oops

I was also getting some ESPN stutter last night, and I am on Dish now (for the HD of course). Glad it was a network problem and not my system. ETN is the worst!

It was a WPVI or ESPN thing I'm sure, since I saw this as well (stuttered for up to 5 seconds, out of sync audio channels) on Service Electric in the Lehigh Valley.

last night during the game on 6.1 every single time after a play and the espn logo graphic was shown, the graphic caused major pixelation, sometimes to the point that it was 5 seconds until the pic came back.

ABC can show the ESPN feed because they are both owned by the same company (Disney). ETN can't show games in HD because the equipment is really expensive and they only do at most 4 pre-season games a year so they don't want to pay for it.

I wish every phillies away game was in HD...it is bull that I have to watch this crappy feed

That is the name of the article at WayneSuburban.com:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17104457&BRD=1677&PAG=461&dept_id=82745&rfi=6

Wow. I'll believe it when I see it. But I'm assuming Comcast SportsNet will not be available on Verizon's FiOS TV service, eh?

Correct jw!

JWhip, when does Verizon FiOS service begin in Tredyffrin? That article in the WayneSurburban made it sound like service in Radnor could begin immediately if approved on Sept 11 by the township commissioners.

I have been out of the country and the area alot this summer and have not been able to attend the township meetings. I will in Sept.

I have had FIOS Internet for six months now and am extremely pleased.

My neighbor was getting FIOS Internet installed, and I asked the Verizon technician what they were hearing regarding FIOS-TV installation dates. He said they had just discussed it in the shop that morning and May 2007 was they expected rollout date for the Holland/Richboro area.

Anyone having trouble with DTV and HBO-HD and HDN Movies? I am receiving ALL channels except these.

Anyone having trouble with DTV and HBO-HD and HDN Movies? I am receiving ALL channels except these.

Tyro, I'm receiving HDN Movies with D*. I'm not subscribed to HBO-HD though, so I can't answer that part.

Tyro, I'm receiving HDN Movies with D*. I'm not subscribed to HBO-HD though, so I can't answer that part.
I unpluged the tuner for several hours and I'm getting a better signal but not as strong as before. It makes no sense as ALL other channels are comming in rock solid.

I have been having terrible pixellation problems of the same nature in Feasterville (Bensalem system) for the past week. It is limited only to certain channels. HBO-HD was unwatchable on Tuesday night (8/30), due to frequent pixellation issues. Also, I have numerous problems with selected digital channels whenever there is a heavy rain storm. I am hooked to a 6412.


Any ideas out there?

Lots of problems last night for me too(after 10pm), I'm in Bensalem. After a min or two of watching, channels just cut in/out like crazy, this morning it was happening whenever I wasn't watching "live" Also last night FF/REW and my skips weren't working at all for a bit. It sure wasn't the channel, some weird things going on. I rebooted last night, wasn't much better this morning. Glad to see it's maybe not just me/my box(6412 PII as well).

HD channels were worse, but even SD channels were cutting out last night while watching the news.

I have had FIOS Internet for six months now and am extremely pleased.

My neighbor was getting FIOS Internet installed, and I asked the Verizon technician what they were hearing regarding FIOS-TV installation dates. He said they had just discussed it in the shop that morning and May 2007 was they expected rollout date for the Holland/Richboro area.

I also live in Holland and this is very good news indeed.

3.1 OTA is not there now...I checked the other philly OTA HD channels..they all come in fine

cbs was always very strong...so not to get something is 'impossible'

geez um...wife said she turned on tv this afternoon and 3.1 and 6.1 were strong and in the 80s/90s very steady! Got home and everything was fine.

So can I rule out something like a tree or other object that grew in the past 8 months?

Before i found out this info, I had thought maybe the barrel connection I have on the floor in my breezeway got flooded in the tuesday storm but I dont think the water got to that point on the floor. I opened up that connection and it seemed dry. But even if it was wet, could that cause only one channel to go out? Or could it back up at least 50 ft to the amp in the attic? And if the amp was fried..it couldn't continue to work right?

I'm honestly at a loss here. Any ideas what could be wrong here?

Does anyone have a CableCard in or around Lower Bucks? My latest price sheet says NO CHARGE for the monthly fee, of course they'll charge me like $30 for some dumbass "technician" to come out and f up the installation. Does anyone know if they charge you for an add'tl digital outlet? I have Digi Plus and DVR right now. I seem to recall some people being charged for another digital outlet, which makes no f'ing sense at all, it's actually the same cable outlet. If it really won't cost me anything I am thinking of attempting to get one, esp when this POS DVR is crapping out and wont' work right. Plus picture always looks better on the TV's QAM tuner, one less device in the chain.

I'm in NE Philly, had a cable card installed a few months ago. No monthly charge for the card, I did have to pay one time installation fee. No problems with that. I have an additional outlet in another room which I pay for, that is at my request.

Hope this helps.

I'm in NE Philly, had a cable card installed a few months ago. No monthly charge for the card, I did have to pay one time installation fee. No problems with that. I have an additional outlet in another room which I pay for, that is at my request.

Hope this helps.

Did Comcast supply the card? If so, are you saying that you paid a one time installation fee and that's it? I guess I'm not sure if I can ask this outright, but how much was the installation fee?

Can't even pick up WPVI's signal tonight, for the birds game but who cares it's another POS transmission. Good think I can pick up WCBS's NY broadcast on the dish in glorious HD. If WCBS's has in in HD why doesn't WPVI?

anyone else having a lot of audio "interference" on channel 6 during the game tonight? 6412, both on channel 6 and 231. Lots of cracklin, very annoying. Even during commercials

Comcast, Pleasantville system

anyone else having a lot of audio "interference" on channel 6 during the game tonight? 6412, both on channel 6 and 231. Lots of cracklin, very annoying. Even during commercials

Comcast, Pleasantville system

I was experiencing the same thing, so I stopped watching it.
Comcast, South Jersey

Did Comcast supply the card? If so, are you saying that you paid a one time installation fee and that's it? I guess I'm not sure if I can ask this outright, but how much was the installation fee?

I've had the CC from Comcast. Yes, they supply it and yes they charge an install fee, they say they do not charge a fee for the card BUT your bill will now have an "digital a/o" charge of $8.90/month added. I removed the card after arguing with them on this (6 months) & returned it to my local office.

I had the Cable card Installed in May. It works very well after downloading a software upgrade to my Plasma.

As others have said they Charge you for an A/O Service $8.90. Not happy about it but you need to use this to get the HD channels (Comcast SportsnetHD and ESPNHD, ect.). That's if you don't want to use a Cable Box.

Keep in mind there is no On Demand with a Cable Card.

I am confused by Comcast's Channel Groupings. I just got the $33 each deal for cable internet and phone, I also got a DVR. I am not getting HD channels 200 CSNHD, 202 ESPNHD, 203 ESPN2,204 TNTHD, 205 DiscHD, 206 INHD and 207 INHD2. I do get 208 and the OTA equivalents in the 230's.

What package above the $33 should I be asking for to get these channels as cheap as possible. Mostly interested in sports on 202 and 203. I am in Southern Chester County.

Thanks!

I lost most channel from this morning, including many SD channels. Any similar experience?
Comcrap' 800 and local number are busy. what a joke.
oh, the weather is NOT that bad at all.

I know some of you are fans of the Eagles, but even static would have been better than the ETN telecast of the last exhibition game the Eagles played in. I had better things to do than watch back-ups and those trying to make the team play. I can't believe NFL teams charge FULL regular season price to attend these games. :mad:

I am confused by Comcast's Channel Groupings. I just got the $33 each deal for cable internet and phone, I also got a DVR. I am not getting HD channels 200 CSNHD, 202 ESPNHD, 203 ESPN2,204 TNTHD, 205 DiscHD, 206 INHD and 207 INHD2. I do get 208 and the OTA equivalents in the 230's.

What package above the $33 should I be asking for to get these channels as cheap as possible. Mostly interested in sports on 202 and 203. I am in Southern Chester County.
It sounds like you got Standard service. You get the HD Locals in Basic, and that is it. You get 208 UHD, temporarily, because they didn't encrypt it yet. You need to get Digital Classic to get all the those other channels; also 209 MHD, as I think your area has this too.