Philadelphia, PA - Comcast [Text View] - Page 36

GeekGirl

10-20-07, 10:03 PM

What's the word on NHL Network games in HD? Tonight's Flyers game was the first I time I saw the new HD overhead goalie cams. Amazing PQ (posted in the Verizon FiOS forum http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11967396#post11967396).

I'm on Verizon FiOS now, but am keeping an eye out on returning to Comcast in February if there's a big difference in the amount of HD channels available. Hockey is big on my list. No NHL Network, Versus-HD, or Center Ice on FiOS.

Comcast still has a long way to go if they want to beat Verizon on price. I can't justify the 2x cost to switch back.

Bob222

10-21-07, 08:14 PM

On another matter entirely, is anyone else having lip sync issues with NBC10 only during HD network programming? It happens almost every night. It does not happen during the local programming. I've seen major lip sync issues with TNT but that's a known issue. I have a Motorola DVR 3412 and Sony 50A2020 connected directly with HDMI cable. When watching without the box but just running the cable straight to the tuner, I still see a problem. I saw one other Philly person mention a problem but that's been it. Anyone?

maddogFool

10-22-07, 10:51 AM

Anyone, perhaps using a built-in QAM tuner, notice anything unusual with Fox29-HD (channel 234) yesterday (10/22, both football and baseball)? My problem is definitely unique. Everything was fine on both my CableCard TV and Motorola 6200 boxes. But there was something strange about the digital stream which was causing stuttering on my Mythtv Linux PVR recording, both with a straight QAM capture and and the Firewire stream out of the 6200 (the latter tells me it's not a signal quality issue on my coax). I don't have OTA, so I can't differentiate a Fox29 vs. Comcast problem. I can only guess that my software does some additional error checking and was finding something wrong continuously, effecting playback. The TV and STB must be more forgiving not to notice--I've seen that before. At first I thought it was either a hard drive performance and/or coax signal level issue, but after I saw the same thing on the Firewire capture, I knew it was something more fundamental. Don't know exactly how long it's been like this--but I recorded last week's Eagles/Jets game without a problem. UPDATE: Clarification -- it appeared localized to just channel 234 -- as a control, I watched NBC-DT (232, specifically Sunday Night Football) and CBS-DT (232) live through the Linux DVR, and saw no problems (NBC's 1080i requires more decoding horespower, so if it were a hardware issue, I would expect problems).

Yeah, I'm heartbroken I won't be able to re-watch one of the worst regular season losses in Eagles history. :rolleyes: (Actually, I only watched the first half, and the Bears TD throw at the end, as I tried but failed to watch the 2nd half time-shifted.) If I get time, I might try analyzing/re-muxing the MPEG capture to see if I can identify the problem...the log output kept repeating "write audio underflow", but that could mean anything.

frantic1049

10-22-07, 12:53 PM

Anyone, perhaps using a built-in QAM tuner, notice anything unusual with Fox29-HD (channel 234) yesterday (10/22, both football and baseball)?

We had the baseball game on through the stb & all was well. Other shows however, on another tv on HD & digital channels had much stuttering. That was through the QAM tuner connected to cable, no stb on that tv. Just last weekend we ran new RG6 throughout the house. I checked the signal strength meter on the tv & it was lower than usual, but not by much. Before we ran the new cable, we could only pick up a few of the digital channels and none of the HD and all channels were there but with stuttering on ABC HD & also a pbs channel i had on later but i don't remember if it was an analog or digital channel.

jeepmatt

10-23-07, 06:26 AM

NHL Network live on 276 this morning.

GeekGirl

10-23-07, 07:27 PM

Is there an HD version of NHL Network? Versus has Rangers vs. Pengins now. No Versus-HD on FiOS.

jeepmatt

10-24-07, 06:22 AM

Is there an HD version of NHL Network? Versus has Rangers vs. Pengins now. No Versus-HD on FiOS.

Geek, there is one - but I Think right now only DISH is carrying it. From the little bit I watched this channel yesterday - I really like it!

NHL On the Fly is like a hockey-only ESPN News show. Very good announcers and PQ.

maddogFool

10-24-07, 10:49 AM

Answering my own post...
Anyone, perhaps using a built-in QAM tuner, notice anything unusual with Fox29-HD (channel 234) yesterday (10/22, both football and baseball)? ... But there was something strange about the digital stream which was causing stuttering on my Mythtv Linux PVR recording, both with a straight QAM capture and and the Firewire stream out of the 6200 (the latter tells me it's not a signal quality issue on my coax).
A big never-mind and dope-slap to my forehead...turns out this problem was of my own making. A couple weeks ago, I finally got SPDIF Dolby Digital out working on my main Linux DVR box (counterintuitively, I ended up having to select the ALSA analog audio index as the digital destination, but that's a whole other story about the vagaries of Linux configurations). In the process of fiddling, I turned off Mythtv's extra audio buffering. Didn't effect NTSC or 1080i playback, but it mucks with 720p (probably how the audio packets are interleaved in the transport stream). Bottom line -- there was and is nothing wrong with Fox29-HD. Pilot error.

So I was able to relive the Bears 97 yard game-winning drive in glorious HD. BTW, what is the deal with grass field at the Linc? It's terribly chewed up, and it's not even November. I realize Temple plays home games there, but still, the not yet frozen tundra at Lambeau looks much better. Do they have the same problem as Gilette in NE, that stadium orientation denies sufficient sunlight? Perhaps NexTurf is in our future.

lutton

10-24-07, 07:47 PM

Tuning into the Flyers game @ Florida tonight (Wednesday); although not advertised as HD, it is widescreen format. Not sure if it's HD or ED; anyone know?

Nice to see! I was just getting ready to complain about the road games still not being in HD! Even if it is just ED (480p) or even 480i widescreen (which would be weird, but possible I guess) it's a step in the right direction.

update: Now that it's live game footage, it doesn't look to be HD. But I'll take the widescreen for now.

Thanks Comcast. (I don't say that too often!!)

whotony

10-24-07, 09:05 PM

sound isnt very good either, jones keeps clipping when he starts to talk louder.

the image looks like the old fake hd that Fox used to use for saturday afternoon baseball/

lutton

10-24-07, 09:18 PM

So we're pretty sure it's the widescreen 480...Did they do this for the West Coast swing to start the season?

whotony

10-24-07, 09:55 PM

GeekGirl

10-24-07, 10:12 PM

Best SD quality I've seen so far. Kudos to Comcast for the effort. Watching on Verizon FiOS. HD.

Comparing the screen coverage, it looks like they shot in widescreen and clipped to 4:3 for Comcast Sportsnet-SD. Excellent production choice.

Agreed that the PQ looks like old line-doubled format that FOX used before they went to 720p. It could also be heavily compressed and a compromise of data rate / bandwidth vs. widescreen (required bits / frame) vs. PQ. Looks about the right mix to me.

Could they p-l-e-a-s-e do this for the rest of the road trip?

aindik

10-25-07, 11:10 AM

This past season, Comcast SportsNet had Phillies road games in HD when the home team's RSN was also owned (or partially owned) by Comcast. The Nationals and the Mets are two of the teams where the Phillies road games were in HD on CSN. Maybe the Flyers road games against Blackhawks and Capitals will be in HD.

I saw the widescreen SD last night for a bit. Looked much better than the usual SD feed of road games on CSN-HD.

Am I right that the CSN talking head shows that are at the Wachovia Center are in HD, but the talking head shows in the main studio aren't? If so, why aren't they?

GeekGirl

10-25-07, 10:09 PM

Thank you Comcast for the new *Widescreen* format announcement at the beginning of tonight's game. Please don't go back to upscaling SD for HD. It's closer to HD, but has a ways to go yet. Widescreen is good.

ak3883

10-26-07, 12:30 PM

Am I right that the CSN talking head shows that are at the Wachovia Center are in HD, but the talking head shows in the main studio aren't? If so, why aren't they?

Isn't the main studio in the WAC? Are you talking about the set they do Daily News Live from? Recently they went HD with live editions of sportsrise and sportsnite, and DNL too I think. Rebroadcasts of sportsrise(6am-10am) are NOT in HD, i'm guessing because you need different/more equipment to play back archivied HD material, from just broadcasting it live. Pretty sure they don't have the capability to send out non-live HD material from their own studio(someone correct me if i'm wrong).

Kinda like how WPVI can show HD WOF and jeopardy in syndication, but that is a whole set of different equipment than just passing the network feed through in HD(which many many stations have). Not nearly as many stations have the equipment to send out non-live HD, right?

whotony

10-28-07, 04:16 PM

what did the announcement say?
i missed te beginning of the game.

GeekGirl

10-28-07, 09:37 PM

At the beginning of the Tampa Bay Lightning game, Jim Jackson said "now available in the new widescreen format". The graphic at the bottom of the screen said "widescreen", instead of "High Definition".

During the Bruins game, it definitely looked like the studio was originating in HD between periods. Puts some credence to the thinking that it's the transmission costs, not the broadcast equipment that's the limiting factor here. Especially with those 16:9 shots.

(Watching on FiOS)

whotony

10-28-07, 10:00 PM

now how can we get them to stop squeezing for the score bar.

i hate that

donaldsonjune

10-29-07, 12:46 AM

Hello All,

Did anyone notice the "N.E. vs WASH." game looked better than the "PHILLY vs. MINN" game?

whotony

10-29-07, 01:25 AM

yep eagles game looked, not soft and blocky.

GeekGirl

10-29-07, 10:07 PM

whotony - that's the clue that they're framing in 4:3. The less of anything that obstructs my view, the better. I have enough problems with ads embedded in the scorebar.

Anyone time the audio delay on the Eagles game to 94.1 WYSP? I'm getting about 5 - 6 Seconds ahead of the video. 2 weeks in a row. I heard that they're aligning to Comcast, but since I have Verizon FiOS, there's no way for me to know.

Sorry FOX, but there's no way I'm going to listen to your stupid announcers talk about player's off-field activities while there's a play on. Doing a radio (play-by-play) description would improve things about 1000 %.

whotony

10-29-07, 11:42 PM

what?
they squeeze the main pictiure everytime they use the bottom bar even during hi def programming.
i'm not sure what you mean by that or what it has to do with anything.

i just dont get the squeeze.
espn has been able to figure out how to have a bottom bar and no squeeze.

why do you need to know they are framing for 4x3.
everything is always framed for 4x3. only thing that isnt are tv shows broadcast in wide screen like ER, conan SNL.

THE ONly time i dont see the squeeze is during non hd programming.

the squeeze is no different then what a&e hd or hgtv hd does to stretch their shows to fill the screen.

it is not necessary.
the bar is also too big and stays on too long.

sometimes, most times it is there for more the 2 full minutes.
the last section always is just plane text with "comcastsportsnet.com"
completely redundant.

if they did not squeeze, then how much of the screen would be obstructed really, a small bit of the bottom.

STOP THE SQUEEZE.

whotony

10-29-07, 11:52 PM

EAGLES GAME.

was there something going on with the main camera?
there was three maybe more times the live action missed following through with the current play going on and then the camera would zip to were the ball was.

plus a ton of super close-ups.
there was one close-up of a brown spot on the field.
that was zoomed out to nearly miss another play.

dont try to be artsy. just pull the camera back so we can see the play develop and stay with the ball.

caesar1

10-30-07, 06:15 AM

Anyone time the audio delay on the Eagles game to 94.1 WYSP? I'm getting about 5 - 6 Seconds ahead of the video. 2 weeks in a row. I heard that they're aligning to Comcast, but since I have Verizon FiOS, there's no way for me to know.

.

Since the HD era, it has been impossible to watch the game and listen to Merrill Reese (one is always way ahead of the other. I checked a few weeks ago -- and I have Comcast -- and it was way out of synch still.

OWENF

10-30-07, 01:48 PM

caesar1

10-30-07, 02:47 PM

caesar1
the 94 wysp broadcast is purposely synced up with comcast cable analog channel 29 because that is where the powers that be relize most people are tuning into to watch the birds game still. It will not be switched until they feel the majority of viewers have digital reception(atsc or cable/fios/satellite). And when that happens in this market they will probably go with comcast again(most viewers). At least this past week we had Baldy
IMO he is better than most.
Owenf

Well in 2008 they better switch to match the HD feed then, as that is when by law, the digital transition occurs.

Has WYSP actually said this -- or are you guessing. Because I think the target market for the ads during the game might like the possibly higher educated higher income market for HDTV owners. So matching with the HD feed now might make sense.

aindik

10-30-07, 03:00 PM

Well in 2008 they better switch to match the HD feed then, as that is when by law, the digital transition occurs.

Over the air. Not on cable. There is no date by law for a cable transition. The cable companies can take the OTA digital channels and distribute them as down-rezzed analog for as long as they want (though, consent from the broadcaster may be required).

And the date for OTA is 2009.

Has WYSP actually said this -- or are you guessing. Because I think the target market for the ads during the game might like the possibly higher educated higher income market for HDTV owners. So matching with the HD feed now might make sense.

WYSP is co-owned with WPHT (both owned by CBS Radio). The one time I tried it, I've found that the Phillies games were not synced up with analog Channel 57, via Comcast in Cape May county (I was there on vacation). The radio affiliate in Cape May, actually, had the audio synced up with the TV. WPHT, the flagship station, was a few seconds behind. This must either be due to fears of FCC action for expletives in crowd noise, or a digital delay resulting from the switch to HD radio.

Shame that you can't go to the game and listen to the PBP on your radio anymore.

lutton

10-30-07, 06:13 PM

I think the only way to simplify such a setup would be to use something to capture the radio audio the way you can capture video with a DVR. Then you could tweak it to match your video...

I don't know of any audio-only devices like that - although I know a few have been proposed, and some marketed. I might suggest an old ReplayTV or TiVo unit that's been 'decommissioned' from its original use.

Two points about such a setup. First, some DVRs require a video signal, or they think they're not get any signal (even if all you really want is audio anyway) and won't capture/record. Second, any device you choose for such a project needs to be able to capture and playback - delayed - the same source at the same time. This can be an issue for some computer programs and audio players...

update: I guess 'simplify' isn;t the right word for that! :)

hosermike

10-30-07, 10:32 PM

OWENF

10-31-07, 12:14 PM

caesar1

10-31-07, 02:00 PM

caeser1
In september of 2006 Merrill Reese was on 610 wip radio with the morning crew and was fielding calls from the listeners when the subject came up. He stated the only reason they were synced up with comcast analog cable was due to the number of viewers still on analog cable was greater than satellite. No mention of ota. At that time the number of digital comcast cable viewers must have been to low to justify the change.
I agree they should rethink what to sync to but they also need to consider OTA,FIOS
Dishnetwork and Directv.
We will have to wait and see. I personally prefer Digital/atsc OTA. The analog ntsc cut off date is Feb. 17 2009
Regards Owenf

They are just guessing -- I don't see how they could determine who is watching the Eagles, while simultaneously listening (or wanting to listen to) WYSP during Eagles games -- AND whether they are watching the game via analog cable, HD cable, satellite or whatever.

And there could be people like me, who don't even bother to try WYSP anymore, as its been so long since its been listenable, when watching the HD cable feed.

OWENF

10-31-07, 07:33 PM

As of now(2007 season) i believe you are correct in the guessing game of where viewership is But the syncing issue in Sept. 2006 was purposely set to analog comcast cable according to Merrill Reese that morning. They will change sometime when the powers that be at 94 WYSP decide to do so. You know its all about the advertising $.
Regards
Owenf

newsman

10-31-07, 08:56 PM

And who likes to listen to Mike Quick anyway. He is horrible. They really need a new commentator alongside Reese.

Bolo601

11-01-07, 09:47 AM

About two months ago I bought something called a Sport Sync Radio from Amazon.com. It's a transister radio with a sliding delay built into the front. You can delay anywhere from 0 to 8 seconds and comes with jacks to connect to your home stereo.
It ran me 40 bucks and works like a charm. I set it so that Merrill is calling the play at exactly the time it's happening. He 's like The Amazing Kreskin. I leave it hooked up to my stereo for the week because the delay is the same every week.
I went looking for it online this morning and couldn't find it anywhere. Not on Amazon, not on Dicks Sproting Goods, it's like it never existed.

edogg07

11-01-07, 03:58 PM

Here you go: http://www.sportsyncradio.com/sport-sync-how-it-works.html

lutton

11-01-07, 07:58 PM

nice! thanks for the pointers on the audio delay devices...

lutton

11-02-07, 09:50 AM

Flyers visit Washington DC tonight...I wonder if the broadcast will be HD? (Some of the Phillies games out of DC this summer were HD.)

Still, I'm pleased with the widescreen even if HD doesn't make the cut yet.

mike_311

11-02-07, 02:21 PM

They are just guessing -- I don't see how they could determine who is watching the Eagles, while simultaneously listening (or wanting to listen to) WYSP during Eagles games -- AND whether they are watching the game via analog cable, HD cable, satellite or whatever.

And there could be people like me, who don't even bother to try WYSP anymore, as its been so long since its been listenable, when watching the HD cable feed.

I thought that there was no radio delay for eagles games since people want to listen at the game.

I thought I heard somewhere the networks run the "Janet Jackson" delay, and satellite is delayed even more since they have to get the delayed feed from the networks.

caesar1

11-02-07, 02:41 PM

I thought that there was no radio delay for eagles games since people want to listen at the game.

There still is a radio delay. I have season tix and bring a radio to the games. The radio is behind the live action at the game. I listen anyway -- since you miss some stuff when at the game (penalties, replays, etc.).

lutton

11-02-07, 08:00 PM

Flyers are ED not HD...

BUT they just advertised a game next wednesday on CN8! What? They really have to get these games off BS no HD no ED CN8.

GeekGirl

11-02-07, 10:28 PM

Usually, that's due to conflict with the Sixers. Be grateful, there's no CN8 on Verizon FiOS.

QZ1

11-03-07, 01:44 PM

The Sixers have been on CN8, as well, like last night, with the Flyers game on CSN.

donaldsonjune

11-05-07, 06:18 AM

Hello All,

During the pregame (EAGLES vs cowboys) did the former Bears coach (can't remember his name) look red / sunburn-ish?

donaldsonjune

11-06-07, 12:05 PM

Hello All,

Anyone else experience a minor sound problem while watching CSI Miami?Durnig the investigation scenes, the music gets very loud:eek: But when someone begins to talk the sound get lower or normal:confused:

jeepmatt

11-07-07, 08:17 AM

The following changes happened on the New Castle system overnight:

TV Guide – ch. 99 to 100
Weather Channel – ch. 76 to 2
Bulletin Board – ch. 2 to 99
C-SPAN – ch. 77 to 96

However, it looks like when they moved C-SPAN from 77 to 96, they put C-SPAN2 in its place (and it's displaying in the guide like that).

So as of right now, C-SPAN2 is on 96, 98, and 104 - and C-SPAN is missing. I don't watch the channel personally, but I know there must be a lot of viewers out there.

Also, for some odd reason, Game Show Network reappeared on analog channel 42. It's already on digital 179, so not sure why they'd turn an analog slot back on when the goal right now is to remove them for more channel capacity(HD's).

I know a number of other systems in the Philly metro region made changes overnight - so i think it's a good sign that they are aligning things to add some additional HD (CNN, USA, History, Discovery are my 4 picks of what we'll see next)

cappaweet

11-07-07, 08:02 PM

The CN8 picture quality for tonight's Flyers game is horrific. It's like watching a game from the 1980's.

GeekGirl

11-07-07, 08:47 PM

Thanks for making me feel a tiny bit better. I'm missing it totally since I'm on Verizon FiOS.

lutton

11-08-07, 07:42 AM

The CN8 picture quality for tonight's Flyers game is horrific. It's like watching a game from the 1980's.

Comcast needs to implement a second sports channel or at least an alternate channel for overflow sporting events. They also need to put the team playing at home on CSN for HD and let the away team fall to the non HD channel. (That wasn't last nights issue, but it has happened before)

CoffeeEater

11-08-07, 09:30 AM

Bill Geiger

11-09-07, 01:29 PM

JamesDax

11-09-07, 03:23 PM

Hi. I'm using QAM to get HD channels in NW Philly from Comcast, but have two questions:

1. I'm getting Showtime HD and I don't subscribe to Showtime. Is this a limited preview or do you think I'll continue to get Showtime HD?

2. I can't seem to find Fox. Is this harder to get? Right now, I'm getting maybe 15 channels (20 if you count some dupes). I did a scan and can't seem to find it.

I've been getting ShowtimeHD for free ever since the free weekend a couple of weekends ago. All the other Showtime channels are gone and Showtime OnDemand dosn't work anymore but for some reason ShowtimeHD is still on. It's all good. I'll take it while it last.

btw, I'm in NWPhilly also. As for FOX, keep looking. I know that you should have both the SD and HD channels over QAM.

ak3883

11-09-07, 04:06 PM

I found some kind of Showtime channel(has the bug in the lower right) on 103-3, but it's only an SD channel. Not sure what it is.

frantic1049

11-09-07, 06:36 PM

I found some kind of Showtime channel(has the bug in the lower right) on 103-3, but it's only an SD channel. Not sure what it is.

During the recent free Showtime preview, we got at least 4 of the channels on our QAM tuner. I just noticed last night that we still get one of them on 103-6. It appears to be SD, but it's the channel that also is in HD. It's 340 on our stb.

I also noticed last night that we lost a block of channels recently, or they were moved. They were in the 87's & 88's, and included msnbc & tbs. Has anyone else noticed this, or know where they might have been moved? I just did full scans a couple of weeks ago & set up my favorites & hate to have to do it again so soon.

frantic1049

11-09-07, 06:42 PM

frantic1049

11-10-07, 05:35 PM

I also noticed last night that we lost a block of channels recently, or they were moved. They were in the 87's & 88's, and included msnbc & tbs. Has anyone else noticed this, or know where they might have been moved? I just did full scans a couple of weeks ago & set up my favorites & hate to have to do it again so soon.

I found them! They were moved from the 87's & 88's to 26's & 27's. Luckily I only had to run the scan on one tv & can just add those channels into my other. :)

free888

11-11-07, 01:33 PM

Anyone else missing the Fox HD broadcast through QAM? I'm looking for the Eagles game, and Channel 17's HD feed is on 29.1. 17.1 is blank.

frantic1049

11-11-07, 02:06 PM

Anyone else missing the Fox HD broadcast through QAM? I'm looking for the Eagles game, and Channel 17's HD feed is on 29.1. 17.1 is blank.

Where I am, 17.1 is phl 17 HD and the Eagles are in HD on 29.1. I'm not in Philadelphia, but thought the QAM channels would be the same.

free888

11-11-07, 02:21 PM

Where I am, 17.1 is phl 17 HD and the Eagles are in HD on 29.1. I'm not in Philadelphia, but thought the QAM channels would be the same.

That's what it normally is for me. Don't know what's happening today.

CoffeeEater

11-12-07, 09:07 AM

btw, I'm in NWPhilly also. As for FOX, keep looking. I know that you should have both the SD and HD channels over QAM.

By the way, I'm using a QAM TV Tuner in my computer, not an HDTV w/ built-in tuner. My HDTV in the living room has a digital HD box. For the TV tuner in my PC, I have it running straight from the wall into the Digital TV input and I can't find Fox HD.

ShowtimeHD is 28, CW-HD is 96, NBChd, ABChd, and CBShd are in the single digits. I get PBS and some other random HD channels too. I'm also picking up someone's On Demand on 16 i think (it was the movie Knocked Up, but in SD).

I just can't find FoxHD. :(

caesar1

11-12-07, 09:15 AM

By the way, I'm using a QAM TV Tuner in my computer, not an HDTV w/ built-in tuner. My HDTV in the living room has a digital HD box. For the TV tuner in my PC, I have it running straight from the wall into the Digital TV input and I can't find Fox HD.

ShowtimeHD is 28, CW-HD is 96, NBChd, ABChd, and CBShd are in the single digits. I get PBS and some other random HD channels too. I'm also picking up someone's On Demand on 16 i think (it was the movie Knocked Up, but in SD).

I just can't find FoxHD. :(

Try 29.1

smack518

11-12-07, 10:11 AM

ak3883

11-12-07, 06:13 PM

This is kinda related to the discussion from a couple weeks ago but...

During the World Series I would watch the HD broadcasts on Fox through Comcast live, in my Center City apartment(I have HD-DVR through Comast), and I would be talking to my Dad on the phone who's in Atlanta watching the games in SD without a DVR on Comcast. Now just to reiterate, I was watching the game live, I wasn't rewound at all, however I eventually had to hang up because I was 15 seconds delayed to the broadcast my dad was seeing.

We've previously noticed delays of 3-5 seconds, and I just assumed it was because he was in Atlanta and I'm in Philly, but 15 seconds seems like a lot. Does using a DVR cause a greater delay (so the hard drive can cache the stream).

Just curious what could be causing just a big delay.

Not a big deal, just academically curious.

DVR can cause a couple second delay. I've found that it can get up to a few seconds if you have paused it, and hit 'live' again, but if you change channels and go back(clear the buffer) it will be in sync with the HD channel on my TV's tuner(I can tell by turning up the TV speakers). If you think you are delayed, change channels to clear the buffer and go back.

On a random note, I come home from being out of town this weekend and find that a recorded SD program won't play, my TV says "mode not supported" HD channel comes in. So I check my box resolution output settings. They changed on their own, the SD output got changed to "480i" from "none" and the HD output got changed to "480p" from "720p"!

WOW that's Comcastic!

free888

11-13-07, 11:54 AM

Try 29.1
I'm having the same trouble as CoffeeEater on this one. They're now mapping WPHL HD to 29.1. I've been through all my channels both Sunday and Monday, and Fox HD is nowhere to be found.

parisis

11-14-07, 09:58 AM

Channel Moves
I now cannot get the TV guide channel on my Bedroom TVs . My wife is Pi$$ed. They are fairly new TVs ( I got Ch 99 ok) . 100 comes in as snow. I called yesterday and was told they moved it to digital and were getting lots of complaints. I asked the nice man if they had taken their daily stupid pill. They took away the only way to see whats on without a box. Don't tell me to get one as they will not get another cent from me.

Waiting for Fios in Delaware.

jeepmatt

11-14-07, 12:33 PM

Ummm..this was announced in your bill, and also in the paper. The move to digital channel 100 along with the other moves on 11/7 were to make room for new HD channels.

TV Guide channel is a waste as a digital channel let alone sucking up 6 MHz's as an analog. I'm sure if you gripe enough they'll give you a little DCT 700 for a couple bucks a month.

Speaking as an experienced representative, FIOS TV in Delaware is 10x worse than Comcast - so don't count that as a blessing.

cypherstream

11-14-07, 01:48 PM

They changed on their own, the SD output got changed to "480i" from "none" and the HD output got changed to "480p" from "720p"!

WOW that's Comcastic!

The SD output changed to none? What is none??!!! 0 lines of resolution?!! a black screen?!

None was never an option for me. That's really f-d up. If there is a none, what would be the point of that? Turning off the display output?

ak3883

11-14-07, 04:37 PM

The SD output changed to none? What is none??!!! 0 lines of resolution?!! a black screen?!

None was never an option for me. That's really f-d up. If there is a none, what would be the point of that? Turning off the display output?

Haha sorry, meant the "4:3 override" I leave it at off, but it got changed to 480i, which my TV cannot support over HDMI input(only 480p).

They took away the only way to see whats on without a box

There is something called a newspaper that has TV listings, and something Al Gore invented called the internet. TVG channel is about the most useless channel for TV listings, you have to wait forever and listen to the same crap about hollywood actors, it's basically E! or Entertainment Tonight. It's quicker to look up listings on titantv with DIAL-UP than wait for all the listings to come through with that channel. As for being planted in my bed and wanthing to know what's on without getting out of bed, I don't make a habit of channel surfing when I go to bed or if I woke up at 3am.

If it drives you that batty, get a cheap TV with a QAM tuner so you can see TVG network on QAM, Comcast still sends it unencrypted(at least for me)

cypherstream

11-14-07, 05:39 PM

Haha sorry, meant the "4:3 override" I leave it at off, but it got changed to 480i, which my TV cannot support over HDMI input(only 480p).

Oh HAHA,

My TV would do the same. I have a Samsung HP-T4254 Plasma. 480i does not work over the HDMI port. Not sure why, but that's Samsung's issue, not Motorola's.

parisis

11-15-07, 09:51 AM

Gave me a free digital box for a year.

pearsonz

11-17-07, 06:55 PM

All EAGLES fans
Here is how I get Meryl Reese to sync up to the HDTV:

Go to Windows Media Player-Radio, tune to 94.1 hit start. Then use the pause button off and on until you are in sync. I output the PC audio to my home stereo.

GeekGirl

11-18-07, 05:34 PM

Thanks for the tip. However, WYSP was almost in sync today (on FiOS). No idea why. Maybe it's the home crowd factor.

Hackashaq

11-19-07, 10:52 PM

I could not get the game on WYSP internet or Windows Media radio.
They were broadcasting music on the internet. I had the same results a few weeks ago when I tried this. Please let me know how you do it, a link would be helpful. I tried WYSPs own link: http://cbsplayer.streamtheworld.com/index.php?CALLSIGN=WYSPFM and the link from Windows Media Player Radio: http://provisioning.streamtheworld.com/asx/WYSPFMDIALUP.asx Thanks for any help.

All EAGLES fans
Here is how I get Meryl Reese to sync up to the HDTV:

Go to Windows Media Player-Radio, tune to 94.1 hit start. Then use the pause button off and on until you are in sync. I output the PC audio to my home stereo.

RedHillKL

11-20-07, 07:07 AM

Off the Pottstown head-end some of the digital simulcast service QAM's were moved to the lowest QAM channel I've seen so far. Services like MSNBC and TBS were in 87 and 88 have now been moved to 26 and 27. What this change is going to be used for remains to be seen. Expanded VOD, New SDV, more HD's like Sci-Fi, USA, CNN, Discover? we'll see.
Any other headendds doing similar work to clear up spectrum?

jeepmatt

11-20-07, 08:34 AM

RedHill-
The NewCastle system opened up QAM channels 76-77 back on 11/7 by shuffling around 4-5 analogs, along with moving TV Guide from 99 to 100. Hopefully it is to catch up with the appx. now 6 HD's that this area is lagging in when comparing Comcast nationwide.

mystic04

11-20-07, 10:07 AM

jeepmatt

11-20-07, 10:13 AM

Mystic-
I tried FIOS TV for 9 months this year. Had nothing but HELL. Tickets open every month, sometimes every week - pixellation, channels just dropping out, over $400 in service credits - until I finally couldn't stand it anymore.

Have now had Comcast since 10/10 - and couldn't be happier. Not 1 single issue - and the PQ is just as good as VZ.

VZ just announced a 12% increase in prices starting 1/1, along with price increases on their STB's as well.

So - there will be some real fans of FIOS TV - but not in DE for sure. They've had multiple issues / outages, etc. out of the Philly VHO that serves this region.

braveranger

11-20-07, 10:39 AM

I'm in lower bucks county. On HD comcast hd channels, I see a lot of pixelation and color blocks during fast action scences. Is this a comcast signal problem (too much compression) or is my tv (toshiba regza 42hl67) not good enough?
does anyone with the same tv have the same problem?

Thank you.

jeepmatt

11-20-07, 12:53 PM

Brave-
Any specific channels you're seeing it on more than others?

QZ1

11-20-07, 04:00 PM

New to here need a few questions on fios in philly Who has it and how has it been working compared to comcast also prices compared to comcast. think i may have put this in the wrong place if so i am sorry.
At the top of this section, there is a 'U.S. Thread Index', there you will see that this metro area now has a Verizon thread listed.

LMolineux

11-20-07, 10:25 PM

The Mapping for NBC10 for the Clear QAM is not mapping to 10-1 and i have yet to find it. This is Delaware County,PA. I know Channel 3 Maps to 26-1 its normal and future home on OTA.

cypherstream

11-21-07, 01:24 PM

The Mapping for NBC10 for the Clear QAM is not mapping to 10-1 and i have yet to find it. This is Delaware County,PA. I know Channel 3 Maps to 26-1 its normal and future home on OTA.

Oh Channel 3 mapping to 26-1 is normal and the future home?

So eventually after 2009, are they going to update their graphics and branding to say Channel 26 Eyewitness News? Instead of 3 on your side, is it 26 on your side? Why the number change? Got sick of the number 3 for the last 50 years?

What about WHYY mapping to QAM 1-5 here. Don't tell my WHYY is moving from 12 to 1. Channel 1!!!?

braveranger

11-21-07, 01:28 PM

Brave-
Any specific channels you're seeing it on more than others?

Thanks for replying.

I got the worst pixelation while watching "Matrix Revolution" on Cinemax HD.
Expecially when there is lightening on the screen, I see lot of red, green blocks on the actors' face.

ashwinbrao

11-21-07, 06:49 PM

A/Vspec

11-22-07, 09:10 AM

Oh Channel 3 mapping to 26-1 is normal and the future home?

So eventually after 2009, are they going to update their graphics and branding to say Channel 26 Eyewitness News? Instead of 3 on your side, is it 26 on your side? Why the number change? Got sick of the number 3 for the last 50 years?

What about WHYY mapping to QAM 1-5 here. Don't tell my WHYY is moving from 12 to 1. Channel 1!!!?

I would think/hope that after the analog channels are gone they would move the HD digital channels to those spots. It would make the most sense.

stoli412

11-23-07, 11:19 PM

I would think/hope that after the analog channels are gone they would move the HD digital channels to those spots. It would make the most sense.I think most stations will opt to stay on the UHF band and give up their VHF license because their DTV transmitters are already broadcasting at the UHF channel, people have already (re)installed UHF antennas, etc. That doesn't mean channel 3 would suddenly change its branding to channel 26 though. With DTV channel mapping it's completely unnecessary. In fact this is how it's been done in the UK for a long time: the actual broadcast channel is unimportant (and usually unknown to the viewer) since the stations are just known as BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, and Five.

A/Vspec

11-24-07, 07:29 AM

I think most stations will opt to stay on the UHF band and give up their VHF license because their DTV transmitters are already broadcasting at the UHF channel, people have already (re)installed UHF antennas, etc. That doesn't mean channel 3 would suddenly change its branding to channel 26 though. With DTV channel mapping it's completely unnecessary. In fact this is how it's been done in the UK for a long time: the actual broadcast channel is unimportant (and usually unknown to the viewer) since the stations are just known as BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, and Five.

Actually I was refering to the mapping done by the cable companies. I would think for them, they could just put the digital channels on the numbers that used to be analog. So if you tune your HD cable box to say channel 3 you get the HD channel 3 instead of the analog channel 3.

GeekGirl

11-24-07, 09:50 AM

Original Post

I'm in lower bucks county. On HD comcast hd channels, I see a lot of pixelation and color blocks during fast action scences. Is this a comcast signal problem (too much compression) or is my tv (toshiba regza 42hl67) not good enough?
does anyone with the same tv have the same problem?

I have similar pixellation issues in matrix revolutions and I have a panasonic th50px60. It seems to be an issue with comcastDoes the picture seem to "stutter" (jerky picture)? It could also be your STB. Try a cold reboot to see if it goes away. Other than that, it could be an overloaded Comcast system.

I'm on FiOS. The Philly Verizon FiOS thread is here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=792568&page=22

ashwinbrao

11-24-07, 11:33 AM

Original post

Does the picture seem to "stutter" (jerky picture)? It could also be your STB. Try a cold reboot to see if it goes away. Other than that, it could be an overloaded Comcast system.

I have replaced the set top box but the issue is still there. I noticed similiar issues when i watched smoking aces on cinemax. It also happens with on demand programming (especially during the final fight sequence in matrix revolutions).

RedHillKL

11-25-07, 03:26 PM

Here is a new one. Since Comcast Pottstow has moved services to QAM 26, and since comcast is screwing up the PSIP for KYW 3, now my LCD that does great with all the PSIP data from every OTA won't work for KYW.
At 26-1 is an encrypted service, and that physical service is taking precedence to the PSIP 26-1 that comcast has forced KYW to. In my channel scan I can not find KYW at its physical location of 77-2. The PSIP is the guiding function for the TV channel list, but conflict does not allow the channel list to be accurate.
Anyone else see this problem yet? I'm going to contact comcast, but I know it will take me hours to explain it to them, just wanted to see who else is having the same issues? Maybe we can finally get KYW back on the correct PSIP of 3-1.
The whole point of PSIP is to keep the brand "CBS 3" and put it on any OTA/ QAM frequency. The different is the cable systems need to build a separate PSIP table because they take 2 OTA providers, in this case WHYY, and KYW, and stuff them in the same QAM, changing all sorts of ID's. By doing that, comcast builds a different PSIP channel table, even compared to RCN and FIOS since WHYY and KYW are not required to be in the same QAM.

jmaino

11-25-07, 04:25 PM

Hi All - I've searched, but wasn't able to find a complete mapping of the Comcast QAM channels. I just got my first LCD set that has built-in DTV QAM tuning, but would love to know where to look for a comprehensive list of the channel-mappings.. I'm in 19425 - so don't know exactly which "head" or mapping might be feeding me, but would love to know how find out (other than flippin thru 'em 1 by 1...)!

If anyone has this - plz let me know!

Thanks,
-Jim

mitchjs

11-25-07, 10:02 PM

ak3883

11-25-07, 11:11 PM

I just got a new tv, yesterday, JVC 61" DLP 180P....
and im watching my 1st HiDEF football game...
besides that Eagles are playing good (except for Sheldon brown)

the picture is terrible... lots of noise, some blockyness...
but not from all camera angles... some look fantastic
so its it me? comcast? NBC? or worse my new TV

mitch

Welcome to WCAU-DT!!! NBC10's HD picture BLOWS big time. And they are the only major local station w/o local news in HD.

Football games on KYW-DT(CBS HD) are a completely different experience. WTXF-DT(FOX HD) are better than NBC's games, but not nearly as good as CBS.

CBS > FOX > NBC. ESPN is somewhere in the middle, but generally nothing compares with HD football games on CBS.

mitchjs

11-25-07, 11:53 PM

yep, its NBC

tv is fine
im am fine

watching POST GAME LIVE now

and its CLEAR and clean and oh so sexy

what is up with NBC? is it the national broadcast? or our local affialiat?

man, the Eagles gave em that win, spotted them 7
then went for the end zone, when they didnt need too

at least it was enertaining, the last few games, i wanted my 3 hours back :)

mitch

cypherstream

11-26-07, 12:24 AM

I don't know but NBC 10 sucks.

Sometimes during primetime HD shows we see white sparkles in the dark scenes. NBC 10 is also the only major network that does not do any news in HD yet. I remember quite a long time ago I used to make fun of WPVI 6 for using smiley face clouds on a board for weather, and always watching NBC 10's earthwatch 3D weather flyby. Now the tables have turned! I usually watch either KYW or ABC for news, and I couldn't tell you the last time I had NBC 10 on for news. I also think they are robbing too much bandwidth from their HD channel to power their Weather Plus sub channel. I noticed during tonights game that the resolution was severly degraded during high motion scenes. As long as the image was relatively still, it was pretty sharp.

Time for them to get with the program.

And for the guy with the 26-1 QAM mapping problem... what did they do with the analog channels in 26 and 27? It's been awhile since I've used the Pottstown system. You guys do have a better lineup all around than Reading. That's where the Comcast quality line is drawn though. Reading and westward are lagging behind, then there's little ole Service Electric which is doing mighty fine for a small MSO, but they are between Comcast of Reading and Comcast of Pottstown. Seems like Pottstown and eastward are run by a better group of engineers... except for that KYW 26-1 problem.

snatta

11-26-07, 12:35 AM

I am glad to here it is WCAU NBC 10 and not either Comcast or my HDTV too. I had PQ problems last winter watching ER, Friday Night Lights, and Las Vegas, but SNL was perfect. I would watch the 2007 re-runs of Las Vegas on TNT a few weeks later and the picture was perfect. I have noticed this year a bad picture from certain cameras on NBC's football games too. ER, FNL, and LV have been better this year, but still not perfect.

I also noticed CBS HD NFL games have much better sound then Fox. Also, TNT has great sound too on their HD programs and NBA games.

I am watching the Eagles post game live too in HD. Great picture, but no center channel sound. Eagles should've won. As bad as they have been for most of the season, they should be 8-3.:mad:

RedHillKL

11-26-07, 08:47 PM

cmc1002001

11-30-07, 11:33 PM

I was wondering, I just purchased a HDTV with a QAM/ATSC digital tuner and I currently have Comcast Digital Cable with HBO. I was wondering, if I plug in the cable wire directly from the outlet to the TV, will I recieve all of my channels, including the HDTV ones, or will I need to rent another cable box. I live in West Philadelphia BTW. the current black digital cable box comcast gavme doesn't output HDTV though

Chorgey

12-01-07, 08:33 AM

if I plug in the cable wire directly from the outlet to the TV, will I recieve all of my channels, including the HDTV ones, or will I need to rent another cable box.

You should be able to receive all the NTSC and Local HD channels but in order to receive the HD HBO channels, you will need their digital box.

cmc1002001

12-01-07, 03:00 PM

You should be able to receive all the NTSC and Local HD channels but in order to receive the HD HBO channels, you will need their digital box.

I have a digital box, the motorola black one DCT2000, can that one output my HBO service in HDTV

stoli412

12-01-07, 03:59 PM

No, you'll need to get a DCT6200 for HD.

Does your new TV have a CableCard slot? If so then you could just get a card from Comcast instead of a box. That would give you access to all your channels including HBO HD.

carpboy

12-02-07, 11:32 AM

Was here, gone, back again, now gone again....

Sellersville system, had it on at its inception and then a couple of days ago it disappeared, get the "not authorized" message. That night it came back and then the next day went away and has been since.

Anyone know the details of this channel? I have digital preferred. The Comcast website in the channel listings, under 'all' shows the channel. However, if you go through each of the plans they list the channel is not in any of these individual plans.

frantic1049

12-02-07, 05:57 PM

jeepmatt

12-03-07, 08:20 AM

Carp-
NHL Network is part of the Sports & Entertainment Tier. They were giving a free preview to all digital subscribers until 12/1.

RedHillKL

12-07-07, 02:06 PM

frantic1049

12-08-07, 12:09 AM

I would like to thank an unarmed Director at Comcast that resolved the PSIP issue off of the Pottstown Headend. The understanding was Comcast was not changing any of the PSIP information, but after a email discussion, this morning the KYW PSIP has been resolved and is now working properly on 3-1

Thanks for the post. :) Everytime I think I know where to find all the channels, a couple of them move & it's such a pain trying to find them!

diditagain

12-09-07, 04:18 PM

Has Comcast messed with CBS yet again in the Philly suburbs? I tried both 26-1 and 3-1, and neither of them have CBS (KYW) HD.

frantic1049

12-09-07, 04:27 PM

Has Comcast messed with CBS yet again in the Philly suburbs? I tried both 26-1 and 3-1, and neither of them have CBS (KYW) HD.

I couldn't find it all week, since it disappeared from 26-1, but now it is on 3-1 again here!

I also saw that that's where tvguide.com has it listed for Philadelphia broadcast channels, but their listings don't always match up for me. For instance my WHYY HD channel used to be on 12-1, then moved to 1-3. Now tvguide says it's on 12-1, but for me it's 12-3

diditagain

12-09-07, 05:56 PM

CBS on 3-1 finally showed up for me after I rescanned. At least it's back in its proper location -- now if only PBS HD could be moved to 12-1!

ak3883

12-10-07, 12:54 PM

KYW is mapped back to 3-1 for me as well, and WHYY-DT is back at 12-3, with the 2 subchannels at 12-4 and 12-5.

All of these channels are on channels 90-1 to 90-5 for me. This number varies from system to system.

ak3883

12-12-07, 11:21 AM

Found a neat web extra (http://cbs3.com/specialreports/CBS.3.Engineers.2.605760.html) on KYW's new HD building. They talk with the head engineer guy and do go into some details about wiring up the building, etc.

cypherstream

12-12-07, 01:39 PM

Hubcap

12-17-07, 05:26 PM

i have been reading other comcast cities adding new HD channels, Has anyone heard anything about Philly? We seem to always be one of the later cities to receive new channels. Espically with the increase in price coming this january.

ak3883

12-18-07, 08:31 PM

Archangel621

12-18-07, 08:33 PM

I'm having the same problem. It started about 7:50 PM. It's quite annoying as I've resorted to watching the limited analog channels that I am still receiving.

xela19115

12-18-07, 08:38 PM

Anyone else's cable having problems tonight? Most of my analogs are frozen on a still image, and all my digital channels are out, thus the cable box doesn't work.

Internet still works, so it's not a signal issue, they have to be working on something...

Same problem here in Holland, PA. No video and no OnDemand. I have 2 set-top boxes and both are doing exactly the same thing. I tried calling 1-888 number and was told to call later due to the high volume. What a surprise? Duh... I tried to chat with CS online but I'm number 265 as of now.

Comcast? Anybody's driving? You've got a total video outage. Having a problem like that in the area with FIOS TV available is a sure recipe to lose your customers. But since when did Comcast care about its customers?

P.S. And I doubt they are working on something. They probably f'ed up something and trying to fix it. Someone will be experiencing a career ending event there.

Archangel621

12-18-07, 08:44 PM

It's back! w00t.

sincewednesday

12-18-07, 08:51 PM

Wow, great job Comcast. :rolleyes: It was out in Philly city too. Only the true analogs (not the digital SD nor HD) and for some reason, FOOD and TBS HD and perhaps 1-2 others in that narrow channel range.

silverfade80

12-18-07, 10:41 PM

It looks like Comcast was out at the Wachovia Center (South Philly) too, because Flyers' beat writer Tim Panaccio reported that Comcast SportsNet went down for a time in his game recap. That turned out to be an incorrect assessment, but I'm guessing the TV in the press box went dark and he assumed it was just the game feed.

For what its worth, it was down here in Churchville, and also in Fairless Hills, PA (both areas in Bucks County). I've also seen posts on Flyers' message boards indicating that the problem spread into New Jersey as well.

newsman

12-18-07, 11:29 PM

No problems with satellite here tonight. :D

silverfade80

12-19-07, 12:15 AM

Well, none other than the fact that you couldn't watch the Flyers game. :)

jeepmatt

12-19-07, 08:24 AM

Hmmm..didn't have any outages in DE.

cypherstream

12-19-07, 12:22 PM

I think it had to do something with the Philly area regional digital headend. Analog is added in at the local hubsites (as well as CDV and HSI), and analog worked, except for a few channels which it pulls from the digital headend that were frozen.

For instance East-Central PA where I am has a master headend in Lebanon, PA. There are at least 3 other hub sites fed from there which the local analog lineup, CDV, and HSI data is spliced in.

If something happened to the master headend (where digital comes from) anyone with a box would not have service. But bypassing the box would reveal if the analog system is still functional at the local hub site. (Mine's in Reading, PA). Our system was fine all night, but like I said our digital headend is in Lebanon, whereas the Philly's one is in Norristown I think?

newsman

12-19-07, 08:21 PM

Well, none other than the fact that you couldn't watch the Flyers game. :)You are right. I couldn't. ;)

[rant on]But, I couldn't give a rat's rear end about the Flyers, Sixers, nor Phillies. So, CSN would be a waste of space for me. On the other hand, I don't have to pay extra for the NFL Network - it is on the lowest tier of programming for my satellite service. I am not a prisoner to Comcast and their ever raising rates and lack of customer service. I am going to stop the bashing, as everyone on here already knows all about their "services."[/rant off]

Midd

12-21-07, 07:13 PM

You may or may not remember that I posted here about my complaint to the BBB in May regarding Comcast's move of the NFL network to the Digital Sports Tier. What it boiled down to was that I subscribed to the Triple Play Package. A few weeks after I was on board, I received notice about the move and that if I wanted the channel back, I would have to pay the $4.95 per month.

My complaint dealt with the fact that Comcast clearly labeled this channel as a part of the Triple Play Package. For them to do what they did resulted in a price increase for a channel that I was paying for. Clearly a retraction of their "no price increase guarantee."

Well Comcast finally got back to me the other day. The BBB had lost my complaint. And for a while denied it even existed.

Anyhow, I got a small victory. They agreed that I was right in my complaint but the guy I talked to could only give me a 6 months for 1.99. However they are going to credit me the full amount that I have had it (3 months worth). I was planning on cancelling the package after the NHL season since I really only got the package for the NHL network.

QZ1

12-22-07, 12:25 PM

Anyhow, I got a small victory. They agreed that I was right in my complaint but the guy I talked to could only give me a 6 months for 1.99. However they are going to credit me the full amount that I have had it (3 months worth). I was planning on cancelling the package after the NHL season since I really only got the package for the NHL network.
S&E Pack for 6 mos. at $2/mo. is the deal being advertised on TV. They should credit you for S&E Pack for the rest of the promo period; probably not worth the effort for you to pursue it further, though.

LongRufus

12-22-07, 07:00 PM

cappaweet

12-23-07, 01:41 PM

Browns Bengals game today is not in HD on CBS here in exton. is that way across the area?

QZ1

12-23-07, 01:45 PM

I just got the rate card in my bill with the January price increases and I couldn't believe they jacked up the DVR fees again. Starting January 1st, I will be paying almost $25/month for just one DVR, no additional outlets or STBs. That's insane. I can buy a TivoHD for $299 and even with the $12.95 monthly fee still pay less than Comcast wants to charge me. Tivo is even cheaper if I go for one of their prepaid yearly plans. I probably won't make any changes to my package until after the Super Bowl, but the DVR is definitely going back to Comcast in February.
I just got the new price card for Willow Grove, PA, and here it is $13.95 to upgrade from the SD box included in Digital service to the HD DVR; this price is common in many areas. Maybe you misread the card? I haven't heard of more than a $1 difference in other areas, and that was at an early price increase.

Bill Geiger

12-23-07, 05:54 PM

Browns Bengals game today is not in HD on CBS here in exton. is that way across the area?

I actually emailed CBS3 about that and within 10 minutes, they switched. Don't know if my email did it, I am just glad they switched.

Bill Geiger

12-23-07, 05:56 PM

For my extra DVR/HD box I am paying $18.90...oh well.

I also signed up for the Sports Package for $1.99 per month for 6 months. They had problems adding it because of all the promotions I was able to take advantage of a couple weeks ago (Free Starz & Showtime for 1 year, discounted Internet etc.)

LongRufus

12-23-07, 07:25 PM

I just got the new price card for Willow Grove, PA, and here it is $13.95 to upgrade from the SD box included in Digital service to the HD DVR; this price is common in many areas. Maybe you misread the card? I haven't heard of more than a $1 difference in other areas, and that was at an early price increase.

My 6412 DVR is my only box, on a single outlet. Right now Comcast is charging me $3.90 a month for a Digital Converter and remote as part of my Digital Preferred package. They then charge me another $5 for what they call am "incremental charge for HDTV converter". Then they add the current $11.95 DVR fee. The new price card has my preferred package going up $3.25, the incremental fee going up $1 and the DVR up $2. Even assuming the converter and remote portion of my preferred package stays at $3.90, my new monthly fees to Comcast for my one and only box will be $23.85.

I've made several calls to both the 800 and local Comcast numbers trying to get the incremental charge taken off, but the CSRs are all adamant that it is correct. Once football is over I will be returning my DVR and dropping down to limited basic for a few months to see if I notice a difference. To be honest, the only HD channels other than the networks that I watch on any kind of regular basis are CSN-HD and ESPN-HD and I'm not sure they are worth the $75 difference between my current package and limited basic.

GeekGirl

12-23-07, 07:48 PM

I actually emailed CBS3 about that and within 10 minutes, they switched. Don't know if my email did it, I am just glad they switched. Thanks! Was watching on FiOS during the Eagles commercials.

JamesDax

12-23-07, 09:36 PM

I sent a couple of emails to comcast and got a call from them. Pretty much what they said was that Philly shouldn't expect any new HD channels until "early 2008".

newsman

12-23-07, 09:45 PM

Browns Bengals game today is not in HD on CBS here in exton. is that way across the area?I had no problems with it on OTA.

donaldsonjune

12-23-07, 09:50 PM

Hello All,

What happen to USA HD?

QZ1

12-24-07, 12:28 PM

For my extra DVR/HD box I am paying $18.90...oh well.
Yes, addtional DVRs are indeed price differently, because one has to pay a full fee for the box. Conversely, on first boxes, a fee is assessed for upgrading the included box.

The Digital services include a box/remote that is otherwise priced at $3.95. In '08, the first DVR is effectively $3.95 + $13.95 = $17.90.

So, the second DVR at $18.90 is effectively $1 more, and that includes the mirroring of all services.

QZ1

12-24-07, 12:40 PM

My 6412 DVR is my only box, on a single outlet. Right now Comcast is charging me $3.90 a month for a Digital Converter and remote as part of my Digital Preferred package. They then charge me another $5 for what they call am "incremental charge for HDTV converter". Then they add the current $11.95 DVR fee. The new price card has my preferred package going up $3.25, the incremental fee going up $1 and the DVR up $2. Even assuming the converter and remote portion of my preferred package stays at $3.90, my new monthly fees to Comcast for my one and only box will be $23.85.

I've made several calls to both the 800 and local Comcast numbers trying to get the incremental charge taken off, but the CSRs are all adamant that it is correct.
Few people on AVS pay attention to the included non-itemized Digital Box in Digital Starter/Classic/Preferred; I occasionally mention this, however, as part of the effective cost of upgraded boxes.

So, there is $3.90 + $5 + $13.95 = $22.85.

It really should be $17.85. The $5 should be removed; some never get this fee, others do, but can get it removed, but still others can't. All you can do is explain to them that it's an HD box upgrade fee, and you haven't opted for that, rather you have opted for the DVR box upgrade. Furthermore, there is no HD service per se, rather HD channels are part of their respective services, as per the Channels/Services Card.

BTW, thie Channels/Services Card should arrive in January, as opposed to the Prices/Services Card which arrives in December. Really, both should be sent before the new year, but aren't.

ak3883

12-24-07, 07:06 PM

I just got the rate card in my bill with the January price increases and I couldn't believe they jacked up the DVR fees again. Starting January 1st, I will be paying almost $25/month for just one DVR, no additional outlets or STBs. That's insane. I can buy a TivoHD for $299 and even with the $12.95 monthly fee still pay less than Comcast wants to charge me. Tivo is even cheaper if I go for one of their prepaid yearly plans. I probably won't make any changes to my package until after the Super Bowl, but the DVR is definitely going back to Comcast in February.

It's up to "only" 14.99 in lower bucks(from 11.99). Your first HD box programming fee should be included with digital cable, so you only pay the now 14.95 for 1 DVR. I have never paid anything but the one flat fee for my DVR, last year it was 11.95, the year before 9.95. Guess I'm lucky that my area does it this way.

QZ1

12-25-07, 04:00 PM

It's up to "only" 14.99 in lower bucks(from 11.99).
Surprising, as the nearby Willow Gove system has the DVR for $13.95 in '08.
Your first HD box programming fee should be included with digital cable, so you only pay the now 14.95 for 1 DVR.
That is not correct. Digital services include an SD box. Here, it now costs $6.50 to upgrade that to an HD box; or one can opt to upgrade it an HD DVR box for $13.95 (or $14.95 in your area). The reason there should be no HD fee for a DVR sub, as I had mentioned, is that one would not be renting a HD box, obviously; and there is/are no HD service(s) per se.
I have never paid anything but the one flat fee for my DVR, last year it was 11.95, the year before 9.95. Guess I'm lucky that my area does it this way.
Plenty of areas have it that way. The problem for some subs was when the upgraded from HD box to HD DVR box, the HD fee remained, and CSRs tried to pass it off as being for programming, but many were able to get it removed. But, even some who start out with an HD DVR have the HD fee, and some claim it is Comcast's policy in their area; without seeing what is in writing, we can't be sure, though.

aindik

12-26-07, 11:54 AM

QZ1

12-26-07, 12:56 PM

I recently turned in my Comcast DVR in exchange for a M-Card CableCARD to put in my TiVoHD. On my account I currently have the M-Card (they're trying to charge me $2 a month for it and I'm arguing with them about it) and a second SD box in a different room (for which I'm paying $8.90). If I also want an HD non-DVR box, so I can watch On Demand, can anyone reasonably estimate how much my cable bill would increase?
Since you pay $8.90 for the second outlet, that means you have Digital Classic or Preferred.

If you want to mirror all of your services on the third box, it would be $8.90 Digital Preferred A/O (SD box and mirroring) + $6.50 to upgrade the included box to an HD box = $15.40.

JTFX6552

12-26-07, 10:17 PM

caesar1

12-27-07, 09:30 AM

Anyone have the mappings for Springfield Delco?

My mom just got a QAM equipped HD TV for christmas and she doesn't have a cable box.

When I went over to set up the TV, I found the "VHF" HDs right were I thought they'd be (3.1,6.1,10.1, etc) but I couldn't find Fox or CWs digital channels?

Anybody know ehere they are?

Thanks in advance,

JT

Try 29.1 for Fox and I think 17.1 for CW. And don't forget 12.1 for WHYY (PBS).

I'm in Marple Township Delco. I get all of the above -- plus you'll get Universal HD with the QAM tuner. I forget the number for that though. Its pretty high up.

diditagain

12-27-07, 10:27 AM

3.1 CBS HD
6.1 ABC HD
6.2 6ABC Plus (repeats of shows like 20/20, Perspective NJ, etc.)
6.3 Action News Now (weather updates all day)
10.1 NBC HD
10.2 NBC Weather Plus
12.3 PBS HD (for some reason, this has never mapped to 12.1)
12.4 PBS Arts
12.5 PBS Wider Horizons (programming geared toward people 50+)
17.1 My Network TV HD
29.1 Fox HD
57.1 CW HD
57.2 Universal HD

The digital versions of some analog channels are also available via QAM, but with weird mappings, and sometimes Comcast seems to randomly decide to change the mappings. It might be best to do a scan, then physically look through the channels the TV found and make a list. I jotted a few down a while back, but there are more:

79.x to 80.x were digital versions of many of the "lower number" analog channels (all the local networks, the local access channels, etc.)
82.x had two of the C-SPANs, I think, plus the shopping channels
89.2 History Channel
89.6 Weather Channel

JTFX6552

12-27-07, 11:40 AM

Thanks!

JT

cypherstream

12-27-07, 02:12 PM

That's pretty much the same in Reading PA now also.

For the longest time CBS 3 was on 26-1 and WHYY was on 1-5. I just did a full scan on my TV and it corrected those. So I guess if the PSIP changes, I have to do a full scan on my TV for it to pick up, because before my scan I still had 26-1 and 1-5, and after my scan they are on the proper numbers now.

We don't have Universal HD on 57-2 like you though. The only non network HD channel we used to get was VS/Golf HD on 100 something. Now it doesn't even show up.

After my scan some odd ones show up here and there like Fox Soccer Channel, History, TMC, Weatherscan, Comedy Central, etc.. On demand is from channels 83-1 through 86-12 here. All of our digital simulcast is from 75-1 through 81-12, and the basic channels seem to be in the clear. Music choice is also unencrypted in our area and there's about 7-9 music choice channels per QAM from 91 through 94 and 100, and one on 104-21.

aindik

12-27-07, 03:52 PM

Since you pay $8.90 for the second outlet, that means you have Digital Classic or Preferred.

If you want to mirror all of your services on the third box, it would be $8.90 Digital Preferred A/O (SD box and mirroring) + $6.50 to upgrade the included box to an HD box = $15.40.

Comcast has a buried FAQ that says they'll give you a box "at no additional charge" on the same outlet where the cablecards are. Anyone ever use that?

Q: I thought that by purchasing a digital-cable-ready TV set that I would receive the same services I currently get with my Digital Cable box. If I can’t get the same services with a CableCARD, why am I being charged the same price?
A: Your digital cable-ready TV can receive all of the Digital Cable services you currently enjoy which are included in your monthly subscription fee; however certain features will require a Digital Cable box. Comcast is happy to provide you with a Digital Cable box at no additional charge for your primary cable outlet.*

Note, the asterisk seems to refer to nothing in particular.

http://www.comcast.com/customers/faq/FaqDetails.ashx?ID=2540

Can I assume, if that FAQ is true, that the charge is $6.50 a month for an HD box?

Even so, I'm not sure that's worth it to watch On Demand (yes, I know I could watch SD On Demand for free with an SD box, but that's not what I want).

Hypothetically speaking, how do they know whether a box is on my "primary cable outlet" or not?

GeekGirl

12-27-07, 04:36 PM

Anyone having problems getting OTA HD via the QAM tuner (coax input, no STB)? A number of Verizon FiOS subscribers (including me) have had problems getting HD channels via the tuner and have started a small flame war over in the Verizon FiOS forum on DSL Reports: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19439993-QAM-Changes-from-Philly-VHO~days=10~start=140#19689714

Verizon blames the TV manufacturers, but the subscribers blame Verizon. Difference seems to be that Verizon doesn't modify the PSIP data in the broadcast HD channel for cable format, which causes decoding problems from some brands of TV. My Sammy has no problem, but Vizio is clueless.

Also posted in the ComCast alternatives thread:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12598856#post12598856

Tokar

12-27-07, 05:33 PM

I just did a scan on my analog cable (I'm in Penn Valley with Comcast) using my QAM tv tuner card. This is what I got:

102 - ???
103 - ???
103 - ???
103 - ???
103 - ???
103 - ???
103 - ???
103 - ???
103 - ???
103 - ???
103 - ???
103 - ???
108 - ???
108 - ???
108 - ???
108 - ???
108 - Channel 1 On Demand Previews
109 - ???
109 - ???
109 - WAPA America
110 - UPN-DT
110 - Universal HD

All the channels with "???" either get good reception and no image or just dont get a great lock on the signal.

4jct

12-28-07, 10:25 AM

I recently pruchased the Westinghouse sk-26h240s TV for my home gym (certainly a budget TV after seeing the picture/sound quality). I hooked it up to the cable in the wall (without cable box) and did the auto channel search. To my surprise, broadcast network HD channels were in the line up such as NBC, ABC, FOX, and WHYY. They were listed as channel 6.1, 6.2, 10.1, etc. - along with the regular signals on 6.0 and 10.0 channels.

Other channels such Discovery, Speed, and Bravo appeared as 61.1, 108.13, and 116.1 for example, but did not appear to be HD. Therefore, there were 2 signals for many of these channels - one as "x.0" and the other as "x.1".

How can this be?

After seeing this, I disconnected the cable box on the Sony Bravia kdl-46s2010 and ran the auto channel search. However, no HD channels were captured. I noticed that the Sony remote has a decimal button on the number pad which I never noticed before, but pressing it doesn't make a decimal appear on the screen as it does with the Westinghouse.

Background: I have a cable box to get the expanded channel list (up from basic cable), but no HD channels for the Sony. The Westinghouse is hooked up without any cable box. There is no aerial. I live in Princeton and have Comcast cable, but no HD service yet.

What are all these "x.1" channels? How can I get the broadcast network HD channels on the Sony too?

Thanks!!

GeekGirl

12-29-07, 07:12 AM

Tokar - The ??? channels are probably encrypted, i.e. those are the ones you need the STB for. I can't confirm since I'm on Verizon FiOS right now, but I'm pretty sure that's it.

4jct - x.1 means that those are "digital" channels. Being digital does not mean HD. Your TV probably is reporting them as 480i SD. Search this thread and you'll see other posters with a channel list (channel "map"). The only channels your TV should find in HD are the local OTA (broadcast) channels. The rest are encrypted, meaning you need the STB and HD service.

Have you tried just scanning through your Sony's channel list (hit "up" on the remote) to see if it finds the HD broadcast stations on a different channel number? Sometimes the TV misinterprets the digital data (PSIP info that's part of the signal) and puts it on the cable's RF channel number instead of where you expect to find it. IOW, it's not where you think it should be.

If you still have the problem, that's good info as this is an apples-vs-apples comparison of Comcast. Same feed, different TVs.

bykes

12-29-07, 08:17 AM

Hello all. This is my first time posting in this area of the forum.

I feel the need to vent to some people who probably feel my frustration. On a recent trip to my Sisters house in Canton, CT my brother in law has hooked up his new HD set and Comcast HD DVR. I was suprised that he has a few more HD Channels than myself here in Philly. Those being, USA HD, CNN HD, Discovery HD(Not HDT) and I think one or two others that I cannot think of right now. These are in addition to the same channels I get here in Philly.

Isn't this total BS? I mean isn't Philadelphia Comcasts HQ? I called Comcast about this and got some BS answer about it has to do with the franchise or some crap. Has anyone got more info about when we can expect more HD here in Philadelphia?

QZ1

12-29-07, 02:07 PM

I hooked it up to the cable in the wall (without cable box) and did the auto channel search. To my surprise, broadcast network HD channels were in the line up such as NBC, ABC, FOX, and WHYY. They were listed as channel 6.1, 6.2, 10.1, etc. - along with the regular signals on 6.0 and 10.0 channels.

After seeing this, I disconnected the cable box on the Sony Bravia kdl-46s2010 and ran the auto channel search. However, no HD channels were captured. I noticed that the Sony remote has a decimal button on the number pad which I never noticed before, but pressing it doesn't make a decimal appear on the screen as it does with the Westinghouse.

What are all these "x.1" channels? How can I get the broadcast network HD channels on the Sony too?
Since both TV remotes have a '.', it sounds like both TVs have Digital tuners, but not the same type of tuner.

Probably, one TV has an ATSC- 8VSB/QAM tuner; and the other TV has an ATSC- 8VSB tuner.
The former picks up Digital channels- OTA and Cable; the latter picks up just Digital channels- OTA.

Note, the former is usually called ATSC/QAM, (sometimes the QAM isn't even mentioned in the specs); the latter is usually called ATSC.

QZ1

12-29-07, 02:10 PM

Has anyone got more info about when we can expect more HD here in Philadelphia?
Others have inquired about it, and supposedly it will be 'early '08'.
Some other areas are getting several HD channels on ~8 Jan., so maybe we will, as well.

cypherstream

12-29-07, 03:14 PM

Others have inquired about it, and supposedly it will be 'early '08'.
Some other areas are getting several HD channels on ~8 Jan., so maybe we will, as well.

Last I heard was 8 HD's in Reading on or near Jan 31st.

cypherstream

12-29-07, 11:29 PM

Saturday Night NFL brodcast - Initial observation

I'd have to say in terms of HD quality from first to last:

1. NFL HD
2. CBS HD
3. NBC HD

Wow NBC HD has low audio and lots of detail loss! HD-Lite anyone?
CBS HD is pretty good, but it's a little smoother. Details in the field get a little lost at the line of scrimmage.
NFL HD looks the sharpest in my area.

Looking at it closer I did notice two things...

NBC is the only one with the DD 5.1 indicator on the guide. I don't have a DD 5.1 sound system so I cannot really compare audio between the three networks it's on in our area.

The NBC looks the worst during motion. It seems the channel is bit starved and as the movement increases the quality is robbed. Our local NBC affiliate also is the only news station in Philly without an HD newscast (besides The CW). But I've heard that NBC was the first to go HD, so they may be using first generation encoders. They also are running a 24 hour weather subchannel. NBC 10 also has problems during primetime NBC shows where slight sparkles riddle the feed. It's not as bad as when Hero's first started it's season this year.

Our CBS affiliate does not have any subchannels, so bandwidth is not 'robbed' as badly as NBC.

If the source is NFL Network HD, and they are not providing a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, then where is NBC getting DD 5.1 sound information from? Are they bringing the DD 2.0 to ProLogic, and then encoding that to DD 5.1?

I always find the source is the best in terms of image clarity. Even when Monday night games are on both ESPN and ABC, the ESPN feed looks much sharper, most likely due to the fact the signal is coming from the source, and not remuxed with ABC's two subchannels.

GeekGirl

12-30-07, 10:09 AM

Interesting, as I have Verizon FiOS and I agree with the PQ ranking. Also agree that the source is always the best. Didn't check audio.

QZ1

12-30-07, 12:23 PM

Last I heard was 8 HD's in Reading on or near Jan 31st.
Those would be:

Sci-Fi HD
Animal Planet HD
Discovery HD
The Learning Channel HD
NHL Network HD
USA Network HD
The History Channel HD
CNN HD

Correct?

cypherstream

12-30-07, 01:36 PM

Those would be:

Sci-Fi HD
Animal Planet HD
Discovery HD
The Learning Channel HD
NHL Network HD
USA Network HD
The History Channel HD
CNN HD

Correct?

I'm not exactly sure, CSR rep didn't have a full list.

Those would be nice, but were still missing FoodHD, HGTVHD A&E HD and TBS HD. Also, what about The Science Channel HD?

She did mention Discovery HD and A&E HD, but did not mention the rest.

mc1280

01-02-08, 08:58 PM

Has anyone else noticed the HBO HD on demand has disappeared? There used to be a listing for Comcast in on demand for HBO HD. Where has it gone?

cypherstream

01-02-08, 11:12 PM

What the F- is up with NBC10 shrinking down Law and Order in Postage stamp mode partway through part 2 tonite? They suck!

newsman

01-02-08, 11:56 PM

What the F- is up with NBC10 shrinking down Law and Order in Postage stamp mode partway through part 2 tonite? They suck!They have engineers on duty in the evening. Give a call to their newsdesk 610-668-5705. Politely let their assignment desk know what is going on. They'll contact the engineer on duty and he/she can (hopefully) take care of it.

djdez

01-04-08, 10:50 PM

I have a 42" Panansonic Plasma HDTV with built-in QAM tuner than gets all the network HD's and number of digital channels on Comcast (no box). I had all the music channels too, until they encrypted them, except for one which still remains. For a while, I also had Universal HD at 111-2, but it has been gone for quite a few months now.

So, I get a new 32" Westinghouse LCD HDTV for the bedroom and run through the channel scan (again, through the coax, no cable box) and get mostly the same channels, plus a few other digitals, however they are in slightly different locations. This tv also has a built-in QAM tuner.

The kicker is, this new tv GETS Universal HD at 111-2, and the other tv does not - I rescanned twice AND looked in different locations on the Panasonic for it and cannot find it, anywhere!

It's the SAME damn cable line coming into the house and both tv's have QAM tuners ... so, I ask - how is this possible, and has anything like this happened to anyone else using Comcast with different tv's and QAM tuners in their house ???

It's driving me crazy !!!:eek:

frantic1049

01-05-08, 12:36 AM

My 2 JVC's get all the channels in the same locations, but my kids' 2 Viewsonics have several of them in slightly different locations.

GeekGirl

01-05-08, 02:06 PM

Might be the way the TV manufacturer is interpreting the PSIP info (the data sent as part of the HD signal that tells the TV what it should do). There are a number of complaints that Verizon FiOS screwed this up for the OTA (local broadcast) channels. Discussed over on dslreports.com, but I posted in this thread as well: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12602007&postcount=8900.

Thought that ComCast did it correctly and the problem was only with Verizon. Is the problem only with local broadcast or all the HD channels (those that are in the clear, i.e. not encrypted)? Maybe it's because more and more people are starting to actually watch these channels? I'm on Verizon FiOS.

frantic1049

01-05-08, 08:30 PM

Thought that ComCast did it correctly and the problem was only with Verizon. Is the problem only with local broadcast or all the HD channels (those that are in the clear, i.e. not encrypted)? Maybe it's because more and more people are starting to actually watch these channels? I'm on Verizon FiOS.

Our locals are all the same, including the HD channels. It seems to be the unencrypted digital versions of non-local channels that are off. For example on the JVCs the History Channel is at 77.8, but on the Viewsonics it is at 77.2 Other channels similar to this are ABC family, MSNBC, the shopping channels, etc. After seeing this, I also thought that it was the tuners. Lucky I have 2 different brands of tvs to check out, and 2 tvs or each brand! :D

wjjz106

01-07-08, 10:32 AM

Does anyone else miss "The Tube" station?

maxman

01-07-08, 06:00 PM

Does anyone else miss "The Tube" station?

Somewhat, but not all that much. Hadn't thought about it since it left the air.

maddogFool

01-08-08, 01:03 PM

I'm a little late to the party on this, but...
Comcast has a buried FAQ that says they'll give you a box "at no additional charge" on the same outlet where the cablecards are. Anyone ever use that?

http://www.comcast.com/customers/faq/FaqDetails.ashx?ID=2540

Can I assume, if that FAQ is true, that the charge is $6.50 a month for an HD box?

Even so, I'm not sure that's worth it to watch On Demand (yes, I know I could watch SD On Demand for free with an SD box, but that's not what I want).

Hypothetically speaking, how do they know whether a box is on my "primary cable outlet" or not?
Does anybody have any idea how to go about getting billed this way? Are the CSR's trained up on for this? This is exactly what I've got (for slightly different reasons--I also use capture video from the STB Firewire port). My CableCard TV also has the STB on it, and in fact we did use it New Year's Eve for VOD. It sure would be nice not to have to pay that stupid additional digital outlet fee. Of course, I should look actually look at my bill -- maybe it is already charged like this.

Hiway49

01-09-08, 12:58 AM

QZ1

01-09-08, 12:45 PM

Alright, I'm very new to this HD thing. I have a Comcast box (Motorola HD box, that's what they gave me when I signed up) and a SD TV right now (but getting HD next week).

Thing is, I can SEE all the "HD" channels right now. They even look sharper on my SD TV. But I haven't upgraded to the "HD Service". Am I missing something? Are those channels already broadcasting to me in HD even though I haven't paid for it? I'm so confused...
Comcast doesn't have an HD service per se; rather, they provide you with an HD Box or CableCard to allow access to those HD channels within your subscribed services.

While we have received the 2008 Prices/Services Card, we are still awaiting the Channels/Services Card. However, we already know HD Locals are in Basic. (Basic is required for all subscribers.) HD Premiums are within each Premium.

The only channels that can change are the non-premium 'cable' channels. They used to require just Digital Classic; but, based on a service notice from Sept., they now require Digital Classic and Expanded.

GeekGirl

01-09-08, 05:27 PM

boss GT

01-10-08, 08:54 AM

Hello, I am new to this forum:

Wanted to see if someone can shed some light on my issue….. We have comcast expanded service (not digital) and I am experiencing a similar situation as one of the other posts here where the person has the panasonic and westignhouse HD issue. I have two HDTV's in the house, a Panasonic plasma upstairs - 42" (model escapes me, bought a little over a year ago), and a Samsung 30" TX-S3080WH slimfit HDTV. Both TV's were purchased at the same time. With the Panasonic, we get all the standard cable channels plus the HD channels such as 3.1, 6.1, 6.2, 10.1, etc (no cable card, no cable box, just the coax plugged right into the back.) However, on the Samsung HDTV, I have done every scan imaginable, and pick up all the standard cable channels, but it will not recognize any of the digital HD channels…. I can't get 3.1, 6.1, etc. One footnote to add, both sets are being fed by the exact same cable input coming into the house, which is then split into two feeds with one going to each TV. This is driving me crazy too as I cannot understand why the Samsung won't recognize the HD programming. Any suggestions? Is it a tunner issue related to the different brands? Do I need to "add" an HD cable box from comcast for the Samsung? I am out of troubleshooting ideas…. Thanks in advance for your help/suggestions.

LongRufus

01-10-08, 10:44 AM

QZ1

01-10-08, 12:52 PM

Hiway49 - If your TV was purchased within the last few years, it's tuner can decode the HD signals.
You should only be able to "see" the local broadcast channels.
Not necessarily; while ATSC-QAM (Unencrypted Digital Cable) tuners have been voluntarily included in increasingly more TVs, along with ATSC-8VSB (Digital OTA) tuners, it is only in about the last 1.33 - 1.5 years that they have they become very common, but still not always included.

bigmakstudios

01-10-08, 06:29 PM

i should technically be posting about this in the Pennsylvania Comcast thread, since that's the regional service I subscribe to, but no one's posted about this problem there. anyway, like quite a few others, when I performed an auto-search for cable channels on my LCD's QAM tuner, I lost quite a few HD channels I had previously received including all of the local HD sub-channels. I was searching for the channels because I noticed a huge plummet in picture quality from "HD" channels, so I wanted to check how strong the signal was (which requires me to search for channels). It looked extremely soft and was covered in macroblocking, whereas, the picture quality several days ago and earlier had been nearly perfect, and very... sharp.
so... does anyone know what's going on? Isn't Comcast legally obligated to broadcast local channels unencrypted?
Also, why was there a significant drop in picture quality? I didn't change anything on my end...
I live in central jersey btw

I posted about this in the NY, NY Comcast thread, but I receive Cable from Philadelphia Comcast, so I thought I should post it here too. Does anyone know why it's happening? Has anyone else here even had this problem?

ak3883

01-11-08, 06:07 PM

Found that Comcast moved channels 87 and 88 down to 26 and 27. These were empty, right in the middle of the must carry/crappy independant stations. They kept all the same subchannels, and same channels are still in the clear.

SO we just found room for 4 more HD channels on 87 and 88.:D

frantic1049

01-11-08, 07:48 PM

With the Panasonic, we get all the standard cable channels plus the HD channels such as 3.1, 6.1, 6.2, 10.1, etc (no cable card, no cable box, just the coax plugged right into the back.) However, on the Samsung HDTV, I have done every scan imaginable, and pick up all the standard cable channels, but it will not recognize any of the digital HD channels…. I can't get 3.1, 6.1, etc. One footnote to add, both sets are being fed by the exact same cable input coming into the house, which is then split into two feeds with one going to each TV. This is driving me crazy too as I cannot understand why the Samsung won't recognize the HD programming. Any suggestions? Is it a tunner issue related to the different brands? Do I need to "add" an HD cable box from comcast for the Samsung? I am out of troubleshooting ideas…. Thanks in advance for your help/suggestions.

I bought HD tvs for my daughters for christmas & plugged them into the cable in my bedroom to test them. In my room, they both picked up the local HD's as well as UHD. When we moved them to their rooms, one still picked up the same channels, but the other didn't get the HD channels. That room never seemed to have as good a signal as the other 2 rooms, which all come off the same cable split. In anticipation of the new tv's, we ran new RG6 to all the bedrooms, as well as a new/better splitter. The signal improved in our room from the new cable & splitters, but I'm thinking now we need to amplify it, so all the tv's can pick up the HD channels.

Also, when we got the hdtv in our bedroom, the signal was too weak to pick up the unencrypted HD channels, but it was run through a vcr. I took the vcr out of the equation & the signal strength increased enough to get the HD's but with a lot of tiling. The new cable & splitter gave us perfect HD channels.

Hiway49

01-13-08, 12:57 PM

Hiway49 - If your TV was purchased within the last few years, it's tuner can decode the HD signals. The only problem is that it's not going to fit in your SD's display format, 4:3, so it will put black bars around the picture. Your new HD TV should have the right screen shape (16:9), so the "true" HD material will fit the screen dimensions exactly.

You should only be able to "see" the local broadcast channels, not the ones above the basic tier. Note that you have to enter a "-1" or "-2" after the channel on the remote, like 3-1 or 6-1 to get the HD channels (or hit up/down on the remote to find them).

Hmm...well Comcast gave me an HD box when they installed my cable a few months back. I'm on Digital Preferred. I got my HD set the other day and I have a bunch of "HD" channels that are found somewhere in the 200's and they are beautiful, definitely HD. I can't see any "-1" or "-2" channels though. I'm thinking I'm getting Comcasts HD service even though I'm not signed up (paying) for it?

ftaok

01-14-08, 08:48 AM

Hmm...well Comcast gave me an HD box when they installed my cable a few months back. I'm on Digital Preferred. I got my HD set the other day and I have a bunch of "HD" channels that are found somewhere in the 200's and they are beautiful, definitely HD. I can't see any "-1" or "-2" channels though. I'm thinking I'm getting Comcasts HD service even though I'm not signed up (paying) for it?

You probably are paying for it. The HD box cost more to lease than the standard box.

Also, with the Digital Preferred, you should be getting all of the "expanded" HD channels (i.e. ESPN-HD, TNT-HD, MHD, etc).

The thing about the "-1" and "-2" channels only apply if you are using the TV's QAM tuner or an antenna. Since you're using the HD-STB, then don't worry about the -1 and -2.

ft

aindik

01-14-08, 05:51 PM

Also, when we got the hdtv in our bedroom, the signal was too weak to pick up the unencrypted HD channels, but it was run through a vcr. I took the vcr out of the equation & the signal strength increased enough to get the HD's but with a lot of tiling. The new cable & splitter gave us perfect HD channels.

A friend of mine had that problem. It wasn't the VCR, but the shoddy coax cable she was using between the VCR and the TV. Now that you have a new cable, you might put the VCR back in line (if you care to) and see if it works.

Hiway49

01-14-08, 10:28 PM

Thanks guys, you all are such a big help.

As expected, SD channels look worse now than when I had a CRT. A year from now when everything goes digital, does that mean the SD will all look good (maybe not HD, but at least better)? I must say, I'm very disappointed in Comcasts HD offering. Very slim pickins'.

aindik

01-15-08, 07:39 AM

frantic1049

01-15-08, 11:31 PM

A friend of mine had that problem. It wasn't the VCR, but the shoddy coax cable she was using between the VCR and the TV. Now that you have a new cable, you might put the VCR back in line (if you care to) and see if it works.

that's exactly what we did. that was why we ran the new cable. the signal dropped from 100 (on the tv's signal meter) to 80 with the vcr back inline. with the old cable, ends & splitters, it was in the 60's. but 80 is enough to get in all expected channels & some unexpected ones too! ;)

cypherstream

01-16-08, 01:23 PM

Not sure if this means anything to you Philly guys and gals, but Central PA from Harrisburg on east to Reading are getting 8 HD's around 2/14. 4 of these HD's you guys do not have in the Philly markets. In December Pittsburgh area received a lot of new HD, so the Comcast HD brigade is slowly making its way eastward. The 4 HD's on the right of this ad would fit nice and snug in those two empty QAM slots you guys have.

Here's the ad from our paper:
http://home.comcast.net/~cypherx/feb14reading.png

Ryan21

01-16-08, 02:14 PM

Ryan21

01-16-08, 02:19 PM

And Why no Speed HD?

cypherstream

01-16-08, 04:24 PM

yes finally some new Hd channels

By the way is that from the Reading Eagle?

Yes that is from the Reading Eagle.

I don't think Speed HD is launched yet. Do you know when this channel actually goes live?

LongRufus

01-16-08, 05:40 PM

frantic1049

01-16-08, 06:43 PM

Four new HD channels from column B for Quakertown please!

frankd

01-17-08, 09:42 AM

I do recall seeing a commercial for the $49 deal and thinking that sounds good. I didn't catch any details. I'm a bit of a skeptic and immediately started wondering what the catch was. New customers only? That's one of my favs.

wjjz106

01-17-08, 10:23 AM

caesar1

01-17-08, 10:56 AM

djdez

01-17-08, 11:52 AM

Did anyone else happen to catch a new Comcast commercial this past weekend that advertised the new everyday price for HSI and DV is now going to be $49/month? I didn't really pay attention to it at the time, but the more I think about it that's a pretty good deal. I took a quick look on their website but didn't see it. Can anyone else confirm seeing this? TIA.

I also saw that commercial - I think it was on Saturday this past weekend - there has to be a catch - but it did sound like a pretty good deal. I have a similar deal with Cavalier - $49.95 for high speed DSL (3.0mb) and phone (not voip, however) .. but after taxes and fees, it's more like $70.00 per month ... and I'm sure it would be the same deal with Comcast ...
But yeah, no info about it ANYWHERE - they called it the 'Everyday Double Play' on the commercial ...

djdez

01-17-08, 11:54 AM

Can someone please, preferably a Comcast employee, give an explanation of why next week episode (No. 53) of The Wire is not listed on HBO On-Demand in the Philadelphia market? Other surrounding markets have the episode listed.

For those who didn't know, new episodes of The Wire will be available to watch on HBO On-Demand playlist one week before they air.

Funny, they've been complaining about this on the 610WIP midday show for the past 2 days. It should have been up on Midnight - Monday morning, but did not show up. They even had someone call Comcast to complain. Apparently, it was available in other markets, but not Philly - however, it finally showed up late yesterday ...

wjjz106

01-17-08, 12:27 PM

djdez -

I'm glad to hear others (especially Anthony and Steve of the Midday Show) had noticed the expected episode was missing as well. I hope they made a big stink about it. As of last night I did not see No. 53 listed. I will check again when I return home from work tonight. Was there an explanation given? Thanks for the update.

Ryan21

01-17-08, 02:07 PM

Yes that is from the Reading Eagle.

I don't think Speed HD is launched yet. Do you know when this channel actually goes live?

It already is live on Directv, I believe.

QZ1

01-17-08, 04:18 PM

I am now being charged $18.95 per each additional DVR. The first DVR (I have 3 total) is $12.95.

Is that right? Almost $20.00 for a DVR per month -- if you have more than one?

Shouldn't the price be less for each one. It doesn't cost Comcast anymore $$$ on their end to have the signal going to multiple boxes in my home.
In order to get a DVR, one needs Digital Classic or Preferred, those services include a box that would otherwise be $3.95. So, when one gets a DVR, one is paying an upgrade fee of $13.95 ($12.95 in your area, if that is correct) So, in my area, the effective cost of the first DVR is $3.95 + $13.95 = $17.90. So, when you get a second DVR, or 'DVR A/O', as they call it, they have to assess at least the full DVR fee of $17.90, but here it is $1 more, at $18.90. So, the DVR rental price is almost all for renting the box and providing the guide data.

FYI, for accurate pricing info. save the Prices/Services Card sent to subscribers with the Dec. bill. Otherwise, you can get one from your local office.

LongRufus

01-17-08, 04:57 PM

I also saw that commercial - I think it was on Saturday this past weekend - there has to be a catch - but it did sound like a pretty good deal. I have a similar deal with Cavalier - $49.95 for high speed DSL (3.0mb) and phone (not voip, however) .. but after taxes and fees, it's more like $70.00 per month ... and I'm sure it would be the same deal with Comcast ...
But yeah, no info about it ANYWHERE - they called it the 'Everyday Double Play' on the commercial ...

Thanks for the confirmation. It must have been shown during one of the NFL games since I DVR almost everything else and skip the commercials. I have a similar deal to yours with Verizon and it is out of control. 3.0mb DSL is $29.00/month and my phone service was around $42/month before I added DSL. My monthly total is now $86.60 and I never use the phone for anything except voicemail for missed calls. I use my cell phone for all my outgoing calls. I would dump the landline completely except I have dozens of accounts with companies that use my home phone number to identify me as their customer. I really don't want to go through the hassle of contacting them all and switching to my cell phone number since I would probably forget one or two companies. I haven't had Comcast HSI for over a year so I get 2 or 3 offers from them every week in the mail. The best so far has been $33/ month for each for 12 months and I was planning on using that plan until I saw this ad. I guess I'll just have to wait a bit longer.

jerry6d

01-18-08, 12:44 AM

Anyone else having problems tonight or is it just me? I have a comcast DVR in the living room which works fine but i also extended the line into my Bedroom to get some free scrambled cable. For some reason almost all the channels are jumping. Is it due to the weather or what?

Hiway49

01-18-08, 08:37 AM

I don't know, but NBC 10 specifically was a MESS on my TV. Other channels were fine, but NBC 10 was motion blur/ghosting central.

newsman

01-18-08, 08:40 AM

I don't know, but NBC 10 specifically was a MESS on my TV. Other channels were fine, but NBC 10 was motion blur/ghosting central.OTA was fine, no problems here. Sounds like another Comcast problem to me.

michaelggray

01-18-08, 09:42 AM

It already is live on Directv, I believe.

Speed HD is a channel on DTV. However, SPEED has not started broadcasting the HD channel yet. The HD channel on DTV is a simulcast of the SD channel.

From SPEED Press Release:

SPEED will make its move to High Definition in 2008, beginning Feb. 7 with 100 hours of NASCAR on SPEED HD from Daytona Speedweeks.

“With the Gatorade Duel 150’s on SPEED, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, NASCAR RaceDay and all of the other programming SPEED will deliver surrounding the 50th Anniversary of the Daytona 500, this is one of our most visible times of the year for the network and the perfect time to launch our move to HD,” said SPEED President Hunter Nickell. “SPEED already offers some of the most action-filled programming on television and the move to HD in 2008 enhances all of it exponentially.”

And I also what like to know when Comcast plans to add this. I bet it won't be Feb 7, 2008.

hendry5410

01-18-08, 05:08 PM

ak3883

01-20-08, 01:14 PM

Im awaiting delivery of my Panasonic TH42PZ77u and plan on using my free cable via coax and an HD antenna. Is that the set up the above has? they reference cable HD. Does that mean I can receive HD signals Via the free Comcast I have coming in to my home?

It depends on the area. Generally around Philly, the local HD channels are in the clear, and universal HD still has been and always was clear for me. Plus a handful of other cable networks are in the clear(SD only), all the SD locals, the PEG/must carry channels, etc.

Plug in the cable and do a scan and see what you get. You should be able to get the local networks in HD. You'd need a cable box/cablecard for cable HD channels like HD Theater, MOJO, ESPNHD, CSNHD, etc.

djdez

01-21-08, 11:16 AM

It depends on the area. Generally around Philly, the local HD channels are in the clear, and universal HD still has been and always was clear for me. Plus a handful of other cable networks are in the clear(SD only), all the SD locals, the PEG/must carry channels, etc.

Plug in the cable and do a scan and see what you get. You should be able to get the local networks in HD. You'd need a cable box/cablecard for cable HD channels like HD Theater, MOJO, ESPNHD, CSNHD, etc.

Funny that this comes up...

I'm still confused as to why my Panasonic does NOT get UHD, but the new Westinghouse in the bedroom DOES. Same cable coming into the house - but still, it will not come through on the Panasonic, nor does it come through for my sister who also has a newer model Panasonic.

But - that's not what really sux - here's what DOES. Up until around a year ago, if you lived in South Philly (where I do), and you had Comcast, you NEEDED a box for EVERY tv in the house, or the channels would be scrambled, if hooked up via coax to the tv. However, for tv's that did not have a box, you would get the channels, but they'd be in different locations, and the only ones that would be clear would be BASIC channels. Then, around a year or so ago, all channels would come through any tv, without a box, and they would not be scrambled, even though they were not mapped properly. I never understood that anyway, since if you were paying for service, you should be able to get all the channels (who cares if they were in different locations). Our house at the shore NEVER needed a box, AND they were always in the right spots. So, here's the part that sux - about a week ago, all those 'expanded' channels are NOW scrambled again. So, any of my other tv's in the house without a box (including my 2 HDTV's with QAM tuners) are MISSING the 'expanded' cable analog channels, as they are scrambled and will not tune in. I have confirmed this with a regular old tv, and they are scrambled there as well.

So, I ask - why did Comcrap decide to re-scramble these channels again, and should I even waste my time calling to complain, since they'll probably tell me I need to add a box at each location and I do NOT want to do that. And, why is it that Center City/South Philly were always the ONLY locations in PA that 'required' you to have a box anyway?! Dammit!

ftaok

01-21-08, 12:05 PM

Funny that this comes up...

I'm still confused as to why my Panasonic does NOT get UHD, but the new Westinghouse in the bedroom DOES. Same cable coming into the house - but still, it will not come through on the Panasonic, nor does it come through for my sister who also has a newer model Panasonic.Assuming that your sister lives in the same house, perhaps the locations where the Panasonic TVs are have weaker signals and that UHD may reside on frequencies that aren't getting through.

Is it possible to swap TVs/locations to see if anything happens?

But - that's not what really sux - here's what DOES. Up until around a year ago, if you lived in South Philly (where I do), and you had Comcast, you NEEDED a box for EVERY tv in the house, or the channels would be scrambled, if hooked up via coax to the tv. However, for tv's that did not have a box, you would get the channels, but they'd be in different locations, and the only ones that would be clear would be BASIC channels. Then, around a year or so ago, all channels would come through any tv, without a box, and they would not be scrambled, even though they were not mapped properly. I never understood that anyway, since if you were paying for service, you should be able to get all the channels (who cares if they were in different locations). Our house at the shore NEVER needed a box, AND they were always in the right spots. So, here's the part that sux - about a week ago, all those 'expanded' channels are NOW scrambled again. So, any of my other tv's in the house without a box (including my 2 HDTV's with QAM tuners) are MISSING the 'expanded' cable analog channels, as they are scrambled and will not tune in. I have confirmed this with a regular old tv, and they are scrambled there as well.

So, I ask - why did Comcrap decide to re-scramble these channels again, and should I even waste my time calling to complain, since they'll probably tell me I need to add a box at each location and I do NOT want to do that. And, why is it that Center City/South Philly were always the ONLY locations in PA that 'required' you to have a box anyway?! Dammit!
Here's what I've been told. Back in the analog days, Comcast in Philly (actually it was a different company) had to scramble everything because Philly has a large concentration of town/rowhomes. The ease of splicing the cable to "deliver" services to other locations necessitated everyone getting a STB.

Fast forward to the times now. Encrypting all channels (except the ones mandated as clearQAM) is the equivalent of what they had been doing. I fear that going forward, you'll find fewer and fewer cableco's that are receptive to subscribers bypassing the STB.

ft

djdez

01-21-08, 01:12 PM

Assuming that your sister lives in the same house, perhaps the locations where the Panasonic TVs are have weaker signals and that UHD may reside on frequencies that aren't getting through.

Is it possible to swap TVs/locations to see if anything happens?

Here's what I've been told. Back in the analog days, Comcast in Philly (actually it was a different company) had to scramble everything because Philly has a large concentration of town/rowhomes. The ease of splicing the cable to "deliver" services to other locations necessitated everyone getting a STB.

Fast forward to the times now. Encrypting all channels (except the ones mandated as clearQAM) is the equivalent of what they had been doing. I fear that going forward, you'll find fewer and fewer cableco's that are receptive to subscribers bypassing the STB.

ft

My sister does not live in the same house - and has perfect signal coming into her house, and she has a newer Panasonic (newer tuner?) and does not receive UHD. Also, at one point (for around 3 months last year when I first got my Panasonic HDTV) I was receiving UHD, then one day, it just disappeared. Re-scans never got it back either. I guess I could lug the other tv to the basement and see if it comes in there, but I sure as hell ain't luggin the Panasonic up to the bedroom!

Yeah, back in the old days when Comcast was Greater Media, we ALL needed a box at every tv. Nearly everyone in South Philly also had a 'chipped' or 'hot' box as well, but they became kinda useless after all PPV and Premium channels were moved to digital, but they still worked fine for tv's that did not have a cable box. I kinda figured what you said is what they are doing - so I guess that means that all other cities in PA/NJ would eventually need a box at every tv? Also - why was it available for the past 9 months or so, and what made them suddenly just scramble everything again???

crazyzete

01-21-08, 01:18 PM

I don't know, but NBC 10 specifically was a MESS on my TV. Other channels were fine, but NBC 10 was motion blur/ghosting central.
I notice the same problem on my new HDTV (Sony 52W3000). What is your setup (i.e., set-top box, direct connect, etc.). I just got the HDTV and have it connected directly through coax using the TVs digital tuner. I probably will get an HD DVR box and use that for tuning. Does anyone know if that helps with the ghosting/smearing/trails on NBC primetime shows (ER, Medium, Law and Order, Las Vegas, as far as I can tell so far).?

Does anyone else have similar problems with Comcast in Philly/S. Jersey area? I'd like to call Comcast to complain if it's just an artifact of their compression, or NBC 10 if it's something due to their handling/compression of the signal. However, it's use of crappy cameras, then nothing probably will be done about it.

crazyzete

01-21-08, 01:23 PM

I have a new Sony HDTV with Comcast in S. Jersey, and I notice a lot of mosquito noise on some of the HD channels. Mosquito noise to me is pixelated areas on the background around text. From enough of a distance, I can't really see it, but up-close, I can. I do see it a lot on the Action News text on 6 ABC HD.

I've read that typically this is a compression artifact. I'm wondering if anyone else notices this on their TVs. I don't wnat to believe it's just a problem with my Sony, because some sources, including my SD DVD player work great.

Does anyone have any ideas? I was wondering if it could be the coax run to my TV (I'll get an HD DVR box, but it still needs a coax input), or perhaps a bad splitter (my cable is split outside the house to service the various jacks).

I'm trying to determine if this could be an ABC problem, or a Comcast problem, vs. my home cabelling or TV, so if anyone else shares the same problems, please post. Perhaps if this is a common problem Comcast or ABC will do something about their compression to appease consumers.

ftaok

01-21-08, 01:53 PM

My sister does not live in the same house - and has perfect signal coming into her house, and she has a newer Panasonic (newer tuner?) and does not receive UHD. Also, at one point (for around 3 months last year when I first got my Panasonic HDTV) I was receiving UHD, then one day, it just disappeared. Re-scans never got it back either. I guess I could lug the other tv to the basement and see if it comes in there, but I sure as hell ain't luggin the Panasonic up to the bedroom!Then it might be something with Panasonic in particular. That's pretty odd, but since you have more than one example...
Yeah, back in the old days when Comcast was Greater Media, we ALL needed a box at every tv. Nearly everyone in South Philly also had a 'chipped' or 'hot' box as well, but they became kinda useless after all PPV and Premium channels were moved to digital, but they still worked fine for tv's that did not have a cable box. I kinda figured what you said is what they are doing - so I guess that means that all other cities in PA/NJ would eventually need a box at every tv? Also - why was it available for the past 9 months or so, and what made them suddenly just scramble everything again???
I remember those "chipped" boxes. We didn't have one (living in Chinatown at the time), but I always wanted one. I like how you could tune into a blocked channel and sometimes the scrambler didn't catch up and you could see a few seconds of the "adult" content. Ahhh, the joys of youth.

I'm guessing that the cable companies want to drive everyone to using a STB because it's a money maker for them. At the least, they'll make you lease a Cable Card. That way, they can track how many TVs you have connected and nail you that way.

Under the current scheme, a household might lease 1 DVR, and one other STB. But they might have 5 TVs in the household. They can only tag you for 2 TVs right now, but under different circumstances, they could tag you for 1 DVR, 1 STB and 3 CCs. If they're d*cks about it, they would charge you a $2 fee for each "outlet".

The more I think about this, the more angry I get. I'm close to dropping pay TV altogether and putting an antenna on the roof. Then I'll get an AppleTV and buy the cable shows that I'd miss (like BSG).

ft

jeepmatt

01-24-08, 09:20 AM

During my morning scan of the HD channels to check for additions- my DVR box is showing a flip-flop of Food HD and HGTV HD.

Food is now showing 213 and HGTV HD is showing as 216. This is on the New Castle County (DE) system.

They also moved A&E HD from 211 to 210, and Nat Geo HD from 210 to 211. I have confirmed they did actually move these stations.

I can't tell though on HG or Food as both have on paid programming.

Anyone else in the Philly metro region seeing this??? My Tivo tapes alot from these two (along with A&E) - hoping it's just a mixup - b/c the Tivo did not recognize any changes.

crazyzete

01-24-08, 02:17 PM

I just got an HDTV and signed up for DVR service with Comcast. I was expecting a Motorola DVR box with HDMI outputs like most of the people I know who have it have. Instead, they gave me a Scientific Atlanta 8000HD (SA8000HD) box with a DVI connector.

I can buy a DVI to HDMI adaptor or cable and I understand they basically are the same (except more wires for the audio with DVI), but I'm more concerned about the quality.

Does anyone have any input on whether the HDTV quality is better on one vs. the other? The SA box has an extra 5 hours of HD recording space and Picture-in-Picture, while the Motorola box does not. Should I keep th SA or should I try for a Motorola?

maxman

01-24-08, 02:31 PM

Hiway49

01-24-08, 08:15 PM

Hiway49

01-24-08, 08:16 PM

I notice the same problem on my new HDTV (Sony 52W3000). What is your setup (i.e., set-top box, direct connect, etc.). I just got the HDTV and have it connected directly through coax using the TVs digital tuner. I probably will get an HD DVR box and use that for tuning. Does anyone know if that helps with the ghosting/smearing/trails on NBC primetime shows (ER, Medium, Law and Order, Las Vegas, as far as I can tell so far).?

Does anyone else have similar problems with Comcast in Philly/S. Jersey area? I'd like to call Comcast to complain if it's just an artifact of their compression, or NBC 10 if it's something due to their handling/compression of the signal. However, it's use of crappy cameras, then nothing probably will be done about it.

I have a Samsung 4069 with a Comcast Motorola box DCH3416. All connected through HDMI.

drpepper

01-25-08, 01:18 PM

LongRufus

01-25-08, 01:35 PM

drpepper

01-25-08, 08:36 PM

LongRufus...thanks for reply but I am looking for a HD firewire enabled box that is not the extra $$ of a DVR.

comcast stated "firewire comes on the extra $$ DVR. I asked which regular HD box supported firewire since I did not want to pay extra for dvr. Rep did not answer. So I turn to the avs for assistance.
More suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks

ak3883

01-28-08, 12:51 PM

Hello
I used to frequent this forum awhile ago... kid, new job, etc kept me away-anyway...
I have OTA digital with a sony hdtv & have several dvhs players.
I am thinking about the current comcast $99Triple play, with free hd equip for yr, & $100 incentive that ends 1/31/08. I live in Delaware county, pa. Before I call & get another confused cust ser. rep from comcast, what cable box options are there- not the ones they just want to quickly give me. My concern is to use my dvhs players ( Mits & JVC) & not there dvr. My sony has dvi in & 2 firewire in/out to record the OTA digitals to my jvc dvhs. My samsung stb on the other tv also has firewire in/out to record to my mits dvhs.

My last attempt to speak with comcast...they tried to say the current boxes do not have active firewire & just tried to push dvr. Hence why I am here first before my next phone call.

What are the latest boxes that people would recommend? Thanks in advance for your assistance & guidance.

As far as HD only boxes(what you get w/ the HD upgrade promo w/ triple play), you would get the Motorola DCT6200/3200 or DCH3200. All are basically the same thing, the 3200 only does digital channels, most areas by now in SE PA are distributing those boxes, since the completed the ADS a couple years back. DCH just uses a cablecard for authorization, doesn't have any benefits, other than being a bit newer.

I don't know if the 6200/3200's have firewire output, further more if it's enabled.

Now as far as DVRs go, the 6412PII boxes and 3416PI boxes definetly have them enabled, or at least for me they have been. I'm in Lower Bucks. Unfortunetly you would have a hard time getting ahold of someone at Comcast who can answer your question. If you get a box that it doesn't work you can certainly go to your local office and swap it out for a different one. But i don't know if it works on the 3200 or if you have to get the DVR to get a working firewire output.

If you got a DVR, it should be another $14ish a month on top of the $99. Of course that's for 1 STB only...

ohendo

01-29-08, 03:40 PM

cypherstream

01-29-08, 05:43 PM

I get my local HD's through my Tivo HD's QAM tuner.
I tried to turn on Fox HD last night, which usually is mapped to 29-1. However, nothing but a blank screen.
So I re-ran the channel scan. I found the Fox HD signal on 23-2.
Obviously Comcast changed the channel it is sending Fox out on, but my Tivo and most HDTV's utilize the PSIP data to map the channel to 29-1. In this case, Comcast must have not only changed the frequency of the HD channel, but also messed with the PSIP data.
Can anyone else verify this happened to them? Just curious.

A guy from Coatsville, PA posted in the Comcast.net Cable TV forums with the same issue. His area was also affected.

You could try putting your zip code in at this site:
http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

To see if they have a database of your local area QAM channels. If FIOS is available at that Zip code, you may have some of those mixed in. Comcast generally uses regular subchannel numbers, where Fios uses three or four digit subchannel numbers though.

I think since Central PA through Eastern PA are so far behind in terms of HD lineup, they are moving stuff around to try to get some area's aligned for new HD channel additions. That's just my guess. Here in Reading, PA, there have been no QAM channel changes to date (as of this post at least).

DTGallagher

01-29-08, 06:17 PM

17-1 and 29-1 were both missing from the QAM scans in
Kennett Square, Pa. on Sunday 1/27.
57-1 is still there and correctly labeled with the channel
designation.
Is anyone else noting this?

ak3883

01-30-08, 12:53 PM

17-1 and 29-1 were both missing from the QAM scans in
Kennett Square, Pa. on Sunday 1/27.
57-1 is still there and correctly labeled with the channel
designation.
Is anyone else noting this?

No problems for me last night. On my system WPHL and WTXF both are on physical channel 111, WPHL is PSIP'ed to 17-1 and WTXF to 29-1. So you have to put in channel 111 on some tuners, and some might display them as 111-1 and 111-2, but many will read the PSIP mapping and only allow you to go to 17-1 and 29-1 even though they reside at the frequency for channel 111. So they might have taken off the PSIP mappings, or moved the physical frequency. Do a rescan and you'll probably find it somewhere.

I'm on Lower Bucks, so i'm not really close, but many changes they do the entire SE PA area at once.

RedHillKL

01-31-08, 12:16 PM

cypherstream

01-31-08, 01:20 PM

Today off of the Pottstown Headend, Channels 87 and 88 are now providing more space for VOD.
one issue I have with an "HD" ondemand stream of Harry Potter, it is not an HD stream. It is 16 X 9, 480i res at 3.8 Mb/s
If Comcast plans to clain 1000 avaliable HD choices, I better get a stream that looks good and has some HD stream spec.

So you have 6 QAM's for VOD now? 83-88?

Our area only has 4, and it better stay that way because were bandwidth strapped. I'd rather use the limited space we have for real linear HD channels.

Dannytheman

01-31-08, 03:27 PM

Today off of the Pottstown Headend, Channels 87 and 88 are now providing more space for VOD.
one issue I have with an "HD" ondemand stream of Harry Potter, it is not an HD stream. It is 16 X 9, 480i res at 3.8 Mb/s
If Comcast plans to clain 1000 avaliable HD choices, I better get a stream that looks good and has some HD stream spec.

Comcast's VOD offerings On Demand are 15 to 19 Mbps. They are streaming at that rate depending on the encode rate.

I just looksed at Harry Potter and it was 15.5 Mbps..

Standard def is 3.5 to 3.75.

ak3883

01-31-08, 06:45 PM

Got home and found comcast killed the PSIP mappings for 3-1, 6-1, 10-1, 12-1. They still exist on ch 89 & 90. Just no PSIP data coming through(incl. show titles, which did work sometimes). 17-1,29-1,57-1 unaffected. Still nothing broadcast on 87 and 88, someone over on BBR said that Pottstown had more VOD put on 87/88 today.

whotony

01-31-08, 08:12 PM

ak3883

01-31-08, 08:15 PM

can someone call ABC and tell them to turn on the hd switch for the lost recap.

i can just see it now, them not hitting the switch for the regular episode.

seems like 6 has something against lost.
sound issues and picture quality issues nearly every episode.

I just called the action news tip line, the regular number was a recording. I asked for engineering, he asked who i was, I said that there is no HD on your channel, and that engineering needs to be made aware of that so they can do something. He said he would get ahold of them.

Call yourself, can't hurt to have more people call and complain.

EDIT: JUST CAME ON

Hiway49

02-01-08, 08:36 AM

can someone call ABC and tell them to turn on the hd switch for the lost recap.

i can just see it now, them not hitting the switch for the regular episode.

seems like 6 has something against lost.
sound issues and picture quality issues nearly every episode.

I can tell you that my picture was incredible on LOST last night. However, I did notice like a 2-4ms delay where the audio was concerned. The lips and voices were not quite matching up, but it was still good enough. Even so, they need to fix that!

maxman

02-01-08, 08:49 AM

I can tell you that my picture was incredible on LOST last night. However, I did notice like a 2-4ms delay where the audio was concerned. The lips and voices were not quite matching up, but it was still good enough. Even so, they need to fix that!

No such problem here w/Comcast.

JoshMKiV

02-01-08, 08:52 AM

QAM issues here as well - 29-1 and 17-1 are out, everything else is fine.

jeepmatt

02-01-08, 09:09 AM

Today off of the Pottstown Headend, Channels 87 and 88 are now providing more space for VOD.
one issue I have with an "HD" ondemand stream of Harry Potter, it is not an HD stream. It is 16 X 9, 480i res at 3.8 Mb/s
If Comcast plans to clain 1000 avaliable HD choices, I better get a stream that looks good and has some HD stream spec.

Please tell me they aren't wasting our two open QAM's for VOD. Christ - every day others are getting more HD - even Olathe, Kansas for God's sake. I have a TIVO on my main plasma - I can't even watch that garbage!

Comcast - WTF are you doing in Philly? It's been almost 4 months now!

diditagain

02-01-08, 10:02 AM

caesar1

02-01-08, 10:09 AM

Here in Broomall, 3-1, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 10-1, 10-2 and all the 12s were out all last night, but 17-1, 29-1, 57-1 and 57-2 were fine. So I was forced to watch Lost in SD. Comcast better have this fixed before the Super Bowl.

I live in Broomall too (hi neighbor).

Those channels aren't out. They re-mapped those a few days ago for some reason. I had to do a re-scan on my kitchen TV which gets HD via the QAM tuner (only 17, 29 and 57 stayed the same).

You can find the "missing" channels now on 90.1 and 90.2 and 91.1 and 91.2 (or something like that). Not very user friendly to switch them to numbers that have no correlation to the broadcast channel -- so not sure why they did that.

diditagain

02-01-08, 12:29 PM

Thanks for the information ceasar1. I'll check when I get home tonight. Very strange channel moves that will hopefully be fixed in the near future (I remember CBS 3-1 moving to a weird channel a few months ago, then suddenly it went back to 3-1!).

Hiway49

02-01-08, 02:48 PM

For what we pay per month, and since Comcast is HQ'ed here, Comcast owes me an explanation on a daily basis as to why we don't get more HD channels added regularly while East Bumble-F does.

maxman

02-01-08, 03:19 PM

maddogFool

02-01-08, 03:44 PM

Here in Broomall, 3-1, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 10-1, 10-2 and all the 12s were out all last night, but 17-1, 29-1, 57-1 and 57-2 were fine. So I was forced to watch Lost in SD. Comcast better have this fixed before the Super Bowl.
Well, that's nothin'! At my friend's house (Comcast customer near Wayne, PA) where I watched the Eagles Superbowl 3 years ago, the HD channel cluster that had Fox was out (from about 4pm on). Ended up watching the entire game in SD on a 60" RP. Awful. As far as I know, he never got any compensation for that. Not like someone didn't notice on that particular day!

frantic1049

02-02-08, 01:05 AM

Anything digital lower than 17 got moved here as well. They are now on 89-1 to 89-5 and 90.1 to 90.3 on my JVC tuners. They're usually slightly different on the kids' tvs, but they'd be close.

Unfortunately I did the scan on the wrong tv! I did it on the one that doesn't have a stb, and it caused me to lose my favorites as well as all my channel names! I usually do the scan on the tv with the box b/c we always watch that one through the box and don't have favorites or the channels named. d'oh!

frantic1049

02-02-08, 01:08 AM

Our 17.1 and 29.1 are still there.

JoshMKiV

02-03-08, 02:42 PM

After a full re-scan, I still have no FOX. 3/6/10 looking good. 29 is now Spike TV. I found Fox on 82-6 but it is NOT HD.

ftaok

02-04-08, 04:43 PM

After a full re-scan, I still have no FOX. 3/6/10 looking good. 29 is now Spike TV. I found Fox on 82-6 but it is NOT HD.

I've found that Fox29 is typically on the same main channel as CW57 and PHL17. On my system, that's physical channel 111.1

82.6 sounds like the digital SD version of Fox29.

xela19115

02-04-08, 09:41 PM

For what we pay per month, and since Comcast is HQ'ed here, Comcast owes me an explanation on a daily basis as to why we don't get more HD channels added regularly while East Bumble-F does.

Hiway, the explanation is actually quite simple. Money!

Now lets me elaborate. You see Philadelphia metro area (Philadelphia and suburbs) were bought out by Comcast ages ago and are on a 750 MHz plant. East Bumble-F (as you so eloquently put it) probably was bought less than 5 years ago and Comcast poured money into the system to upgrade it to 870 MHz so that system is brand spanking new with bandwidth to spare for all those extra HD channels. For Comcast in order to give Philadelphia market these extra channels will have to do one of the 3 things:

a) Upgrade the plant to 870 MHz. That's very expensive and since Comcast hasn't been doing so well lately spending money is highly unlikely.

b) Introduce Switched Digital Video but technology is still in development stages and will take a while to shake out all of the issues. And since Comcast cannot afford to piss off and lose any more customers by introducing a half-baked solution its somewhat unlikely that anyone in Philly market will see a flood of HD channels from Comcast. Not soon enough to fend off the competition with 60-100 HD channels.

c) Drop bunch of analogs. A win-win situation for Comcast. Move a bunch of channels from Analog to Digital and in the process kill 2 birds. Force people to upgrade from analog packages to more expensive digital packages and coincidentally free up bandwidth for HD channels.

bugmenot55

02-07-08, 01:57 AM

c) Drop bunch of analogs. A win-win situation for Comcast. Move a bunch of channels from Analog to Digital and in the process kill 2 birds. Force people to upgrade from analog packages to more expensive digital packages and coincidentally free up bandwidth for HD channels.

At least in Philadelphia city, comcast already did that. Now the only channels on analog here in the city is the local channels and public access channels. But we still don't have any of those new HD channels. What's going on, I live 12 blocks from Comcast's HQ and this is dissapointing to say the least

xela19115

02-07-08, 04:35 PM

At least in Philadelphia city, comcast already did that. Now the only channels on analog here in the city is the local channels and public access channels. But we still don't have any of those new HD channels. What's going on, I live 12 blocks from Comcast's HQ and this is dissapointing to say the least

Because Comcast likes to do things in a massive rollout fashion. Philadelphia (the city) is part of a geographical market. They'd roll out everything on a per market or division basis. That's a rub for them as well. Say a part of the market has the bandwidth (860-870 MHz plant) and other parts don't (750 MHz plant) they won't use the bandwidth in a part that does to keep everything uniform.

progear

02-07-08, 10:22 PM

Over the last few weeks I've noticed a pattern of issues here in the South Jersey (Wash. Twp. area). Several nights CBS HD, WHYY HD, MHD, VS HD, and NGCHD would be out completely...just a message "will be available shortly." When these channels are unavailable, A&E HD, HDT, UHD are available but with severe blocking, and CSN HD picture is fine except it stutters (making Flyers and Sixers unwatchable). All other HD's are perfect. This would last for a few hours then return to normal...then a few nights later it would repeat. In fact, all were out again last night as well as early this evening...jumped in the shower, checked again and everything is perfect again tonight.

Comcast wants to send out a tech, but the pattern appears to be too exact for it to be a problem with my setup. Anyone else in the area experiencing similar behavior(s) or aware of any system work being done in the region?

Chris.