avic , any ADS updates. Has the second phase started?

Possible third "surprise' HD channel add?

Over in the HD Programming forum, there are rumors that Comcast is working on a deal for Outdoor Channel 2 HD. Now I'm not normally one for hunting/fishing shows, but I imagine there'll be some nice scenic footage, and early reports say the PQ is top-notch.

avic, have you heard anything about this?

BTW, I'm still not hearing any chatter anywhere about a possible "Disney HD" channel. Anything you can tell us?

The HD channel that makes the most sense is HDNet and HDNet Movies. Unfortunately Cuban and Comcast can't come to finanical terms if you believe that. As a new Comcast subscriber so far I like the HD offerings, but even RCN had HDNet. So how can a small cable company like RCN offer a channel like HDNet, but a media giant in Comcast can't? Makes me wonder sometimes that maybe Comcast just doesn't want to offer it and is using the old "we're in negotiations" line for an excuse.

The HD channel that makes the most sense is HDNet and HDNet Movies. Unfortunately Cuban and Comcast can't come to finanical terms if you believe that. As a new Comcast subscriber so far I like the HD offerings, but even RCN had HDNet. So how can a small cable company like RCN offer a channel like HDNet, but a media giant in Comcast can't? Makes me wonder sometimes that maybe Comcast just doesn't want to offer it and is using the old "we're in negotiations" line for an excuse.

Its been explained a few times. HDNet wants a per subscriber fee. Comcast, being a business about profit, isn't going to eat the per subscriber cost and Comcast currently does not want to institute a seperate subscription HD tier. Doesn't mean it won't happen in the future, but it doesn't look forseeable now.

It is too bad Comcast and Cuban can't meet in the middle and have an al carte option for HDNet. It would of been nice to see HDNet's exclusive coverage of the shuttle's launch/landing in HD.

Well I don't think Comcast should have to eat the cost for subscribers. I just can't figure out why both companies can't bend a little so that the consumer can benefit. I'm sure Mark Cuban would love to see his network on Comcast, as it would be available to more households in the U.S. Keep writing to HDNet and Comcast and hopefully it will be added in the not too distant future.

Sign the Petition to have Comcast add HDNET :

http://www.**************.com/comcast1/petition.html

I generally don't mind paying extra for a channel (like HBO) if there's no advertising.

But, the idea of paying for a channel that already gets paid by advertisers really smokes me.

No idea which category HDNET would be, but if it's commercial free, then paying extra for it would certainly seem reasonable.

(What really toasted my biscuits a while back was the implication that local stations, like the Boston CBS affiliate, wanted the cable companies to pay them for the right to carry their channel.)

I generally don't mind paying extra for a channel (like HBO) if there's no advertising.

But, the idea of paying for a channel that already gets paid by advertisers really smokes me.

No idea which category HDNET would be, but if it's commercial free, then paying extra for it would certainly seem reasonable.

(What really toasted my biscuits a while back was the implication that local stations, like the Boston CBS affiliate, wanted the cable companies to pay them for the right to carry their channel.)

Comcast has said repeatedly that they wouldn't create a separate HD Tier and charge separately, so the costs of getting HDNET/Movies would have to be covered by existing or new HD charges for the STB/DVRs. I think it would be unfair for Comcast to raise digital rates to cover the costs.

I share your concerns about paying extra for commercial stations. I believe HDNET is non-commercial, so it will cost a significant amount ($1.20 per sub per month IIRC).

I was number 7 signing the petition. I really want those channels (not enough to get satellite, which my condo won't allow anyway). I'm kind of surprised that Comcast hasn't reached agreement since HDNET and ST (and D*'s extra charge for ST HD will hurt that) are the only "chips" that D* has in competition with Comcast for the HD market.

Rich N.

[QUOTE=raidbuck] I think it would be unfair for Comcast to raise digital rates to cover the costs.

QUOTE]

Unfair ? It was unfair when Comcast added the Celtics and passed on a $1+ per sub cost. It was unfair when Comcast added NESN and forced non sports fans to pay another 1+ ...I won't even mention the ESPN bundle.....

-Ken

[QUOTE=raidbuck] I think it would be unfair for Comcast to raise digital rates to cover the costs.

QUOTE]

Unfair ? It was unfair when Comcast added the Celtics and passed on a $1+ per sub cost. It was unfair when Comcast added NESN and forced non sports fans to pay another 1+ ...I won't even mention the ESPN bundle.....

-Ken

Hello, how long has Comcast been in New England. Now 3 yrs, I think everything you've mentioned was done by the prior cable companies not Comcast, those examples aren't applicable to this situation.

Comcast has said repeatedly that they wouldn't create a separate HD Tier and charge separately, so the costs of getting HDNET/Movies would have to be covered by existing or new HD charges for the STB/DVRs. I think it would be unfair for Comcast to raise digital rates to cover the costs.

I share your concerns about paying extra for commercial stations. I believe HDNET is non-commercial, so it will cost a significant amount ($1.20 per sub per month IIRC).

I was number 7 signing the petition. I really want those channels (not enough to get satellite, which my condo won't allow anyway). I'm kind of surprised that Comcast hasn't reached agreement since HDNET and ST (and D*'s extra charge for ST HD will hurt that) are the only "chips" that D* has in competition with Comcast for the HD market.

Rich N.

As a note your Condo board does not have the authority to say no Sat dishes. They can say where they can and cant go but can not restrict them out right. The FCC and Congress have both sopken to this. A little back ground.

http://www.hats.stevens.com/otafacts.html

Do a google on it a very well known issue. Go to the FCC sight print out the docs and hand them to the board. They are bound by guidelines.

But aren't those channels available as SD digitals and not just HD? Comcast is going to continue to raise rates whenever they can since they are for-profit. All I meant was raising everyone's bill for something that only 5-10% (not sure of the actual % of Comcast customers paying for the HD STBs) can watch at all. There are a lot of channels (well, ALL the SD channels except PBS and ESPN2 until Comcast adds its HD) that I don't watch but could.

Rich N.

As a note your Condo board does not have the authority to say no Sat dishes. They can say where they can and cant go but can not restrict them out right. The FCC and Congress have both sopken to this. A little back ground.

http://www.hats.stevens.com/otafacts.html

Do a google on it a very well known issue. Go to the FCC sight print out the docs and hand them to the board. They are bound by guidelines.

Thanks for the information. For me, I'm staying with Comcast, but it is good to know that if someone wants to try the satellites the condo association can't enforce a ban.

Rich N.

Anytime, I also like cable over SAT. For those in the need here is a direct link to the FCC..

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

But aren't those channels available as SD digitals and not just HD? Comcast is going to continue to raise rates whenever they can since they are for-profit. All I meant was raising everyone's bill for something that only 5-10% (not sure of the actual % of Comcast customers paying for the HD STBs) can watch at all. There are a lot of channels (well, ALL the SD channels except PBS and ESPN2 until Comcast adds its HD) that I don't watch but could.

Rich N.

One possibility of adding HDNet would be to offer a downconverted letterbox feed of probobly just HDNet on an SD digital channel.
Perhaps 283.

The HD version would be on 883 and HDNet movies would be on 884 only.

Last comment on the subject: On LOGO's website, it states that the channel will be launched in cities such as LA, NY, Boston, Philadelphia, SF, and Atlanta. It makes sense to list cities rather than entire regions or states since large cities tend to be more left-leaning. Since they listed Boston, I figured either RCN or Comcast would be the ones. Since RCN is already broadcasting it, it's good to hear Comcast has reached an agreement with MTV to add it.

avic: Will the Tennis Channel be added into a separate, paid tier with other sports channels, or will it be added to the general line-up? Also, besides possible additional channels, any other news on the HD front from Comcast?

Tennis is currently on 266,but i do believe it will eventually go to the Sports tier.
Its signal,along with the new Spanish channel are unencoded.

Tennis is currently on 266,but i do believe it will eventually go to the Sports tier.
Its signal,along with the new Spanish channel are unencoded.

I'd hate to see the Tennis Channel go into the Digital Sports tier. I saw what else was in that tier and have absolutely no interest in them:

College Sports TV
Fox College Sports
Fox Soccer Channel
GOL TV
NBA TV
TV Games

I couldn't find the price for this separate tier on Comcast's website. Is it already a part of another tier, like Digital Gold or Platinum? The only sports tiers were NASCAR in Car, NBA League Pass, and MLS Direct Kick.

Still kinda wishing that ESPN, FSN and their ilk were part of the Sports Tier.

the Tennis chnl will be going to the sports pack. its $4.95 for the package. Since its a new chnl its either an oversight that will be corrected or its only a temporary free preview.

Saw in today's Boston Globe SportView column that Tennis Channel 266 is free until Labor Day, thereafter will be a part of the Digital Sports tier.

How could you say ESPN and FSN should be part of the sports tier? If that happens, every cable channel would have its own tier (the comedy tier, the entertainment tier, etc.) and prices would go through the roof because everything is a la carte.

I think its ridiculous that there is even a sports tier. I say inlcude all the channels and raise the price $1 for everyone. That way you get every customer paying a $1 instead 10% of the customers paying $5.

How could you say ESPN and FSN should be part of the sports tier? If that happens, every cable channel would have its own tier (the comedy tier, the entertainment tier, etc.) and prices would go through the roof because everything is a la carte.

I think its ridiculous that there is even a sports tier. I say inlcude all the channels and raise the price $1 for everyone. That way you get every customer paying a $1 instead 10% of the customers paying $5.

agreed. Why not make a News Tier (MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, etc.), a Kids Tier (Nickelodeon, Noggin, etc.), a DIY Tier (TLC, HGTV, Food Network) while you're at it?

They should also get rid of the Premier Pack and bundle all those channels in as well. I think any digital subscriber who subscribes to digital plus should get all channels inc. those in the sports and premier tiers. The only difference between the digital packages should be the premium channels (HBO, Cinemax, TMC, Showtime, etc.). Then, the tiers would only be channels like Russian TV, French TV, Chinese TV, etc. or the NASCAR in Car/NBA league pass packages. For how much I pay every month on cable alone, Comcast should bundle in both the Sports tier and Premier Pack.

[Sorry for the rude bump]

I recently picked up a DVR and have been very happy with it so far. There are a few minor details that I had fixed way back with my 5100 and now I forgot how I had done so.

There is a significant volume discrepancy between the Digital and/or HD channels and the SD/analog channels. I think I have the cable box setting at "auto volume" or something like that with Matrix sound and Light compression. Is there a better way to set it? I usually run my amp only when a DD5.1 broadcast is on so I'd would like to be able to keep 1 volume level on my TV without getting blasted out of the room when I go from digital to analog or whatever.

Also, I LOVE using the DVR to do my own replays, especially during Sox games. However, it seems that most close plays in baseball are displayed at the bottom of the screen (plays at home or on the bags). The progress bar for the DVR tends to block these which can be annoying. The only setting I've seen so far is to change the position of the OSD "to fit my screen" and that sorta helps but I'd like to be able to either remove the bar completely or set it to the top of the screen or something for certain types of broadcasts.

Ideas?

If there is a more appropriate forum for this, please post a link and I'll see what the lurkers there have to say.

Also, I LOVE using the DVR to do my own replays, especially during Sox games. However, it seems that most close plays in baseball are displayed at the bottom of the screen (plays at home or on the bags). The progress bar for the DVR tends to block these which can be annoying. The only setting I've seen so far is to change the position of the OSD "to fit my screen" and that sorta helps but I'd like to be able to either remove the bar completely or set it to the top of the screen or something for certain types of broadcasts.

EXIT button should work for you. its not a permanent setting, but will remove it while paused.

YesJim, for the audio, instead of "light", set the compression to "heavy". That will set the digital sound closer to the analog sound when using the TV set speakers. Has no effect on SPDIF output to your amp.

Thery could be doing a little tier moving around.

For example NFL Network could go to sports tier only and the fox college sports channels could be part of digital classic.

I noticed that 802 is now showing a WGBH-HD logo in the lower right corner in addition to the PBS-HD logo in the upper left corner. It's a bit distracting. Is this a permanent change?

I caught the final two episodes of Battlestar Galactica on 807 (NBC) the other night in their full HD glory. I must say it's a totally different expereince watching the show in HD versus the broadcast on Sci-Fi in 4:3 analog.

I caught the final two episodes of Battlestar Galactica on 807 (NBC) the other night in their full HD glory. I must say it's a totally different expereince watching the show in HD versus the broadcast on Sci-Fi in 4:3 analog.

doh! I fergot about the HD! I saw the shows being recorded and stopped/deleted because I had already seen them. I didnt think about SEEing them. bad Alan bad bad...

Oh man Battlestar Galactica in HD on NBC was amazing! :eek:

SciFi is at least letterboxed, right? But even on DirecTV, their picture quality is horrible. Hopefully the incredible interest in Battlestar will cause DirecTV to up their bitrate on that channel.

Oh man Battlestar Galactica in HD on NBC was amazing! :eek:

SciFi is at least letterboxed, right? But even on DirecTV, their picture quality is horrible. Hopefully the incredible interest in Battlestar will cause DirecTV to up their bitrate on that channel.

I believe it is letterboxed on Sci-Fi, but that only makes the picture smaller overall, even though you're technically 'seeing more'.

I am hopeful that we will be getting Universal HD soon. It doesn't seem that UHD will simulcast the broadcast that is on Sci-Fi every Friday night. Even if they show it a week later, I'd be willing to be that much behind just to see each episode in HD. avic, any word on UHD for Comcast?

Also, what is everyone's firmware level at? I've seen other parts of the country are already at 09.19. I'm still at 09.15 and am getting horrible lockups on the 6412 where it won't respond to the remote for a good minute and will then go through every button I pressed during that minute.

Also, what is everyone's firmware level at? I've seen other parts of the country are already at 09.19. I'm still at 09.15 and am getting horrible lockups on the 6412 where it won't respond to the remote for a good minute and will then go through every button I pressed during that minute.


Depending where you are you should be getting the fix either tomorrow or by the 2nd week in August.

Not HD related but I figured some people would be interested in this.



Comcast is Twice as Fast as DSL, Delivers Reliable Speed

PHILADELPHIA, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast, the nation's Number One broadband provider, today announced it is enhancing its residential speed tiers, introducing new, faster speeds to deliver the ultimate broadband experience - 8Mbps/768kbps and 6Mbps/384kbps.

Since first setting the industry benchmark for speed in October 2003, this marks the third time Comcast has raised broadband speeds for its customers. Comcast has increased its downstream speeds more than 400% in less than two years, and has built a network that has virtually unlimited capacity to deliver higher speeds.

The speed upgrades will begin this month in eastern and central Pennsylvania, New England, New Jersey, Maryland, Michigan and Washington, D.C., with nearly all Comcast markets scheduled to be complete this summer. The speed increases will be automatic, which means customers are not required to download any special files or upgrade their connections.

"Comcast offers customers a fundamentally better Internet experience. Our service is fast, reliable, easy to use, and packed with great features and value," said Steve Burke, President of Comcast Cable and COO of Comcast Corporation. "Our new 8 and 6Mbps speeds are ideal for anyone living in the Comcast network - from the mainstream broadband user to the dial-up customer looking to switch to something faster."

Comcast focuses on adding value every time its more than 7.4 million High- Speed Internet customers connect to the Internet or log onto Comcast.net. The new 8Mbps and 6Mbps downstream speeds will allow customers to instantly access their favorite content and features on Comcast.net - communication, games, kids, movies, music and sports. Because of the new ultra-fast connection speeds, Comcast customers will more easily be able to:

-- Share photo slideshows with music via Comcast PhotoShow Deluxe

-- Send video greetings with Comcast Video Mail

-- Stream online music or download songs from the Comcast.net Music Channel

-- Download online games and experience better game play with Comcast Games on Demand.

-- Comcast is delivering the faster 6Mbps speed to customers who also subscribe to its Standard or Digital Cable services* at no additional charge. These customers also will also have the option of jumping to the faster 8Mbps for only $10 more per month.

They are going to have to do somthing before the 15 Mbps from FIOS starts screaming down the street. To be honest the 3 MBPS on DSL is plenty of bandwith for the average user, yes cable has double but at almost double the cost.

They are going to have to do somthing before the 15 Mbps from FIOS starts screaming down the street. To be honest the 3 MBPS on DSL is plenty of bandwith for the average user, yes cable has double but at almost double the cost.

It'll be interesting all right...Verizon was dropping fiber in prep for FIOS down by me a few weeks ago. Looks like they're basic offering will be 5mbps for $39.95 so slightly slower but $7 cheaper. When they work out the TV side of things, buckle your seatbelt.

Assuming Comcast is up for the challenge (and they seem to be) I bet we'll end up with better everything for the same dough...or else Ma Bell will starting eating at their subscriber base.

They are going to have to do somthing before the 15 Mbps from FIOS starts screaming down the street. To be honest the 3 MBPS on DSL is plenty of bandwith for the average user, yes cable has double but at almost double the cost.

The thing is Verizon is only doing that in upscale communities,and will most likely offer it only as part of a bundle package costing around $200 or so a month.

Comcast is available nearly EVERYWHERE!

OTOH if i were comcast I would make 15mbps be the standard . :)

It'll be interesting all right...Verizon was dropping fiber in prep for FIOS down by me a few weeks ago. Looks like they're basic offering will be 5mbps for $39.95 so slightly slower but $7 cheaper. When they work out the TV side of things, buckle your seatbelt.

Assuming Comcast is up for the challenge (and they seem to be) I bet we'll end up with better everything for the same dough...or else Ma Bell will starting eating at their subscriber base.

Yes it will be. The 15 MBPS is for the 49.95 package. Like you said when the TV side is worked out.... Maybe a discount bundled package. An article I was reading was saying that FIOS will do to Cable broadband what Broadband did to dial up. I can only imagine 20 years down the road when my son is saying 15mbps? How did you get anything done on such a slow connection.
Humm how do I expense this one :)

Complaining about the rates and/or discussing the alternatives is considered "thread farting," yet posting ads isn't?

I mean, don't get me wrong. I am in no hurry to go out and subscribe to Verizon, even if I could, because I've never been remotely happy with their quality of wired service. But still...

[QUOTE=kenvt]

Hello, how long has Comcast been in New England. Now 3 yrs, I think everything you've mentioned was done by the prior cable companies not Comcast, those examples aren't applicable to this situation.

Then why has my cost in 3 years gone up $12, I get the same channels I had with ATT @ $26 and now is $38. The only thing Comcast did was upgrade the whole town to new lines.

Luckly I downgraded to Bassic + Digital Classic with HD for $20.

Verizon TV is going to be in the range of $39-$44 also for there lower tier.

Lets remember that Comcast is fighting with one hand behind it back (ie analog service). Maybe the competition from Verizon will hasten the transition to an all digital network and then there will be plenty of bandwidth.

Lets remember that Comcast is fighting with one hand behind it back (ie analog service). Maybe the competition from Verizon will hasten the transition to an all digital network and then there will be plenty of bandwidth.

The answe is to finish the upgrade to ADS then start pushing the DCT 700s or 1700s,gving an explicit date as to when the extended basic tier will become all digital.

This might be of intrest to some.
US TV stations say ready for '09 switch to digital
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. local television broadcasters said on Tuesday they would accept a 2009 deadline to switch to airing only higher-quality digital signals, a date being considered by lawmakers.

The full story can be found at
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2005-07-12T183729Z_01_N12575890_RTRIDST_0_TECH-MEDIA-DIGITALTV-DC.XML

Yes it will be. The 15 MBPS is for the 49.95 package. Like you said when the TV side is worked out.... Maybe a discount bundled package. An article I was reading was saying that FIOS will do to Cable broadband what Broadband did to dial up. I can only imagine 20 years down the road when my son is saying 15mbps? How did you get anything done on such a slow connection.
Humm how do I expense this one :)


We already expense our Comcast HSI (not TV) My wife's work :)

Any updates on when we will see the following:

1. ADS complete for all channels in all areas of Massachusetts

2. Additional HD or SD channels in the Comcast lineup

I am also looking forward to the 09.19 firmware release. I hope this clears up the 6412 locking up and not responding to remote commands. Could it be the remote this whole time? Shoudl I exchange it?

Does anyone out there know if Comcast plans on broadcasting the shuttle launch today, and if so what channel?

Now THAT would be something to see live in HD! But I imagine the broadcasters would need lots of advertising "this NASA launch has been brought to you by...." :rolleyes:

They used to carry NASA SD for launches and other interesting events (spacewalks and the like)

Too bad the launch was cancelled today.

Does anyone out there know if Comcast plans on broadcasting the shuttle launch today, and if so what channel?

Now THAT would be something to see live in HD! But I imagine the broadcasters would need lots of advertising "this NASA launch has been brought to you by...." :rolleyes:

The LOGICAL place would have been WCVBDT. They were the first HD channel on the air in New england,and a shuttle lanch was their first HD program.

Does anyone out there know if Comcast plans on broadcasting the shuttle launch today, and if so what channel?

Now THAT would be something to see live in HD! But I imagine the broadcasters would need lots of advertising "this NASA launch has been brought to you by...." :rolleyes:

HDNet has an exclusive for the launch see this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5847637&&#post5847637)

Too bad Comcast doesn't have HDNet :rolleyes:

HDNet has an exclusive for the launch see this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5847637&&#post5847637)

Too bad Comcast doesn't have HDNet :rolleyes:

It should STILL be in HD on BROADCAST channels.

Anyways I'm going out on Saturday,so no shuttle launch for me.

For those golf fans, the British Open on TNT looks to be in HD. If so, only this and the Masters are in HD. Should be cool

For those golf fans, the British Open on TNT looks to be in HD. If so, only this and the Masters are in HD. Should be cool
According to the British Open thread in the Programming forum, this is not HD but an upconvert of the SD production.

Mickey

For those golf fans, the British Open on TNT looks to be in HD. If so, only this and the Masters are in HD. Should be cool
I was able to catch a few minutes when I was home for lunch today, and I must say this is probably the best non-HD picture I have seen. It looks like they are using the original 16:9 feed, so there is no stretch. Makes you wonder why this can't be done for other non-HD sports broadcasts.

Mickey

I was able to catch a few minutes when I was home for lunch today, and I must say this is probably the best non-HD picture I have seen. It looks like they are using the original 16:9 feed, so there is no stretch. Makes you wonder why this can't be done for other non-HD sports broadcasts.

Mickey

Tell that to Fox. Their 16:9 SD coverage of MLB games has got to be one of the worst representations of that combination.

A couple of things. One, why doesn't Comcast carry WGN Chicago? Two, was it me of was FOX's HD All Star Game not that sharp? A few camera shots didn't look to appear HD to me.

A couple of things. One, why doesn't Comcast carry WGN Chicago? Two, was it me of was FOX's HD All Star Game not that sharp? A few camera shots didn't look to appear HD to me.

They use too in my town but a year after taking over for ATT they cut it :(

But I have E* also so get it now :)

Any chance we'll see Comcast add WGN Chicago or WGN HD?

Any chance we'll see Comcast add WGN Chicago or WGN HD?Only in Chicago!

Well even if we can't get WGN HD how about just plain old WGN?

They use too in my town but a year after taking over for ATT they cut it :(

But I have E* also so get it now :)

I had heard around a year ago that they were supposed to start carrying it around here.

According to the website,The Fox college sports channels and NFL Network may be switching packages.

NFL may end up only with the sports package (and the Spanish package for some reason,even though it is in English) while Fox sports 1,2,and 3 go to Digital Classic

Does anyone know if the audio problems on UPN HD are going to be resolved? I find it hard to believe no one complains when there is a constant popping noise during Sox games. Aren't any Comcast employees watching and hearing this?
Veronica Mars was almost unwatchable due to this...not only was there popping but it was almost completely distorted too.

Anyone else notice TNT-HD promoting TBS-HD they even have clips of some of the shows in HD. I'll take that has a surprise HD channel Braves baseball on TBS-HD is ranked 1st among the majors great ingame graphics and powermeter.

Anyone else notice TNT-HD promoting TBS-HD they even have clips of some of the shows in HD. I'll take that has a surprise HD channel Braves baseball on TBS-HD is ranked 1st among the majors great ingame graphics and powermeter.

like WGNHD,TBS HD may only be available in the Atlanta area.

I have no audio through ESPNHD. All other channels are fine. This has been occuring since the midnight edition of Soprts Center last night. Anyone else having this issue?

I noticed that 802 is now showing a WGBH-HD logo in the lower right corner in addition to the PBS-HD logo in the upper left corner. It's a bit distracting. Is this a permanent change?

Well, at least they're starting to acknowledge that they actually have a DT station. The schedule is now listed on the same website page with their other channels. At this rate, they might actually put up an article on an HD program in a year or two.

I have posted about this in the Official 6412 Comcast forum but don't seem to get any satisfactory answers:
Can anyone here change the repeat frequency of a manual recording? I am tired of having to remove countless shows from the scheduled recordings list. If you go on vacation and the power goes out, once it's back, the deleted recordings magically reschedule themselves.
Why couldn't they just have saved this stuff to the hard drive like TiVo???

I have a HTDV with a QAm tuner and comcast cable.

Any one know what the INHD/INHD2 qam channle numbers are?

or where I can find a list of the qam channel numbers?

Thanks

I have a HTDV with a QAm tuner and comcast cable.

Any one know what the INHD/INHD2 qam channle numbers are?

or where I can find a list of the qam channel numbers?

Thanks

The broadcast stations are in the 80s

Other channels are encrypted and require either thier tuner or a cable card.

no INHD with only a qam tunner?

Any place that lists channels?

no INHD with only a qam tunner?

Any place that lists channels?No. It's encrypted.

FYI firmware 9.19 has been implemented in some areas of MA & NH. Lowell is one of those towns.

FYI firmware 9.19 has been implemented in some areas of MA & NH. Lowell is one of those towns.

Thanks for the update!!!

Anyone else notice the PQ on all the HD channels have not been as sharp lately. Does Avic or anyone else know if they are tinkering with the bit rate to make more bandwidth for adding new HD channels. If so I would prefer quality over quantity and would wait longer until the bandwidth is available for adding more HD channels at their maximum levels. Thats just IMHO.

Anyone else notice the PQ on all the HD channels have not been as sharp lately. Does Avic or anyone else know if they are tinkering with the bit rate to make more bandwidth for adding new HD channels. If so I would prefer quality over quantity and would wait longer until the bandwidth is available for adding more HD channels at their maximum levels. Thats just IMHO.

Lodef:

Funny you should mention that. A couple nights ago, I was watching some of the higher HD channels and the picture seemed blurry. I noticed this on 868, 870, 875, and 877 (when I had the free SHO preview). However, other HD channels seemed unaffected.

I haven't been paying much attention the past day or so, but will keep an eye on the PQ on the HD channels to see if anything might be going on. I haven't touched the picture settings on my TV or changed any settings on the cable box.

Does anyone else have any insight on why this might be happening?

FYI firmware 9.19 has been implemented in some areas of MA & NH. Lowell is one of those towns.

Still 9.15 in Lawrence

I regularly watch HD recorded off Comcast via an EyeTV-500, played back through a Roku HD-1000 using MPlay. One of the notable features of MPlay is that it tells you the playback bitrate.

Granted, I'm only able to record the local affiliates, 'cause the rest of Comcast's HD channels are encrypted, but I have seen no significant (or even noticable) drop in the bitrates that MPlay reports.

I regularly watch HD recorded off Comcast via an EyeTV-500, played back through a Roku HD-1000 using MPlay. One of the notable features of MPlay is that it tells you the playback bitrate.

Granted, I'm only able to record the local affiliates, 'cause the rest of Comcast's HD channels are encrypted, but I have seen no significant (or even noticable) drop in the bitrates that MPlay reports.

Thats good to hear, but the channels I noticed it most was PBS, Discovery, ESPN,TNT but hopefully it's only something in the local feed. I would be very dissapointed if comcast went the route of D* with the HD lite stuff after promising they wouldn't. So maybe a little more feedback on the issue would clear things up or maybe I'm just getting older and the eyesight is not what it used to be. ;)

Some of the locals multicast, so there is definitely a lower bitrate on their channels. WGBH-DT has such poor PQ at times I can't even bring myself to watch. DISC-HD on the otherhand has a stellar picture.

Maybe you are having technical problems?

Some of the locals multicast, so there is definitely a lower bitrate on their channels. WGBH-DT has such poor PQ at times I can't even bring myself to watch. DISC-HD on the otherhand has a stellar picture.

Maybe you are having technical problems?

GBH has 2-1 as a 4:3 simulcast of the analog GBH with 2-2 being the PBS HD channel we enjoy on 802.

Its GBX that has the 4 channels.

HD programming can be horrible on WGBH even with a single channel SD multicast. The macroblocking on motion filled content (especially nature oriented w/water) can be most disconcerting.

WGBH has already admitted to this and has said this isn't likely to change.

I took the HD tuner card out of my PC, but as I recall, WCVB and WHDH also both multicast weather radar?

Comcast drops $16.90 bundle discount !!!

I just got a letter saying that my $16.90 bundle discount is going away next month. That is a crummy way to treat a loyal customer. I guess I will drop to a lower cost phone service, maybe even go back to verizon and probably drop to digital basic and maybe I will break even (with less channels). This sucks.

-Ken

I guess they want people to switch to Verizon.

Comcast drops $16.90 bundle discount !!!

I just got a letter saying that my $16.90 bundle discount is going away next month. That is a crummy way to treat a loyal customer. I guess I will drop to a lower cost phone service, maybe even go back to verizon and probably drop to digital basic and maybe I will break even (with less channels). This sucks.

-Ken

What does that mean? $59.85 internet even if you have Basic cable AND digital phone?

Just checked the comcastne.com site. It seems digital phone is no longer available. They want to push digital voice.

I'm not talking about the 10 dollar discount off of the internet, ATTBI also offered a 16.90 discount if you had phone, internet, and digital tv. This is the incentive that got me to digital in the first place. I agree with chitchat, they dont want to push standard phone service, they really only want to do voip.

-Ken

Just checked the comcastne.com site. It seems digital phone is no longer available. They want to push digital voice.

Where did you see digital voice offered ? I just checked the same site and still saw advertisements for digital phone.

Where did you see digital voice offered ? I just checked the same site and still saw advertisements for digital phone.

Depending upon your city.

Click in Lawrence,you get digital voice.

I'm joining Comcast August 1st. I was looking around their website and it seems that they do not offer the college football or basketball packages? Does DirecTV have exclusive rights to these as well as Sunday Ticket? And are Comcasts Sports Packages broadcast in HD? I'm looking forward to hockey coming back this year, and would love to get NHL Center Ice in HD.

I'm not talking about the 10 dollar discount off of the internet, ATTBI also offered a 16.90 discount if you had phone, internet, and digital tv. This is the incentive that got me to digital in the first place. I agree with chitchat, they dont want to push standard phone service, they really only want to do voip.

-Ken
Ken

That’s the $16.90 on the grandfathered AT&T packages ? I had the same thing
but decided to change it in February because of the hassles I was getting anytime I wanted to do anything to my account.

I sat down and broke down the prices of the old packages and the new ones. One thing I never noticed was the basic phone package I had was slowly going up in price. I had TV (no pay channels) , Phone and Internet. My Bill was $114.82 for TV and Internet, ~$27 for the phone.

I switched to the lowest level phone option, saved $8, and got a $5 bundle discount. I switched from Digital standard 3 pack @ 15.95 TV to the silver package @ 24.95. I added HBO and got a $5 discount, so the package for me was 19.95. I also added the DVR and came up with a total of 125.57. My last phone bill was ~$27.

There are options available for savings if you want to spend the time on line to hunt them out.

Hi Number9,

Thanks for the tip. I just called and dropped my phone service from 30.95 to 22.95 since I never used those features anyway. Now I need to figure out if I would be happy with digital classic, I currently have the grandfathered digital bronze. I think I will lose the encore channels but gain FLIX, lose Sundance, and the NFL Network. I don't really care about these anyway since most of my tv viewing is HD anyway. I'm still trying to figure out the definitive list since the Bronze channels arent listed anywhere, I will have to check channel by channel to see what I currently get any match it against the digital classic listing.

-Ken

I'm about 20 miles from the stations in the boston area according to antennaweb. I was looking at antennadirect's web site and it appears that the DB2 should work just fine for my range and the DB4 would be overkill. I'd rather do that to keep it low-profile if possible, but wanted to get some feedback from others... should I go with the bigger antenna, or would this one work just fine (in rain/snow/etc.)?

model range
DB2 1-30 Multi-Directional Indoor | Outdoor UHF 14-69 11.4 dB 4" 19" 12" 2.8 lbs.
DB4 15-55 Multi-Directional Outdoor UHF 14-69 13.7 dB 4" 19" 29" 4.5 lbs.

Koralis - Your in the wrong forum. Try the Boston - OTA (off the air) forum for your answers.

-Ken

I'm joining Comcast August 1st. I was looking around their website and it seems that they do not offer the college football or basketball packages? Does DirecTV have exclusive rights to these as well as Sunday Ticket? And are Comcasts Sports Packages broadcast in HD? I'm looking forward to hockey coming back this year, and would love to get NHL Center Ice in HD.

They never offered the college basketball package. They dropped the football package last year, when I called to ask about it, they said "it takes up too much bandwidth" even though they only offered 2 games/dayon the PPV channels. :rolleyes:

The only sports packages in HD (not counting Red Sox, Celtics, etc) is some of the NFL Network highlights. There's not enough bandwidth for that many HD channels right now.

update on DVR box availability :

When I was talking to a Comcast CSR earlier today she told me that the DVR box shortage is so bad that they are reviewing customer credit and are possibly requiring deposits in order to get a box. Also, they are no longer allowing you to pick up a box, they are requiring a tech visit in order to get one.

-Ken

What frightens me is that once ADS is complete,they will consider extended basic part of digital and reprice all the packages to include it.

Since I have digital phone,and the HD locals can be obtained via the community antenna,I may end up going to a 2 service person as opposed to the 3 service i currently have.

9.19 now in Lawrence.

I notice a short black screen when changing channels now,and the occational freeze is still there.

Comcast just bumped my internet to 6Mbps.

Comcast just bumped my internet to 6Mbps.

DaveFi - Does Comcast offer digital voice in your town ? I am wondering if the increase basndwidth goes hand in hand with their voip service.

6 Mbps? Kewl.

I was just downloading Fedora Core 4 the other night, and for the first time, found 4 Mbps to be a bit limiting.

One can never have enough good looks, money or bandwidth. Unfortunately, all I've got is the bandwidth.

DaveFi - Does Comcast offer digital voice in your town ? I am wondering if the increase basndwidth goes hand in hand with their voip service.I got a flyer for it yesterday so maybe. What they do have is FIOS- this could be the reason, although all regions are due for the 6Mbps upgrade, with the extended service going to 8Mbps.

Still, 6Mbps isn't going to be enough compared to Verizon's HD services and 15Mbps- as soon as they figure out how to do apts that is.

My box is still 9.15 btw.

I got a flyer for it yesterday so maybe. What they do have is FIOS- this could be the reason, although all regions are due for the 6Mbps upgrade, with the extended service going to 8Mbps.

Still, 6Mbps isn't going to be enough compared to Verizon's HD services and 15Mbps- as soon as they figure out how to do apts that is.

My box is still 9.15 btw.
Is Comcast charging extra for the 6 and/or the 8 service?

Mine was 3 last time I checked.

Mickey

Is Comcast charging extra for the 6 and/or the 8 service?

Mine was 3 last time I checked.

Mickey

They charge 10$ more for the 8 service. Though they bumped mine to 6 service ,
I can only get around 3 mbs.

Glad I knew this was coming. When it went through this morning in my area and my connection died, I figured it had to be either the cable modem wasn't compliant or my router couldn't handle the upgrade in bandwidth without a firmware change.

Good customer service call though, rep spent the right amount of time with me, plenty patient during the reboots, and didn't treat me like a child or discount what I knew (since I mentioned the above at the start, and it turned out to be just that).

What site(s) are people using to test the CM speed ?

What site(s) are people using to test the CM speed ?
Doezens, there are plenty, just search for them on Google. I could just tell right away when my downloads started maxing out at 750KB/s.

Is Comcast charging extra for the 6 and/or the 8 service?

Mine was 3 last time I checked.

Mickey

The 8M service is an extra $10/mo, 6M is what you'll get if you're at 4M (which is what the basic service should be now).

To all 838 viewers:

I e-mailed WSBK about the popping noise that is quite apparent on HD Sox broadcasts or other UPN HD shows. They let me know that my e-mail was forwarded to one of their engineers for investigation. I suggest others, if you've noticed this problem, e-mail them about it. That way, they know it's not an isolated incident. Simply go to the UPN38.com website and submit a comment.

The 8M service is an extra $10/mo, 6M is what you'll get if you're at 4M (which is what the basic service should be now).

I could "tough it out" at 2M for lower rates and/or more HD channels.

I could "tough it out" at 2M for lower rates and/or more HD channels.I don't think the higher modem bandwidth really cuts into their HD broadcasts.

I just noticed I have 9.19 (tcas 4928) firmware and seeing LOTS of macroblocking on TNT HD during Twister. The two are probably not related.

I just noticed I have 9.19 (tcas 4928) firmware and seeing LOTS of macroblocking on TNT HD during Twister. The two are probably not related.
Nope, they're not. I still have 9.17 (Brighton) and was also getting that awful feed of Twister on TNTHD.

Just called Comcast and ask about TNTHD, the rep filed a ticket and said someone would look into the feed.

To all 838 viewers:

I e-mailed WSBK about the popping noise that is quite apparent on HD Sox broadcasts or other UPN HD shows. They let me know that my e-mail was forwarded to one of their engineers for investigation. I suggest others, if you've noticed this problem, e-mail them about it. That way, they know it's not an isolated incident. Simply go to the UPN38.com website and submit a comment.
I've seen this mentioned a few times now and thought I'd add some more data. I watch quite a few of the Sox HD games and I've never heard this popping noise once. Sound (digital via coax) has been just fine.

:confused:

I'll be getting a Comcast hd box soon, just wanted to ask a couple questions.
Will a fiber optic cable from the box to my receiver carry all of the sound, even if it is not all digital, or do I have to get audio interconnects for non-digital sound?
Is there many/any firmware updates for the box, or do updates come just by getting a new box?
And lastly, what is everyone's experience with the box and the harmony remotes?
thanks for any help

I'll be getting a Comcast hd box soon, just wanted to ask a couple questions.
Will a fiber optic cable from the box to my receiver carry all of the sound, even if it is not all digital, or do I have to get audio interconnects for non-digital sound?
Is there many/any firmware updates for the box, or do updates come just by getting a new box?
And lastly, what is everyone's experience with the box and the harmony remotes?
thanks for any help

- yes
- you have no control over firmware updates, they come when comcast decides they are "good"
- I have a 659 & 688 controlling 6412s and both are invaluable !

Nope, they're not. I still have 9.17 (Brighton) and was also getting that awful feed of Twister on TNTHD.

I still have 9.15 and happened to tune into Twister....it was completely unwatchable.

I've seen this mentioned a few times now and thought I'd add some more data. I watch quite a few of the Sox HD games and I've never heard this popping noise once. Sound (digital via coax) has been just fine.

:confused:


I emailed them through the website about a month ago. You should tune in to UPN 38 HD sometime during the day when they show SD or during primetime, especially Veronica Mars. See if you can hear any popping...it will not be as noticable during SD programs so you may have to turn up the volume. If you have 5.1 channels, it will be from the center one.

The Sox game on 838 right now is really unwatchable. Popping, blocking, everything but the good picture and sound. This is the worst I've ever seen.

no problems here on 838. (6412 w\ 9.15)

To all 838 viewers:

I e-mailed WSBK about the popping noise that is quite apparent on HD Sox broadcasts or other UPN HD shows. They let me know that my e-mail was forwarded to one of their engineers for investigation. I suggest others, if you've noticed this problem, e-mail them about it. That way, they know it's not an isolated incident. Simply go to the UPN38.com website and submit a comment.
I didn't catch the entire game, but I did not hear ANY popping through the first six innings like I had been for every other Friday night game. Maybe they solved the problem? There's still that issue of the image "focusing" when they switch cameras, though. I only get this on the Friday night games.

I didn't catch the entire game, but I did not hear ANY popping through the first six innings like I had been for every other Friday night game. Maybe they solved the problem? There's still that issue of the image "focusing" when they switch cameras, though. I only get this on the Friday night games.

Same here that focus problem still needs to be fixed, but the sound was fine.

Hi , it looks like a 2nd round of ADS channels in place. Liiks like 4,5,7,10 in Bristol County now ADS. Any word on UPN 28 HD going on air and on Comcast?

On Comcast here in Chelmsford, MA I see Ovation listed on the program guide as channel 232. However, I dont see ovation listed in any of the packages. Is this an old channel that you can't get on any current package , and if so is there any way to get it a la carte ?

Thanks,

Ken

On Comcast here in Chelmsford, MA I see Ovation listed on the program guide as channel 232. However, I dont see ovation listed in any of the packages. Is this an old channel that you can't get on any current package , and if so is there any way to get it a la carte ?

Thanks,

Ken

Ovation is no longer offered. A few people who had a grandfathered digital package including the old premiere pack may still get it.

What site(s) are people using to test the CM speed ?
Try "bandwidthplace.com"

Well..here we go with a three game stretch of non-HD Sox games.. :mad:

Hi , it looks like a 2nd round of ADS channels in place. Liiks like 4,5,7,10 in Bristol County now ADS. Any word on UPN 28 HD going on air and on Comcast?

Not in Lawrence.

I have an idea. Since HD digital cable boxes have cable modems inside,why don't they just send the encrypted HD channels over the Internet?

or at least try it.

I know software upgrades and such.

I have an idea. Since HD digital cable boxes have cable modems inside,why don't they just send the encrypted HD channels over the Internet?

or at least try it.

I know software upgrades and such.

Internet access is (soon to be) 6/8 Mbps per household, that's not even enough bandwidth for one HD channel, even if you don't account for the added overhead of the network protocols. And you wouldn't be able to use the net while you were watching an HD channel. ;)

It does rather beg the question:

What if all viewing was VoD. Would that increase or decrease the overall bandwidth requirements? I mean, on a per-household basis, it seems sorta wasteful to be devoting nearly a GHz to transmit a few hundred channels simultaneously, when at most that household is going to be watching 5 or 6 of them at any given time. So, maybe a little more dynamic system: First guy to say "I want to watch Discovery" causes the head end to allocate a "channel" and start streaming Discovery on that channel. Everyone else in the cluster who decides to watch Discovery is told to tune that channel. After some-elapsed-time after the last person quits watching Discovery, free the channel and go back to the idle state.

Obviously, this strategy would suck with channel surfers, but I s'pose as they add more and more channels, surfing gets to be less and less practical, anyway.

It does rather beg the question:

What if all viewing was VoD. Would that increase or decrease the overall bandwidth requirements? I mean, on a per-household basis, it seems sorta wasteful to be devoting nearly a GHz to transmit a few hundred channels simultaneously, when at most that household is going to be watching 5 or 6 of them at any given time. So, maybe a little more dynamic system: First guy to say "I want to watch Discovery" causes the head end to allocate a "channel" and start streaming Discovery on that channel. Everyone else in the cluster who decides to watch Discovery is told to tune that channel. After some-elapsed-time after the last person quits watching Discovery, free the channel and go back to the idle state.

Obviously, this strategy would suck with channel surfers, but I s'pose as they add more and more channels, surfing gets to be less and less practical, anyway.

I've been told the current configuration only gives a small percentage of customers in a cluster of homes the ability to view VOD at the same time. So, going to all VOD should require more bandwidth, especially if some of the added content is HD. Would your plan give each customer full control of the Discovery program or would we share the stream? Full control would definitely need more bandwidth. Would progrmmers allow all sponsored programs onto VOD? I'm sure most of us would skip the commercials.

Toots,

SBC is looking at doing something very similar sounding to what you described, IP-based TV. They're calling it "Project Lightspeed."

http://www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=5838

Nope. No full control - just real-time streaming of what's coming off the sat. Any delayed play/backspace would be under local DVR control, and any forward skipping would be entirely dependent on what's coming off the satellite (meaning not possible). And the bandwidth would be that which is freed by not continually transmitting all channels to everyone in the cluster.

Sort of a "hotel" model.

I expect what Toots said to be coming in the future, 2-3 yrs. Already Time Warner Cable is doing it in the North Carolina. I expect once the ADS project is complete & the roll out of Digital Voice are complete that may be one of the next steps.

I read on another forum that said Comcast in CT is going to MPEG-4 soon. Is that happening here in MA? What do we currently use now (if not MPEG-4) and what would MPEG-4 bring?

I read on another forum that said Comcast in CT is going to MPEG-4 soon. Is that happening here in MA? What do we currently use now (if not MPEG-4) and what would MPEG-4 bring?

It is somewhat doubtful that MPEG-4 would be deployed fairly soon. The nice thing about MPEG 4 is an increased efficient usage of bandwidth. Instead of HD running at 19mbps on MPEG-2... it would run maybe 8-9mbps on MPEG-4 without any quality loss. However, today's settops only support MPEG-4. A move to MPEG-4 would require either a complete replacement of all settops on a system or would require the usage of much more bandwidth to simulcast the current MPEG-2 services and then the MPEG-4 services. Even with option 2, there is still the significant outlay of capital required to replace all those settops in the home with new MPEG-4 compliant gear.

Internet access is (soon to be) 6/8 Mbps per household, that's not even enough bandwidth for one HD channel, even if you don't account for the added overhead of the network protocols. And you wouldn't be able to use the net while you were watching an HD channel. ;)


Fiber would solve that issue.

Anyone having freezing problems on Ch. 805?

I was having some audio/video stutters on quite a few channels this morning. Didn't appear to be a DVR issue.

All my channels come in except for channel 805? I do have a DVR w/HDTV on one and my other television (SD) is also having the same issue with 805.

Ok 805 now on. Good...

It does rather beg the question:

What if all viewing was VoD. Would that increase or decrease the overall bandwidth requirements? I mean, on a per-household basis, it seems sorta wasteful to be devoting nearly a GHz to transmit a few hundred channels simultaneously, when at most that household is going to be watching 5 or 6 of them at any given time. So, maybe a little more dynamic system: First guy to say "I want to watch Discovery" causes the head end to allocate a "channel" and start streaming Discovery on that channel. Everyone else in the cluster who decides to watch Discovery is told to tune that channel. After some-elapsed-time after the last person quits watching Discovery, free the channel and go back to the idle state.

Obviously, this strategy would suck with channel surfers, but I s'pose as they add more and more channels, surfing gets to be less and less practical, anyway.

This will happen, but it requires a more intelligent network to implement. We're seeing the convergence (finally!) of data/voice/video. Once everything is digital and the bandwidth continues to increase, it's going to simply be a matter of routing the right data and ensuring the correct QOS for the individual applications. It's going to be very interesting to see the providers jockey for position to offer this stuff....

Fiber would solve that issue.

The type of cable is not really the problem, it's the network design, or rather the history of the network. The phone companies have the switched network on the backend, cable has the pipe into people's houses. They're both trying to upgrade/install/re-engineer the part they don't have, and do it before the other guy does. :)

The type of cable is not really the problem, it's the network design, or rather the history of the network. The phone companies have the switched network on the backend, cable has the pipe into people's houses. They're both trying to upgrade/install/re-engineer the part they don't have, and do it before the other guy does. :)

Presactly.

Note how DSL invariably requires you to have PPPOE, even though there really isn't any really good reason for it, and some DSL resellers will sell you DSL without PPPOE. Cable companies, on the other hand are happy enough without it.

Why? Because the telco mindset is still wrapped around the whole switched circuit idea, whereas the cable companies came to the ISP game without that mindset.

(I wouldn't be surprised if internally, telcos still measured a trunk's bandwidth not by bits per second, but rather the number of voice-channels it can carry.)

What site(s) are people using to test the CM speed ?

I use this site (based in MA):

http://speedtest.ma.charter.com/

Well..here we go with a three game stretch of non-HD Sox games.. :mad:
crap.
I just was looking for the game and couldn't find it, so came here to find why not.
too bad I cancelled extended basic, oh well, radio it comes..

Ok 805 now on. Good...

Power outage this morning in Needham affected the transmitter sites.

I have an idea that may make it more senseable to carry HDNet.

Have HDNet on883,HDNet movies on 884 and on 283 "HDNet letterbox" the main HD channel in letterbox form downconverted so non HD viewers can get a glimpse a "the future",Comcast can justify the raise in costs,and would technically bring HDNet to even MORE homes aas it would not be only HD.

Can anyone tell me why the Red Sox haven't been on INHD the last few games?

nevermind

Had a quick comcast question - - My house is still using analog cable (extended basic). The house was wired for three bedrooms, and the family room. All the connections are originated in the basement by the electrical panel. I only use the connection for the family room and one of the bedrooms (has my office, cable modem + PC tuner card).

I decided I wanted to set up a little exercise space in the basement, and I decided to hook up an old CRT monitor with a little tv tuner box (this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815100114) ), and I disconnected one of the wires in the basement (that went to an unused bedroom terminal), and plugged the tuner box into the now open spot on the splitter that the comcast tech installed last year.

I sparked up the box, monitor and stereo - - and I get two channels (5 &6), both ABC and that is it. No other channels. Its not coming from an antenna feed either (disconnect cable, and you get static).

Do you think this is the tuner box, or something comcast related that would require me to have a tech come out. This is a temporary set up, so I don't want to add additional connections/service fees if I don't have to (do you get charged for additional cable boxless hookups? - installation aside). I might lug my tv to diagnose if it is the tuner box I bought - - but asking here seemed easier.

Any thoughts? Thanks,

Had a quick comcast question - - My house is still using analog cable (extended basic). The house was wired for three bedrooms, and the family room. All the connections are originated in the basement by the electrical panel. I only use the connection for the family room and one of the bedrooms (has my office, cable modem + PC tuner card).

I decided I wanted to set up a little exercise space in the basement, and I decided to hook up an old CRT monitor with a little tv tuner box (this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815100114) ), and I disconnected one of the wires in the basement (that went to an unused bedroom terminal), and plugged the tuner box into the now open spot on the splitter that the comcast tech installed last year.

I sparked up the box, monitor and stereo - - and I get two channels (5 &6), both ABC and that is it. No other channels. Its not coming from an antenna feed either (disconnect cable, and you get static).

Do you think this is the tuner box, or something comcast related that would require me to have a tech come out. This is a temporary set up, so I don't want to add additional connections/service fees if I don't have to (do you get charged for additional cable boxless hookups? - installation aside). I might lug my tv to diagnose if it is the tuner box I bought - - but asking here seemed easier.

Any thoughts? Thanks,

Having had success with other tuners, I suggest you lug the new tuner to the TV and confirm your tuner can tune the non-scrambled Comcast feed. I'm curious if you have a VCR (gasp) around , the tuner of which can do the same thing.

Good point on the VCR I have two or three of those collecting dust. I'll try that tonight.

Huh. VCR...

I have an S-VHS deck (a rather nice one) wired into my HT system. For the life of me, I can't remember the last time I used it.

Does anyone know the current status of the ADS project in MA? Here in Medford, out of 69 available analog channels between 2 and 96, only 15 have gone through the ADS conversion. That translates to about 21% over the past 2-3 months. At this rate, the full ADS conversion won't be complete until May/June 2006. Is Comcast going to suddently convert the remaining channels over a very short period of time?

Maybe Comcast has changed their mind about using all that bandwidth to duplicate every analog channel in digital. Let's face it, the quality is only slightly better than the analog channel, I think they were doing this just so they could say they were "100%" digital just like satellite. I would rather have more *different* channels than the ADS.

-Ken

I realize this is the comcast thread, but there doesn't seem to be a boston RCN thread (maybe we need to start one?) I'm a current comcast subscriber, and I'm moving, so I'm considering the switch to RCN. I'm curious if there are any RCN users out there that can give me their feedback on RCN HDTV in boston. Their website says that they don't have WSBK/WLVI (but I notice neither does Comcast's) does anyone know what their plans are for rolling out new channels? Aside from channel lineup, I'd love to hear anything anyone else has to say re: quality, service, etc.. My experiences with comcast were less then exceptional from a customer service perspective, but I cannot complain about their content or quality at this point.

Anyone else not getting any signal on ESPN-HD? I wanted to watch this game..

Anyone else having issues getting ESPNHD this evening?

This is the third time in less than a month that there has been a lengthy outage of either the video or audio on ESPNHD. I am getting a bit tired of the sub par service from the channel I watch the most.

bocmir - ESPN would be blacked out in the Boston DMA because the game is on NESN (analog)

-Ken

bocmir - ESPN would be blacked out in the Boston DMA because the game is on NESN (analog)

Nope, the Sox game is over. We just watched them win in SD, now we'd like to watch the Yankees lose in HD on ESPN.

Nope, the Sox game is over. We just watched them win in SD, now we'd like to watch the Yankees lose in HD on ESPN.
Sounds about right.

Anyone else having some dropout and stuttering problems this afternoon and evening? MLBEI was dropping out nastily and watching L&O on TNTHD (a 1996 episode - man, this is cool!) I've gotten a couple...

Maybe Comcast has changed their mind about using all that bandwidth to duplicate every analog channel in digital. Let's face it, the quality is only slightly better than the analog channel, I think they were doing this just so they could say they were "100%" digital just like satellite. I would rather have more *different* channels than the ADS.

-Ken

I was under the impression that they have already reserved the bandwidth for ADS!
What I would do would be to following the complete conversion give a six month window offering the cheap 700s for those who do not yet have digital then make extended basic a digital only tier.

There is a noticable difference with CN8 from 903 to 3.
and in my building,the "security" channel is ch 13 and only on the house antenna system,which DOES bring in HD!

bocmir - ESPN would be blacked out in the Boston DMA because the game is on NESN (analog)

-Ken

They don't have to blackout ESPN unless it was a RED SOX game (except for Sunday nights)

Good point on the VCR I have two or three of those collecting dust. I'll try that tonight.

Well - tried one of the VCR's - - got channel's 2-14 +19. Progress. Have a second VCR I can try, plus try some of the boxes at the existing outlet's. I am suspecting there may be some kind of comcast-y thing to prevent me from wiring up the rest of the house. . .

Any one know?

Well - tried one of the VCR's - - got channel's 2-14 +19. Progress. Have a second VCR I can try, plus try some of the boxes at the existing outlet's. I am suspecting there may be some kind of comcast-y thing to prevent me from wiring up the rest of the house. . .

Any one know?

There's no way to prevent you from wiring the rest of your house. Did you "program" the VCR to get the cable channels or did you just plug it in and expect it to work? Sounds like to me it's a VCR that hasn't been programmed.

I also wondered why ESPN-HD was not working on Comcast. The game that was on ESPN-HD during the outage was Whitesox-Royals in HD since thats what was on the schedule and I saw that game on E* instead.

FYI: look for a DVR with HDMI output coming within the next month or two

Um, sure. It also suppose to have HD PIP. I just hope Comcast provides me with an HDMI to DVI cable because there is no DVI out on it.

Does Comcast show NFL Network Game of the Week in HD? I thought it will be on 882 but it's not.

Does Comcast show NFL Network Game of the Week in HD? I thought it will be on 882 but it's not.

only during the football season per say.

anyone know when game show network will show up in the on screen guide? it's channel 68.

jason

FYI: look for a DVR with HDMI output coming within the next month or two
Given that the current DVRs (6412) are in short supply, will this new DVR arrive in enough volume to eliminate the shortage?

Mickey

anyone know when game show network will show up in the on screen guide? it's channel 68.

jason

I doubt it since most of the time they air leased programming on that channel.

GSN should be full time on digital.

FYI: look for a DVR with HDMI output coming within the next month or two

Hopefully with a 300+ GB drive as well? :)

Hopefully with a 300+ GB drive as well? :)

And hopefully in a choice of black or silver :-) The 6412 really sticks out with my TV, pre-amp, amp, DVD player, and stand all being black :-P

Looks like we've been switched from 807 (WHDH-DT, Boston DMA) to 810 (WJAR-DT, Providence/New Bedford DMA) for NBC HD down here in Bristol County, or at least we were last night. Guide had no info yet for that channel around 9pm yesterday.

And hopefully in a choice of black or silver :-) The 6412 really sticks out with my TV, pre-amp, amp, DVD player, and stand all being black :-P

I LIKE the silver box.

OTOH my DVD player and TV ARE both silver.

The home theatre unit is black and the table they are on is brown.

It seems everything is silver now, but I prefer black better as well. Half of my components are black and half silver.

-Ken

Looks like we've been switched from 807 (WHDH-DT, Boston DMA) to 810 (WJAR-DT, Providence/New Bedford DMA) for NBC HD down here in Bristol County, or at least we were last night. Guide had no info yet for that channel around 9pm yesterday.


Maybe that means that we'll get UPN as well finally. I'll need to do a channel scan on the antenna to see if they are live.

I noticed that chs 4,5,7,9 (WMUR Manchester) and finally 25 as also digital (but the D dosen't show up)

That leaves chs 2,11,46,and 60 as the only local broadcast channels that are not yet on ADS. Also NECN and the PEG channels,among Basic

Looks like we've been switched from 807 (WHDH-DT, Boston DMA) to 810 (WJAR-DT, Providence/New Bedford DMA) for NBC HD down here in Bristol County, or at least we were last night. Guide had no info yet for that channel around 9pm yesterday.

They also added the NBC Weather channel, which looks like a sub-channel of WJAR-DT. I forget the number, it's the highest # channel in the 700's.

Does anyone know what the reason for this is and if it is permanent, or will we get 807 back eventually? I hope we don't start losing the Boston network stations in favor of the RI ones. It's nice having both, but I'd prefer the Boston stations since we live in MA and the local news is much better on the Boston networks.

Here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=558602) is the new 6412, if anyone's interested. Probably won't show up here anytime soon, though..

They also added the NBC Weather channel, which looks like a sub-channel of WJAR-DT. I forget the number, it's the highest # channel in the 700's.

Does anyone know what the reason for this is and if it is permanent, or will we get 807 back eventually? I hope we don't start losing the Boston network stations in favor of the RI ones. It's nice having both, but I'd prefer the Boston stations since we live in MA and the local news is much better on the Boston networks.

possibly not. since you're closer to Providence,technically the providence affiliates are your "locals" but if you are close enough you should also get the boston channels at leas ton the analog side.

Any idea why I'm now getting channel 9 Manchester (WMUR) on channel 909 ? Is this just one of those temp. testing type of things ?

-Ken

dropouts in Boston on the 200's channels with a 5100 box?

I'm getting severe dropouts on the 200 channels (Nick, ect) on my 5100 box. The ADS channels are fine as are the 800's. My 6412 is fine across the board. I went into the service menu and the quality of the signal is 'good' and there are no uncorrectable errors. Any ideas?

Any idea why I'm now getting channel 9 Manchester (WMUR) on channel 909 ? Is this just one of those temp. testing type of things ?

-Ken


its there permanently. its for customers that used chnl 9 for apt building cameras. they need an analog feed & now that 9 is digital they can't use that one.

its there permanently. its for customers that used chnl 9 for apt building cameras. they need an analog feed & now that 9 is digital they can't use that one.

Itn my building its ch 13 and only on the house antenna (which gets 2,4,5,7,9,25,38,and 56 in HD!) not to mention 5-2,and chn 44 and 68's plex channels.

RE: Dropouts with the 5100 box

My coax connector was loose causing the dropouts. I thought I bought a good crimper, but the one that the Comcast rep had was much better. On the plus side I had him use his meter to measure my signal strenght at all of my drops and they are at the high end of the scale. Having Comcast rewire from the street and rewiring my house myself really paid off.

its there permanently. its for customers that used chnl 9 for apt building cameras. they need an analog feed & now that 9 is digital they can't use that one.

Does anyone know why I am getting 908, 909, and 910 here in Medford? I can understand why I might get 909 for possible apartment building cameras in the area (my building doesn't use them). Yet, why am I also getting 908 and 910. I also noticed that I am getting 990 (though it says it's unavailable), though I thought I read somewhere that this was a testing channel.

I just noticed 908, 909 and 910 here in Nashua. My guess is that we've just encountered another wave of the ADS roll-out.

Does anyone know why I am getting 908, 909, and 910 here in Medford? I can understand why I might get 909 for possible apartment building cameras in the area (my building doesn't use them). Yet, why am I also getting 908 and 910. I also noticed that I am getting 990 (though it says it's unavailable), though I thought I read somewhere that this was a testing channel.

As has been said these are channels for apartment dwellers. However, not every apartment complex uses the same channel to insert their security cameras. Some use Channel 8, some 9, some 10, some 11... some use more than 1, and some use something totally oddball. The only way to cover all bases is to do them all. :)

In Easton, now have 810, WJAR-DT and 750 NBC Weather Plus. No Longer have WHDH-DT. Will we be getting UPN28 HD when it goes on In Bristol County? Also, will we see WLNE and WPRI and WNAC -DT replacing WCVB, WBZ, and WFXT -DT? I Know that Cox in Rhode Island has had a problem getting appproval from WPRI and WNAC-DT carriage.

Here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=558602) is the new 6412, if anyone's interested. Probably won't show up here anytime soon, though..

Disappointing that it is still a 6412, and not a 64(20+). I have enjoyed the Comcast/Moto DVR, however capacity really is an issue. I would hope that a DVR with expanded storage is somewhere on the horizon. Or, they could at last enable the ports so we could attach an external HD.

Disappointing that it is still a 6412, and not a 64(20+). I have enjoyed the Comcast/Moto DVR, however capacity really is an issue. I would hope that a DVR with expanded storage is somewhere on the horizon. Or, they could at last enable the ports so we could attach an external HD.
Agreed. The ability to port an external drive needs to be part of the next generation box Comcast offers. Since the news is that the Comcast DVR is a big success, I would expect that they will devote more energy to enhancements and eliminating the box shortage.

Mickey

Disappointing that it is still a 6412, and not a 64(20+). I have enjoyed the Comcast/Moto DVR, however capacity really is an issue. I would hope that a DVR with expanded storage is somewhere on the horizon. Or, they could at last enable the ports so we could attach an external HD.

Is there any chance Motorola would develop a tri-tuner DVR? Although those instances have been rare, there have been times where three shows I wanted to record were on at the same time or adding another series recording caused conflicts with an existing series recording.

Maybe by the time the next-gen guide software is ready, a DVR with larger capacity, more external ports, and maybe even a third tuner will be available.

Suddenly I'm not getting any Dolby Digital out of my 6412 here in Brighton. And no DD Logo on the flip bar too. This is with both tuners.

Anyone else having this problem?

Suddenly I'm not getting any Dolby Digital out of my 6412 here in Brighton. And no DD Logo on the flip bar too. This is with both tuners.

Anyone else having this problem?

gojulas:

are you connected via a digital connection to either an AV receiver or pre-amp/processor that would let you know the signal is DD Pro Logic or DD5.1? I am not having any issues with DD audio on my 6412 connected to a pre/pro here in Medford.

Have you tried shutting off the box for 60 seconds and turning it back on? I know there are times when neither tuner will show a DD logo on the info bar for digital channels. Turning the box off and on will show a DD logo on digital channels on one of the tuners. Apparently, it's a bug why the DD logo doesn't show up on both tuners.

gojulas:

I have seen this before and it's not just the logo, I was actually not getting DD. To solve this, like tennberg mentioned, shut off the box and turn it back on (you don't need to wait one minute). Hope this helps.

gojulas:

I have seen this before and it's not just the logo, I was actually not getting DD. To solve this, like tennberg mentioned, shut off the box and turn it back on (you don't need to wait one minute). Hope this helps.

I always use the 60 second rule, just me I guess :-) Like when my Comcast cable modem gets screwy, I shut it off for 60 seconds.

Any feedback on whether or not the latest 6412 fw corrects the "mute" issue? I'm on version 9.17 and had the issue twice this past weekend. The only problem is that I didn't check the FW at the time so I may have still been on 9.15...

Comcast moving Sci Fi Channel to digital service
Comcast has come up with a plan for local fans of the increasingly popular Sci Fi Channel that only a stockholder could love.

In the name of what a spokeswoman for the cable operator calls "conformity," it's bucking Sci Fi next week from the basic tier where two-thirds of its local customers now find it to a more expensive digital service where the other third already gets it.

Comcast is selling this as some kind of great thing, noting the digital tier offers dozens of additional channels besides Sci Fi, access to video-on-demand programming and so on. But the key word here is "selling," as the minimum surcharge for the digital tier is $9.99 per month, an increase of more than 20 percent over Comcast's basic $46.99 monthly fee.

Then there's the matter of a requisite converter box at $4.85 per month.

Maybe that's why Comcast Corp. was able to announce Tuesday its second-quarter profit rose 64 percent, to $430 million, driven by customers opting for more expensive digital packages


http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-050803comcast,1,4628888.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Will this happen in the Boston Market?

Comcast moving Sci Fi Channel to digital service
Comcast has come up with a plan for local fans of the increasingly popular Sci Fi Channel that only a stockholder could love.

In the name of what a spokeswoman for the cable operator calls "conformity," it's bucking Sci Fi next week from the basic tier where two-thirds of its local customers now find it to a more expensive digital service where the other third already gets it.

Comcast is selling this as some kind of great thing, noting the digital tier offers dozens of additional channels besides Sci Fi, access to video-on-demand programming and so on. But the key word here is "selling," as the minimum surcharge for the digital tier is $9.99 per month, an increase of more than 20 percent over Comcast's basic $46.99 monthly fee.

Then there's the matter of a requisite converter box at $4.85 per month.

Maybe that's why Comcast Corp. was able to announce Tuesday its second-quarter profit rose 64 percent, to $430 million, driven by customers opting for more expensive digital packages

Will this happen in the Boston Market?

Hello? They did this with the WE channel and nobody complained.

Remeber you do not need extended basic in order to get digital cable.

Comcast moving Sci Fi Channel to digital service
Comcast has come up with a plan for local fans of the increasingly popular Sci Fi Channel that only a stockholder could love.

In the name of what a spokeswoman for the cable operator calls "conformity," it's bucking Sci Fi next week from the basic tier where two-thirds of its local customers now find it to a more expensive digital service where the other third already gets it.

Comcast is selling this as some kind of great thing, noting the digital tier offers dozens of additional channels besides Sci Fi, access to video-on-demand programming and so on. But the key word here is "selling," as the minimum surcharge for the digital tier is $9.99 per month, an increase of more than 20 percent over Comcast's basic $46.99 monthly fee.

Then there's the matter of a requisite converter box at $4.85 per month.

Maybe that's why Comcast Corp. was able to announce Tuesday its second-quarter profit rose 64 percent, to $430 million, driven by customers opting for more expensive digital packages


http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-050803comcast,1,4628888.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Will this happen in the Boston Market?

Maybe moving Sci-Fi to the digital tier is a sign of things to come, e.g. Univesal-HD, say on 880?

Huh.

I guess it'd p*** me off if I wasn't already paying a ton for the digital channels. As it is, their analog reception on the cable they sell me is so bad on the SciFi channel, that I'd welcome its move to a digital tier.

So, my box suddently displayed 88:88 on its fron display at 11:01PM Wednesday night, shut itself off, restarted, displayed "- - -" on the display, and then finally displayed the correct time. Going into the OSD only showed the "Home" icon and nothing else. Also, all guide data was lost (I *really* hate that. You'd think for such a complex box, a section of the hard drive could store a few hours worth of guide data!).

I was thinking maybe Comcast was pushing out the 09.19 firmware, yet it seems it was just a random reboot. First I've ever gotten since having the box since August 04.

chitchatjf, it was not an opinion merely a post of an article I found. The pricing scheme will not affect me. I should have been clearer. When will we see Sci-fi digital is my question? Id rather watch BSG digital if I had my choices.

BTW: What ever happend to AVIC, I have not seen a post by him in awhile.

tennberg , we had a brown out here last night maybe you did too. The same thing happened to my box.

Is Sci-fi going to digital classic ? I guess it doesn't really matter since I don't really watch it.

-Ken

First I've ever gotten since having the box since August 04.So, do you stay awake at all hours, watching your cable box to make sure it doesn't reboot? ;)

Also, if any Sox fans care, iNHD is showing the 2004 World Series Film today at 6:00, and then again late night/early morning. I don't record many things, but I'll be using my DVR for this.

So, do you stay awake at all hours, watching your cable box to make sure it doesn't reboot? ;)


Yes, I sleep on it since it puts off a nice warm glow ;-)

On another topic, does anyone know if Comcast transmits HD signals in their original resolution or is everything HD put out in 1080i? For example, ABC's shows are in 720p, but does Comcast transmit it to us customers as 720p or 1080i?

As for SD shows, since they're in 480i, do people use the scaler in the 6412 to put it up to 480p, or do you keep it at 480i and let your TV scale it? I'm not sure if I should let the box or my TV do the 480 scaling.

In Easton, now have 810, WJAR-DT and 750 NBC Weather Plus. No Longer have WHDH-DT. Will we be getting UPN28 HD when it goes on In Bristol County? Also, will we see WLNE and WPRI and WNAC -DT replacing WCVB, WBZ, and WFXT -DT? I Know that Cox in Rhode Island has had a problem getting appproval from WPRI and WNAC-DT carriage.

I'm in Easton too, does UPN28 carry the Sox games with WSBK signal from UPN38 in Boston?

On another topic, does anyone know if Comcast transmits HD signals in their original resolution or is everything HD put out in 1080i? For example, ABC's shows are in 720p, but does Comcast transmit it to us customers as 720p or 1080i?

They send it in its native resolution. Of course, the Motorola boxes don't allow you to choose to pass that through, so it will convert everything to either 720p or 1080i. I really wish they would change that...most of the channels I tend to watch are 1080i, but especially for football on ESPN, ABC and Fox, it makes a big difference on my display to change to 720p so I don't have things scaled twice. But it's a PITA to have to change it back and forth every time, a pass through would be ideal.

As for SD shows, since they're in 480i, do people use the scaler in the 6412 to put it up to 480p, or do you keep it at 480i and let your TV scale it? I'm not sure if I should let the box or my TV do the 480 scaling.

You should let whichever device is better at scaling do that job of course. :D

I'm pretty sure each channel is output in it's specific resolution. ABC, Fox and ESPN are the only ones that are 720p, though. It's up to the box to scale it correctly.

Personally, I set 4:3 Override to "Off". Setting it to either "Off" or "Stretch" outputs at the same res that you have selected in the option above (meaning, it'll upconvert all SD content to 720p or 1080i). "Stretch" will, obviously, automatically stretch all 4:3 content to 16:9. "Off" will put black bars on the sides of 4:3 content, keeping it's original aspect ratio. The only downside to these two modes is that in most cases, they disable your TV's resizing options (you can't stretch an already widescreen image).

I'm pretty sure each channel is output in it's specific resolution. ABC, Fox and ESPN are the only ones that are 720p, though. It's up to the box to scale it correctly.

Personally, I set 4:3 Override to "Off". Setting it to either "Off" or "Stretch" outputs at the same res that you have selected in the option above (meaning, it'll upconvert all SD content to 720p or 1080i). "Stretch" will, obviously, automatically stretch all 4:3 content to 16:9. "Off" will put black bars on the sides of 4:3 content, keeping it's original aspect ratio. The only downside to these two modes is that in most cases, they disable your TV's resizing options (you can't stretch an already widescreen image).

I just tried setting 4:3 Override to "Off" and noticed that the black bars on any 4:3 SD content are narrower and that more "picture" shows. (I have YPbPr set to 1080i) Why is this?

I couldn't notice much difference between seeing 4:3 SD content in 480p or 1080i beyond more picture showing. I'll keep looking into it more to see if there's any improvement.

They send it in its native resolution. Of course, the Motorola boxes don't allow you to choose to pass that through, so it will convert everything to either 720p or 1080i. I really wish they would change that...most of the channels I tend to watch are 1080i, but especially for football on ESPN, ABC and Fox, it makes a big difference on my display to change to 720p so I don't have things scaled twice. But it's a PITA to have to change it back and forth every time, a pass through would be ideal.



You should let whichever device is better at scaling do that job of course. :D

JD:

You say you sometimes set the box to output at 720p so that it doesn't scale twice. If, for example, ESPN comes in at 720p, and the box is set to output at 1080i, isn't it just scaling once? Or does your TV then scale it again?

I just tried setting 4:3 Override to "Off" and noticed that the black bars on any 4:3 SD content are narrower and that more "picture" shows. (I have YPbPr set to 1080i) Why is this?I really don't know why that is. I've never actually done any comparisons to see the difference between all of the 4:3 Override options.

I just like it set to "Off" because having all channels output at 1080i eliminates the little "skip" that my TV has switching between HD and SD channels (different resolutions). It also gives black bars when viewing 4:3 content, rather than the grey ones my TV displays. I know the grey is supposed to cut down on burn-in, but I don't have my contrast set high anyways and they're just distracting.

They send it in its native resolution. Of course, the Motorola boxes don't allow you to choose to pass that through, so it will convert everything to either 720p or 1080i. I really wish they would change that...most of the channels I tend to watch are 1080i, but especially for football on ESPN, ABC and Fox, it makes a big difference on my display to change to 720p so I don't have things scaled twice. But it's a PITA to have to change it back and forth every time, a pass through would be ideal.



You should let whichever device is better at scaling do that job of course. :D

The only way to get Motorola to change it is Comcast tells them to change it. So call Comcast and ask how you do, when the CSR tells you can't you can't ask them to add that feature.

Anyone else getting really annoyed with that crappy second centerfield camera they keep using during sox games?

Anyone else getting really annoyed with that crappy second centerfield camera they keep using during sox games?Yes. It's new I guess, and at first they made it seem like it was just going to be used to get "new views" of the bullpen and outfield. But now they're using it for everything, and when zoomed, it gives an ugly, grainy image.

JD:

You say you sometimes set the box to output at 720p so that it doesn't scale twice. If, for example, ESPN comes in at 720p, and the box is set to output at 1080i, isn't it just scaling once? Or does your TV then scale it again?

Yes, unless your display is a native 1080i, it would have to scale it down again to the native resolution. Having the box send out the native signal would prevent it from doing any scaling, meaning the only scaling would be done by the display.

JD:

You say you sometimes set the box to output at 720p so that it doesn't scale twice. If, for example, ESPN comes in at 720p, and the box is set to output at 1080i, isn't it just scaling once? Or does your TV then scale it again?


As other poster noted, only If you have a 720 native display, like myself, it makes sense to set the BOX to 720p..........This way the 720 stuff (ABC, FOX, ESPN) comes in unmolested. Everything else (1080i) will be converted once at the box and once again once at the TV.

A friend of mine who also has digital cable without extended basic is looking into the DVR.
She wants it mostly so she can get ESPNHD without having to invest $40 mo on extended basic. She is aware that it will come in leytterboxed on her 4:3 set.

I told her there may be a short wait and that Comcast has to install the box.

Comments?

As other poster noted, only If you have a 720 native display, like myself, it makes sense to set the BOX to 720p..........This way the 720 stuff (ABC, FOX, ESPN) comes in unmolested. Everything else (1080i) will be converted once at the box and once again once at the TV.

It only makes sense if you think the scaler in the STB is better then the one in your TV. Another thing to consider is that some LCD and plasma do not have 1280x720 resolution so any signal you send it will have to be scaled the set resolutions.

So, any updates on the HD front? If I'm correct, the last HD channels that were added were WB-HD, UPN-HD, and TNT-HD. Those seem like ages ago. Any word on Universal-HD? I checked their schedule and it seems like they don't re-air new Battlestar Galactica episodes after they air on Sci-Fi. It seems like such a waste, given that it is one of the most breathtaking shows when seen in HD. The only times you get to see an episode in HD seem to be when NBC-HD has nothing else to air on a Saturday night and airs it.

avic and others:

Any word on whether Comcast in Massachusetts will be getting the new Motorola 6412 Phase 3 boxes with HDMI and SATA? I read in another thread that the new 6412 Phase 3 boxes include a new MPEG-2 encoder and help to improve the picture quality of analog/SD channels.

If we will be getting them, how does one go about requesting one? Will priority be given to current 6412 users or new customers?

Tennberg:

I think that if there were any new HD channels on the horizon, the guys here that work for Comcast would be busting at the seams to tell us, that is if they COULD tell us.

-Ken

Anyone else seeing an almost unwatchable picture w/the Sox on 882 the last week and a half or so? The picture pixelates and freezes (along w/audio drop outs) constantly on 882, but it is fine on NESN (51) and every other channel. I have a 6400 series DVR, but my neighbors all have the same issue w/the 5100 non-DVR box.

It was the same w/both the home and away games. Last night I had to flip to 51 to watch the game, even though when the picture was working it looked INCREDIBLE on 882. Almost the quality of a Fenway game, which in my view are the gold standard for HD broadcasts.

We're all in North Attleboro if that makes a difference.

I watched today's game on 882 w/no problems video or audio

I have seen it a few times before.
I had it on my DVR for a few months.
when the world series film came back to INhd1 I just tuned in.
they skipped the last out :(

Wow almost 2 days without a post, we need something to talk about, hey Avic can you help us out.

Hopefully one of the next HD channels in OLN, assuming Comcast gets the NHL deal.

OLN-HD? Seems like a waste to me, but then again, I'm just angry we don't get Universal-HD :-)

I have both a 6412 and a 5100, and I noticed this morning that my 5100 finally has the new program guide (same as the 6412). I didn't have time to check to see if I received a new code level on the 5100, but I assume that is what happened.

Mickey

Hopefully one of the next HD channels in OLN, assuming Comcast gets the NHL deal.

Comcast owns OLN so they can provide OLN-HD whenever they want.

I'm in Easton too, does UPN28 carry the Sox games with WSBK signal from UPN38 in Boston?

UPN 28 does not carry the Red Sox.

It is disturbing that Comcast is moving Easton HD channels to the Providence affiliates. It appears that as soon as Comcast reaches a deal with Ch 12 and 6 on HD, we will lose 804 and 805. Although in Bristol County, Easton is a bit closer to Boston and most Easton residents watch the Boston channels as Massachusetts politics is news hits closer to home.

UPN 28 does not carry the Red Sox.

It is disturbing that Comcast is moving Easton HD channels to the Providence affiliates. It appears that as soon as Comcast reaches a deal with Ch 12 and 6 on HD, we will lose 804 and 805. Although in Bristol County, Easton is a bit closer to Boston and most Easton residents watch the Boston channels as Massachusetts politics is news hits closer to home.

Comcast has to play by the rules. If the Providence broadcasters call their card in saying they want their HD signal up in their DMA instead of the Boston DMA signals... Comcast has to comply.

I just noticed this afternoon that my 6412 is running firmware 9.19. I'm eager to see if this fixes any issues I've been having - phantom December 31 recordings, box unresponsive to commands anywhere from 3 to 30 seconds then executing all at the same time, and recordings showing up in the DVR section but when I go to play them, I get the "Delete recording/Keep recording" dialog immediately.

Where's avic? I'd like to know if Comcast around Boston will be getting the Phase 3 6412 boxes.

I have both a 6412 and a 5100, and I noticed this morning that my 5100 finally has the new program guide (same as the 6412). I didn't have time to check to see if I received a new code level on the 5100, but I assume that is what happened.Yeah, they've been pushing the I-Guide to 5100 boxes for the past few weeks. I think NJ got it first, but it's nice to know Boston area is getting it now. When I upgraded to HD, I got a 6412 because I could NOT go back to the tan guide after having the I-Guide on my crappy old 2400. But I've ended up liking the DVR service enough to keep it.

Yeah, they've been pushing the I-Guide to 5100 boxes for the past few weeks. I think NJ got it first, but it's nice to know Boston area is getting it now. When I upgraded to HD, I got a 6412 because I could NOT go back to the tan guide after having the I-Guide on my crappy old 2400. But I've ended up liking the DVR service enough to keep it.
The DVR is definitely "sticky" (once you have it, you don't want to give it up). I realize it has already been a great success for Comcast, but I am actually surprised that they don't advertise it more. If they can get more boxes, they should push the DVR more. And its is a great way to move customers off analog and over to digital.

Mickey

9.19 in Hudson. Other than the occasional responsiveness issue, my wish-list is very short for this firmware. Would be nice to see an official "Release Notes" for this update. rather than rely on hearsay and anecdotal evidence.

The DVR is definitely "sticky" (once you have it, you don't want to give it up). I realize it has already been a great success for Comcast, but I am actually surprised that they don't advertise it more. If they can get more boxes, they should push the DVR more. And its is a great way to move customers off analog and over to digital.

Mickey

another way would be to when ADs is complete,push the DCT700s then make everything in extended basic digital only.


Allow for the tier buy through we currently have :)

Where's avic? I'd like to know if Comcast around Boston will be getting the Phase 3 6412 boxes.
yes, on their way. some sort of shortage though. watch for FULL ADS in Boston, soon, maybe even tonight! ;)

I wonder...with the NHL back and possible conflicts with the Celtics games does this mean that NESN may become a full time HD channel of its own ?

-Ken

yes, on their way. some sort of shortage though. watch for FULL ADS in Boston, soon, maybe even tonight! ;)

avic:

Are we talking days, weeks, longer? I've been reading that the Phase 3 6412s have a new MPEG decoder in them that helps analog channels to look MUCH better. Since only about 25% of the analog channels here in Medford are on ADS, it would be nice to have such a unit (unless Medford will be full ADS very soon).

Do you know if the Phase 3 units provide any better picture for say digital channels or even HD channels through better DACs? Any chance they might come with larger HDs?

On a positive note, I got firmware 9.19 this morning and the guide on my 6412 stops freezing all the time. The box responds to commands immediately and doesn't hang up, only to execute all commands 30 seconds later. :-)

The Phase 3 boxes apparently don't come with larger HDs. What I'm really interested in is if they actually work with SATA drives?

My box is also running 9.19 now.

I wonder...with the NHL back and possible conflicts with the Celtics games does this mean that NESN may become a full time HD channel of its own ?

-Ken
Between Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics HD games, Comcast really needs to either give NESN-HD its own channel, or add a "InHD-3" special events channels.

Mickey

I wonder...with the NHL back and possible conflicts with the Celtics games does this mean that NESN may become a full time HD channel of its own ?

-Ken

not likely. They only carry HOME games in HD.

On a positive note, I got firmware 9.19 this morning and the guide on my 6412 stops freezing all the time. The box responds to commands immediately and doesn't hang up, only to execute all commands 30 seconds later. :-)

I also checked last night and have 9.19 in Milford. I only checked because I was still having the same slow response and queued up commands. So for me 9.19 is no improvement.

My box is noticably slower with 9.19.

ADS now complete in Boston! ALL 256 QAM, ALL digital cable, finally. :D

Tennberg, you'll have full ADS before u get your hands on a new box. only potential benefit is external HDD which seems no one has tried. :confused: