Originally posted by wareagle
After 10 minutes of "The Practice" on KOMO-HD tonight, I switched over from 104 to 4, because both video and audio were hanging up and skipping content every few seconds. Not the first time, or the only problem station/network, and I'm sure not the last. Why can't they fix things like this? (Whoever "they" may be.)

I wholeheartedly agree. We suffered through the same types of glitches during Alias just before The Practice. Seems it waits until the absolute most inopportune time to foul up which is VERY aggrevating. In fact, we have had these issues for the last 5 or 6 Alias episodes now. since this happens at approximately the same time every time, is it possible that it is a human error (some negligent operator falling asleep at the wheel or something?) I just wish "they" could figure it out and fix it already!

It was so bad for Unbreakable that it was actually switching in and out of HD mode.

Not to beat a dead horse (well, a little), but it's now May and STILL no VOD in Auburn! Also, it's sweeps month and they can't get through a movie on ABC HD without breaking up? Now all those HD Newbies will be saying to others on the fence: "HD sucks! Keeps breaking up, etc." And 10.5 not in HD, the only thing that could have saved that movie? Yeah, I watched anyways, just to see the 'Escape From LA' ending. John Carpenter got it right after all!

El Guapo,

Did you get glitches on Alias two days ago? I watched the whole show in HD without any glitches this time (I did get a sound weirdness once, like it would go from 2 channels to 5.1, but that's it). I always thought those problems were coming from the HD source so Comcast wouldn't be to blame. But if we're getting a different experience, that would point directly to Comcast.

Did anybody else watch Alias last week? Did you experience glitches or not?

-eric

Hi All,


Forgive me if this has been asked before, I did a search in this thread, but didn't come up with any results.


Does anyone know when the audio snap, crackle, and pops will be fixed on the standard cable channels (02-99)?


Thanks,

Eric,

I did have a few video glitches (first 2-3 minutes were 480) though not nearly as bad as the past few weeks. This week was mainly audio issues, almost the entire show was 2CH rather than DD5.1. I havnt a clue whether the issues are at the source or with Comcast, i just wish they would go away.

This week they seem to be having a bit of trouble getting new programs uploaded. Right now, the latest "Deadwood" (#7) is finally listed, but not accessible. I suppose that will encourage me to watch it in HD tomorrow night, as I really should. I noticed similar problems with "Sopranos" yesterday, but they were finally repaired.

Well, I've waited this long to ask, but now seems a good time....

Is VOD enabled in Shoreline? I'm in Richmond Beach area (Innis Arden actually) and haven't seen hide nor hair of VOD, except on this forum and on billboards?

Anyone? Anyone?

Rich

No VOD here in Edmonds either. Weak sauce.

I put the schedule into a calendar word template for all of us to print out and put on our fridge or in our office to remind us when the M's are plyaing in HD.. <attached>

Originally posted by Al Shing

2004 Mariners HDTV Schedule, available
only on Comcast:
Friday, May 7: New York Yankees at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 8: New York Yankees at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 9: New York Yankees at Mariners 1:00 p.m.
Friday, June 11: Montreal Expos at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 12: Montreal Expos at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 13: Montreal Expos at Mariners 1:00 p.m.
Friday, June 25: San Diego Padres at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 26: San Diego Padres at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 27: San Diego Padres at Mariners 1:00 p.m.
Friday, July 16: Cleveland Indians at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 17: Cleveland Indians at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 18: Cleveland Indians at Mariners 1:00 p.m.
Monday, July 19: Boston Red Sox at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Friday, July 23: Anaheim Angels at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 24: Anaheim Angels at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 13: New York Yankees at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 15: New York Yankees at Mariners 1:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 10: Boston Red Sox at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 12: Boston Red Sox at Mariners 1:00 p.m.

Very nice!! Thanks.

Originally posted by NizZ8
I put the schedule into a calendar word template for all of us to print out and put on our fridge or in our office to remind us when the M's are plyaing in HD.. <attached>

Comcast advertises "Get Digital and enjoy Video on Demand". They need to point out the many areas it isn't available or add "Coming eventually" as I have repeatedly been told.

Yeah, every time I see that commercial I get a little mad, but there is a "not available in all areas" in very small print that goes by quickly. How long can it take to cover all areas?

Well I’m not sure VOD is worth getting upset about. I used it for the first weekend and haven’t since. If it was in HD I guess it would be cool, but since it’s not and I only get HBO it’s really not that big of a deal. I for sure wouldn’t pay for it. I already have a TIVO so I'm not sure what use VOD is to me.

There's a test pattern on 100 at the moment. It's moving as though being panned from left to right.

VOD is really handy for me since I work nights and they add shows at midnight. I can watch what I missed on HBO that night (Sopranos, Deadwood in particular).
I wish the networks would get involved in it though.

Originally posted by Malcolm_B
Yeah, every time I see that commercial I get a little mad, but there is a "not available in all areas" in very small print that goes by quickly. How long can it take to cover all areas?

The commercial that makes me mad is any Comcast commercial talking about getting the major networks in HighDef. I think the commercial should say "Get all the major networks in HighDef besides CBS" until they get that service online.

About the scrolling graphic on channel 100 - Tonight is the first Mariners game in HighDef on that channel. I hope it looks great!

-Matt

Originally posted by Tom_Oliver
I already have a TIVO so I'm not sure what use VOD is to me.

To each their own, but me, my wife and my son all really like the VOD a lot. We watch it much more than HD I'm afraid to say. There's quite a bit of stuff available on VOD that is not on the regular programming and which you can't capture with just your Tivo. For instance, my son likes watching the Boomerang VOD channel which has classic cartoons, I like watching the Fuse music clips/interviews and my wife likes the DIY how-to shows. None of these are on the regular lineup at the moment. YMMV

TiVo has won out over VOD in my house for a simple technical reason. We give TiVo control over the cable box since it records lots of programming that we specifically want to see and that isn't available on VOD. That's been my major barrier to adopting a regular VOD viewing habit. VOD has good programming, but it requires exclusive use of the cablebox which is hard to give up most nights. I'm hoping the summer programming swoon will reduce the TiVo commitments and might offer an opportunity to play more with VOD.

Of course, I have the same type of conflict with HD programming -- which is partially why I still have an OTA box I got just for the superbowl (and KIRO). Of course, for some reason, when something good is on in HD, TiVo doesn't seem to record my Wife's shows. I'll have to troubleshoot that one sometime :-)

VOD kids' programs are great for when granddaughter visits.

Having the HBO series (Sopranos & Deadwood) accumulating there while we're in England for two weeks means I don't have to waste VCR tape on them which will be better used in taping Formula One races. Now if Speed would just add the races to the menu... (Of course, if Comcast would get that 6408 to us, I could do all this better myself.)

Originally posted by boykster
Well, I've waited this long to ask, but now seems a good time....

Is VOD enabled in Shoreline? I'm in Richmond Beach area (Innis Arden actually) and haven't seen hide nor hair of VOD, except on this forum and on billboards?

Anyone? Anyone?

Rich
Still no VOD for me in Shoreline either. I think I'm going to watch the Mariners game tonight and then tomorrow drop down to analog cable. Between them blowing apart TechTV soon, the reduced signal strength I've gotten recently, the expensive bill, the fact that every decent tv show seems to get released on DVDs now, and the soon to be released HD PCI card that should be able to tune in and record unencrypted QAM, I think I can get by without all these channels and their cable box fees.

Just a reminder.. the first HD M's game is tonight vs. the yankee's.. @ 7.

Originally posted by wareagle
Of course, if Comcast would get that 6408 to us, I could do all this better myself.

Looks like it may actually be a 6412 (with some rather nice additional features possibly) rather than a 6408:

http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,4151_3506_23,00.html

http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,4148_3503_23,00.html

http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,4149_3504_23,00.html

The 'whole home' DVR capability through existing coax lines would be especially nice!

the ucentric stuff sounds neat. i'm still skeptical, however, that comcast can deliver something thats works well (hd dvr included) - maybe they'll surprise us and sow hatthey are indeed competitive technology-wise to directv. now, all we need is cablecard support so we can buy the h/w we want...

Okay, not a bad game so far to start the HDTV Mariners season!!! I love to see the M's stick it to the Yanks, and with Edgar having such a nite...wow.

Rich

Must be my box, because I'm not getting anything except massive breaking up during the game.

I love the picture quality of the HighDef, but things they need to fix:

When the announcers are talking about a specific person or graphic, the HighDef doesn't show it. I have Fox Sports Net on in the same room so I can see what they are talking about

The scoring/outs logo keeps coming and going, but on Fox Sports Net it's on almost all the time so it's handy to have the 2nd tv on

I'm in Mountlake Terrace and there is no breakup of the picture or sound at all, for those wondering if bad reception is just their box...

I agree the M's game looks good so far. I actually like that they are only showing the score once in a while. Even though it is nice to always know the score I would be concerned about burn-in over a period of time. Overall I am happy with the broadcast considering it is the first of the season.

Originally posted by djmattyb
I love the picture quality of the HighDef, but things they need to fix:

When the announcers are talking about a specific person or graphic, the HighDef doesn't show it. I have Fox Sports Net on in the same room so I can see what they are talking about Get used to it. That's the way it is. Same as last year. What you're seeing is actually the JAPANESE HD video (NHK network) of the Mariner game, with the U.S. Fox Sports audio overlayed. The audio & video have nothing to do with each other.

But if not for NHK network in Japan - and the fact the Mariners have some Japenese stars on their team - there would be NO Mariners games in HD at all. Could be worse, though - we could be getting the Japanese audio track, too!

Originally posted by danstone
Looks like it may actually be a 6412 (with some rather nice additional features possibly) rather than a 6408:

http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,4151_3506_23,00.html

http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,4148_3503_23,00.html

http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,4149_3504_23,00.html

The 'whole home' DVR capability through existing coax lines would be especially nice!

Aside from the various axes being ground (e.g., Microsoft), it would appear from Motorola's numbering convention that the 6412 should have 120GB rather than 80GB. If so, the extra 50% storage capacity would be welcome. However, I'm reluctant to cheer for a situation where we would forever be chasing the latest h/w release and never actually getting any.

Yes, don't look a gift fish in the mouth...Mariners in HD, out of sorts with the audio, is still the Mariners in HD.

We're lucky the M's have taken advantage of Japanese talent, and that NHK has brought the technology to seattle to cover the games in HD. Like jimre said, same as last year. I actually agree with IssiquahHD, I think that the fewer Fox graphics the better......I'm a man of simple tastes...show the game, not fancy logos/graphics/sound effects. Closer to actually "being there" that way.

Go M's..........

Rich

Loved the shots of the feet of the Japanese players. :)

I wonder if we are lucky they have the feed or not so lucky. They took the camera slots and for sure we would have had nothing else last year, but if they weren’t there would we get the US HDTV feed from the Mariners instead? Some of the other parks see every game in HDTV. I wonder if having the Japanese crew there is actually preventing us from getting that.

No, the Japanese crew would still be sending their own feed whether FSN was doing their own HD broadcast or not. It's independent of whether or not FSNW HD launches. If FSNW were to launch an HD service, they would have their own crew and not use NHK's broadcast. NHK would still do their own broadcast, as long as the M's are interesting to them. So what is preventing FSNW's own HD broadcast is simply that they haven't decided to launch their own service yet.

What you all may not know and would find funny is that the Japanese use the audio from the FSNW broadcast as the secondary English subchannel for their M's broadcasts. Dave Niehaus's signature Grand Salami call has already been copied by one of the English language sumo announcers - "Get out the maple syrup, Grandma, it's pancake time" when some sumo wrestler gets pancaked by his opponent.

not that I'm missing anything on ESPND (HD), but I'm only getting the "One Moment Please" message (saw this last night too - worked fine before). INHD and all of the other HD channels come in just fine. anyone else seeing this problem?
my signal levels seem fine...

Same problem with ESPN HD here in Sumner.

Same "OMP" problem with ESPN HD in Bellevue.

"OMP" in Seattle as well.

ok - thanks all for confirming.

I just called Comcast and the support person I spoke with saw the problem on their HD tv and he was going to pass word along to their techs and get it resolved.

Ok well I skimmed most of this thread, and didn't see an answer -- here goes.

I live in Sammamish. I currently use Comcast for cable internet and digital phone service. I am a longtime DirecTV customer (mainly for NFL Sunday Ticket) and have a Hughes HTL-HD set top box (which will accept a CATV input). I have a lot of tall fir and cedar trees in my yard, and despite having a rooftop OTA antenna, the only local OTA digital channel I can get is KIRO (CBS).

1. Is it worth getting a basic Comcast package for the local network HDTV? -- Is there enough HD programming to make it worth the roughly $15-$20 (based on what I read in this thread) a month this would cost?
2. Can I split the CATV before it goes to my cable modem and run this to the cable input on the Hughes set top box? I.E. do I already have the ability to receive the locals? I don't want/need DiscoverHD, ESPNHD, etc -- I get all that through DirecTV, I just want the locals.
3. I already have 2 DirecTV boxes -- and don't want to add another STB for Comcast, but from what I gather in this thread, I shouldn't have to, is this correct?

Thanks in advance, my wife is more than a little annoyed that we have a giant antenna on the roof now and it only gains us one broadcast channel ;)

Go M's!... I think the monopoly money getting tossed onto the field when A-rod steps upto the plate is hilarous!..

I'll take a stab at it...

Originally posted by jsamans
[B]Ok well I skimmed most of this thread, and didn't see an answer -- here goes.

I live in Sammamish. I currently use Comcast for cable internet and digital phone service. I am a longtime DirecTV customer (mainly for NFL Sunday Ticket) and have a Hughes HTL-HD set top box (which will accept a CATV input). I have a lot of tall fir and cedar trees in my yard, and despite having a rooftop OTA antenna, the only local OTA digital channel I can get is KIRO (CBS).

good for you - the only big channel you can't get on comcast is KIRO, so you're in luck... :D

1. Is it worth getting a basic Comcast package for the local network HDTV? -- Is there enough HD programming to make it worth the roughly $15-$20 (based on what I read in this thread) a month this would cost?

you have to judge for yourself based on programming, but any HD is better than none... :D if you can't get any other channels OTA, cable is your only choice to get the local HD channels.

2. Can I split the CATV before it goes to my cable modem and run this to the cable input on the Hughes set top box? I.E. do I already have the ability to receive the locals? I don't want/need DiscoverHD, ESPNHD, etc -- I get all that through DirecTV, I just want the locals.

yes - you can split the incoming signal (as you do now), but if you're not hooking to a comcast box, you can only get the analog SD channels. you'll need the comcast HD box to get the local HD channels - they're encrypted and encoded differently than the OTA signals, so you won't receive them through your directv receiver (or other receiver).

also - you can't get discoveryhd through comcast - so d* is your only choice.

the only other programming option that comcast offers for non-premium HD is their INHD/INHD2 - and its questionable as to whether it's worth the extra $10.99 to receive them (espnhd included in the cost, but it's duplicated through your d* subscription - I'm in the same boat).

3. I already have 2 DirecTV boxes -- and don't want to add another STB for Comcast, but from what I gather in this thread, I shouldn't have to, is this correct?

if you want comcast HD, you have to use their box - no way around it (until they support the cablecard standard, but you'll still need another box)

Just to add more substance to brente's answer:

Currently, Comcast uses non-encrypted QAM signal for their HD local channels. So, theorically, if you would have a QAM-capable receiver/HTPC, you wouldn't have to use Comcast cable box persay.

Now, that being said, several members of this thread made it clear that Comcast could start encrypting their signal anytime (and will probably do soon), so I wouldn't count that QAM solution for the long term.

Short answer is that Brente is right... there's no going around an STB right now. And until OpenCable is available and Comcast embraces it, your only foolproof solution is to rent the HD cable STB from Comcast ($5.10 for the box + $5 extra because it's "Advanced").

-eric

I am new to this site and I am in the process of purchasing my first HDTV RPT. I should receive my set in a week or two but I am just now trying to decide what I want to go with for an HDTV signal. I have Comcast Basic cable and Comcast High Speed internet and I am not sure if I want to switch to Direct TV unless it provides more HDTV programming. I did see that Comcast offers the Mariners in High Def but can you get that without getting Digital Cable from Comcast.

Any help that people can provide as to which way I should go, Comcast, Direct TV, Roof Top antenna, STB, etc would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

The HD mariners games are sourced from the NHK Tokyo feed. AFAIK the only place to see these games is Comcast. The local network only carry the games in SD.

If you can get the locals via an antenna then I'd go with a DirecTV HDTivo. You won;t get the Ms in HD but you'll get everything else and then some. You'll miss InHD1 and InHD2 but who cares?

Originally posted by ericjut
Currently, Comcast uses non-encrypted QAM signal for their HD local channels.

Eric - thx for the correction. I thought they had switched to encrypting everything.

I just read that the FCC has a requirement that the cable companies must provide a firewire enabled box to anyone that requests it for HDTV after April 1st.

http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/fcc-requires-firewire-on-all-cable-boxes-015708.php

This might be handy for recording. Does TiVO or any other DVRs work off of firewire? (I'd rather not have to buy a complete Mac or PC to solve this.)

At the very least, maybe now I can get Comcast to replace my STB with one that has a DVI output port.

Originally posted by poppa
I just read that the FCC has a requirement that the cable companies must provide a firewire enabled box to anyone that requests it for HDTV after April 1st.

http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/fcc-requires-firewire-on-all-cable-boxes-015708.php

This might be handy for recording. Does TiVO or any other DVRs work off of firewire? (I'd rather not have to buy a complete Mac or PC to solve this.)

At the very least, maybe now I can get Comcast to replace my STB with one that has a DVI output port. If you keep calling Comcast & demand to swap your Motorola 5100 for a 6200, eventually you will get a CSR who will agree to do it. Besides DVI ports, these boxes do have active firewire ports, and you *can* record HD content, however with some limitations: Currently, the only device it will record HD to is a D-VHS tape deck (eg, JVC 30K) or software that emulates a D-VHS deck (eg, VirtualDVHS for the Mac).
There are quite a few threads on this subject in other forums, for example, this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=353608).
Recording quality is perfect on some HD channels (HBO-HD, STarzHD, NBC, etc) but has annoying breakups & dropouts on other channels (INHD, INHD2).
Here in Puget Sound, Comcast has only deployed firmware 7.07 for these boxes. Apparently firmware 7.10 (when? who knows?) fixes many of the above problems.
It's unclear to me from these other threads, but at some point (also firmware 7.10?) Comcast is supposed to be turning on 5C encryption for firewire recordings. This would mean only 5C-capable devices (a D-VHS deck) can playback the content. Specifically, that might mean no PC recording/playback.

Originally posted by ericjut
And until OpenCable is available and Comcast embraces it, your only foolproof solution is to rent the HD cable STB from Comcast ($5.10 for the box + $5 extra because it's "Advanced").

Anyone please feel free to correct me on this if I'm wrong, but if you're at all interested in HD-VOD/HD-PPV when it's released then you'll still need a Comcast box. If my understanding is correct, then eventually OpenCable will have boxes that can duplicate all the features of the cable company boxes, but any PPV, VOD, HD-VOD, HD-PPV won't be possible with a third-party box until OpenCable v2.0 (which hasn't been finalized yet). Unless I'm completely mistaken on all this, I'd be really hesitant to buy an OpenCable v1.0 box as I would think their market life will be extremly short.

Just something to consider. If anyone has additional information/clarification please post it or include a link.

Originally posted by danstone
Anyone please feel free to correct me on this if I'm wrong, but if you're at all interested in HD-VOD/HD-PPV when it's released then you'll still need a Comcast box.

Initially that is correct. The first open cable devices with be unidirectional, so they will not work with services that require a back channel for billing or interactivity like PPV or VOD.

I imagine people will have cool OpenCable widgets for 99% of their viewing/recording and when they want to VOD or PPV they will dust off the remote and fire up the Motorola POS and watch it. When the OpenCable devices become bidirectional then people who care will get better widgets from Sony or whoever and those that don't will make do with the crud from Motorola.

Just received an offer in the mail, as a Comcast Internet only customer. Sort of an odd offer, since it's so basic.

Anyway, "Limited Cable TV" for $5.99 a month for six months (after that $10-15 depending on location), less $10.00 multi-product discout and free installation. After adding in the cost of HD (I belive $7.00) I'd only be paying about $3 or $4 more to have an additional source of HD (I get it OTA now using a MyHD card).

Anyway, seems odd for them to promote such a limited service, but I think I'm going to go ahead and do it (I've been considering it for some time).

Originally posted by Karyk
Just received an offer in the mail, as a Comcast Internet only customer. Sort of an odd offer, since it's so basic.

Anyway, "Limited Cable TV" for $5.99 a month for six months (after that $10-15 depending on location), less $10.00 multi-product discout and free installation. After adding in the cost of HD (I belive $7.00) I'd only be paying about $3 or $4 more to have an additional source of HD (I get it OTA now using a MyHD card).

Anyway, seems odd for them to promote such a limited service, but I think I'm going to go ahead and do it (I've been considering it for some time).

I got the same offer today. Had made up my mind to forgo cable and mess around with an OTA antenna since D* is my main provider. I'll be curious how much more it is to get the digital box and HDTV from them.

The digital box (additional channels) will add a lot, but the HD I think should only be $7 or so.

Originally posted by Karyk
The digital box (additional channels) will add a lot, but the HD I think should only be $7 or so. Presumably you know this - but unless you happen to have a QAM-compatible digital cable tuner built into your TV, you'll still need their set-top box to tune any of Comcast's HD channels.

Originally posted by jimre
Presumably you know this - but unless you happen to have a QAM-compatible digital cable tuner built into your TV, you'll still need their set-top box to tune any of Comcast's HD channels.

I was familar with QAM, but I assumed the $7 charge for HDTV included a set top box. I'll have to check on that when I order. Thank you!

You're right, jimre.

Comcast HD costs $10.10 + Tax:

$5.10 for the rental of a cable box.
$5.00 extra for an actual HD box.

Also, expect to fight a lot to be able to get a box without signing up for a digital package.

Finally, you will get only the local channels (no FSN, ESPN or InHD channels).

I still think it's a great deal. If I weren't on a "Satellite switch" deal right now, that's what I would do in a heartbeat. :)

-eric

I’m sure this is pointless to ask, but I don’t suppose we can get TNT-HD soon can we?

I know, my bad. I should be happy with my SD pan and scan VOD I never watch. Course I didn’t switch from DirecTV to Cable for VOD. I switched for better HD content. I’m starting to think I made a mistake.

Well, I ordered it, and it does include the box for that price.

They also have a deal where you only pay $5.00 for the box (instead of $6.75) and pay $11.00 to receive all the HD channels (but that $11.00 is on top of the Limited Cable free). So basically you get ESPN, Fox Sports, two On Demand Channels, and who knows what else, for an additional $9.25 (11.00 less the $1.75 you save on the box).

Karyk,

So, what's your total bill? Are you telling me you're only paying $6.75 + Basic to get the local channels in HD? If so, is that only for a limited time? I'm stuck paying $20.20 right now only for the two boxes... I wouldn't mind paying $6.50 less every month. :)

-eric

When the six month thing expires, it's going to be $12.35 (I'm not positive of the cents) for the limited basic plus $6.75 for the HD box, plus tax. That's assuming they gave me the straight information. But again, I get $10 off the cable Internet, so the net cost is about $10.00.

I went on line, and but for the HD locals I'm getting, they only have 3.5 other HD channels (two On Demand, ESPN and Fox Sports, which I believe only has a few of the Mariner games in HD, so only counts as .5). He made it sound like more.

The cost of the limited basic is likely to be different in Woodinville than Seattle.

It actually the $6.75 for the HD box that bothers me... not the limited basic plan.

I'm going to give them a call right now.

Thanks for the info.

-eric

Just called them and got to the bottom of it. :)

If you get only the local channels (no digital package), you pay $6.75 instead of $5 (the $5.10 fee is included in the digital package price).

If you want to get more HD boxes, you'll have to pay $10.10 for each of them whether you get only local channels or not.

-eric

Is the Filipino (sp?) channel included with the standard digital package? My mother-in-law gets that via satelite now--I was thinking cable might be better for her--I'm not sure what channels they have on the Filipino satellite.

The Filipino Channel can be added to any account with a digital set-top receiver for $11.99 per month.

TFC is a 24-hour premium cable network that delivers the best Philippine information and entertainment. Up to this day, TFC remains to be the leader in the arena of global Filipino programming.

TFC boasts of top-rating ABS-CBN shows suitable for you and your entire family: live news, dramas, comedies, children's shows, talk shows, magazine shows, blockbuster movies and a lot more.

Comcast is tentatively planning to launch ON DEMAND in Edmonds, WA on May 27, 2004. I know some of you have been waiting for that. If I catch wind of any revisions in that schedule I'll pass it on.

We have a new insider here?

Jeff28: How long untill we see HD-CBS and HD-UPN?

Or Discovery-HD ;)

Don't look for DiscoveryHD any time soon. Comcast doesn't want to add any "premium" channels (DiscoveryHD, HDNET, BravoHD) because they don't want to set up an HD Tier and don't want to charge extra (their rates are high anyway) and don't want to absorb the cost (as they did for ESPN-HD which some cable companies charge extra for). So unless they can negotiate a truly low price, we're out of luck.

Of course, I could be wrong....(I hope so).

Rich N.

Originally posted by raidbuck
Don't look for DiscoveryHD any time soon. Comcast doesn't want to add any "premium" channels (DiscoveryHD, HDNET, BravoHD) because they don't want to set up an HD Tier and don't want to charge extra (their rates are high anyway) and don't want to absorb the cost (as they did for ESPN-HD which some cable companies charge extra for). So unless they can negotiate a truly low price, we're out of luck.

Of course, I could be wrong....(I hope so).

Rich N.

They already have an HD tier, sort of. As I mentioned above, for about an additional $9-10 I could have chosen to receive all the HD material (non-premium) as part of the limited basic. Right now that's apparently only two On Demand channels, ESPN and Fox Sports.

I saw Jeremy said we hoped to have something nailed down within 60 days but I have not heard that. I hope he's right.

It was in a division wide email from the new area VP Len Rozek about a month ago stating that he hoped to have a resolution for it in 60 Day's.

BTW sorry I haven't been around, been quite busy I'm working at 2 different night clubs one of which I'm doing promotions and all kinds of crap for so I've been pretty busy lately and quite enjoying no longer working for Comcast :)

This is my new place of work....

Pic 1 (http://home.comcast.net/~jeremyfr/floorcenter.jpg)
Pic 2 (http://home.comcast.net/~jeremyfr/clubleft.jpg)
Pic 3 (http://home.comcast.net/~jeremyfr/clubright.jpg)
Pic 4 (http://home.comcast.net/~jeremyfr/bar.jpg)

Nice. Whats the name of the club? Wheres is at?

Originally posted by raidbuck
Don't look for DiscoveryHD any time soon.

...


Of course, I could be wrong....(I hope so). Rich, I hope you are wrong also, and it does look like you are wrong. As long as a couple of months qualifies as "any time soon", it looks like Comcast HD subscribers are in luck. (See new thread.)

Thanks Jeff28. It's just a question I have to keep asking. Even if there is no definitive date yet. If something come down the pike please let us know.

JeremyFr: Looks like a fun place to work. Best of luck to you there.

Its called Club Katana it's in Arlington Wa right off exit 206, I DJ there Thurs,Fri,Sat. They also do live bands there on other nights its a really nice club.

I wonder if any of our 'insiders' can help me with a little problem. I have been trying through the usual Comcast channels for two months to get KCTS-HD (108) in Poulsbo. I have gotten a number of stories, truck rolls, replacement of my Moto 6200, etc. All other HDTV works except KCTS.

The latest Comcast CSR fantasy I was told was that KCTS has chosen not to provide the HD channel to the Bremerton headend. Smelled funny to me, so I contacted the head engineer at KCTS, who assured me that the feed is available to Comcast everywhere.

I think it's as simple as someone at the Bremerton headend not throwing a switch when Kids and Learns go off the air and the bandwidth switches to HD, but Comcast guards any direct contact with their technical people like state secrets. If I had an email address for whomever is running the Bremerton headend, maybe we can get this resolved. Can anyone help?

SonomaSearcher:

I'm very hopeful that what everyone is now saying will come to pass. It won't be the first time I've been wrong -- yes, a couple of months counts as "soon" but not "imminent" -- and I'll be happy to admit it. However, we've been complaining for months and it has only been in the last two days that folks "in the know" have started spreading the hopefully and potentially good news. So part of my error was caused by a blackout of the status for several months.

We should have fun catching up to others who have had DiscoveryHD and complained about the repeats. Of course, I'd also like BravoHD+. That's the next one on my list after this finally happens. I think that, unlike DiscoveryHD, most cable companies don't have BravoHD+, so it will take a while on that one. And after the NBA on TNT-HD I won't care too much about it until next NBA season (I don't care for commercial TV except for news and sports.)

Rich N.

drbenson:

I'm in East Bremerton and have heard the gamut of excuses from Comcast. Supposedly they need to feed the whole peninsula with a cable across the narrows "Any month now". What I was told is they have to pick up locals OTA and that is why 108 and 100 for M's don't work over here.

On the bright side, in the last 3 days or so the picture has gotten near perfect for me. It was almost unwatchable with all the glitches. So, I guess that is something at least.

Which picture is that you're talking about? 109? That one has always worked well for me.

The thing about the cable (supposedly fiber optic) across the Sound has been floating at least since I got service last September. They're really creative with that one! I've heard stories about the EPA holding it up, can't find enough trained divers, etc. etc....

The problem with their excuse about locals OTA is that KCTS-HD is perfectly available over the air. I had a great picture with a standard UHF antenna at my previous home through my HiPix. They're capable of picking up the subchannels that carry Kids and Learns during the day, but seemingly incapable of picking up the HD channel that uses the same bandwidth during the evening? What's up with that? It's actually the same OTA bitstream, just multiplexed differently. The HD channel and the SD simulcast on 109 are actually contained in THE SAME TRANSPORT STREAM- I used to change a single number in an identifier file for the HiPix if I wanted to watch different parts of the stream.

I'm suspecting plain incompetence at the Bremerton headend, and until I hear an explanation that makes technical sense, I'm sticking to it. I'm also trying to get them to talk to the head engineer at KCTS, who has always been responsive and helpful.

Sorry if I seem to be dumping, dogfluffy, it's definitely not directed at you; in fact, it's great to have someone else who is fed from the Bremerton headend so I can convince the CSRs that it's NOT just me having the problem!

Originally posted by drbenson
The problem with their excuse about locals OTA is that KCTS-HD is perfectly available over the air.

I spoke with an engineer at KCPQ when they were having problems with their feed to DirecTV. Apparently strange things can happen with receiving signals over water.

Are Comcast HD locals QAM in Seattle or is that just the more premium HD channels?

Originally posted by Karyk
Are Comcast HD locals QAM in Seattle or is that just the more premium HD channels?

All digital content on Comcast is QAM in Seattle.

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
Its called Club Katana it's in Arlington Wa right off exit 206, I DJ there Thurs,Fri,Sat. They also do live bands there on other nights its a really nice club.

the place looks great! now if it just had some Lasers :)

Well, I got installed today with Limited Basic w/ HDTV. The installer did a great job--right on time (10:00:15 for a 10:00 to 12:00 window), didn't balk a bit at my suggested routing for cable, and only messed up by forgetting my signature! Oh, and the first box he grabed to bring inside didn't have DVI on it, but at least he had one that did.

It's too bad they don't have KIRO yet--I'd have loved to been able to compare the golf today to my MyHD card.

the place looks great! now if it just had some Lasers

Funny you mention that, I've got a dual 20mw green/red laser system sitting in my living room that I'm getting ready to install, having problems with the red side not sure if its a bad vacume tube or if the exciter block is bad on it, I get random firing of the vacume tube but not long enough or powerful enough to make a real visible beam, so I'm not sure if the tube itself is bad or if maybe the capacitors in the exciter section have crapped out. But the green side works awesome. Its kind of a weird setup it 2 lasers in one, the red side is a gas/vacume based laser and the green side is a full solid state laser the whole thing is only 3 years old.

Also of of last night found out I'm DJing Mon/Tues there to so 5 nights a week I'll be there :)

Can anyone explain to me the signifigance of Thursday being the designated roll-out day for changes, updates etc.???

I imagine it was chosen becuase: you get a few days to get ready and a last day to fix things that may go wrong.

Any time you roll out software to a wide audience on a regular or semi-regular basis it is always good to have a release process in place.

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
Funny you mention that, I've got a dual 20mw green/red laser system sitting in my living room that I'm getting ready to install, having problems with the red side not sure if its a bad vacume tube or if the exciter block is bad on it, I get random firing of the vacume tube but not long enough or powerful enough to make a real visible beam, so I'm not sure if the tube itself is bad or if maybe the capacitors in the exciter section have crapped out. But the green side works awesome. Its kind of a weird setup it 2 lasers in one, the red side is a gas/vacume based laser and the green side is a full solid state laser the whole thing is only 3 years old.

Also of of last night found out I'm DJing Mon/Tues there to so 5 nights a week I'll be there :)

I own a laser company Called Laser Envy. I would be intersted in checking out your setup sometime.. or if the club wants some bigger laser gear for a special event let me know.

Tyler@laserenvy.com

drbenson:
Hah, the installer told me they needed to wait till gooeyduck mating season was over "or something like that" till they could run that cable.

All my channels were glitching, but that was supposed to be a problem with my local node, which did completely clear up last week.

I haven't tried an antenna, so I have no idea how that works. However, both salesmen and my first installer swore up and down I would get 100 and the Mariners in HD, and finally (after initially saying I should be getting them) a CSR admitted it wasn't available on the peninsula. When I have called about 100 and 108 in the past, they always seem surprised and want to send a tech out. Regardless, I don't get 108 and I hope you can get someone to figure out how to make it work.

I was watching TV this morning and my cable box starting d/l. It d/l FW 7.10 What does this firmware suppose to do? I read that it'll record HD programming using the firewire port.

Look Here:

http://www.cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/dctfirmware.htm

Assuming you download a file via firewire, what format is it in for playback in XP?

You have to check the thread that specifically deals with this. It is linked in the page that I linked above.

I did check that AVS thread that is linked. It seemed to be talking a lot about Apple computers, and other stuff that had nothing to do with playback.

This post seems to indicate you can record to a TS file, so presumably my MyHD card could play it back.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3713055#post3713055

Yet another thread with what might be a better solution:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3768065#post3768065

Thanks I will update my pages......I don't follow those threads so I didn't know what was the latest on it....

Regarding 7.10 and DVI/DHCP compliant screens: In case you get your DVI shut off and the message "Your HDCP has been compromised, please use Component" on your Component even when you follow these instructions (quoted from the website above: http://www.cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/dctfirmware.htm):

"
-7.10 has also enabled 5C HDCP on both the DVI & Firewire. This has caused an issue with "unauthorized" messages on the DVI inputs of HDCP compliant Televisions.

The reason for this is that the DCT has a default setting in it that automatically sends out an "unauthorized" signal to the display device for approximately 30 sec, when it doesn't see the HDCP "handshake". This happens when the displays input is changed or the television is turned off before the DCT is turned off.

The "band-aid" is to make sure that the STB gets turned OFF BEFORE the television is turned off or the input is changed from DVI. Also, that the Television is turned "ON" or tuned to the DVI input "BEFORE" the DCT is turned back "ON".
"

What the guy doesn't say is that when the order is actually wrong, the Mot box locks your DVI. It will be shut off until you actually unplug the Mot box for 5 seconds to reset it.

Needless to say that this update has made DVI usage pretty annoying. :(

-eric

Also, forget about switching your TV from DVI to another input while your cable box is turned on, as you will trigger the Mot box to shut off your DVI.

I had both connected to be able to compare the two, but I guess I won't be making that in the future. :(

I really hope this is the Comcast/Mot HDCP implementation that's screwed up and not the HDCP standard itself, or else the future has become very dark indeed.

-eric

Originally posted by ericjut

What the guy doesn't say is that when the order is actually wrong, the Mot box locks your DVI. It will be shut off until you actually unplug the Mot box for 5 seconds to reset it.

Needless to say that this update has made DVI usage pretty annoying. :(

-eric

Thanks eric, I will add that to the page. It does say that if you change the inputs it will cause an issue, but I will clarify that issue on the webpage.

My DCT5100 box is also affected by this stupid message. I just had the thing installed this weekend, and it was fine, so apparently it updated since then.

Originally posted by ericjut
Also, forget about switching your TV from DVI to another input while your cable box is turned on, as you will trigger the Mot box to shut off your DVI.

I had both connected to be able to compare the two, but I guess I won't be making that (mistake) in the future. :(

I really hope this is the Comcast/Mot HDCP implementation that's screwed up and not the HDCP standard itself, or else the future has become very dark indeed.

-eric

I found that unplugging the DVI cable from the Mot box and then plugging it back in again solved this problem. No need to power off either the TV or the box.

You guys catch this? I didn't see it posted. Comcast increasing HD channels: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=387593

God, this new firmware 7.10 update really, really sucks for DVI users. Comcast/Motorola never imagined that users might actually SWITCH INPUTS on their TV? They beta-tested this with what? One guy whose TV is either never turned off, or never switched from DVI to other inputs?

So the stupid workaround is to re-program all my home automation macros, to 1) turn the Moto box off FIRST among all component, and 2) turn it on LAST among all components. But this is not easy, for a couple reasons:

1) when just switching between sources, I never turned off the previously-used devices. This requires not just a tweak, but a major re-design of how I've built all my macros.

2) Since the stupid Moto boxes don't have discrete on/off codes, I've never bothered turning the damn thing off. Now I have to. Looks like there's some hacks so simulate discrete on/off that I'll have to try:

(OFF = MENU, delay .4 sec, POWER)
(ON = MENU, delay .4 sec, POWER, delay .4 sec, POWER)

Aarrrghhhh..... someone PLEASE tell me Comcast is working on a fix for this "upgrade"!!!!!

I also called Comcast service to register a complaint about the 7.10 DVI problem (just to make sure they have some visibility on this problem). The CSR took my complaint, but informed me that Comcast does NOT officially support DVI at this time. He actually seemed somewhat knowledgeable - actually knew what DVI was - so I must assume this is indeed their policy: if DVI works for you, great. If not, you'on our own.

I wonder if it would be better to work through Motorola?

Originally posted by Karyk
I wonder if it would be better to work through Motorola? Nope. Motorola won't talk to end-users. We aren't their customer, Comcast is. They don't deploy firmware updates, Comcast does.

Do I understand correctly that this problem only exists if you have the Comcast box hooked up to the DVI input? I'm having them come out later today to set me up with basic hi def (for locals) -- I already have my DirecTV box hooked up via DVI and was planning on using component for the Comcast box. Will this "feature" (hehe) affect me when I am switching between the inputs?

You'll be fine, for now, with component. The problem is related to the HDCP copy protection which is only via the DVI and firewire connections.

What remains to be seen is at what point in the future the component outputs will not be allowed to pass anything greater than standard definition signals. Presently, it looks like that point is still quite a ways off IMHO, but if the HDCP proponents had their way then component outputs would *already* be limited to standard definition only. You will find a myriad of other threads here which go into the copy protection issues much more in-depth than this thread warrants.

On mine the message is now going away after about 10 seconds. I don't believe it was doing that yesterday.

Still a PITA, but if this is a change it indicates they're aware of the problem and working on it.

I would appreciate it if dogfluffy and any other Forum members in the Bremerton headend area could check whether channel 108 KCTS-HD is operating between 5pm and 2am. I have spent 2 months trying to get it sorted out, and we're now at the Senior Manager of Network Operations and Customer Care Operations Manager level.

If you'd be willing, PM me with your email address and I'll pass it along as this process goes forward. Thanks so much.

Hey all,

With the Western Conference Finals beginning this Friday on TNT-HD, does anyone know if those games will be picked up by InHD? Since we don't get TNT-HD, I really hope that there is some alternative in order to see those games the way they were meant to be seen, in HD!

Didn't InHD broadcast a few games in the past from TNT? If I remember correctly, InHD actually broadcasted the NBA All-Star Game right?

Originally posted by Karyk
On mine the message is now going away after about 10 seconds. I don't believe it was doing that yesterday.

Still a PITA, but if this is a change it indicates they're aware of the problem and working on it.

This damn thing is not being consistent at all. Now I sometimes get a blank screen, and sometimes turning it off will get me back to the HDCP compromised message. I had to reboot it last night--that takes a long time.

I still have to unplug the stb after switching inputs back to dvi. I am going to call Comcast today about this. The current behavior is broken.....

Originally posted by markhs
I still have to unplug the stb after switching inputs back to dvi. I am going to call Comcast today about this. The current behavior is broken.....

Isn't this a known bug with 7.10?

Originally posted by Tivolicious
Isn't this a known bug with 7.10?

Yeah, I was just replying that I don't see the dvi connection resolving after 10 seconds. This makes me wonder what sort of quality control goes into these firmware upgrades. This is a pretty obvious bug to have overlooked.

It's not a bug... It's a feature! [ducking for cover]

In 7.10, they've turned on 5C content protection on the HDCP protocol, which means that your screen has to negociate a connection with the box. Unfortunately, it looks like the box is negociating only when it gets turned on or when the DVI cable is getting hot-plugged.

If there's any break up in the connection (aka the screen not turned on when negociation occurs or when switching the screen to another input), it automatically shuts down the DVI/Firewire. You will get an error message on the other inputs that tells you to use component from now on.

I think they did this to be paranoid... so that you don't have any ways to get the digital data unprotected.

Hopefully, this is something they can remedy with the next patch.

-eric

Originally posted by markhs
Yeah, I was just replying that I don't see the dvi connection resolving after 10 seconds.

I wonder if it's dependent on the set it's hooked to. I'm using a Toshiba 42HDX82.

I'm using a Panasonic TH-50PHD6UY plasma connected to the 6200's DVI port, and in my case I don't see any HDCP error message at all. Just a blank screen with "NO SIGNAL" displayed on the monitor when this situation occurs. If I'm careful to turn off the cable box & TV in the exact right order per the published workaround - and of course, never switch inputs on the TV while the cable box is on - then it works fine.

My Z2 just won't handshake!

Regardless of the order that I turn on things, I get that damn HDCP blue box of death.

If I unplug the DVI and plug it back, I get a beautiful picture for about 10 seconds, then back comes that damn blue box.

Has anyone figured out how to get the Z2 to work with 7.10?

I wonder if the "DVI Detective" would work for this problem. It basically fakes the device into thinking a monitor is connected. My guess is probably not, because it probably cannot fake out HDCP.

Does a Z2 have HDCP, or is it just a plain DVI connection?

From the specs I've seen for the Z2 (sanyo projector,correct?) it is DVI-I & HDCP compliant......Not sure if it matters that it is DVI-I & the DCT is DVI-D?!?!?

The Z2 is supposedly HDCP compliant, just not 7.10 compliant.

I'm using a DVI-D cable, but that should make no difference.

BUT --- my cable is single link, not dual link. Is it possible that I need dual link to do the handshake?

DVI-I includes DVI-D.

Also, Single link is fine.

I'm not sure what the problem is in your case. I own an InFocus 7200 and a 30" LCD screen and both of them works with a single-link DVI-D cable.

Did you verify if there was a firmware update for the Z2, maybe something to enable HDCP? I would also post your problem on a Z2 thread... I'm sure you're not the only one using the Z2 with HDCP.

Finally, I would try your Comcast box with another DVI screen... Who knows, it maybe your box.

-eric

Just to clarify - the Z2 was working fine with the DVI input from the 6200 box up until now, so the problem is new the 7.10 firmware.

There is an issue with Z2 firmware updates. I want to update, and Sanyo won't provide me a path. Some people have found a way of flashing firmware on their own, but I can't find a post containing the new firmware to try that myself.

But have you tried your Z2 with 5C HDCP protection before? That's what 7.10 introduced. If there's a little bug in the Z2 negociation protocol for that level of HDCP, you wouldn't know it until now.

-eric

Originally posted by nishant
Hey all,

With the Western Conference Finals beginning this Friday on TNT-HD, does anyone know if those games will be picked up by InHD? Since we don't get TNT-HD, I really hope that there is some alternative in order to see those games the way they were meant to be seen, in HD!

Didn't InHD broadcast a few games in the past from TNT? If I remember correctly, InHD actually broadcasted the NBA All-Star Game right?
Yes, we had the All-Star game on InHD, but I guess we're not getting the Western Conference Finals. It's really the only TV I watch this time of year so I'm very disappointed! There's not much worse than reading all the posts in the HDTV Programming Forum about the little problems they're having. Too bad I couldn't be seeing some of those "problems". Sure wish I knew what the deal was.

Tim

Originally posted by ericjut
But have you tried your Z2 with 5C HDCP protection before? That's what 7.10 introduced. If there's a little bug in the Z2 negociation protocol for that level of HDCP, you wouldn't know it until now.
-eric

5C and HDCP are two different things. 5C is the encryption scheme applied to firewire. HDCP is the encryption scheme applied to DVI.

Ian, thanks for the correction. I didn't know that 5C was Firewire only.

But Comcast did something that affected HDCP in their latest firmware update, as nobody was experiencing those problems with 7.07. Are you aware of what they changed?

-eric

I have no idea. I am still on 7.07 here. When I get 7.10 I'll plug it into my non HDCP projector and let you know what happens.

On another totally different note: Comcast and Microsoft have finalized the deal to adopt the MSTV software. According to my sources Seattle will be the first major deployment. The days of suffering with the abortionware that is the Gemstar/TVGuide UI will soon be over.

http://www.microsoft.com/tv/default.mspx

If there's a firewire device connected to the Motorola box, I don't think the DVI will work with 7.10. I recall reading that in one of the recorder threads. Since the firewire device would not be HDCP, it basically shuts it down.

No, I don't think the firewire and DVI have anything to do with each other. The 7.10 firmware enables BOTH the 5C protection on the Firewire port, AND the HDCP protection on the DVI port. They're similar, but completely independent.

The other thread I think you're referring had to do with having both 5C-compliant and non-compliant devices on the firewire bus. In that case, the existence of the non-5C device causes the 6200 to not work properly with the 5C device.

anyone gonna watch the fast and the furious in HD on ABC tonight?

I turned over to it for a few minutes. Looks and sounds really good in HD and 5.1 for a crappy movie.

Originally posted by drbenson
I would appreciate it if dogfluffy and any other Forum members in the Bremerton headend area could check whether channel 108 KCTS-HD is operating between 5pm and 2am. I have spent 2 months trying to get it sorted out, and we're now at the Senior Manager of Network Operations and Customer Care Operations Manager level.

If you'd be willing, PM me with your email address and I'll pass it along as this process goes forward. Thanks so much.



22 May, 10:53pm. East Bremerton, 2 Blocks from Fairview Elementary right off cental valley road.

Watching KCTS on Channel 108 as I type.

Originally posted by jimre
No, I don't think the firewire and DVI have anything to do with each other. The 7.10 firmware enables BOTH the 5C protection on the Firewire port, AND the HDCP protection on the DVI port. They're similar, but completely independent.

The other thread I think you're referring had to do with having both 5C-compliant and non-compliant devices on the firewire bus. In that case, the existence of the non-5C device causes the 6200 to not work properly with the 5C device.

Well if there is a firewire device connected to it, I'd try unplugging it to see what happens. That should be easy to test.

My understanding of HDCP was it keeps devices from outputing something that could compromise the program material (basically anything that can output HDTV) and since firewire can output, it too might be monitored as part of the HDCP process.

the problem is definitely not only related to firewire-5C. I have a fujitsu plasma connected to a 5100 with dvi (no firewire at all), and every time I power off the tv I need to unplug and power cycle the 5100 to get a picture to show up. worked fine with the previous rev of the firmware (7.07)...

Originally posted by Karyk
Well if there is a firewire device connected to it, I'd try unplugging it to see what happens. That should be easy to test.

My understanding of HDCP was it keeps devices from outputing something that could compromise the program material (basically anything that can output HDTV) and since firewire can output, it too might be monitored as part of the HDCP process. Nice theory, just wrong. It happens to me with NO FIREWIRE connected whatsoever.

As I said before, there are now two SEPARATE copy-protection systems enabled with 7.10 firmware. The DVI port has HDCP enabled. The firewire port has 5C/DTCP enabled. They are completely different, and un-related. HDCP allows the DVI port to ensure your device is "display-only", eg it has no ability to make digital copies.

5C/DTCP for Firewire is more complex - it allows devices to make digital copies, but only if they obey the "usage flags" set in the program content, eg "copy once", "copy never", etc.

So has anyone found a work around for this yet? I had a tech out today who swapped boxes out (I told him not to waste his time) and was utterly unhelpful. I called Comcast CSR to tell them I still had the problem and they claim I am the only one who has called in on this! Has no one else called in?

I am really at wits end with Comcast on this.

I am on the eastside, with a Toshiba 34HFXD83 16:9 Tube using the DVI output of the Motorola box direct into the Toshiba.

Originally posted by Vespa
So has anyone found a work around for this yet? I had a tech out today who swapped boxes out (I told him not to waste his time) and was utterly unhelpful. I called Comcast CSR to tell them I still had the problem and they claim I am the only one who has called in on this! Has no one else called in?

I am really at wits end with Comcast on this.

I am on the eastside, with a Toshiba 34HFXD83 16:9 Tube using the DVI output of the Motorola box direct into the Toshiba. I've certainly called in to complain, and I'm sure hundreds of other people have called in as well. Anyone using DVI will run into this problem for sure. Unfortunately, the "official" response I got from the Comcast CSR was that DVI is "not officially supported" -- so if it doesn't work for you anymore then tough luck, sucker!

There are three workarounds - each more stupid than the previous one:

1) make sure the cable box is always turned off BEFORE the TV is turned off, or even before you switch your TV inputs from DVI to anything else. The converse is also true: make sure the TV is ON - and switched to DVI - before ever turning on the cable box. Of course this one is extra stupid because the stupid cable box doesn't have discrete on/off codes...

2) unplug/re-plug the DVI cable from the back of the box every time you turn your TV on/off. Really, really helpful if your cable box is deep within built-in cabinets, and the DVI cable is screwed in tight, like it's supposed to be...

3) Power cycle the cable box every time you turn your TV off/on. Works like a charm, except of course for losing your TV guide for the next hour or two...

I find it astounding that Comcast would roll out this upgrade - which enables DVI copy-protection - to millions of customers without even bothering to test with even ONE actual customer using DVI. I guarantee if they had, this would not have been released!!!

Thanks Jim...I agree this is 100% BS. I too can't believe that Comcast did not test for this!

Yea I am really excited to plug/unplug the DVI cable...since that's all that seems to work for me.

Is there a specific dept that I should ask for when I call in to complain...again?

Originally posted by brente
the problem is definitely not only related to firewire-5C. I have a fujitsu plasma connected to a 5100 with dvi (no firewire at all), and every time I power off the tv I need to unplug and power cycle the 5100 to get a picture to show up. worked fine with the previous rev of the firmware (7.07)...

I wasn't talking about the power off problem. This person is having a problem where they don't get a picture for more than 10 seconds.

I have the same power off problem--I think everyone does. But this person is having a problem beyond that where the DVI port is basically unusable.

Originally posted by Vespa
So has anyone found a work around for this yet? I had a tech out today who swapped boxes out (I told him not to waste his time) and was utterly unhelpful. I called Comcast CSR to tell them I still had the problem and they claim I am the only one who has called in on this! Has no one else called in? .

I've called in and the tech claimed he was noting my file about it.

Originally posted by jimre
Nice theory, just wrong. It happens to me with NO FIREWIRE connected whatsoever. .

You're having a problem where you can't use DVI at all because the picture will disappear after 10 seconds?

For all and sundry who are interested: KCTS-HD 108 is now available in the Bremerton / Kitsap area as of 5/21. After two months of runaround with Comcast, I found a customer service rep who was actually willing and able to help, and to escalate when I wasn't satisfied with the party line.

After various creative excuses, including the geoduck mating season, the CSR talked to the 'lead' technical person at the Bremerton headend. He said that Bremerton does not have their fiber optic feed yet, and so is receiving KCTS (and all other digital feeds) over the air. The lead tech said Bremerton service area has not completed its buildout, and that 'his tests' indicated there was not enough bandwidth to do KCTS-HD.

I guess that has worked for everybody else who asked, but I know from receiving KCTS OTA at my old home that the SAME bandwidth is used during the day for the Kids and Learns channels (which have always been fine), and that those two are turned off and the bandwidth combined for the HD feed after 5pm. I'm afraid I went slightly ballistic and asked to see the research this lead had done, expressing skepticism that even old coax shrinks that much at sundown.

Lo and behold, I checked 108 that evening, and KCTS-HD was coming in clear and strong. Maybe they called CoaxRooter?

I now have firmware 7.10, and am having no problem getting DVI to work with my projector, though it now takes longer to switch from YPrPb to DVI. But I also have streaking using DVI that I've never had before. This is not good, and I hope it goes away.

Originally posted by drbenson
For all and sundry who are interested: KCTS-HD 108 is now available in the Bremerton / Kitsap area as of 5/21. After two months of runaround with Comcast, I found a customer service rep who was actually willing and able to help, and to escalate when I wasn't satisfied with the party line.

After various creative excuses, including the geoduck mating season, the CSR talked to the 'lead' technical person at the Bremerton headend. He said that Bremerton does not have their fiber optic feed yet, and so is receiving KCTS (and all other digital feeds) over the air. The lead tech said Bremerton service area has not completed its buildout, and that 'his tests' indicated there was not enough bandwidth to do KCTS-HD.

I guess that has worked for everybody else who asked, but I know from receiving KCTS OTA at my old home that the SAME bandwidth is used during the day for the Kids and Learns channels (which have always been fine), and that those two are turned off and the bandwidth combined for the HD feed after 5pm. I'm afraid I went slightly ballistic and asked to see the research this lead had done, expressing skepticism that even old coax shrinks that much at sundown.

Lo and behold, I checked 108 that evening, and KCTS-HD was coming in clear and strong. Maybe they called CoaxRooter?

Congratulations on winning your long-running battle over KCTS-HD with Comcast. It's too bad that you had to practically engineer the solution yourself. This just points out the ignorance within the Comcast technical ranks of HD technology and the specifics of multicasting over a single digital channel.

Let's see if you ever hear a thank-you from Comcast.

I have a friend in Bremerton with and HD set who tried and finally gave up on Comcast because of the delays and lack of knowledge from Comcast.

I recently purchased my first RPT HDTV and I have been looking around for what type of service to get and I think I am going to try Comcast for a while. I am pretty sure that I don't need to get Digital Cable to receive the local channels in HD but I thought I would try Digital Cable as well.

Questions:
1. I have been looking at Comcast's site and I cant figure out the difference in channels between Digital Classic and Digital Plus. Does anyone know what the difference is?
2. Does anyone know when CBS might be available.
3. Can you still use analog TV's without a Digital Cable box. Only want to pay for 1 HD Cable box and don't care if the other TV's cant get the extra channels.

Thanks

Meo,

You're right you don't need the "Digital" packages to get HDTV. I have Comcast's limited basic ($12.35 program) and get HD for an additional $7 or so (I'm not sure if that's for the box or the HD service). I'm not sure what additional channels come with Plus over Classic.

KIRO will apparently be available within a few months. I'm hoping it's before football season, but I have OTA too, so it won't be a disaster if it doesn't happen.

I believe you can use other TVs to get the normal cable channels. I have one other TV hooked up, and it gets the few other channels on my package (e.g. Cable News New and several shopping channels), but I don't know how many of the channels in the "Digital" package are actually digital. I think Comcast.com has this information.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3821241#post3821241

This post indicates that removing a firewire device helped with the DVI output issue. Assuming that wasn't a temporary fix, it still won't fix the problem completely, in that if you turn your set off before turning off the box, or turn the box on before turning off the set, you'll have problems that possibly require a reboot.

Also, the thread does indicate that some devices simply have a problem doing the handshake, apparently even where Firewire isn't present.

I think you're mis-reading this thread. When he says the presence of a non-5C firewire device will "turn off the video", I believe he's referring to video being monitored thru the firewire port, not the DVI port.

Originally posted by Karyk
You're right you don't need the "Digital" packages to get HDTV. I have Comcast's limited basic ($12.35 program) and get HD for an additional $7 or so (I'm not sure if that's for the box or the HD service). I'm not sure what additional channels come with Plus over Classic.

KIRO will apparently be available within a few months. I'm hoping it's before football season, but I have OTA too, so it won't be a disaster if it doesn't happen.We expected KIRO-HD to be available within a few months at this same time, last year. Personally, I don't think the Comcast/Cox pissing match will ever get resolved without FCC intervention.
I believe you can use other TVs to get the normal cable channels. I have one other TV hooked up, and it gets the few other channels on my package (e.g. Cable News New and several shopping channels), but I don't know how many of the channels in the "Digital" package are actually digital. I think Comcast.com has this information. All channels below 100 are analog, so you can receive them on a standard TV tuner. Officially, I think you have to subscribe to "extended basic" to get analog channels 31-99, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that if they enable HD for you, you might get these channels anyway - since they have to take a filter off your line to pass thru the higher-frequency digital channels.

I had Comcast come out and set up "basic cable" + a hi def box last week, since I can only get CBS reliably over-the-air. Since I use Comcast high speed internet, I was offered a deal in the mail where I could get basic cable for $5.99 a month, but that would qualify me for a $10 multi-product discount. The CS rep I spoke to on the phone said my total cost would be $5.99 plus $5 for the hi def box, minus the $10 multi-product discount.

No one seemed to really understand what was going on, from the Comcast person I ordered service from, to the installer. I had to remind the installer that I needed a hi def box, he said his work order said I already had a hi def box (probably from me telling the CS rep on the phone I had a DirecTV hi def box). At any rate, he set up a Moto 6200. After he set up the box, it started downloading the new firmware. When he called in to activate the box there was some more confusion, and he said something like "It just says here digital cable" -- I kept my mouth shut. I had a meeting to go to (we were at the end of the install window) so I told the guy I would set up the box later after it finished downloading (long download, like 20 minutes), and we both left.

I set up the box later that night, and I found that I was getting ALL of the Comcast channels, including premiums (HBO, Showtime, etc), the hi def package, and so on. I called Comcast the next day and told them I thought I was getting too many channels, and they said "well, you are only being billed for the $5.99 basic cable, and the $5 for the hi def box. Sometimes it takes a while for the boxes to update. Some people they update in 5 minutes, some people it takes a couple of days." That didn't make very much sense to me.

One week later and I am still receiving all of the premium channels.

Mine took one year to update... :)

Originally posted by jimre
I think you're mis-reading this thread. When he says the presence of a non-5C firewire device will "turn off the video", I believe he's referring to video being monitored thru the firewire port, not the DVI port.

It's not clear, but I think he's referring to viewing through the DVI port while having a firewire connection to the STB. I suppose we could ask him. ;)

The portion of the thread is relevant to this discussion in that regard (firewire connections possibly being a problem) and in that some devices simply might not work with 7.10.

Originally posted by jimre
We expected KIRO-HD to be available within a few months at this same time, last year. Personally, I don't think the Comcast/Cox pissing match will ever get resolved without FCC intervention.
All channels below 100 are analog, so you can receive them on a standard TV tuner. Officially, I think you have to subscribe to "extended basic" to get analog channels 31-99, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that if they enable HD for you, you might get these channels anyway - since they have to take a filter off your line to pass thru the higher-frequency digital channels.

No, they put a filter on mine for that range (although it took the installer quite some time to do it--maybe some don't bother). It's got a bit of a buffer, however, because at the upper end I still get HGTV, and at the lower end I get FoxSports NW. I believe each are one or two channels outside what I'm supposed to get.

BTW, the analog channels are the same regardless of whether I view through the box or with a direct cable connection.

So here are a few more questions.

1. Which is better, receiving the local channels over-the-air or from Comcast or are they the same quality.
2. Also, my new RPTV does not have a tuner so how do you receive over-the-air channels and have Comcast. Does the Comcast HD box also have a hookup for an antenna.
3. For the people in Sammamish, what is the reception like up on the Plateau. I live off of SE 8th by the Plateau golf course and when I looked at AntennaWeb, it say that I need a Medium Directional w/pre-amp to pick most of the channels and a Large Directional w/pre-amp to pick up NBC and UPN. Can these types of antennas fit in your attic since I am not allowed to put them on my roof.

Thanks for your help.

1. QAM, the transmission method of choice for cable does lower the bitrate (compress) of the raw HDTV signal. Some say they can tell the difference between it and OTA.
2. The comcast HD box isn't able to receive OTA signals. You would need another box.
3. I had better than marginal reception when I had my antenna up. I had to go to pretty extreme measures with a 30ft mast on top of my 2nd story roof. Although being 15 miles as the crow flies from the Seattle towers it all depends on location. As I recall, the golf course is down the ridge aways so I'd rate your chances pretty low. I have a channel master 4248 w/ rotor that you can have if you want.

Originally posted by meo
So here are a few more questions.

1. Which is better, receiving the local channels over-the-air or from Comcast or are they the same quality.
2. Also, my new RPTV does not have a tuner so how do you receive over-the-air channels and have Comcast. Does the Comcast HD box also have a hookup for an antenna.
3. For the people in Sammamish, what is the reception like up on the Plateau. I live off of SE 8th by the Plateau golf course and when I looked at AntennaWeb, it say that I need a Medium Directional w/pre-amp to pick most of the channels and a Large Directional w/pre-amp to pick up NBC and UPN. Can these types of antennas fit in your attic since I am not allowed to put them on my roof.

Thanks for your help.

1. I have OTA HD through a MyHD card in a PC. The PQ seems the same, but the color is better on the MyHD (in part because it's better calibrated at this point--I haven't done much to set the Comcast box yet). Analog locals are better off DirecTV locals, and probably better OTA.

2. You need a separate HD tuner or PC card that contains a tuner.

3. Your HOA probably cannot keep you from putting up an antenna (there are FCC regs on that or something) but I'm using an attic antenna in South Seattle just because the install was easier. If your attic is at all large, I suspect you'd do well from the plateau--all the main channels are roughly the same direction (and Ch 13 which is slightly different for you is rather strong).

Originally posted by livetoflyfish
1. QAM, the transmission method of choice for cable does lower the bitrate (compress) of the raw HDTV signal. Some say they can tell the difference between it and OTA. I do not believe that statement is true. This post (in this thread) is a year old, but it refutes the claim :

Does QAM modify bitrate? (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2234471&#post2234471)

livetoflyfish,
Thanks for the offer but I am just doing some upfront work until my TV arrives next week. I had to buy my set out of state since you can't buy the Hitachi version in WA state. The wait has been painful. If I do go with Comcast I would hate to spend a few hundred on a tuner and an antenna only to find out that I cant receive anything.

Originally posted by meo
livetoflyfish,
Thanks for the offer but I am just doing some upfront work until my TV arrives next week. I had to buy my set out of state since you can't buy the Hitachi version in WA state. The wait has been painful. If I do go with Comcast I would hate to spend a few hundred on a tuner and an antenna only to find out that I cant receive anything.


Did you mean if you don't go with Comcast?

Two things to realize.

First, HDTV is generally easier to receive than analog, in that it's easier to get a perfect picture. If you have an adequate HD signal, the picture will be perfect, where with analog you almost need a perfect signal for a perfect picture. Antennaweb.org should give you an idea what type of antenna size you need.

Second, Comcast does not have KIRO yet. CBS has some of the best HD of the three major networks, and you tend to just check out things in HD at least once just to see what it looks like. Without CBS the task will be a lot faster, but not nearly as complete.

Originally posted by livetoflyfish
1. QAM, the transmission method of choice for cable does lower the bitrate (compress) of the raw HDTV signal. Some say they can tell the difference between it and OTA.


How? QAM is not compression, it's modulation. A quadratic shift (or if you prefer a 1/4 turn) of the 2nd wave. A method to combine 2 amplutide modulated waves into a single channel.

If you're into "fun" math, it's similar to a sine and cosine relationship.

The bits you get are bits they sent unless they are compressed, and Comcast does not compress any bits at this time. If people are "seeing" a difference, it's hardware based. It's merely one MPEG2 decoder being better than another.

OK, I should just learn to shutup, but isn't the bandwidth different between the two? Doesn't 8VSB allow around 19.5Mb/s vs QAM which is around 12?

Originally posted by livetoflyfish
OK, I should just learn to shutup

No you shouldn't. I just want to make sure you weren't getting somebody's tale about a 12' copper river salmon they caught on 5lb test. ;)

Originally posted by livetoflyfish
... but isn't the bandwidth different between the two? Doesn't 8VSB allow around 19.5Mb/s vs QAM which is around 12?

Well, yes and no. The OTA transmissions use UP to ~19.2, your cable company can use how ever much it's facilities can pump down the pipe. Some cable companies are bit bunching, others are not. To the best of my knoweldge, Comcast currently is not bit bunching. I'm not 100% sure of the theoretical limits of the cable pipes, but I think it's closer to 30-40Mbps range.

Yes, I meant to say if I don't go with Comcast. But if I do go with Comcast then it looks like I would be missing out on CBS. So would it be possible or worth it to add a separate tuner with an antenna to Comcast just for the purpose of getting CBS in HD. It seems like a lot for one channel. So it seems to be that people have a combination of services.

Originally posted by meo
Yes, I meant to say if I don't go with Comcast. But if I do go with Comcast then it looks like I would be missing out on CBS. So would it be possible or worth it to add a separate tuner with an antenna to Comcast just for the purpose of getting CBS in HD. It seems like a lot for one channel. So it seems to be that people have a combination of services.

If you're extremely handy with computers, you might consider HDTV through HTPC. That's what I ended up doing, and then later added Comcast to have a second source of HD (I'm used to DirecTivo where I can record two things at once, so even being able to record one thing while watching another is a step down).

I'd caution you that such devices are not Tivo by any means, and they are somewhat problematic at times (the reason I indicated you need to be handy with computers). But any other source of HD will require that you spend $200+ on a tuner. If you have an old computer sitting around (at least 1,000 mhz although less will do) you could turn it into an HDPC for $200-$500 and have some recording capabilities.

Originally posted by meo
Yes, I meant to say if I don't go with Comcast. But if I do go with Comcast then it looks like I would be missing out on CBS. So would it be possible or worth it to add a separate tuner with an antenna to Comcast just for the purpose of getting CBS in HD. It seems like a lot for one channel. So it seems to be that people have a combination of services.

Is it worth it? It depends. How much HD content do you watch on KIRO? How much do you enjoy playing around with this stuff?

I am a long-time DirecTV subscriber (because of Sunday Ticket) and so I got the antenna plus installation from D* when I upgraded to HDTV. The only channel I can tune in over-the-air is KIRO.

I live in Sammamish too -- in Heritage Hills next to the Sahalee Country Club. I know my issue is a weak antenna (D* gave me a Winegard gs-1000 which is bi-directional and fairly weak) and possibly (probably) some cedars and firs on my lot and in my neighbors yards. Personally, I watch very little network TV. But my wife does, and I enjoy playing around with it enough that I will continue to try and get a good OTA signal. Next steps for me are a 24' ladder and a more powerful antenna.

But in the meantime I went with Comcast for the locals.

Originally posted by livetoflyfish
1. QAM, the transmission method of choice for cable does lower the bitrate (compress) of the raw HDTV signal. Some say they can tell the difference between it and OTA.


This is just wrong. QAM does not COMPRESS anything or lower the bitrate of anything. It is a more effiencet MODULATION scheme than 8VSB, allowing more bits to fit in a given bit of spectrum compared to 8VSB. This gain in effeciency is made at the expesne of reliability which is offeset by the cleaner nature of cable compared to over the air broadcasts.

Bits transmitted via QAM and 8VSB will come out exactly the same as when they went in given identical digital inputs. If an HD signal delivered via QAM looks worse than that delivered over the air the reason has nothing to do with QAM -vs- 8VSB but rather:

1- The QAM enabled STB may employ a crappy MPEG2 decoder or analog video stage. Possible if you consider the low quality of Motorolas STBs.
2- The cable operator may re-compress the HD signal to further reduce the amount of bandwidth.
3- The user may have forgetten to apply the green marker to the edge of their video interconnect cables, therby reducing the "warmth" of the image.

Bits are bits and in Seattle at least Comcast is sending us the bits as they receive them.

Originally posted by livetoflyfish
OK, I should just learn to shutup, but isn't the bandwidth different between the two? Doesn't 8VSB allow around 19.5Mb/s vs QAM which is around 12?

256 QAM 38.8
64 QAM 27.7
8VSB 19.39

Cable Companies do not compress, they modulate. OTA-HD looks exactly the same as HD over Cable. I've compared it side by side on numerous occasions, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. You get what they get, period.

Here is a great read if your so inclined:

http://www.projectorexpert.com/Pages/itshdtv.htm

ianken,
I know using a green marker on my cd's makes them sound better but I didn't know it helped on cable. Does it improve the picture or the audio? Do you color the center lead or the barrel? Do any other colors work?
I might pull the trigger on a new Green magic marker if it helps improve the audio but if I shoot the green magic marker I might loose the ink.

It could be coincidence, but has anyone seen their MOT STB's start locking up after the 7.10 firmware update? For some reason my STB will lock up to a weird state where it will show the video, but audio will disappear and it will not change channels. I cannot change them with the Comcast remote, any other remote, or with the buttons directly on the box. This was not happening to me before the 7.10 firmware update. I should note that I am using this with my MCE box with a RGB (VGA) connection, but I also do have DVI connected to the plasma for watching HDTV. This occurs in MCE though, regardless of whether I have switched to HDTV or not since the last STB reboot. Rebooting the STB seems to fix the problem for a short while.

On a side note, switching between RGB and DVI on my plasma (Hitachi 42HDT55) does not produce that protection error that everyone else seems to be getting... The remote for this plasma has different buttons for a TV/RGB switch and input switches, so I am guessing that switching between TV/RGB doesn't constitute an input change or something to that effect.

Anyway, any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks!
------------------------
FYI, I was able to determine this was due to the firmware issues. The 7.10 firmware apparently will just lock up the box if you use DVI and switch between that and the RGB input. Guess I'll be switching back to component until they get another firmware version out (ridiculous...):mad:

Originally posted by Bruceko
ianken,
I know using a green marker on my cd's makes them sound better but I didn't know it helped on cable. Does it improve the picture or the audio? Do you color the center lead or the barrel? Do any other colors work?
I might pull the trigger on a new Green magic marker if it helps improve the audio but if I shoot the green magic marker I might loose the ink.

I prefer Sharpie brand permanent marker: better detail. A light application to the center pin conductor on your component interconnects will do the trick.

It also works on DVI, makeing the bits richer and providing greater depth of field and a more 3D, film-like image.

Actually, I've found that applying black magic marker directly to the screen will greatly improve your black levels.

All right you guys, better stop this before this thread starts getting technical support requests for these tweaks!

Originally posted by meo

Thanks for the offer but I am just doing some upfront work until my TV arrives next week. I had to buy my set out of state since you can't buy the Hitachi version in WA state.

What TV did you buy that you can't get here?

Just Curious

Originally posted by ianken
I prefer Sharpie brand permanent marker: better detail. A light application to the center pin conductor on your component interconnects will do the trick.

It also works on DVI, makeing the bits richer and providing greater depth of field and a more 3D, film-like image.

Hey guys, while you've got the markers out, don't forget to apply some red marker to the polished ends of your Monster TOSLINK cables. You'll get even WIDER bandwidth and clearer sound from your digital stream.






/can't_keep_straight_face_much_longer

The RPTV that I purchased is the Hitachi 57X500. When I started looking for a HDTV I looked at all kinds of sets (CRT, LCD, Plasma, LCos) and I finally settled on CRT. Then I started looking at many different sets before narrowing my choices down to the Mitsubishi 55813 and the Hitachi 57X500. I was able to see the Mitsubishi everywhere but when I started asking around for the Hitachi I kept running into the same answer "Sorry but we are not authorized to carry that model". So I call Hitachi and they were very helpful in finding a place where I could go see the set and the only place that sells the set between Washington, Oregon and Idaho was in Bend Oregon. Before I made it to Bend Oregon I was on a business trip to LA and was able to find only 2 stores that had the Hitachi on display so I finally got to see the Hitachi.

What I saw was amazing. On the wall in the same room was a $15k Runco 50" Plasma set playing the same feed that the Hitachi was playing and every time I compared the image on the Hitachi to the Runco, I would look over to the sales guy and we both would be amazed at how much better the Hitachi looked. The sales guy finally said that he should see if there is some adjustments he could make to the Runco to make it look better since it was 5x the price of the Hitachi. I still went back to take a look at the Mitsubishi and I had the store play the same demo DVD and I think I saw on the Hitachi a better uniform display of color, better overall color depth, much better black and a sharpness that I did not see with any other CRT RPTV. One thing that I did like with the Mitsubishi was the fact that it had a built in tuner and the Hitachi does not. But on the other hand, I have been reading a lot of complaints with the built in tuner with the Mitsubishi so I finally made my decision and now I am just waiting for it to show up next week.

So that's my story. Now I have been trying to figure out what source (Comcast, DVT or Voom) to use.

OK - that makes sense now.

Reason I was asking is that I went with the 57T500. The main differences AFIK are the Wide-Neck CRTs, the second DVI interface and the glare screen.

Got mine at Video Only, and am completely satisfied, especially now that I've gotten DVI connectivity to the TV. Made everything look better, even the analog channels.

I was looking at the 57T500 and I did like that one as well but since I only buy a new TV every 10 to 15 years I wanted to make sure that I really got what I wanted. If I could not buy the 57X500 then I would probably decided between the Mitsubishi and the 57T500 as I thought they were more similar in pic quality.

Originally posted by meo
So that's my story. Now I have been trying to figure out what source (Comcast, DVT or Voom) to use.

As to the story part, my comment would be I've concluded it's impossible to compare the picture quality of sets in stores because they almost certainly were not properly set up (and if they were properly set up someone probably messed with it). Also, just because a technology is newer and more expensive does not mean it's better.

As to this issue of service providers, I think it really depends most on what you view. I don't tend to watch a lot of premium or even cable channels, so for me 90% of what I watch I can get OTA. Both Voom and DirecTV get their local HD content OTA, but that requires that you subscribe to their service. It would be cheaper pretty fast to just by an OTA tuner. And obviously this requires the ability to have an adequate antenna.

Comcast on the other hand has relatively cheap service (limited basic plus HD is only about $20 a month, or $10 a month if you already have their Internet service as I did). But they don't have KIRO yet, which is a big problem if you don't already have an alternative OTA source (as I do).

Does anyone have an opinion on tinning speaker leads? I currently do not have my leads tinned but I have heard that it can make a huge difference in sound quality. Can anyone confirm this?

FWIW, a Comcast rep told me this morning that VOD is now scheduled to start in Edmonds and Federal Way on June 15.

Does anyone really use VOD?

Originally posted by Babula
Does anyone really use VOD?

I used it to catch up on the Sopranos & Deadwood episodes I missed while on vacation -- good thing, too, since a power failure rendered the VCR braindead shortly after we left home.

Originally posted by Babula
Does anyone really use VOD? I use VOD to watch specific lessons from Golf Channel Academy before going out to play. My game still sucks, but at least now I know why...

Originally posted by Babula
Does anyone really use VOD?

Yes, but mostly because the Anime Network is only on VOD.

I have scheduled to have my 5100 box swapped out next week for the new 6200 box. My neighbor has the new 6200 box and the remote looks very different than the remote that came with my 5100. I use a touch screen remote control with macros and I am starting to wonder if all of the codes will need to be reprogrammed if the remotes are completely different . . . anyone know the answer to that question?

Originally posted by paulwk
I have scheduled to have my 5100 box swapped out next week for the new 6200 box. My neighbor has the new 6200 box and the remote looks very different than the remote that came with my 5100.

A new remote? The remote I am using with my 6200 is the same one that I have always had, even used it to control the old 5100 box. It even has the old AT&T logo on it. On the back of the remote it says is the "AT&T 200B". I didn't have to make any changes to the remote when I switched from the 5100 to the 6200... if that helps at all. What new remote are you expecting? Maybe I need to call Comcast and get a spiffy new remote!

LMAO they dont give you a remote you keep the old one they just exchange the box!

hmmm . . . maybe I better go take another peek at my neighbors remote. Seemed to me when I saw it last week that it was something entirely different than the ones I currently have for the (3) 5100 boxes in my house.

Here's the Comcast remote I got with my 6200 box a couple weeks ago:
http://home.comcast.net/~jsamans/com_rem.jpg
Note the black "On Demand" button.

For the most part, I only change remotes when the old one becomes too sluggish to become usable. I think the keys get gummed up over time and reponse time increases beyond usability.

You can always take an old remote to the cable store to swap it for a new one, so no biggie. A lot of times, a tech who comes out to your house for whatever reason will swap out an old remote for a newer one if you hand it to him. The newer ones all say Comcast, and the older ones all say AT&T, so they'll sometimes make the switch even without prompting from the customer.

Originally posted by JasG
FWIW, a Comcast rep told me this morning that VOD is now scheduled to start in Edmonds and Federal Way on June 15.

The last guess was May 27th. - hopefully yours will pan out. For the users who disdain VOD, its hard to disagree with you if we never get to see the product. I would like the capability of running and seeing missed showings of Sopranos and Deadwood along with others.

Wouldn't it be nice to think that the areas so long ignored in new offerings would be among the early receptors of the coming(?) recording STB's.

Okay . . . so that remote pictured above looks nothing like the remotes I have on the (3) 5100 boxes in my current set ups. The remotes I still have are the black remotes with the AT&T logo at the bottom, the red power button, and the blue buttons for "OK" and the arrows on each side of "OK." So, my question remains . . . are the codes in my old black remotes going to match the codes in this new silver remote with the VOD buttons?

paulwk,

I had the old remotes before and programed my Pronto Neo with them.

When I got the new 6200s, the installer dude gave me the two remotes (didn't even bother taking the old ones back), I didn't have to change anything. The codes were exactly the same.

Actually, they're totally identical except for the "On Demand", which is just sending channel change codes to switch to channel "001".

Come to think about it, how could there be different if they're both used with the same appliance? :)

-eric

http://www.cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/remoteprogram.htm

http://www.cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/dctremote.htm

The only major difference it that the Silver Remote above accept 4 digit codes and the Black one is 3 digits.......

thanks to everyone for the remote questions answered.

Tomorrow, I finish my house rewire for cable (RG-6; 2.25 MHz) and Cat 5 & 5E. Then, I think, I get to try my 5100 box and VOD. Will it support VOD? I can get the menu on the screen. Should I, can I, exchange my 5100 box for a 6200 box? If so, why?

Stephen:)

I would like to thank Miatasm for his time spent in making so much pertinent information available to me, a novice in many areas. If you haven't explored his site you are missing a great opportunity to expand your knowledge of the equipment you are using.

My house rewire worked. I now have VOD. I have HBO and Showtime packages. Please educate me. Are all items in the VOD menu free? If not, which are not?

Stephen

Just pick a show. VOD will tell you how much it costs, if anything, before you confirm. Most shows are "complementary". PPV and Adult movies are the main exceptions.

VOD has last Saturday's Heart concert from EMP, with atrocious sound recording (at least for as much of it as I could stand to listen to). Also, all 10 episodes of the HBO "Band of Brothers" series are now available, just in time for D-Day.

VOD has last Saturday's Heart concert from EMP, with atrocious sound recording

Thats what happens when you let a company like Real try to record a live event.

Finally my TV gets delivered tomorrow so I called Comcast and ordered Digital Cable with HDTV. Some interesting things I noticed was their insistence that you need to have Digital Cable to be able to receive the HD channels. Since I wanted to try Digital Cable I decided not to argue with them. Amazingly Comcast will be out on Thursday morning to setup everything. They will be bringing the new 6200 box that people have been receiving and they also mentioned that my area has VOD on channel 1. They also mentioned that most of the programming on VOD is free unless it's a Premium channel then you will have to pay for VOD. They also mentioned that later this year they will be offering an HD box with PVR and I should receive a mailer when it becomes available. Can't wait for that. I also asked about CBS and the they basically just sighed and said they still don't know when it will be available.

Originally posted by meo
Finally my TV gets delivered tomorrow so I called Comcast and ordered Digital Cable with HDTV. Some interesting things I noticed was their insistence that you need to have Digital Cable to be able to receive the HD channels. Since I wanted to try Digital Cable I decided not to argue with them.

I just signed up a few weeks ago, and didn't have any such problem. I was a bit surprised they didn't try to sell me more, but I guess when you're calling on a $6.?? deal they probably know they're unlikely to do well trying to sell you something. ;)

You do need to have a digital converter box, unless you have a Q??? tuner.

Thus for me $12.35 (after introductory $6.?? rate ends) plus $7.95 for the tuner box (less $10.00 for the Internet discount).

Does anyone know if there are any plans to trial the Moxi boxes in the Seattle area?

I just read the Moxi write-up from Digeo. I hope our area does give this a try and if it meets the hype it sounds like a winner. Upgradeable hard drive from 80gig, pity they didn't go 120gig from the start. Who knows what's next.

Originally posted by nodrog2
I just read the Moxi write-up from Digeo. I hope our area does give this a try and if it meets the hype it sounds like a winner. Upgradeable hard drive from 80gig, pity they didn't go 120gig from the start. Who knows what's next.

Isn't it vaporware? They might as well start with a 800 gig drive! ;)

What's up with KOMOD? 'This channel will be available shortly'. It's been like that for days for me, even after rebooting the 6200.

Anyone else having this, or do I get the pleasure of dealing with a Comcast CSR?

I'd call Comcast on that one. KOMOD has not given me any problems recently, and I just watched it this morning.

Comcast came and hooked me up with Digital Cable and an HD 6200 box and now I have a couple of questions:

1. Does anyone know where I can find an updated users guide to this box. I have found 2 different ones so far and while they are close to the box that I have, they are not quite the same.
2. Comcast would only use a component cable and while that looks very good I was wondering if using a DVI cable would make any difference.
3. I am just starting to play around with the box and was wondering if anyone had some good suggestions for tweaks and also what the other connections (Ethernet, USB, S-Video, SPDIF and IEEE 1394) can be used for. I am only using the Component connection and I have not connected it to my surround sound yet.

So far HDTV looks great with my Hitachi 57X500.

Thanks...

Meo,

I pulled the component cables for DVI about two weeks ago. Instantly made everything look better, even the analog channels.

But that's not saying much - methinks that those component cables are pretty much garbage. A good component cable (AudioQuest YIQ-3) would probably make a big difference too.

Just my $.02

Wazzu94,
Interesting that you say that because the analog channesls don't look that good in fact, the Comcast installer connect a splitter from the wall with one cable going to the DTC6200 and the other going to my TV for better reception of the analog channels.

Originally posted by meo
Wazzu94,
Interesting that you say that because the analog channesls don't look that good in fact, the Comcast installer connect a splitter from the wall with one cable going to the DTC6200 and the other going to my TV for better reception of the analog channels.

Sorry, should have clarified - I meant the analog channels displayed through the 6200. They were really crappy before, now they aren't too bad.

They installed a splitter, huh? I tried to do the same thing to get the analog tuners in the TV connected, but every time I tried to do that, I'd get about 2-5 db signal loss, and the HD channels were unwatchable - pixelating and blocking badly.

To correct the analog tuner issue, I had to run a cable from another jack in the same room, then split it. The analog tuners in the TV then look as good as analog can, I guess.

Well when the installer first tried to install the splitter I could not even receive the HD channels. First he thought it was the splitter so tried a couple and still no luck so tried some other things before finally testing the signal strength. As it turns out my house is fairly new and because the builder ran all the cable runs in a "Home Run" arrangement through an 8-way splitter, I had too much of a signal loss. So he had to install a booster and my signal strength went from -7 on one channel and -12 on another channel to +7 and +3 and then everything worked just fine after that. So the installer was hoping that this was going to be a quick 1 hour job that ended up taking around 2 1/2 hours before he was all done.

Yeah, I have a booster sitting on my workbench I'll install as a last resort. I'm planning to re-wire the whole house anyway for Cat-6 & Cat-5e, so I'll just run a separate cable for the HD Tuner and one for the Analog tuners.

DVI is nice though - it does make a difference - especially on the HD channels. My only complaint is that the copy protection message comes on occasionally. I just ignore it until it goes away.

So what's a good DVI cable to use. I am borrowing my friends for the weekend to see if I like it but I see all kinds of price ranges on these cables.

Once you get past the speced max limit for DVI the cables go up in price. I tried a 10m unit froim "Lindy" and it worked up to 720p/1080i. Good for most folks. Since my main DVI srouce is actually my HTPC the cable didn't cut it as it failed at 1360x768, a premium (IE: expensive) unit from Bettercable did the trick.

Originally posted by meo
... and also what the other connections (Ethernet, USB, S-Video, SPDIF and IEEE 1394) can be used for. Ethernet - nothing, not activated.
USB - nothing, not activated.
S-video - crappy looking video for TVs that can't handle Component or DVI.
SPDIF - digital audio to your receiver.
IEEE 1394 (aka Firewire) - digital recordings including HD. See the many threads in the "HD Recorders" forum here on AVS.

Originally posted by meo
So what's a good DVI cable to use. I am borrowing my friends for the weekend to see if I like it but I see all kinds of price ranges on these cables.

Just buy a single link DVI cable from Pacific Cable (Google it--they're a local company in Auburn--fast service), about $22 plus shipping. With DVI there's no need to buy premium cables--it either works or it doesn't.

You might not notice much difference if you have an analog (CRT based RPTV or tube TV) set because the difference is just when the signal gets converted to analog. I'm using DVI on my Toshiba RPTV only because the other component inputs are in use.

I bought a 6' DVI cable for $25 at Computer Stop in Bellevue. Happened to be a dual link cable but they had single link cables for the same price . :confused:

Works fine so far....

Has anybody watching the NHL or NBA Finals the last few days noticed the picture and sound freezing up during these broadcasts? Is there any way to tell if that's a problem with Comcast or ABC/KOMO?

Thanks to anyone who knows...

i noticed this last night with the laker game.

I didn't see a reference to any problems in the main avs hdtv programming thread, so maybe a komo/comcast problem?

I had a few problems watching the Lakers OTA last night. There was a period a few months ago where I had problems with KOMO OTA.

I switched to OTA because the audio seemed a bit out of sync on Comcast. Not sure it was any different OTA, but I never switched back.

I had several picture 'freeze ups" and the sound was definatly not synced properly via Comcast. The sat feed of the game did not have these issues, so must of been something at comcast or Komo's end.
Rick

I noticed the terrible lip sync and the freezes during the NBA Final last night as well. Some of the freezes lasted several seconds followed by a "catch up" phase. I have DirecTV and their SD feed was fine -- no lip sync issue, though I didn't watch long enough to find out if it was freezing.

Fortunately, you almost never saw the announcers so the lip sync wasn't that big of a deal for me.

yeah, but the swish of the ball going through the basket was behind as well...a bit annoying,but not a big deal.

the most annoying thing I found was the cuts to the SD cameras for entire plays at one end of the court (when they setup in the 1/2 court offense) and some of the close up player shots....but, not bad otherwise (despite the breakups).

Rich

The sound being a bit behind the picture isn't nearly as bad as when its the other way around. Nothing like hearing the swish of the ball going through the basket before you see it happen. Ruins it totally. BTW, the sat feed that I referred to being fine, was the HD feed from ABC, no issues at all.
Rick

Originally posted by jsamans
I have DirecTV and their SD feed was fine -- no lip sync issue, though I didn't watch long enough to find out if it was freezing.

Audio sync is particularly difficult with HD. You're much less likely to see it with SD.

Originally posted by Karyk
Audio sync is particularly difficult with HD. You're much less likely to see it with SD.
Combined with the fact that I have a Samsung DLP I spend most of my time wandering around with a dazed look on my face wondering if it's the set or the source :D

Around my household of Pistons fans.....we refer to the

1. Embarrasing sync issue
2. 20 - 2 second freeze / glitches (Stanley Cup as well)
3. Buzzing noise the entire 3rd quarter
4. 2 Random volume blasts.
5. Wicked snaping sound in the pre-game

All as simply..."KOMO TIME!!!!"

They are pathetic.......ruins the broadcast. I've been seeing Audio-sync issues with Komo since DAY 1 with Comcast. It has NEVER been right. Is 8-10 months not long enough to fix this?....I don't even hope it will get better for the rest of the series.....IT WONT!...Garun-sheed!

well I hope it's not a Comcast issue. haven't noticed it on other channels so I guess it must be a KOMO thing. hopefully soon-to-be resolved.
Sports Center in HD last night was a big improvement and looks like ESPN is going to quit broadcasting the stretched images during SD programs. A decision I've been waiting for. It will be hard to decide tonight rather to watch Roger Clemens pitch in the M's HD broadcast or to watch the NBA Finals... Guess I'll try to catch a little of both. Have a great day everyone.

Originally posted by jsamans
Combined with the fact that I have a Samsung DLP I spend most of my time wandering around with a dazed look on my face wondering if it's the set or the source :D

I also have a Sammy DLP, don't understand what you're saying. I know it can't be picture quality as mine is great - comparable to any plasma I've seen. Am I missing something???

P.s - Game 7 of Stanley Cup.

Audio sync not even close.......
I lost track at 32 video pause / glitches......

Definatly "Komo Time".....can't wait for more 2-nite!!!!!

Originally posted by jeff28
It will be hard to decide tonight rather to watch Roger Clemens pitch in the M's HD broadcast...

Did I miss something? I'll be seriously happy if I did! This weekend's games against the EXPOS are in HD, but tonights isn't, right?

All in HD on Channel 100:

Friday, June 11: Montreal Expos at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 12: Montreal Expos at Mariners 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 13: Montreal Expos at Mariners 1:00 p.m.

Yeah!

I don't know what jeff28 is talking about tonights game being in HD. It's on Fox Sports Net, and unless they have upgraded, we won't be seeing Clemens in HD tonight in Seattle.

From what I remember they have been showing a list on ch 100 that had June 9th as the next date for about 2 weeks. I haven't looked recently but that's probably where that came from.

I'm about ready to cancel cable pretty soon. I haven't been able to get INHD for a few weeks now, but there hasn't been anything I really wanted to watch on it anyway. It's just something to flip to during commercials. I still don't have VOD. I think they're probably just doing work in the Shoreline and Edmonds area for that and probably causing the INHD problems.

I got my Silver Sensor from Amazon today for $25, so I can see how that works in my apt. Maybe my cable box is on the fritz because I've had better luck with the Fusion 3QAM card lately than the cable box. Unfortunately I can only get the locals with it. No ESPN or INHD.

I saw the June 9th listing as well.

Roto...your right on about INHD....it's for flipping during commercials. We all let a comical sigh as the blasting commercial fades to anything, seals, baseball, diving...anything....except....GOD DAMN BODYBUILDING!!!!!!!! That's the worst!

I dont' watch a ton of tv and I think I've seen everything on INHD for a couple months now.....weak. I would guess certain programs have been on over 50 times now.....easily.

right now, the comcast schedule on channel 100 shows:
June 9 - houston at mariners 7:05
June 11 - montreal at mariners 7:05
june 12 - montreal at ariners 7:05
june 13 - montreal at mariners 1:05
june 25 - san diego at mariners 7:05

sorry I got mixed up on what day it was.
didn't mean to cause any confusion.

BTW, I had the audio/video dropouts last night during the NBA Finals both on Comcast and OTA. The dropouts OTA were different than when I get multipath problems (which I don't tend to get much on KOMO).

Anybody know when Comcast will quit broadcasting analog? I prefer the analog signal to the digital, except of course Hi Def.

Originally posted by biz_qwik
Roto...your right on about INHD....it's for flipping during commercials. We all let a comical sigh as the blasting commercial fades to anything, seals, baseball, diving...anything....except....GOD DAMN BODYBUILDING!!!!!!!! That's the worst!

I dont' watch a ton of tv and I think I've seen everything on INHD for a couple months now.....weak. I would guess certain programs have been on over 50 times now.....easily.

Gotta disagree about INHD. For the next 4 months 3 MLB games per week when the Orioles HD isn't scheduled. Great PQ. My view is that I can put up with the repeats with the expectation that at some point INHD will actually produce its own programs. We do watch it a lot. IMAX has maybe 8 films on INHD that are quite good. I agree, Bodybuilding is bad, but worse is wrestling. Ugh. But when good stuff comes, we'll get it. That's why I envy systems with more channels. Not for now so much (except DiscoveryHD) but when these channels, like BravoHD and TNT-HD increase their HD content those that have them will be ready. Comcast users will still be waiting.

As far as Comcast stopping analog, hopefully the Comcast gurus on AVS will have a good estimate.

Rich N.

I use an MX700 remote. When I got the 6200 they never replaced the remote and rather than wait for Comcast to deliver a new one I thought I'd ask if anyone here as a device file for an MX700/MX800 that they could send my way. Or better yet: post it to remotecentral.com. I'd like the transport controls as well as the in-demand button stuff if you've got it.

Thanks in advance...

I searched the tread as well as Motorola's site but can't find an answer. Will the 620x box do DVI-I? Or is it DVI-D only. I have a crt projector and I don't want to spend $300 to convert DVI-D to analog. Thanks

Mason

I just got off the phone with Comcast (Bothell). They told me that if I wanted just the HD locals, it would cost $6.95/month plus $15.95 installation fee. The box would be either a SA 8590 or 8580. She told me it had firewire and component. It also has a DVI port but it's not supported (although she said it may work - but I can't call them if it doesn't).

So does this box have a DVI/HDCP port or is it just plain old DVI? I can put either port in my plasma and I like the idea of being able to possibly record off the firewire port.

Any comments on this - is it possible/probable?

Also - anyone have success using a QAM card with Comcast to record non 5C HD content?

Originally posted by RobbyD
I just got off the phone with Comcast (Bothell). They told me that if I wanted just the HD locals, it would cost $6.95/month plus $15.95 installation fee. The box would be either a SA 8590 or 8580. She told me it had firewire and component.

I doubt you will be getting an SA box. AFAIK all Comcast operations in Western Washingtion, or at least in the Seattle region are Motorola based.

The SA 8580 & 8590 are ANALOG Addressable Cable Boxes.....you will be getting a Motorola Unit.......

Originally posted by miatasm
The SA 8580 & 8590 are ANALOG Addressable Cable Boxes.....you will be getting a Motorola Unit.......

The info he got from the CSR is so bad who knows what he'll get (maybe just a brick)...nothing they said was even close...

Maybe Bothell is different, but I got a Moto box. It does HDCP with the new bug mentioned above (if you switch inputs without turning it off first it displays an error message or won't display at all).

Anyone made any progress on this issue? I find turning the box on and off about three times will usually get the blank screen to disappear.