Originally posted by spearse
Larry Joe,
Who is doing your ISF calibration? I've been looking for a good one since my old "The Home Theater SPOT" forum days.
Spearse

I hired out of Waltham. A close friend used him on his 65" Mitsu CRTRP and he was very pleased. He also came highly reccomended from a few others.

I haven't noticed any improvement in 1080i PQ (tough to improve on perfection) using the 1394 port, but the analog images are not as good as from the 5100 box (which is not as good as DIRECTV). But you have to give up something to get something. And I seldom waste my time viewing 480i programming.

Ben,

Some questions on your 6200 box. Do all of the Comcast 6200 boxes have DVI, 1394, etc or must one ask specifically for a 6200 WITH these ports?

Does your 6200 have Two IEEE1394 ports and a DVI-D port as described on the Mot product description (http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/products/dct6200/) .
DVI-D and dual 1394(DTV) digital connectors

What does the DPL-II feature for - isn't it either DD2.0 or DD5.1 out of the spdif and your DD receiver does the audio format decoding? Are there both a coax and toslink spdif outputs?

Can the 6200 display both analog (S-video, composite) and HD (component, firewire ) simultaneously. How about both component and firewire?

Is there an RF modulated output (ie ch 3/4) to allow distribution of the tuned channel (ie premium HBO, SHO, etc that requires a decoder box) to other analog TV's.

I'm not that familiar with On Demand. I understand there is a library of programs from some of the Premium channels. Is this library only for SD or can I also recall an HD program from HBO,SHO,MAX, etc at any time? Now that would be outstanding!

All the 6200s in the NE region have Firewire/DVI.

AFAIK- There is no DPLII decoding in the box (which would be impossible considering there's no rear speaker output), which is a bit deceptive on Motorola's part. That spec sheet I guess means you can pass Pro-Logic to your receiver. If it does decode PL II, that's news to me- but mostly useless without full 5.1 output.

I never tried both s-video and composite, but it can do S-Video and HD, but the S-Video output of HD channels can be glitchy. Yes, it would have to be able to do both Component and Firewire, unless copy protection prohibits one or the other. I think those kinds of restrictions are a long way off.

RF output- Yes.

On Demand in our region is SD only so far. Probably over 1000 programs available at any given time. PQ varies- I find the Cartoon Network programming looks even better than the broadcast versions. Some of the other VOD offerings really suck.

Originally posted by hardwired
Ben,

Some questions on your 6200 box. Do all of the Comcast 6200 boxes have DVI, 1394, etc or must one ask specifically for a 6200 WITH these ports?

Does your 6200 have Two IEEE1394 ports and a DVI-D port as described on the Mot product description (http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/products/dct6200/) .
DVI-D and dual 1394(DTV) digital connectors

What does the DPL-II feature for - isn't it either DD2.0 or DD5.1 out of the spdif and your DD receiver does the audio format decoding? Are there both a coax and toslink spdif outputs?

Can the 6200 display both analog (S-video, composite) and HD (component, firewire ) simultaneously. How about both component and firewire?

Is there an RF modulated output (ie ch 3/4) to allow distribution of the tuned channel (ie premium HBO, SHO, etc that requires a decoder box) to other analog TV's.

I'm not that familiar with On Demand. I understand there is a library of programs from some of the Premium channels. Is this library only for SD or can I also recall an HD program from HBO,SHO,MAX, etc at any time? Now that would be outstanding! All boxes have dual 1394 ports and DVI. There is both a toslinc and coaxial output for DD5.1. There is simultaneous outputs through component and composite. VOD is currently SD only although future plans, I understand, are to include HD.

Any more DVHS success stories out there? sspeare is still the only person in the country (well, on this forum anyway) with no glitches on all channels... too bad it's months until the 6208 comes out.

Oh and speaking on boxes, does the 6200 Hardware only support 1 way firewire communication? I know the firmware now specs that, but it would be nice to be able to have a DVHS send the channel code..

Chris

Chris,

Is it possible for a DVHS to send control codes?

I need to program recordings from my TV.

Dave

I should have my 6200 on Sat, so I'll report back then.

Yes, the JVC DVHS decks have VCR+ and IR Blaster, but it has no timed recording from Firewire! (lame!)

Originally posted by Schlotkins
Any more DVHS success stories out there? sspeare is still the only person in the country (well, on this forum anyway) with no glitches on all channels... too bad it's months until the 6208 comes out.

Oh and speaking on boxes, does the 6200 Hardware only support 1 way firewire communication? I know the firmware now specs that, but it would be nice to be able to have a DVHS send the channel code..

Chris I've had my 6200 box since Tuesday and have made perfect recordings to my Mitsubishi DVCR on all the movie channels and last night on ESPNHD. Yes, the 6200 box firewire port is an output only.

Great to hear... they must have something setup differently here as some other regions are having issues with ESPN/NBC/INHD1/2... I'll have to pick one up!

Thanks,
Chris

Originally posted by Schlotkins
Great to hear... they must have something setup differently here as some other regions are having issues with ESPN/NBC/INHD1/2... I'll have to pick one up!

Thanks,
Chris Chris...keep in mind the 1394 port on the 6200 box requires a 6-pin 1394 cable. I purchased a 6-pin to 4-pin cable at my local Radio Shack.

I got my 6200 last night and I just got a chance to hook it with DVI. When I went the setup menu it did not give me the option to use DVI, just RGB. I checked and have the 7.07 firmware. Do I need to do something to my box or just let it sit for a while with the DVI connected ?

Originally posted by dozens
I got my 6200 last night and I just got a chance to hook it with DVI. When I went the setup menu it did not give me the option to use DVI, just RGB. I checked and have the 7.07 firmware. Do I need to do something to my box or just let it sit for a while with the DVI connected ?

I just connectd mine. When I did the cable box seemed to forget its settings, but I had a bad box when I first connected. All I had to do was make sure the cable box was set to 16:9 and 1080i or 720p and I was all set. I saw some PQ improvement, but not a whole lot on a Samsung DLP.

Steve

Steve - I have a Sam DLP as well, and after switching back/forth from DVI to component from my STB, I didn't really see much of a difference either.

Rather than buy a switcher for >$200, I'm content to keep the DVI input for DVDs. Of course, I've got the Sam 931 DVD player and we watch a lot of movies, so....

I am scheduled for an upgrade to the 6200 on Friday next week. For now, I have a 5100. The DVI picture does look better for HD signals on my Sammy 61 DLP. I have one MAJOR complaint. I have hooked up the optical sound to the 5100 and am getting persistent audio drops.

By this I mean that each minute, the sound will drop for 2-3 seconds. Mid-dialogue, music, whatever. It makes using the digital sound a non-option. It appears to be on CBS, NBC, PBS, et al.

Someone please tell me that the 6200 does a better job here.

Anyone need a dvi cable cheap ? I think I am about to buy a 4x1 dvi switch and it comes with cables. I do not need all of them and would be willing to sell them. PM me if you are interest.

perrycom and steve_dlp,
Do you see a difference between 1080i and 720P (component
and DVI) into the Sammy?

larry

Originally posted by Schlotkins
Great to hear... they must have something setup differently here as some other regions are having issues with ESPN/NBC/INHD1/2... I'll have to pick one up!

Thanks,
Chris

Please report any problems or success stories about Firewire and the 6200 in this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=353608&goto=newpost) in the HDTV Recorders section. Thanks!

i saw an ad for some show on antarctic icebergs, playing on hd discovery. has anyone seen it yet? seems like the kind of show that would be good for my new set. if we don't have hd discovery on comcast, where else do they have it?

Originally posted by PooperScooper
perrycom and steve_dlp,
Do you see a difference between 1080i and 720P (component
and DVI) into the Sammy?

larry


It's tough to say. I know 720P is native to the DLP, but for some reason I leave the 6200 set at 1080i. To me it looks better and when I hit the display button on the TV it states a higher resolution in 1080i than 720p. I connect my DVD player to component1 and turn off prog. scan on the DVD player. Seems to look better that way.

I will eventually get an HD DVD player, until then I will use the DVI for HDTV, but I don't see much of a difference between component and DVI in HD, but SD looks better.

Steve

Thanks, Steve. DLP owners usually report a noticeable increase in PQ when
switching from 480i/480P via DVD player component output to
720P via DVD player DVI output. That makes perfect sense because
we know that it is all digital from the DVD player to the mirrors of the DLP
with no other scaling necessary. I would have thought the same
for the 6200 when viewing HDTV. One of the factors may be which
channels you are watching. Only ABC and ESPN broadcast 720P. The
other HDTV channels are 1080i. So, somewhere there has to be a conversion to 720P for your DLP.

larry

Nobody has DiscoveryHD on Comcast. It is on many cable networks and satellite systems, and you can't get it OTA.

If you have Comcast you are out of luck, stuck on an iceberg with no relief in sight. (But not INSIGHT cable, they have DiscoveryHD).

Ask Comcast in your area for it. I've asked several times in Baltimore.

Rich N.

Originally posted by dlp_steve
It's tough to say. I know 720P is native to the DLP, but for some reason I leave the 6200 set at 1080i. To me it looks better and when I hit the display button on the TV it states a higher resolution in 1080i than 720p. I connect my DVD player to component1 and turn off prog. scan on the DVD player. Seems to look better that way.

I will eventually get an HD DVD player, until then I will use the DVI for HDTV, but I don't see much of a difference between component and DVI in HD, but SD looks better.

Steve

steve and other DLP owners, is it worth it for me to get a DVI cable?? i have a 43" sammy DLP and moto 6200 box. I will get one if it upgrades SD and or HD noticeably...........my dvd player does not support DVI at this time.....

macd23,
I would get a $10 DVI-D cable from ebay to see for your self. I orderd one, it has not come in. I bought the Monster DVI400, but it will be going back as soon as I see that the $10 cable performs just as well. The PQ improvement with DVI cable was not as dramatic as I hoped. I have the 6200 and an HLN467W. I will use my DVI input for a future HD DVD player, then take my Monster 500 components and put them on the cable box, although the cables that came with the 6200 seem pretty good.

Steve

the thing that concerns me is that i saw some saying the hd picture looks washed out on the dvi.

Turn the brightness down and your contrast will be fine.

Originally posted by hovbuild
Turn the brightness down and your contrast will be fine.

Yes, very true. If I kept the contrast and brightness settings the same for DVI and Component, the DVI looked washed out. I set the brightness to around 35 for DVI, and the black levels look great.

macd23,

I should be getting my $10 DVI cable in the mail soon. I'll let you know how it compares to the $100 Monster DVI-400 I purchased. I bet it will be the same since it is a short distance digital signal.

Steve

Originally posted by dlp_steve
Yes, very true. If I kept the contrast and brightness settings the same for DVI and Component, the DVI looked washed out. I set the brightness to around 35 for DVI, and the black levels look great. Unless you already use the DVI input for a DVD player then if you compensate for the brightness your dvd's will be too dark. ok, so what's the deal with this?? this is a known problem, why is the dvi output too bright? is this comcast's fault? can they adjust that with a firmware update?

Originally posted by avic
Unless you already use the DVI input for a DVD player then if you compensate for the brightness your dvd's will be too dark. ok, so what's the deal with this?? this is a known problem, why is the dvi output too bright? is this comcast's fault? can they adjust that with a firmware update?

My Samsung DLP remebers the settings for each input. It's not a problem for me, but I see where you are comming from.

Steve

A major complaint I have with these boxes is there's not enough adjustment settings for HD. It would be nice if there was at least a gamma and centering option.

I would think these two things wouldn't be too difficult to implement.

From Comcast:

Thank you for writing.
I have checked into any issues with the DVI port and have found none.
An escalation ticket has been created to look into this issue #OSC342322.

I'll post what they come up with.

when I hooked up my DVI cable I seen no difference and did not have to adjust anything.

Got my 6200 today. It definitely is buggy- I haven't recorded anything yet but the SD digital channels sent over firewire are screwed up- vertically 1/3 of the screen is frozen on certain channels like BBC America.

edit- none of the SD digital channels (well, WeatherScan does, lol) pass through firewire correctly. The ones that have a good picture have no sound. At least HD seems OK so far.

Strangely enough, the OnDemand stuff works fine through firewire...

At least HD seems OK so far.

That's a BIG positive Dave. I'm scheduled for a 6200 install next Saturday.

As far as SD goes, how does the digital channels decoded via the 6200 compare to analog over RF cable?

Not sure what you mean. There is no visual difference between the new and old boxes.

The 6200 will output analog through firewire just fine- so it's realtime encoding, which is pretty impressive. I only wish the digital SD channels output properly. Since OnDemand digital outputs OK it's probably just a firmware problem.

Dave,

I meant the difference between analog and digital cable for the SD programming (CNN, SciFi, Discovery, etc). I have heard others were not impressed with the quality of digital cable over digital sat service or even analog cable for standard def.

It really depends. I don't find either looking that good, and they don't really compare once you've seen HD.

Some digital broadcasts look better than others, but mostly they're adequate at best. Most of them look somewhat compressed. Actually, some of the OnDemand shows look better than their broadcast counterparts. Cartoon Network's VoD stuff looks amazing.

Originally posted by DaveFi
Got my 6200 today. It definitely is buggy- I haven't recorded anything yet but the SD digital channels sent over firewire are screwed up- vertically 1/3 of the screen is frozen on certain channels like BBC America.

edit- none of the SD digital channels (well, WeatherScan does, lol) pass through firewire correctly. The ones that have a good picture have no sound. At least HD seems OK so far.

Strangely enough, the OnDemand stuff works fine through firewire...


Hey I was wondering if you could check something for me. Does everything work ok on all of the other 256QAM channels? Starz, Encore, WAM, etc? I'm curious to see whether that is the bug. If not I wonder what it is.

DaveFi,
Doesn't the 6200 centering feature work for your HD? The one in the settings menu-
Spearse

Nope. Doesn't do a thing. I am outputting at 720p.

What are the odds of me being able to take my 5100 into the local service office and getting a 6200 instead? Or would they require a home service call since it is "HD"? I was able to get a 2100 with s-video that way after admitting my TV was in fact a "5.1 TV" that would greatly benefit from the s-vid connection to the woman behind the counter. ;) Very tempting to try this and then pick up a DVHS deck, though the smart move would probably be to just wait for the HDPVRs....

What's teh deal on Dolby Digital 5.1?

As far aas I see, on a 5100 box, omcast only passes Dolby PrologicII

Originally posted by tcable
What's teh deal on Dolby Digital 5.1?

As far aas I see, on a 5100 box, omcast only passes Dolby PrologicII The 5100 box has an optical cable port for Dolby Digital 5.1.

The optical output gives great Dolby 5.1 from the Moto5100 to my HT Receiver.Also, Dolby 5.1 is available on some SD movie channels as well as the HD channels. Any word when Comcast -New England will be adding more. See that Bravo HD and HDNet is getting on more cable systems. Also,UPN38 for Friday nite home Red Sox and WB56 too.

I use the RCA jack SPDIF output from my 6200 and get DD5.1 fine. You don't have to use the optical output.

mgpt6, did you say UPN is now on Comcast here in MA?

Spearse

Originally posted by hardwired
That's a BIG positive Dave. I'm scheduled for a 6200 install next Saturday.

As far as SD goes, how does the digital channels decoded via the 6200 compare to analog over RF cable?

I have the 6200 and SD still looks 100 times better through RF connection.

my 2 cents: regarding PQ on the analog channels with the 5100. using my HDRPTV's split screen feature, i compared DVI next to component and surprisingly DVI yielded significantly better PQ (except for the contrast issue). when comparing DVI next to RF i saw no difference (again except for the DVI contrast issue that comcast is looking into.) i also think SD PQ through component has improved since the firmware update as others have reported.

anyone else having issues with INHD1? channel 881? its frozen when i attempt to watch it...started yesterday....i am going to place a call tomorrow.

Same here.

It should be frozen right now, as there's an NBA game on which comcast can't show (no agreement with NBA-TV yet).

Originally posted by jckessler
It should be frozen right now, as there's an NBA game on which comcast can't show (no agreement with NBA-TV yet).

if they insist on blacking this out it would be nice if there was a message alerting us, or better yet alternative programming?!?!? ps, my guide says "for better or worse" 9-11p

A few notes:

- Comcast is close to a deal for the NBA HD games.

- Firmware 7.07 has been spun out to all DCT 5100 and 6200s in the New England Region. If the settop is equipped, then the DVI and IEEE 1394 ports are active.

I had comcast out yesterday and they installed a 5100 box. When I made the appointment I was told I would get a 6200. The picture stinks. I have a Sam hln467w and is running in component #2, DVI did not seem any better. The other problem is the voice on some channels is out of sync. Do I have a TV problem or a box problem. HELP

Originally posted by nssteve
I had comcast out yesterday and they installed a 5100 box. When I made the appointment I was told I would get a 6200. The picture stinks. I have a Sam hln467w and is running in component #2, DVI did not seem any better. The other problem is the voice on some channels is out of sync. Do I have a TV problem or a box problem. HELP

Being a Comcaster, I would suggest you call in and talking to one of the HD reps. It sounds like your settings are off or there is something we need to adjust from the office.

I know there are widescreen. 5.1 movies on Comcast On Demand. Does anyone know if they plan on offering HD On Demand, or HD PPV movies any time in the near future?

We haven't talked much about actual programming here lately, so I thought this little piece from yesterday's Globe would be of interest:

WGBH readies new digital channels

WGBH-TV (Channel 2) announced yesterday that it plans to launch three digital channels on Monday that will air many of the acclaimed PBS series already seen on Channel 2 and WGBX-TV (Channel 44), including "American Experience," "Nova," and "Frontline."

The channels -- to be called WGBH World, WGBH Create, and 'GBH Kids -- will be available to Comcast digital subscribers in Massachusetts and southern New England, and to people who own television sets with digital receivers installed in them.

WGBH explained that the new channels will be genre-specific. WGBH World will air PBS programs about science, history, and current events, such as "Ken Burns American Stories" and "Independent Lens." WGBH Create will focus on do-it-yourself series on cooking, decorating, and travel, such as "This Old House" and "Globe Trekker." 'GBH Kids will air shows such as "Arthur," "Clifford," and "Angelina Ballerina."

The station said it is in negotiations with other regional cable providers and hopes to expand the range of the digital service. WGBH said it will soon offer Comcast digital subscribers PBS programming on-demand. WGBH World will be on Comcast Channel 209 (for digital receivers, on WGBX DT44.2). WGBH Create will be on Comcast Channel 237 (or WGBX DT44.3). 'GBH Kids will be on Comcast 217 (or WGBX DT44.4).

What's interesting here is that while these appear to be true digital (though not HD) channels (as opposed to "digital cable"), they are being assigned 2XX-series numbers rather than 8XX. Any inside opinions as to why?

I'll guess that Comcast is doing logical assignments- assign the SD stations (even if avialalbie ad DTV OTA) to the 2xx series. Keep the HD programming to the 8xx series.

Now I wasnt my Bravo HD :) Since I no longer have expanded basic (Basic and digitals only) I miss the Cirque programs and Queer Eye. (I'll feeely admit to liking Queer Eye- it's a fun show that I enjoy with my wife)

Any more DVR updates? Chicago is in April apparently as well as Baltimore.....

Originally posted by Ken H
A few notes:

- Comcast is close to a deal for the NBA HD games.


Ken - Any insight into when Comcast might offer HDNet ?

ok i feel dumb. i know i am missing something silly, (like where to plug audio cables).....i just got my dvi cable for samsung hln4365w DLP tv. running from DVI port on moto 6200 to tv's DVI port. nice picture, but where is my sound?

fw on moto is 7.07

ok, my lazy ass is all set. thanks to arungupta. i didnt know pc audio went with DVI. nor could i see back there very well.

Originally posted by Gabatta
I know there are widescreen. 5.1 movies on Comcast On Demand. Does anyone know if they plan on offering HD On Demand, or HD PPV movies any time in the near future?

They do plan on offering HD on VOD but I don't forsee anything happening with it anytime soon......

hi guys, i just hooked up my DVI cable to moto 6200.....was wondering if anyone else notices on channels 805 and 807 (abchd and nbchd)if when they broadcast SD you get some garbage at the very top of the picture, like a thin line of snow or "noise"? i notice on most commericials and some shows on these two channels only, the line is very thin and goes away sometimes. i have not seen HD yet on these channels. everything else looks good, i am watching via a sammy DLP... am watching batchelorette SD and friends SD and it went away....commercials it comes back...whats the dilly?

Yea, I see it too. I have no clue what it is and how to get rid of it. I have a DLP as well. Did you turn your brightness down to about 35-40 with the DVI? I also just picked up a Monster line conditioner, that improved my PQ a lot.

Steve

First... its looking like TV Guide and InDemand aren't in sync with what their guide info should be saying and its messing people up. I called Comcast's Customer Service and they said they have gotten similar calls and that it has been moved up the chain.

Second, that line you see along the top of your screen on some video stuff on the HDs is Overscan. For some reason, whether its the TV or the video signal, its displaying more lines than it should. That line is actually data for your TV like Closed Captioning and such.

Originally posted by dlp_steve
Yea, I see it too. I have no clue what it is and how to get rid of it. I have a DLP as well. Did you turn your brightness down to about 35-40 with the DVI? I also just picked up a Monster line conditioner, that improved my PQ a lot.

Steve

steve, thanks for the headsup on brightness, although i dont see a difference once i changed it. my PQ looks at least as good as before, if not a bit better.......its very very close though.....i paid $29.99 for a "QVS" brand 10 foot on amazon.com

Originally posted by macd23
steve, thanks for the headsup on brightness, although i dont see a difference once i changed it. my PQ looks at least as good as before, if not a bit better.......its very very close though.....i paid $29.99 for a "QVS" brand 10 foot on amazon.com

I found the DVI to be much brighter, almost washed out. When I turned the brightness down everything looked better. Now I see the difference between DVI and Component. The colors look more natural on the DVI.
If you don't have a power conditioner try one. I am amazed.

Steve

whats a power conditioner? i have a monster power surge protector, i paid 2 bills for it at BB....i think thats what u are referring to.

i am starting to think the DVI is a little better than component.....its starting to impress me more. also, the lip synch seems almost perfect, as before when i had a video delay...

Originally posted by macd23
whats a power conditioner? i have a monster power surge protector, i paid 2 bills for it at BB....i think thats what u are referring to.


Yea, you have a good one. I was really impressed by mine.



Steve

should i be running the coax from my wall into that surge protector? right now its going directly into my cable box

macd23,
Running your coax through your surge protector is a good idea. The
cable coming into the house should be grounded, but no need to
take any chances for such a simple precaution. A couple years ago
when I hooked the second Satellite input into my Tivo I neglected
to use the surge protector (I may have been out of connections).
Later a close lightning strike fried my Tivo via the cable even though
it was grounded at the Sat dish and where it came into the house.

larry

Originally posted by PooperScooper
macd23,
Running your coax through your surge protector is a good idea. The
cable coming into the house should be grounded, but no need to
take any chances for such a simple precaution. A couple years ago
when I hooked the second Satellite input into my Tivo I neglected
to use the surge protector (I may have been out of connections).
Later a close lightning strike fried my Tivo via the cable even though
it was grounded at the Sat dish and where it came into the house.

larry

thanks larry. i will do that. any improvement on PQ?

I have experienced problems with the Comcast digital cable when running coax through a surge protector. Since the system is two-way, I have noticed that surge protecters block the outgoing signal and as a result the digital cable boxes shut down or may not allow the ordering of On-demand. When the cable service is installed, the cable should be grounded. But if there is a surge protecter that allows the cable to travel in both directions, then it is all good. Other then that, there is going to be problems. This is my experience when Comcast customer call in with a no pic or no on-demand.

Originally posted by dlp_steve
Yea, I see it too. I have no clue what it is and how to get rid of it. I have a DLP as well. Did you turn your brightness down to about 35-40 with the DVI? I also just picked up a Monster line conditioner, that improved my PQ a lot.

Steve

FYI - Anyone interested in power conditioning should look a the PS AUDIO power plants. Really a power generator but it makes a Phenomenal difference in audio or audio/video systems.
Monster, Panamax and products of similar ilk will filter & compress the hell out of what is put into it and in most cases degrade the output signal...........................................with a more extreme negative effect on the audio signal.

On my DLP the PS AUDIO GREATLY improves the picture quality.

Originally posted by FMD
FYI - Anyone interested in power conditioning should look a the PS AUDIO power plants. Really a power generator but it makes a Phenomenal difference in audio or audio/video systems.
Monster, Panamax and products of similar ilk will filter & compress the hell out of what is put into it and in most cases degrade the output signal...........................................with a more extreme negative effect on the audio signal.

On my DLP the PS AUDIO GREATLY improves the picture quality.

Very nice stuff. Unfortunately I have a limited budget for my HT. I have what I think it a middle of the road system, it could be a lot better or could be a lot worse. In the future with better components I could see one of those power plants in my rack, but for now a $75 monster power strip that provides some filtering will work fine.


Steve

thanks larry. i will do that. any improvement on PQ?

No. A surge protector for sat/cable coax should not affect PQ.


Monster, Panamax and products of similar ilk will filter & compress the hell out of what is put into it and in most cases degrade the output signal...........................................with a more extreme negative effect on the audio signal

Do you have any links to unbiased reviews or data? Especially the part
about compressing the AC power. If any type of
power conditioner or regenerator makes phenomenal differences in PQ
or audio then it usually means 1) crappy power at the outlet, 2)
crappy or so-so electronics on the other end of the power cord, or 3) both
1) and 2).

There's nothing wrong with using these types of units to make sure
your gear is fed the best power, but I've never seen or read about
phenomenal results from one of these units. Well, except for the
people who sell these units to make a living... :)

larry

Originally posted by macd23
hi guys, i just hooked up my DVI cable to moto 6200.....was wondering if anyone else notices on channels 805 and 807 (abchd and nbchd)if when they broadcast SD you get some garbage at the very top of the picture, like a thin line of snow or "noise"? i notice on most commericials and some shows on these two channels only, the line is very thin and goes away sometimes. i have not seen HD yet on these channels. everything else looks good, i am watching via a sammy DLP... am watching batchelorette SD and friends SD and it went away....commercials it comes back...whats the dilly?

What you are seeing is the closed captioning information, which is encoded as the first few scan lines of analog tv pictures. Normally, this can't be seen as it's in the overscan area of the picture ( a few percent of the picture on all sides is assumed to be off the viewing area, because of the way old CRTs worked).

Had the 6200 installed last night. Looks better. Please help with the settings. Sam hnl467w. Have set to 720 and override to 480p it will not take 480i. are these the best settings? Thanks

Originally posted by PooperScooper
No. A surge protector for sat/cable coax should not affect PQ.


Do you have any links to unbiased reviews or data? Especially the part
about compressing the AC power. If any type of
power conditioner or regenerator makes phenomenal differences in PQ
or audio then it usually means 1) crappy power at the outlet, 2)
crappy or so-so electronics on the other end of the power cord, or 3) both
1) and 2).

There's nothing wrong with using these types of units to make sure
your gear is fed the best power, but I've never seen or read about
phenomenal results from one of these units. Well, except for the
people who sell these units to make a living... :)

larry

Larry,
Good point in that crappy components will certainly impact audio/picture quality but...........there isn't one high end specialty shop (not the mass retailers selling high margin products to price points) that would ever recommend plugging anything into the Panamax, Monster or other surge protectors. These experts know what it does to the dynamic range of the output. It also works the same for video in that you will not the stability or depth of color you should.
As an avid audiophile for 25 years I have first hand knowledge of the products mentioned. Magazines like the Absolute Sound & Sterophile are also great sources of info. You will find detailed discussions of this issue. A little searching on the internet will return an abundance of info and testimonials to the impact of products like the PS Audio.
I have a lot invested in both my audio & video systems and have tested/used many pieces of equipment over the years. People don't understand or they under rate the importance of cables & power regeneration. Both deliver the best bang for the buck in sonic improvements to even the most budget conscious system. Anyone can benefit from allocating 20% of a total system expenditure to cables/power when buying a system.

Regarding you 2nd point ALL homes have crappy power at the outlet. If you measured the signal you would see dramatic swings in the waveform as demands on the system fluctuate. It is inherently unstable & noisy (which doesn't matter to toasters but certainly does for audio/video equip). A few things you can do:
1) Run a direct line using a heavy gage electrical wire (6-8) from the outlet(s) you plug your system into directly to the panel. Better to add a new outlet box (4-6) rather than try to upgrade an existing.
2) Use a high grade outlet. Hospital 20A or a PS Audio Power Port which is even better
3) Use a power generator like the PS Audio which converts the line AC - to DC - and back to pure AC
4) Use good quality power cables

What do you get:
1) Outstanding soundstage (the depth & width of the source material)
2) Increased and deeper bass
3) Smooth mid range for a much less fatiguing sound (especially with digital sources)
4) Improved picture stability, color & sharpness

My best advice would be to deal with a retailer who will let you try for yourself so you can decide if the $'s equal the benefits.

Originally posted by nssteve
Had the 6200 installed last night. Looks better. Please help with the settings. Sam hnl467w. Have set to 720 and override to 480p it will not take 480i. are these the best settings? Thanks

I have the same TV. My settings are 720p or 1080i. Sometimes I think 1080i looks better. I guess I think my TV would do a better job at converting than the cable box. I have override turned off. I use a DVI cable. My TV setting are:
Warm1
Custom
Contrast 100
brightness 35
color 50-55
sharpness 20 - don't ever see a change when I move it up or down.

Colors tend to look brighter through component, but not as accurate as DVI.

Steve

Thanks Steve. All the talk about video delay on other threads. Do you have a problem. I have on some channels but it seems to be a cable issue. Have not hooked up my sam 931 dvd yet. That will be tonight. Thanks

Originally posted by nssteve
Thanks Steve. All the talk about video delay on other threads. Do you have a problem. I have on some channels but it seems to be a cable issue. Have not hooked up my sam 931 dvd yet. That will be tonight. Thanks


No I don't have a delay problem. If I do, I don't notice it. I also don't see rainbows. I am sure it is a source issue if you have it, this TV seems rock solid so far. I got a bad 50" first(long story), but this one is fine.

Let me know how you like the DVD player. I have a decent JVC player with component and Monster M500's connected to it and it looks great. I'm gonna wait until the one with DVD-A and SACD from Samsung comes out this summer.

Steve

Originally posted by FMD
Larry,
Good point in that crappy components will certainly impact audio/picture quality but...........there isn't one high end specialty shop (not the mass retailers selling high margin products to price points) that would ever recommend plugging anything into the Panamax, Monster or other surge protectors. These experts know what it does to the dynamic range of the output. It also works the same for video in that you will not the stability or depth of color you should.
As an avid audiophile for 25 years I have first hand knowledge of the products mentioned. Magazines like the Absolute Sound & Sterophile are also great sources of info. You will find detailed discussions of this issue. A little searching on the internet will return an abundance of info and testimonials to the impact of products like the PS Audio.
I have a lot invested in both my audio & video systems and have tested/used many pieces of equipment over the years. People don't understand or they under rate the importance of cables & power regeneration. Both deliver the best bang for the buck in sonic improvements to even the most budget conscious system. Anyone can benefit from allocating 20% of a total system expenditure to cables/power when buying a system.

Regarding you 2nd point ALL homes have crappy power at the outlet. If you measured the signal you would see dramatic swings in the waveform as demands on the system fluctuate. It is inherently unstable & noisy (which doesn't matter to toasters but certainly does for audio/video equip). A few things you can do:
1) Run a direct line using a heavy gage electrical wire (6-8) from the outlet(s) you plug your system into directly to the panel. Better to add a new outlet box (4-6) rather than try to upgrade an existing.
2) Use a high grade outlet. Hospital 20A or a PS Audio Power Port which is even better
3) Use a power generator like the PS Audio which converts the line AC - to DC - and back to pure AC
4) Use good quality power cables

What do you get:
1) Outstanding soundstage (the depth & width of the source material)
2) Increased and deeper bass
3) Smooth mid range for a much less fatiguing sound (especially with digital sources)
4) Improved picture stability, color & sharpness

My best advice would be to deal with a retailer who will let you try for yourself so you can decide if the $'s equal the benefits.

For power, what about just using a UPS? They do the same thing (ac-->dc-->ac) and may be a little cheaper than a specialty audio product. Plus, you have the luxury of gracefully shutting down your gear in the event of a power outage....:cool:

Originally posted by YesJim
For power, what about just using a UPS? They do the same thing (ac-->dc-->ac) and may be a little cheaper than a specialty audio product. Plus, you have the luxury of gracefully shutting down your gear in the event of a power outage....:cool:

Jim,
I have never read anything that would suggest that is a good idea visually or sonically. Remember it is primarily designed for the purpose of allowing a graceful shutdown of computer.....................

I have an install coming today of a 6200 series box. The rep insisted that he would get me a DVR 6208 install. I have heard nothing of it on this board - so I am skeptical. I will let you know if I actually get the DVR or just the std 6200.

Thanks, FMD, I was looking for more "meat" as you provided in your follow-up post.
I'm intrigued at how power can influence audio dynamic range with all other things
being equal - not that I think it doesn't, just that I'd like to know "how and why". Not
appropriate discussion for this forum.

Also, I think the benefits of some "tweaks" (cables, power regenerators, etc) are more
apparent if one has the gear that can "express" increased dynamic range or whatever.
eg. $500 HTIB vs $5000 setup vs $5000 for one piece of gear, etc.

larry

John,
If you do get a 6208, you better not give anybody "here" your address. :)

larry

Originally posted by PooperScooper
John,
If you do get a 6208, you better not give anybody "here" your address. :)

larry Probably just another case of an uninformed CSR/tech. Just checked the Comcast website and the 5100 and 6200 are the only boxes listed for this area. When my 6200 was installed 2 weeks ago, the tech said it included a PVR that only needed to be enabled. WRONG!!! He also had no clue about the 1394 connection. He had never even heard of it until I pointed it out to him.

Originally posted by Benji
Probably just another case of an uninformed CSR/tech. Just checked the Comcast website and the 5100 and 6200 are the only boxes listed for this area. When my 6200 was installed 2 weeks ago, the tech said it included a PVR that only needed to be enabled. WRONG!!! He also had no clue about the 1394 connection. He had never even heard of it until I pointed it out to him.
Benji is probably right about this. But one of these days a 6208 will show up in this area and we will be all over it.

OK - so here is the result and the sequence of events.

1 - called to upgrade 5100 to 6200 for all the reasons on this forum. Specifically D-VHS link.

2 - was offered 6208. Scheduled appt.

3 - Installer came, no 6208 (didn't know what it was). But also - no 6200. I had to reschedule and take another afternoon off of work.

Definately a little frustrated. I hope next week will at least get me up to the original desired level - 6200.

Comcast should skip the 6208 and get right to the dual-tuner version (6408). Reviewing the wishlist:
1. HD-DVR
2. Ad all remaining HD channels
3. HD-VOD
That would be sweeeet.

The problem is that the 6208 single tuner is available now and the dual tuner (I think it's the 6412?) is not even in beta testing yet, probably not available until Summer from Motorola.

How long should Comcast wait until they deploy DVR's?

I've heard that Comcast has the 6208 DVR/HD box available to paying customers in some of the MD suburbs of DC and also Richmond, VA.

The problem is the 6208/6408 PVRs are aimed at everyone not just HD viewers. For the average viewer, not being able to watch something else while you're recording in unacceptable. People who really want to timeshift have Tivo already, so they need to offer something more with their PVR.

I agree, but then I can record to my DVHS now. It's far from ideal (no timeshifting, glitchy) but it will do. I'll wait for the 6408.

Dave, did you schedule a service call to get the 6200? Did they charge you?

Yes, I had a little help scheduling an appointment, but of course when the guy showed up he was clueless, said the work order said nothing about the 6200, etc. He just happened to have a 6200, so he let me swap it out.

They didn't charge me, at least it hasn't shown up yet.

Originally posted by jsheldon_us
OK - so here is the result and the sequence of events.

1 - called to upgrade 5100 to 6200 for all the reasons on this forum. Specifically D-VHS link.

2 - was offered 6208. Scheduled appt.

3 - Installer came, no 6208 (didn't know what it was). But also - no 6200. I had to reschedule and take another afternoon off of work.

Definately a little frustrated. I hope next week will at least get me up to the original desired level - 6200.



Argh. Ok I can assure you that the only boxes Comcast is supplying at this time are the 5100 and 6200. There are no 6208s in this region as of yet.

when I upgraded 2 months ago I got my 6200 no problem. Lowell, MA here.

I just dropped D* for Comcast - couldn't deal w/o the B's and spring training under way.

Here are my thoughts, some are a little OT but they may help others thinking of switching:

1. I insisted on getting the 6200 - the installer said he'd never even heard of it and that his boss had to scrounge for it.
2. Comcast is not AT&T and that is a big plus.
3. Like the firewire on the 6200, would love HAVi.
4. The UI on the Moto boxes seems years behind D*'s
5. The Moto SD boxes I got are a complete POS, slow to tune and not even S-video, in fact none of the menus even work on these yet - comcast is sending someone out Tuesday to see.
6. No PBSKids and this may mean I have to go back to having D* and Comcast
7. On Demand is great except it should tune back to the previous channel when complete.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by D_Doherty
[B]I just dropped D* for Comcast - couldn't deal w/o the B's and spring training under way.

Here are my thoughts, some are a little OT but they may help others thinking of switching:


6. No PBSKids and this may mean I have to go back to having D* and Comcast

WGBH Kids just launched today on channel 217 Not sure how close it is to PBS Kids on DirecTV but it seems to be the same general idea.

i just hooked up DVI on my moto6200...i noticed that pbshd does not fill the entire screen on *some* of their broadcasts. i have a small (very small) black bar at the top. i don't remember if this was there when i was watching through component. am i alone here?

I don't know if we'll ever get HAVi on these things. I did complain to Motorola about adding basic DVHS support to Firewire so we can do timed recordings. It's really useless for timeshifting. There will be basic firewire harddrive support added, so there's hope.

Speaking of DVHS- anyone in the area get a decent picture on a SD digital channel? Just curious, because as I mentioned before, over firewire to my JVC 30k DVHS the channels are frozen in 1/3 of the screen, and squeezed into the other 2/3s.

HD and analog seem to pass OK through the firewire, as does OnDemand digital channels.

Yes macd, PBS-HD is shifted down on a few of its programming.

Originally posted by jaydee353
[QUOTE]Originally posted by D_Doherty
[B]I just dropped D* for Comcast - couldn't deal w/o the B's and spring training under way.

Here are my thoughts, some are a little OT but they may help others thinking of switching:


6. No PBSKids and this may mean I have to go back to having D* and Comcast

WGBH Kids just launched today on channel 217 Not sure how close it is to PBS Kids on DirecTV but it seems to be the same general idea.

WGBH does alot of their own creation of shows and then fills in with PBS material. Chances are, it will be very close but you will have some local programming from the Allston studios.

FYI - Spoke to a Comcast Customer in Conn. He said he was just installed with a DVR. So they are closer then we think.

Originally posted by therob006
FYI - Spoke to a Comcast Customer in Conn. He said he was just installed with a DVR. So they are closer then we think.

therob006: Any idea what the DVR pricing structure will be for Mass.?
In other words, will we need to buy an expensive digital tier or will "digital classic" be enough? Also ,any DVR fee besides the box rental??
Thanks in advance.

DVR will probably be $10 more like everywhere else. The 62xx has a built in MPEG encoder, so I don't see why they'ld require you to have "digital", but who knows.

I still think the box isn't very good without two tuners. Being only able to record what you're watching isn't very usefull.

I figured out the Firewire problem on SD Digital channels. They're formatted wrong- so the SD channel is squished into a 4:3 frame- when you put your set into "widescreen" it formats properly, but is shifted to the left side of the screen. They need to fix that. ;)

Originally posted by DaveFi
DVR will probably be $10 more like everywhere else. The 62xx has a built in MPEG encoder, so I don't see why they'ld require you to have "digital", but who knows.

I still think the box isn't very good without two tuners. Being only able to record what you're watching isn't very usefull.

I agree. Not having two tuners is a real limitation.

Why was the NBA game on InHD blacked out in Boston yesterday? NBA-TV has an agreement with Comcast and they were showing the game on InHD in some comcast areas.

While the 6208 has only one tuner and has that limitation, we don't have to buy it. We can get the benefits of the HD-PVR and then when the 6408 comes out later this year upgrade it. It may cost an extra service call, but at least we can record HD stuff, which we can't now, for a few dollars a month, and then get a potentially free upgrade later.

I disagree that it isn't very helpful. I would love to record HD and watch when I want. It is too bad that where I am I'll miss recording March Madness, since in Baltimore County it isn't supposed to be available until April. I am anxious to get this.

Rich N.

I still think the box isn't very good without two tuners. Being only able to record what you're watching isn't very usefull.

1 is better than none! :) I had TiVo for quite some time before the two tuner option
was enabled for D*. You can still do quite a bit with one tuner - like not have to be
there when a show airs.
I'll gladly take 1 tuner *soon* and swap it out later for a dual tuner model. Besides,
you can always get another box installed to record more than one thing at a time
or watch and record something different. $0.33 a day is pretty cheap.

larry

Originally posted by PooperScooper
1 is better than none! :) I had TiVo for quite some time before the two tuner option
was enabled for D*. You can still do quite a bit with one tuner - like not have to be
there when a show airs.
I'll gladly take 1 tuner *soon* and swap it out later for a dual tuner model. Besides,
you can always get another box installed to record more than one thing at a time
or watch and record something different. $0.33 a day is pretty cheap.

larry
Can't dispute that 1 tuner is better than none. But adding the second tuner can't be all that complicated. So I assume it may be a cost issue (the cost to Comcast) that is driving this. And I think it is fair to call that disappointing.

I have a DVHS deck, which is why I say the DVR with one tuner isn't that usefull to me.

DVHS decks aren't that expensive now- people might want to look for one. Also, the 6200 will probably offer external Firewire harddrive support eventually.

MickeyGee,
Yes, the cost is more and the two tuner box probably came along later. The contracts
to supply hardware take a long time to negotiate and the testing cycles are long.
No cable company moves fast - "fast" in our terms. :) Two tuners is gravy - I want
the meat now. :)

DaveFi,
I thought about getting a D-VHS deck, but I mainly want it for time-shifting. And you say
it can' do that, so I'm not going to bother.

larry

Originally posted by DaveFi
I have a DVHS deck, which is why I say the DVR with one tuner isn't that usefull to me.

DVHS decks aren't that expensive now- people might want to look for one. Also, the 6200 will probably offer external Firewire harddrive support eventually.
About how much does a DVHS go for today? And how is the quality?

My Mits DVHS cost about $500...it probably can be had cheaper now. The HD recordings are perfect..both video and audio.

You can still watch something and record another with a 1 tuner box, you will just have to record HD and watch SD.

I just returned two Mits D-VHS recorders to Tweeter in Peabody you can pick one up for $300.

The 6200 can't play back Firewire input...yet. They will have to add this feature because many DVHS decks only have Firewire in/out.

So if you purchase a DVHS deck without component outputs, make sure you have a way to play it back (ie: tv or STB w/firewire).

You can still watch something and record another with a 1 tuner box, you will just have to record HD and watch SD.

How? You can split the cable feed, but you still need an extra tuner somewhere
to plug the "raw" cable into to get SD (SD that doesn't require the cable box).
Or, what I'm I missing? :)

larry

Any word on any new HD offerings coming soon to Comcast Eastern Mass.?

Or you could just rent 2 6208s until the 6408 is available. ;)

Are the Motorola 5100 & 6200 really 100% OFF when powered off?

I want to add HDTV cable in time for Red Sox season, but I will need a componant video auto-switcher, because my TV only has (3) componant video inputs, and I already use them for DirecTV, Xbox, and DVD player. I already have a DigitalCoaxial/TosLink audio autoswitcher that works, BUT there is one potential flaw.

Even when I turn my DirecTV receiver OFF, it still sends out a signal as if it were turned on (likely because the fan still runs). This means that I need to give it LAST priority in my autoswitching sequence (so if I want to play Xbox or DVD's, they take priority until I turn them off).

If the Motorola HDTV boxes are 100% off when I turn them off, I will be fine because I can leave the DirecTV receiver as last priority.

If the Motorola HDTV boxes DO still send out a signal even when powered off, then I will have two boxes that need to go last, but only one can.

Can anyone confirm if the Motorola 6200 and/or 5100 boxes either DO or do NOT send out a signal when powered off?

I assume if I asked Comcast, they'd think I'm a freak and just say "No."

Thanks,

When my 6200 is off, I still get a signal thru my 1394 connection but not component. The sound thru the digital connection is always on, as well.

Originally posted by Benji
When my 6200 is off, I still get a signal thru my 1394 connection but not component. The sound thru the digital connection is always on, as well.


Hmm ... so it sounds like the 6200 would give me problems even though I only use componant video, because it would mess with my audio autoswitching. Unless the 5100 is different, that limits me to the autoswitcher that comes with a discrete remote (more expensive, and doesn't integrate audio).

On some auto-switchers you can set priority to inputs, so things like this don't interfere too much. My receiver does this with analog/digital on the same input.

Why does ESPN HD look so bad ? When the Bruins are on INHD2 they picture look alot better. Is ESPN using cheaper equipment or doing less frame per second ?

The closer angles look like HD but the above ice view looks kinda fuzzy.

Originally posted by jsheldon_us
OK - so here is the result and the sequence of events.

1 - called to upgrade 5100 to 6200 for all the reasons on this forum. Specifically D-VHS link.

2 - was offered 6208. Scheduled appt.

3 - Installer came, no 6208 (didn't know what it was). But also - no 6200. I had to reschedule and take another afternoon off of work.

Definately a little frustrated. I hope next week will at least get me up to the original desired level - 6200.

So today was to be my rescheduled appointment. I took off from work (again) to meet the installer between 3 and 5pm. At 5:15 I called Comcast. The rep kindly informed me that they had cancelled my appointment because there were no 6208s to give out. No one called me to cancel.

I am in a customer service black hole.

All I want is a 6200. I made this clear (again) to this rep. He said someone would be out before 7pm to provide the 6200. Ten minutes later, someone else called to tell me they had no more 6200s in my area.

Up until this point I was super-impressed with Comcast vis a vis AT&T. Now I worry that I have been played the fool. Someone is supposed to call me soon with details for my third attempt.

Wish me luck.

John

Dozens,
Most of ESPN is "stretched" SD. When they do broadcast HDTV,
it looks every bit as good as INHD sports. Most networks
only have one mobile HDTV unit. ESPN and ABC may share two units
somehow. Notice that it is rare to see two live HDTV events
on two successive days on the same channel unless the event locations
are close to each other. This is just a guess from observation. If
the networks have more than one mobile HDTV unit, they certainly
aren't taking full advantage of them. :)

larry

Originally posted by dozens
Why does ESPN HD look so bad ? When the Bruins are on INHD2 they picture look alot better. Is ESPN using cheaper equipment or doing less frame per second ?

The closer angles look like HD but the above ice view looks kinda fuzzy.

I notice the same thing and am mystified as well. HD ESPN games at FleetCenter DON'T look as good as the NESN broadcasts. Last night, the Houston Rockets/LA Lakers game was in HD on ESPN and looked GREAT...

My guess is that ESPN's link to the FleetCenter equipment isn't as good as NESN's (since NESN probably handled lighting up FleetCenter for HD in the 1st place).

I'm not sure if ESPN lugs mobile gear for every game or if they use in-house gear where it's available.

If anyone knows how this is done - I'd love to learn how it's done...

Also keep in mind that ESPN is sending out a 720p signal and NESNHD is 1080i. Depending on your display, this may make a difference in picture quality.

Originally posted by Benji
Also keep in mind that ESPN is sending out a 720p signal and NESNHD is 1080i. Depending on your display, this may make a difference in picture quality.

My display is 720p and I have the 6200 outputting 720p (I wish it could output native) so that is not the problem. Someone else mentioned that ESPN was also doing a basketball game in HD so they probably sent the lesser equipment to the hockey game.

Originally posted by YesJim
I notice the same thing and am mystified as well. HD ESPN games at FleetCenter DON'T look as good as the NESN broadcasts. Last night, the Houston Rockets/LA Lakers game was in HD on ESPN and looked GREAT...

My guess is that ESPN's link to the FleetCenter equipment isn't as good as NESN's (since NESN probably handled lighting up FleetCenter for HD in the 1st place).

I'm not sure if ESPN lugs mobile gear for every game or if they use in-house gear where it's available.

If anyone knows how this is done - I'd love to learn how it's done...
I watched a little of the game and I am sure that it was not being broadcast in HD by ESPN. It had that stretch look.

Does anyone have any idea when UPN will be comming to Comast HD?

Question. I have a Sammy hln467w. Have a 6200 box. What is the best setting. 720 or 1080. Thanks

re: ESPN HD and such

Oh, I didn't realize doznes meant a real ESPN HD broadcast vs INHD (NESN).
I've never seen a ESPN HD broadcast that didn't look good, although I don't recall seeing
one from the Fleet Center. The 720P vs 1080i could be one reason for some folks.
Also, I'm pretty sure networks don't "share" mobile HD units. What may happen
is that, for example, ESPN may contract with NESN for a game where NESN
equipment and employees are used to then feed into a ESPN sat uplink. That could
make a difference vs ESPN using their own mobile unit and employees. Whether
this happens or not is just a guess.

I've been extremely pleased with both ESPN and INHD (NESN) sports broadcasts.

larry

Has anybody heard anything about BravoHD coming to Comcast Boston?

I was under the impression that NBC was attempting to bundle it with NBC HD programming, but we'd still be at the mercy of the local operator (WHDH and WJAR)

nssteve,
The native resolution of the Sammy DLPs is 720P. You want to feed it 720P
when possible. The only choice you make is which device does the 1080i -> 720P
conversion - Sammy or 6200 (or whatever else you use you have that feeds HDTV
resolutions).

larry

nssteve,

Definitely feed it 720p when watching ABC or ESPN.

a few ?'s.... could a firmware update make the motorola HD boxes output native? what is the benefit of the 1080i/720p changeable setting? wouldn't all displays do the conversion themselves and wouldn't that always be the better device to do it?

Some displays only take 1080i or 720P, not both. Usually, if a display only accepts
one HDTV res, it's 1080i.

larry

larry i know this, what i'm saying is, why not let the display handle the conversion itself? have the box output native and the display can decide what to do.

after posting my question i looked in my 5100's manual and found that the YPbPr output can actually be set to 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i AND NATIVE. the 6200/08 manual however doesn't have native as an option. what would be motorola's reasoning for removing it?

I am looking for some help....Inhd is broadcasting their Atlantic City show which I have on dvd, but they are broadcasting in HD which it was filmed in...
Anyone able to make a copy to DVHS? Me and my wife went to Atlantic city to see the taping of the show, and I would love to be able to surprise her with a HD copy.....
I have Directv not cable hd, that's why I'm unable to see it here....
Thanks
Rick

Got a letter today that I'm being charged another $2.00 for my service. I have a regular digital box (2100) and the HDTV box (5100). I angrily spoke to the rep who said because I have HDTV, they are now making that box my "primary" digital box, and adding another $2.00 charge op top of "addidional" digital boxes rasing the $5.50 I pay for the 2100 to $7.50.

I told them if I have to do that I'm going to insist they upgrade my 5100 to the new 6200.

Any others get the same letter?

Originally posted by BostonDIGITAL


I told them if I have to do that I'm going to insist they upgrade my 5100 to the new 6200.



Forgot to add got a installation scheduled for tomorrow to get the 6200...

That charge is listed in the rate card as "Serivce Plus (High Definition or Digital)" and is described as "Charge for reception of premium service(s) or package on additional outlets. (per outlet)"

If you don't need the digital box on the second TV you could return it and save yourself $7/mo.

Just another way for them to get a few more $$/mo out of you...

larry i know this, what i'm saying is, why not let the display handle the conversion itself?

Sorry, Avic, misread your post. When I first got my 5100 I was
surprised it didn't work like my Sat receiver and have an obvious
"Native" settting. Where is the 5100 "native" setting buried?
Yes, having the display doing the conversion is usually preferrable.

larry

Originally posted by nssteve
Question. I have a Sammy hln467w. Have a 6200 box. What is the best setting. 720 or 1080. Thanks

This is not a simple question to answer. I would refer you to the Sammy HLN forum for the nuances.

Here is what I have been able to gleen.

If you watch ABC and ESPN more frequently use 720p. This will do one-to-one mapping on those channels with no up/down conversion. This is particularly what you want should you watch a lot of sports (which definately look better in progressive scan).

If you are a CBS/NBC watcher set it to 1080i. This will allow your set to do the scaling rather than the 6200. Your set has significantly better chips for doing this. But, be wary, you will be up and then downscaling the 720p stations, which does create (minimal, not noticable) loss in quality.

John

Originally posted by jsheldon_us
So today was to be my rescheduled appointment. I took off from work (again) to meet the installer between 3 and 5pm. At 5:15 I called Comcast. The rep kindly informed me that they had cancelled my appointment because there were no 6208s to give out. No one called me to cancel.

I am in a customer service black hole.

All I want is a 6200. I made this clear (again) to this rep. He said someone would be out before 7pm to provide the 6200. Ten minutes later, someone else called to tell me they had no more 6200s in my area.

Up until this point I was super-impressed with Comcast vis a vis AT&T. Now I worry that I have been played the fool. Someone is supposed to call me soon with details for my third attempt.

Wish me luck.

John

The saga continues but I feel I am making (slow) progress. I received a call today from the HQ customer service. The good news is he had a copy of my recent posts here and he really wanted to help. The bad news was he told me Comcast hasn't released the 6200 box. Marketing hadn't told them about it and it probably will be out soon.

I communicated to him to visit AVS Forum for hundreds of happier 6200 users which is 1) where he got the paper in front of him and 2) where I got the idea to request this in the first place. He suggested he would try to get up to speed with marketing but there was no specific follow up.

Additionally a kind rep who must lurk/post here also contacted me.

The good thing about my experience, although frustrating, is that every person has been actually trying to help (other then the one that cancelled my 2nd appt without calling).

Someday, I will be able to enjoy my 6200. I will let you know when that happens.

John

Just sign up for an HD install- more likely than not the tech will show up with a 6200, and not even know it. That's what happened in my case.

Even though that rep you speak of contacted me also, when the tech finally showed up he knew nothing of the work order, and just humored me by swapping out my box.

Originally posted by avic
a few ?'s.... could a firmware update make the motorola HD boxes output native? what is the benefit of the 1080i/720p changeable setting? wouldn't all displays do the conversion themselves and wouldn't that always be the better device to do it?

I have been told by Motorola engineers that there is no plans of outputting native format. They made a comment like there are too many non-standard formats of HD and it sound like they didn't want non-techincal users to wind up with no picture.

Dozens,
One of my interpretations of avic's message was the same as yours wrt "native".
However, it seems he means "native res of the broadcast". Like "native" on
the zenith or sony (LG) Sat stbs. ESPN and ABC would leave the stb as 720P
and CBS, etc would leave the stb as 1080i. In fact, they good to great lengths
to give you SD options, why is it hard to not touch the signal at all? :)

larry

Originally posted by DaveFi
Just sign up for an HD install- more likely than not the tech will show up with a 6200, and not even know it. That's what happened in my case.

Even though that rep you speak of contacted me also, when the tech finally showed up he knew nothing of the work order, and just humored me by swapping out my box.

I think it is a matter of what the tech has in his van. I guess I was lucky twice. My first HD install was a 6200, then I got audio static, and we traced it back to the 6200, and he just happened to have another one in the van. I so far think the techs are great. I have had no complaints, other than mud on the carpet ect...., but the HD is worth a little scrubbing. :D

I have been using both 1080i and 720p on my Sammy DLP and I am not sure which I like best. It's been on 720 for a week or so, but I may switch back to 1080i. I also like Component on HD channels, more color. The DVI looks better in detail and SD, but for some reason component has more color and maybe looks better, any thoughts???

Steve

Originally posted by dlp_steve
...The DVI looks better in detail and SD, but for some reason component has more color and maybe looks better, any thoughts???

Steve


Since when is "more color" better? There is only one correct setting for "color" regardless of the type of input. If your DVI input has "less color" then it is incorrectly set up. Fix it first and then tell us how it compares.

Originally posted by ckyriak
Since when is "more color" better? There is only one correct setting for "color" regardless of the type of input. If your DVI input has "less color" then it is incorrectly set up. Fix it first and then tell us how it compares.

I agree, I guess I have not found that yet. The DVI does look better, but the color on component seems to be more vivid for me.

Steve

I have been away for awhile just reading and putting things into thought. So let me clarify a few matter for you right now. I am a customer service rep for Comcast who does work here but I am not the one who has done any recent calling. Like most of you, I am also interested in getting my hands on a 6200 and 6208. Here is the problem, the boxes are randomly scattered around the region. Currently, there is no tracking in place or any specific way to assign them to a customer. If there was, myself and a few other reps would already have them. This situation is very similar to when Comcast (then AT&T Broadband) started handing out the "L" series boxes with optical output. Eventually, when Motorola sends us a large enough order to fill the demand, that is when we will be getting specific. Until then, its just random based on HDTV orders.

The $2.00 service plus charge has been around forever. When reps slip up and do not put in the right codes, you are not charged for it. In comparison, E* and D* charge $4.95 for service plus. Comcast has been doing alot of housekeeping and cleaning up accounts so everyone is being charged exaclty what they are supposed to be charged. Like it or not, if your account is off, then it will be fixed.

As far as the lack of communication between marketing, CCAs and the techs in the field, that is being addressed. Please be patient with us, I'm trying to educate the CCAs in the company and trying to get the same info out into the field. Not an easy process considering Comcast has 1100 techs and much more contractors.

Thats my rant and I am out of here.

Originally posted by PooperScooper
Dozens,
One of my interpretations of avic's message was the same as yours wrt "native".
However, it seems he means "native res of the broadcast". Like "native" on
the zenith or sony (LG) Sat stbs. ESPN and ABC would leave the stb as 720P
and CBS, etc would leave the stb as 1080i. In fact, they good to great lengths
to give you SD options, why is it hard to not touch the signal at all? :)

larry

I am confused. When I said "native" I meant the motorola STB would not do any conversion of the signal, so if you watching ABC, 720p goes in and 720p comes out. If you display native resolution is 1080i then it will need to convert it.

Why can't they leave the signal alone, I dunno. My best guess is right now the dct outputs 720p, 1080i, 480p and 480i. Any display is gonna be able to handle at least one of those format. If there was native and you were watching fox (525p ?) could all displays out there handle that format ?


Send an email to motorola asking for native format, maybe if enough people bug them they will consider it.

oooooh, comcast just called and I got Starz for 3 months free. Starz has an HD channel.

Steve

Dozens,
I believe you, avic, and myself are wondering the same thing.
Why can't the 5100 or 6200 just pass the signal as transmitted
by the broadcaster? ABC and ESPN would come in at 720P and
go out at 720P. Fox would come in at 480P and go out at 480P.
All other HD in and out at 1080i. SD at 480i. I think the 480 override
is a nice feature which I would assume is harder to implement than just
"passing through" the original signal resolution. Most, if not all,
HD satellite settops have this "native" or "pass through" feature.

larry

NBA in HD appeared without warning last night on INHD-1 (Bucks vs. Sixers).

Originally posted by MickeyGee
NBA in HD appeared without warning last night on INHD-1 (Bucks vs. Sixers).

And was on again tonight with Celts Vs. Knicks - but appeared to be blacked out.

Anybody have an update when Comcast will work out an agreement with NBA TV or whomever licenses these broadcasts. I'm sitting here watching on FoxSportsNet and the picture SUCKS.

hope they add another channel so they can use it for NESN and NBA. there are some things worth watching on INHD and they keep pre-empting them

Comcast signed an agreement with NBA-TV today and they will be added in April, although Baltimore-Washington was not mentioned as a roll-out location. Probably will be added later.

I watched the end of the Knicks-Celtics game on INHD tonight and it was great. Since the Bullets oops, Wizards were on INHD2 earlier, I think they may have just shown the end after the Wizards game ended.

Rich N.

For anyone reading from Comcast, another WB HD plea. :)

Chris

The Celtics will be blacked out on InHD locally, as FSN has the rights to the game. We should get all of the other teams in HD though.

The NBA games are part of the InHD schedule, so I don't think there's any pre-empting going on.

Have to hope we see more channels moved from analog tier to digital tier to free up more space for HD channels. Love to see UPN38,WB56, Discovery HD and Bravo HD added to line-up. Also, Encore HD will go live on March 22 on Voom. Sounds like 5 HD channels ,need to move 2 channels from analog to digital tier.

I'd like to see Bravo as well just for Cirque.

I wonder why there is no agreement for WSBK yet (Viacom O&O, run by WBZ engineering)

Originally posted by tcable
I'd like to see Bravo as well just for Cirque.

I wonder why there is no agreement for WSBK yet (Viacom O&O, run by WBZ engineering)

Big time. It'll be frustrating if Friday night home games will be SD when they could just as well be broadcast on NESN in HD. I'm chomping at the bit for my 1st baseball HD feed. The Green Monster should jump right out of the screen!

We'll probably get Encore HD if it's on satellite. Surprised we haven't seen TMC-HD yet.

Originally posted by jsheldon_us
The saga continues but I feel I am making (slow) progress. I received a call today from the HQ customer service. The good news is he had a copy of my recent posts here and he really wanted to help. The bad news was he told me Comcast hasn't released the 6200 box. Marketing hadn't told them about it and it probably will be out soon.

I communicated to him to visit AVS Forum for hundreds of happier 6200 users which is 1) where he got the paper in front of him and 2) where I got the idea to request this in the first place. He suggested he would try to get up to speed with marketing but there was no specific follow up.

Additionally a kind rep who must lurk/post here also contacted me.

The good thing about my experience, although frustrating, is that every person has been actually trying to help (other then the one that cancelled my 2nd appt without calling).

Someday, I will be able to enjoy my 6200. I will let you know when that happens.

John

I am up and running on my new 6200. Many people contributed to getting me up and going. It is definately faster.

I will give my analysis of the box in full once I have had a few days.

John

Originally posted by jsheldon_us
I am up and running on my new 6200. Many people contributed to getting me up and going. It is definately faster.

I will give my analysis of the box in full once I have had a few days.

John

I called to have one delievered and when the tech showed up, he said he hadn't herd of it and didn't have one in his truck. You can imagine the immediate fustration I had since I insisted with the CSR on the phone I should get one and they said "no problem".

But he was such a nice guy he said if it were true that a 6200 existed (he honestly hadn't herd of one and said no one told him about it) he would find out immediately and give one to me, which we did three days later w/o the need for another call (he came on his own time)!

Now he wants one from himself! Yes, much faster and just viewing briefly the PQ in analog channels has improved somewhat via componet. Once I get something wth a DVI port I can comment on that to.

Just want feedback from PIO 433/503 owners using DVI out on 5100. I've both component and DVI output connected. While watching HD channels and switching between the two connections, the PQ from DVI output look washed up compare to component. The PQ on componenet just looks more "lively" and "radiant". I've made adjustments using the integrator menu on PIO resulting in minor improvement to PQ but not enough. I even tried out allegedly better "Bettercable" DVI cable but noticed no improvement in DVI PQ. (Returned that cable back.)

If there are any other PIO plasma owners out there using DVI on 5100, I would like hear about your experience in comparing these two outputs. If your DVI looks as good if not better than component, I would like to know what settings you have on your menu.

Thanks.

Originally posted by ashridharani
the PQ from DVI output look washed up compare to component. The PQ on componenet just looks more "lively" and "radiant". I've made adjustments using the integrator menu on PIO resulting in minor improvement to PQ but not enough. I even tried out allegedly better "Bettercable" DVI cable but noticed no improvement in DVI PQ. (Returned that cable back.)


I have a samsung DLP, not sure what a PIO is? I feel the same way about PQ not looking as vivid, but after having DVI for about a month now, I can say it is much better in detail. I had to adjust my brightness way down to make the PQ look really good. It seems to be a trade off. More vivid color or better detail. I'll keep using DVI because the SD channels look better. I am waiting for more DVI DVD players to come out, then I may have to get a switch box.

Steve

http://www.tvweek.com/news/web031004.html#comcast

Suggests that we'll be getting the Celtics in HD soon.

Is that a good thing?;)

Anyone else find it sad that WGBH-HD macro-blocks during a marionette promo? Talk about lame. I bet nobody at that station watches their HD feed...

ashridharani,
Which DVI card are you using? The Aurora? Check in the plasma
forum, there's quite a few 433 owners there. You will undoubedly
have to calibrate the DVI input feeding it from the 5100. There are 503cmx
owners there also, which basically just a bigger 433.

larry

Originally posted by dlp_steve
I am waiting for more DVI DVD players to come out, then I may have to get a switch box.

I do have the HD931 DVD player, and the color, brightness, contrast from it via DVI is similar to what you see for HD via Component. I've read a little about different "colorspaces" via DVI, but not enough to know if this is what we're seeing. However, viewing HD via DVI made me realize that I was missing a lot of detail in my other connections, and I've made some SM tweaks to try to bring that detail out.

Might be better just to buy a new receiver with HDMI switching rather than a standalone DVI switch.

Panasonic is coming out with one soon in the $300 range.

Originally posted by jckessler
http://www.tvweek.com/news/web031004.html#comcast

Suggests that we'll be getting the Celtics in HD soon. Without seeing the Celtics in HD, it's already pretty clear to me the direction this team is headed!

Has anyone else noticed that INHD2 (882) has been running NESN full time (at least from 5:30p-) rather than the usual programming?

The Bruins away game was on 882 and my heart skipped a beat because for a split second I thought it was in HD. Alas, it was just stretched SD...

(sigh)

I noticed this last night when they were showing the hockey game in stretched SD, and it's still on this morning.

Personally, I'd love if we got a full time NESN-HD channel, even if it's stretched SD. It's the only basic cable channel I miss not having.

Originally posted by dlp_steve
I have a samsung DLP, not sure what a PIO is? I feel the same way about PQ not looking as vivid, but after having DVI for about a month now, I can say it is much better in detail. I had to adjust my brightness way down to make the PQ look really good. It seems to be a trade off. More vivid color or better detail. I'll keep using DVI because the SD channels look better. I am waiting for more DVI DVD players to come out, then I may have to get a switch box.

Steve


Steve,

PIO is Pioneer. I've been only using the DVI for couple of weeks now. I did have to adjust my brightness down and I agree that I see little more details than with component. I guess it takes getting used to colors not jumping out at you.


PooperScopper,

I'm using the Aurora A303 card. I did a take a quick look at the Plasma forum and did not see anything, but I may do a more thorough search there.

Thanks.
AS

AS,
In the Plasma forum, the 1st "sticky" thead at the top of the list is about Aurora
cards and was started by 'pharris' (Paul Harris) who works for Aurora.
There's a should be a ton of info in there and Paul Harris is always helpful.

larry

Does anybody have Digital Classic only with HD box? Do you get NESN-HD? I just signed up for HDTV with comcast with their current special. I am thinking about downgrading to get basic cable (only NBC, ABC, etc) with Digital Classic HDTV feed, but I still want to have Redsox game on NESN HD. Is this possible? If somebody actually have this, please let me know.

This is for Comcast in Boston area.

Thank you in advance

Why is INHD2 showing a movie instead of the NESN feed? :mad:

bluegene: Yes, I had Basic Cable w/Digital Classic and got INHD and ESPN-HD.

I decided to upgrade to Digital Gold because I had HBO and SHO (cost the same after the price increase).

What was INHD2 showing tonight around 8pm? I was flipping around
and hit INHD2 and saw an ad for DirecTV - in SD no less. :confused:

Basketball heaven for 4 days starting Thursday at noon. Hopefully
CBS here will carry the KC games in HD Friday and Sunday. Will use
DirecTV for the rest (one of very few reasons I keep it around).

larry

Any chance they use multicasting to show more than one NCAA game at a time? Is that even feasible? If so, which channels would they use?

IIRC, some people in the HDTV Programming forum reported CBS in some markets using the sub-channels
to broadcast more than one game. Either that, somebody asked if that
was possible - don't remember. Hopefully, locally, CBS will broadcast one game
on HD and a different one on SD. Folks without DirecTV will then be able
to flip between 2 games at once, instead being limited to 1 game (providing
you have HD). I doubt they'll do sub-channels - has CBS locally used sub-channels
at all? It's been awhile since I used OTA.

larry

Please don't ask for multicasting- we might get it.

They multicasted the games like 2 years ago on WBZ, but I think it was only when there was no HD game on.

Originally posted by PooperScooper
AS,
In the Plasma forum, the 1st "sticky" thead at the top of the list is about Aurora
cards and was started by 'pharris' (Paul Harris) who works for Aurora.
There's a should be a ton of info in there and Paul Harris is always helpful.

larry

Thanks Larry. I did read that post which is mostly for the new A304 card. I've dealt with Paul before when I was having issues with the A303. He was very helpful.

I've been tweaking the settings and am starting to see significant improvement, or my eyes are getting used to the new PQ. I also played around with color temperature setting and found the "mid" to work well with all the other tweaks I did to contrast, brightness etc.

AS.

I just found out that Comast has activated the DVI port on the Motorola 5100 STB.

Is anyone using it - and what are your opinions vs component?

Mit07,
Try searching all the threads on that subject.
Spearse

Hello, I've been away from this forum for a while and I'm afraid I've fallen behind on the new Motorola 6200. Can someone please tell me the differences between the 5100 and the 6200 boxes. I currently have the 5100 and I'm wondering if its worth the upgrade to the 6200???

Thanx,

Originally posted by Mit07
I just found out that Comast has activated the DVI port on the Motorola 5100 STB.

Is anyone using it - and what are your opinions vs component?

I tried it. The digital (HD) channels didn't look any better than the component (to me) on my 56 inch samsung, but the analog channels looked like ****. So I went back to component.

Originally posted by bowlsy23
Hello, I've been away from this forum for a while and I'm afraid I've fallen behind on the new Motorola 6200. Can someone please tell me the differences between the 5100 and the 6200 boxes. I currently have the 5100 and I'm wondering if its worth the upgrade to the 6200???

Thanx, Both boxes are identical except that the 6200 has the 1394 firewire port.

Originally posted by Benji
Both boxes are identical except that the 6200 has the 1394 firewire port.

... and the 6200 is much faster (loading pages, scrolling, etc.).

Originally posted by JDLIVE
Any chance they use multicasting to show more than one NCAA game at a time? Is that even feasible? If so, which channels would they use?

From the Boston DTV tower thread:

"HD games are only offered this weekend on Friday and Sunday. Sorry for the earlier confusion. BTW, we do not have the ability to multicast, so that is not an option for us." - Robert Yankowitz, RF Systems Manager, Viacom Boston.


Also, Mr Yankowitz states elsewhere in the same thread that WBZ-DT will show Hi-Def programming when available independent of what is on the analog channel, except when a local team is playing (Providence, BC...).

OK - here's my experience (so far) of trying to get a 6200 box to replace my 5100. I called Comcast and got a CSR, and expressed my desire to upgrade from the 5100 to a 6200. He asked me if my box was black or gray. I said "it's gray - it's a 5100". He tells me I already have an HD box. I say "I know - I want o upgrade it to the newest model HD box so I can get firewire." He says there is only 1 HD box offered by Comcast. I tell him that I know a lot of people have the newer box. He checks with his supervisor who CONFIRMS that there is only 1 kind of HD box and that I am mistaken. I tell him that I KNOW there are newer boxes out there. He finally agrees to send a technician out, but says that if he can't find anything wrong with my current setup, I will have to pay a $19.95 service call fee. I probably should have said "fine" and tried my luck with the technician, but I said that was unacceptable. So he said that he could have an HD technical support person call me back to talk about the issue. I said "cool - sounds like a plan". After 5 minutes of silence and frantic typing in the background, he says "OK - you'll be hearing from them in 5-10 minutes". At which point I say - "I'm at work and I haven't given you the number yet." A sigh... and I give him the number, followed by 5 more minutes of frantic typing, and he repeats the 5-10 minute promise. And here it is 5 hours later, and I (of course) never heard back from anybody. I didn't expect it to be a trivial process, but I didn't think it would be this hard. Any suggestions??

OK - quick followup - I just called back and they are coming out tomorrow to do the switch! I'll let you know how it works out...

Originally posted by wackymann
OK - here's my experience (so far) of trying to get a 6200 box to replace my 5100. I didn't expect it to be a trivial process, but I didn't think it would be this hard. Any suggestions??

OK - quick followup - I just called back and they are coming out tomorrow to do the switch! I'll let you know how it works out...

When I called I spoke to a CSR who aparently reads this forum. I told him my TV had DVI and I wanted a 6200 w/DVI. He said the 5100's have the DVI enabled so I sould be all set. I said I was one of the first to get the HD box because my 5100 didn't even have a DVI port on it. He said no problem. When the tech came he said he never herd of a 6200, but if one existed he'd get me one. He was willing to give me a 5100 with a DVI, but he wanted me to have the better model.

Three days later I had one. He returned on his spare time to personally deliever it to me.

That's my story.

Originally posted by PooperScooper
Basketball heaven for 4 days starting Thursday at noon. Hopefully
CBS here will carry the KC games in HD Friday and Sunday. Will use
DirecTV for the rest (one of very few reasons I keep it around).

larry

According to today's Boston Globe, only games from the Kansas City bracket will be in HD this week. Next week it's the regional semi-finals and final from St. Louis, followed by the final four games a week later.

I was bummed when I saw that, I assumed that most of the games would be in HD, or at least 1 a day, but I should have know better. Not enough HD trucks to go around.

Go UCONN! :D

Awesome news - the guy came on schedule today - had no clue what a 6200 was, but found one in his truck. They are IDENTICAL looking to the 5100 except for the firewire ports, so I think that is why there is so much confusion. Setup was easy, and I'm all set. Now I just have to buy my D-VHS!! Kudos to Comcast for being so quick and listening to me, even if they didn't always know WTF I was talking about. BTW - they said it will cost me $15.25 for the service call to change the box. I think it was money well spent.

Originally posted by wackymann
OK - here's my experience (so far) of trying to get a 6200 box to replace my 5100. I called Comcast and got a CSR, and expressed my desire to upgrade from the 5100 to a 6200. He asked me if my box was black or gray. I said "it's gray - it's a 5100". He tells me I already have an HD box. I say "I know - I want o upgrade it to the newest model HD box so I can get firewire." He says there is only 1 HD box offered by Comcast. I tell him that I know a lot of people have the newer box. He checks with his supervisor who CONFIRMS that there is only 1 kind of HD box and that I am mistaken. I tell him that I KNOW there are newer boxes out there. He finally agrees to send a technician out, but says that if he can't find anything wrong with my current setup, I will have to pay a $19.95 service call fee. I probably should have said "fine" and tried my luck with the technician, but I said that was unacceptable. So he said that he could have an HD technical support person call me back to talk about the issue. I said "cool - sounds like a plan". After 5 minutes of silence and frantic typing in the background, he says "OK - you'll be hearing from them in 5-10 minutes". At which point I say - "I'm at work and I haven't given you the number yet." A sigh... and I give him the number, followed by 5 more minutes of frantic typing, and he repeats the 5-10 minute promise. And here it is 5 hours later, and I (of course) never heard back from anybody. I didn't expect it to be a trivial process, but I didn't think it would be this hard. Any suggestions??

OK - quick followup - I just called back and they are coming out tomorrow to do the switch! I'll let you know how it works out...

Why are the Flyers & Leafs on ESPN HD and not the Bruins ? ESPN SD is showing the Bruins.

I hate when ESPN takes a Bruins home and shows in SD instead of letting us watch on INHD2.

Originally posted by dozens
Why are the Flyers & Leafs on ESPN HD and not the Bruins ? ESPN SD is showing the Bruins.

I hate when ESPN takes a Bruins home and shows in SD instead of letting us watch on INHD2.

I was wondering the same, especially since I only have Digital silver package with basic cable, so I did not have ESPN's SD channel with Comcast.

I was also wondering what was up with CBS and the basketball coverage last night. UCONN and Vermont were playing last night, two New England teams. Yet CBS in Boston (which is in New ENGLAND!!!) showed us like 2 minutes of the second half of the game, instead giving us a game featuring a New Jersey team (Princeton) and Texas? WTF?

Sure I understand wrap around coverage and all that, and I understand going away from games that are blow outs, but UCONN only won by 17, the same margin Texas beat Princeton. It seems that we should have been viewing all of the UCONN - VERMONT game and updates on the other games, not the other way around. :mad:

The Princeton-Tex was close at the half, whereas the Uconn-VT game wasn't.

But I was surprised they switched away from it so early.

Hi there-

Has anyone noticed an increase in interference in their signal recently? I'd say in the last month, it really has ballooned up for me here... same thing on difference TVs, but no changes to the house. I was watching the golf on USA today and when they would show the white flag stick, you could see like white lines going to the right of it all the way up and down the screen... some of them were pretty darn long.

THanks,
Chris

for me channel 2 is awful, and 4 isn't great at times. but it's always been like this. this happens even with the antenna feed bypassing the box.

Could someone post the channel numbers for the unencrypted HD locals without using the 8** numbering from comcast (the ones a 3rd party QAM tuner would get)?

Thanks,
Chris

Originally posted by Schlotkins
Could someone post the channel numbers for the unencrypted HD locals without using the 8** numbering from comcast (the ones a 3rd party QAM tuner would get)?

Thanks,
Chris Chris...if you have the Mits Int. HDTV, just do a channel search and the TV will find all the channels. I'd do it again but it takes a good 15-20 minutes and I don't have the patience to sit through it again. The only one I remember for certain was 802(WGBHHD) came through on 84. The TV checks every subchannel (literally 100's) and picks up all digital (encrypted and unencrypted) stations. For encrypted, there is an on-screen message informing you it isn't available. This includes all the PPV channels. I since have converted it back to OTA only because I can get UPN38DT. Good luck.

I am a bit confused. Comcast "requires" you to rent their Motorola box to receive HDTV. Is this really only so you can get the scrambled channels? Any QAM tuner will get FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS but not the scrambled ones?
Is the whole point of CableCard so that the QAM tuners can unscramble channels?

Comcast doesn't require you to rent their cable box. If all you desire is unencripted stations, the only requirement is a live cable line fed in to your "antenna in" on your TV, and you can receive all unencripted analog and digital channels. Of course this is provided your TV is cable ready and has a QAM digital tuner for the digital channels.

Originally posted by Schlotkins
Could someone post the channel numbers for the unencrypted HD locals without using the 8** numbering from comcast (the ones a 3rd party QAM tuner would get)?


On my LS-3100A:

84-1 WGBH 2 (PBS)
84-2 WFXT 25 (FOX)
85-1 WCVB 5 (ABC)
85-2 WHDH 7 (NBC)
88-2 WBZ 4 (CBS)

That's exactly what I was looking for.

Chris

I just got Comcast for HDTV ... with the Motorola 6200, is there a way to add/delete channels that I don't get (or don't watch) or can I only use the "favorites" for that?

I think you're stuck using "favorites" which really stinks. It's fine if you like unidirectional surfing...

I'd love to be able to delete the 100s of channels I don't have and/or never watch; Comcast probably likes to remind you of everything you're missing though.

Originally posted by Benji
Comcast doesn't require you to rent their cable box. If all you desire is unencripted stations, the only requirement is a live cable line fed in to your "antenna in" on your TV, and you can receive all unencripted analog and digital channels. Of course this is provided your TV is cable ready and has a QAM digital tuner for the digital channels.


Guess that's Comcast's dirty little secret? I guess there are so few QAM tuners in TVs it doesn't matter. However, come summer/fall, that will change, with Sony and Samsung coming out with new models!

Originally posted by deathstroke
Guess that's Comcast's dirty little secret? I guess there are so few QAM tuners in TVs it doesn't matter. However, come summer/fall, that will change, with Sony and Samsung coming out with new models!

I wouldn't say it's Comcast's dirty little secret. But why would a cable company, whose business is selling cable subscriptions to customers, tell a customer... "Oh yeah, you don't need our box... you can just plug it into your TV and get free cable."? Any enthusiast (sp?) knows that FCC mandate requires unencrypted digital content being broadcast OTA also has to be unencrypted on a cable system. The QAM tuner sets are driven towards the enthusiast right now. With the Cable Card initiative coming up and the TVs supporting it, thats when it'll be driven into the Joe Schmo consumer's home where he doesn't need to have all kinds of widgets and gadgets just to pick up his HBO and Skinemax.

Originally posted by ScoopsHD
I wouldn't say it's Comcast's dirty little secret. But why would a cable company, whose business is selling cable subscriptions to customers, tell a customer... "Oh yeah, you don't need our box... you can just plug it into your TV and get free cable."? Any enthusiast (sp?) knows that FCC mandate requires unencrypted digital content being broadcast OTA also has to be unencrypted on a cable system. The QAM tuner sets are driven towards the enthusiast right now. With the Cable Card initiative coming up and the TVs supporting it, thats when it'll be driven into the Joe Schmo consumer's home where he doesn't need to have all kinds of widgets and gadgets just to pick up his HBO and Skinemax.

Joe Schmo question here: what types of channels are typically "unencrypted"?

I would think you wouldn't get free cable, just stb-free cable. You still have to pay to get the signal through the coax to your house and then to your TV. The box charges are minimal.

Rich N.

Originally posted by hibricc
Joe Schmo question here: what types of channels are typically "unencrypted"? Pretty much your basic cable stations. This would include digital OTA locals as well, and some premium channels manage to make it through without encryption. Probably just an oversite on Comcast's part.

excerpt from boston globe thursday article:

Comcast to beef up on-demand...

Comcast Corp.'s New England customers can expect to see thousands more hours of "video on demand" programming this year, and cable boxes with Tivo-like recording features, chief executive Brian L. Roberts said yesterday.
Comcast's selection of movies, children's features, and recorded TV broadcasts available for watching on demand will grow rapidly, he said. "Two thousand hours today will be 10,000 to 15,000 in two to three years or less."
It may also come with advertising targeted to household demographics. "If you're one type of viewer, you get a Cadillac ad; if you're another type of viewer, you get a Chevy," Roberts said.
Comcast is readying a local rollout within the next several months of advanced digital set-top boxes made by Motorola Inc. that would include some recording capacity.
And last month, it made a $250 million deal for control of the Gemstar-TV Guide program guide that cable viewers can use to get program listings on their TV screens, a service Comcast plans to radically overhaul to make it easier for subscribers to use and to facilitate future viewing of TV shows on networked computers in the home.

This may have been mentioned here before, but I believe that NESN's production of the Bruins home games in HD (on InHD) is some of the best HD sports I have seen. The closeups are fantastic.

Mickey

Does the Motorola really pass DD 5.1 on any channels? If so, what are the correct settings for doing so?

I also have DirecTV, and when changing DirecTV channels, my audio receiver always correctly displays the audio type (ie: Dolby Digital, DPL-II, etc). However, with the Motorola, it always just says "stereo" and I can't find any settings in the box to change that I haven't already.

Rick,
What were you watching that was supposed to have a DD5.1 stream with
the video?

larry

Yes, it will pass 5.1 via the optical or coaxial digital outputs. I don't recall having to change any of the settings on my 5100 to get it working.

I was watching the Bon Jovi thing on INHD this morning and I was only getting 2 channel sound out of the box thru the optical out.The box displayed that it was a 5.1 source.I just noticed this today.I had my 5100 swaped out for the 6200.I always got 5.1 out of the 5100.I wonder what is going on here.

Have you tried fiddling with the "audio" menu. It may be set to "stereo".

Hi,
since most of the shows are near the end of their seasons and its re-run
time, i am thinking of downgrading to broadcast only and get the Dish for
a couple of international channels that i want to watch.

my question is as follows:
a) since i have cable modem service also.. will i automatically get
the broadcast channels for free if i disconnect cable tv alone?
or will they put a filter for that ?

b) my HDTV - sony 46" doesn't have a built-in tuner. can i get HD with a
third party QAM tuner ? or do i have to stick with comcast set-top box.
Comcast said, i have to get Basic cable + digital classic for $42+5 to get
HDTV. i thought they have to give me broacast + digital classic. for $13+5
plus the $7 for settop box.to get me HD.

thanks.

In Comcast's terminology:

"Basic" = broadcast only i.e. channel 2-23
"Standard" = the full analog lineup channels 2-69 or so.

If you subscribe to basic+cable modem they put a filter that blocks channels 24-69 on your line. If you have QAM tuner (such as the LG 3100) you would be able to get the locals (PBS, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) in HD as they are unencrypted.

You can keep digital classic with just basic serivce. standard service (which it sounds like what you have right now) is not required, even if the CSRs are telling you otherwise.

If you want the channels that go with digital classic you will need the Comcast box, as ESPN-HD, InHD1/2 are encrypted.

Originally posted by 2gbj
Have you tried fiddling with the "audio" menu. It may be set to "stereo".

What should it be set to to get full-on 5.1?

John

Some of these are a question of taste. My settings are:
Set volume to optimal stereo: Yes
Audio output: Advanced
Compression: None
Stereo output: Matrix stereo

Originally posted by Defraggerman
I was watching the Bon Jovi thing on INHD this morning and I was only getting 2 channel sound out of the box thru the optical out.The box displayed that it was a 5.1 source.I just noticed this today.I had my 5100 swaped out for the 6200.I always got 5.1 out of the 5100.I wonder what is going on here.

FWIW, I can't find any mention of 5.1 anywhere on the INHD website. And I remember reading somewhere on this forum that the only thing they broadcast in 5.1 is their station ID. YMMV

Nah, I've regularly gotten 5.1 from INHD. I don't know about this particular Bon Jovi concert though.

Originally posted by 2gbj
Nah, I've regularly gotten 5.1 from INHD. I don't know about this particular Bon Jovi concert though. I believe all the IMAX movies have been presented in 5.1.

Any enthusiast (sp?) knows that FCC mandate requires unencrypted digital content being broadcast OTA also has to be unencrypted on a cable systemI'd be interested to see the FCC ruling that says cable companies have to offer all local HD channels unencrypted. I don't think there is one.

AFAIK there is no hard, fast rule for this. It's fairly vague, and varies from Cable company. Most do offer them unencrypted.

Originally posted by jsheldon_us
What should it be set to to get full-on 5.1?

John

No specific settings are necessary to get 5.1. Only that your Cable Box is on & your reciever is on, and you have a Coax or Toslink cable attached between you STB & your DD reciever.

The settings in the audio menu DO NOT effect the DD audio outputs.

As some of you may know from my previous posts on this board, I have both DTV and Comcast. Total Choice Plus w/ locals and Sports package on Directv and Basic cable plus digital silver package with Comcast in order to get HD and HBO. I still keep DTV because of Tivo.

Currently the only Comcast box I have is the is the 6200 box in the living room. My son's room and our family room have DTV boxes and basic cable. The cable run for those two rooms is the Comcast cable and the DTV cable both going into the DTV Toswich outside and then one cable coming into each room. From that cable, it's split out again into two feeds, one for DTV and one for cable.

Anyway, the question is, if I wanted to add a digital cable box to my son's room, would Comcast have to rewire the cable or would I be able to just take the current cable there and plug it into the cable box. I'm not sure if the fact that it's carrying two different signals until the cable gets to the duplexer, would be an issue.

Secondly, if Comcast does not need to wire it , do they need to deliver a regular digital cable box, or can I just go to our local service center and pick one up?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Motorola 6200 -> Firewire - > JVC D-VHS tape recorder = Amazing...

Originally posted by DaveFi
I'd be interested to see the FCC ruling that says cable companies have to offer all local HD channels unencrypted. I don't think there is one.

AFAIK there is no hard, fast rule for this. It's fairly vague, and varies from Cable company. Most do offer them unencrypted. There is no rule. However, FCC chairman Powell requested cable companies to voluntarily send out HD locals "at no charge" beyond limited basic cable, to which a number of cable companies agreed. Comcast is one of those companies.

So that is why Comcast sends out its HD locals unencrypted. If you have your own QAM 256 tuner, you can pull them in with a limited basic subscription (i.e., the least expensive subscription you can get through Comcast, which gives you local and government access stations). So you don't even have to rent a Comcast HD STB to get HD locals, assuming you own the necessary equipment.

Once the cable co's jump on the CableCard bandwagon it's quite possible even the unencrypted locals might dissapear.

This way, the cable co's could still offer the locals for free, just requiring a card from them so they can monitor who has what.

Are there any Comcast employees reading here ? If so, what is the plan for NESNHD (882) when the Bruins and Red Sox are both playing at home at the same time ? I expect the Bruins to go far into the playoffs and I am guessing there will be a few conflicts.

If it matters, I would vote for showing the Bruins playoff game in HD over the Red Sox.

Good question. Just an educated guess that Comcast would air the more important event (i.e. Bruins playoff game) in HD. I doubt they would find room for both games in HD at the same time.

New to this NESNHD and Comcast. Are all home Sox and Bruins games on channel 882. Are there any black out rules. Thanks

I think I have seen some recent Comcast ads where they are saying that in the event of a conflict with a Bruins playoff game they will show the Red Sox on Channel 3 (the Comcast channel).

I'm guessing we'll get whatever they put on NESN-SD in HD. If Sox games get moved to Channel 3, it probably means no HD.

Comcast will be showing the Sox games on CN8 when there's a conflict, so I would assume the Bruins would be in HD.

From nesn.com:

NESN TO DELIVER SIMULTANEOUS COVERAGE OF BRUINS PLAYOFF GAMES AND RED SOX BASEBALL IN APRIL


BOSTON - New England Sports Network (NESN), the regional TV sports service, will provide live Red Sox baseball coverage to cable and satellite affiliates throughout New England when NESN airs simultaneous coverage of Boston Bruins playoff action this April.

The Bruins first round playoff broadcast schedule will be announced on Monday, April 5, 2004. A schedule of Red Sox broadcasts on alternate cable and satellite channels will be announced shortly thereafter.

"We'd like to thank our affiliates for helping us provide simultaneous coverage of the Red Sox to fans throughout New England on nights when NESN delivers live coverage of the Bruins during the Stanley Cup playoffs," said Peter Plaehn, NESN's Vice President, Marketing.

Attached is a list of participating cable and satellite providers with the corresponding channel number where Red Sox games can be found during the Bruins playoffs. This list of alternate channels is also available at www.nesn.com.

In addition, NESN plans to have representatives available to answer questions up to 1-hour before game time at (617) 536-9233.

Originally posted by dozens
Are there any Comcast employees reading here ? If so, what is the plan for NESNHD (882) when the Bruins and Red Sox are both playing at home at the same time ? I expect the Bruins to go far into the playoffs and I am guessing there will be a few conflicts.

If it matters, I would vote for showing the Bruins playoff game in HD over the Red Sox.

This morning, I noticed the message's light was lit on my 6200. So I went into the messages section via the menu and there was a message that said that if there are conflicts between the two, the Bruins game will be shown.

I could use some help on this one.


For you users out there with a DVI connection from the 5100 or 6200:

Does the user settings menu on the box change from Y,Pb,Pr output to DVI output?

Just trying to verify this for something that I am putting together.

Thanks

It doesn't change.

Is anyone else having trouble with the HDTV Comcast lately?
The HiDef channels come out via S-Video, but not component..

Originally posted by dag16
Is anyone else having trouble with the HDTV Comcast lately?
The HiDef channels come out via S-Video, but not component.. No problem at all.

Wasn't WB56 supposed to come online with Comcast HD on 4/1/04?

Originally posted by dozens
[B] expect the Bruins to go far into the playoffs and I am guessing there will be a few conflicts.
B]

You do? I hope so, but my concern with them is that they played about 30 OT games this year, an NHL record. That means they are not winning easily, lots of close games. When you get to the playoffs, the games get tighter and tighter. They've only scored more than 3 goals twice since mid-February. If they keep that up, that means they need to win a lot of 2-1, 1-0, 3-2 games in the playoffs. Can they? Sure, as long as they don't run into a hot goaltender as seems to happen to them every year, or have to play a team that traps.

If the season ended today, the B's face Montreal in the first round and anything can happen when playing them.

Based on their OT record, I have a feeling will be seeing some double or triple OT games from them in the playoffs. Hopefully I'm wrong and they go all the way!

If my TV has no DVI or Firewire, is there any way I can take advantage of the Motorola 6200's Firewire by putting something else in between the 6200 and my HDTV such as D-VHS or non-Mac HTPC?