But I don't have a new HDTV box. I think I have the DCT2244, I don't know what the model number is. I do see your point, but the tech said it will not be converted to digital, or HDTV for awhile, but apparently, when it is, you will not believe your eyes.

Originally posted by miatasm
The Analog PQ on the 5100 is a KNOWN problem....In the Philadelphia region we just recieved the first of possibly multiple firmware updates that are stedily improving PQ in the 5100. The latest Firmware is 2.48. You did say that the PQ was better on your DCT2244, so the problem you are seeing is with the 5100, I assume. But if your PQ wasn't good directly to the TV the firmware will not help you.

The internal scaler in the 5100 is poor. If your lucky and your TV/Projector has a better internal scaler you can use that instead. I did this and had much better results. Simply run a S-Video or Composite signal from the 5100 to the TV/Projector. I have much better results doing this. Only problem is you have to switch video sources when you change between the analog and HDTV cable channels, but hey they are only 5 of them right now!!

I just got signed up on tuesday and the guy said I was the 4th one in the area to get the new 5100. He said he didn't know much about HDTV and usually the customer installed it. I gave him a lesson on installs.

Originally posted by DaveFi
Has anyone had a 5100 with the RF Bypass port? The last 2 boxes (5100 and 2244) didn't have this. I split the line 3 times and my analog picture quality has degraded quite noticably. Right now I'm watching on my 5100's tuner. Blah.

I also noticed there are alot of glitches for analog on the s-video output when I have my HDTV set to 720p. There's strange video noise on the right, outside of the 4:3 box. HDTV and Digital looks fine out of the s-video output.

My 5100 has the RF Bypass port. I use it to connect to a regular TV to watch the news, etc. Only problem is the channel guide doesn't go through the RF port. :(

Thanks to this thread I just got my 5100 installed and working. Yea, the CBS thing is a bummer, but thats ok....my OTA signals are kinda choppy....

Has anyone else noticed that the PQ on the cable HD signal is not as clear as the OTA signal? I find it actually quite noticable, especially on true 1080 content....like the PBS demo. It seems to not have the depth that the straight signal has.

BTW, I'm comparing this output to that of my Hughes E86 with Silver Sensor...

JC

Sorry, but this doesn't help. It's still not fixed, and Comcast has not called back. Please, help!!

JC- I find it ironic you singled out PBS because GBH-DT multicasts and Comcast appears to be sending the PBS feed whole. So I find the Comcast broadcast to be generally free of the artifacting the OTA feed has.

Now I do have some issues with SHO-HD, and it was pixelating like crazy during the Tyson fight, especially during quick motion. I have a new box now, but I still occasionally get some dropouts, but it's hard to tell whose fault it is. It could be any number of factors, including the broadcast itself, the feed from the relay, my wiring, or my box. It's really hard to pin these things down.

ssetta and others re: billing issues- My recent activity report shows me being billed for just HBO-HD and SHO-HD "a la carte'" so it is pretty much confirmed you can get all those channels with just Basic Cable ($6/mo for me) . Here's what the website says-

Transaction Date Post Date Description Amount

--- --- ACCESS FEE $ 2.43

--- --- STATE SALES TAX $ 0.02

02-21-03 02-21-03 HBO 02/21 TO 03/27 $ 17.14

02-21-03 02-21-03 HDTV BOX/REMOTE 02/21 TO 03/27 $ 8.87

02-21-03 02-21-03 SHOWTIME 02/21 TO 03/27 $ 15.92

02-21-03 02-21-03 HDTV UPGRADE $ 15.99

Total $ 60.37
Considering what I get- All the Basic cable channels, 6 HBO, 5 SHO+Flix, their HD counterparts, and all the Music Choice channels, this is quite a bargain.

Hi,

I just had my HDTV box setup - the picture is great!

I, like many others, also had my internet access disconnected. I saved a post concerning this, with this advice:

It turns out that each 2 way device (Read Cable Modem & HTDV Box) needs to have 2 (virtual) outlets provisioned by someone at the office. The kicker is that each second (virtual) outlet has to be immediately after the 2 way device in the configuration. i.e.

HTDV BOX
ADDTL OUTLET
DIGITAL BOX
CABLE MODEM
ADDTL OUTLET

So, if extra outlets are added in the wrong place, different devices can stop functioning. (i.e. 2nd Cable Box, Cable Modem)

I called Comcast and they first said my configuration is fine, to try again in an hour if it didn't come back. The next tech said that my account was deactivated. He reactivated it. After not getting the cable modem lights to sync, I called again. After going through the power cycle (they didn't want to try anything until i powered down and started up again), they listened to my suggestion to check the virtual outlet configuration. They told me that there was a virtual outlet A after the HDTV box and a virtual outlet B after the cable modem.

Of course, they have no idea what any of this was, nor had they ever heard of this problem (didn't know about HDTV). Either way, I don't have any internet access anymore. They want to send a tecnician to check my cable modem, becuase they said the hardware might be bad.

This clearly is a configuration problem at their end, things were great until the hdtv install. Is there any way I can get to a person at Comcast who might know what's going on here? All the other tech insist that they have everything corrrect, even when they're correcting the work of the tech before htem who said the same thing. What's worse is that the tv side wants to transfer my call to the Internet access side, and vice versa. Neither side is helpful.

I'd appreciate any suggestions anyone might have on how to contact someone for help. I just want my connection back online.

thanks for any ideas,

BTW, some general impressions for those that are curious:

* The HDTV is amazing!
* the upconvert of sd signals to 480P looked really bad on my system.
* 480I upconvert looked much better for sd signals than any of the other options.
* channel surfing is fast and snappy with this box, much better than with the older digital cable box.

With sd signals and 480P output, there were errant lines of noise on the top and bottom, and the image generally looked poor. I used 480I instead, and the SD picture looked just as it did with the regular digital cable box.

I also noticed the sound level issue, but I'm sure this is something that eventually be adderssed (perhaps in the form of a menu option to control the volume levels of HD signals separately from sd ones?)

My firmware (in Boston suburbs) is:

50.00-0178 software
06 firmware

I'm not sure what this maps to in the service menu...

hth,

The cable company here sucks. I have to throw out my cable box and switch to DirecTV like they do in that commercial. They have good service with excellent picture quality.

To the questions about over the air (OTA) hdtv tuning, it's in the faq that you can find here:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/miatasm/HT/5100FAQ.htm

This is a great faq.

On another note, I finally got the Internet access fixed this morning. I called one last time, and got to a tech who told me that the account was not properly configured - the information was in place, but they had removed permissions from the modem. He fixed it, and a minute later all was well.

It really is a crapshoot with their support. It's more frustrating because each person you talk to tells you that they understand the problem and have fixed it, so now if it still doesn't work you need a tech visit to fix your hardware. They tried to convince me that my modem was broken, and that it was just a coincidence that my access broke down at the same time as the HDTV visit. This wasn't new technology here, just common sense.

You know, I'd prefer rude support that understands the technology instead of what I have now, artificially polite support that really has no idea how the technology works. Maybe Comcast can focus on building the technical skills, so that support wouldn't be needed as often (total of 7-8 calls on my part to get this fixed). That's be cheaper in the long run for them, and would help us out, too.

Sheesh! Well, at least it's all finally setup and working.

Mine isn't.

I did not read all the previous posts, so I am sorry if this is well known, but it is news to me.

I was at the New England Home Show and Comcast had a booth with several HDTV displays and they were pushing HDTV. I asked when I could get in in the Cambridge area. They said now. I said "Really? Now?!" They said yes.

First you need the basic digital package, which is $9.95 a month more than whatever. Then you need the Motorola box, which is a few $$ a month. They said ABC, NBC, Showtime, and HBO came in HDTV through them right now.

Thanks for the response Dave, I just feel that the HD over cable (all stations) lack the "depth" of the OTA signals.

Another thing I noticed on all of the cable HD stations, a very faint pink band moving from right to left causing a green tint to occur when it hits the left edge.

FYI, the TV is a 40XBR and I have no problems with OTA signals (well, except the random breakups which seem to occur ONLY over important dialogue on my favorite shows. Amazingly, commericals never seem to be affected :( )

Such is the life of an early adopter I guess :D

JC

I have both the DCT-5100 from Comcast, and an RTC-100 for over-the-air.

The RTC, even though it's a very old design, has a very slightly crisper picture than the DCT-5100.

And the picture from the DCT-5100 has a slight green tint through the component video out that isn't present in the RTC-100, and isn't present from the DCT-5100's s-video out.

(Anyone else seen this green tint?... Could be just my box).

Picture is acceptable anyway. Sound is a pain, with the HD channels having much lower sound levels than non-hd channels.

Has anyone noticed dropouts of the audio on ABC-HD and NBC-HD? It happens quite often. I don't use the Motorolla 5100 STB, I have a Mits RPTV with an integated tuner. I was woundering if it is a problem with the station or with my TV.

I notice audio dropouts much more frequently on hbo-hd and showtime-hd. abc, cbs and pbs don't drop out nearly as often. I wonder if this is a common problem for the moto or if it is a boston specific problem.

You get PBS and CBS high def through Comcast? I asked them, and they said ABC, NBC, HBO, And Showtime only.

Originally posted by rsilvers
You get PBS and CBS high def through Comcast? I asked them, and they said ABC, NBC, HBO, And Showtime only.

PBS is definitely provided. I think he meant to say NBC instead of CBS.

I keep getting mixed signals (no pun intended) from Comcast. I just got HD cable with the 5100 box last Wednesday. When I placed the order, the CSR said just $2 more a month for the HD channels. Sounds great! However, after installation, I noticed while flipping through the channels that I'm getting all the other HBO channels as well. I call Comcast and the CSR this time tells me that since I get HBO-HD I have to get the HBO package and I can't just get the HD version of HBO.

I thought I read somewhere around here that FCC regulation says that service providers have to offer HD channels by themselves and not part of some larger package. What is the truth?? Who do I have to talk to so I can get just the HD channels?

Rich

You are out of luck. The Cable company can't require you to get other packages to get HBO, but they don't have to offer the HBO-HD channel separate from the rest of the HBO package. And they certainly don't have to give you HBO for $2.

The $2/mo is the extra for the moto DCT-5100 box.

HBO is $12/mo, if I remember.

HBO is $13.99 and SHO is $12.99. I have both of those on top of Basic Cable.

When I got my Moto5100 box , the tech said ESPN -HD would be coming in April.

Originally posted by mgpt6
When I got my Moto5100 box , the tech said ESPN -HD would be coming in April. He's right. The question is who will be carrying it?

After reading this thread last night I called Comcast and placed an order for a 5100. They came to my place in Wellesley this afternoon right on time and gave me the box to hook up, as well as a decent looking set of component/AV cables. We fired it up with my 10HT projector and it seemed to work fine (hard to tell, as I don't have curtains in my windows - have to wait until this evening). The thing took less than 10 minutes and didn't affect my cable modem.

My HDTV only does High Def through VGA.Does the 5100 have VGA output in the back?I could be *&%$ out of luck.

Originally posted by Croberto
My HDTV only does High Def through VGA.Does the 5100 have VGA output in the back? No. It outputs HDTV on component video and in some cases, DVI.

You will need a transcoder to convert component video to RGBHV, do a search in the HDTV Hardware Forum.

hi, just noticed that there is channel 890 on Comcast. Guide says hbo-hd,but there is no audio or video. Possible prep for anotheer HD channel.
Any ideas, ESPN-HD, Discovery -Hd? I think if it was wbz-dt they would put it on 804-----------mgpt6

I don't have an HDTV yet, but I would like to at least be able to get the Networks in Widescreen. I currently subscribe to digital cable.

- If I get this new 5100 box, will I be able to connect it to my TiVo and record the networks in widescreen?

- I have another TV with the AT&T Replay3030--will I be bale to use it with that as well?

- Will they let me get the new boxes even if I don't have an HDTV?

Thanks,
-Kyle

If your TiVo or Replay can control an older DCT-2000 box (mine can), then it has all the smarts it needs to control a 5100. The 5100 also supplies down-rezed composite and S-Video outputs that a TiVo or Replay could easily handle.

The only question is whether the program guide on your PVR includes the digital channels. To date, mine doesn't (Replay), meaning that even though the Replay is capable of tuning the cable box and getting a valid NTSC compatible signal, it doesn't know the additional channels are there.

Of course, this is a program guide issue specific to the PVR in use. Haven't checked to see if the TiVo program guide knows about those channels yet.

This was a funny coincidence:

Last night, got home from work, turned on the TV, started flipping around the HD channels. Got absolutely nothing from HBO-HD or SHO-HD. By that, I mean all I got was a screen freeze from the last channel (807) that I had successfully tuned. No "This channel will be availble shortly" black screen; no "You haven't bought this channel" black screen. Just nothing. No video, no audio, no nothing.

Fiddled with my setup for a while to ensure that I was receiving all other channels, HD or otherwise, spent my obligatory 15 minutes drooling at the 1080i Rudy Maxa travelogues on 802, then finally decided to call and complain about HBO/SHO.

Picked up the phone, dialed 888-MED-IAON as usual, got the "We're Comcast now!" recording (as usual), and then got dropped into voicemail. "If you're calling from your home phone, press 1. Otherwise, press 2."

I press 1.

The screen snaps to life, and suddenly, I'm getting HBO-HD and SHO-HD.

Coincidence?

Originally posted by toots
This was a funny coincidence:

Last night, got home from work, turned on the TV, started flipping around the HD channels. Got absolutely nothing from HBO-HD or SHO-HD. By that, I mean all I got was a screen freeze from the last channel (807) that I had successfully tuned. No "This channel will be availble shortly" black screen; no "You haven't bought this channel" black screen. Just nothing. No video, no audio, no nothing.

Fiddled with my setup for a while to ensure that I was receiving all other channels, HD or otherwise, spent my obligatory 15 minutes drooling at the 1080i Rudy Maxa travelogues on 802, then finally decided to call and complain about HBO/SHO.

Picked up the phone, dialed 888-MED-IAON as usual, got the "We're Comcast now!" recording (as usual), and then got dropped into voicemail. "If you're calling from your home phone, press 1. Otherwise, press 2."

I press 1.

The screen snaps to life, and suddenly, I'm getting HBO-HD and SHO-HD.

Coincidence?

If you think THAT is a coincidence, try this:

I too had no HD HBO and SHO. As soon as toots pressed "1" on HIS phone, MY channels came back too !!!!!!

;)

It was out for a while yesterday. The HD channels go out occasionally- they still seem to be having problems with HBO and SHO as they're plagued by dropouts and breakups. I thought it was my old wiring, but the OTA channels are free of this, so I think there's something else going on at Comcast Boston- or it could be my local relay.

They do have a big dish right at the office accross the street from me- do they relay the signal from each dish or do they get it from a main office (like in Boston somewhere) and then send it out to the locals?

As a side note- I'm dissapointed to find that the PBS-HD broadcast is actually the multicast feed from GBH-DT, so the picture is prone to pixelating just like the OTA broadcasts. Bummer.:(

When I called to make my appointment, the guy said he wasn't sure I would be able to get the netwroks/hbo/showtime in widescreen without a HD TV.

Looking at the motorolla DCT5100 manual, it is unclear whether or not it will work. There are 3 modes: Letterbox, Pan & Scan or Chop

Does anyone know what these do for a SD 4:3 TV? If I choose letterbox, will it give me a squished anamorphic picture, or will it add the bars to the top/bottom?

It also says Macrovision--does this mean I can't record anything on my TiVo?

Thanks,
-Kyle

LOOKS LIKE MY QUESTIONS ARE ALREADY ANSWERED:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=1947865&highlight=5100+tivo#post1947865

I don't know why you want the DCT-5100 if you don't have an HDTV,
but the HD programs do come out letterboxed (black top and bottom bars) on the S-Video out for normal TVs.

Originally posted by Croberto
My HDTV only does High Def through VGA.Does the 5100 have VGA output in the back?I could be *&%$ out of luck.

You can buy these in some stores, typically for around $100. You can also check e-bay for cables, too; might get some good deals.

Hi Everyone,
Long time reader, first time poster. I just wanted to let everyone know about my instalation experience. I live in Hudson, MA.
The tech showed up on time. I had everything ready to go, including my component cables and the digital optical cable. First thing that concerned me was that the tech said this was his first install of this box. We got the box hooked up and plugged it in. Here comes the first problem. The box powers up and then stops on "dl". The tech didnt know what was happening. We kept unpluging the box, checking the connetions. This went on for about 1/2 an hour. After a phone call to someone we fould out that the "dl" meant download, the box was updating to the newest firmware. So that said and done we let it finish downloading. After it was complete we checked and the analog channels were coming in fine.
Then to the HD channels. The local channels came in and looked good. Then we moved on to HBO and all we could get was "This channel will be availble shortly". After spending some time checking settings the tech thought that it might be signal strength, I have some older cable in my house running to this box. So he ran a cable straight from the splitter on the side of the house, through the front door, right to the box. Same thing, no HBO not even the standard def HBO. So he went one step further. He took the splitter on the house out of the picture and ran it straight from the cable coming in from the pole. Still no luck. After deciding it wasnt the signal strength he decided to call someone else who was in the area.
While having a few minutes I decided to try the digital audio, good thing I did too, I got no sound out of the digital optical output. I was getting sound through the coax and from the RCA jacks on the box. just not the toslink connector. So withing 20 minutes a second tech shows up. They both played with it for a while, to no avail. They had the main office try sending a signal to the box but they said it was not making it out. In one of the menus on the box there was a prompt called "MESSAGES". The tech said that this should increment everytime the box recieved a message, which should happen every couple of minutes. We weren't getting anything.
They then tried getting a standard digital box and hooking it in to see if that would work. It did, I started recieving every HBO channel and that box was recieving "messages".
Finally I had to reschedule my install because they just couldn't figure it out. I cant say I was happy but I they thought it must have been somthing at the office that needed to be fixed. There was another install in my area, for the HD box, and the tech at my house kept calling him. They also didnt have any luck with there install. They had the same problem. I couldnt even keep the box because the tech told me that "because these boxes are so expensive and the supplies are low that he had to bring it back so they could test it at the office and send it back to be fixed". I knew there was at least one problem with the box, the optical audio, so I didnt put up a stink.
So all said and done I lost a day of work to see HD cable on my TV for a total of 15 minutes. I rescheduled for next thursday. Hopefully by then they can figure out the problems, wether there with the box or at the office. Sorry this post was a little long, I just wanted to share the whole experience and I guess vent a little.

Has anyone had their Motorola 5100 break after a bit of use? My Mot 5100 seems to have fizzled. Now it won't display a picture for more than a few minutes before going to the "Please wait, this channel will be available in a moment" screen. The sound is sometimes there, and sometimes now. This happens on all channels - the HD, SD analaog and SD digital channels.

I've barely had this box for a week. Are these things particularly problematic?

Any settings I should check? The Comcast rep tried to send the box a signal, but she said she didn't get a response. I wonder what this means - I'm hoping they'll just replace the box and not mess with my account configuration! I don't want to be without cable or Internet for much longer!

See the FAQ below, I have a whole section on non-resonding DCT's. Hope it helps. Its under "Setting Up"

Originally posted by Croberto
My HDTV only does High Def through VGA. Does the 5100 have VGA output in the back? No, most 5100's only have component video. Some of the newer ones have DVI, but it's not activated yet.

You'll need a transcoder to convert component video to RGBHV. See www.copperbox.com

Thanks for the help on my VGA problem guys.
Will the use of a transcoder affect the picture quality at all? I would think it would suffer a little since it is not a direct connection.
I'm thinking of holding off on Cable HD or a dish for a year or so until I can get a better HDTV.My RCA blows(Should have done my homework 3 years ago) because I can only receive the HD by VGA. I can not even use a progressive scan DVD player with this thing unless I buy it from Japan or some foreign land.

Transcoders affect the picture only to the extent they are not built well.
A good one should be no problem. But it needs to handle HDTV resolution.

P.s. Eventually, there is a transcoder to RGB in the path somewhere, because the CRTs or LCDs or whatever need to be driven separately for each color. If you don't feed RGB in, the TV has to eventually convert to RGB internally.

I don't know what the deal is with this transcoder business. I have a similar setup with my plasma and cable box. I use cables that have 3 component connectors at one end and a vga plug at the other. That's what you need. No extra device needed.

These cables are made by several companies. Straightwire made mine, but there are others. And even Ebay has a bunch of them. These are just cables, they aren't devices. These transcoders sound like an extra device, which is not what you want in this case. Sometimes these cables are called breakout cables, and they can have 5 ends instead of 3. I haven't used those personally, but I believe they can be used.

I looked at the transcoders on www.copperbox.com. Those are *not* what you want for this.

I have my Mot 5100 connected via one of these cables, and the picture is amazing (the box happens to be fried now, but that's another story!).

Most importantly, it's not as if you're converting the signal from one type to another. All that's different with these cables is the way the wires connect to your monitor. It's still a component signal all the way.

Am I missing something here? Why all the fuss over this - these cables are harder to find thatn the standard ones, but they're out there. Just look around.

And most importantly, enjoy your TV!

Originally posted by n_plasma
I don't know what the deal is with this transcoder business.You can say that again.

Am I missing something here? Yes.

It's very simple. There are two ways to move analog HDTV signals; component video (3 wire Y Pb Pr ) & RGBHV (5 wire Red Green Blue Horizontal, Vertical Sync). They both work fine, but they are not directly compatible with each other. They can be converted using a device call a transcoder, of which their are two types; component video to RGBHV and RGBHV to component video.

VGA is a connector type most often associated with RGBHV, but a very few displays also use a VGA connector for component video. If you have a display with a VGA connector and your source has component video out, you obviously have a display that accepts component video from a VGA connector. This is a rare situation. All most all displays that use VGA connectors are for RGBHV only.

If a display only has RGBHV input, and the HDTV source is component video, you must use a transcoder to make it work. Odds are very high a VGA connector is for RGBHV only.

Got it?

FYI: People in the New England area should have had thier 5100 upgraded two nights ago to firmware 2.48.

Originally posted by n_plasma
I don't know what the deal is with this transcoder business. I have a similar setup with my plasma and cable box. I use cables that have 3 component connectors at one end and a vga plug at the other. That's what you need. No extra device needed.

As Ken H said, You have a TV that accepts both RGBHV and Y-Pb-Pr (component) on a VGA style plug.

Mine does that as well (it accepts Y-Pb-Pr, or RGB, or RGBHV, all on an HD-15 (vga) style plug). But this is not what most do.

If your TV doesn't accept component in on the VGA plug, and you try using just a cable, you will get no picture. You then need a transcoder.

For those that don't know, Component uses three coax wires, one for luminence (brightness or Y), one for Y-blue, and one for Y-red. This is how the color info gets broadcast (and encoded in MPEG).

RGBHV uses 5 connections, one for Red, one for Green, one for Blue, one for H-sync, and one for V-sync. There may be other pins used for things like auto-registration of monitor capabilities and such. The 3 color connections should be coax wire, but some really cheap cables don't do this.

RGB uses 3 coax connection, same as RGBHV except the monitor must figure out the H-sync and V-sync on it's own (from the Green signal).

Originally posted by n_plasma
Has anyone had their Motorola 5100 break after a bit of use? My Mot 5100 seems to have fizzled. Now it won't display a picture for more than a few minutes before going to the "Please wait, this channel will be available in a moment" screen. The sound is sometimes there, and sometimes now. This happens on all channels - the HD, SD analaog and SD digital channels.

I've barely had this box for a week. Are these things particularly problematic?

Any settings I should check? The Comcast rep tried to send the box a signal, but she said she didn't get a response. I wonder what this means - I'm hoping they'll just replace the box and not mess with my account configuration! I don't want to be without cable or Internet for much longer!


plasma, I am having the same problem. My 5100 worked for about two weeks and now I sometimes get an image and very quickly turns to the "Please wait" screen. Sound off and on as well. Comcast was not able to resolve on phone. I have an appointment tomorrow. Has your issue been resolved?

Originally posted by rab99
plasma, I am having the same problem. My 5100 worked for about two weeks and now I sometimes get an image and very quickly turns to the "Please wait" screen. Sound off and on as well. Comcast was not able to resolve on phone. I have an appointment tomorrow. Has your issue been resolved?

The above two posts happend to me (exactly). When it happend I had a power failuer and when the box came back on, did the same as above. If you power off an on, it will fix it only for that channel. What I did to fix was turn the power off, unplug, plug back in and turn it on. I think this resets it. Then you'll get everything fine, but the typical "To Be Announced" for all channels in the menu will appear while it's being downloaded.

Try that, it worked for me.

Arrggghh....I have been trying, talking with everyone, but no one will let me get a 5100 without a HD TV. I had an appointment between 11-1 today but they cancelled shortly after 9am.

The Tech came to my house and told me they won't install it without an HDTV--even if it does work without one.

I am still trying to get an answer to why there is this prejudice--I get my own benefits from the extra $2 for the new box (like widescreen network TV, SVideo and 5.1 audio) just as the HD people get their benefits. Why does it matter who they get their $2 from?

So far I haven't been too pleased with Comcast! I am getting the audio for the HD channels via my current digital cable box--is there some way to get the picture?

-Kyle

Perhaps once they get more familiar with installing the boxes, they'll be more flexible with allowing installations just for the audio, etc.

Three guys in three trucks came to my house today for the installation and none of them had seen or connected a toslink before. They showed up with a 5 connector cable that had the 3 component cables and 2 standard stereo audio cables all combined, and no one had told them about coaxial or optical digital audio.

I handed the guy the toslink for the audio and said it was already connected at the receiver and a couple minutes later he told the guy next to him the cable I gave him had no connector. They were very friendly and didn't mind me helping them - just no one had bothered to train them on the variety of possible connections available on the 5100.

Right now, anything that doesn't utilize their default cabling will probably require some assistance.

I'm tempted to get one of those 7 or 12 inch HD TV's from Best Buy, schedule my install and then return the TV within BestBuy's return policy--how funny would that be to get a cable box installed that is bigger than the TV? :)

Is that the ridiculous lengths we need to go to?!

-Kyle

Originally posted by kylenolan
Arrggghh....I have been trying, talking with everyone, but no one will let me get a 5100 without a HD TV. I had an appointment between 11-1 today but they cancelled shortly after 9am.

The Tech came to my house and told me they won't install it without an HDTV--even if it does work without one.

I am still trying to get an answer to why there is this prejudice--I get my own benefits from the extra $2 for the new box (like widescreen network TV, SVideo and 5.1 audio) just as the HD people get their benefits. Why does it matter who they get their $2 from?

So far I haven't been too pleased with Comcast! I am getting the audio for the HD channels via my current digital cable box--is there some way to get the picture?

-Kyle

Why do you want the DCT-5100 if you don't have an HDTV? What you need is the DCT-2000 with S-Video and DD outputs. Go to your local office and ask for it. Don't even bother with the phone reps. Boston offices have them, maybe you town does too...

Originally posted by kylenolan
I'm tempted to get one of those 7 or 12 inch HD TV's from Best Buy, schedule my install and then return the TV within BestBuy's return policy--how funny would that be to get a cable box installed that is bigger than the TV? :)

Is that the ridiculous lengths we need to go to?!

-Kyle If you're going to go that far, you may as well go all the way. Go to Cambridge Soundworks and get one of their 42 inch plasma TVs. They have a 45 day return policy. While you're at it, purchase the Cambridge Soundworks surround sound system...they're supposed to be excellent. You can enjoy full-blown HDTV for 44 1/2 days!

Originally posted by kylenolan
I am still trying to get an answer to why there is this prejudice--I get my own benefits from the extra $2 for the new box (like widescreen network TV, SVideo and 5.1 audio) just as the HD people get their benefits. Why does it matter who they get their $2 from?

-Kyle

I don't know anything for a fact, just my opinion, but...

I have heard that the boxes are in very short supply. If that is true, it would make sense for them to try to limit it to the customers that can make the most / best / whatever use of the box. Just my .02

Yes the boxes are in very short supply & they are also much more expensive than the DCT2000.

Wouldn't you be upset if your appt. got cancelled because someone got the last DCT5100 and they didn't even have an HDTV?

Originally posted by Benji
If you're going to go that far, you may as well go all the way. Go to Cambridge Soundworks and get one of their 42 inch plasma TVs. They have a 45 day return policy. While you're at it, purchase the Cambridge Soundworks surround sound system...they're supposed to be excellent. You can enjoy full-blown HDTV for 44 1/2 days!

I already have the CS surround sound installed--I'm just too lazy to even think about trying to move the TV/armoir upstairs to make room for a new HD Projection TV :)

And to answer another question--they ARE saying these boxes are in short supply, so they want to limit them to HD customers.

Got my 5100 box installed a week ago, and what a beauty it is! Had started to despair about getting HDTV due to probs installing an antenna/dish where we live, but this is way better - no extra wire runs, only $2/month extra, etc. My only problem is that I haven't watched any DVDs since arriving in HD-nirvana!

Installation went OK, the guy basically switched the boxes and connected the component video & toslink cables - I didn't bother taking the combined component/stereo cable offered. After reading the posts about these boxes only being made available to HDTV-ready customers, it makes sense that they insisted on having a tech hook this thing up. Would have much preferred to just switch the box myself at the local office...c'est la vie.

Oh BTW, my Internet connection was broken after the install - had to call up to get this sorted out, didn't take too long though.

The channels:

PBS is unbelievable for showing off a large HDTV (mine is the Pioneer 503CMX) but there are only so many fly-bys of Italian islands that one can watch in a single day.

ABC and NBC seem to offer only spotty hi-def programming thus far. The Jay Leno show is jaw-dropping though, I must admit.

HBO-HD and Showtime-HD are great when they work. They seem to drop out quite regularly though, not as rock solid as the other channels. Like the fact that >half of the movies are HDTV, although many are 'optimized' for 16:9 aspect ratio and this will upset the purists.

Also like the fact that some of the regular digital channels are in Dolby 5.1, although let's face it - I need a lot of convincing to switch over to that crummy picture again...

Can't wait for HD-NET (whenever that will be) and Discovery-HD, and to a lesser extent CBS, to come on-line. Also, the rumors about the upcoming 52x0 box are intriguing - and integrated PVR would make this thing even sweeter. Anyone hear any more about this in our area?

All in all, if you have a high-def set and haven't got the box yet then stop wasting time reading this forum and get on the phone to Comcast!

Hi,

Thanks Ken and Chuck for letting me know what I was missing here. Now the advice you have been giving makes better sense. However, I'm surprised that everyone jumps to the transcoder right away intead of pointing out that he may be ok without it. His manual should give him the specifics and let him know if that's what he really needs.

As for my cable going out: I kept staring at the FAQ, wondering what I may have been missing. Then I realized that I had checked for filters where the cable feeds into a box that joins my building, but I hadn't checked for filters *inside* my building. It turns out that an earlier installer had installed a line filter between a cable splitter and my 5100 (in the attic -sheesh!). I removed the filter, did a power cycle and things seem better now. The cable company said that they can now receive signals from my box, too. So it looks like the FAQ came to the rescue once again.

thanks again for all the help/info here. This message board is really great; I've learned a lot.

asymetrik- I'm glad someone else noticed the dropouts on HBO and SHO- I was beginning to think it was just me. Apparently not because the other HD channels don't do this. Of course it's impossible to talk to someone "in the know" at Comcast Boston- really the only way to get these problems resolved. I suspect that most of these problems don't get resolved untill one of the "higher ups" actually gets the service.

As for cropping- only HBO does this. And I have to say they do a pretty cruddy job of it for the most part. They showed Alan Quatermain this week and the credits were OAR, it zoomed in for the movie, and it looked terrible- grainy and really unwatchable. Too bad, it's not a bad film, and the opening scene during the credits looked great.

I got my 5100 on the 24th- after being told that I could self install and going to the Somerset office to swap boxes. I've got a Mitsu WS55859 TV that does everything but DVi and anantenna on the roof. I never did connect the CATV directly to my tuner to see what I got.

The second time I called (after my little trip) I got a rep on the phone that was Boston local and it was her first call, let alone HD setup call. She did it correctly. The tech had done 3 other HD installs, but was still unsure about things, as he never had any training ther than 'wanna see an HD install?'

I still get far more HD over OTA, and I'm still waiting to see any Hockey in HD. Football is awesome, basketball too. Baseball and Hockey should be mind blowing. I suspect that NESN will convert in 2025 if Jeremy Jacobs has his way. Hopefully the new Red Sox ownership will push to make NESN a truly premiere sports network now. I'm also waiting patiently for all of the Providence stations to come online as I'm 10 miles form the Rehoboth towers.

OTher then the impending ESPN HD, I'm wondering what other catv HD properties are upcoming.

Tim

I don't know how much headroom the system has, but I'm told that for each HD channel, it takes the bandwith of 4 SD stations.

I'd love to get Comcast sports here- even if it is Philly programming, but the investment in HD that they've made should be shared with the rest of us :)

Actually CATV can fit 2 HD channels one 6 mhz bandwidth using 256 QAM. So technically 2 HD channels for One "analog" channel.

Using Digital Cable(read: Compression) CATV can fit about 8 video channels into one 6 mhz bandwidth slot. This is probably where your 4:1 info comes from.

Now I know NOT to get a Transcoder from copperbox thanks to n_plasma but can someone tell me where I CAN get one(other than e-bay).
Thanks!

Hey,
I too got my HDTV installed and was wondering about a few things:

1. I've used optical cable to connet to my 5.1 receiver. I've noticed that there is a minor delay in the sound (for most channels), has anyone noticed that?

2. Cartoon network produces no sound, unless I'm using my TV speakers. This is the only channel that does that, I find that quite weird. Any ideas?

3. Does anyone know of Comcast plans/schedule of new HD channels?

Thanks

I occasionally notice a delay. Are you speaking of the digital channels? Usually after a few seconds it resolves itself or I don't notice anymore.

Cartoon Network sound is back now. They switched it from Digital back to analog again and I think the 5100 boxes were confused untill they fixed it. Too bad, because CN is one of the worst analog channels I receive. Although some of the 1fps animation they show like "Justice League" looked awful in digital.

Try www.titantv.com . They have a guide for every format you can possibly use, although it isn't always 100% accurate.

re: the DTC5100 and DVI - a posting in here says it is not enabled.
can anyone verify this? i'm scheduled for an install on thurs and hoping to use the dvi so i can avoid need of a component switch.

D

It is NOT enabled

comcast install today went extremely well. 20 minutes. cable modem worked after restart with very minor interrruption of service. very knowledgeable installer.

the picture quality is good, but not as good as ota or d*tv Hdtv though.
but for $7.25/month instead of $800 for a sony hd200, I'll take it...

D

Funny- I can't tell the difference.

If you think the PQ is lower over cable, I suspect the issue is more with the 5100 box than the transmission itself. I didn't think the picture looked very good untill I changed the Apature Freq on my HDTV- then it looked excellent.

We had these 2 awful technicians look at the picture on the channels I have been having trouble with, I showed them the channels it was happening on, and they said they saw nothing, but I know what a grainy picture looks like, and they don't. They also said that if I keep scheduling appointments where they can't see anything wrong, they will start charging us. How unfair is that?

How long do you think it will be before everything goes digital? Including the community access channels?

ssetta- Analog is bad here. Don't bother having them come over for that, because they'll just shrug their shoulders and give a "I don't see anything" or "That's how it is" answer.

If you want to see how bad mine is, you're more than welcome to come over and check my reception out. I live on the Natick/Framingham line.

Hi was away for a few weeks with 5100 box disconntected from from power outlet. Will new firm ware download ,now that 5100 is powered back up with my return?

Hi was away for a few weeks with 5100 box disconntected from from power outlet. Will new firm ware download ,now that 5100 is powered back up with my return?

Originally posted by DaveFi
If you want to see how bad mine is, you're more than welcome to come over and check my reception out. I live on the Natick/Framingham line.

Are you serious about that? Because I would like to see that, knowing I'm not the only one having problems. On mine, it usually only does it with certain channels. Right now, the picture is lousy on channels 2, 22, 28 (sometimes), and 41. Which channels are the bad ones on yours?

I can't believe I just saw this thread. I check this area about once a week, but usually just look for "Boston".
Anyway, I apologize if I read this and forgot it, plus I've seen different accounts of the cost. Anyway, my questions are: (1) Since I've already got a digital box that now gets HBO (but not Showtime), what are ALL the costs (inc. install) involved in upgrading? and (2) What are my chances of getting one of these babies soon?
Thanks,

Steve,
$15.99 install, $2 more a month, and you could get it in about a week or so. Maybe less.

Has anyone noticed an improvement in the dropout frequency on HBO-HD? I noticed it starting Saturday night. Monster's Ball didn't drop signal on me once, it was crystal clear start to finish. I haven't noticed any dropouts since then, but I haven't has much time to watch it (Sunday morning some is all). How about the rest of you?

Nathan

I haven't watched in a few days, but the dropouts on HBO and SHO are regular.

As I said before in the thread, I think we have to get in touch with one of the local "higher ups" in order to get this problem resolved.

I live in Ashland and have noticed that channels 2-99 seem to be coming in much better in the last few days or a week. Has anyone else noticed this? When I first got the 5100 I found these channels virtually unwatchable, especially the local Boston stations. Now, in general, 2-99 seems to be comparable to the higher number standard definition channels. I checked my firmware version last night and it has not changed; still 2.48.

i notice the same in bedford nh

Here's hoping everyone on this forum has taken the 2 minutes necessary to get on the Comcast website and formally request the addition of the other HD channels in Boston. (they seem to be sending a canned response -- "We are working to provide as many high definition channel broadcasters as we can..." to everyone, from what I've seen). I'm dying to see some sports on HDnet and desperately hope they add CBS before march madness ends.

Anyone heard any rumors about how long this type of pressure will take to generate some results / when they might be adding CBS/Discovery/HDnet/and ESPN (post March 30th)!

I've already told them that I'm stoked about the addition of more HD channels. That said, I _didn't_ mention that the only thing that could get me to upgrade my subscription would be the addition of HDNet Movies. Maybe it's time.... :D

I had been reading elsewhere that Encore will upgrade to HD this year, and that NBC is amking a large investment to do it right.

I've also seen that there are a few HD movie packages from Paramount that include Raiders of the Lost Ark :). Apparantly most if not all of their stations have bought into them.

It is still amazing to me how much better SDTV looks on an HD feed. Obvioulsly it is only as good as the source input, but it still seems bettter than DVD quality to me for video, especailly the news.

Tim

the SD quality of comcast seems superior to that on D*TV to me.
not the case on non HD sets, in my experience.

I'e got an HD set downstairs and an SD in the bedroom- the analog channles over COmcast are inferrior to my old DCT2000 box on the HDTV, and they look grainier thatn they should even on my SD.

Over cable, I beleive that the signals should look like they are studio monitors. period. That's how they look over DSS (DirecTV, Dish) but I'm not about to outlay another $600 plus recurring programming costs to recieve them.

I've even seen some recent tiling of the SD digital channels since I have gotten my 5100 box.

I'm in a unique position, since my town (Taunton) is laying the infrastructre for fiber to the home in order to get rid of the CATV provider of the week. Unfortunately info is hard to come by right now, but it is in progress with a small pilot program. They need to build in HD capability for obviouls reason. being a clean sheet design, it should be easy :)

Tim

I've found that the non-HD channels look much better with the 5100 box if you watch them through the composite video output of the box, rather than through either the component or S-Video outputs, which both bypass the TV's internal filters. I believe the reason is that any TV with a good quality comb filter (such as the Mitsubishi RPs) will look better with a filtered analog input rather than an unfiltered one, especially one upconverted to 1080i. I did comparisons on all inputs and the composite video looks the best to me on the non-HD cable channels.
-Eric

ok, so the reception on hd is good. that wont do it. see, the analog cable problem we have just cant get solved. both i, and the techs, have given up. they never find anything wrong, when i know there is, and neither will the csrs. i mean, even davefi who lives in natick, doesnt seem to get any help, so what do u do dave? how do u go about it? we need it fixed sometime, but i doubt it will happen. i feel like just calling and cancelling the whole service. it will be nice when everything goes hd, which will be in about 100 years.

ssetta- well this is an ongoing problem not just for you. I guarantee you that almost everyone who has analog cable isn't completely satisfied with the PQ. It's amazing to me what the tech guys consider "acceptable" or even "good". What I suggest is you just take the Basic Cable package for $6 and keep the rest.

Anyone seeing a noticable pixelation on SHO-HD? Looks like the "multicast" effect.

Can anyone tell me how to turn off the close captioning on the Moto5100? My brother screwed around with his box, and now he can't figure out how to turn it off. He called me and asked me but I don't have cable so I couldn't answer. The CC in his TV is turned off,so it has to be the cable box. Thanks for any help.

Power off then menu.

Hi ,I left a message with a Comcast CSR asking when ESPN-HD and WBZ/CBS would be available in HD? She took down the questions and pass them up to administration. They will email the response back. Maybe other Comcast HD customers on this thread can do the same.

I have Comcast cable hooked up to my integrated Mits WS48511 RPTV and have constant audio and video drop outs on ABC-HD and NBC-HD, PBS-HD is not quite as bad, but there are still drop outs. I also have Dish Network and I have no drop outs on there programing. I can get CBS-HD, HBO-HD, SHO-HD, DISC-HD, PPV-HD, and Special Events. Is anyone else seeing this with Comcast

I just got my comcast HD hooked up!! so clean, although PBS has that constant pixleization, the other 4 are fine, I called yesterday and got my appointment today, so I'm even happier. The install was fast and painless, for the installers second install. I've read this entire thread and all this guy kept askin me was "why do you know more than I do" I just laughed and said you'll get it then I showed him this site, lol. PBS although constant dropouts is the best looking Ive seen on my Hitachi 53UWX10b. This guy goes on to tell me that they didn't even train their techs, they just handed them a booklet and told them to read it and learn it, lol.

Thanx to all who have posted in this thread, IMO it made my install that much better.
p.s. he got a chuckle when I told him to hold on so I could check my internet connection, and asked me if I worked for the CIA, I said "no man, just a proud member of the AVS FORUM!!"

Well tonight (and not HD related), all of my CATV went out- except for internet- where i'm posting now. Apparantly there is an outage that is affecting all of Taunton. Since we come off of the Rehoboth head end along with at least Rehoboth and Attleboro, I'd expect that they are out too. If it is a physical issue, I'm surprised that the internet side works, while TV is out.

When I lived in Mansfield, I was practically in a tornado, and the CATV stayed up. We've never had an outage here that was not localized to simply my house- I've had 3 bad Digital boxes, and a some filter issues in 2 years of being here.

Glad I have my antenna!

Tim

Just scheduled my HD STB install today (Nashua, NH). I have a couple questions:

1. My current DCT-2000 STB supports TiVo serial cable (vs Blaster); can anyone report success with TiVo Serial on DCT-5000??

2. If I decide to keep my DCT-2000 in addition to the new DCT-5000, should I expect any noticeable signal degradation from splitting the input signal before the boxen?

TIA

The DCT-5100 doesn't have a serial port, If I remember right.
So, no joy on the TiVo serial cable, but you can use the IR stuff.

And no, splitting between two boxes shouldnt make a noticable difference in the picture, unless your signal was very weak to begin with

Since We generalyl know wht's on for HD progarmming now :) and my perosnal conclusion is that Comcast is worse than ATT (I did not think it possible).

Does anybody knw anthign at at all about additonal HD programming being avaialble?

For example- ESPN-HD (Owned by ABC) or even carriage of the other Boton HD stations-WLVI, WSBK and the like. They are all very live and WLVI and WFXT have HD programming (if you can say that about Fox) available to those of us with teh OTA option. I'm just frustrated by needng to switch between sources- a simple project on my TV, but an annoyance!

Tim

CBS wants Comcast to pay to carry their HD programming, and I don't really know about the other channels. I guess it's a matter of time before they're all offered. Plenty of bandwidth available, and they're easily able to squeeze them in using QAM.

HBO and SHO dropouts seem to be much less than the past few weeks. Still ocassional pixelation, but that could be from the quality of my line.

Got my 5100 installed this afternoon!!! In Wilmington. The tech arrived before 2 for a 1-3 time slot. He was friendly and seemed to know his stuff. Said he had done several in the last month and that they still have plenty of 5100's. So far, no problems with dropouts, although I've watched mostly HBO and a little PBS.
Right now, I'm a happy customer. I'll be a lot happier when they get CBS...

Just finished reading through all 18 pages, so forgive me if this info was there and I missed it.

What's the bare minimum you have to pay a month to get Comcast HD (service + box rental)? I'm not interested in HBO or Showtime (at this point), but would like the other 3 (and presumably more in the future) HD non-premium channels?

When I spoke to a Comcast sales rep, the lowest price they quoted me was $36/month for basic analog cable. I saw some posts here that mentioned basic cable for ~$6/month...is this available to all? And is there anywhere that lists which channels are available for the $6/month basic cable price. Thanks for all your help!

Unfortunatley, Comcast requires that you at least subscribe to Digital Basic (I don't remember the cost) to get the HD local channels. Anyone that is getting HD channels without Digital Basic slipped through the cracks.

Originally posted by Jakes
Unfortunatley, Comcast requires that you at least subscribe to Digital Basic (I don't remember the cost) to get the HD local channels. Anyone that is getting HD channels without Digital Basic slipped through the cracks.

This is not true, you can get Basic Cable (usually ch 2-27 or so, and about $10-$15/month) then subscibe to HD which is 6.95 (I think) which will give you the local HD channels (ABC, NBC, ect). This all varies from market to market.

what the word on new stations, anybody know? BTW Leno is absolutly amazing come over and try to find a flaw, i bet you dont.lol ;)

Originally posted by miatasm
This is not true, you can get Basic Cable (usually ch 2-27 or so, and about $10-$15/month) then subscibe to HD which is 6.95 (I think) which will give you the local HD channels (ABC, NBC, ect). This all varies from market to market.

Well, I tried to reduce my subscription with a couple of different CSR's, but I was told that I needed to subscribe to a digital package to receive the HD channels. If anyone in Boston has been able to do this, please let me know what you did so that I can follow suit.

If you want the cheapest package, don't ask for "basic" cable. Ask for their "network-only, life-line, 2-thru-19, limited" package which costs me $6.07 per month. If you could then add the 5100 HDTV box for ~$7.25 per month, that would be the cheapest way to get the three network HDTV channels (assuming they throw those in with the $6.07 package).

Originally posted by smeefnut
What's the bare minimum you have to pay a month to get Comcast HD (service + box rental)? I'm not interested in HBO or Showtime (at this point), but would like the other 3 (and presumably more in the future) HD non-premium channels?

When I spoke to a Comcast sales rep, the lowest price they quoted me was $36/month for basic analog cable. I saw some posts here that mentioned basic cable for ~$6/month...is this available to all? And is there anywhere that lists which channels are available for the $6/month basic cable price. Thanks for all your help!

I noticed on another thread that USA networks was going to have the HD feed from the masters on a separate HD channel - viewable on DirectTV and "select" cable systems including "some" Comcast areas. Anybody know if that includes Boston?

I'm in Boston too, and I have not seen anything to that effect. I know that we did not get any of the NBA HD stuff here, so I suspect not.

We may have some infrastructure issues here as AT&T seems to be behind in their systems compared to Comcast, but don;t quote me there- It may be as simple as having a 750Mhz system and digital head end. MAybe they need to eliminate all of the analog CATV programming here too- that would splve teh PQ on anlaog CATV with the 5100 box.
Tim

Tim

I heard that we will not get USA-HD from Comcast in Boston from member the q because:

NO USA-HD masters coverage in the Comcast Boston sites. Comcast is only offering the USA-HD coverage in locations that also also offer CBS in HD on Comcast for the Masters finals.

No suprise if you ask me. If Comcast won't pick up CBS-HD or ESPN-HD, why would they even consider USA-HD? I'm not impressed with Comcast at all. It's very frustrating how it's impossible to get a hold of anyone at Comcast that even has a clue about HD.

I figured as much. And while I understand that it is a new service, I too wish that there was an "official" comcast information source - either a web site or CSR that knows what's going on with HD. Theres' only so many times I can show my friends the PBS feed...

Now I have Comcast (Marlborough, MA) broadband and the DTC5100 HDSTB. It has the DOCSIS Cable Modem in it. Do we have to use both the cable modem and the STB or can I plug my Cat5 into the docsis and out to the PC? I have the Windows Media Center Edition also running as my PVR and it would be easier than splitting the cable 4 times.

Also, why am I not getting Digital Sound out of the 99+ channels. My HDTV channels work fine, but they also don't get Digital Sound. I have the Sony Sony STR DE845. The technician put in RCA cables from the audio out on the STB to the Receiver's TV/SAT audio in's. Do I need an Optical or Coax?

Keep in mind, I am new at this. Relatively!

Thanks for any help!

Mark

well, if your looking for digital sound, then yes you'll need an optical or coax cable to give it to you, but keep in mind that only certain programs are in 5.1 even on the HD channels. Although you will be able to tell in the top right of the menu bar which signal your gettin'

O.k..so i used to optical cable to the TV/SAt optical input and now I have a digital signal.

However, are any channels multichannel decoded? I see that the wheatherscan channel comes in multi-channel decoded but only to one channel...the center. :-)

All the others are Dolby Digital 2/0.....

Are there any programs/channels that send in 5.1? I am in the Comcast/Marlborough, MA region.

Thanks again...

Mark

Comcast is screwing up the ABC movies here- Atlantis was 2.1 when it should have been 5.1.

Mark- They pass through 5.1 on the ABC sitcoms just fine. Try those.

If you have HBO-HD or SHO-HD, most of the newer films are 5.1 (or better) too.

Comcast installed my DCT-5100 STB today in Nashua, NH.

1. The guy arrived exactly on time; took about 1/2 hour to complete.

2. Guy was a bit confused that I wanted to keep my existing DCT-2000 in same location (stacked w/DCT-5100), to feed TiVo on alternate input.

3. Quality is great...except for sidebars on network stations on my widescreen Toshiba TV. I hoping I could ZOOM to full screen, but that feature not available :(

4. Passing RF OUT from 5100 to TiVo#2 works just fine

5. TiVo can see the HD stations (802, 870...), albeit in std def quality..., That surprised me a bit. DCT-2000 only gives me black screen.

6. Not sure I can tolerate the loss of TiVo serial control (channel changing), fo 4 measly HD channels. I know the qty will increase, but soon enough??

7. Keepin DCT-2000 for now

8. DCT-5100 and DCT-2000 share the same remote commands!! Nothing a bit of black tape won't fix :) combined with serial control...

Well, Comcast came today. They said a 1:00pm to 3:00pm appt. and they came at 12:55pm. Bonus.

He swapped out the box and everything worked great...at first. Then the audio and video got out of sync! :( Don't know if that's still the case.

The other problem is audio itself. Any suggestions for this one:

Old setup:

RF to cable box

Svideo to Tivo
RCA audio to Tivo

Svideo to TV
RCA audio to TV

RCA audio to Video 1 on stereo.

New setup:

The same except the Component cables are now hooked to the component input on my TV (where S-Video is hooked to input 1).

The audio is the problem, though. When I switch to HDTV, I have no sound! Which is obvious since that input has no sound going into it.

So, what do I do here? Split the audio signal?

I really don't want to run to the stereo first since i don't always use my stereo when watching TV.

Hey all. I'm new to all this and was wondering if any of you could give me some pointers. I have DirecTV and an HDTV. The HD channels (HBO and DirecTV's HD channel) look awesome. So, naturally, now I want to view my local channels in HD. Well, I've learned you can't get the HD signal through the satellite (as I can with my regular local channels), so now I want to attach an antenna to my roof. Should I just get a Channel Master UHF antenna and use an eve-mount to attach it to the roof? Will that allow me to get my local channels (6, 8, 12 here in Richmond, Virginia) in HD? Thanks in advance for the help.

Originally posted by Matt Paulk
Hey all. I'm new to all this and was wondering if any of you could give me some pointers. I have DirecTV and an HDTV. The HD channels (HBO and DirecTV's HD channel) look awesome. So, naturally, now I want to view my local channels in HD. Well, I've learned you can't get the HD signal through the satellite (as I can with my regular local channels), so now I want to attach an antenna to my roof. Should I just get a Channel Master UHF antenna and use an eve-mount to attach it to the roof? Will that allow me to get my local channels (6, 8, 12 here in Richmond, Virginia) in HD? Thanks in advance for the help. Matt...check this link: www.Titantv.com to see if any of your local channels are broadcasting digitally yet. I seem to recall reading that maybe only 1 Richmond station (probably 12) was digital. In any case, that link will also advise you on antenna requirements for your area. You may not need an outdoor antenna depending on your proximity to your broadcast tower.

Has anyone else seen a small bright flickering area (~ 3 lines high by ~ 1/10 screen wide) on the bottom right side of several of the standard def channels? I won't list them all but I see it on 33 (TNT?), 39 (Disc) , 75 (SciFi). I suspect it's covered by overscan on most TVs but I have an InFocus 7200 Front Projector and I can't hide it. It's driving me crazy and I would like to figure out if its just my box or a Comcast-wide problem,

Mazer -- I have pretty much the same setup as you, with a Tivo, and if you don't have a HT Reciever that you want to run the audio through (that has two outputs) the only way you can do it is to split the audio outs from the STB. I did this and it seems to work fine (and the audio quality appears OK).

Remember, even when the Tivo is showing "live" TV, it is delayed by a few tenths of a second, so if you are watching HDTV through the component feeds, the audio coming out of the Tivo will be necessarily out of Sync. Once you figure it out, its not too hard to switch between the two.

rueps -- Thanks for the reply. I pretty much suspected that's what it was.

I did some playing last night and switched from s-video into the Tivo to RF. That way, I could have the audio inputs from the STB go into the same input on the TV as the Component video inputs.

I then ran audio out of the Tivo into my stereo so I can watch regular TV with Tivo by turning on my stereo (for now) and HDTV by turning off the stereo
and switching to that input on the TV.

I definitely need to upgrade my HT receiver. It's over 12 years old and just doesn't have the right inputs.

For now, I'll get a signal splitter that will allow me to do what I used to do which is run the audio back to the receiver from the TV and then I can use the stereo by choice.

Oh, and BTW, those Comcast jerks didn't take long to remove HBO and Showtime. They had removed it by that night!!

I just signed up for Comcast and am scheduled for Wed, 4/14.

Can anyone tell me (1) if the 5100's RF Bypass function works, and (2) if it only controls the coax out signal (and not the component out signal and/or the S-video out signal)?

My goal is to get the following signals coming out of the 5100 at the same time:

Component video out, tuned to STB channel: to go to TV component in

S-Video out, tuned to STB channel: to go to (Sima) switch box (which then goes to TV S-video in and VCR S-Video in)

Coax out, raw cable signal (by activating RF Bypass): to be split, and then to go to TV coax in and VCR coax in.

Obviously, the above will only work if the RF Bypass function (1) works and (2) only affects the 5100's coax out signal. If I can accomplish the above, I will not have to split the Comcast cable before it hits the 5100 (I currently have RCN and have to split the cable before it gets to the STB, in order to properly distribute raw and STB signals to the TV and the VCR).

I did not see an answer to this in the FAQ or the 5100 manual, although the diagram on p.16 of the manual suggests that the RF Bypass only affects the coax out.

Thanks for any information!

RF bypass isn't active on the 5100......... all of the outputs on the box, S-video/composite/RF/Component.....show all of the exact same programming.

I have looked through the FAQ's and the other threads and found nothing on this I believe.

Specifically, NBC HD (Friends last night, etc.) shows in a box with black about 3 inches all the way around the picture. And the other HD channels show smaller "in a box" with black on the top and gray on the sides about 3 in all the way around. In addition, there is a little flicker of "digital pixels" on the top line of the video. Does this make sense, it's tough to describe.

I have gone through the menu setup and set the box to 1080i and 4:3. I don't have 16:9 screen. IN fact, I tried all options including pan & scan..same results for all.

Anyone else have this problem. I have the DCT5100, Comcast Marlborough.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

If you are seeing black or gray bars all the way around the picture (termed window-boxing), you are not seeing HD material 99% of the time. Their are a few exceptions when 1.33:1 OAR material is presented in HD though. Friends is not a native HD program. Friends is upconverted and transmitted in the window box. All HD is delivered in a 16:9 aspect ratio. You have no means of stretching the picture to fill a 4:3 screen with said material with the DCT-5100 STB. Pretty cheezy if you ask me. Most OTA STB's will allow you to stretch a window-boxed picture to fill a 4:3 screen. The black or gray bars on the sides are actually part of the transmission from the network. The black bars on the top & bottom are the result of your HDTV letter-boxing the upconverted HD material to display correctly (meaning not squished) on your screen. All of our local stations broadcasting digitally upconvert all non-HD material. Watch Jay Leno tonight, that is native HDTV and a fine example at that. It looks amazing. Does that make sense to you?

Originally posted by dhp
Has anyone else seen a small bright flickering area (~ 3 lines high by ~ 1/10 screen wide) on the bottom right side of several of the standard def channels? I won't list them all but I see it on 33 (TNT?), 39 (Disc) , 75 (SciFi). I suspect it's covered by overscan on most TVs but I have an InFocus 7200 Front Projector and I can't hide it. It's driving me crazy and I would like to figure out if its just my box or a Comcast-wide problem,

Would a couple of you comment on this so I have an idea if it is my 5100 or Comcast wide.?

thanks

Makes sense to me... So the PBS HDTV Demonstration is native HD and Jay Leno is native HD. Anything not native is upconverted and hence the window-boxing. I am assuming My Wife and Kids native HD? It also has 5.1 and looks great.... Don't like the show, but it looks and sounds good....hence I watch it. :-)

Thanks so much!

Mark

You got it Mark, exactly. Look for other native HDTV shows at the top of the HDTV Programming Forum. Here's the link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=164671).

Havent heard any new in some time of any new channels being added to Comcast-NE HDTV line-up.I was hopeful back when I first got the service back in Feburary that more would be added. Does any one know if Comcast can carry WPRI-DT in Providence when it goes on the air? They are a CBS affilate not owned by CBS?

Good news and no news when I got my cable bill. Good news only $2 more for HD and the flier in the bill included a page on Comcast HD service. No/Bad News was they only listed 4 channels: ABC NBC HBO-HD Showtime HD. No mention of PBS DT that they do carry in Boston area,or any new channels that may be coming soon

WPRI is owned by LIN along with WNAC- bothe are listed as May for their DT live date. I hope so at least for testing.

Tim

We had somebody come to the house yesterday, a door-to-door salesman for RCN. He was trying to force us to switch to RCN. But I told him that we are proud customers of Comcast. A main reason why we can't switch is because of one channel that RCN doesn't carry, which is WSBE-36 (PBS). But he says that everybody else on our street has switched over to RCN, and that it is much better. He said that RCN uses state-of-the-art fiber-optic MegaBand technology, and it is much cheaper. If you noticed, with Comcast, all of the popular channels from 2-99 are analog, and the reception in my area is often not very good. I kept calling out for techs, and they just don't see a problem. But they also say that no one else in the area has called about the problem, but it's because no one else on my street still has Comcast. But do you think that may be a reason why we are having a problem? Because everyone else is switching, RCN is doing stuff to the wires. But is he right that the quality is better than Comcast?

Originally posted by marklabelle870
I have looked through the FAQ's and the other threads and found nothing on this I believe.

Specifically, NBC HD (Friends last night, etc.) shows in a box with black about 3 inches all the way around the picture. And the other HD channels show smaller "in a box" with black on the top and gray on the sides about 3 in all the way around. In addition, there is a little flicker of "digital pixels" on the top line of the video. Does this make sense, it's tough to describe.

I have gone through the menu setup and set the box to 1080i and 4:3. I don't have 16:9 screen. IN fact, I tried all options including pan & scan..same results for all.

Anyone else have this problem. I have the DCT5100, Comcast Marlborough.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

Two things it could be, your TV is not on your HD input, or the aspect/format/ect. button is not properly configured, if your TV has this feature. Which allows expand, letterboxing, native formats to be selected but all TV do not have this feature.

Red Sox Game next Sunday on ESPN and ESPNHD. Would love to see it in HD on Comcast. One god note on audio side, Good Surround Sound via Dolby ProLogic 2 of the stereo feed on ESPN. (Some of the Circle Suuround gets through on the SD feed)

RCN vs. Comcast
We had somebody come to the house yesterday, a door-to-door salesman for RCN. He was trying to force us to switch to RCN. But I told him that we are proud customers of Comcast. A main reason why we can't switch is because of one channel that RCN doesn't carry, which is WSBE-36 (PBS). But he says that everybody else on our street has switched over to RCN, and that it is much better. He said that RCN uses state-of-the-art fiber-optic MegaBand technology, and it is much cheaper. If you noticed, with Comcast, all of the popular channels from 2-99 are analog, and the reception in my area is often not very good. I kept calling out for techs, and they just don't see a problem. But they also say that no one else in the area has called about the problem, but it's because no one else on my street still has Comcast. But do you think that may be a reason why we are having a problem? Because everyone else is switching, RCN is doing stuff to the wires. But is he right that the quality is better than Comcast?





I actually just switched from RCN to Comcast and the picture for SD and Digital Cable is MUCH better on Comcast. Just ask the RCN guy where they are with HDTV...that's why I switched.

From what I know, RCN has better internet service than Comcast,
good cable TV and Telephone, and most people that have them seem happy. And they are a few dollars less than Comcast.

But, they don't have any HDTV at all.... So, I'm staying with Comcast.

Question for Comcast HD viewers concernign the MOto5100 box. When watching WCVB/ABC HD, is better to output 720P to my set and let my set convert to 1080i or leave Moto5100 set to 1080i output and let the Moto 5100 do the 720 to 1080i Conversion? Thanks

RCN is currently negotiating the terms for providing High Definition service. Obviously, they are aware of the need to remain competitive with Comcast. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to get organized!

There exists the potential for service to become available this Summer, but I'm certainly not going to hold my breath.

Howie

RE: RCN and HDTV service.

I would love to see it happen. A little competition in our area could only help us consumers. If RCN steps up and negotiates for ESPN-HD, I’d switch to RCN in a second. The only benefit I get from the Comcast HD service is HBO-HD (I get all the locals OTA), and RCN would be sure to have that too.

Kentucky Derby looked great on HDH via Comcast. When using 1080i HDTV picture was superb today.

thank you for all the excellent information in this thread.

Originally posted by miatasm
Two things it could be, your TV is not on your HD input, or the aspect/format/ect. button is not properly configured, if your TV has this feature. Which allows expand, letterboxing, native formats to be selected but all TV do not have this feature.

I just want to add to what mitasm correctly stated, when I turn to one of the HD channels using the s-video connection on my set then I get exactly what you are discribing.
You have to make sure your TV is turned to the component inputs when viewing the HD channels. Then every thing will be in HD and looking great!

I read in the New York City thread that RCN there will offer 10 HD channels to compete with TMC there. If they have that kind of package is offered in Boston, Comcast will need to respond. Thread said ESPN HD was in an additonal tier above basic HD tier.

As much as I want ESPN-HD, I'd really like to see CBS-HD on cable(they have more HD material). I'm so sick of dealing with OTA reception problems. It's ridiculous how much easier it is to get analog OTA signals, but that's a whole seperate thread.:rolleyes:

So what's the latest with Comcast in the Boston area? Have they added anything to the HD lineup? I just get the 5: PBS-HD, ABC-HD, NBC-HD, HBO-HD, and SHO-HD.

Rich

Comcast hasn't added any new channels since launch date. I wouldn't hold your breath either, unless RCN rolls out some HD content...

i called comcast the other day and they told me that 3rd quarter, after june, that they would be pickin up new stations, whether they put up or shut up is the question, but i am keepin my fingers crossed

Correct me if I am wrong, but would not a cable company gain space for 2 hdtv channels using QAM modulation for every analog cable channel they convert to their digital tier?

Sure... 256QAM gives you about 38.8 Mb/s per channel, so you could fit 2 HDTV + 1 SDTV channel in the same space.

But, cable companies are reluctant to convert many channels to digital, as that requires cable boxes. This is especially true for the "must carry" stations... They don't want to need to provide cable boxes to all the people getting "basic" service at $8/mo or whatever.

Chuck, I don't see Comcast putting local OTA s and popular channels like CNN, Weather Channel ,etc going to digital tier, but could see stuff like Outdoor life, Travel channel, Speed going to digital tier to free up spectrum space.

Originally posted by mgpt6
Chuck, I don't see Comcast putting local OTA s and popular channels like CNN, Weather Channel ,etc going to digital tier, but could see stuff like Outdoor life, Travel channel, Speed going to digital tier to free up spectrum space.
Exactly. They can include some others such as A&E, Lifetime, Home and Garden, Food, etc. as they go to HD. This will all likely force them to go to an entirely different tiered pricing structure, but if they do it right, they can avoid pissing people off.

On 5-12 couple of tidbits, 1) Comcast signs deal with Motorola to provide new Digital cable boxes to Comcast. Boxes include HDTV, VOD and PVR.
2) According to Twice, Comcast is planning to go to all-digital platform by 2006 instead of 2008. Long term looks good, like the short term to look almost as good for improvements for HD.

Currently I only have analog cable from Comcast, but since I'll be moving to Tewksbury, I figure now is the time to evaluate if I should get satellite or digital cable. I don't even have HDTV, but plan on getting one once I get settled and start paying off a little on the house.

Are most people here pleased with Comcast? Asking in a Comcast forum is bound to be biased, but I'm still curious.

With digital cable, I don't need a box for every room correct? I know I'd only get basic channels where there isn't a box, but that's ok if it's in the bedroom. With satellite, you have to have a box for every tv for any channels at all.

Also, does high def cost extra above digital cable? I realize that the HBO-HD and SHO-HD would, but what about the others? Do you need a specific model of STB for high-def with Comcast or will any regular high-def box work?

Sorry if this has been answered before, but there's 20 pages to look through.

Thanks.

I for one am less happy with Comcast than AT &T. I've had multiple outages since the takeover whereas I had none while an At&t customer. Their customer service staff have been obnoxious and poorly informed- if (big if) you get the call center in Seattle. The local call centers seem OK.

As for HD, I got one of the first boxes in SE Mass, and it is $2/mo more for the rental of the Moto 5100. That's the only additional charge from the straight up digital. I have the luxury of an OTA tuner so I can watch CBS via antenna :) IMHO, the HD support ny Comcast is currently weak, and I only know a little about the issues involved. With All of the major Boston stations broadcasting digitally (most have some HD programming) theyre should be a legitimate effort to carry them on Comcast. WBZ is A Viacom station and there is a battle about fees for Comcast to pay for carriage. WPRI in Providence will have their DT on line in less thatn 2 weeks, but is still awaiting their HD gear, so they will initially be SD only.

Tim

Spider12,

You don't have to have a cable box in each room, only where you want the premium services (digital, HD, VOD, PPV, Premiums). Every area is different but as stated above there is a minimal charge to upgrade regular digital cable to HD digital cable. HD Programming is weak, but this is in all areas doing cable HD. It will get better as more broadcasters go Digital.

As far as -tcable- having more problems since Comcast took over, this is a common occurance when a take over happens. But more often than not it is the customers looking for problems, because someone else takes over. I'm not saying that this is happening in -tcable's- situation. But when Comcast took over AT&T they don't let go all of the AT&T employees and replace them with Comcast employees. If they are rude now they were probably rude when they were with AT&T also. Outages could be being caused by upgrades to the system, which AT&T failed to do. Outages are not done on purpose and are not caused by a simple name change. You do realize that AT&T was sold because they were losing tons of money and were $20 billion in debt, which would not allow them to do common upgrades needed to launch services like HD & VOD.

That's my experience so far :)

I'm aware that At&T did not make much headway in the head end department- I even set up an analog head end at a job once for testing. The Moto Digital ones are incredible (I used to work for an ITV company as IT)

It's good that they are making changes, and soon enough my bill will rise to meet their desired 50% markup- likely alienating me more. The killer app for Comcast is VOD, not the straight up content that most of us recieve. I'd like to see more HD offerings and fewer of the 80+ stations that I don't watch. But that's me. Then again, I also want it to work when I flip it on.

BTW, all ofthe recent outages here have been city wide, notlocalized work or pole damage- only reason I know is because I called. I'm also not saying that the downtime has been substantial- it's still well above 95% Uptime In my world (network admin) 95 % is unacceptable.

Tim

In Boston, I have not experienced these outages with Comcast. Although I wish Comcast would bring more HD channels onboard, I certainly commend them for having any at all. AT&T had zero HD channels. Therefore, in Boston, Comcast is better than AT&T ever was IMO. However, if you're not pleased with Comcast, we are lucky to have a choice in Boston. The alternative to Comcast is RCN. But IMO, RCN is as bad as AT&T was. RCN offers zero HD channels as well, and they didn't even provide Motorola boxes with S-Video and DD when I last inquired. At least AT&T had STB's with S-Video and DD before the merger. It is my hope that RCN will step up to the plate and offer some competition to Comcast in terms of HD. Then we may actually see one of the providers pick up CBS-HD, or the holy grail of HD... ESPN. I can't tell you how sick I am of getting HD OTA... what a PITA. The bottom line is that for HD to go mainstream, the cable companies are going to have to carry it. My $0.02.

How does the plain digital (non high def) stand up? Is picture quality ok? Last I checked there wasn't any 5.1, but maybe that's changed?

How much does it cost for an extra stb (high-def and regular digital)? Can you buy them or do you still have to rent?

The web site doesn't seem very straight forward with the price structure.

Originally posted by spider12
Currently I only have analog cable from Comcast, but since I'll be moving to Tewksbury, I figure now is the time to evaluate if I should get satellite or digital cable. I don't even have HDTV, but plan on getting one once I get settled and start paying off a little on the house.

Are most people here pleased with Comcast? Asking in a Comcast forum is bound to be biased, but I'm still curious.

With digital cable, I don't need a box for every room correct? I know I'd only get basic channels where there isn't a box, but that's ok if it's in the bedroom. With satellite, you have to have a box for every tv for any channels at all.

Also, does high def cost extra above digital cable? I realize that the HBO-HD and SHO-HD would, but what about the others? Do you need a specific model of STB for high-def with Comcast or will any regular high-def box work?
Thanks.
The others answered this pretty well. Comcast is new in Mass. They have a fairly good reputation for a large cable company. If you are very interested in HD and Video On Demand, then cable is positioned best for the future. Locally, Comcast may charge a small installation fee to install an HD box (today its the Motorola 5100). They charge a little extra monthly for a Digital box (not HD) and then another couple of bucks per month to upgrade to HD. However this is better than having to buy an HD converter for $400-700 only to see it become obsolete in a year.

You can put boxes only where you want the premium service.

HD programming is very limited today, but should be expanding slowly but surely.

Well, HDTV > Digital > Analog. It's a sliding scale really. I used to be pleased with my analog signal until my eyes were opened to a digital signal. The quality of the digital signal is much, much better than the quality of the analog signal through cable. Also, with digital channels, comes DD. For example, HBO (and many others) send many DD streams through their digital channel and have for quite some time. This alone makes digital cable worth it if you have a 5.1 speaker set up. The problem is that now that I have become accustomed to HDTV, even the digital channels look blurry and unfocused. Sigh. HDTV really is that much better.

As for cost, I think the digital STB is about $5/month and the HDTV STB is $7/month. There is a one time fee of $15 for HDTV upgrade. Worth every penny IMO.

One of the nice things about the Moto5100 box is feeding a Dolby 5.1 signal to your HT receiver.Starz and Encore do 5.1 Audio while still not doing HD yet. As a note , the prize for worst picture on the system has to go to WNDS-TV (18 on Comcast) and WYDN-TV (23 on Comcast)

Originally posted by mgpt6
As a note , the prize for worst picture on the system has to go to WNDS-TV (18 on Comcast) and WYDN-TV (23 on Comcast)

:D I don't know... Did you see any of the early season Sox games on the Comcast channel 3? *Shudders*

For digital television, it's only the higher numbers that are actually digital, correct? If I plug the cord directly into the tv in the bedroom and watch channel 4, watching channel 4 on the living room with the box isn't going to be any better, correct? It's only the upper channels that are digital that I wouldn't be able to get without the box.

Also, I assume the cost is $5 per box correct? No discounts for multiple boxes?

You are correct, digital channels start at channel 200 I believe.

Although Comcast does not carry CBS-DT (channel 4), the local channels they do carry digitally are in the 800's. Ex. 805 is the digital channel of 5 (ABC-DT).

Correct, no discount for multiple STB's.

Discount for multiple boxes? Hah!
I have two cable boxes, and comcast charges me $5 for the regular and $7 for the hdtv box, plus a surcharge for having more than one cable box!

Originally posted by Jakes
In Boston, I have not experienced these outages with Comcast. Although I wish Comcast would bring more HD channels onboard, I certainly commend them for having any at all. AT&T had zero HD channels. Therefore, in Boston, Comcast is better than AT&T ever was IMO. However, if you're not pleased with Comcast, we are lucky to have a choice in Boston. The alternative to Comcast is RCN. But IMO, RCN is as bad as AT&T was. RCN offers zero HD channels as well, and they didn't even provide Motorola boxes with S-Video and DD when I last inquired. At least AT&T had STB's with S-Video and DD before the merger. It is my hope that RCN will step up to the plate and offer some competition to Comcast in terms of HD. Then we may actually see one of the providers pick up CBS-HD, or the holy grail of HD... ESPN. I can't tell you how sick I am of getting HD OTA... what a PITA. The bottom line is that for HD to go mainstream, the cable companies are going to have to carry it. My $0.02.

This is probably posted elsewhere, but RCN just announced HDTV availability in the Boston area. With ESPN, it appears. I of course can't get it in my building, but hopefully this will spur Comcast to sign those damn contracts with ESPN and CBS.

I just switched from RCN to Comcast a month ago-do I now switch back to RCN since I can get more than 4 channels in HDTV (I don't count PBS yet)? Anyone tried calling Comcast yet and asking when they are going to catch up to RCN? Frustrating....

This is what RCN is offering (for $5 as opposed to Comcast's $2):

CABLE: HBO-HD,SHO-HD, ESPN HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Discovery HD

LOCAL: ABC, NBC, PBS, FOX

Originally posted by BobColby
This is what RCN is offering (for $5 as opposed to Comcast's $2):

CABLE: HBO-HD,SHO-HD, ESPN HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Discovery HD

LOCAL: ABC, NBC, PBS, FOX

WOO HOO!!!

I'm switching today. RCN obviously knows what's up, and Comcast can now try to play catch up. HDNet, ESPN, Discovery... thank you RCN, my new cable provider.

Too bad RCN is in such a limited area. I'd have called on Saturday when I read this in the paper, but they don't cover me (south shore) :(

My only consolation is that Comcast will have to step up to bat if they don't want to look super-weak. Offering HD was one of their big advertising points when they took over AT&T, now they're not only not the only game in town, they're the worst game in town. Perhaps Comcast will ramp up their HD offerings before RCN starts covering my area. If not... well, I know where my voting dollars will fall.

Nathan

P.S. This is one of the best parts of HD cable. It's SOOO easy and cheap to switch. There is almost no inertia (read $$$ invested in equipment) preventing a user from switching willy-nilly.

I already sent my email to Comcast asking when they are going to step up. I suggest everyone else do so as well.

By the way, CBS must be playing some serious hardball, huh?

By the way, CBS must be playing some serious hardball, huh?

Yeah, I'd guess so. When I read that RCN was offering 10 HD channels, and saw that 6 of them were specialty channels, I just assumed that the other four were ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS. I was pretty surprised to see Faux listed instead of CBS. Must be some serious stuff going on.

Nathan

Here's the response I just got from Comcast---form response, at least so far:

"Thank you for writing.

We are working to provide as many high definition channel broadcasters as we can. I have forwarded your request to our Marketing, Programming and Managerial teams so they are made aware of your request, please note these teams will not be contacting you directly regarding your request. We appreciate your patience while we work to expand our high definition offerings. Please check your bill inserts and our web site for any updates.



If you have any future questions or problems, please feel free to email us again or contact our Technical Support line for further assistance. We are here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When replying to this address, please include this message as well as all previous correspondence regarding this issue.

Craig
Comcast Electronic Customer Care
-------------------------------------------
Please visit our Online Help Desk at: http://online.comcast.net/help

Tel: 1-888-633-4266 - Customer Care 24/7
Tel: 1-866-447-7333 - Internet Support 24/7

Connecticut Only
Tel: 1-888-824-2273 - Customer Care 24/7
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--- Original Message ---
From: DaMutha1
Received: 05/19/2003 05:40am Mountain Standard Time (GMT - 6:00 )
To:
Subject: System of Massachusetts - Programming/Channel Lineup

I am curious as to when you will be adding additional
HDTV channels to your lineup. As I'm sure you're aware, RCN just announced that they will be offering significantly more HDTV channels in our area (including ESPN, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Discovery HD and FOX
(EDTV)) than Comcast does. I will most likely switch to RCN unless Comcast signs on some more channels soon. What is the plan?"

WOOPS! PRICE UPDATE:

From reading the RCN NY thread, it seems that the $5 price is a box charge that includes the four locals (ANC,NBC,PBS,FOX), plus HBO-HD and SHO-HD *if* you subscribe to the standard versions (as with Comcast). So this part of the deal works out to one more local (FOX) for three more dollars.

The new offerings (ESPN HD, HDNet, Discovery HD, and HDNet Movies) are supposedly in a "digital tier" that costs an additional $12. Though I think that most of us would take that deal if offered, I apologize for passing along the price listed in the Globe without doing more fact checking.

DaMutha1, the note you received was word-for-word what I received in early April when I first asked about additional HD options.

It's not the one I received Saturday when I asked specifically if they would match RCN's offering, or if they were at least negotiating with those channels. Here's what *I* got:

"Thank you for writing.

I'm sorry, at this moment there are no plans to increase the number of High Definition channels we carry. Any broadcast negotiation information that may or may not be taking place is strictly proprietary, we are unable to provide that information to you at this time.

Please keep your eye on your monthly billing statement, as the details of any additional channel launch will be included on the billing statement.

If you have any future questions or problems, please feel free to email us again or contact our Technical Support line for further assistance.
We are here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When replying to this address, please include this message as well as all previous correspondence regarding this issue.

Gregg
Comcast Electronic Customer Care"

For whatever reason, my guy decided to be a little more frank with me than your guy was with you. Who knows, maybe I said something to tick him off.

Comcast is *extremely* lucky that some sort of "right of way" issue is keeping RCN from servicing my building (although it's in their service area), otherwise I'd be gone already.

Does anyone know if there are minimum commit times for Comcast? Basically, am I going to get charged some outrageous fee for dumping them after two months of service?

I was quite happy with RCN, especially on the voice side of things (unlimited in-state calling was great) so I will gladly give them my service again if they have a full spectrum of HDTV channels.

No contracts with Comcast; the only penalty you face is the (high) likelihood that they will screw up your bill (they keep sending them) when you cancel. I would advise going to the billing office to get printed proof that you've ended your service and save yourself the headache later.

I saw a story in my local paper about RCN HDTV line-up and cost. The HDTV box will be $5 more expensive per month over standard digital box. ($9.95 a month) The line-up will include NBC, ABC, PBS and Fox, and HBO and Showtime HD if a subscriber. For an additional $12.00 per month get ESPN HD , HD Net, Discovery HD and HD Movie Net.
Hope to see a Comcast response soon. Would like to see them add Fox ,WFXT25 for their Widescreen EDTV with Dolby Digital 5.1,even though Fox isn't true HDTV.

did anybody watch the nba game last night on abc? awsome picture but seems like they have some bugs to word out, alot of blurring and went in an out alot too.

Had RCN-HD installed last week.(this is a repost from a local list, so sorry if it is too wordy).

The installation was simple. Replace box on top of my tv. I also upgraded to
digital cable at the same time
(for my other non hd tv). They connect dtv outs as well as coax to the
standard cable inputs on the tv.

I am still a little confused about the rates but as I understand it, I will
be paying about 4.95 extra for the HD
capable box. and I had the option (which I took,of paying 9.95) for the hd
TIER. I will let you know when I get my
first bill ;)

Since I have had an OTA setup box for 6 months or so, I was not completely
blown away by the prime time
HD, but I flipped on a hockey game on ESPN-HD and was.

The box is a motorola DCT 5100 it has dtv outs, rca audio as well as well
as optical digital out (spdif),
there is an unlabeled orange rca plug, which I believe is probably coaxial
spdif out.

It has cabability for dvi and ie 1394 according to the manual but neither of
these optional jacks are installed
on my box. There is an ethernet port as well as multiple USB ports, and
smart card reader.

In terms of the programming the hd channels are all in the same range
160-170 roughly, which make
it easier. So you have 2 fox, 2 nbc, etc... Which for some non technical
folks, this is good.

The managment of aspect ratios seemed to be pretty automatic, ie for SDTV
signals my tv (an older mits rear projection),
Which is nice, although I have already trained my wife of the benefit of hd,
so she is willing to put up with a little futzing around,
with aspect ratios, and the like.

I have to mention that my 8 year old was enraptured by a program on
discovery hd which was about bugs/insects, great detail on
hd that would be lost on standard cable.

Generally speaking I am thrilled, so far I think that they did this right.

The only compaints are, getting used to the new guide, the refresh rate when a channel is changed, especially with the hd channels.
This might be typical of digital cable, because that is new to me as well.

Willing to answer further questions. But IMHO opinion this is a slam dunk,
compared to the OTA or directv methods of obtaining HD signals
(both with about a $500entry price tag.(anyone want to buy a slightly used samsung 165?- tdk_ak40@yahoo.com )

Would highly reccomend it, although I am considering switching to comcast,
due some programming limitations that I thought would be resolved wtih thsi upgrade and weren't. (not hd related)

Tim

For the past 3 months, Comcast has been billing me for both a digital cable box and an HDTV cable box, even though I only have the HDTV one. Given how confusing the bills look, this is difficult to catch; the DTV box is a 5.25 charge while the HDTV one is 7.25. Both keep appearing on my account.

What's annoying is that I've called them each month to tell them, and each CSR I talk to credits my account 5.25, and tells me that there was a mistake before and the DTV box wasn't properly taken off my account. The CSR then tells me that this time, they've properly removed the box from my account and that the problem won't happen again. Of course, I've been through this three times so far.

So while they're crediting back my account, I do find it annoying that they can't seem to get their billing correct and that I have to look over my bill to make sure they aren't overcharging. I wonder how many people have been similarly overcharged and who didn't look at their bills closely enough - 5.25 can add up to a lot oof money!

Just a warning here; you may want to check your bill to make sure you also aren't being overcharged.

Same problem, but here's my story:

My current bill (rof boxes) reads:
First DTV Box/Remote 5.25
Add'l HDTV Outlet(s)


Originally posted by n_plasma
For the past 3 months, Comcast has been billing me for both a digital cable box and an HDTV cable box, even though I only have the HDTV one. Given how confusing the bills look, this is difficult to catch; the DTV box is a 5.25 charge while the HDTV one is 7.25. Both keep appearing on my account.

What's annoying is that I've called them each month to tell them, and each CSR I talk to credits my account 5.25, and tells me that there was a mistake before and the DTV box wasn't properly taken off my account. The CSR then tells me that this time, they've properly removed the box from my account and that the problem won't happen again. Of course, I've been through this three times so far.

So while they're crediting back my account, I do find it annoying that they can't seem to get their billing correct and that I have to look over my bill to make sure they aren't overcharging. I wonder how many people have been similarly overcharged and who didn't look at their bills closely enough - 5.25 can add up to a lot oof money!

Just a warning here; you may want to check your bill to make sure you also aren't being overcharged.

Same problem, but here's my story:

My current bill (for boxes) reads:
First DTV Box/Remote 5.25
Add'l HDTV Outlet(s) 9.25
HDTV Box/Remote 7.25

Based on the post below, I was complaining about the 5.25 BUT she said the 9.25 was the problem, since technically I only have ONE HDTV box (and a regular dig cble bx). So I was creadited the 9.25 AND the past three months was credited also. My next bill will be discounted a total of 27.75

I have been meaning to call, but just been lazy....

ps Anyone know if/when Comcast will be upping the HDTV channels? If not soon I'm going to have to switch back to OTA, it's getting way to expesive to watch t.v. these days. Does anyone know what's the cheepest package available? They don't list prices on their web site.

Originally posted by n_plasma
For the past 3 months, Comcast has been billing me for both a digital cable box and an HDTV cable box, even though I only have the HDTV one. Given how confusing the bills look, this is difficult to catch; the DTV box is a 5.25 charge while the HDTV one is 7.25. Both keep appearing on my account.

What's annoying is that I've called them each month to tell them, and each CSR I talk to credits my account 5.25, and tells me that there was a mistake before and the DTV box wasn't properly taken off my account. The CSR then tells me that this time, they've properly removed the box from my account and that the problem won't happen again. Of course, I've been through this three times so far.

So while they're crediting back my account, I do find it annoying that they can't seem to get their billing correct and that I have to look over my bill to make sure they aren't overcharging. I wonder how many people have been similarly overcharged and who didn't look at their bills closely enough - 5.25 can add up to a lot oof money!

Just a warning here; you may want to check your bill to make sure you also aren't being overcharged.

Same problem, but here's my story:

My current bill (for boxes) reads:
First DTV Box/Remote 5.25
Add'l HDTV Outlet(s) 9.25
HDTV Box/Remote 7.25

Based on the post below, I was complaining about the 5.25 BUT she said the 9.25 was the problem, since technically I only have ONE HDTV box (and a regular dig cble bx). So I was creadited the 9.25 AND the past three months was credited also. My next bill will be discounted a total of 27.75

I have been meaning to call, but just been lazy....

ps Anyone know if/when Comcast will be upping the HDTV channels? If not soon I'm going to have to switch back to OTA, it's getting way to expesive to watch t.v. these days. Does anyone know what's the cheepest package available? They don't list prices on their web site.

Please note the "edit" button in the top right of your posts. I'm not trying to be a jerk--just want you to know that you can edit an existing post, rather than reposting it 3 times (and thus sending emails out to the multiple people who have subscribed to this thread).

As for Comcast, no idea. They sent me a stock response a couple of weeks ago that basically said "we're working on it." :mad:

Greetings

I have a Comcast 5100 and channels 802, 805, 870 and 877 are working fine. However the last couple of days cannot get 807 which is HD channel7. When I switch to this channel there is no audio and the video freezes to whatever was on the previous channel. Does anyone else have this problem or is it a hardware problem?

Thanks
Bonus

Originally posted by Bonus
Greetings

I have a Comcast 5100 and channels 802, 805, 870 and 877 are working fine. However the last couple of days cannot get 807 which is HD channel7. When I switch to this channel there is no audio and the video freezes to whatever was on the previous channel. Does anyone else have this problem or is it a hardware problem?

Thanks
Bonus
Yes. I have had the same problem with channel 807 the last few days. I haven't tried calling Comcast about it yet, but I will if this keeps up.

I also have had the same problem. But I haven't bothered calling Comcast because of the ****** programming selection that has been on lately there is nothing worth watching whether in HDTV or just regular.

I just had Comcast come out today to upgrade me. Very efficient, the guy took about 15 minutes, and that included his going back out to his truck to get his crimping tool to change out the RF screw-on connector I had used on the line to that room. ;-) Hope they do add ESPN HD and others, but for now it's cheaper than buying OTA hardware for me. If they look like they're going to drag their feet for too long maybe I'll investigate an HDTV capture card for the HTPC.

you all should switch to rcn, you dont know what your missing. :)

I only had HBO on digital cable, should I be receiving both HBO and Showtime on HDTV or just HBO?

JDLIVE, you should only be receiving HBO HD. The general idea is that those who subscribe to the SD channel get the equivalent HD channel. I'm betting that the same principle applies when Cinemax HD premieres later this year.

Originally posted by Twenty02Ryder
you all should switch to rcn, you dont know what your missing. :)

I very much know what I'm missing. Unfortunately, though my town has RCN, my particular condo complex is not wired. Arrrggghhh.

Thanks Bob, just wanted to be sure. Going to try and figure out if I can reduce the bill a little by downgrading some of the other stuff I never use. ;)

RCN is not a choice for me, either. :confused:

Some right-of-way issue keeps RCN from servicing my building. Frustrating!

Called Comcast today. CSR said they are in negotiations" to add more HDTV channels,but nothing to announce at this time. Told her about RCN having a bigger HD line-up and she repeated that they are in"negotiations

I really feel for you guys. I've been calling/emailing Comcast for too long now and getting the same BS "in negotiations" line. I've had it.

I called Comcast and RCN today and discussed new packages with both companies. I am currently a Comcast subscriber. Bundling my internet and cable together, RCN is much cheaper than Comcast for equivalent packages. Of course, it’s hard to call them equivalent when RCN is offering so much more HDTV. For locals, they one up Comcast with the addition of FOX-DT, and for premiers, they 4 up Comcast with the HDTV tier of ESPN-HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, & Discovery HD. For RCN, even with the $12 HDTV tier, it is still cheaper than Comcast. I’m scheduling an appointment to make the switch to RCN. Free installation with RCN, and no $15 "one time HDTV set-up fee" like Comcast either. Comcast clearly does not care about what their customers want.

If anyone would like the specific package $$$ figures that I was quoted (by both RCN & Comcast), send me a PM.

Jakes,
Sounds like you've found the best option for putting pressure on Comcast... Call RCN! I wish I could do the same.

Hey, I just saw the first Comcast TV commercial to specifically plug HDTV. It has a bunch of Joe Customer types falling over themseves trying to find the words to describe the magnificance of it all.

It's nice that they're at least acknowledging this as something important, although I'm resigned to the fact that HDTV will take a backseat to the roll-out of VOD (which starts now according to what the Globe said today), at least in the short term.

Originally posted by BobColby
Hey, I just saw the first Comcast TV commercial to specifically plug HDTV. It has a bunch of Joe Customer types falling over themseves trying to find the words to describe the magnificance of it all.

It's nice that they're at least acknowledging this as something important, although I'm resigned to the fact that HDTV will take a backseat to the roll-out of VOD (which starts now according to what the Globe said today), at least in the short term.
I also saw the Globe article regarding Comcast VOD. It is clear that VOD is more strategic for Comcast in their battle against the satellites. In addition, VOD would appear to be a source of incremental income and also a good way to get people to switch to digital service. The bad news is that HDTV will now take a back seat to VOD as Comcast implements their aggressive roll-out plan for VOD in our area.

Yes, I read that article in the globe about VOD as well. It says that it's just being rolled out now. It sounds like it's using a pvr as part of the cable box. Has anyone used this yet? I was wondering how good the service is? I'd love to see a review on the system. I believe it's the same cost as regular digital cable, isn't it?

bump

I will try my hand at this, I just hope it doesn't deserve its own FAQ like the 5100.

First VOD should never be compared to a PVR, its not a PVR. The only comparison that can be made is that it has FF, pause, & RWD functions.

PVR stands for PERSONAL video recorder. The key word is PERSONAL. Meaning YOU can control what is recorded.

Video-On-Demand (VOD) 's content is controlled by the cable system.

Here is the quick and dirty on how VOD works:

Your local Cable Provider (MSO) has a "head-end" which houses servers that contain the movies, videos, ect. on Hard Drives. This content is chosen by the cable company. Once on the server it can be accessed by the customer using their digital cable box and remote control.

Generally if you order a PPV, or a any program that costs $$$ you will have access to that program for 24hrs., in which you can fast forward, pause, rewind, ect. and watch it as many times as you want in that 24 hour period. However, there is other programming on the VOD service, most of it free. Examples include News (like the previous nights local news broadcast), Sports (rebroadcast of local sports teams game the night before), Music Videos, Lifestyle, Cable Channels (like DIY, HGTV, Speedvision, ect.) just to name a few.

I've been using it for about 6 months and it works very well. The best part is ordering PPV because you don't have to worry about missing any part of the movie, caused by bathroom breaks, telephone, kids, ect. And it costs the same as a regular PPV (at least for now).

Here are some links to more info:

http://comcast.com/support/corp193/faq/faq2_129_0.html

Use zip code 08080 any select any town to see a VOD demo:
http://comcast.com/Support/Corp179/LocalHomepage/NewProducts.asp

http://www.seachangeinternational.com/Products/On_Demand_television/Main.asp

Hope this helps.

I'm more interested in regular tv, not ppv. So it sounds like if I ask it to save it, I can watch it up to 24 hours later so I can skip through commercials. Can I start watching a show say 15 minutes in so that I can skip the commercials like I would with a pvr?

Can all shows be saved for 24 hours or is it only certain shows that Comcast has selected?

The last question on the comcast site from the link you sent me seemed to think that pvr ability may be built into recievers in the future.

Originally posted by spider12
I'm more interested in regular tv, not ppv. So it sounds like if I ask it to save it, I can watch it up to 24 hours later so I can skip through commercials. Can I start watching a show say 15 minutes in so that I can skip the commercials like I would with a pvr?

Again, lose the PVR mindset, this is in no way like traditional PVR. And it wasn't designed to be like a PVR. The best analogy is, its actually more like a VCP. The only differences are you don't have to get up to put the tape in, and you can only see what the video store (cable co.) has in stock. :)

AFA getting programs 15min after they have aired so you can ffw through commericials, the answer is no. Generally the programming isn't specific shows on the particular channel you want. The only thing that is similar to what I think you are talking about is the news or the hockey games, but even then they aren't on the server for at least a couple of hours after it has aired.

I think what you are talking about, for example, is watching "The Practice" that starts @ 10pm and you order it starting it at 10:15 pm and FFW through the commercials. VOD doesn't offer that type of programming, yet.

To give you an idea on what type of programming is on VOD (non-PPV). If you were to select the "DIY" catagory you might select a video on how to refinish your cabinets, or build a deck, ect. "Comedy Central" might have a 5 min short by a comedian, ect. I could list all of the programming but I think you get the idea.

Did you try the VOD demo that I linked to (2nd link)?


Can all shows be saved for 24 hours or is it only certain shows that Comcast has selected?

The only programming that you get for 24 hours is "PAID for" programming (essentially movies for now). Everything else is free so you can access it anytime you want, no need to have it for 24 hrs, because its always there.


The last question on the comcast site from the link you sent me seemed to think that pvr ability may be built into recievers in the future.

I just assumed that you may have been following the 5100 threads which have mentioned the up and coming DCT6200 (5100 with 80GB PVR). Yes it is scheduled to hit the market mid summer.

Despite being 3 hours late two installers came tonight and were out in 20min. No problem with my other box, no loss of broadband.

and my god, the picture on my XBR is incredible :D


ps- wondering why the audio on Ch 5 fluctuates? Anyone else have this?

Saw on the Comcast Chicago thread,that they have a new agreement with WBBM -DT (CBS) to carry the signal ,and that a national agreement is being discussed. Hope that means Pats Games will be on Comcast HD in the fall.Also, saw a Comcast HD ad run on CH.4(WBZ) few nights back. ummm

saw a Comcast HD ad run on CH.4(WBZ) few nights back. ummm

thats too funny........................:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Anyone know which parts of the Boston market, Comcast could carry WPRI-DT from Providence if they choose to for CBS HD programming. PRI is a CBS not owned by CBS/Viacom.

Anyone know which parts of the Boston market, Comcast could carry WPRI-DT from Providence if they choose to for CBS HD programming. PRI is a CBS not owned by CBS/Viacom.

Probably the same parts that carry WPRI analog, I would guess.

Got letter from Comcast today, with change in analog line up to free up space for "new technology and offerings" Sounds like VOD , nothing new on HDTV.

We've got VOD here in Taunton- had it for about a week.

It's kind of cool, however does little for me :) I did watch some of teh Histroy Channel offerings and it was convenient to watch when I wanted, but the content is not very exciting IMHO.

Tim

Does anyone viewing this thread have RCN cable? I just dumped Comcast due to RCN's superior HD line up. I am now getting:
ABC-HD
NBC-HD
FOX-DT
PBS-HD
ESPN-HD
Discovery HD Theatre
HDNet
HDNet Movies
HBO-HD
SHO-HD

The CWS on ESPN last night looked great! Here's my question though, on RCN, the PBS-HD channel is the local digital channel 2.1, not 2.2 like Comcast carries. Is this correct? I don't believe that PBS channel 2.1 has any HD does it? I called RCN to ask about it last night, but it was too late to get anyone. Does anyone know if RCN is carrying the wrong channel in the PBS-HD spot? Shouldn't it be the PBS national HD demo reel?

More up with Comcast, got letter that I have to install a new cable modem for my computer by July 27th. Same time, as changes to Comcast analog line up. Only VOD will be new? Hope more HDTV, thinking about RCN but have bundled service with Comcast right now...

Originally posted by mgpt6
More up with Comcast, got letter that I have to install a new cable modem for my computer by July 27th. Same time, as changes to Comcast analog line up. Only VOD will be new? Hope more HDTV, thinking about RCN but have bundled service with Comcast right now...

RCN's bundled services are cheaper. Seriously, check it out. RCN beat Comcast by about $20/month for my personal needs...

I live in Foxboro area, and am only able to recieve NBC, ABC, PBS, HBO, and SHO in HD. Waiting for CBS, WB, and FOX, and or couse ESPN :)

Same here in Taunton. Comcast is touting that they will add HD services, but we'll see :)

I'm spoiled in being able to get HD OTA too, so I have the best of both worlds.

Tim

tcable, did Comcast give you specifics or just a general statement that they plan to add more someday?

I cannot get RCN here in North Attleboro... dumb Comcast is like taking over. Anyways, but with the Comcast box, can I get OTA as well as regular Comcast service? Or need a seperate box for that?

Originally posted by rishid
I cannot get RCN here in North Attleboro... dumb Comcast is like taking over. Anyways, but with the Comcast box, can I get OTA as well as regular Comcast service? Or need a seperate box for that?
No. You can't get OTA with the Comcast Motorola box.

No specifics, unfortunately. I was having issues with my 5100 box- the analog stations were worse than usual so I needed to call for service. The CSR was not aware of the latest developments with the DSS providers and HD, but she said that she had heard from her manager that more HD offerings were coming soon. Take it for what it's worth :)

Tim

A little tidbit, I was checking the analog signal on the cable form my VCR which is directed connected to cable without the Moto 5100 converter box. There was only 1 analog signal above ch.79 and that was HSN on 93. (95-99 are mid-band channels)Also, the are rearranging the line up in July. My VCR tuner goes up to ch.125 . Only 1 signal between 80-94 and 100-125

Does anyone know if they can get PBS,NBC and ABC for just $2 more for the Moto5100 over Standard Digital cable? Was returning an old computer modem yesterday at local Comcast office, and they told another customer he would need to order either HBO or showtime to get the 3 Local channels in HD.

Does DVI out work for Comcast Boston customers? And do they offer the 6200 box?

Just had the install done for me, the old digital cable box is $5.25 per month, for $2 extra dollars per month you get the Moto5100 which allows you to watch the 800 channels. Which are in HD. Right now I have 802 (PBS), 805 (ABC), 807 (NBC) and I can get SHO and HBO HD also. My 5100 does NOT have DVI enabled. :( . Not sure about getting the 6200, don't even think it is released yet. And you DO NOT need to order SHO or HBO to get the other 3 HD channels.

Originally posted by rsilvers
Does DVI out work for Comcast Boston customers? And do they offer the 6200 box?
Comcast has not enabled DVI on the Moto boxes yet. Best guess is that DVI may be a feature on the next boxes coming later this year. 6200 and others: not available yet through Comcast. Not sure which model they will offer next.

That is annoying because I have a friend with the Comcast box and a 23 inch LCD with only DVI, composite, and VGA input. He has it hooked up composite and I wanted to switch him to DVI. The only other solution I see for him is to buy a $150 transcoder to convert the component output of the Motorola to VGA. Or does the Motorola have RGB output?

For the last couple of weeks the HD channels no longer fill the whole screen. I have a 16:9 screen and channels like HBO-HD that used to fill the whole screen (when showing the appropriate programs) now only fill about 1/3 of the middle of the screen, ie. black borders on top and bottom as well as on the sides. It used to be that I couldn't change the aspect ratio of the image when I was tuned into one of these channels, now I can, which makes me think it's not an HD signal anymore.

Has Comcast changed their HD broadcasts at all.

Thanks a lot,
Alex

Originally posted by AlexB
For the last couple of weeks the HD channels no longer fill the whole screen. I have a 16:9 screen and channels like HBO-HD that used to fill the whole screen (when showing the appropriate programs) now only fill about 1/3 of the middle of the screen, ie. black borders on top and bottom as well as on the sides. It used to be that I couldn't change the aspect ratio of the image when I was tuned into one of these channels, now I can, which makes me think it's not an HD signal anymore.
Has Comcast changed their HD broadcasts at all.
No, Comcast hasn't changed anything. My guess is that your TV's Input control is no longer set to your Component inputs. HD broadcasts will only fill the screen when viewed through component cables.

yeah, picture framing is a dead give away your not getting and hd feed, check in your settings that you still have it set for 16:9 1080i, or 720p, on both your tv and in your menu on the box

Originally posted by rsilvers
That is annoying because I have a friend with the Comcast box and a 23 inch LCD with only DVI, composite, and VGA input. He has it hooked up composite and I wanted to switch him to DVI. The only other solution I see for him is to buy a $150 transcoder to convert the component output of the Motorola to VGA. Or does the Motorola have RGB output?

No the 5100 doesn't have RGB output, you would need a transcoder, or just wait a little longer for DVI to be active, should be real soon.

I've noticed the same thing, however, PBS is fine init's HD glory.

Originally posted by miatasm
No the 5100 doesn't have RGB output, you would need a transcoder, or just wait a little longer for DVI to be active, should be real soon.
Miatasm:
I am assuming that Moto/Comcast won't bother activating DVI on the 5100, but will instead wait until they start distributing the next generation box later this year. What do you think?
Mickey

They'll probably do it on the 5100's as well. they paid for the hardware in the first place.

Personally, since I have a Mitsubishi TV with an integrated tuner, I'm eagerly waiting for Firewire on the CATV box or on a next gen DVD player. I only have 1 set of 1080 component inputs on my set. those without tuners have 2.

Tim

The 5100 will have the DVI enabled.....soon.....The "next generation" box (6208) will not be a replacement for the 5100 it will be an upgrade from it. The 6200's will add DVR ability, but it will be at a cost. They are still a little ways away before everyone sees them. The 5100 will be for users that want HD but not DVR capability.

What box will be for the viewers who actually want to see all of the HD channels that are available out there?

Both the 5100 & 6200 series will have the ability to see all of the Digital offerings from your cable company. Again the only difference is the DVR ability of the 6200's. Which will be an added monthly charge.

Originally posted by miatasm
Both the 5100 & 6200 series will have the ability to see all of the Digital offerings from your cable company. Again the only difference is the DVR ability of the 6200's. Which will be an added monthly charge.

I forgot to use the [WiseComment] tag around my message. Since this is the Comcast-Boston thread, I was simply whining about the continued Comcast inferiority to RCN in our area.

Originally posted by miatasm
The 5100 will have the DVI enabled.....soon.....The "next generation" box (6208) will not be a replacement for the 5100 it will be an upgrade from it. The 6200's will add DVR ability, but it will be at a cost. They are still a little ways away before everyone sees them. The 5100 will be for users that want HD but not DVR capability.
Yes, but I thought that the 6200 series also had a non-DVR box (I don't remember the model #). Also, with so few HD subscribers, how many different boxes will Comcast want to support? In any event, I hope your correct.

Called Comcast no local word on ESPN HD rollout, even with announcement of national deal. 9/1 before it or other HD channels added in Boston area

Doh! Was waiting for it, just read the other ESPN HD post with Comcast. So Boston area not till 9/1 now?

Did they make an absolute statement to that effect, and when did they make it? From what I've been reading, it seems like the CSRs for all the systems that came up Friday (which is *most* of the Comcast systems) knew nothing until that very day.

DVR over HD cable is going to open a huge can of worms- Anyone, anywhere down the line can decide what you can and can't timeshift. Lame.

As far as the extra rental cost for harddrive equipped boxes- I really hope some companies start putting these boxes on the retail market. The Open Cable standard exists just for this purpose. Being stuck with fixed size HD (like 40Gb or 80Gb) just seems stupid. Damn cable operators (ie: Comcast) and the manufacturers are in collusion.

They knew and said nothing.

Well, after spending some time writing a summary of things (which included a couple of links), after submitting it told me people with less than 5 posts can't post links. And since my post timed out, I lost my whole post.. grr....

So, I'm a poor, starving student with an HDTV, and I want to try out this new-fangled thing known as HDTV as cheaply as possible. As I understand it, the current Boston situation can be summarized as follows:


RCN offers the most channels (ABC-HD, NBC-HD, FOX-DT, PBS-HD, ESPN-D, Discovery HD Theatre, HDNet, HDNet Movies, HBO-HD, SHO-HD) and the non-premium ones are cheaper than Comcast, but serves a much mroe limited area
Comcast offers PBS-HD, NBC-HD, ABC-HD for $7.25/mo. SHO-HD and HBO-HD are extra.
Comcast will be adding ESPN-HD and two new channels, INHD and INHD2 soon. ht tp://ww w.comcast.com/Support/Corp422/LocalHomepage/Page1.asp
Digital cable is not required to get HDTV channels (though they won't let you select that online)
Digital cable will be required to receive INHD and INHD2


So essentially I'm looking at $7.25/mo for three channels of HD programming. If any of those statements are incorrect, please correct me.

Also, this may be slightly off-topic, but is digital cable recommended to get? I know all HDTVers are videophiles, but I read in this thread that some people have standard (or basic!) cable. Is there no great video enhancement with digital? Compounded on this, I expect to be using my TiVo (until HDTiVo comes out this xmas). Will the compression artifacts introduced by the TiVo MPEG compression negate any bonus of digital cable?

Digital sucks. There is no bonus- only minus. Pixelation up the wazoo. I picked up the "Digital Classic" package for $5/mo extra because I wanted BBC America. If there's nothing you want to watch then don't bother.

Agree with Dave here; skip the digital cable unless there's a specific channel you want, or like to watch PPV. You usually have to pay $10/mo or more for the digital packages. Channels 1-100 are not digital even if you get digital cable, BTW.

I don't think there's anywhere in Cambridge you can get RCN.

In case anyone missed it from the ESPNHD thread in the "Programming" section, it's showing up on channel 849. Still said "Not authorized" last night, supposedly it will be active in another day or two.

Originally posted by JDLIVE
In case anyone missed it from the ESPNHD thread in the "Programming" section, it's showing up on channel 849. Still said "Not authorized" last night, supposedly it will be active in another day or two.

The next HD program on ESPN-HD will be Sunday night's Reds/Giants baseball game, so we are not missing anything yet. After that is the Thursday pre-season NFL game (Pats/Giants).

849 ESPNHD still says"Not Authorized" as of 2pm

Woohoo! I can get ESPNHD on channel 849. nice! The broadcast isn't the highest quality, but it is 16:9 which is nice.

I was going to say that the stretch didn't look *that* extreme, but then they played the "Mike's Hard Lemonade" commercial, featuring the new "ultrawide" bottle (heh heh).