The LG claims to support unscrambled QAM, so you should get HD locals, but that's it. Anything else you'll need a box from Comcast for (or an OpenCable tuner and a CableCARD from Comcast, which doesn't really apply to the LG, but there are a few out there.)

Last I checked, you didn't need a digital package to receive the HD locals.

The folks who WERE downstairs (They moved to a house one block away) {I talked wthem into getting Comcast HD} were able to TAKE their cable boxes with them.
They have a 2000 and a 6200. The HD moniter is going to the new house sunday

Comments?

Statement on online Comcast statement received today (9/4):

"Between 9/29 and 10/14 you will see a new and improved digital on-screen program guide. For details on how to use your new guide, visit us at www.comcast.com/newguide. We make these changes to improve your viewing experience; we hope you enjoy your new guide!"

it’s amazing to see the number of posts in here grousing about a crummy $15 installation charge

I'm "grousing" because when the guy brought me the 5100 I have now, all he did was plug it in. Let me pick it up and do that. For the 6208, I'll be connecting it, because all of my equipment is installed in a shelving system, and I don't want the guy back there messing with the cables.

and tip your installer if he or she does a good job!

TIP??!?!? Are you serious? I don't think so....

Well, I take that back, the guy who ran coax for my cable modem connection deserved a tip, but that's only because the amount of cabling he ran. For a guy replacing one box with another, no way.

"Between 9/29 and 10/14 you will see a new and improved digital on-screen program guide. For details on how to use your new guide, visit us at www.comcast.com/newguide. We make these changes to improve your viewing experience; we hope you enjoy your new guide!" That means the 6412 DVRs aren't far behind. Glad I didn't give in on the 6208s.

So, the Comcast guy just showed up and installed the 6208. He brought both a 6200 and 6208 since Comcast seemed to have forgotten I wanted the 6208 installed. Nevertheless, I set it up myself since he didn't seem too familiar with how to set it up in a home theater system.

The box took about 30 seconds to register everything and so far, so good. The 6208 has firmware 7.15.

A few questions for everyone:

1. What do the following settings on the box mean, and what should I set them to if the box has cable coax in, and component video and digital coax audio out to my AV receiver: RF Bypass, Switched outlet, Auto-Tune?

2. For those of you hooked up to a 5.1 receiver, how do you have all the audio settings on the cable box set up?

3. The remote seems to have the mute button and volume up/down button confused with my TV. When I set the remote to "Cable" and press mute, it mutes the TV. Same thing with volume up/down. I tried code resetting the remote for the cable box, but no luck. The old remote from the 2442 would mute the cable box, which was nice.

4. When I press "Page Down", it replays the last 10 seconds or so of TV. Shouldn't Page Down go through the channel guide? Any help on this? My remote seems confused.

A quick follow-up to my previous post and some other questions, along with some comments:

1. I noticed that if I use the 6208 remote normally, Page Up, Page Down, and the directional arrows will either act as Play, Rewind, or Replay. However, if I am in the Menu or Guide mode, those buttons act as Page Up, Page Down, etc. Could I have a defective remote or is there a way to reprogram it so that the arrows browse through the guide when watching TV normally?

2. I was watching INHD and INHD2 this afternoon, and noticed both were freezing, and highly pixelating. Is this more of a problem with these signals or with the cable box? I'm assuming since HD is new and all, these are still kinks to be worked out.

3. I watched the Red Sox this afternoon (at least we're still 2.5 games behind), and the picture was amazing. Just amazing.

4. I was watching "Dinosaur" on ABC HD and would flip back to analog ABC on channel 5 to compare. The analog picture seemed overly bright and washed out, especially during the first scene where the meteor crashes. When I switched to 805, the picture, although "darker" than I would expect, seemed better color-corrected, etc. Was the washed out picture on 5 more due to the fact that I was watching it on an HDTV (and the picture was more designed for a 4:3 non-HDTV), or has analog always been that washed out, overly bright, etc.? Granted, my TV has yet to be ISF calibrated, but it does amaze me that analog has been that bad. I've tried to tune the color/brightness/contrast settings as best as possible, but realize it has much further to go.

A quick follow-up to my previous post and some other questions, along with some comments:

1. I noticed that if I use the 6208 remote normally, Page Up, Page Down, and the directional arrows will either act as Play, Rewind, or Replay. However, if I am in the Menu or Guide mode, those buttons act as Page Up, Page Down, etc. Could I have a defective remote or is there a way to reprogram it so that the arrows browse through the guide when watching TV normally?

2. I was watching INHD and INHD2 this afternoon, and noticed both were freezing, and highly pixelating. Is this more of a problem with these signals or with the cable box? I'm assuming since HD is new and all, these are still kinks to be worked out.

3. I watched the Red Sox this afternoon (at least we're still 2.5 games behind), and the picture was amazing. Just amazing.

4. I was watching "Dinosaur" on ABC HD and would flip back to analog ABC on channel 5 to compare. The analog picture seemed overly bright and washed out, especially during the first scene where the meteor crashes. When I switched to 805, the picture, although "darker" than I would expect, seemed better color-corrected, etc. Was the washed out picture on 5 more due to the fact that I was watching it on an HDTV (and the picture was more designed for a 4:3 non-HDTV), or has analog always been that washed out, overly bright, etc.? Granted, my TV has yet to be ISF calibrated, but it does amaze me that analog has been that bad. I've tried to tune the color/brightness/contrast settings as best as possible, but realize it has much further to go.

This "new" guide is already installed on my 6208 box. (Not my old 5xxx series box downstairs). It came with the box when they installed it early this week. So I'm sure it is not a 6412 specific deal.

It is definitely an improvement over the old guide - especially in speed [the combo of increased speed of the software with the increased CPU speed of the 6208 makes it much much faster than the old STBs].

But Passport or MS TV or TiVo (!) it is not.

-P


Originally posted by tennberg
Statement on online Comcast statement received today (9/4):

"Between 9/29 and 10/14 you will see a new and improved digital on-screen program guide. For details on how to use your new guide, visit us at www.comcast.com/newguide. We make these changes to improve your viewing experience; we hope you enjoy your new guide!"

1. Don't worry about bypass, switched outlet is the outlet (power) on the back of the unit - do you want it on/off with the power button or on all the time? auto-tune no idea.

2. I have a 5.1 setup. Toslink to the receiver, audio setup is advanced, no compression, stereo. It gets me 5.1. Not sure if those settings are actually necessary.

3. No idea

4. Not sure

Originally posted by tennberg
A few questions for everyone:

1. What do the following settings on the box mean, and what should I set them to if the box has cable coax in, and component video and digital coax audio out to my AV receiver: RF Bypass, Switched outlet, Auto-Tune?

2. For those of you hooked up to a 5.1 receiver, how do you have all the audio settings on the cable box set up?

3. The remote seems to have the mute button and volume up/down button confused with my TV. When I set the remote to "Cable" and press mute, it mutes the TV. Same thing with volume up/down. I tried code resetting the remote for the cable box, but no luck. The old remote from the 2442 would mute the cable box, which was nice.

4. When I press "Page Down", it replays the last 10 seconds or so of TV. Shouldn't Page Down go through the channel guide? Any help on this? My remote seems confused.

1. I believe that is by design. I use a Pronto remote that makes it all much easier.

2. Sometimes this happens. But sometimes it is because of a low signal which, while high enough for SDTV, is not high enough for HDTV. I went to the Motorola STB FAQ (not sure of the URL - search the forums) and brought up the diagnostic pages once when many of my HD channels were distorted. It showed low SNR and very bad use of AGC. I bought a 4 port powered bi-directional wideband amplifier from RadioShack. Installed it in the attic where the drop splits off... boosted the signal nicely and now have no problems except for the occasional hiccup.

3. NESN is widely regarded as having some of the best HD feeds out there. Not sure why. Many Discovery HD feeds are very high quality too. PBS is generally lacking.

4. Analog is really that bad. HDTV is that much better. AND, the kicker - your HDTV display is much better than a standard analog TV. That's why DVDs can look so much better on a HDTV widescreen display: the full resolution is available, widescreen is available, and progressive scanning makes a big difference. Many people feel DVDs look "film like" (myself included) with a good deinterlacer/scaler. Standard analog TV is not widescreen, has significantly lower overall resolution than DVD (it should be the same, but often it is not), and relies on the box to do deinterlacing instead of a usually better chip in the DVD player. The result: a smoothed out mess.

It is like the difference between VHS and DVD - you don't know how bad it is until you see the improvement.


Originally posted by tennberg
A quick follow-up to my previous post and some other questions, along with some comments:

1. I noticed that if I use the 6208 remote normally, Page Up, Page Down, and the directional arrows will either act as Play, Rewind, or Replay. However, if I am in the Menu or Guide mode, those buttons act as Page Up, Page Down, etc. Could I have a defective remote or is there a way to reprogram it so that the arrows browse through the guide when watching TV normally?

2. I was watching INHD and INHD2 this afternoon, and noticed both were freezing, and highly pixelating. Is this more of a problem with these signals or with the cable box? I'm assuming since HD is new and all, these are still kinks to be worked out.

3. I watched the Red Sox this afternoon (at least we're still 2.5 games behind), and the picture was amazing. Just amazing.

4. I was watching "Dinosaur" on ABC HD and would flip back to analog ABC on channel 5 to compare. The analog picture seemed overly bright and washed out, especially during the first scene where the meteor crashes. When I switched to 805, the picture, although "darker" than I would expect, seemed better color-corrected, etc. Was the washed out picture on 5 more due to the fact that I was watching it on an HDTV (and the picture was more designed for a 4:3 non-HDTV), or has analog always been that washed out, overly bright, etc.? Granted, my TV has yet to be ISF calibrated, but it does amaze me that analog has been that bad. I've tried to tune the color/brightness/contrast settings as best as possible, but realize it has much further to go.

Anybody notice how the hd and digital channels were impossible to watch last night?

Originally posted by hovbuild
Anybody notice how the hd and digital channels were impossible to watch last night?

Had ESPN HD on for both football games last night no problems.

To all:

Someone in another forum mentioned how they had Comcast cable, and noticed just how bad the SD channels on their HDTV looked (in this case, the Sony XBR960, the same one I have). She said she didn't really think of it until her HD channels started pixelating.

The Comcast tech then installed an amplifier between her cable connection and her 960 (she said she used a CableCARD) and suddenly her SD channels looked a lot better.

Last night, when watching Dinosaur on ABC 5, the picture was washed out and too bright. The 805 picture looked amazing. Should I chalk up the channel 5 picture to the fact that it's SD and it just sucks, or should I see if a Comcast tech can check the cable lines coming in?

Thanks.

The SD output from these boxes is poor at best, so if you're getting a watchable picture that's about as much as you can expect.

The iGuide will be on all Comcast Motorola based boxes, so you're right in that it's not exclusive to the 6208.

INHD/INHD2 still had issues with pixelating and freezing this morning (watching their movie previews), though DiscoveryHD seemed to be working fine.

I know this might have been asked before, but why doesn't Comcast just move their entire offerings to digital cable, especially channels 2 - 95? It would be nice to watch the Sci-Fi channel, MTV, or the Food Network in digital. Is it because if they moved everything to digital, they would lose too many customers who are still using analog boxes?

Comcast would lose too many customers that don't use boxes at all. The analog channels with the exception of HBO are not scrambled. We have one tv with no box, if comcast got rid of analog we would have to pay another 5 per month. Many people would be very unhappy.

-Ken

Not necessarily. There are many methods for keeping the cable-direct customers (no box). However, the biggest hurdle as would be with ANY company would be the initial layout of infrastructure and materials costs. Imaging turning 75 channels of analog into a digital format (real time encoding) and then imaging all these cable access channels every town has for their school meetings/council meeting/etc... that is ALOT of hardware.

INHD/INHD2 still had issues with pixelating and freezing this morning (watching their movie previews), though DiscoveryHD seemed to be working fine.If you are having continued problems then you should give them a call.

I am having pixellating problems with Discovery, but my signal is good- usually if I change the channel and come back it goes away. I think this is a problem on Comcast's end and not on mine.

Comcast will eventually be offering all of their Analog channels mapped simultaneously into the digital line-up.

anyone have any idea when and if nesn will ever show post game highlites in HD? i don't understand why they show them in stretch-o-vision..,..



better yet, would they ever consider broadcasting the postgame show in HD????

miatasm:

When you say Comcast will eventually be offering their analog channels mapped to digital channels, are we talking a few months or a few years?

FYI, INHD seems to be out right now.

Boy, that'd be nice.

The PQ on the analog channels ranges from great to barely watchable, and I can't find any pattern to explain when it's good and when it's bad.

It'd be nice to get consistent PQ via digital.

One could see analog channels that are common to most Comcast systems going to digital in the next 12-24 months. Local Origination Channels unique to each town will probably stay analog much longer. Sure that HBO East will be digital only soon. Most digital channels PQ look better than the analog ones on my Sony TV and Moto5100 HD box.

881 INHD 1 probably had the national HD feed of Sox/ Rangers game today. They have very good Dolby 5.1 audio on the national INHD HD games. Yesterday's Mets/ Philles game had superb audio. Wish NESN would add Dolby 5.1 audio. Think they only have stereo audio, not even Dolby Surround.

Originally posted by ScoopsHD
Not necessarily. There are many methods for keeping the cable-direct customers (no box). However, the biggest hurdle as would be with ANY company would be the initial layout of infrastructure and materials costs. Imaging turning 75 channels of analog into a digital format (real time encoding) and then imaging all these cable access channels every town has for their school meetings/council meeting/etc... that is ALOT of hardware.

My prediction is eventually all channels above broadcast basic will go digital only.

Originally posted by mgpt6
881 INHD 1 probably had the national HD feed of Sox/ Rangers game today. They have very good Dolby 5.1 audio on the national INHD HD games. Yesterday's Mets/ Philles game had superb audio. Wish NESN would add Dolby 5.1 audio. Think they only have stereo audio, not even Dolby Surround.

You should ask someone outside the blackout area about the sound,as INHD USES the NESN feed AND announcers for Fenway games.

On the 6208 cable box (and the 5100/6200 as well, I assume), there is a set-up option after pressing the Power Off button then Menu to set the 4:3 override. Currently, mine is set to 480i. I was switching it to 480p and then watching the same show to see if there was any difference. To me, on some shows in the analog channels, it seemed having it set to 480p made the picture "grainier" while on other channels in analog, it made no difference.

What is the "recommended" setting for this, or if not, what is your preference? I currently have the 6208 hooked up to a Sony XBR CRT HDTV via component video.

Originally posted by controller2k
1. Don't worry about bypass, switched outlet is the outlet (power) on the back of the unit - do you want it on/off with the power button or on all the time? auto-tune no idea.

2. I have a 5.1 setup. Toslink to the receiver, audio setup is advanced, no compression, stereo. It gets me 5.1. Not sure if those settings are actually necessary.

3. No idea

4. Not sure

controller2k:

I figured some of it out. As to why the remote "mute" button would mute the TV and *not* the cable box - The manual that came with the 6208 remote said there is an audio lock on the remote where it will only control the volume on the TV. You can unlock it through a series of commands so that the mute, volume up, and volume down buttons control the cable box.

As for audio settings, I got some insight from someone's link on here. I set it to Advanced, No Compression, and Matrix Stereo.

I also called Comcast tonight since INHD, INHD2, and DiscoveryHD were heavily pixelating. The rep said INHD was having some issues but he didn't hear anything about INHD2 or DHD. He said the INHD issue was being worked on, and that he would put in a note about the others. He also reset my cable box.

If the channels are still doing that tomorrow night, he is going to send out a Comcast tech to test the incoming signal to see if it is strong enough.

tenn, are you talking small pixels or macroblocking where the whole screen gets all scrambled up into big blocks and you have to change the channel and go back to fix it? that is happening to me, and i have yet to call comcast back and have them replace my box......it seems its happening to several others here though too.

I just got the 6208(upgraded from the 6200), on Friday. I have been playing with it a bit and only have one real issue with it. While watching (not recording though - although it is really always recording I know) every now and then it will "skip" the live feed. Usually it is only the audio, but it has happened to both the video and audio. This has happened on both the HD and SD channels. It is not that often, but is noticeable when it does happen and was just wondering if anyone else had noticed this? I am assuming it is just the unit getting to the end of it's buffer and restarting the buffering.

macd23:

I've had both happen, I think.

On the INHD and INHD2 channels, the blocks will be about .25" square on my 34" widescreen. It pixelates the whole screen for 5-7 seconds and cuts out the audio. The picture then comes back. I don't need to switch the channel to get the picture back to normal.

I then noticed on INHD and INHD2, after Comcast reset the cable box, that there would only be 1 - 2 blocks appearing on the screen, about .25" square.

Other than this pixelation issue, the only other issue I've had is that when I switch between HD channels running 5.1 audio and SD channels, I have to change the volume since there is such a difference between the two.

I'm not sure if i need to have Comcast switch out the cable box or not right now. I'm not sure if it's a problem with the cable box or with the incoming signal as SD and digital channels are not pixelating. If this pixelation issue is still occurring tomorrow night, I'll call Comcast again to have them test the strength of the incoming cable signal.

I'm getting very frequent pixelation on DiscoveryHD, almost every time I tune to it, I get the pixelation and have to change to anothe channel, and then back. Since I'm getting the 6208 tomorrow, I'll see what happens with it installed instead of the 5100.

I just read in the Boston OTA thread that WB56 will be increasing power at the end of the month. Hopefully , Comcast will add WB56 -HD at that time.

JD,I was getting the same thing with my 6200.If I went from 825 to 839 it would happen.Going from 849 to 839 wouls straighten it out.It went away with the 6208 which I am very happy with.

I called Comcast back since I was still having pixelation issues, freezing issues, and sound cutouts on INHD, INHD2, Cinemax HD, and Discovery HD. The woman I spoke to said it sounds like a signal strength issue, which is what the guy I spoke to last night told me. They don't think it's a cable box issue, but said if it is, the repair technician coming over would be able to replace it if necessary.

The appointment is for Friday evening. Hopefully, they'll find some way to strengthen the incoming signal. Does anyone know if a signal amplifier would degrade the quality of the signal in any way?

JD,I was getting the same thing with my 6200.If I went from 825 to 839 it would happen.Going from 849 to 839 wouls straighten it out.It went away with the 6208 which I am very happy with.Same exact problem here.

FYI: I was watching "North Shore" on 825 and it started off in 16:9 format. Partway through, it switched to 4:3 format and the FOX logo switched to the logo that's on channel 13. It then switched back to 16:9 format with the correct transparent logo.

Is this more of a local WFXT issue or a national broadcast issue?

Thanks!

Originally posted by mgpt6
I just read in the Boston OTA thread that WB56 will be increasing power at the end of the month. Hopefully , Comcast will add WB56 -HD at that time.

this would make sense as they DO have the right to carry the signal.
The logical place would be 856 but I would consider 841 as they may not be able to return to Ch 56 wehn the analog signals go dark choosing instead to stay on 41 .

Does anyone know why tonight's game (9/6) of the Red sox v. the A's on NESN (Ch. 51) was not simulcast in HD on NESN HD?

Does NESN only show certain games in HD? Only home games perhaps?

I believe that NESN only carries home games in HD.

-Ken

Hi everyone, my signal problem seem like only during prime time...I left plasma on all day and pq was fine until after supper.....I have a tech coming today....I really think it is Comcast which is at fault and doesn't want to admit it for fear of giving us credit for the hours we can't use the service we are paying for.

Originally posted by tennberg
FYI: I was watching "North Shore" on 825 and it started off in 16:9 format. Partway through, it switched to 4:3 format and the FOX logo switched to the logo that's on channel 13. It then switched back to 16:9 format with the correct transparent logo.

Is this more of a local WFXT issue or a national broadcast issue?

Thanks!

We had the same issue at my place, we waited a few minutes, and then just turned to the SD channel. :( How long was it broadcast in 4:3 SD?

-JR

Thanks guys, the Comcast tech just left. The DVR is downloading the guide data. He said I was lucky, that I got the "last one in the warehouse". Apparently it was being held for someone else, but they never picked it up so it was released for me. He also said they were planning to start installing the dual tuner DVR *this month* and that I would get a call when they are available to schedule a swap.

As I thought, he was only here for ~5 minutes and I hooked everything up. ;)

JR:

I didn't watch all of North Shore, so I'm not sure if it happened again or not. When I was watching it, it switched to 4:3 for about a minute before switching back to 16:9.

JDLIVE:

Is there a special way to get the dual tuner model? I currently have the 6208 and it would be nice to have the ability to record one show while watching another. Since I already have a 6208 and used my free installation coupon for that, would I need to pay $16 to have them come out for a couple minutes to simply switch boxes?

Is it just my imagination or did the name of this thread just change?

A few weeks ago, I posted here regarding my move from Randolph to Braintree coming up soon and my angst of whether I should keep Comcast or switch to Braintree Electric Department's cable service. The Pros for Comcast were that their HD is great, VOD, usually pick up separate feeds for things like Olympics, where BELD does not, etc. The Pros for Beld were they are cheaper, already in the house (inlaws live there), have the 6208 DVR. The Cons were they did not have CBS HD, nor do they have VOD.

However, BELD's web site is listing the following today:


"New HD channels in temporary test phase
Several channels have been added to BELD Broadband's high-definition (HDTV) lineup and are now in test phase:

502 WGBH (DT19) PBS
504 WBZ-4 (CBS)
508 WSBK (38) UPN
509 WLVI (56) WB
580 Cinemax HDTV
590 StarzEncore
598 HDNet
599 HDNet Movies

Until system upgrades are completed these channels may go off-air at any time. In addition, this work to add more programming may result in outages on some existing HDTV channels.

We appreciate your patience as we strive to improve your service. Contact the Help Desk if you have any questions. "

So, Channel 2,4,38 and 56, PLUS the two HDNET channels are in the works. Plus the ones they already have (5,7,25, HBO, SHO, ESPN, NESN, INHD 1 & 2) I saw their CBS HD picture yesterday for the US Open and it looked fantastic.

So it looks like my decision has been made for me, I'll give up VOD for access to more HD channels!

Joe, I agree that's a no brainer. I'd love to see Comcast add HDNet. WB and UPN would be nice, but I don't think there's a whole lot of HD content there yet.

tennberg, not sure I can answer that. I was surprised to hear they'd have the dual tuner model so soon. I'm skeptical that (a) they actually will have them this soon and (b) they'll contact me about it. ;) I was supposed to be on a "list" to get notified about the 6208 and never was. I guess maybe they were waiting on the 6412 to begin notifying people at all, I guess we'll have to wait and see. It would be nice if the swap was done at no charge.

Also confirmed I'm no longer seeing the pixelation when tuning in DiscoveryHD.

joeinma:

Here are some corrections to your post:

1. Comcast already has the 6208 available for DVR recording. In fact, I got one this past Saturday and have been using it (and liking it).

2. Comcast has most of the line-up you mentioned:

ABC HD
CBS HD
NBC HD
FOX HD
HBO HD
Showtime HD
Cinemax HD
Starz HD
ESPN HD
INHD
INHD2/NESN HD
WGBH HD
WB HD (Getting this in a couple weeks, I believe)

UPN? I don't believe UPN is in HD anywhere, correct me if I'm wrong. I am thinking Comcast might have UPN in HD when Enterprise starts their new season.

I've also heard HDNet and HDNet Movies are being worked on for Comcast (legal stuff, negotiations).

3. They have Video On Demand :-)

WSBK (Channel 38, the local UPN affiliate) broadcasts a few movies and Star Trek: Enterprise in HD.

Enterprise was in HD starting last season, along with the now cancelled "Jake 2.0."

the dual-tuner DVR's are waiting for iGuide and iGuide will be ready at the end of the month.

Originally posted by avic
the dual-tuner DVR's are waiting for iGuide and iGuide will be ready at the end of the month.

Will these automatically be rolled out to current 6208 users, or do we need to put in a request to be upgraded?

-JR

Originally posted by jckessler
WSBK (Channel 38, the local UPN affiliate) broadcasts a few movies and Star Trek: Enterprise in HD.

Enterprise was in HD starting last season, along with the now cancelled "Jake 2.0."

Does anyone know if the Friday night Sox games (Fenway) on UPN are in HD? If not, it makes no sense at all why they aren't since it looks like UPN is "renting" NESN's broadcast which is using HD gear.

What really makes no sense is NESN stretching all the commercials to 16:9 and stretching the post game show as well. When ESPN-HD is showing non wide screen material they simply insert borders. NESN should do the same thing. If I want non wide screen programming stretched and distorted, I can do it myself with the remote control.

-Ken

Originally posted by YesJim
Does anyone know if the Friday night Sox games (Fenway) on UPN are in HD? If not, it makes no sense at all why they aren't since it looks like UPN is "renting" NESN's broadcast which is using HD gear.

The Friday night games arent in HD. I emailed NESN about it and I think they said it wasnt NESN equipment.

Originally posted by kenvt
What really makes no sense is NESN stretching all the commercials to 16:9 and stretching the post game show as well. When ESPN-HD is showing non wide screen material they simply insert borders. NESN should do the same thing. If I want non wide screen programming stretched and distorted, I can do it myself with the remote control.

-Ken

I noticed that as well. When my roommate caught a quick glance of the pre-game show, he first commented on how fat everyone looked. He then realized they were stretching the 4:3 picture.

I've also noticed on some 4:3 material that uses borders that the picture in the 4:3 block is somehow moved to the right or left about a half inch. This results in the following going from left to right on the screen:

left border, picture, thin half inch black border, then right border. I find this very odd and am not sure of the cause.

Originally posted by tennberg
Is it just my imagination or did the name of this thread just change?


I noticed the name change too! I think they made similar name change to most of the other cities threads too.

Duel tuner would be nice but I would only "need" it if and when WSBK is added.
My delima is I like Joan of Arcadai on CBS 4 and it is on at the same time as Enteprrise on UPN 38.
My current play would be to DVR JOA off of 804 and record Enterprise on my DVD+R off of analog channel 14.
Of course if they had WSBK DT and Enteprise was in 1080,then YES dual tuner (do not want to miss JOA and if I had to choose JOA would win the Hi Def battle)

I will have to ask when I get my DVR tomorrow.

if u hate stretching as i do, email or call NESN and complain! there is NO sane reason why they need to stretch 4:3 especially in the middle of the games. they don't seem to care. send email or call:
sports@nesn.com
groy@nesn.com
617-536-9233

A little OT, and mucho late....

Did anybody else notice that a portion of last Friday night's Sox game on UPN38 was in widescreen? I swear I am not making this up. They had the full 16:9 image with black bars on top and bottom. I would have thought my TV was messed up, except for the UPN38 logo in the upper left corner, with most of it in the black bar area!

Of course, that was the SD signal, and I had no digital feed to compare it to.... :rolleyes:

Originally posted by hibricc
A little OT, and mucho late....

Did anybody else notice that a portion of last Friday night's Sox game on UPN38 was in widescreen?


I also noticed that but forgot about it. It was really weird to see. I was watching the game on INHD but I think it was the NESN feed because there were a lot of problems with the audio and commercials matching up. I'm inside the blackout area, so I was surprised to see it on INHD.
On my GWIII, the analog PQ is pretty bad. I settled for watching the digital feed despite the fact that it was not HD and was stretched.

Originally posted by YesJim
Does anyone know if the Friday night Sox games (Fenway) on UPN are in HD? If not, it makes no sense at all why they aren't since it looks like UPN is "renting" NESN's broadcast which is using HD gear. i've posted this many times and soon it will be moot since there is only 1 friday night home game left on 9/24 but since u asked again and since nothing is OT anymore after the thread name-change here ya go:

Friday night Red Sox home games are upconverted HD. WSBK does the production from the park. NESN receives the HD signal that has the WSBK graphics (because WSBK is doing the production). NESN then needs to downconvert the HD signal to remove the WSBK graphics and add the NESN graphics. The signal is then upconverted back to HD and goes out on the NESN HD feed but with a resulting loss in PQ.

Word has it that next year Friday night Red Sox home games on WSBK will be in HD.

Originally posted by hibricc
A little OT, and mucho late....

Did anybody else notice that a portion of last Friday night's Sox game on UPN38 was in widescreen? I swear I am not making this up. They had the full 16:9 image with black bars on top and bottom. I would have thought my TV was messed up, except for the UPN38 logo in the upper left corner, with most of it in the black bar area!

Of course, that was the SD signal, and I had no digital feed to compare it to.... :rolleyes:

Saw this as well. I'd much prefer they do if they're not going to do HD.

Originally posted by avic
i've posted this many times and soon it will be moot since there is only 1 friday night home game left on 9/24 but since u asked again and since nothing is OT anymore after the thread name-change here ya go:

Friday night Red Sox home games are upconverted HD. WSBK does the production from the park. NESN receives the HD signal that has the WSBK graphics (because WSBK is doing the production). NESN then needs to downconvert the HD signal to remove the WSBK graphics and add the NESN graphics. The signal is then upconverted back to HD and goes out on the NESN HD feed but with a resulting loss in PQ.

Word has it that next year Friday night Red Sox home games on WSBK will be in HD.

I was pretty sure that the NESN crew did the production for the WSBK games as well. Obviously the production and promos are geared towards the WSBK audience, but I thought all of the back-end stuff was handled by NESN.

Where did you hear that the Friday night games would be in HD next year?

Originally posted by avic
the dual-tuner DVR's are waiting for iGuide and iGuide will be ready at the end of the month.

I just got a 6208 today.

They are letting me keep a 6200 on an older TV and I could have had another 6200 for my third TV (also lo-def)

They do downconvert HD signals so one CAN view then in SD letterbox format on a older TV.

I got my 6208 also this afternoon. I had a 3-5pm window, he was here at 2:55pm. :) I almost kept my 5100 as a second box/tuner, but decided against it in the end. The install was smooth. The installer was surprised that the video/channels worked while the box was downloading the program data. As others have noted, the DVR software is bare bones at best.

larry

it will be slightly improved with iGuide but still not a tivo. and stretch mode is coming with firmware 8.x, adding native mode would be excellent as well...still trying to get the scoop on that one.

avic:

How soon would firmware 8.x be coming out? Would Comcast wait until iGuide and the 6412 were both available?

I am hoping the Comcast repair guy coming this Friday will be able to troubleshoot why all my HD channels pixelate, freeze, and lose sound. Two Comcast HDTV techs I spoke to said it was defintely an incoming signal issue, and that they would hopefully be able to strengthen it. How do they do that? Do they put an amplifier on my cable box? in my apartment building? elsewhere? Would an amplified signal be of any less quality?

Originally posted by PooperScooper
I got my 6208 also this afternoon. I had a 3-5pm window, he was here at 2:55pm. :) I almost kept my 5100 as a second box/tuner, but decided against it in the end. The install was smooth. The installer was surprised that the video/channels worked while the box was downloading the program data. As others have noted, the DVR software is bare bones at best.

larry

I didn't use too many feature of Tivo.
I set the box to automatically record Dead like me so I can have it in HI DEF.

Does the 6208 need to be turned on in order for it to record at a scheduled time?

Does it turn on automatically when a show starts? I've noticed instances where "Comcast" time will say 8:59PM but a show that starts at 9 will already be playing, thus cutting out the first minute if you did a schedule recording.

IF off then it will turn on for the recording then back off again. your headend sets the time, mine is excellent sync but u can pad your recordings when scheduling to prevent getting cut off.

also: IF the box is off and powers on for a scheduled recording and u want to watch it in delay, make sure you play it from "My DVR" othersise it wont know you're watching, will turn itself off and you'll have to start from the beginning.

Note that it's not unusual (and highly irritating) for networks (especially NBC) to start shows as much as two minutes before the hour without notice. (I think ER has been starting at 9:58 for at least a couple of years now.) But if it's going to start FIVE minutes early or run FIVE minutes long, they'll usually indicate that in the guide listing. I always play it safe and record five extra minutes on either end of the hour.

Originally posted by hibricc
Note that it's not unusual (and highly irritating) for networks (especially NBC) to start shows as much as two minutes before the hour without notice. (I think ER has been starting at 9:58 for at least a couple of years now.) But if it's going to start FIVE minutes early or run FIVE minutes long, they'll usually indicate that in the guide listing. I always play it safe and record five extra minutes on either end of the hour.

Thanks for that. Can you select a show for recording, and then adjust the time from there? Or do you need to set it manually from the start?

On an unrelated topic, INHD/INHD2 lists Yankees @ Red Sox on Sept. 24. Will this game be blacked out in Boston on INHD? Since it's a home Friday game, does that mean we have to put up with UPN's crappy SD broadcast, or is there a chance INHD might cover it as well?

Thanks!

sigh...you will have to watch the crappy STV on UPN38. INHD will be blacked out.

-Ken

Tonight's Patriots game is in HD, but according to Titantv.com, the hourlong pregame show which is mostly musical acts is NOT . Why would this be ? The concert takes place at the Patirots stadium, do they use different cameras ?

-Ken

Originally posted by tennberg
Thanks for that. Can you select a show for recording, and then adjust the time from there? Or do you need to set it manually from the start? Go check out the DVR/IPG MANUAL (http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/downloads/TVGuide_DVR_Manual.pdf)

Originally posted by kenvt
Tonight's Patriots game is in HD, but according to Titantv.com, the hourlong pregame show which is mostly musical acts is NOT . Why would this be ? The concert takes place at the Patirots stadium, do they use different cameras ?

-Ken Check programming forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=34), you'll likely find your answer quicker there.

Most of the pregame musical acts tonight are actually taking place on a stage out in the parking lot not on the field. So that probably has something to do with it.

Should be a good game tonight on HD as most games from the blade are.

Does anyone else see this:

When watching 804, 805, or 807 as they display 4:3 material, here is how my picture somtimes looks:


gray left bar -> 4:3 picture -> thin quarter inch black bar -> gray right bar

Sometimes the black bar is very thin, sometimes it is very thick. I've also see on some of the newscasts where there will be a black bar, but their logo showing time/weather will cross into the black line (if that makes sense).

Could this be a problem with my TV or cable box, or is it simply what happens with 4:3 material on HD channels? I'm hoping others have had this happen to them.

Originally posted by tennberg
gray left bar -> 4:3 picture -> thin quarter inch black bar -> gray right bar

I've seen it (in fact, right now 805 has thin black bars of different widths to either side of the image.)

This is caused by scaling the whole SD image up without cropping it -- you very often get thin black bars to the left and/or right of a digital SD image that creep in from the horizontal blanking area, but on most SD sets you wouldn't see it because the set overscans. NTSC when digitized has 720 pixels per line, but only 704 of them (the middle 704) are in the active area of the picture and should always contain real data.

Which Patriots Games will be in 16:9 Hi Def?

Last night's game on ABC was fantastic PQ and sound. Is there anyway to know which of the remaining games will be shown in 16:9 hi def so I can plan a party to show off my system?

19 Sep 04 at Cardinals 4:15 pm on CBS
3 Oct 04 at Bills 1:00 pm on CBS
10 Oct 04 Dolphins 1:00 pm on CBS
17 Oct 04 Seahawks 1:00 pm on FOX
24 Oct 04 Jets 4:05 pm on CBS
31 Oct 04 at Steelers 4:15 pm on CBS
7 Nov 04 at Rams 4:15 pm on CBS
14 Nov 04 Bills 8:30 pm on ESPN
22 Nov 04 at Chiefs 9:00 pm on ABC
28 Nov 04 Ravens 1:00 pm on CBS
5 Dec 04 at Browns 1:00 pm on CBS
12 Dec 04 Bengals 1:00 pm on CBS
20 Dec 04 at Dolphins 9:00 pm on ABC
26 Dec 04 at Jets 4:05 pm on CBS
2 Jan 05 49ers 1:00 pm on FOX

There is no absolute way to tell. However if you go to directv website and look under their NFL Sunday ticket schedule you can see which games are scheduled to be in HiDef. Right now they only list the schedule out three weeks, I guess they shift the HD games around depending on who is hot and who is not.

-Ken

At a minimum:
ESPN and ABC - all games will be in HD.
FOX - almost positive they all will be, FOX has committed to do up to 6 games/week in HD.
CBS - depends upon the 'hot' games, they are scheduled to do 3 per week I believe. My guess would be that at LEAST the Pitt, StL, and KC games will be in HD, but we'll only know for sure about 2-3 weeks before each game.

The Cards game will not be in HD. That has already been announced.

See http://www.cbssports.com/cbssports/schedules/page/nfl

CBS is doing 3 games a week except in week one.

Originally posted by tennberg
joeinma:

Here are some corrections to your post:

1. Comcast already has the 6208 available for DVR recording. In fact, I got one this past Saturday and have been using it (and liking it).

2. Comcast has most of the line-up you mentioned:

UPN? I don't believe UPN is in HD anywhere, correct me if I'm wrong. I am thinking Comcast might have UPN in HD when Enterprise starts their new season.

I've also heard HDNet and HDNet Movies are being worked on for Comcast (legal stuff, negotiations).

3. They have Video On Demand :-)

I know Comcast has the 6208, I was saying that Beld has it to (thus a pro for Beld and a pro for Comcast). Also, yes Comcast will add WB and UPN HD (for whatever UPN may have to show) at some point, but BELD is in test phase NOW for those and for HDNet and HDNet Movies.

Basically, the two services, programming wise are pretty equal. The two negatives though for BELD are lack of VOD and speed of adding new channels (such as NFL Network which they do not have)...however, the pricing is the big difference between the two.

Comcast Platinum with HD receiver = 100.95
Beld Complete w/ HD Receiver = 95.95

That's only $5, but when adding in Internet access, it looks like this:

Comcast Platinum/HD/Internet = $143.90
Beld Complete/HD/Internet = $114.95 , a savings of almost $30!

So looking at it that way, while I would hate to leave Comcast, $30 a month is nothing to sneeze at!

Does the final Comcast price you list, 143.90, take into account their $15 multi-product discount? Basically, I believe if you get both cable internet and TV, you get a $15 discount. I'd check with Comcast on this.

Comcast no longer gives that discount unless you are grandfathered like I am.

That's a shame, kenvt. I am also "grandfathered" in, in that I have the "Digital Gold Old" package, and get HBO, Cinemax, and Starz and only pay for HBO and Cinemax. Since Starx was in their old package, I get that and Starz HD as well.

On a different topic, i have a 5pm appointment today with Comcast to check the cable signal strength coming in to my apartment. Hopefully, they will be able to remedy that. I'm also hoping that whatever they do does not affect the quality of the signal.

I understand that if you make any changes to your service other than to add HD, you lose the discount forever.

I too have signal issues at my house, comcast is coming on Monday. Let me know what happens, they told me on the phone I might need an amplifier, I wonder how much they charge for that.

-Ken

kenvt:

I would think an amplifier would be free, as it's not your fault their service is bad to your area. If they do charge me, I'm going to throw a tantrum :-)

I am hoping that I can get the HD channels to pixelate this afternoon, so that the tech can see exactly what's happenning. It's like the noise in your car that seems to disappear when you take it in for repair. If they don't hear it, they won't fix it.

Originally posted by tennberg
Does the final Comcast price you list, 143.90, take into account their $15 multi-product discount? Basically, I believe if you get both cable internet and TV, you get a $15 discount. I'd check with Comcast on this.

The cable modem price with cable TV is $43/mo, without is $57/mo. It appears that he has included this discount in his calculations.

kenvt:

So, here's what happened this afternoon:

1. Two Comcast cable guys showed up, with a 6208 in hand. I explained to them the problem and they started checking things.

2. John opened up the AC filter, where there is a cable splitter to two other rooms. He noticed there was a filter on there (about the size of a 35mm film roll) and he took it off. He said those were from the AT&T Broadband days and that Comcast no longer used those. He made the mistake of testing the signal strength there *after* he took off the filter. The new signal was at a +1.16, which he said was good (and that the signal can go down to -6 with no problems). I wonder what it was before that.

3. We then started watching INHD and INHD 2 for about 5-7 minutes before the sound started cutting out and the picture started pixelating. Good thing it happened though, so they could see it firsthand.

4. They then plugged a coaxial cable directly from the 6208 to the TV to test that out. They switched the TV to channel 3, and channels were sill pixelating (even though they looked like crap). No idea what the purpose of that was.

5. They then checked the cable junction box on my floor (it's a large apartment complex), and the signal strength there was good.

6. They then checked where the cable comes from the hallway into the apartment. He commented on how all this wiring was 30 years old and how it would all eventually need to be replaced (as in the whole building). He noticed that the cable wire was just PUSHED into a terminator without any crimping. He cut down the cable a bit, put a new termination on the end, and crimped it properly.

7. We then watched INHD/INHD2 for a while and no pixelation or sound cut-outs so far.

So, some advice: Make sure the cable guy checks *all* junction points and the signal strength. Make sure everything is crimped and tight.

They did not replace the cable box, since they said if it were the box, a lot more channels would be screwy.

He also said if it still did it, they would send out a "triple tech" to look at it. He meant it as someone with a lot more experience than himself (he said he was with Comcast for a few years).

Good luck! I'll keep you posted on how the cable looks tonight, and let me know how your appointment turns out.

Does anyone else notice 882 "pulsing" this afternoon? The cable guys just left, and the pixelations problem seems to be gone (though only time will tell ).

I thought it was my set or the signal, but no other HD channels are exhibiting the xame behavior. It's like the channel can't maintain a contast brightness level.

I'm hoping someone else notices this.

So.....I spoke to soon. Feel free to call me names now :-)

About 20 minutes after the two techs left, HD channels started pixelating and sound was cutting out. I called Comcast back and the guy I spoke to had me turning off the box, unplugging things, checking connectionc, etc. He sent two reset signals to the cable box to no avail. The channels are still pixelating, even quicker now than before.

Comcast is sending out a senior tech tomorrow between 12 and 4 (geez....there goes my Saturday....). Hopefully, this guy will be able to pinpoint the problem. Otherwise I'd have wasted $2000 on my HDTV set, plus the monthly cost for HD service, plus the future cost of ISF calibration.

They will not charge to amplify your signal. It'll proably be done away fro your house at some junction point in the neighborhood. That way it'll take care of everyone.

Originally posted by kenvt
I understand that if you make any changes to your service other than to add HD, you lose the discount forever.

I too have signal issues at my house, comcast is coming on Monday. Let me know what happens, they told me on the phone I might need an amplifier, I wonder how much they charge for that.

-Ken

NO They offer it to new customers who take the Internet and TV services.
You still get the "$15 off"
and you only need BASIC (Chs 2-23)

Originally posted by pcardoza
They will not charge to amplify your signal. It'll proably be done away fro your house at some junction point in the neighborhood. That way it'll take care of everyone.

If the levels are low coming from the system plant, then it will be adjusted somewhere in the line. However, if the levels are low in the house due to wiring issues or too many splits, then an internal amplifier will need to be put on. An in house amp you will most likely be charged for because the internal wiring is the homeowner's property, not the cable company's.

Originally posted by kenvt
I understand that if you make any changes to your service other than to add HD, you lose the discount forever.

I too have signal issues at my house, comcast is coming on Monday. Let me know what happens, they told me on the phone I might need an amplifier, I wonder how much they charge for that.

-Ken

That happened to me. (both issues)

On the discount, you can still get $5 off if you have at least Digital Gold and High Speed Internet. $10 off if you have the phone from them too.

I put my own amplifier in my attic to boost my signal. My cable drop for my second floor was set up with one cable in, with a splitter to three rooms anyway. So I bought a nice bidirectional wideband amplifier from radio shack for $80 [I think!], and plugged it all in, and it works wonderfully.

I didn't check with the cable co. before hand, however, to see if the boost could happen outside of the house. I presumed that since I added yet another split to a line that was already split twice (when I wired an additional room with my own contractor), that they would blame me anyway. So I fixed it myself.

Originally posted by pcardoza
They will not charge to amplify your signal. It'll proably be done away fro your house at some junction point in the neighborhood. That way it'll take care of everyone.

I wish I knew that before I paid for my own amp. :)

Anyway, problem fixed.

controller2k:

Did you happen to test the signal strength at all before putting in the amp? The Comcast guys said mine was +1.16, which they said was good. They said a signal would be "good" down to -6.

Were you also getting heavy pixelation, sound cut-outs, and freezes on the HD channels? Did the amp fix those issues, if you had them?

I am hoping that maybe the combination of a new 6208 and an amp might solve my issue.

I asked the cable guys who came today to check my signal about the availability of the 6412. The first guy said "January" before he was corrected by what seemed like the more senior guy who said "October".

I have read somewhere in this thread that WB-HD will soon ne added to the lineup. I called Comcast and they told me that they don't know yet when it will be available. Was that just a rumor?

WLVI HD is going high power sometime this month. After it goes high power comcast should be able to pick it up at their antenna farm.
We should then get the channel.

-Ken

WB went high power about 3 days ago. Check out the Boston OTA thread. Season premires are in 12 days, but I think some other modifications need to be made for Comcast to get the signal. We shall see.

Chris

To those who have been following my pixelation saga:

A senior Comcast tech was just here, and I explained to him the whole situation, what was done yesterday afternoon, what was still happenning. He checked the signal again, and he said it was fine at +1.16. He said the signal is good from about -5 to +5. Anything over +5 would overmodulate, anything under -5 would result in no picture.

I told him that on the broadcast channels, I would occassionally get the message "One moment please. This channel should be available shortly." That made a light go off. He said it's most likely the cable box as that message is a buffer issue that could only be at the cable box.

He is running back to Winchester to get a new DVR box and should be back within the hour. I will report to everyone the results of this.

Thanks for the info kenvt!

not 100% sure

comcast crowed when the added NFL network on ch 265,but dsidnt tell anyone about the return of MTV Jams on ch 280 (WAS 273 where MTV hits is now) and Nick west on ch 228.

They could technically add WLVIDT and WSBKDT any time.

According to those in the Boston thread, WLVI is at high power now. Comcast should be able to add it at any time.

Originally posted by jckessler
According to those in the Boston thread, WLVI is at high power now. Comcast should be able to add it at any time.

It is a matter of getting permission to retransmit the signal from WLVIDT, which Comcast does have.

That and equipment and bandwidth of course.

controller2k:

I was searching back many posts and came across one from you where you mentioned how you were getting horrible SNRs and AGCs on your cable signal. Using miatasm's web page and your post, I was able to go into my 6208's diagnostics and check out the SNRs and AGCs.

The reason being that this is my second 6208 and I am still having pixelating and soung cut-out issues on the HD channels. Comcast has removed a filter on the cable line, tested the signal strength, and rewired part of the apartment. Everything looked okay to them.

So, I was checking out the SNRs and AGCs on the HD channels. On 881 and 882, the SNRs were in the 35.0-36.5 dB range, which the 6208 marked as "GOOD". However, the AGCs were between 74-76%, which the 6208 marked as "FAIR". I then did the same on HBO HD (870), and got some correctable errors.

What would you recommend I do next? I am going to call Comcast and mention this to one of their HD techs. Would an amplifier solve all of my problems? I am almost tempted to just buy my own tomorrow rather than wait for Comcast to do it.

I am hoping this resolves all of my issues. I am just surprised and shocked that not one of the 3 techs who came out even bothered to check the diagnostics pages on the HD channels.

Originally posted by tennberg
controller2k:

So, I was checking out the SNRs and AGCs on the HD channels. On 881 and 882, the SNRs were in the 35.0-36.5 dB range, which the 6208 marked as "GOOD". However, the AGCs were between 74-76%, which the 6208 marked as "FAIR". I then did the same on HBO HD (870), and got some correctable errors.

What would you recommend I do next? I am going to call Comcast and mention this to one of their HD techs. Would an amplifier solve all of my problems? I am almost tempted to just buy my own tomorrow rather than wait for Comcast to do it.

I am hoping this resolves all of my issues. I am just surprised and shocked that not one of the 3 techs who came out even bothered to check the diagnostics pages on the HD channels.

I feel your pain and have shared your experience but unfortunately there does not yet seem to exist a good depth of knowledge regarding HD issues for the techs. None of these guys may even know about the diagnostic screens.

Hope WLVI-DT is coming soon

Originally posted by DDisney
I feel your pain and have shared your experience but unfortunately there does not yet seem to exist a good depth of knowledge regarding HD issues for the techs. None of these guys may even know about the diagnostic screens.

DDisney:

It also seems I'm getting borderline SNRs (~20.0dB) on the digital channels as well, and the OOB diagnostic screen shows the built-in tuner as getting a borderline SNR (~20.0db) as well. Even though the signal strength tested fine by three Comcast techs, the signal may need to be even stronger.

I will be calling Comcast in the morning to discuss with them further the current problem. I am not sure if I will be able to get a hold of anyone on a Sunday that will understand SNRs, AGCs, and diagnostic screens. Hopefully, they'll just send out a tech to put in an amplifier at some point within the system. I still can't believe not a single tech even bothered to check these screens. The third guy even raved about how he has had HD since Christmas and how he is such a gadget guy.

Originally posted by tennberg
I still can't believe not a single tech even bothered to check these screens. The third guy even raved about how he has had HD since Christmas and how he is such a gadget guy.

I'd imagine most of them do not have proper training, add to that that most probably have not had problems to the extent of yours - it probably is not a priority at this point that all technicians know this since just throwing an amp at it, or finding some filter on the line that shouldn't be there - usually fixes the problem.

I would imagine, and hope that by the time these HD installs are more then about 5% of their installs (current installed HD sets is around 6% from what I have heard/seen online) that they will be more well trained for troubleshooting the boxes.

After having Comcast rerun the underground wire to my house and rewiring the house with RG6, I get the following signal strength numbers

In Band
SNR 36.1 Good
AGC 54 Good

OOB
SNR 21.6 Good
AGC 26 Good

How do these compare?

Originally posted by ScoopsHD
If the levels are low coming from the system plant, then it will be adjusted somewhere in the line. However, if the levels are low in the house due to wiring issues or too many splits, then an internal amplifier will need to be put on. An in house amp you will most likely be charged for because the internal wiring is the homeowner's property, not the cable company's.

Not necessarily Scoops. When I had my HD box installed, I had pixelations problems on all channels. Comcast sent a tech back and they found that the signal was low. They first pointed to the prewired portion of the house which was done in 1986. They rewired this for me at no cost, right to the TV. Then, when that didn't solve the problem, they brought in a whole team of guys and traced the problem to a junction box down the street. They fixed that issue and everything has been fine since. While dicussing the issue with them, they said if it was simply an amplification issue, they would handle it at some junction point to ensure the whole street was good, as I live on a dead end.

One thing you need to remember about these screens is they are only as good as the components in the box. They are meant for relative measurements, not accuracy. I had two boxes side by side and had different readings. One box read "poor" and the other read "good".

Originally posted by new2hometheater
After having Comcast rerun the underground wire to my house and rewiring the house with RG6, I get the following signal strength numbers

In Band
SNR 36.1 Good
AGC 54 Good

OOB
SNR 21.6 Good
AGC 26 Good

How do these compare?

new2:

I get the following readings on these channels around 11AM, Sunday:


Channel 881 (INHD)

OOB Status

SNR 20.0dB FAIR
AGC 22% GOOD

In-Band Status

SNR 35.3dB GOOD
AGC 75% FAIR


Channel 882 (INHD2)

OOB Status

SNR 20.4dB GOOD
AGC 22% GOOD

In-Band Status

SNR 35.4dB GOOD
AGC 75% FAIR


Channel 301 (HBO East)

OOB Status

SNR 20.1dB GOOD
AGC 22% GOOD

In-Band Status

SNR 32.9dB GOOD
AGC 78% GOOD


I don't have any issues with the digital and analog channels besides the occassional message saying "One moment please. This channel should be available shortly." The third guy who noticed this said it was most likely a box issue since that message would only happen with a buffer issue with the box.

I am also a bit concerned that the OOB status SNR is borderline around 20dB, the line between GOOD and FAIR. Also, the majority of the HD channels show in-band AGCs that are FAIR.

I'm not sure if it's a signal strength issue since the three techs who measured it said +1.16 was more than enough. If they do rewire the apartment, it should be interesting as it's an apartment complex and I don't have an easy direct path to the junction box on the floor.

Excellent picture on Redskins/Bucs NFL game on Fox 25 via Comcast. Very Good debut on Fox Sports with HD

Anybody know why we are getting the SF/Atl game this afternoon? The guide has NY/Philly scheduled. I would much rather watch that game.

We already got screwed out of the morning HD game on CBS b/c they figured as an AFC East market we give a poo about the Jets game..

Getting NY/Philly here. Sound is breaking up frequently. Picture looks OK, but my display (and eyes) prefers 1080i. ;)

They changed over to the Philly game here in Newton. Who knows why they started off with the SF game. I'm having a lot of audio drop outs too. It's very annoying. Also, the announcer's mic level is very low, so I have the volume turned up pretty loud and every time I flip channels I get blasted!

INHD is unwatchable here right now. Other channels seem OK. I'm not sure that Philly/NY game was HD, the highlights look better on ESPN than the game did live. ;)

Originally posted by tennberg
controller2k:
<snip>

The reason being that this is my second 6208 and I am still having pixelating and soung cut-out issues on the HD channels. Comcast has removed a filter on the cable line, tested the signal strength, and rewired part of the apartment. Everything looked okay to them.

<snip>

I'm running a 6208 as well and noticed similar problems... but ONLY if I use the Pause button on a recorded show. I find that I can watch a whole show no problem. I've then gone back and rewatched it and had to use pause. When I unpause, whether 10 seconds or 15 minutes I get stutters and stops and stuff (no tiling). I have to Stop back to live TV then start playing the recorded program again and its fine until I hit Pause. Is this what you are seeing?

Originally posted by pcardoza
Not necessarily Scoops. When I had my HD box installed, I had pixelations problems on all channels. Comcast sent a tech back and they found that the signal was low. They first pointed to the prewired portion of the house which was done in 1986. They rewired this for me at no cost, right to the TV. Then, when that didn't solve the problem, they brought in a whole team of guys and traced the problem to a junction box down the street. They fixed that issue and everything has been fine since. While dicussing the issue with them, they said if it was simply an amplification issue, they would handle it at some junction point to ensure the whole street was good, as I live on a dead end.

I could see that happening, but I don't think that is the norm. I guess it might depend on alot of different factors.

Originally posted by ScoopsHD
I'm running a 6208 as well and noticed similar problems... but ONLY if I use the Pause button on a recorded show. I find that I can watch a whole show no problem. I've then gone back and rewatched it and had to use pause. When I unpause, whether 10 seconds or 15 minutes I get stutters and stops and stuff (no tiling). I have to Stop back to live TV then start playing the recorded program again and its fine until I hit Pause. Is this what you are seeing?

ScoopsHD:

I haven't recorded anything yet, so I am not sure if anything happens when I replay a show.

What will happen on the HD channels during regular broadcasts is the following:

1. I will tune into 870, 881, 882, etc.

2. I will be watching for about 5-7 minutes. I will then noticed a few quarter-inch square blocks on the screen.

3. About 30 seconds later, the sound will cut out for a few seconds.

4. About 5-7 seconds after that, the enter screen will turn into small blocks, or the picture will freeze. The whole time, the audio will be cutting in and out.

However, there are times when I can watch an HD channel for an hour or so with no problems.

I think all of this points back to the high percentage AGCs (marked FAIR) on the HD channels in the diagnostic screen of the 6208, as well as the FAIR SNR in the OOB status screen.

I am going to call Comcast tomorrow during the day, hoping to get a knowledgeable HD tech. I am hoping they understand what I mean by high AGCs and low SNRs.

Originally posted by tennberg
ScoopsHD:

I haven't recorded anything yet, so I am not sure if anything happens when I replay a show.

What will happen on the HD channels during regular broadcasts is the following:

1. I will tune into 870, 881, 882, etc.

2. I will be watching for about 5-7 minutes. I will then noticed a few quarter-inch square blocks on the screen.

3. About 30 seconds later, the sound will cut out for a few seconds.

4. About 5-7 seconds after that, the enter screen will turn into small blocks, or the picture will freeze. The whole time, the audio will be cutting in and out.

However, there are times when I can watch an HD channel for an hour or so with no problems.

I think all of this points back to the high percentage AGCs (marked FAIR) on the HD channels in the diagnostic screen of the 6208, as well as the FAIR SNR in the OOB status screen.

I am going to call Comcast tomorrow during the day, hoping to get a knowledgeable HD tech. I am hoping they understand what I mean by high AGCs and low SNRs.

When you say in #4 the enter screen... do you mean the 6208 menu? That tiles or freezes?

Originally posted by ScoopsHD
When you say in #4 the enter screen... do you mean the 6208 menu? That tiles or freezes?

ScoopsHD:

In #4, I meant to say entire, not enter. Hope that helps to clear up the situation.

To anyone following the continuing saga with my HD channels pixelating:

So far, the 6208 has been replaced entirely, part of the apartment was rewired due to a loose connection, the incoming signal was tested by three technicians who said it was more than fine, and the junction box in the apartment complex was tested.

Thanks to miatasm's webpage and controller2k's previous post, I was able to check the diagnostics screen and pinpoint that there is a borderline SNR on all channels and on the built-in tuner. I was also able to determine that the AGC on all HD channels was way too high.

I spoke to a Comcast customer rep. today who thankfully understood everything I was talking about. He said that the diagnostics menu will be more accurate than anything a technician says, and that it was great of me to check it and understand what was going on. He said they are all trained on the diagnostics menu, but the field technicians aren't. He also said they are told not to tell customers about the diagnostics menu, as it will only serve to confuse them.

He is sending out a field supervisor tomorrow afternoon to hopefully fix the problem once and for all. I also asked for a credit on my service, as the HD channels have been unwatchable since I got it installed.

I'll keep you all posted on the outcome.

Originally posted by tennberg
He said they are all trained on the diagnostics menu, but the field technicians aren't. He also said they are told not to tell customers about the diagnostics menu, as it will only serve to confuse them.


That made me eject coca cola through both nostrils simultaneously.

Is it a requirement that technicians be less informed than their clients, or is this just some sort of bold new business plan on the part of Comcast?

Curiously, the first time I saw the diagnostic menu (on a 5100) was when the technicial who installed it checked my signal strength during installation. Then again, that guy did seem especially clue-laden, compared to most of the techs I've dealt with.

If you call comcast at the number on the bill, they give you a menu option to talk to somebody about HDTV service. The people I've been put in touch with using that option have generally been able to carry on a reasonable conversation, and answer questions I have had.

If you're calling some sort of general sales line, the best you can hope for is, "Our digital gold package is our best value."

Originally posted by jckessler
If you call comcast at the number on the bill, they give you a menu option to talk to somebody about HDTV service. The people I've been put in touch with using that option have generally been able to carry on a reasonable conversation, and answer questions I have had.

If you're calling some sort of general sales line, the best you can hope for is, "Our digital gold package is our best value."

The first two times I called Comcast after the HD service was acting the way it is, the two guys I spoke to weren't much help. All they could say was "Check the connections. Turn off the cable box. *sends reset signal* Turn it back on. Check the connections again. Turn if back off..." Well, you get the idea. They then said "Well, let me send a technician and see what he can do." You could totally tell the two guys I first spoke to were reading a script off a piece of paper.

On another related note, *every* rep and technician I've spoken to was surprised that when I turn into a 4:3 broadcast channel, the picture doesn't fill the entire screen. I've even had a couple of them walk me through getting the 4:3 picture to fill the entire screen. Heaven forbid I would actually want to watch 4:3 broadcasts in a 4:3 format with black bars. :-)

Originally posted by tennberg
Thanks to miatasm's webpage and controller2k's previous post, I was able to check the diagnostics screen and pinpoint that there is a borderline SNR on all channels and on the built-in tuner. I was also able to determine that the AGC on all HD channels was way too high.

I just searched through the almost 200 pages and can't seem to find the info that shows how check the diagnostics screen. Can someone toss a link here please?

Thanks in advance!

-JR

Courtesy of miatasm's signature file:

General page:

http://cjhengineering.com/DCTHDFAQ.htm

Diagnostics page:

http://cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/dctdiag.htm


Basically, I checked the in-band status on all HD channels, along with the OOB status on all HD channels, plus some digital channels. Very insightful! Thanks miatasm!

Super thanks tennberg! I recall seeing the diagnostics screen when a Comcast tech came in and checked on the signal strength. I can't wait to go home and see what comes up on the diagnostics screen! :)

-JR

I did a rudimentary test for signal strength at the box by using the (then 6200)'s diagnostic pages. I forget the actual levels and all of that, but before the boost I was getting a signal level of "poor" and an AGC rating of "poor".

I was also getting thousands of uncorrectable errors.

It went up to good/good, and I am getting no uncorrectable errors and only a few correctable ones.

I'd say the amp helped; it is the only variable I changed.

I was getting everything you describe as problems on my HD channels - intermittent on some channels, and on other channels (like Discovery HD) it was so bad the channel was literally unwatchable.

I have since upgraded to a 6208 - no signal issues so I haven't bothered to really check the diagnostic pages since, though I did look at them once and remember seeing good/good.

-P


Originally posted by tennberg
controller2k:

Did you happen to test the signal strength at all before putting in the amp? The Comcast guys said mine was +1.16, which they said was good. They said a signal would be "good" down to -6.

Were you also getting heavy pixelation, sound cut-outs, and freezes on the HD channels? Did the amp fix those issues, if you had them?

I am hoping that maybe the combination of a new 6208 and an amp might solve my issue.

JR:

You're very welcome. I hope your results help shed a lot of light on your current HD status, assuming it's poor. I'm finding myself on these posts a lot during work. At least I'm able to focus on my work first, then this forum. I can't believe how much I've learned here.

controller2k:

Is "GOOD" the highest the rating can go? As to what I should expect:

1. What is your average SNR for the OOB status? I'm getting around 20.0dB for the SNR in OOB.

2. What is the average SNR and AGC in the in-band status on an HD channel, say 881 or 882? I'm curious as to what I should be getting. I'm currently getting around 35dB and 75%+ AGC in-band on 881 and 882, in addition to other HD channels.

3. Would an amp degrade the quality of the signal at all? Would I find that with an amp, the HD channels would become less clear? Would an amp ever do that?

Thanks!

I am curious to see how things work out for you.

I too live in Medford and am experiencing similar issues.

All HD channels experience the Macro Blocking problem you describe. Each HD channel will periodically freeze with a pattern looking like a scrambled picture puzzle with sound cut out. It usually stays like this for a few seconds, but sometimes will "stutter" a bit before it clears up. Ironically, it seems to occur most frequently during a scene change during a program.

I had the MOTO 5100 for a year and never experienced this problem until the 6208 was installed recently.

I will check the diagnostics for all HD channels and see how they comapre with yours.

Just to add one more point to the mix: I have the 6208 with 7.15. I set up a recording of a movie on InHD 1, and happened to be watching when the recording started. I got severe macroblocking for the first 4-5 seconds of the recording while watching it record, then it settled down. What was interesting is that when I play back the recording, the macroblocking is gone.

I haven't contacted Comcast about it, since it was a one-time-only thing. I get occasional macroblocks (although nothing as frequent as what others have described -- maybe one small occurence evey 4 or 5 hours of viewing, usually right after a channel change) but this particular symptom seems a little suspicious to me. This means that the recording has all the right bits, but something caused some of them to not be played. I'm wondering if something in the path might be starving the MPEG decoder.

Has anyone tried to see if the incidence of macroblocks goes down if you watch a little bit behind the live broadcast?

According to miatasm's website, the AGC (automatic gain control) is a measure of how hard the 6208/6200/5100 is working to compensate for the signal coming in. Since it's very high on the HD channels for me (75% and above), it means my 6208 is working extra hard to compensate for the signal coming in. Since the techs measured the signal as "fine", it could just mean I need an even stronger signal for HD channels to be viewable.

As for recorded broadcasts, I guess since all the bits are already there, the 6208 doesn't need to do much work to play it back.

Since this is my second 6208, it could either be an issue outside of the 6208 (signal strength, issue with a junction box, etc.) or perhaps the MPEG decoder in the 6208 just isn't powerful enough. It could also be that a simple firmware fix could squash any pixelation issues.

I'll keep you all posted on how tomorrow afternoon works out. I'm hoping he'll be able to fix in on the spot and not turn this into a "now that I see what's wrong, let's schedule yet another day to actually fix it."

I noticed a few weeks ago that the picture (all channels - including HD) is a bit grainier during fast action, but looks OK during slower moving pictures. ie - watching the weather guy do the forcast it looks crystal clear, but watching a car zip around for a commercial or even the graphics within some news graphics, it seems a little grainier - then the picture solidifies. I've noticed this more since getting the new 6208. Am I alone in this - should I waste the time (and possibly work) to call Comcast and have them come out?

Also a question on the DVR: The tech that installed the 6208 said that if I'm watching a show and decide at some point during the show that I want to record it, it would record it from the point that I started watching it - since the show is already being recorded to do the rewind, live, etc.. I've yet to see this work. Was he wrong??

PS - I've also seen the macro-blocking over the past weekend on HD and am assuming that its a network/region-wide issue thats being looked at...

Originally posted by Kaiser-Soze
I noticed a few weeks ago that the picture (all channels - including HD) is a bit grainier during fast action, but looks OK during slower moving pictures. ie - watching the weather guy do the forcast it looks crystal clear, but watching a car zip around for a commercial or even the graphics within some news graphics, it seems a little grainier - then the picture solidifies. I've noticed this more since getting the new 6208. Am I alone in this - should I waste the time (and possibly work) to call Comcast and have them come out?

Also a question on the DVR: The tech that installed the 6208 said that if I'm watching a show and decide at some point during the show that I want to record it, it would record it from the point that I started watching it - since the show is already being recorded to do the rewind, live, etc.. I've yet to see this work. Was he wrong??

PS - I've also seen the macro-blocking over the past weekend on HD and am assuming that its a network/region-wide issue thats being looked at...

Kaiser: Comcast owns the cable lines, plus you're paying for their service. if your service is not up-to-par, they should be able to fix anything outside your home/apartment at no cost. If it is something inside your home/building, I think it then depends on the issue.

As for the DVR question, I've recorded a few things and played them back. It only recorded from when I hit "record". It did not record the entire show.

As for the macro-blocking issue, take a look at the diagnostics page of your 6208 to see what the OOB and In-Band stats are link. If yours are link mine, it would explain your issues. I don't think it's region-wide, as a lot more people would be complaining.

Dennis:

I have the 6208 in Baltimore, FW 7.15. I found that pausing the live show for a few seconds and then starting it does cut down on the macroblocking and freezing, but it doesn't eliminate it.

Rich N.

Originally posted by raidbuck
I have the 6208 in Baltimore, FW 7.15. I found that pausing the live show for a few seconds and then starting it does cut down on the macroblocking and freezing, but it doesn't eliminate it.


Curious. If that is indeed the case, the implication is that playing "live" might be a little too close to the edge, performance-wise, which also implies that by adding a little extra pre-buffer they might clear things up in at least some instances. I'm not sure if this'd be a firmware change or a TV Guide Interactive/iGuide change, although I'd guess the latter.

I rarely watch anything live (been TiVo-conditioned for several years now) and as I said, I've seen very little macroblocking.

It'll be interesting to see whether things improve when iGuide rolls out next month.

Originally posted by tennberg
[B]Kaiser: Comcast owns the cable lines, plus you're paying for their service. if your service is not up-to-par, they should be able to fix anything outside your home/apartment at no cost. If it is something inside your home/building, I think it then depends on the issue.


Thank you tennberg. I guess I wanted to see if misery had company...

With Ch4 as the last channel
OOB: SNR 19db, AGC 24%

With 881
OOB: SNR 19.8db, AGC 24%
IBS: SNR 37.2db, AGC 50%

Uncorrectable 0000
Correctable 0091

Kaiser:

That looks mostly like mine. For Ch. 4, that is what I usually get, though my SNR is a bit higher.

As for 881, the OOB is usually what I get. However, for the IBS, my AGC is usually 75% or higher, and the SNR is 1 - 2 dB lower.

The correctable errors concern me, as those can lead to uncorrectable errors down the road, it seems. I usually only get 1 correctable error when staying in the screen for 10 minutes or more.

and that was only switching to the channel to get the IBS readings - so that was less than a minute

Originally posted by Kaiser-Soze

Also a question on the DVR: The tech that installed the 6208 said that if I'm watching a show and decide at some point during the show that I want to record it, it would record it from the point that I started watching it - since the show is already being recorded to do the rewind, live, etc.. I've yet to see this work. Was he wrong??


Yes he was wrong for the time being, when the new guide rolls out, iGuide, it will have the ability to record the buffered portion of a program.

Originally posted by miatasm
Yes he was wrong for the time being, when the new guide rolls out, iGuide, it will have the ability to record the buffered portion of a program.
Miatasm:

Any idea on when the new iGuide will be rolled out?

Mickey

I just received my cable bill which said to watch for the new guide "shortly".

-Ken

tennberg, I'm posting this away from my house so I'll answer what I can:

1. I'm not sure Good is the best there is, but in casual reading I haven't seen anyone go over "good"

2. On INHD my AGC is about 17%. Your AGC is very high (mine was around 80% before the amp)

3. No. The Amp is boosting the signal allowing the ones and zeroes of the -digital- signal to come through clearly. When they don't come in clearly, the box has to try to guess what's there and that is when you get your blocking, your sound block outs, etc. It is just like having a dirty or scratched DVD or CD. Error correction can only do so much.

An amp basically helps "clean the disc" to use the CD/DVD analogy and make it easier for the box to read the content without as much (if any) error correction.

I suppose if the amp is improperly installed or is the wrong kind it could hurt things. But if properly installed, the AMP will clarify the signal so the box can get all the ones and zeros it needs to show the picture. And when it does that, you receive the picture exactly as broadcast - since it is a pure digital signal to begin with. (talking about HD here)




Originally posted by tennberg
JR:

controller2k:

Is "GOOD" the highest the rating can go? As to what I should expect:

1. What is your average SNR for the OOB status? I'm getting around 20.0dB for the SNR in OOB.

2. What is the average SNR and AGC in the in-band status on an HD channel, say 881 or 882? I'm curious as to what I should be getting. I'm currently getting around 35dB and 75%+ AGC in-band on 881 and 882, in addition to other HD channels.

3. Would an amp degrade the quality of the signal at all? Would I find that with an amp, the HD channels would become less clear? Would an amp ever do that?

Thanks!

Blurb on my (online) bill reads:

"Between 9/29 and 10/14 you will see a new and improved digital on-screen program guide. For details on how to use your new guide, visit us at www.comcast.com/newguide. We make these changes to improve your viewing experience; we hope you enjoy your new guide!"

Originally posted by Kaiser-Soze
Thank you tennberg. I guess I wanted to see if misery had company...

With Ch4 as the last channel
OOB: SNR 19db, AGC 24%

With 881
OOB: SNR 19.8db, AGC 24%
IBS: SNR 37.2db, AGC 50%

Uncorrectable 0000
Correctable 0091

Ch5
OOB: SNR ~19.2db, AGC 18%

With 881
IBS: SNR ~37.2 GOOD, AGC 49% GOOD

Uncorrectable 0000
Correctable 0012 - 0231

I put the ~ since the #'s fluctuate, and that seemed to be the average.

My Correctable listing changes wildly, there is no apparent middle for it. I posted the lowest and highest I saw, over a period of about 1 minute. Yup, that is 231. I got a lot of scores in the mid to high 100's. :(

-JR

JR:

I would call a Comcast HD tech and mention to them the correctable errors. According to miatasm's webpage, these could lead to uncorrectable errors, though you didn't mention any. I am not sure how your reception of HD channels is, though. I'm not even sure if a high number of correctable errors with no uncorrectable errors is something to worry about.

As for your and controller2k's low AGCs on the HD channels, I'm jealous. Hopefully, the fielf supervisor will be able to correct the problem and bring those AGCs from 75% to below 50%.

I'll post later this afternoon on the progress.

tennberg,

I didn't see any uncorrectable errors, but I did notice when I went to 302, which is HBO, I got the following readings:

With 302
SNR: ~35.5db, AGC 51%

Uncorrectable 0000
Correctable 0000

Is it odd or normal that there is such a large disparity between the digital and HD channels?

-JR

JR:

Technically, I am not sure. I would notice that for IBS on digital channels, I would get AGCs around 40% or so while HD channels would give me AGCs around 75%. I would also get varying OOB SNR numbers between analog, digital, and HD channels. I also get no correctable errors on digital channels while HD channels might give me 1 or 2 correctable errors.

I honestly don't know if it's a problem with the 6208 and the way it handles HD streams, or if it's a Comcast problem with the way they're sending the signal, or if it's a low signal strength issue.

I don't think it would hurt to call Comcast and explain to them the problem you're having, if any.

Thanks for the response tennberg.

The only issues I have aren't all that serious, just annoying. Such as having the feed pixelate once every 10 minutes or so, or having odd image/audio drop outs. I'm guessing that might be when the correctable errors peak...

It would be wonderful if you could superimpose the live info onto of whatever channel you were watching, instead of having to switch between the channel and the OOB screen.

-JR

JR:

What I've tried to do is when an HD channel is freaking out is to go into the IBS menu to see if there are any correctable/uncorrectable errors coming through, and have seen 0.

However, I'm not sure if shutting off the 6208 somehow "resets" it, so that I won't see those errors unless I watch that screen for 10-20 minutes.

I'm also not sure if they do put an amp on the line, if it needs to be plugged into an AC outlet. The ones I've seen online at Best Buy or Radio Shack have used an AC adapter. I'm hoping it's simply osmething they plug on the line and I'm good to go.

I just had the comcast guy at my house a few days ago. He replaced two splitters (one was ozxidized badly, the other didn't go to 1000mhz). He told me an amplifier would be difficult at my location because they need to be plugged in (I don't have a basement and the cable splits outside). My signal at the high frequency end is close to -5 volts, but since he changed the splitters my HD Is pretty good. He was going to have "the maintenance tech" look into increasing my voltage from the pole.

-Ken

Grrrrrrr........

So, the Comcast tech just called to say he was on his way, and wanted me to explain the problem while he was driving here.

I told him how three techs have looked at the problem, the signal always tests fine, they replaced part of the wiring, and even replaced the cable box. He said, "Oh, that's everything I was going to do." Doh!

So I told him about how the problem seems to be that the AGCs are extremely high on the HD channels when I checked the diagnostics page, to which he replied. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I've only been at this job 6 months."

*fuming*

He did say he was going to call another tech to join him. Hopefully the second tech isn't as clueless as the first. I should honestly make Comcast give me a year free of DVR/HD for all this hassle.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I've only been at this job 6 months."

Seems like the ideal resume for a "tech."

:rolleyes:

So the tech just left. I asked him about putting a signal amplifier on the line and he said since the signal strength was fine, he can't do that. I also showed him how the AGC on the IBS status page was extremely high. He looked like a deer in the headlights when I showed him that.

His recommendation as well as his supervisor's (who was actually supposed to be here instead) is to remove the 59 wiring to the box and replace it with 6 wiring. How much they'd do that and whether or not that would even solve the problem, who knows.

controller2k: Were your signal levels fine when they tested your line before the amplifier? Mine keep testing fine, so I'm almost tempted to go out to Best Buy and buy my own dang amplifier.

Replacing RG-59 with RG-6 can lead to considerable improvements at higher frequencies, assuming we're talking more than a couple of feet here.

Whether it's enough improvement to actually fix your problem... Well, I'd be encouraged if channels 2-7 showed a much stronger signal than the HD channels, but otherwise, it sounds like snake oil.

I had some RG-59 going to my cable box and replaced it with RG-6... huge difference in AGC. The run was probably 30 feet.

Chris

Originally posted by Schlotkins
I had some RG-59 going to my cable box and replaced it with RG-6... huge difference in AGC. The run was probably 30 feet.

Chris

Schlotkins:

What cable did they replace? Basically the cable goes from my box to the outlet, the outlet to the junction box on the floor, the junction to who knows where. Just how much cable would they need to replace? The entire length to the junction box on the street, all with RG-6?

Also, were you getting tiling and sound cut-outs on HD channels? Did simply replacing the wiring fix all that?

What cable did they replace? Basically the cable goes from my box to the outlet, the outlet to the junction box on the floor, the junction to who knows where. Just how much cable would they need to replace? The entire length to the junction box on the street, all with RG-6?

I was having a lot of problems with the "One moment please" stuff on the higher mhz HD channels so I checked the information on my 5100 (at the time.. I have a 6200 now) and the AGC was "poor" and signal strength was "fair/poor." (I could see the correctable error count go through the roof.)

I'm fortunate because my entertainment system is in the lower level near the outside drop. So, I took a premade 50' RG-6 cable from the drop to the cable box and everything went to good/excellent. So, the first thing I did was put in a Rat Shack power amp splitter to replace the two older ones (3 and 2 port) which got the signal strength up to "good." At this point, the channels were all viewable. Since the cable (RG-59) to the wall outlet was exposed to in the utility room, I redid that as well (and RG-6 to the box from the outlet) to get everything up to snuff.

I don't have any technical experience on this stuff, but if you are running across the floor and then down to your cable drop, you probably are running through a LOT of RG-59 and that's what is causing your headaches. Maybe the AGC matters more with the 6208 with the buffering - never seemed like a problem for me.

That's probably bad news for you since your cables are in the wall... I'd replace whatever you can get your hands on. Otherwise, you may want to try running cable through closets or something.

HTH,
Chris

Is there an "excellent" marking in the 6208 diagnostics screen for SNR and AGC? Or is the highest it can go "good"?

I have miss quoted the box.. it's be a while since I did that. :) I'd say if it says "good," don't worry.

Chris

"Good" is the best

Has anyone heard anything about the NFL network being in HD in new england ? This
thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=446142&highlight=NFL+Network) mentions it as a possibility.

Originally posted by Dennis Wilkinson
Blurb on my (online) bill reads:

"Between 9/29 and 10/14 you will see a new and improved digital on-screen program guide. For details on how to use your new guide, visit us at www.comcast.com/newguide. We make these changes to improve your viewing experience; we hope you enjoy your new guide!"


Sorry, we cannot find that page

remove the period...try this

http://www.comcast.com/newguide/

is to remove the 59 wiring to the box and replace it with 6 wiring.

Oh my. The tech that installed my HD box and cable modem a year ago said he replaces (if possible) all RG59 with RG6 that is between house "inlet" and the cable modem and HD box. He said otherwise all kinds of strange problems are possible, especially with the cable modem. I just thought it was a given nowadays that RG6 is the "standard" for cable and satellite.

larry

Originally posted by PooperScooper
Oh my. The tech that installed my HD box and cable modem a year ago said he replaces (if possible) all RG59 with RG6 that is between house "inlet" and the cable modem and HD box. He said otherwise all kinds of strange problems are possible, especially with the cable modem. I just thought it was a given nowadays that RG6 is the "standard" for cable and satellite.

larry

Pooper:

Since I live in a multi-floor apartment complex, would the "house inlet" be the cable junction box on my floor, or would it be something else entirely?

I know Comcast is going to schedule time for a contractor (I think they said TriWire) to rewire the apartment with RG6 to the cable box. I should tell them to rewire RG6 to the two bedrooms, as one of them has my BF and I's cable modem, and to also check the current cable splitters and see if those need to be replaced.

tennberg, keep me posted on how that goes...I'd love to see if they could check and rewire if necessary the apt building I live in, which is an old brownstone. :(

-JR

JR:

Just curious, what is your current setup like? Components, cables, speakers, etc? I noticed the photos. Quite nice.

Here's what mine is (sorry if off-topic):

Monster M1000 coaxial cable from wall to Motorola 6208 cable box --> Monster M1000 component video to Sony KD-34XBR960, Monster M1000 coaxial audio to Onkyo TX-DS747 receiver

Denon DVD-910 (going to be replaced by either Denon DVD-2900 or DVD-2910) to Sony via Monster M1000 component video and Monster M1000 coaxial audio to receiver

Mordaunt-Short MS10i Pearl fronts and MSCi center to receiver via Kimber Kable 4TC speaker cables, Mordaunt-Short MS20i rears to receiver via generic Home Depot zip wire to receiver (tucked under baseboard in apartment)

Once the DVD player is replaced, I am looking at getting a new receiver. I've had mine for almost 6 years, if I'm not mistaken. The manual refers to Dolby 5.1 as AC-3, for some reference :-) I am also sure Dolby Digital decoders have come a way in that time. I am also looking at getting a sub, as I've never had one. Everywhere I've lived, there's always been neighbors in close proximity, so no sub. However, I feel it's been long enough and I could use one.

Again I apolgize if off-topic. I can't do much about my cable until they come to rewire the place, so I figured I'd talk about something at least.

Off-topic, and I understand if we should post this somewhere else, my apologies to the moderator.

Generic coax from wall supplied by Comcast to 6208, Acoustic Research component to Panasonic PWD6UY, Acoustic research optical audio to an incredibly powerful (sarcasm) Creative Desk Top Theater 5.1 DTT3500 Digital. :D Panasonic XP30 dvd player connected via Acoustic Reasarch component and optical cables. :)

We live in a "garden level" apt, so our sub fires directly into a tile floor, the neighbors above have yet to complain. Some day I'll upgrade our audio system to a real one. ;)

Back on-topic, I'm assuming a cable amplifier will not assist with the correctable errors I'm noting on my STB? I check them again tonight, and again, they're fluctuating constantly between mid teens and mid 200's.

-JR

Originally posted by miatasm
remove the period...try this

http://www.comcast.com/newguide/

works now

Originally posted by JuiceRocket
Off-topic, and I understand if we should post this somewhere else, my apologies to the moderator.

Generic coax from wall supplied by Comcast to 6208, Acoustic Research component to Panasonic PWD6UY, Acoustic research optical audio to an incredibly powerful (sarcasm) Creative Desk Top Theater 5.1 DTT3500 Digital. :D Panasonic XP30 dvd player connected via Acoustic Reasarch component and optical cables. :)

We live in a "garden level" apt, so our sub fires directly into a tile floor, the neighbors above have yet to complain. Some day I'll upgrade our audio system to a real one. ;)

Back on-topic, I'm assuming a cable amplifier will not assist with the correctable errors I'm noting on my STB? I check them again tonight, and again, they're fluctuating constantly between mid teens and mid 200's.

-JR

What do you think of plasma? What made you choose that over CRT? For me, I found CRT sharper with richer colors and blacker blacks.

On-topic, if previous posts said an amp "cleans" a digital signal, I would assume correctable errors would lessen greatly. I still get at the most 1 correctable error on any digital or HD channel. I can't seem to *make* the diagnostics page go any higher.

Originally posted by miatasm
http://www.comcast.com/newguide/ buffer recording and ad removal are nice, now the only the BIG missing feature for me is the time bar. i'll still have no idea where in the recording or buffer i'm at. if they added that i wouldn't miss tivo at all.

Originally posted by avic
buffer recording and ad removal are nice, now the only the BIG missing feature for me is the time bar. i'll still have no idea where in the recording or buffer i'm at. if they added that i wouldn't miss tivo at all.

avic: I read that page along with the PDF and saw no mention of buffer recording or ad removal. I've only heard that from people on here. Where can I confirm that this is true? Will the new guide require a new firmware on the 6200/6208 boxes?

I'm sorry to be off topic, my apologies. I couldn't find another Boston thread with issues from comcast.

I have two questions. My issue is that comcast could not run a line to my house because I wasn't within 250 ft. from a drop.

They are in the process of surveying the area for an RG11 drop to a nearby pole.

Question 1: Did anyone have any experience with this type of situation??

Question 2: If comcast drop is not feasible, could anyone please recommend another source of service I could look into for HD and more.

Thanks for any feedback
Kessaby

Anything over 100 feet they generally need to go RG-11. For every 100 feet of RG-6 cable you lose 10db of signal. For every 100 feet of RG-11 you lose 3.5db of signal. On average the signal leaving the tap (pole) is 13db. So if you go 250 feet with RG-6 you will be sitting at -12db at the side of your house, which doesn't include splitters and cabling to your outlets... and -12db is already in the soup and you won't get anything. RG-11 however should put you at around 4db at the side of your house... and if you have minimal splitters and outlets and possibly an amp (before all the splitters) you might be okay. But then... the output at the pole could vary depending on where in the line you are. Did the tech that came out happen to tell you what the level is at the pole?

Oh... also keep in mind that 250' of RG-11 cable needs points to tie off at to support the weight... or an underground run.

If any of this isn't exact, don't shoot me... I'm just trying to relay what one of my friends who works for Comcast told me and could've gotten some of it wrong.

Thanks for the response, ScoopsHD.

The survey is still pending. However I do have a pole about 20 feet from the house and will be the only house using the signal from the tap. So if they can just get and RG11 line to the pole, I'm assuming that I would be all set. I'm moving to the location in Oct. but would like to have everything setup before I get there. The hose is on a main street in Watertown with many businesses and homes. I never thought I'd run into this problem there.

Any thoughts on other sources for service?? in case this whole thing with Comcast does not work out.

Thanks,
Kessaby

Does anyone know an updated story on HDNET?

I had heard that Comcast NE is willing to adhear to terms (in other words we could get it) but Mark is holding out for a national deal.

Originally posted by ScoopsHD
Anything over 100 feet they generally need to go RG-11. For every 100 feet of RG-6 cable you lose 10db of signal. For every 100 feet of RG-11 you lose 3.5db of signal. On average the signal leaving the tap (pole) is 13db. So if you go 250 feet with RG-6 you will be sitting at -12db at the side of your house, which doesn't include splitters and cabling to your outlets... and -12db is already in the soup and you won't get anything. RG-11 however should put you at around 4db at the side of your house... and if you have minimal splitters and outlets and possibly an amp (before all the splitters) you might be okay. But then... the output at the pole could vary depending on where in the line you are. Did the tech that came out happen to tell you what the level is at the pole?

Oh... also keep in mind that 250' of RG-11 cable needs points to tie off at to support the weight... or an underground run.

If any of this isn't exact, don't shoot me... I'm just trying to relay what one of my friends who works for Comcast told me and could've gotten some of it wrong.

This isn't a shooting, more or less just a slap. RG6 loses approx 5.5 db /100 ft not 10db. So for a run of 250' ----- RG11 will be better by aprox 5db.....

Try my excel spreadsheet below for these calculations.

Grrrrr!

So I called Comcast back today to ask when the field supervisor would really be coming out. The guy I spoke to, who I think barely understood me, said it would be 72 hours before a "team leader" would respond. I said to him I was supposed to get a field supervisor out last night, to which he replied "No no...you got a senior technician last night. The step after that is a field supervisor." I told him I got a senior technician last Saturday and a field supervisor was supposed to be there yesterday, but I got a 6-month rookie instead. He seemed to not get it.

Nevertheless, Comcast won't give me a credit for a field supervisor not coming out and basically wasting my entire afternoon since, according to them, the right people came out (even though the last two technicians didn't do anything since the first two tried everything). Grrrr....

Anyway, I got a call from a TriWire technician this afternoon who, THANKFULLY, understands what AGC means. He is coming over tomorrow around lunch to check out the place and see how much he can do. He said I don't have to be there, which gives me the impression they would only replace the wiring up to the apartment door, but not inside.

I will keep you all posted on this neverending saga.

*wishes for the old days of analog channels on my now-gone 27" Sony*

chitchatjf
Where did you heard about HDNET comming to Comcast? That would be great news!

On another subject, does anyone knows if we will get WB-HD by the time the new Smallville season starts.

WLVI-DT is now at full power, it shouldn't be too long now *hopefully*.
Why not email comcast and see what they say ?

-Ken

Originally posted by tennberg
avic: I read that page along with the PDF and saw no mention of buffer recording or ad removal. I've only heard that from people on here. Where can I confirm that this is true? Will the new guide require a new firmware on the 6200/6208 boxes?

Ad removal & buffer recording are apart of the new guide as well as a time bar that shows approx 2 hours. This shows previous program, buffered programming & recorded programming. The new guide effects ALL Motorola Platforms including the no-HD digitals. Its not technically firmware its software.

No there has not been any news on the NFL Network going to HD yet. But I will keep you posted.



Originally posted by dozens
Has anyone heard anything about the NFL network being in HD in new england ? This
thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=446142&highlight=NFL+Network) mentions it as a possibility.

Final chapter in this ongoing saga (?):

As some of you have been following, I've had 4 Comcast techs vistit my apartment, a 6208 swapped out, and part of the wiring reconnected. And the HD channels still tiled.

Today, a guy from TriWire visited my place and first tested the box outside the apartment building, which tested fine. He then tested the wire coming into the apartment and was getting around +5db, which is that the Comcast techs got. However, when he measured the signal coming out of the wall outlet by the TV, he got 0db (the Comcast guys got +1.16db). He then was about to start replacing the wiring from the wall to the hallway, which runs under the baseboard (that would have been a nightmare). I then told him there was a splitter before the wall outlet, which splits the signal to the two bedrooms. He tested the wire going into the splitter, which happend to be RG6, and that tested fine.

So, what he did was to replace the wiring from the lobby on the floor up into the apartment with new RG6 cabling. He tightened all connections and replaced the wall outlet connector with a new one. He then was able to get +3.5db out of the wall outlet.

I tuned into INHD and INHD2, and went into the diagnostics page. I am still getting the same SNRs on the OOB and IBS pages, but now the AGC for the IBS on INHD and INHD2 is around 52% (down from 75%+). We watched some shows...no tiling. There were moments when 1 to 2 pixel blocks would appear on the screen, but he said that was Comcast's fault, not the wiring. I also got no sound cut-outs, which was nice.

I will post another follow-up in the next day or two, letting you all know if the problem has been fully resolved. The guy from TriWire seemed very knowledgable and was happy/amazed that I knew about the diagnostics page, what AGC meant, etc. He said I should work for them...haha.

I hope this gives others hope that their HD service is not lost.

Wow, very nice. Did you notice a decrease in your amount of correctable errors?

-JR

I emailed comcast and this was their response:

We are working to provide as many high definition channel broadcasters
as possible. Here are some of the factors involved with expanding our
high definition lineup:

-the negotiation and contract process required to obtain the rights to
carry a specific high definition broadcast, such as TNT-HD and HD-Net.

-the increased bandwidth resources that are required

-the relatively low subscribership (currently only a small minority of
customers have high definition compatible television sets)

So, apparently there will be no WLVI-DT soon :(

Originally posted by JuiceRocket
Wow, very nice. Did you notice a decrease in your amount of correctable errors?

-JR

JR:

I really never had any correctable/uncorrectable errors. Before the rewiring, I would maybe notice *1* correctable error after watching that screen for 10 minutes or so. (I can't stare at that screen for too long. It makes my eyes go loopy.)

I briefly looked at that screen after the rewiring, and it's the same - no correctable errors.

I am not sure why yours are so high, but that is definitely something you should ask Comcast/TriWire about.

One other question: Have you ever watched the show Chronos or that show about the racing team who rebuilds an Indy car on INHD/INHD2? Have you ever noticed how those two shows "pulse"? It is almost like watching the screen through a very fast-spinning fan. I am blaming the Chronos show on the fact that it's sped-up, but I can't explain in on the other show. I could be wrong on the reason for the Chronos show as well.

I just send Comcast an email asking for WLVI-DT for Smallville....lets all bombard them with inquiries !!

-Ken

Originally posted by Darth Omi
I emailed comcast and this was their response:

We are working to provide as many high definition channel broadcasters
as possible. Here are some of the factors involved with expanding our
high definition lineup:

-the negotiation and contract process required to obtain the rights to
carry a specific high definition broadcast, such as TNT-HD and HD-Net.

-the increased bandwidth resources that are required

-the relatively low subscribership (currently only a small minority of
customers have high definition compatible television sets) that's the standard template response we've all gotten when requesting more HD. but do keep emailing and calling to remind them of their pledge for 20 HD channels before year's end, tick-tock...

Did Comcast really promise 20 HD channels by years end ? Where did you see this ? That would be awesome..but time is running out.

-Ken

Originally posted by miatasm
Ad removal & buffer recording are apart of the new guide as well as a time bar that shows approx 2 hours. This shows previous program, buffered programming & recorded programming. The new guide effects ALL Motorola Platforms including the no-HD digitals. Its not technically firmware its software. yikes, can't believe i missed that, yes the new iGuide DOES have a time bar, that is excellent! this is the only feature imo that still held tivo with an edge.

as far as the iGuide PDF file, comcast.com/newguide is the abbreviated non-DVR version. HERE (http://michigan.mybrighthouse.com/services/customer_care/resources/iGuide.pdf) is the generic cable co version PDF file of the iGuide for the DCT-2000/2500, and the single-tuner DCT-6208, it illustrates an older-style remote but you get the point

Originally posted by kenvt
Did Comcast really promise 20 HD channels by years end ? Where did you see this ? That would be awesome..but time is running out.

-Ken old news. press release a few months ago. i'm sure they didn't "promise" but that's what their goal was and hopefully still IS. now that i can record HD, i'll still have to watch enterprise in SD. :rolleyes:

from what I understand, UPN 38's signal is too weak to be picked up at the Comcast antenna farm. LVI had the same problem until it went full power last week.

-Ken

Originally posted by kenvt
Did Comcast really promise 20 HD channels by years end ? Where did you see this ? That would be awesome..but time is running out.

-Ken

So how many HD channels do we have now?

I can think of 12:

PBS HD
ABC HD
CBS HD
NBC HD
FOX HD
Discovery HD
ESPN HD
Showtime HD
Cinemax HD
Starz HD
INHD
INHD2/NESN HD (I'm counting this as 1 channel)

If we add in WB HD, Bravo HD (?), HDNet (?), and HDNet Movies, that brings it to 16. What's next? Medford Pulic Access HD with Dr. Rabies? (I am sure most of you won't understand that :-D )

Just curious, where is this Comcast antenna farm? Is there only one in eastern MA?

u left out HBO which makes 13. we do get to 20 with those u mentioned because they are also counting local network affiliates as individual HD channels, i.e WWLP and WHDH, both NBC but they count as 2 HD channels. clever those comcasters eh?

Perhaps an HD PPV channel or two?

Maybe TNTHD.

HDPPV is a waste of time/bandwidth. give me HDVOD!

Originally posted by kenvt
from what I understand, UPN 38's signal is too weak to be picked up at the Comcast antenna farm. LVI had the same problem until it went full power last week.

-Ken

UPN is at approximately 2x the power of FOX. (135kW vs. 78kW)

Comcast was even able to get FOX when they were down at 14kW or so.

"-the negotiation and contract process required to obtain the rights to
carry a specific high definition broadcast, such as TNT-HD and HD-Net."

- Don't they have already the rights to carry WLVI-DT?


"-the increased bandwidth resources that are required"

- If they don't have the bandwidth resources that are required, then why Comcast said that by the end of the year there will be 20 HD channels?


"-the relatively low subscribership (currently only a small minority of
customers have high definition compatible television sets)"

- Maybe that's true, but we are still paying for it, they can't just forget about us. Maybe if more channels are added more suscriber will make the transition to HD.

Originally posted by Darth Omi
"-the negotiation and contract process required to obtain the rights to
carry a specific high definition broadcast, such as TNT-HD and HD-Net."

- Don't they have already the rights to carry WLVI-DT?


"-the increased bandwidth resources that are required"

- If they don't have the bandwidth resources that are required, then why Comcast said that by the end of the year there will be 20 HD channels?


Since it's just a form letter, they're really just trying to cover the basics for the average guy and explaining things simply.

Now that FOX has gone to their 720p signal, will Saturday's game on FOX of the Red Sox vs. Yankees be in high-def? It would be a shame if it was in SD.

On a similar note, to those of you with 6208 boxes, how do you set the component output and 480 override? Mine is set to 1080i for component and 480p for override. I've tried comparing both 720p and 1080i, and have found 720p every so slightly "softer". Which do you prefer? I would think the 720p would be better in every aspect as it's progressive.

The setup is the same as all of the DCT HD STB from Motorola. I happen to like 720p, but there is very little difference on my smallish 42" Panasonic Plasma.

It really depends on your display. Native 720p displays will probably look better with 720p. My Sony HS10 is 1368x768, so I like 1080i because of the extra lines of resolution. I have switched the output to 720p when watching stations that broadcast in that res (i.e. ESPN) and it does look slightly better than having the STB downconvert it. But I don't want to switch back and forth all the time, so I leave it on 1080i, since most channels use that res.

Comcast / TriWire was here yesterday to upgrade a DCT2000 to a DCT6208. It took longer than it should have to find the 4:3 override OFF setting, but things seemed to then be all right.

Except now I am seeing lots of problems with motion for 4:3 content. It is quite jumpy, almost as though a frame or two were being dropped. It is not pixelated. The problem is there for both analog and digital channels and both S-video and HD outputs. Audio sounds fine. It's really easy to see with the scrolling text at the bottom of some news broadcasts, which should be as smooth as the frame rate allows.

Does this sound familiar to someone? I imagine Comcast will need specific guidance to have any hope of resolving this.

Could this be a signal strength issue? The old box was freezing up on digital channels (until the channel was changed) recently, shortly after Comcast did some "pole" (actually a hole in the street) work for a neighbor. But that seemed to clear up after a day or two.

HD looks good. The SNR is typically 36db, AGC is 52%, but I've seen the correctable error count as high as 300, which is worrisome.

Digital, on the other hand, has SNR around 28db, AGC 82%, which seems high, and sometimes a few errors, although video is still bad even when errors is 0.

Analog seems to have the same issues on all channels from 2 to 97. I might have expected more problems at higher frequencies from signal causes. Also, the picture is smooth enough when taking the cable signal straight to the TV without the box at all.

OOB has SNR that goes back and forth from 20 GOOD to 17 FAIR all the time.

Does the path from analog to S-video involve buffering digital frames on this box? Could that be failing in some way that would account for all this?

If you have signal problems you may see "tiling" or "microblocking" even on analog channels. This is because the 6208 has to convert the Analog signals to a digital format to be written to the HDD of the 6208. This may cause a snowy+blocky picture. The correctable errors should worry you and it is likely that you need someone to look at the signal strength & quality. There is a OUTSIDE possiblity that it could also be a bad box.

ARGH!

So, the HD channels were giving AGCs in the 50-54% range all afternoon. I was able to watch the Red Sox game, some CBS shows, PBS, etc. with no issues at all. Then.....trouble started.

In the closing credits of CSI (I didn't watch the whole show, not a fan like everyone in the world seems to be), I noticed that the sound cut out for a second. I though "Hmm, strange, hope it's not the issue coming back. Must be a national feed issue." CBS then went into Without A Trace, and I noticed a few more sound cutouts. I started to worry a bit more. I figured I'd watch something else and ended up on Discovery HD. That's when the picture froze and the whole scene pixelated. I basically had the channel on for 5 minutes and it was pixelating the entire time. I could not get even a single clear frame through. Also, no sound at all the entire time.

I'm giving the guy from TriWire a call back tomorrow to see about replacing both the wiring in the apartment and the rest of the wiring to the junction box. If that's not it, then I'm going to have them see about rewiring from the junction box on the floor to the box outside the building. If not that, then from outside the building to the nearest tap.

Someone comfort me....:-( hehe

Friday night's Red Sox game is listed as being on both UPN38 and ESPN. Now, since the UPN game would only be in SD (why, I ask you!) and I can see where Fenway would be from out my window, would the ESPN game be blacked out?

If it's not, will ESPN be showing the game in HD on ESPN HD? I'd hate to have this awesome game, only to see it in 4:3 analog :rolleyes:

The Red Sox game Friday night will only be in analog 4:3 for those of us in the Boston DMA.

-Ken

I'm in the Boston DMA and the menu on my comcast box says the game will be broadcast on ESPNHD. I'm throwing a damn party to show off my system and I hope that it's not in 4:3 analog!

cancel your party! first of all they're AWAY friday so no local NESN-HD. as far as ESPN the game friday night and sunday afternoon, neither will be in HD anyway, so in or out of the boston dma, it's 4:3 SD red sox ALL weekend, unless FOX surprises us on saturday, i doubt it.

and there are never double broadcasts in the boston dma, both friday and sunday's games will be blacked out on ESPN just like they have been all season, but no loss since they will be SD anyway.

btw, there are only 7 HD nesn home games left in the reg season! and if hockey is out this year then NESNHD will be put to sleep 'til april '05, maybe they'll have HD re-broadcast and studio capabilities by then, we can hope anyway.

No one is broadcasting any of the weekend's Yanks/Sox games in HD.

avic said:
...timebar... that is excellent! this is the only feature imo that still held tivo with an edge

Did I miss the 15min (or 5 or 10) skip ahead/back feature? I'm curious, did you ever own a Tivo? The timebar and "big" skip features are "must haves" IMO. I can live with the other deficiencies, some of which are breaking 5 year old habits, ya know, trying to cope with "change" and all that. :)

larry

Sucky Sox Broadcast Friday 17th

Just called Comcast to confirm, No Sox on ESPNHD tonight. Crappy UPN is the only choice.

new2hometheater,

Before getting to excited about anything scheduled on ESPN-HD, be sure the check that it's actually being produced in HD. The schedule is here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tvlistings/espnhd/index

titantv.com clearly lists all HD programs as well.

-Ken

Now that it's pretty much confirmed that there will be no hockey this year and we'll be out 40 HD Bruins games or so, has there been any updates to the FoxSportsNet HD broadcast issue? Sure, the Celts will probably suck again this year, but it would be of some comfort to get at least to see the bums play in HD...

The last I heard it was a licensing thing and then that was resolved, so it was down to bandwidth. If FSN does what NESN does we should be golden, yes?

Originally posted by PooperScooper
Did I miss the 15min (or 5 or 10) skip ahead/back feature? I'm curious, did you ever own a Tivo? The timebar and "big" skip features are "must haves" IMO. I can live with the other deficiencies, some of which are breaking 5 year old habits, ya know, trying to cope with "change" and all that. :)

larry i still have my tivo hooked up, but with no subscription for a while now, until i get the 6412/16. the 15 min FF skip or something like it is coming with the iGuide as i was told, they're working on it. i guess i never used it that much, i'm just happy to get a time bar period.

I've got a TiVo and the 6208.

The 6208 is like using a VCR again, albeit one with a really great picture.

I actually have one of my TiVos connected to the 6208, and will often record the same program on both. That allows me to see it in HD in the living room, but still have the show available to the bedroom TiVo via the network. (It also means fewer missed channel changes on the part of the TiVo.)

In fact, when I'm looking for trick play features, I'll often fall back to the TiVo copy of the recording, just because navigating the 6208 is so annoying.

There isn't a 15min (5 or 10) built into the current iGuide Software that I'm aware of.

Originally posted by kenvt
titantv.com clearly lists all HD programs as well.

-Ken

Well, I wouldn't say "all", they have their share of bad/missing info as well.

Anyone with an update as to when the two tuner DVRs will be available?

I like the idea that they do NOT have an RF output.

I want to be able to record JOA AND Enterprise in HD (assuming WSBKDT goes online)

Originally posted by chitchatjf
Anyone with an update as to when the two tuner DVRs will be available?

I like the idea that they do NOT have an RF output.

I want to be able to record JOA AND Enterprise in HD (assuming WSBKDT goes online)

chitchatjf:

One of the Comcast techs who was out at my apartment to "fix" the still-broken HD cable said they would be out in October. I also read from others online that Comcast is waiting until the new iGuide is available before they release it. I believe my bill said iGuide would be out between Sept. 29 and mid-October.

*missing the days of old with trusty analog cable*

At least we can look at the pretty pictures for now:

http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/dct6412.asp

warning: if you visit above link do not look at the interactive demos from microsoft or pioneer, as they have been shown to raise expectations! ;)

Originally posted by miatasm
There isn't a 15min (5 or 10) built into the current iGuide Software that I'm aware of. a beta-tester tells me they are 'working on it' so take that for what it is. it wont be available with current release.

Cool. Thanks for the info. Nothing like watching 2/3 of the Pats game and then go back and try to "catch up" the recording with 4:1 FF. The 30-second skip hack would be quite a pain too.

larry

Originally posted by tennberg
chitchatjf:

One of the Comcast techs who was out at my apartment to "fix" the still-broken HD cable said they would be out in October. I also read from others online that Comcast is waiting until the new iGuide is available before they release it. I believe my bill said iGuide would be out between Sept. 29 and mid-October.

*missing the days of old with trusty analog cable*

works for me. I also have a DVD-R unit with a cable comatable analog tuner.
Next Friday and EVERY Friday JOA gets recorded on 804.
Come October 8th Enterprise gets recorded on a DVD-RW disc off of ch 14.
once the two tuner version comes in (and I get it AND WSBKDT comes online on comcast <Ch 838 most likely>) I will record both.

I like BOTH shows but if I had to choose JOA gets first dibs.

Does TitanTV not show listings for 802, 804, 805, 807, and 825? I just signed up and could not find how to show listsing for those channels.

Thanks!

They are there.
You sort of have to customize it yourself from the Digital off air listings

2-2 is 802,4-1 is 804,5-1 is 805,7-1 is 807,and 25-1 is 825

I also have 5-2 as 194

read the FAQ on the titan site. u can change the channel numbers so they display whatever you like that way u can see them as 802,804,805, etc.

sox/ yanks now in Dolby 5.1 on Fox 25 DT . However not in HD but in nice upconvert.

It's bad enough that the Sox are being no hit through 6, but the audio delay is annoying as well.

Does anyone know if there is any number besides 1-800-COMCAST that I can call if I'm interested in getting a job as a Comcast tech?

I think I'd do pretty well and really enjoy installing cable and internet for people and I'm currently looking for a new job. After talking to almost every tech that has come to my house most of them have realized that I know what I'm talking about and told me that I should give Comcast a shot.

I'm just a little concerned cause I dont know who exactly to contact and if they're gonna need me to have some previous experience or some kind of certificaion (both of which I don't).

I am going to go to dish if comcast does not get their act together!! My service is so terrible that I have started top read books again! A good thing maybe but I have been paying for a service I do not get...They said they are working on a fix in my area but has gone on for a month.
My service was outstanding for 10 months and just a month ago started acting up... It is random but still aggravating. It is not my wires or the box. It happens with the analog channels on my other TV's as well as the plasma with the 6200. I even noticed last night that the lower numbered channels (2,3,4,5,) is watchable but all others suc*! And they get worse as you get up to 99, digital is micro blocking, stuttering just horrible.
They have been out twice and still no satisfaction. I called yesterday (again) have have another tech coming Monday..Just plain frustrating...If and when this gets resolved I will ask for a refund for the time I have been having trouble.

anyone get HBO dropouts vid/audio last night during matchstick man?
FREAK!

Originally posted by Savadave
Does anyone know if there is any number besides 1-800-COMCAST that I can call if I'm interested in getting a job as a Comcast tech?

I think I'd do pretty well and really enjoy installing cable and internet for people and I'm currently looking for a new job. After talking to almost every tech that has come to my house most of them have realized that I know what I'm talking about and told me that I should give Comcast a shot.

I'm just a little concerned cause I dont know who exactly to contact and if they're gonna need me to have some previous experience or some kind of certificaion (both of which I don't).

Goto the www.comcast.com web page and look under careers. You can find New England job postings there.

here is the link:

http://upn38.com/feedback/

The yankees are not the only thing that sucks. Give me good Friday night baseball coverage!

Originally posted by hovbuild
I am going to go to dish if comcast does not get their act together!! My service is so terrible that I have started top read books again! A good thing maybe but I have been paying for a service I do not get...They said they are working on a fix in my area but has gone on for a month.
My service was outstanding for 10 months and just a month ago started acting up... It is random but still aggravating. It is not my wires or the box. It happens with the analog channels on my other TV's as well as the plasma with the 6200. I even noticed last night that the lower numbered channels (2,3,4,5,) is watchable but all others suc*! And they get worse as you get up to 99, digital is micro blocking, stuttering just horrible.
They have been out twice and still no satisfaction. I called yesterday (again) have have another tech coming Monday..Just plain frustrating...If and when this gets resolved I will ask for a refund for the time I have been having trouble.

hovbuild:

I know how you feel. MY HD channels are still pixelating with sound cutouts. So far, I've had:

1. 4 Comcast techs come out to check the wiring, the signal strength, etc. One of them retightened a loose connection in the apartment, but none of them were able to fully resolve the problem.

2. The 6208 box swapped out for another 6208, since one of them thought the box wasn't buffering properly. That didn't fix the problem.

3. A TriWire engineer replace part of the wiring between the apartment and the junction box on the floor. He said the signal strength coming out of the wall outlet was much less than what Cocmast said it was. After he replaced the wiring, he said the signal was much stronger. However, the pixelating still remains.

Of the 5 people that came out to fix the cable, I explained to all of them that the AGCs on the in-band status for the HD channels was too high (upwards of 80%) and that the OOB status page showed an SNR that kept fluctuating between good and fair. This completely baffled 4 of them. Only the TriWire engineer knew what that meant (and he even made the comment about since if I knew what all that meant, I should work for them).

Next week, I am going to have the TriWire engineer out again to rewire the rest of the apartment along with other connections within the building. I may also pick up a cable signal amp tonight just to test it out and see if that fixes anything. All 5 guys said an amp was not necessary, but I am curious to see if this simple fix will solve all the issues. Others on here have mentioned how a simple amp helped them out greatly

is the pats game in hd today on cbs? i don't think so, since the 1pm was....