For those of you trying to get TVGOS to download you might try some of the tips from the 3410A sticky in the HDTV Recorders & Players forum. When I was playing with the LG tv I was able to get into the info screen with the code 753258951 that is reported in that sticky, however I had to infer (educated guess) as to what menu I had to be in when I punched in the code since the LG tv didn't have the same menu structure as the implementation in the 3410A. My 3410A does have a hex code other than 0x0 indicating the host channel I receive info from, I believe it is 13 (dec). The LG tv never showed anything but 0x0 for the host channel. Recent postings in that sticky indicate there is another code that will reset the TVGOS software and 1 person indicated successful loading after doing this. Here is his note on how to do it.

To reset TV Guide settings:
1) Go To the LST-3410 Menu and highlight EZScan (do not execute it - just highlight it)
2) Using the remote, enter: 100102

I then went into the TV Guide diagnostics menu (753259852) and saw that the Host Channel is now 0x0.

Note that his 9 digit number is incorrect for accessing the diagnostics menu. The code is a criss-cross of the 9 keys. I may even have it wrong, it might be 753852951. Search the sticky mentioned above for the correct code, the date it was posted is several months or more ago.

Good luck (you'll need it)!!!

Wish fox could get the HD right on this Lions/Packers game :(

Go Joey!

I hear you Binaural!!!

How about them Seahawks? :( I don't know about anybody else, but not only did the game suck... the picture quality was just as bad!!!

David

:) Hi everyone,

I've enjoyed reading as many posts as possible on HDTV OTA setup on this forum.

I really need help determining the best antenna type for my area. I live in Lynnwood, WA 98036 near the intersection of 204th Str. SW and 21st Pl. W.

I've already checked the CEA website and apparently most if not all the stations I'm interested in are UHF channels. The tricky part for my area is that the antenna type indicated for my location is RED. I only live 13 miles from most of the transmitters but apparently there are some hills in between and other types of interferences (trees etc) and maybe the transmitters aren't very strong? My elevation is about 340-360 feet.....but it looks like there is a hilly area in between over 400 feet elevation.

Based on CEA recommendations I need a large Yagi type UHF unidirectional antenna.....but I wonder if a large multidirectional UHF antenna (like a DB4) might work and give me more stations without having to rotate the antenna. The majority of the stations are within 10 degrees of eachother from my location.

I guess with antenna choices it's almost like trial and error to figure out what will work........but I'm hoping someone else that lives in my area might already know what works best.

Thanks for any suggestions
David

I hear you Binaural!!!

How about them Seahawks? :( I don't know about anybody else, but not only did the game suck... the picture quality was just as bad!!!

David
I read here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=579280&page=1&pp=30) that the 'Hawks game was not in HD. For me, today's football generally sucked from PQ standpoint until the ESPN Sunday Night game.

Yeah, apparently this year "not in HD" means either "crappy widescreen SD" or "DirecTV and whoever else have no idea what FOX and CBS are actually producing."

I'm hoping it's the former, since the Hawks game really did look awful. The GB/DET game (reported as being in HD) was better after they got the link fixed, so who knows...

Anyone notice lots of freezes or problems with MNF on Comcast?

So, based on the QAM post earlier (thanks!) I'm seeing:

KCPQ HD (81-1)
KTWB HD (81-2)
KCTS HD (82-5)
KING HD (83-1)
KONG HD (83-2)
KIRO HD (84-1)

Is there a KOMO HD up or just KOMO DT on 82-4?

hamburgler

im at 85 strength on digitals hdtv's... do i really need to attempt an antenna?? would it help. ALso does everyone get better cables than the one provided by the cable co? I have noise and i think that might be it, also the fact im splitting the cable 3 times lol

So, based on the QAM post earlier (thanks!) I'm seeing:

KCPQ HD (81-1)
KTWB HD (81-2)
KCTS HD (82-5)
KING HD (83-1)
KONG HD (83-2)
KIRO HD (84-1)

Is there a KOMO HD up or just KOMO DT on 82-4?

hamburgler

You should be seeing KCTS-HD on 82.2 (after 3PM), KCTS-DT on 82.4, KCTS-Learns on 82.3 and KCTS-Kids on 82.1. KOMO-HD should be on 82.5 (they only show HD on HD network programming and for the news). I had KIRO-HD on 84.1, but after rescanning last night, it's now on 84.2 for me...

im at 85 strength on digitals hdtv's... do i really need to attempt an antenna?? would it help. ALso does everyone get better cables than the one provided by the cable co? I have noise and i think that might be it, also the fact im splitting the cable 3 times lolThe cables provided by Comcast are usually just fine. Running the cable thru 3 splitters means you'll have less than 1/10 the original signal left (assuming it's 2-way splitters; 3- or 4-way splitters would be even worse). Noise will definitely be a problem here, unless you get an amplifier or amplified splitter.

wait... so would 1 (3 or 4 way splitter) be better than running into a 2way splitter ..then another 2 way splitter? Never seen the 4 wy split..ill look. I need to pick up some component cables later and any additional stuff i see recommended.
But i think i need 4 inputs (2 into the tv,1 for internet,1 for the tivo)

According to the Comcast.net forum, Oregon and Washington have been upgraded to the higher cable modem speeds today:
http://forums.comcast.net/thread.jspa?threadID=42769&tstart=0

I see no evidence of the increase yet.

According to the Comcast.net forum, Oregon and Washington have been upgraded to the higher cable modem speeds today:
http://forums.comcast.net/thread.jspa?threadID=42769&tstart=0

I see no evidence of the increase yet.

I just scored 6295 on broadbandreports.com, so I'd say the upgrade is in play in my city (Renton)! Man that's fast!

According to the Comcast.net forum, Oregon and Washington have been upgraded to the higher cable modem speeds today:
http://forums.comcast.net/thread.jspa?threadID=42769&tstart=0

I see no evidence of the increase yet.

Based on the pricing, it looks like they increased the discount for subscribers to other Comcast services. It is listed at $15 (8Mb) and $17 (6Mb). Didn't it used to be $10?

Based on the pricing, it looks like they increased the discount for subscribers to other Comcast services. It is listed at $15 (8Mb) and $17 (6Mb). Didn't it used to be $10?

I read that more as an increase for HSI-only subscribers.

I'm having this exact same problem with my Sharp LC-37D5U unit. It looks like Gemstar TV Guide information isn't broadcasted on the signal anymore in WA.

I wonder if having a cablecard would help in this case.

Does anybody have an "on-screen guide"-enabled TV that has the guide working? How did you make it work?

-eric
I just came across your message. I have a new Sammy dlp and cannot get tv guide. I have a cable card and get all my channels (digi hd) with no problem. tv guide says no info - is this the way its going to be or is there some way I can get the guide? Help anyone!!!

I actually called Samsung support line. The answer was Comcast send tv guide via digital signal while samsung tv guide (from gemstar?) only supports analog signal. They are working on a fix and will notify me when the fix is realy. I will post here.

I just came across your message. I have a new Sammy dlp and cannot get tv guide. I have a cable card and get all my channels (digi hd) with no problem. tv guide says no info - is this the way its going to be or is there some way I can get the guide? Help anyone!!!

I read that more as an increase for HSI-only subscribers.
Correct, it's a 10% price increase, if you don't subscribe to cable. Nice...

I'm getting the hd-pvr this weekend.

Monthly comes to:
Limited basic - $12.30
Digital Classic - $11.99
HD-pvr - $9.95

I tried getting this package yesterday and was told that this is not a valid package for the DVR. I talked to several reps and a manager and was told that the following is required for the DVR:

Basic: 42.99
Digital Classic: 11.99
HD-DVR: 9.95

Can anyone else confirm that they were able to get the DVR with just Limited Basic and Digital Classic? If yes, can you also include how you got it?

Thanks.

I can confirm that the information the Comcast rep gave you is correct. You have to subscribe to basic and if the CSSR tries to add DVR with just limited they will get an error message and they won't be able to build the order. I thought the minimum digital buy-through was Digital Lite, which is $5.00 (five-something) per month but maybe you do have to get classic. Either way, the part about needing basic is true. If someone has limited only they ordered the DVR before the restriction was put in place in the Comcast computer system. Although basic was always a requirement, I don't think the system was always set-up to give back an error message if a CSR added DVR to an account with limited only. Does that make sense?

Regarding dvr - my main tv has the hddvr, I recently acquired a second set and would like another hddvr, I have been quoted two prices, $15.00 and $9.95 over the phone. Obviously the $9.95 is what I would like to pay. What is the real pricing on this.

$15.00 for the second. At least that's what they're charging me.

$15.00 for the second. At least that's what they're charging me.
That's what I paid earlier this year. I added a second box for HBO/Cinemax HD movies but after two months figured out there's no way I'd have time to watch them all. :D

Problem: I'm recording one program right now. I try to change the channel (through favorites, channel up/down, or channel # and ok), and I'm prompted to end my current recording and change the channel, or stay on the channel to keep recording. This only happens when I'm using both tuners to record two programs, which makes perfect sense. There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to change the channel.

I called 1800COMCAST and she told me she'd have to reset the box, which would end the recording. That's fine, if I wanted to watch it live I wouldn't be recording it! I've learned to ask everything first, so I asked if I'd need to reprioritize my series recordings. She told me I would. Anyone here who has taken the time to change the priority of the series knows that it's very time consuming to move one show up 15 spots. I asked if she could credit my account for that, and she told me she couldn't credit me for my time. I then asked for a credit for the service I'm paying for that I'm not getting if I have to set everything back up, and she still said no. I told her that because this is the fourth box I've had, and at least the sixth time I've had to call with problems, if they can't provide a credit for the box not working properly I'd cancel everything (cable, internet, digital home phone) and go with competitors as I'm tired of these problems. She didn't budge.

I'm checking into DirectTV and DishNetwork right now, a few packages look good, especially with new customers. I can't believe they're so nonchalant about losing customers, I'm tempted to dispute the entire month's bill and tell them to just send it to collections. A few letters will keep it off my credit report so that's not a concern at all.

Someone tell me this can be fixed. :mad:

Problem: I'm recording one program right now. I try to change the channel (through favorites, channel up/down, or channel # and ok), and I'm prompted to end my current recording and change the channel, or stay on the channel to keep recording. This only happens when I'm using both tuners to record two programs, which makes perfect sense. There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to change the channel.

:I'm confused by your post. You say it "makes perfect sense", yet you go on to complain at length about it.

The real problem with this unit (which I suspect is what you've run into) is that it automatically pads recordings with a couple extra minutes start time. If you have back-to-back recordings scheduled, this means that BOTH tuners are in use for a couple minutes between the two shows. If you attempt to change the channel during these couple minutes, it warns you that one of the recordings will be stopped. The unit should either a) not pad when recording back-to-back shows, or b) let you configure this as an option.

Also - you're smoking crack if you think Comcast owes you money for your time.

I'm confused by your post. You say it "makes perfect sense", yet you go on to complain at length about it.

Also - you're smoking crack if you think Comcast owes you money for your time.
"This only happens when I'm using both tuners to record two programs, which makes perfect sense."
It makes perfect sense if I were recording two shows. Read it, I'm not. ;)

I'm not smoking crack, and another rep credited me the $10 monthly fee. Smoke that! :D

Well apparently the audio drops are still around. Now I'm losing complete audio during commercials while watching Lost on HD channel 104. Anyone else having the same problem? I was hoping that it would've been fixed from the last season / year.

I have a strange problem, and this probably is not the thread for it, but I have not searched around completely yet...

Our DVR started rebooting every 5-15 minutes last night. Actually it was pretty stable all day, but tonight it has gotten progressively worse. We called comcast and my wife said that they may have pushed something out to us, but it's only gotten worse since then. They told us to call back if there were more problems, and we called and made an appointment for tomorrow (same day my Hitachi 50V500A is getting it's 5th Light Engine... woo hoo).

Anyone else seen this?

Well apparently the audio drops are still around. Now I'm losing complete audio during commercials while watching Lost on HD channel 104. Anyone else having the same problem? I was hoping that it would've been fixed from the last season / year.
I watched Lost last night and didn't have any dropouts during commercials. I did notice once or twice during the show that both video and audio dropped very briefly several times.

My box is downloading something this morning. Anyone know what it might be?

Brian

Might be some new firmware/features.

I noticed this morning that when you stop fast forwarding, it now jumps back a few seconds like TiVo does, which is nice (since I used to have to hit the "jump back six seconds" button).

It's also telling me that I am not subscribed to DVR. Hopefully my recorded shows are not gone when it finished doing whatever it's doing.

It's also telling me that I am not subscribed to DVR. Hopefully my recorded shows are not gone when it finished doing whatever it's doing.

That's common right after a reboot while the system syncs up with the head office.

Your shows are still there and should be accessible even when it is showing "not subscribed".

Is there a thread regarding closed caption?? I have a hearing problem and cc is needed, it is fine on analog but hd on channel 107 is very bad and on 113 it runs late. Anyone else have any comments or suggestions?
You don't appreciate your hearing until it starts to fade away, don't abuse what you have.

with the new firmware, I also noticed that the PIP 'move' button tries to act as the 30 second skip button. but alas, just momentarily freezes the video. bummer.

Sorry if this has been covered before but I didn't find it when searching...

When using the digital optical audio out on a 6200, the audio is out of sync by sometimes a few seconds. It is most noticeable on the HD channels but still occurs somewhat on the analog channels. I've tried each of the audio compression settings and resetting the box with no luck.

Anyone have any suggestions?

with the new firmware, I also noticed that the PIP 'move' button tries to act as the 30 second skip button. but alas, just momentarily freezes the video. bummer.

You might try this:

http://www.wiredhome-weblog.com/50226711/programming_the_30_second_skip_function_on_your_motorola_640 0_series_dvr.php

It didn't work previously, but perhaps it does now with the new firmware.

Sorry if this has been covered before but I didn't find it when searching...

When using the digital optical audio out on a 6200, the audio is out of sync by sometimes a few seconds. It is most noticeable on the HD channels but still occurs somewhat on the analog channels. I've tried each of the audio compression settings and resetting the box with no luck.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Does your receiver/amplifier have any kind of audio delay setting? This is generally the only way to correct for the problem in my experience. I've noticed a very small delay (fraction of a second) with my setup (which does not have an audio delay setting), but it generally is not enough to be bothersome unless I really want to focus on it (no pun intended).

Generally, if I'm noticing the delay it means it's time for me to turn the channel because the show is not compelling enough to hold my attention! :)

Does your receiver/amplifier have any kind of audio delay setting? This is generally the only way to correct for the problem in my experience. I've noticed a very small delay (fraction of a second) with my setup (which does not have an audio delay setting), but it generally is not enough to be bothersome unless I really want to focus on it (no pun intended).

Generally, if I'm noticing the delay it means it's time for me to turn the channel because the show is not compelling enough to hold my attention! :)

No, it does not. However, that wouldn't be a practical fix since the delay varies from analog to digital channels. It also gets worse over time. After about five minutes watching the news yesterday, the audio was so delayed that I was still hearing the newscast when a commercial was on the screen.

It is quite possible that it's a problem with the receiver but I have no way of determining that.

It is quite possible that it's a problem with the receiver but I have no way of determining that.

Next time it happens, try power cycling your receiver but not your cable box. If the problem is solved/reduced, then it would appear the receiver is the culprit. If not, I would exchange the cable box.

I've noticed for the last couple of days that the QAM simulcasted SD channels (79.x, 80.x) that had stations like NWCN, etc. are no longer visible (my Sharp tuner still shows the channel with Audio-Stereo, but no video signal for the channel). Anyone else see this too? I'm still receiving 81.1 through 84.2 (the must-carry channels) without any change.

I'm watching the UW - Notre Dame game on ABC right now and it's not being broadcast in HD. What is up with that? The game on ABC last week was definitely in HD, and it was beautiful, but this week it looks like we've been screwed.

I've noticed for the last couple of days that the QAM simulcasted SD channels (79.x, 80.x) that had stations like NWCN, etc. are no longer visible (my Sharp tuner still shows the channel with Audio-Stereo, but no video signal for the channel). Anyone else see this too? I'm still receiving 81.1 through 84.2 (the must-carry channels) without any change.

Same thing, albeit without the audio, on my LG. I rescanned to see what was out there, and it picked up a lot more channels (150+) than it ever had before. I can't see/hear any of them though. I would imagine this has something to do with the pending "official" rollout of the digital simulcast.

As someone noted a few days ago, the KOMO / ABC channel 104 audio (and sometimes video) dropouts have not been eliminated (Don W, associated with KOMO, has monitored this thread in the past, so hopefully he can give us a status / reply). I specially noticed it last week on Lost, but have also noticed it in a few other programs (haven't been logging them, so can't remember details).

I can't compare with OTA, but in the past the problems were not in the Comcast network (or in the 6412 box). It's always possible something has changed, though ...

I didn't notice problems over the summer, although since I don't watch as many ABC HD programs over the summer, that's not much of a data point. Is there something about certain HD programs that are pushing the edge (i.e. high bitrate ... Lost always looks gorgeous ... more bits getting pushed through than normal, possibly?).

Cliff

I was the one who posted about the audio dropouts on KOMO 104 and actually emailed them. I have been talking to Don W. via email about the problem and here is one of the emails.
Starts here:
Thank you for taking the time to write regarding KOMO's audio problem on Comcast Cable. It is very troubling to hear that there was an audio on Comcast.

I watched "Lost" to make sure that it went well. I have an excellent off-air signal, so I was not watching Comcast's feed. I did not see any picture 'freezes' or audio dropouts. The sound was perfect on all the commercials here.

But, then, why were you having problems? The digital program stream splits at the studio with the same equipment feeding the channel 38 digital transmitter and the fiber optic cable that goes to Comcast, so the signal should be identical. .

Now the question is, what is different about the Comcast signal? I have not heard of any complaints from other Comcast customers about this week's "Lost". There have been several similar complaints in the past, however.

I have found that not all receivers (in your case, the Comcast box) react to the digital signals the same way. For example, My Samsung SIR-T160 receiver had an audio problem last week...the sound was stuttering to the point that you just couldn't listen to it. I went to my computer to check the HiPix HD receiver card. The sound there was perfect. I went back to the Samsung and changed the channel to 5-1, then back. The sound was back to normal.

I am wondering if the Comcast box would do the same thing. If you see audio problems again, your might try switching channels and back to allow the receiver to re-synchronize. Please let me know if this restores the audio.

I appreciate your feedback. We will continue to look into this.

Best regards,

Don Wilkinson
Fisher Communications
KOMO-TV, KOMO-DT

Follow-Up Email

That is troubling, Chris. As I said before, the feed is identical to the KOMO transmitter and Comcast. I see no reason why it would be perfect over the air and have bad audio on cable. We are not seeing the problem on the studio monitors or in the employees homes.

I have been watching AVS Forum as well, and have wondered why a few Comcast customer are having problems while others are not.

Are you seeing the problem while watching the live programs, or does it occur only when watching the DVR playback? The reason I ask is that I would expect that any excess jitter in the bitstream would be more critical during the record/playback process.

Have you only seen the issues since getting the Motorola 6412 box? If so, that could be a clue.

Do you only see the problem on primetime HDTV programs, or do you also see it on KOMO's local news? This could also be a clue.

Again, thanks for the feedback. It will help us find a cure.

Regards,

Don Wilkinson
l

I do not know how D* gets their KOMO feed, but the audio drops still continue on D* and Comcast. There's a clue here somewhere.

I am still deciding what to drop, D* or Comcast.

I do not know how D* gets their KOMO feed, but the audio drops still continue on D* and Comcast. There's a clue here somewhere.

I am still deciding what to drop, D* or Comcast.

I'm confused. Are you talking about watching KOMO in HD on a DirecTV receiver? If so, you are watching the local OTA feed from your TV antenna. There is no other means right now of watching local (Seattle) HD channels on a DirecTV receiver.

Well apparently the audio drops are still around. Now I'm losing complete audio during commercials while watching Lost on HD channel 104. Anyone else having the same problem? I was hoping that it would've been fixed from the last season / year.

Please make sure that your receiver is not set to decode the SAP channel. If it is set for Main Channel or Stereo, the sound should be OK. I have been fooled by that before.

Don

I'm confused. Are you talking about watching KOMO in HD on a DirecTV receiver? If so, you are watching the local OTA feed from your TV antenna. There is no other means right now of watching local (Seattle) HD channels on a DirecTV receiver.

Hi Dave -

DirecTV and Dish take their analog feed by fiber optic cable, just as Comcast does. The only HDTV satellite signal available from KOMO is on Canadian DBS.

The troubling part for me is...why is the same YD program perfect off the air when Comcast is has dropouts? It's the same source.

ABC's new digital distribution system is now in place, and as far as I can see, it is operating perfectly. Having said that, I do see an occassional short 'freeze' that appears to be from the source.

I responded earlier to a complaint about loss of audio during commercials. This sounds very much like the receiver is set to decode the SAP channel. That can be a real trap.

Don

Budget,
Sorry for confusion. Of course I mean KOMO SD from D* and HD from Comcast (104) as well as Comcast analog 4. They all do the same thing. IE, periodically drop audio.

My point is that it happens on the analog and digtial feeds, so it has to be happening somewhere back in the system long before it goes to the Digital Xmiitter, the analog xmitter and the source for D* 4 (KOMO) and maybe the Comcast feed. I do not know how they do the feeding, but I conclude the source of the problem is somewhere before all these things.

I have not checked KOMO DT OTA as reception here in Woodinville is not too good for me.

Hi Dave -

DirecTV and Dish take their analog feed by fiber optic cable, just as Comcast does. The only HDTV satellite signal available from KOMO is on Canadian DBS.

The troubling part for me is...why is the same YD program perfect off the air when Comcast is has dropouts? It's the same source.

ABC's new digital distribution system is now in place, and as far as I can see, it is operating perfectly. Having said that, I do see an occassional short 'freeze' that appears to be from the source.

I responded earlier to a complaint about loss of audio during commercials. This sounds very much like the receiver is set to decode the SAP channel. That can be a real trap.

Don

Hi Don!

Frustrating it is.

If I were to guess, I would be thinking less about the carrier/envelope and more about the payload/content--including the PSIP and other control data that may be interpreted differently by different receivers.

Maybe it is time again to search for a pattern of equipment types. You are seeing some differences between MyHD and Samsung OTA receivers, and others report similar differences between their receiver brands and models. On the cable side, there are Motorola 6412s from Comcast and there are many folks with non-Comcast QAM tuners--some external and some internal. Maybe we can even get some BEV satellite viewers to chime in.

The audio resync/restart after changing channels makes me wonder if there is some kind of cumulative buffering that reaches a point of overflow in some receivers, but not others. Remember the issues we saw with setting audio/video time delay parameters that apparently went out of working range for some receivers and worked fine for others?

Since you are still the only station doing it regularly in Seattle (I think), perhaps the toggling between DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 with matrixed surround somehow plays into this, even though it doesn't seem like it should matter. I notice that your competitor 3 channels up seems to always send us a DD 5.1 signal. They apparently vary what they feed into their encoder, including true DD 5.1, PL II matrixed surround for many programs and commercials, and plain old stereo or mono at times. But it always looks like DD 5.1 to my receiver, no matter what they have piped into it.

How similar is your sister station KATU-DT in Portland in their equipment and operation? Is there any relevant, valid comparison to be made there?

Perhaps 720p vs. 1080i brings out some differences in some receivers, even though you would not think that the audio alone would be affected. How about KCPQ-DT also being 720p--is there a possible 720p pattern here?

As usual, we need to know if KOMO-DT is the only station with these symptoms, or are other stations impacted similarly on the same receiver?

Unfortunately, I have not watched enough TV lately to provide a useful report on how KOMO-DT has performed here for the last month or so.

Enough rambling thoughts. If we're lucky, some of these ramblings may jog a new and useful thought in your mind that has likely walked through many scenarios many times.

Still sailing? We are enjoying our "land yacht" so far. It goes places the boat never could. In my boat I was lucky to sometimes achieve one gallon per mile (obviously not a sailboat). With the diesel pickup and low-profile trailer I get an average of 14 miles per gallon. And, we have discovered that the area from Olympia to Everett is definitely a "no wake zone" on some days, with a forced speed limit/average of 20 miles per hour on a good Friday or Sunday afternoon.

I have heard that some 6412 owners have had problems with audio dropouts and that when they set the audio compression to "HIGH" it fixed it. Supposedly what that does is just reduce the volume range (similar to NIGHT mode on the receiver). Dunno why it fixes the dropouts but it has worked for many.

Is it just me? I totally HATE the auto rewind back cue that happens when fast forwarding. If you skip the ads at FF3 then you basically have to go a minute into the show so that when you hit play it jumps back to the last commercial.

Please tell me this can be disabled somehow? I was able to watch a football game in about an hour. Now I'm so pissed off trying to time stopping the damn thing I can barely handle it. On FF3 and 4 it rewinds like 45 second to over a minute on pp4.

Who needs this? My DVR experience is esentially ruined.

Thoughts?

'Thanks,
Biz

I like it, but it takes some getting used to for me. I'm so used to hitting play and then re-wind, that I end up re-winding well back into the commercial before I realize what I've done.

I like it, but it takes some getting used to for me. I'm so used to hitting play and then re-wind, that I end up re-winding well back into the commercial before I realize what I've done.

I never used a "play/rewind" sequence, since rewind alone was sufficient to do both. The new "feature" will take some adjustment, but it works pretty well for the FF2 I tend to use. I tried it with FF3, and it seems to rewind about the same amount of time as it does for FF2 for me.

This discussion probably belongs in the other forum:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=467203&perpage=60&pagenumber=999

Is it just me? I totally HATE the auto rewind back cue that happens when fast forwarding. ...I didn't like it at first, but after using it for a while, I like it a lot. It makes it much easier to hit the beginning of the next show segment after commercial without having to manually rewind, and without missing the first 10-15 seconds of the show. I usually use FF2 to skip commercials.

My Comcast 6412 box was set to high compression and I received the audio drops so I set it to none and will see what happens.

ABC's new digital distribution system is now in place, and as far as I can see, it is operating perfectly. Having said that, I do see an occassional short 'freeze' that appears to be from the source.


Ahhh ... so it's possible that the local broadcast / distribution network problems have been fixed, but there's problems before it gets to this area. If that's the case, then ABC has quite a few more momentary freezes than other networks (I can't remember the last time I saw any similar problems on other networks with HD content).

If the problem is still perplexing, maybe it's time to have a more controlled test / analysis (which may be the only way to isolate where the problem is occurring). Maybe something like picking a show (e.g. Lost), and coordinating a recording / viewing, with a later comparison of the following:

6412 (over Comcast, obviously)
other HD receiver, over Comcast (would have to be viewed live)
OTA, either live or recorded (to PC, for example)
KOMO studio viewing, before broadcast to OTA / satellite / Comcast (by Don W, or equivalent)

Note (to the minute, if possible) when the freeze or dropout occurs, then compare notes. It's pretty easy on the 6412, since the time shows up in the "elapsed time" bar at the bottom of the GUI (the beginning time of the show would have to be noted for appropriate adjustments).

Logging the dropouts / freezes during live viewing would be more difficult, and would take all of the viewing pleasure away, obviously. :)

Cliff

I will log the next showing of Lost and post it.

One more note - if the audio compression setting on the 6412 was causing problems, I would expect to see it on HD content from non-ABC sources (I watch HD content from HBO, the three traditional networks, Fox / 113, and sometimes from the INHD or Discovery HD channels, and I can't remember the last time there was a hiccup of any sort other than from the ABC network).

BTW, I very much appreciate the effort put into solving this problem, by Don W at KOMO, and others from this forum. Much of my daytime job deals with technical problem solving, so I understand how hard it can be, and I'm not in a complaining mode, but in a "trying to help solve the problem" mode ...

Cliff

I greatly appreciate it also. My wife gives me a hard time everytime the audio drops!....My compression is set to none on the 6412 for futher comparison,.

Hi Don!

Frustrating it is.

If I were to guess, I would be thinking less about the carrier/envelope and more about the payload/content--including the PSIP and other control data that may be interpreted differently by different receivers.

Maybe it is time again to search for a pattern of equipment types. You are seeing some differences between MyHD and Samsung OTA receivers, and others report similar differences between their receiver brands and models. On the cable side, there are Motorola 6412s from Comcast and there are many folks with non-Comcast QAM tuners--some external and some internal. Maybe we can even get some BEV satellite viewers to chime in.

The audio resync/restart after changing channels makes me wonder if there is some kind of cumulative buffering that reaches a point of overflow in some receivers, but not others. Remember the issues we saw with setting audio/video time delay parameters that apparently went out of working range for some receivers and worked fine for others?

Since you are still the only station doing it regularly in Seattle (I think), perhaps the toggling between DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 with matrixed surround somehow plays into this, even though it doesn't seem like it should matter. I notice that your competitor 3 channels up seems to always send us a DD 5.1 signal. They apparently vary what they feed into their encoder, including true DD 5.1, PL II matrixed surround for many programs and commercials, and plain old stereo or mono at times. But it always looks like DD 5.1 to my receiver, no matter what they have piped into it.

How similar is your sister station KATU-DT in Portland in their equipment and operation? Is there any relevant, valid comparison to be made there?

Perhaps 720p vs. 1080i brings out some differences in some receivers, even though you would not think that the audio alone would be affected. How about KCPQ-DT also being 720p--is there a possible 720p pattern here?

As usual, we need to know if KOMO-DT is the only station with these symptoms, or are other stations impacted similarly on the same receiver?

Unfortunately, I have not watched enough TV lately to provide a useful report on how KOMO-DT has performed here for the last month or so.

Enough rambling thoughts. If we're lucky, some of these ramblings may jog a new and useful thought in your mind that has likely walked through many scenarios many times.

Still sailing? We are enjoying our "land yacht" so far. It goes places the boat never could. In my boat I was lucky to sometimes achieve one gallon per mile (obviously not a sailboat). With the diesel pickup and low-profile trailer I get an average of 14 miles per gallon. And, we have discovered that the area from Olympia to Everett is definitely a "no wake zone" on some days, with a forced speed limit/average of 20 miles per hour on a good Friday or Sunday afternoon.

I suspect that you are right on with each of these points, Dave. There could easily be something amiss with the network PSIP that does not affect the over-the-air reception. KOMO is trying to get a Comcast digital feed so the station techs can use their Streamscope to try to analyze the problem. There are several employees who have Comcast digital, but I have not heard them report any problems. The engineering employees receive off-the-air at home and don't see anything unusual.

One of KOMO's senior managers told me that the ABC audio problems was the subject of discussion at a recent NAB Board meeting. Not being technical, he couldn't give me any useful details, however. He could not tell me whether they were concerned about OTA or cable.

Boating has been a bit slow this summer. Filling the 150 gallon fuel tanks make me stop and reflect on how important spending a few days in the San Juans really is. I can spend an afternoon with a ballgame on the radio, a can of wax in one hand, a beer in the other and enjoy the heck out of it without ever leaving the dock.

Don

...
In other news. 4Mbps service goes to 6Mbps on 9/8/05...

PBS Kids "Sprout" launches on 9/28/05 Channel 118 (digital classic)
Logo launches on 9/28/05 Channel 139 (digital plus)
Movieplex launches on 9/28/05 Channel 149 (digital lite/classic)
Encore East, Ovation and Wisdom TV will be deleted 9/28.
VH1 Soul moves from Plus to Classic on 9/28
VH1 Country moves from Classic to Plus on 9/28

All digital simulcast will launch in Federal Way on 9/27.
...


My internet is still stuck on 4Mbps, but I suppose some customers have 6 now.

I see the channel additions & subtractions (not sure about the VH1 moves).

Did the Federal Way digital simulcast happen?

Did you unplug your modem for 30 sec or so? You need to do that to get the speed update.

Mason

Did you unplug your modem for 30 sec or so? You need to do that to get the speed update.

Mason

Yes, and a moderator on the Comcast.net forums verified that my modem config file had been updated and my signals look good. On September 19 he posted the following:

"Customers in Washington and Oregon have received the correct bootfiles but the network teams in your area are still tweaking some of the CMTSs to get everyone up to the new speeds. They have informed us that it may be a few more days to complete these tweaks so if you are still seeing the old speeds and you have verified with Comcast support that you do have the new speed caps configured to your modem, please give this until the end of this week before requesting technician appointments or modem swaps as these will likely not resolve speed upgrade issues such as not seeing the new speeds in your areas."

No further info has been forthcoming.

My testing indicates a fairly consistent 4.4Mbps download, and the networking display in the Windows XP Task Manager shows a plateau of 9% (of 54Mbps) during the downloads, just as it did before the "upgrade". Something is definitely missing on their end.

Yes, and a moderator on the Comcast.net forums verified that my modem config file had been updated and my signals look good. On September 19 he posted the following:

"Customers in Washington and Oregon have received the correct bootfiles but the network teams in your area are still tweaking some of the CMTSs to get everyone up to the new speeds. They have informed us that it may be a few more days to complete these tweaks so if you are still seeing the old speeds and you have verified with Comcast support that you do have the new speed caps configured to your modem, please give this until the end of this week before requesting technician appointments or modem swaps as these will likely not resolve speed upgrade issues such as not seeing the new speeds in your areas."

No further info has been forthcoming.

My testing indicates a fairly consistent 4.4Mbps download, and the networking display in the Windows XP Task Manager shows a plateau of 9% (of 54Mbps) during the downloads, just as it did before the "upgrade". Something is definitely missing on their end.

Wareagle...
What program are you using to test your download speed? I just tried PitStop and got one test at 1200 kilobits per second and a second test (after unplugging modem) at 2400 kilobits per second. Bandwidthplace.com reports about 1300. CNET reports 1700. It seems that something must ve wrong here :-(

try http://sea.speakeasy.net for speed tests

try http://sea.speakeasy.net for speed tests

Thanks-- I just tried it-- and again got a low number: 1753.

May I assume that something is wrong?

My testing indicates a fairly consistent 4.4Mbps download, and the networking display in the Windows XP Task Manager shows a plateau of 9% (of 54Mbps) during the downloads, just as it did before the "upgrade". Something is definitely missing on their end.

If you take a look at the DSL Reports test results for Comcast for 98006 (Bellevue) you'll see that the vast majority of people still get about 4Mbps. See http://www.dslreports.com/archive/comcast.net?zip=98006&start=Search and change the zip code to see results for your area.

I've seen some routers slow things down (I've got a SonicWALL TZ170 that can't push more than 2.2Mbps on the cable, but my OpenBSD pf-based firewall gets about 4.3Mbps). So you may need to make sure that your router/firewall isn't part of the problem.

try http://sea.speakeasy.net for speed tests

My most consistent results come from the San Francisco server at http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

Lost of Channel 104
On the 8:00pm showing I started watching at about 8:45 and at about 8:57, according to the Comcast box time, the screen went to sidebars and the audio dropped. During the 15 minutes, the commercials had no sound although there was some sound on a KOMO 4 news intro.
On the 9:00pm showing there was some sound during commercials, at about 9:16 (Macys and another KOMO 4 news intro commercial) , while my audio receiver showed that it was not on digital 5.1. When the receiver showed 5.1 the sound was gone during commercials. I switched to regular KOMO4 during the 5.1 commercials and could hear sound, but of course not on 5.1.
I only experienced one audio drop during the 9pm show and it happened at 9:56pm.
Chris

I've seen some routers slow things down (I've got a SonicWALL TZ170 that can't push more than 2.2Mbps on the cable, but my OpenBSD pf-based firewall gets about 4.3Mbps). So you may need to make sure that your router/firewall isn't part of the problem.

Here's some additional info:

6136/353 (Dell Latitude/WinXP connected directly to Ethernet on Cable Modem)
3922/345 (Dell Latitude/WinXP connected to OpenBSD pf-based firewall to Cable Modem)

In spite of the fact that the OpenBSD firewall is powered by a measly Pentium-90, I think that the real culprit in my setup is its 10BaseT network card connecting it to the Cable Modem. What I'm seeing is likely the max throughput on the 10BaseT connection, and not the speed limit on the Comcast service. (Proven by connecting the laptop directly to the Cable Modem via 100BaseT).

What does this mean? Don't count out the role that your firewalls/routers play in the overall speed test.

...you may need to make sure that your router/firewall isn't part of the problem.

I bypassed the router and connected the computer (Dell Inspiron 6000, Windows XP) to the modem (RCA/Thomson DCM245) via 100BaseT, and the results were somewhat surprising: 3.3Mbps (versus 4.4Mbps using the router to access the same sites before and after). I realize that random tests can have vastly different results, but this one was more controlled than usual.

I bypassed my router and used two different Macintoshes directly to the modem and got no improvement in speed (in Kent). As War Eagle says, Comcast has not fixed their problem. sam

PS CNN and C-SPAN are still analog!

Re: slow modem speed tests

Make sure you've tried all the tweaks from www.speedguide.net as well. While I won't guarantee it will give anyone a perfect score on a speed test, all of the different tweaks (registry, .ini, OS specific, NIC buffer, etc.) do make subtle, but noticeable differences and when combined together can make quite an impact.

I just called KING to get them to flip the switch to HD. (12:22am) Let's see what happens. I called the hot tips line since that's all they answer in the evenings. HD forum indicates that the show has been HD elsewhere. Just shows up letterboxed SD on my 105.

Art

What the heck? Why wasn't SNL in HD like they have been advertising? Can't they ever get this right? CRAP!

What the heck? Why wasn't SNL in HD like they have been advertising? Can't they ever get this right? CRAP!

It was HD at my house on cable.....Did you have the picture letter boxed? That is how I saw it. I was dissapointed it wasn't full screen.

Ric, I think you were watching a SD picture on the HD channel. If you turned to channel 5 you would have noticed that SNL was letterboxed on the analog picture which suggests that the "windowboxed" (black bars on all sides) was just a SD picture on an HD channel. The picture did look good but it wasn't HD.

Others agree?

Art

With more and more TVs including QAM digital cable ready (DCR) tuners, I'm wondering if anyone has compiled a list of stuff you can get without a comcast box. Here is my lineup with my Zenith HDTV.

Digital channels:

81-1 Fox Channel 13
81-2 WB
82-1 PBS channel 9 SD
82-4 ABC channel 4
82-5 PBS Channel 9 HDTV
83-1 NBC Channel 5
83-2 Kong
83-3 Weather channel 5
84-1 CBS channel 7

Not sure where UPN channel 11 is, but I'll find it later I'm sure.

Here are some other channels unscrambled digital

93 - SD movies
94 - SD movies
101 - PBS, maybe Tacoma?
103 - ESPN SD
105-4 Nascar SD
106 - audio channels
114-9 movies of some sort

There are more than this available. There are all kinds of audio channels, many with digital sound.

My hope is in the future Comcast will realize there are plenty of people with DCR TVs who want easy access to the OTA HDTV material. By this, I mean they they broadcast the channel flag information so your DCR TV in fact know the channel is ABC, NBC or whatever. At least Comcast did group the channels together in the low 80s. I would prefer they dont' stack them in sub-channels, because you can't easily add sub-channels to your favorite stations list, at least with my TV.

BTW, I think Comcast does pass on much of the digital channel information. I guess I got spoiled by the OTA digital tuner in this same TV, which would interpret channel 4 are channel 4 and not some obscure digital channel like 38 or whatever. My OTA tuner in this TV would correctly ID the digital channels with the friendly local number.

I thought I would bump this for any responses. It actually appears that I am receiving about three or four movie channels unscrambled. These are in SD, but they appear to be fairly recent movies without commercials. I think these might be the free in-demand movies Comcast is giving for free. Not sure when I could find out what is on or when it starts. Besides, I prefer DVD to SD, so I will just add these movies to my rental que at Netflix. The QAM tuner channels are 93, 101 and a few others. I just looked through these and it looked liked 2001 A Space Odessey was was playing.

Interestingly, the sound is digital, in some case Dolby 5.1. The SD quality is the big drawback, and also not knowing when anything starts or what the movie is. Anyway, for channel surfing it isn't bad, and regular SD in digital format is OK.

Just an update. I think this is in-demand unscrambled stuff. Every once in awhile the movie changes to a different one or people start fast forwarding. It is like I am just catching someone else's in-demand stream. So these channels are kind of useless.

I've been using the DVI connection with my 6412 with no problems since I got it. As of yesterday there are random horizontal green and red lines dancing around the picture. Comcast says they don't support DVI. Any ideas what this could be?

Brian

Not sure where UPN channel 11 is, but I'll find it later I'm sure.

Comcast doesn't have them in HD here yet.



Here are some other channels unscrambled digital

93 - SD movies
94 - SD movies
those two are actually someone's OnDemand stream as far as I can tell. I've seen it fast forward and rewind. Don't bother trying to actually watch a movie because it will probably change before it gets to the end.

just a little FYI:

you can upgrade your Cable internet from the 6Mb/s down 384Kb/s Up speeds

to: 8Mb/s down 768Kb/s Up speeds for 10$ extra a month. this is called the "speed Tier Upgrade"

-Tyler

I'd settle for actually seeing the increase from 4Mbps to 6Mbps.

Any clue as to how or whether the local KomKastKlowns are going to provide HD NHL coverage? I fail to see the advantage to them in having us search for the answer, but that seems to be the way they operate.

Any clue as to how or whether the local KomKastKlowns are going to provide HD NHL coverage? I fail to see the advantage to them in having us search for the answer, but that seems to be the way they operate.

I'll answer my own question -- the guide shows the NHL game (NY Rangers at Philadelphia Flyers) today on INHD (664) from 4 to 7. Nothing found for subsequent games, yet.

Anyone else noted some audio glitches during segments of a few shows this week?

"The West Wing" and "Commander-in-Chief" both had noticeable audio issues for a period between commercial breaks.

I remember noticing a continuous ticking on right front channel on one of those shows...Started after a break and ended with the next break. I think it was West Wing.

Anyone else noted some audio glitches during segments of a few shows this week?

"The West Wing" and "Commander-in-Chief" both had noticeable audio issues for a period between commercial breaks.Yep - there was an annoying "clicking" sound every second or so during part of the West Wing. I didn't watch live, but had recorded it from KING-HD 105.

Yes, I have heard the "ticking" on other channels. I think that it is the bomb in the MS software getting ready. sam

Some emails back from the Comcast people about TNT.


>From: "Pierce, Tom J"
>To: lynn alford
>Subject: TNT HD on Comcast
>Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2005 16:09:32 -0700
>
>Dear Ms. Alford;
>
>
>
>I wanted to follow-up with you about a concern you shared with Comcast
>Cable regarding TNT HD not currently being offered in its Seattle
>market. The short-term issue is one of channel capacity in that we have
>a limited amount and need to evaluate all programming opportunities with
>a lot of scrutiny. That evaluation process includes weighing limited
>channel capacity with consumer demand, competing priorities for channel
>capacity, economics of providing the new service, etc.
>
>
>
>I would like to discuss this in more detail as it is very useful for me
>to understand directly from our customers their needs and input as we
>plan our channel line-up strategy. Unfortunately, I was not provided
>your contact information other than this email address. If you'd like
>to send me your phone number and a good time to reach you I can call
>you, or at your convenience you can reach me directly at 425-398-6210.
>
>
>
>Thank you,
>
>
>Tom Pierce
>
>VP of Marketing and Sales
>
>Comcast Cable


>From: "Bond, Matt"
>To: "Lynn Alford"
>CC: "Gaiski, Jennifer"
>Subject: RE: TNTHD in Seattle?
>Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 17:12:08 -0400
>
>Thanks for your email. Let me check into it. I know there were channel
>capacity constraints with respect to launching TNT HD, but let me see if
>they have been alleviated. Someone should be back to shortly.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Lynn Alford
>Sent: Monday, October 03, 2005 4:48 PM
>To: Bond, Matt
>Subject: TNTHD in Seattle?
>
>Mr. Bond,
>I wrote you last year before the NBA playoffs and you were kind
>enough to respond and tell me that a deal between TNT and Comcast
>was imminent.
>I know the channel has been added in many markets but the people at
>Comcast/Seattle are not being forthcoming at all with what is going
>on. It's been months now and I really need to get a dish before NBA
>starts this year if they're not going to add TNT. I don't feel like
>this is fair especially since comcast is the more expensive
>provider. Is there any way you can get someone to tell me what's
>really going on? Thanks so much if you can.... Lynn A.

Any recommendations on local ISF calibration technicians? I'm looking to calibrate my Sony KV40XBR800 HDTV. Lots of local companies listed on the ISF web site, so I'm hoping for some recommendations to narrow things down. Thanks!

"Fox Sports Net NW bets aggressively on HDTV"

Article in the 9/30/2005 (print) edition of the Puget Sound Business Journal, page 10 (could not find it online), states that FSN is making a major push to broadcast in HDTV, including all 40 Sonics home games, Apple Cup, Civil War, and possibly college basketball and Trailblazers. Expects more than 40 Mariners games next year as well. FSN calls making Ms available only on DTV an "anomaly" and says that FSN has "every intention of reaching an agreement with Comcast" for the Sonics and Mariner seasons. Estimate is that FSN will have over 100 games in HDTV total next year.

Let's hope that Comcast and FSN get their act together and get this up and running soonest!

Yeah right - I'm sure it was just an "anomaly" that Fox (controlled by Rupert Murdoch) could reach an agreement with DirecTV (also controlled by Rupert Murdoch) but not with Comcast (one of Murdoch's biggest competitors) :)

Can anyone give me the e-mail address or phone number of the KING programming dept? Something that will actually get through to something.

They have yet to show Saturday Night Live in HD, which the rest of the country is.

From their web site, http://www.king5.com ...

KING 5 Programming
Email: kingtv@king5.com
Phone: 206-448-5555

Just curious, are you watching via BEV or have you moved from Florida?

Hello,


Has anyone noticed the Channel labels dissappear for Comcast cable channels?
I have a Sony KD-34XBR960. I noticed last week that The Call Letters for the channels are not showing, just the channel Number. I can enter them manually but who would want to do that for 300 channels? I have talked with Sony and Comcast with no explaination.

Thanks,

Lonnie

What's the deal with Monday Night Football switching from HD to SD in the 4th quarter? Is this a Komo issue, or a Comcast issue?

I think we'd rather see the end of the game in HD rather than the post-game show in HD. :rolleyes:

must have been a komo problem. i ended up switching over to the west coast feed on directv to catch the end - it was fine

Just to make sure I've got this straight. If I want to get the HD DVR from Comcast in Seattle, the MINIMUM package I am forced to get is:

Expanded Basic Cable: $43/mo
HD Cable: $5/mo
DVR Service: $9.95/mo

Total: $57/mo

All I want to do is record the locals in HD. That is very dissapointing that this is the only option.

Just to make sure I've got this straight. If I want to get the HD DVR from Comcast in Seattle, the MINIMUM package I am forced to get is:

Expanded Basic Cable: $43/mo
HD Cable: $5/mo
DVR Service: $9.95/mo

Total: $57/mo

All I want to do is record the locals in HD. That is very dissapointing that this is the only option.


HD Cable may mean having to add Digital Classic for $11.99.
There is a $5.10 package called Digi Lite but I don't know what it does or doesn't qualify you for.
On a side note... I got this "Comcast Digital Voice" installed at my house today and it seems great. Unlimited long distance & all calling features with voicemail for $39.99 (intro is $29.99). I know it's not for everyone but if you use LD it may be a great solution...

To get a DVR, I was told by Comcast that the following is the requirement...

Expanded Basic 42.99
Digital Classic 11.99
DVR Box 9.95

So almost $65 a month just to get a DVR.

Digital Lite is the package that I used to have (in South King County). It is the non dvr Motorola HD box and the local digital channels. It used to include ESPN HD which was moved to classic in July. sam

To get a DVR, I was told by Comcast that the following is the requirement...

Expanded Basic 42.99
Digital Classic 11.99
DVR Box 9.95

So almost $65 a month just to get a DVR.

I can confirm this too... and this is why I returned mine in the end. $65 + Tax/mo for only Tivoing the local HD channels that I can get for $12/mo was just crazy.

Right now, I'm using a QAM tuner (and proprietary software) on a PC to record my HD locals. I'm really unhappy about it, since the software is really bad and the tuner isn't supported by MCE, but I'm saving over $55 a month doing that.

For MCE users, there's one solution that I've read on another forum that involves using the non-PVR Motorola box (5100/6200) with the Firewire output and the incoming new version of MCE. From what I read, it's a hack, but it lets you record and playback HD from MCE using the box that's controlled via Firewire. At some point, that's something I would like to try. :)

-eric

Perhaps the local Comcast management should consider using the bandwidth currently being wasted on channel 181 (HDSE, NFL Total Access, or whatever that static display is) to provide us with TNT-HD.

Perhaps the local Comcast management should consider using the bandwidth currently being wasted on channel 181 (HDSE, NFL Total Access, or whatever that static display is) to provide us with TNT-HD.

I'm gonna call him and ask why they can't do that.
If that's not an option... Some markets don't carry INHD2 so they can use that space for other content... I wonder how that would go over with people; TNTHD for INHD2?

It would be better to get TNT-HD in place of INHD, since that's the one that carries pseudo-sports programming.

I'm really getting tired of seing NBC HD shows in SD on Comcast Channel 105. Saturday Night Live has never been in HD that I have seen this season, tonight Will & Grace was SD and Joey was almost all SD and had about 3 minutes of blank screen and audio that cut in and out. I called Comcast and the CSR told we that no one had ever reported that NBC HD shows were being broadcast by Comcast in SD. Am I supposed to believe that?

I'm not really sure what to do but I was hoping to be told that they knew about the issue and would have it resolved soon. I also asked about TNT HD and digital simulcast and of course was told they had no information.

I'm really getting tired of seing NBC HD shows in SD on Comcast Channel 105. Saturday Night Live has never been in HD that I have seen this season, tonight Will & Grace was SD and Joey was almost all SD and had about 3 minutes of blank screen and audio that cut in and out. I called Comcast and the CSR told we that no one had ever reported that NBC HD shows were being broadcast by Comcast in SD. Am I supposed to believe that?

I'm not really sure what to do but I was hoping to be told that they knew about the issue and would have it resolved soon. I also asked about TNT HD and digital simulcast and of course was told they had no information.

I know for sure that Saturday Night Live is an KING-TV problem which will not be fixed any time soon, and I suspect the things you saw tonight were their problem as well (although not semi-permanent like SNL). It would be pretty hard for Comcast to cause any of these problems.

Glad -- and disappointed -- to see it just wasn't me who was forced to watch "HD" Saturday Night Live framed in black the last two weeks. Get on the ball, KING-TV!

I'm really getting tired of seing NBC HD shows in SD on Comcast Channel 105. Saturday Night Live has never been in HD that I have seen this season, tonight Will & Grace was SD and Joey was almost all SD and had about 3 minutes of blank screen and audio that cut in and out. I called Comcast and the CSR told we that no one had ever reported that NBC HD shows were being broadcast by Comcast in SD. Am I supposed to believe that?

I'm not really sure what to do but I was hoping to be told that they knew about the issue and would have it resolved soon. I also asked about TNT HD and digital simulcast and of course was told they had no information.

With the exception of the SNL issue (it's a KING problem because they don't broadcast the show live, instead record it at 8:30 and play that at 11:35) I think the rest is a problem with NBC as a whole. I had the same problems with shows on Wednesday night and reading other forums on dbstalk.com I noticed people in other parts of the country had the same problems. Sounds like NBC hosed it's HD feed and now the entire country is suffering.

HD Cable may mean having to add Digital Classic for $11.99.
There is a $5.10 package called Digi Lite but I don't know what it does or doesn't qualify you for.
On a side note... I got this "Comcast Digital Voice" installed at my house today and it seems great. Unlimited long distance & all calling features with voicemail for $39.99 (intro is $29.99). I know it's not for everyone but if you use LD it may be a great solution...

How is this different from VOIP, other than being more expensive?

How is this different from VOIP, other than being more expensive?

The technology is basically VOIP. But Comcast routes calls through their own fiber optic network instead of the internet.

Also the phone unit should have a battery backup, hence the phone should work for a couple of hours in cases of power outage.

All in all this seems to be more reliable compared to some of the other VOIP services.

How is this different from VOIP, other than being more expensive?


because the call never goes out over the internet it is secure. also the data is not a "best effort" like VOIP services. the voice data is routed first priority on their network and handed straight off to a telco or another cable company. Also there is no problem with 911 calls and it shows up on your normal cable bill so you cut monthly bills by one. so far I like it and didn't mean to go this far off topic just wanted to mention it was out there.

It's an oldie, though.

OnDemand
--Movies
----HDTV Movies
------Lawrence of Arabia - Part 1
------Lawrence of Arabia - Part 2

Using Vonage which causes problems with TIVO and DBS boxes that like to be called periodically. I lived with this since May and am a little annoyed with constantly beinf reminded that my box has not been contacted for 150 days;every day. Can anyone say that Comcast system will handle this type connection any better?

It's an oldie, though.

OnDemand
--Movies
----HDTV Movies
------Lawrence of Arabia - Part 1
------Lawrence of Arabia - Part 2
Thanks for the heads up on this movie-- I remember being blown away when I saw it in college in 1962. This film was made over 40 years ago. And with no special effects. The photography is outstanding. The scene near the beginning showing a lone rider approaching the camera from the horizon line is incredible

"The beautiful masterpiece (accompanied by a superb score from Maurice Jarre) is thought by many to be director David Lean's best (even topping The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)), with its Super Panavision 70 mm scope, magnificent color cinematography and poetic imagery of the desert captured within a spectacular epic story of a larger-than-life, idealistic adventurer. The Arabian desert functions as a majestic backdrop and metaphysical land for Lawrence's exploits."

Using Vonage which causes problems with TIVO and DBS boxes that like to be called periodically. I lived with this since May and am a little annoyed with constantly beinf reminded that my box has not been contacted for 150 days;every day. Can anyone say that Comcast system will handle this type connection any better?

TiVo can connect to the service over the Internet using your home network. That is how mine does it.

You can even run Guided Setup (though not the initial one) now via the Net, which is very sweet.

TiVo can connect to the service over the Internet using your home network. That is how mine does it..

He probably has a Series 1 DTivo (although I'd question why he's posting in the Comcast forum, but for the fact I am and I have a Series 1 DTivo).

Either that, or he's gone 143 days without programming. ;)

Using Vonage which causes problems with TIVO and DBS boxes that like to be called periodically. I lived with this since May and am a little annoyed with constantly beinf reminded that my box has not been contacted for 150 days;every day. Can anyone say that Comcast system will handle this type connection any better?

If you have Vonage, you must have broadband, which makes me wonder why you don't connect your TIVO directly to the Intenet via a USB network adapter.

I just switched over from DirecTV and a DirecTivo series 2 box to the Comcast HD DVR. With the Tivo unit I was able to switch back and forth between tuners allowing me to watch two programs at the same time. I have not been able to figure out how to do this with the Comcast box. Even if I set one of the programs to record on "tuner A" once i change channels it switches to "tuner B" and stays on that tuner. Then when I change the channel back to the program I originally set to record I have no buffer. Is there a trick I am missing to flip between tuners so both channels continue to buffer or is this feature not available on the Comcast box.

I have found with the Comcast box if you change a channel, it flushes the buffer.

I just switched over from DirecTV and a DirecTivo series 2 box to the Comcast HD DVR. With the Tivo unit I was able to switch back and forth between tuners allowing me to watch two programs at the same time. I have not been able to figure out how to do this with the Comcast box. Even if I set one of the programs to record on "tuner A" once i change channels it switches to "tuner B" and stays on that tuner. Then when I change the channel back to the program I originally set to record I have no buffer. Is there a trick I am missing to flip between tuners so both channels continue to buffer or is this feature not available on the Comcast box.
You need to record both channels. Then you can go back and forth by entering the channel number. That's the only way.

You need to record both channels. Then you can go back and forth by entering the channel number. That's the only way.

Actually, once you have both channels recording you can switch back and forth by using the "last" button on the remote (and the buffers remain intact for both).

From what I've read, the iGuide software has an active "swap" button to switch tuners, but with the MSFT s/w the tuner choice is taken out of our hands -- probably just as well.

Can anyone confirm that 5c has engaged on their boxes? Mine wasn't yesterday evening, but today most of the digital channels all show a "1" under the 5c section of the diagnostics. This blows. No more recording though the firewire. :eek:

Mason

5c is enable

Are you guys talking about the 6200/6412 boxes?

Does that include all the local channels?

I'm waiting for a 6200 to be delivered to my home to setup a firewire connection to record... I guess I'll call and cancel... :(

-eric

Gee - it's not like 5C being enabled should be a surprise. We're now back to exactly where we were a year ago, before converting to MSFT software:

Analog channels: 5C=0
Digital locals (inc. HD) 5C=0
All other digital: 5C=1

We were lucky & got a reprieve while they figured out how to make 5C/DTCP work with the MSFT software. But now it's back. Looks like you once again need an authorized 5C-compliant device to make copies over firewire. D-VHS deck, yes. PC, no.

What does Msft have to do with the firewire port? Msft software is for the UI, right? There are still several comcast cities that don't use Msft software and they don't have 5c enabled. Its hard to pay $90 a month for cable when I can only record 10-15 hours of hd content on my box + having to deal with analog chanels as well. Oh well, sorry for b****ing. I'll move on with life now.

Mason

Gee - it's not like 5C being enabled should be a surprise. We're now back to exactly where we were a year ago, before converting to MSFT software:

Analog channels: 5C=0
Digital locals (inc. HD) 5C=0
All other digital: 5C=1

We were lucky & got a reprieve while they figured out how to make 5C/DTCP work with the MSFT software. But now it's back. Looks like you once again need an authorized 5C-compliant device to make copies over firewire. D-VHS deck, yes. PC, no.

Jim,

Thank you for confirming that HD locals aren't blocked as it *definitely* wasn't clear on the last few posts.

-eric

What does Msft have to do with the firewire port? Msft software is for the UI, right? There are still several comcast cities that don't use Msft software and they don't have 5c enabled. Its hard to pay $90 a month for cable when I can only record 10-15 hours of hd content on my box + having to deal with analog chanels as well. Oh well, sorry for b****ing. I'll move on with life now.

MasonIt's simple. A year ago - all the Comcast/Moto boxes here in Puget Sound already had 5C copy-protection enabled over firewire. We discussed it here in these forums endlessly. As soon as they switched to MSFT software -- poof! No more copy-protection - until now, that is. My point was - it's obvious Comcast has ALWAYS intended to have 5C DRM enabled on the firewire port, but for whatever reason they were unable to do so on the MSFT software until now.

Jim,

Thank you for confirming that HD locals aren't blocked as it *definitely* wasn't clear on the last few posts.

-ericI didn't actually do any recording tests over firewire, but just checked a few of the HD locals using the diagnostics & confirmed that it said 5C=0 for them.

5C1 just enabled? Damn. I've always used a 5C compliant tape deck and always thought that 5C1 was enbled from the first 6412. I assume if 5C1 was NOT enabled then 5C2 was not enabled either. If true, look at all the VOD, PPV and such that I missed. I makes me sick. ;)

as i understand, Comcast is planning on moving all analog channels to digital to free bandwidth ... great but what would it really mean?

i take it that all TV's will need to have some sort of a set top box in order to operate. that costs money which i assume will be passed to us the consumers.

its already extremely expensive services (25% of my bill today is only for the set top converters).

anyone know what Comcast have in mind when the switch will finally take place?

i heard in the past (few years ago) the term "open TV", which as the time talked about making the specification of the box open to enable companies to compete in the converter box market.
is that going to happen anytime soon?

I can confirm this too... and this is why I returned mine in the end. $65 + Tax/mo for only Tivoing the local HD channels that I can get for $12/mo was just crazy.

Right now, I'm using a QAM tuner (and proprietary software) on a PC to record my HD locals. I'm really unhappy about it, since the software is really bad and the tuner isn't supported by MCE, but I'm saving over $55 a month doing that.

For MCE users, there's one solution that I've read on another forum that involves using the non-PVR Motorola box (5100/6200) with the Firewire output and the incoming new version of MCE. From what I read, it's a hack, but it lets you record and playback HD from MCE using the box that's controlled via Firewire. At some point, that's something I would like to try. :)

-eric
i wonder what the move to all digital will do to the pricing model. digital was considered to be extra service but now that it will become a must ... i wonder how its going to be priced and regulated.

as i understand, Comcast is planning on moving all analog channels to digital to free bandwidth ... great but what would it really mean?

i take it that all TV's will need to have some sort of a set top box in order to operate. that costs money which i assume will be passed to us the consumers.

. . .

i heard in the past (few years ago) the term "open TV", which as the time talked about making the specification of the box open to enable companies to compete in the converter box market.
is that going to happen anytime soon?

It's a fallacy that costs get passed on to consumers. That only happens at the margin (e.g. if the item cannot be produced for the price of sale the price will go up). They are moving to digital for reasons that benefit them, even after factoring in the costs of the boxes (which aren't that expensive). That said, I wouldn't expect the price of a box to be zero since it isn't zero now. So if you need a box that you don't need now, then yes your price will probably go up.

One more thing on the cost. One of the benefits of digital is the ability to carry more channels. To the extent that they offer more channels in the standard packages, the price of those packages will rise. So there would be a possible indirect effect on prices.

I think what you're talking about with "open TV" is Cablecard, and it's already here, but you need a set that accepts Cablecards. It's a very problematic technology early on.

Both houses of Congress are writing new laws to govern a switchover. One currently mandates continuation of analog through 2014 and the other is April 2009. Comcast will have to contribute to the proper candidates to conserve bandwidth. I read where one bill requires all over the air shows must be available in both SD and HD because SD digital sets can not receive and display from an HD signal. Is that true? sam

It's simple. A year ago - all the Comcast/Moto boxes here in Puget Sound already had 5C copy-protection enabled over firewire. We discussed it here in these forums endlessly. As soon as they switched to MSFT software -- poof! No more copy-protection - until now, that is. My point was - it's obvious Comcast has ALWAYS intended to have 5C DRM enabled on the firewire port, but for whatever reason they were unable to do so on the MSFT software until now.

not true , VOD and PPV allways had 5c=1 copy never on the 6412's with MSTV

not true , VOD and PPV allways had 5c=1 copy never on the 6412's with MSTVOK - fine, I never tried copying VOD or PPV over firewire. But all other non-local digital channels, including premium channels - that used to be 5C=1 - suddenly reverted back to 5C=0 when the MSFT switch happened.

Both houses of Congress are writing new laws to govern a switchover. One currently mandates continuation of analog through 2014 and the other is April 2009. Comcast will have to contribute to the proper candidates to conserve bandwidth. I read where one bill requires all over the air shows must be available in both SD and HD because SD digital sets can not receive and display from an HD signal. Is that true? samEither way, I believe the "analog cutoff date" being debated in Congress has to do only with broadcast OTA - not cable - and therefore doesn't affect Comcast.

Both houses of Congress are writing new laws to govern a switchover. One currently mandates continuation of analog through 2014 and the other is April 2009. Comcast will have to contribute to the proper candidates to conserve bandwidth. I read where one bill requires all over the air shows must be available in both SD and HD because SD digital sets can not receive and display from an HD signal. Is that true? sam

Here's the scoop, as I understand it. The Senate Committee has set April 7, 2009 as TV's digital transition date. This has yet to been confirmed in the House.

As of this date (or whatever date is eventually settled upon), all networks will be required to broadcast in digital. The consumer who has an analog TV set will need to purchase a digital-to-analog converter in order to see the shows. One box for every analog set in the house- these boxes are expected to cost around $50.00 each. And Congress will be approving billions to subsidize the conversion for those who can not afford it.

The reason for all this- money, of course! The US will auction off the recovered analog spectrum on January 28, 2008. This is expected to raise between 10-20 BILLION dollars for the US Treasury. Also, another compelling reason for pushing this conversion date is that emergency facilities desperately need the 24 MHz of spectrum recovered from the digital transition. This need was demonstrated during the 9/11 disaster when emergency communications were in shambles.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=8772
October 21, 2005
Draft legislation circulated Friday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee would require cable TV operators to carry both the analog and digital TV signals of broadcasters for five years after the DTV transition. But the House bill, according to sources, would not require cable TV operators to carry broadcasters' DTV multicasts.

So I see that NBC/KING5 had huge issues with "Surface" last night in HDTV, making the episode essentially unwatchable. Oh well, have to wait for SciFi to rebroadcast, I guess. Least "The West Wing" was perfect. :cool:

Has anyone else called Comcast to complain about the Firewire 5C change?

It may not do any good, but I can remain hopeful.

I don't get the point of having a mandated FW port, if the only thing you can do with it is record analog, and OTA HD -- both of which can be done without a FW enabled STB. I think the FCC intended for these ports to serve digital channels, which was the entire point of having a lossless means of creating an archive copy.

I understand that you can still use a 5C compliant device, but how practical is that?

I don't know what Comcast gains by turning on the DTCP, but they will definitely lose the $50/mo I pay for my premium subscriptions.

Has anyone else called Comcast to complain about the Firewire 5C change?

It may not do any good, but I can remain hopeful.

I don't get the point of having a mandated FW port, if the only thing you can do with it is record analog, and OTA HD -- both of which can be done without a FW enabled STB. I think the FCC intended for these ports to serve digital channels, which was the entire point of having a lossless means of creating an archive copy.

I understand that you can still use a 5C compliant device, but how practical is that?

I don't know what Comcast gains by turning on the DTCP, but they will definitely lose the $50/mo I pay for my premium subscriptions.The firewire mandate I believe only applies to local broadcast channels. You should still be able to recording local broadcast channels (including HD) with a PC. Those should all be 5C=0. I don't think Comcast is required in any way to give us un-restricted access to non-broadcast content. Comcast sets their own rules for those chanels, and the rules are (once again), no free copying.

Why would they do this? It's easy to just say "Hollywood makes them do it" - but we tend to forget Comcast *is* Hollywood. Comcast owns an increasing amount of content these days, including E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, G4, The Golf Channel, OLN, and others. And don't forget they tried (unsuccessfully) to take over Disney/ABC/ESPN last year. As a paranoid content owner, they'll do what they think necessary.

And if you recently subscribed to Comcast with the intent of archiving HD premium channels, then you probably weren't aware of the history here. 5C active isn't a new thing here. This exactly how it was a year ago with all Comcast boxes here in Puget Sound area. For some reason the 5C stuff was temporarily disabled when the MSFT software was installed, but now it's back.

Actually, the mandate applies to all channels, with maximum content protection levels defined for 3 categories. From http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/FCC_PnP_Ruling.pdf

65. The final component of the proposed encoding rules is comprised of caps on the level of copy protection that may apply to various categories of MVPD programming. These proposed caps do not obligate the encoding of programming with copy restrictions, nor do they prescribe a specific level of copy protection for particular programs. MVPDs would remain free to negotiate with content providers for any level of encoding that falls below or is equal to the applicable cap for the relevant programming category, which is referred to in the draft rules as a “Defined Business Model.” The defined business models and corresponding copy protection caps proposed in the draft rules include:

(1) Unencrypted broadcast television – no copy restrictions may be imposed;
(2) Pay television, non-premium subscription television, and free conditional access delivery transmissions – one generation of copies is the most stringent restriction that may be imposed; and
(3) VOD, PPV, or Subscription-on-Demand transmissions – no copies is the most stringent restriction that may be imposed, however, even when no copies are allowed, such content may be paused up to 90 minutes from its initial transmission.

So, you are correct that Local HD must never be restricted. The second category is probably where most of our interest lies. Copy Protection is not required by the FCC, but is allowed. So, for content providers like HBO who have expressed their own interest in protecting their content from copy, even to the extent that they would request their content be considered VOD (if I read correctly) so that it may never be copied, I guess we have to accept that.

My frustration is that it seems Comcast has applied Copy Once protection to ALL digital channels even though they are probably not required to. I have not checked all my channels, but I have yet to find one that isn't 5C=1. If this is true, then it appears that it is Comcast, not the content provider(s), making decisions about the level of copy protection required.

For instance, did Discovery HD request copy once protection? Did INHD, Sundance, IFC, History, Science, TVLand, BBC America, Nick, and Cartoon Network?

If we lose the ability to time shift HBO with homebrew software, I guess that is HBO's right. It's stupid, but big deal. But it is a bigger deal to have copy protection applied to networks that don't require it. Some networks might even object if they were aware.

You are correct, I have not been around long enough to remember the last time these restrictions were in place. Were all digital channels set to 5C=1 at that time too?

I doubt if it matters how all the various digital networks feel about copy-restrictions. Comcast has their own interest in getting you to subscribe to a digital package to see these channels. Unrestricted copying is seen as a threat to this revenue, thus every channel requiring a digital subscription is encrypted. Likewise they want you to pay for their *their* DVR service...

...Were all digital channels set to 5C=1 at that time too?Yep - same as it appears to be again now. Only analog channels and digital locals had 5C=0.

I don't get the point of having a mandated FW port, if the only thing you can do with it is record analog, and OTA HD -- both of which can be done without a FW enabled STB.

I beg to differ. I'm glad to hear that you can rely on OTA at your house, but many of us all around the Puget Sound have limited or no OTA reception and being able to connect a Comcast Box to a computer via FW port to record local HD channels content is the only viable option available.

I'm not saying that I like the 5C=1 on all other digital channels, but saying the FW port is useless now isn't an accurate statement.

-eric

I'm not saying that I like the 5C=1 on all other digital channels, but saying the FW port is useless now isn't an accurate statement.

-eric

I agree. I didn't say it was useless. In fact, I'll probably keep mine just for this reason. My point is, this is not what the FCC intended. (in my opinion)

By the way, there are other ways to receive locals from cable. Both the Air2PC and HD-3000 tuner cards support QAM on various levels, and the locals are required to be unencrypted. Granted you get to rent the STB, and have to buy the PCI card.

I agree. I didn't say it was useless. In fact, I'll probably keep mine just for this reason. My point is, this is not what the FCC intended. (in my opinion)

By the way, there are other ways to receive locals from cable. Both the Air2PC and HD-3000 tuner cards support QAM on various levels, and the locals are required to be unencrypted. Granted you get to rent the STB, and have to buy the PCI card.

But QAM tuners aren't supported by MCE, which is the HTPC PVR platform I'm currently using. I do have a QAM tuner PCI card, but the software that comes with it is REALLY bad. In fact, so bad that I'm not able to rely on it to record.

Personally, I think the unofficial FW STB support in MCE is a Godsend, even if it works only for the HD locals. :)

-eric

So I see that NBC/KING5 had huge issues with "Surface" last night in HDTV, making the episode essentially unwatchable. Oh well, have to wait for SciFi to rebroadcast, I guess. Least "The West Wing" was perfect. :cool:
About 12 minutes in, KING switched to their analog feed and the rest of Surface was fine, just a smaller picture.

2 questions:

1. In the seattle times today there again was news of Fox Sports Northwest carrying the sonics in HDTV - well I looked in the comcast lineup and don't see an HD channel for them and the season starts a week from today... anyone know what comcast is doing for this? (and what package you need? I just have the locals + locals in HD as its all I watch - except I love sonics and their non HD broadcast quality is very bad)

2. A few post ago it was mentioned Personally, I think the unofficial FW STB support in MCE is a Godsend, even if it works only for the HD locals.
Can you provide a link on instructions for that or anything? Its been about 6 months since I tried it but I never got MCE to work with the comcast boxes firewire. I did manage to load drivers to make the computer look like a HDVCR and record but not with MCE and also it wasn't very usefull as I needed to have the cable box on and set to the correct channel etc.

Finally: I think the fact that you have to order the "basic cable" analog channels for $40+ just to record local HD channels is rediculous - there is no requirement for that with the hardware.

2 questions:

1. In the seattle times today there again was news of Fox Sports Northwest carrying the sonics in HDTV - well I looked in the comcast lineup and don't see an HD channel for them and the season starts a week from today... anyone know what comcast is doing for this? (and what package you need? I just have the locals + locals in HD as its all I watch - except I love sonics and their non HD broadcast quality is very bad)


FSN is currently negotiating with Comcast to carry the HD broadcasts. The only major carrier to agree to carry the HD games right now is DirecTV, along with some smaller outlying cable systems (I belive whoever serves Tacoma is carrying them). FSN really wants to be on Comcast, but as of now, they haven't agreed on a compensation package. Hopefully there will be more news to report soon.

I don't know what Comcast gains by turning on the DTCP, but they will definitely lose the $50/mo I pay for my premium subscriptions.Of course, that is certainly always our option as a consumer, but IMHO I highly doubt you're going to find another provider who is doing anything much different from Comcast in regards to implementing 5C/FW restrictions. As to whether 5C/FW restrictions are being implemented properly or not by the industry as a whole is a topic for a different thread (and you will find many already in progress here in different areas of AVS).

I cant beleive comcast hasnt added this FSNW HD channel, Directv beat them to the punch again, first HD mariner games and now HD sonic games, this is a disgrace and they still havent added TNT HD to our lineup despite an agreement. This really sucks. Comcast claims they dont have bandwidth to add TNT HD here in Seattle, I somehow think Comcast will add FSN HD within a week to avoid DTV defecters. At which point ill ask if you can add FSN HD why couldnt they add TNTHD, IF DTV adds TNT HD im gone,that'll be it for me and suckcast

I have a Samsung 4667, and connect directly to the cable line, no STB, no Cablecard. I live in Puyallup.

I also have limited basic analog service, but i still pick up the basic HDTV channels, 81.x, 82.x, 83.x, and 84.x.

I had my Samsung for about 2 months and loved watching HDTV. Last night, the video on all my HDTV channels went blank, but i do still get audio on those channels.

Has anyone experienced this issue before, and what could be going on, or how do i fix? Comcast gave 2 different responses, "there is a service disruption in my area" and "there is no service disruption in my area", so I don't know if its comcast or my Samsung, or if i need to get a Cablecard.

Is it time to invoke my Samsung warranty?

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Here's the scoop, as I understand it. The Senate Committee has set April 7, 2009 as TV's digital transition date. This has yet to been confirmed in the House.

As of this date (or whatever date is eventually settled upon), all networks will be required to broadcast in digital. The consumer who has an analog TV set will need to purchase a digital-to-analog converter in order to see the shows. One box for every analog set in the house- these boxes are expected to cost around $50.00 each. And Congress will be approving billions to subsidize the conversion for those who can not afford it.

The reason for all this- money, of course! The US will auction off the recovered analog spectrum on January 28, 2008. This is expected to raise between 10-20 BILLION dollars for the US Treasury. Also, another compelling reason for pushing this conversion date is that emergency facilities desperately need the 24 MHz of spectrum recovered from the digital transition. This need was demonstrated during the 9/11 disaster when emergency communications were in shambles.
Seems that was the Dems' proposal.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2005-10-27T124831Z_01_RID744210_RTRUKOC_0_US-DIGITAL-TV.xml&archived=False
looks like what will really happen is switch by December 31, 2008 and only $830mill in grants for D to A STB's

I cant beleive comcast hasnt added this FSNW HD channel, Directv beat them to the punch again, first HD mariner games and now HD sonic games, this is a disgrace and they still havent added TNT HD to our lineup despite an agreement. This really sucks. Comcast claims they dont have bandwidth to add TNT HD here in Seattle, I somehow think Comcast will add FSN HD within a week to avoid DTV defecters. At which point ill ask if you can add FSN HD why couldnt they add TNTHD, IF DTV adds TNT HD im gone,that'll be it for me and suckcast


Man oh man do I ever agree with you!!!! This is now year 3 of no TNT-HD. I have been reading about new HD channels coming soon for a year without one thing new!

Someone else mentioned this and I simply don't understand.....What the hell is 181????? There is NEVER anything on it and I'd assume there the bandwitch needed.

I'm a HUGE basketball fan and end up squinting at the NBA league pass and trying to watch the game through the brutal SD fuzz. Even FSN looks terrible on the analog channels and I was excited to get 105 low-def since it's minus 50% fuzz on the digital portion of the lineup.

Please comcast.......can you just put up TNT-HD....the damn channel that you have a agreement for!!!

Just figure it out already......b

2 questions:

2. A few post ago it was mentioned
Can you provide a link on instructions for that or anything? Its been about 6 months since I tried it but I never got MCE to work with the comcast boxes firewire. I did manage to load drivers to make the computer look like a HDVCR and record but not with MCE and also it wasn't very usefull as I needed to have the cable box on and set to the correct channel etc.

Finally: I think the fact that you have to order the "basic cable" analog channels for $40+ just to record local HD channels is rediculous - there is no requirement for that with the hardware.

A guy on "thegreenbutton" built a little 3rd party app to change the channel on the STB via firewire and went way beyond by also recording the content that comes out of it. It's not professional... but it works. :D

Basically, what he does is that he records the firewire output at the same time that your tuner records the s-vid output. If it's successful, he copies the metadata to the firewire content and deletes the s-vid content. Of course, this will work only on channels that have 5C=0 (aka analog + HD locals). But, until we have a better solution, this will do for me.

Here's the link where you can get more information: http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=26&MessageID=104152&TopicPage=1

Don't bother reading all the thread (it's over 130 pages long) but make sure that:

1. You set up your MCE2005 to record from the STB first (aka via S-Video or Composite)
2. You have a decent MPEG decoder installed (aka WinDVD 7 or something equivalent).

After that, just follow the instructions on the readme.txt.

And as far as the 6412 requirements are concerned, I TOTALLY agree with you. The minimum package I told I had to get to have a 6412 was:
$43 (Basic) + $12 (Digital Classic) + $9.95 (DVR) = $65 + Tax!

In my case, I pay $12.95 (Minimum Basic) + $6.50 (6200 rental) = $19.45 + Tax

I would be happy to pay an extra $5-$10 for DVR service, but forcing me to pay $45/mo extra is simply ridiculous. That's why I was very happy to get that firewire solution (and it lets me record on my 400GB drive too... :D ).

-eric

Regarding the 5C implementation that the Seattle market got this past week, I received a follow up call from a Comcast engineer this morning.

He said they had just finished getting the tags set correctly. The only channels that should be 5C=1 or higher are the premium channels, or anything you pay extra for.

The basic digital channels should be 5C=0 now. I have confirmed this on a few channels like TCM, Science, NGC, DISCHD, INHD etc.

While I really wanted the movie channels, I understand the constraints, and I think this delineation makes more sense than to copy control everything. I'm happy to have DiscHD, and INHD back.

As many of you have noted, Comcast is free, to a point, to do whatever they want with 5C. I think it is up to us to express our interest when changes like this get made, and ultimately, shape what Comcast wants to give us consumers. Comcast didn't have to turn these channels back to 5C=0, and they may not stay that way forever, but all it took was to get the question to the right person.

The City of Seattle cable customer service people were instrumental in getting this request through to the correct people. On my own, I was unable to get anyone on the phone who even knew that Firewire was required, and I made it to level 3 support. The CSRs really need to be educated on what the options are for the consumer, even if that means there are no options. Any answer is better than disinformation.

So, go ye now and bask in the warm goodness that is time-shifted American Chopper in HD.

That's great news - thanks for following up on this, pidhead. I'm truly amazed you managed to thru to someone at Comcast who actually knows something about this!

5c is off. quick, record!
Hbohd and inhd confirmed as of 8 pm

Thank You Comcast Man. I promise to keep all recorded content to myself.

^^^ way to let the cat out of the bag ;) heh

I have a Samsung 4667, and connect directly to the cable line, no STB, no Cablecard. I live in Puyallup.

I also have limited basic analog service, but i still pick up the basic HDTV channels, 81.x, 82.x, 83.x, and 84.x.

I had my Samsung for about 2 months and loved watching HDTV. Last night, the video on all my HDTV channels went blank, but i do still get audio on those channels.

Has anyone experienced this issue before, and what could be going on, or how do i fix? Comcast gave 2 different responses, "there is a service disruption in my area" and "there is no service disruption in my area", so I don't know if its comcast or my Samsung, or if i need to get a Cablecard.

Is it time to invoke my Samsung warranty?

Any thoughts?

Thanks


Unplug your TV for 30 seconds or so to reset it and you will be good to go.

So I see that NBC/KING5 had huge issues with "Surface" last night in HDTV, making the episode essentially unwatchable. Oh well, have to wait for SciFi to rebroadcast, I guess. Least "The West Wing" was perfect. :cool:

FYI: Episodes 3 through 6 of Surface will be on the SCIFi channel this Wednesday starting at 7:00 PM.

Has SNL been in HD yet this year? THis past weekend is the first I have missed, but all others have been letterboxed on KING..I sent an email to KING TV last week complaining but no response from them...and then the gosh darn terrible sound at KOMO>.my gosh, I cannot even watch 104 anymore with the constant dolby digital that puts no sound in center or rears...can't those morons just leave it as stereo during non prime time hours when there is no need for digital....

Has SNL been in HD yet this year? THis past weekend is the first I have missed, but all others have been letterboxed on KING..I sent an email to KING TV last week complaining but no response from them...and then the gosh darn terrible sound at KOMO>.my gosh, I cannot even watch 104 anymore with the constant dolby digital that puts no sound in center or rears...can't those morons just leave it as stereo during non prime time hours when there is no need for digital....

Someone reported earlier in this thread, or in the Seattle OTA thread, that KING delays SNL by five minutes. The only way they can accomplish this right now is to record the east coast feed early and play it back at their 5-minutes-later time, all done in SD because they apparently do not have the means of doing so in HD at this time.

I think we need to convince KING to bag the 5 minute delay and send us the HD west coast feed!

I have a Samsung 4667, and connect directly to the cable line, no STB, no Cablecard. I live in Puyallup.

I also have limited basic analog service, but i still pick up the basic HDTV channels, 81.x, 82.x, 83.x, and 84.x.

I had my Samsung for about 2 months and loved watching HDTV. Last night, the video on all my HDTV channels went blank, but i do still get audio on those channels.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

I have a Samsung set also, and limited basic comcast. I had the exact same problem happen to me. Lost all HD video, but still had sound. I figured the TV was on the fritz, but I decided to unplug the tv and let it sit for an hour. When I plugged it back in, all works fine again.

Rick

This happened to me...you need to try to "power cycle" the TV. Turn it off...once the fan stops running, unplug it. Wait a minute...plug it back in...then turn it on. See if that works.

I talked to a Comcast representitive about why not replace HDSE with TNT-HD, he INSISTS the HDSE channel doesn't exist. Well, I guess I was just wasting my time.


I cant beleive comcast hasnt added this FSNW HD channel, Directv beat them to the punch again, first HD mariner games and now HD sonic games, this is a disgrace and they still havent added TNT HD to our lineup despite an agreement. This really sucks. Comcast claims they dont have bandwidth to add TNT HD here in Seattle, I somehow think Comcast will add FSN HD within a week to avoid DTV defecters. At which point ill ask if you can add FSN HD why couldnt they add TNTHD, IF DTV adds TNT HD im gone,that'll be it for me and suckcast

I just turned to 181 and there was good ol HDSE broadcasting that lovely HDSE color. I wonder why that channel is even there? But it is there.

I'm pretty disappointed by Comcasts lack of bringing in HD stations. My father-in-law in Silverdale (Wave Cable) has FSNHD and TNTHD which have all been in added within the last 6-9 months. He was able to watch the Mariners in HD and I can't.

I just wish Comcast would pull this off. I want to watch the Sonics in HD tonight. I could if I decided to visit my father-in-law! Grrr....

5:55PM, Thursday, 11/3. There's actually something on 181 other than the static graphic -- HD version of NFL coverage on 180.

6:00PM, 181 has HD version of NFL Game of the Week, Bears at Lions.

I purchased a Panasonic TH42PX50U a couple of weeks ago, and found that I can pick up a number of HD channels without having a Comcast subscription. One of these channels was PBS, which had the best reception of all the channels I could get. After about a week, PBS stopped coming in at all. It said "poor signal strength", but upon checking the signal strength I could see it wasn't low at all, in fact it was in the high 80s. Anyone else experiencing this problem? I can't figure out why it came in so well and just stopped so suddenly. :confused:

I purchased a Panasonic TH42PX50U a couple of weeks ago, and found that I can pick up a number of HD channels without having a Comcast subscription. One of these channels was PBS, which had the best reception of all the channels I could get. After about a week, PBS stopped coming in at all. It said "poor signal strength", but upon checking the signal strength I could see it wasn't low at all, in fact it was in the high 80s. Anyone else experiencing this problem? I can't figure out why it came in so well and just stopped so suddenly. :confused:KCTS-HD only broadcasts from like 3:00p-midnight every day. You might want to make sure you're trying this during those hours.

KCTS-HD only broadcasts from like 3:00p-midnight every day. You might want to make sure you're trying this during those hours.

Correct, but outside of those hours the signal is still there, they only broadcast a static message telling you when content will return. This should not result in him losing signal of the station.

Since so many people found it useful last time, here's an updated list of what's where on QAM, both SD and HD.

Again, this listing was compiled in the City of Seattle, and, from what I understand, there may be some differences in the suburbs.

Any news on when the digital simulcasts will be mapped to the Comcast boxes?

Any idea if we will ever get CBC television in HD? They are now broadcasting at least part of hockey night in Canada in hi-def.

I spoke with a Comcast technical CSR person a few days ago and she told me that it is taking longer than expected but she was pretty sure it will be happening within the month - at least in the Seattle area.

I spoke with a Comcast technical CSR person a few days ago and she told me that it is taking longer than expected but she was pretty sure it will be happening within the month - at least in the Seattle area.

I assume "it" is digital simulcast mapping to the box rather than CBC-HD.

Regarding KOMO's DT problems:

There was a lipsync issue through much of Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy on the Comcast digital simulcast. I switched to DT OTA half way through GA and didn't see it anymore. I'm not sure if that's a coincidence or not. (I've seen this on DT OTA before.)
KOMO-DT OTA flipped to a 4:3 signal for about half a second 2/3 of the way into GA.
I experienced the scratchy sound issue during one of the commercials, and actually during part of one of the shows (I think the GA opening theme before and after it went to commercial).
The audio cut out at the very end of the GA preview for next week on the DT OTA broadcast.


When will KOMO get its act together? The problems with network shows is very annoying, and it seems to be with KOMO since they occur on both cable and OTA. I've seen drop-outs on other channels, but I've never seen the scratchy audio elsewhere. (On a positive note, I do appreciate that most of its local news is in 16:9.)

I've noticed several mentions of these issues earlier in this thread. FYI, they have also been discussed in the Seattle OTA thread.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the updated list pastiche!

I have a Samsung 4667, and connect directly to the cable line, no STB, no Cablecard. I live in Puyallup.

I also have limited basic analog service, but i still pick up the basic HDTV channels, 81.x, 82.x, 83.x, and 84.x.

I had my Samsung for about 2 months and loved watching HDTV. Last night, the video on all my HDTV channels went blank, but i do still get audio on those channels.

Has anyone experienced this issue before, and what could be going on, or how do i fix? Comcast gave 2 different responses, "there is a service disruption in my area" and "there is no service disruption in my area", so I don't know if its comcast or my Samsung, or if i need to get a Cablecard.

Is it time to invoke my Samsung warranty?

Any thoughts?

Thanks

I have a Samsung set also, and limited basic comcast. I had the exact same problem happen to me. Lost all HD video, but still had sound. I figured the TV was on the fritz, but I decided to unplug the tv and let it sit for an hour. When I plugged it back in, all works fine again.

Rick

I have a Samsung HLR, live in the same area as syp, and had a similar thing happen to me a week or two ago. That was before I discovered the Comcast simulcasts and I was just getting DT OTA. All my digital stations stopped displaying. I didn't even get audio though the TV detected Dolby Digital. I looked in the manual's troubleshooting section and followed the instructions under "television is flaky" and unplugged it for 30 seconds. Afterwards, everything was fine.

syp and RickE, what set do you have and when did this happen?

RickE, what area do you live in?

This is too weird that it happened to our Samsungs in the same area around the same time. We should contact Samsung (and maybe Comcast) regarding this.

When will KOMO get its act together? The problems with network shows is very annoying, and it seems to be with KOMO since they occur on both cable and OTA. I've seen drop-outs on other channels, but I've never seen the scratchy audio elsewhere. (On a positive note, I do appreciate that most of its local news is in 16:9.)

We're fortunate to have a KOMO engineer as a participant in this forum and he has noted that KOMO has been upgrading their equipment to improve the quality of service, so hopefully issues will continue to be resolved moving forward as they implement the new equipment and come up to speed on using it.

We're fortunate to have a KOMO engineer as a participant in this forum and he has noted that KOMO has been upgrading their equipment to improve the quality of service, so hopefully issues will continue to be resolved moving forward as they implement the new equipment and come up to speed on using it.

I appreciate the monitoring of the forum by KOMO, but unfortunately the result seems to be a downward spiral in audio quality.

I heard the same audio problems this morning on Good Morning America. Anyone look at that show lately? Since they went HD last week? They had garbly audio for a few minutes this morning, the video & audio switched to 4x3 feed, audio was clean, then switched back to 16x9 after a few seconds and audio was clean. GMA showed clips from Desperate Housewives, but showed them in SD4x3. Guess they don't have a way to record HD feeds yet. News summaries were also in SD4x3. Looked like only HD was for GMA-controlled cameras.

FSN and Comcast

Following up on my pet issue, I sent an email to Comcast customer service to ask why we did not have FSN-HD yet. Their response:

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

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

-the increased bandwidth resources which are required

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

We will continue to explore additional HD programming opportunities as more content providers make plans to offer their programming in HD format.

We appreciate the fact that you took the time to let us know what is important to you. We hope to expand our high definition channel lineup as fast as we can. Unfortunately we are unable to provide specific details regarding the launch of new channels at this time, please keep an eye on your monthly billing statement as the announcement of any channel additions will appear on those statements.

I also contacted the TV critics at the PI and Times and asked them why they weren't on the issue. No response from the PI, but Kay McFadden at the Times responded and went to ask FSN what was up. FSN's response:

I'm happy to provide the information I have on our Sonics HD package and current distribution...

We're excited to have put together such an impressive package of games and high definition is definitely a significant part of FSN's plans now and in the future, but you obviously know first-hand that Comcast is yet to deliver those games to their customers. We're hopeful that will change soon! To date, the other major satellite and cable providers in the market - DirecTV, Click! Network and Wave Broadband - are all receiving the games, so a significant number of fans have been exposed to Sonics basketball in HD for the first time ever, but we understand there is still a large community - Comcast subscribers - who have yet to capitalize on FSN's new HDTV initiative. We are still speaking with Comcast on a regular basis regarding the issue, however, and feel good that we may come to an agreement before the next Sonics HD game on Nov. 18th and the Apple Cup on Nov. 19th.

Producing these games in high definition is a costly and labor intensive process for us, so of course it is made worthwhile only when as many viewers as possible are able to experience the "fruits of our labor"... we're hopeful the entire HD audience in the market will soon have the opportunity to do so.

Kay is now following up with Comcast.

Personally, when someone puts so many qualifiers in one sentence (they "feel good" that they "may" have a deal soon?), I tend not to rely on what they are saying. Better find someone with a Dish to watch the Apple Cup in HD.

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


Actually I think there are a lot of people with HD TVs, and analysts are predicting astronomical numbers for 2006. My guess is that people are sick of skyrocketing cable rates and paying for an "HD package" on top of the digital cable charge. It's too bad there's no competition for cable service (not including satellite).

I was hoping we will have TNT-HD soon, however I received this reply from comcast today. The funny thing is my google search doesn't return any comcast or tnt press release about the TNT-HD on comcast. Anyone has a link?


----------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for contacting Comcast.

No comcast does not have a contract with TNT HD at this time, and we
have no information as to when and if we will offer that channel.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any more questions. You may
respond directly to this email. Thank you for your interest in Comcast.

Thank you for choosing Comcast.

I was hoping we will have TNT-HD soon, however I received this reply from comcast today. The funny thing is my google search doesn't return any comcast or tnt press release about the TNT-HD on comcast. Anyone has a link?


----------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for contacting Comcast.

No comcast does not have a contract with TNT HD at this time, and we
have no information as to when and if we will offer that channel.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any more questions. You may
respond directly to this email. Thank you for your interest in Comcast.

Thank you for choosing Comcast.

B.S. They even send out ads for it: http://comcast.p.delivery.net/m/p/com/mic/HD_Index.asp?p=&cid=12781098848&cell=330070

Every time a customer asks about this, the response is different. Last time it was lack of bandwidth. What a bunch of maroons.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

P.S. -- Is this the same source who thinks channel 181 (HDSE) doesn't exist?

I am trying to find out what is the channel line up for the cable in the clear channels or the channels I can get with my quam tuner in my tv. I live in seattle, washington. I get all kinds of channels that i do not know what they are like 118.1 and 79.1 and so on . there are lots of channels. if any one has a list or know i would like to know them. Thanks phil :)

I am trying to find out what is the channel line up for the cable in the clear channels or the channels I can get with my quam tuner in my tv. I live in seattle, washington. I get all kinds of channels that i do not know what they are like 118.1 and 79.1 and so on . there are lots of channels. if any one has a list or know i would like to know them. Thanks phil :)

Hey Phil,

Scroll up the page and look at post #5678 by Pastiche... should be what you are looking for!

David

What happen to Reunion on Q13(11.10.05) at 9:45pm or so? I'm recording it using a QAM tuner and the last 10min of the program, my STB had "no signal" This was during a commericial, then it came back a couple of sec after the start of the last break, in SD. It had the "FOX"logo with the Q13logo in the black pillar.

Any idea if we will ever get CBC television in HD? They are now broadcasting at least part of hockey night in Canada in hi-def.

Channel 99's analogue quality is quite poor anyway, I do hope they go digital with that one though.

5:55PM, Thursday, 11/3. There's actually something on 181 other than the static graphic -- HD version of NFL coverage on 180.

6:00PM, 181 has HD version of NFL Game of the Week, Bears at Lions.Game of the week showing right now - but for how long? :confused:

Channel 99's analogue quality is quite poor anyway, I do hope they go digital with that one though.
Comcast has a digital simulcast (SD) running (see post #5678) above. Though I doubt that they will have the HD version anytime soon. There's not that much HD content CBC anyhow at the moment (besides one hockey game each Saturday afternoon)

Comcast has a digital simulcast (SD) running (see post #5678) above.

DS not yet mapped to the cable box, though. Rumored to have been turned on 11/9 in Ferndale and supposedly rolling in over the next four weeks.

Game of the week showing right now - but for how long? :confused:

NFL Network runs one HD Game of the week every Wednesday. That appears to be the only program on the HD NFL Network channel.

Is it just me or has 6 channel sound been missing from channel 107 / Kiro the last few weeks? The video looks great, but I'm not getting full surround ... it's mainly annoying in that the mix my audio processor (B&K Ref 20) is doing for me leaves voice level (center channel) much lower than music / sound effects (specially LFE).

In particular, Numb3rs and the CSI's have all been that way for me for at least two weeks.

The other networks have been coming in just fine, HDTV audio-wise ... (full 6 channel sound).

I read back in this thread a ways, but didn't find anything obviously related ...

Thanks!

Cliff

This was already mentioned in the Seattle OTA thread. Yes, KIRO is back to 2.0 for a couple of weeks now. But nobody knows exactly why (or at least I haven't seen an explanation...).

Thanks - I don't usually monitor the Seattle OTA thread, so couldn't imagine I was the only one having a problem (unless there was strange problem on my end). At least there's been no problems with audio drop / interruptions. On a related note, KOMO's audio (and video) stability seems to have improved substantially - I can't remember the last time I noticed an audio drop ... compliments to the engineering staff at the station for keeping at it.

Cliff

...KOMO's audio (and video) stability seems to have improved substantially....

Cliff

Improved? Since last weekend?

Shirley, you jest.

Improved? Since last weekend?

"LOST" is about all I watch on KOMO anymore ("Invasion" just didn't grab me), and it seems to be audio and video glitch-free (the few audio dropouts I did encounter were the 6412's doing and using the skip-back function to re-play it cleared them right up).

Rats! I don't seem to get 173 EDPNHD anymore. I have basic analog w/local HD.

Sounds like no more Sunday night football in HD unless I upgrade to Digital package.

Komo is getting better on the video drops, but the audio is still suffering. Last night on Housewifes and Grey's the audio got that fuzzy sound on the background music on a number of occasions. Seems like they have replaced dropouts with fuzzy's.

Saturday night 11:00 News had a huge audio drop right at the start of the program. Funny thing was that I was showing off KOMO-HD to a friend of mine - a retired KOMO Exec.

This was already mentioned in the Seattle OTA thread. Yes, KIRO is back to 2.0 for a couple of weeks now. But nobody knows exactly why (or at least I haven't seen an explanation...).

partly a joke, but my opinion is that KIRO was getting hammered for their suspect 5.1 sound, and decided to drop it. If you listened carefully, you'd notice that KIRO never sent discrete 5.1, it was always some kind of 5.1 stereo sound. A few of us in the OTA thread caught on and started complaining, then about a week later, poof, 5.1 gone from KIRO.

Better find someone with a Dish to watch the Apple Cup in HD.

vbjd1111 (or anyone),

Does anyone know for sure if the Apple Cup is going to be done in HD (or not) by FSNW? And, if YES, where will it be broadcast? Directv (what channel?)? Comcast (INHD or INHD2?)???

Thanks in advance for any replies.

partly a joke, but my opinion is that KIRO was getting hammered for their suspect 5.1 sound, and decided to drop it. If you listened carefully, you'd notice that KIRO never sent discrete 5.1, it was always some kind of 5.1 stereo sound. A few of us in the OTA thread caught on and started complaining, then about a week later, poof, 5.1 gone from KIRO.
Can somebody explain what the problem for a local station is on passing on a 5.1 network signal. CBS football games e.g. are in 5.1, so why can't KIRO just pass on this signal as is? What kind of processing needs to happen on their side that they down convert this to 2.0?

I understand that there might be issues for their own programming, but I don't understand how this applies to network programming.

Can somebody explain what the problem for a local station is on passing on a 5.1 network signal. CBS football games e.g. are in 5.1, so why can't KIRO just pass on this signal as is? What kind of processing needs to happen on their side that they down convert this to 2.0?

I understand that there might be issues for their own programming, but I don't understand how this applies to network programming.Inserting local commercials, for one thing....

Inserting local commercials, for one thing....
Sure thing, but that doesn't explain why the sound during the non commercial part gets down converted to 2.0.

vbjd1111 (or anyone),

Does anyone know for sure if the Apple Cup is going to be done in HD (or not) by FSNW? And, if YES, where will it be broadcast? Directv (what channel?)? Comcast (INHD or INHD2?)???

Thanks in advance for any replies.

The Apple Cup and Civil War will both be available in HD on DirecTV Channel 95. I can tell you that negotiations with Comcast are ongoing and there may be an 11th hour deal (but please don't get your hopes up, because it's not likely). There are also several outlying cable systems including the Tacoma system that will have the games in HD.

The Apple Cup and Civil War will both be available in HD on DirecTV Channel 95. I can tell you that negotiations with Comcast are ongoing and there may be an 11th hour deal (but please don't get your hopes up, because it's not likely). There are also several outlying cable systems including the Tacoma system that will have the games in HD.

brownnet,

Thanks for the reply ... and great news! Just wondering where you got the information? I know that I get occasional HD events on ch 95 & 96 on Directv, but I don't see anything on the directv.com program guide ...

thanks again

Inserting local commercials, for one thing.... Problem is keeping the encoding on as the signal passes through switchers. KIRO has been slow moving to digital eqiupment in house. I'd bet their switcher isn't digital and they're just trying to keep the DD5.1 data intact as it passes through. For TV stations to handle both analog and digital, they'd need two switchers or one switcher capable of handling dual picture & sound, analog & digital. Or find a way to bypass an old analog master switcher between local and national feeds.

Sure thing, but that doesn't explain why the sound during the non commercial part gets down converted to 2.0.Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the local stations just "pass thru" the MPEG-encoded stream directly from the network. Don't they get a very high bandwidth network feed (something like 48 Mbit/sec) from satellite? If so, that obviously has to be re-encoded to fit into a 19.2 Mbit/sec stream for HD broadcast. This means they are always re-encoding everything from the network, which means their local encoder equipment might be responsible for audio problems like these.

brownnet,

Thanks for the reply ... and great news! Just wondering where you got the information? I know that I get occasional HD events on ch 95 & 96 on Directv, but I don't see anything on the directv.com program guide ...

thanks again

I'm going to have to sincerely apologize for the information I'm about to share: It turns out that the Apple Cup HD broadcast on DirecTV is in jeopardy. The only guaranteed outlets to see the AC and CW are on Click! and Wave cable systems in Tacoma and other places. The Apple Cup is still a possibility but not certain for DirecTV. The Civil War definitely won't be on DirecTV. It also appears that negotioations between Comcast and FSN have hit an impasse, so although they continue to talk, it isn't looking good for a deal there anytime soon. I'm sorry I got your hopes up, if I get more information later in the week, I'll pass it along. Sorry again.

I'm going to have to sincerely apologize for the information I'm about to share: It turns out that the Apple Cup HD broadcast on DirecTV is in jeopardy. The only guaranteed outlets to see the AC and CW are on Click! and Wave cable systems in Tacoma and other places. The Apple Cup is still a possibility but not certain for DirecTV. The Civil War definitely won't be on DirecTV. It also appears that negotioations between Comcast and FSN have hit an impasse, so although they continue to talk, it isn't looking good for a deal there anytime soon. I'm sorry I got your hopes up, if I get more information later in the week, I'll pass it along. Sorry again.
Where did you get this information about the Apple Cup?

I would actually be surprised, if this game is in HD at all. People are discussing (complaining) whether Michigan/OSU or USC/UCLA will be HD. But the Apple Cup, how does this scale? If you go back a couple of years, then yes. But this season...

Obviously everyone will be watching alabama @ Auburn in HD on CBS. Well, everyone in my house, anyway.

Where did you get this information about the Apple Cup?

brownnet ... i gotta admit, I'm curious, too! do you work for FSN or have an inside contact?

I would actually be surprised, if this game is in HD at all. People are discussing (complaining) whether Michigan/OSU or USC/UCLA will be HD. But the Apple Cup, how does this scale? If you go back a couple of years, then yes. But this season...

Rico ... i've heard it enough times that i'm pretty sure that the Apple Cup (and maybe the Civil War?) is being shot in HD by FSN ... it's just a matter of who (if anyone) is going to carry the game. None of the majors available in our area (Dish, Directv, Comcast) carry FSN-HD full time, so its just a matter of whether or not they will pick these up as one-time events in HD. The Michigan/OSU and U$C/UCLA games belong to ABC ... and they are simply not doing very many college games in HD yet (especially not regional games).

Okay KOMO HD Viewers.. I'm probably jinxing myself, but after some firmware upgrades, the audio "motorboating" and drop-outs during transition between HD and local breaks seems to have subsided or been completely eliminated. I watched MNF, and Boston Legal on my home OTA set up and had no audio issues. In fact, the transitions seemed to be glitch free.

As is with this business no news is good news, or at least I noticed the cranky factor toward KOMO seems to have subsided on this site, and have noticed no negative technical posts since Sunday night. So, what do you think? Have any of you noticed the change since Monday?

Best Regards,

Kelly Alford
Director of Engineering/IT
KOMO TV4 KOMO-DT
Fisher Radio Seattle
KVI, KOMO, KPLZ-FM

I only watch "LOST" on ABC, but I'll let ya know how it went tomorrow. :)

>>It also appears that negotioations between Comcast and FSN have hit an impasse<<

Gee where have we heard that before?

Does anyone know what the heck is the deal with Comcast and some more HD channels? I can't believe we are still waiting for TNT. Are they planning to add something soon or should we start looking at going back to Satellite? Seems like kind of like a waste to have Comcast only for some HD locals, which is basically what I'm doing at this point.

>>It also appears that negotioations between Comcast and FSN have hit an impasse<<

Gee where have we heard that before?

Does anyone what the heck is the deal with Comcast and some more HD channels? I can't believe we are still waiting for TNT. Are they planning to add something soon or should we start looking at going back to Satellite? Seems like kind of like a waste to have Comcast only for some HD locals, which is basically what I'm doing at this point.


Totally agree with you again Tom. Comcast has done NOTHING to improve it's HD lineup. We got our locals after plenty of waiting and there has been zero improvement since. FSN HD...TNT-HD.....ESPN2HD......why does the great PNW seem to get hosed on all these so called deals that are reached. I'm so sick of reading threads in the main HD programing section from Comcast people out east and midwest that have most everything.

Makes me sick.

Totally agree with you again Tom. Comcast has done NOTHING to improve it's HD lineup. We got our locals after plenty of waiting and there has been zero improvement since. FSN HD...TNT-HD.....ESPN2HD......

I would like to see KSTW, so I can get rid of my antenna once and for all. :)

I think it's a situation of the grass is always greener type of thing. I've been on satellite for years and came back to cable. For me it was more important to have the locals in HD, except for no KSTW. I tried HD with satellite and over the air antenna,it just never worked for me. I think I have too many trees.
I also got tired of paying for my own equipment, $350 a peice for my 2 Hi def receivers and neither are DVR's. then to find out that I'll have to get new receivers for hi def locals once they do come out.
I'm not saying that Comcast is perfect, but I can live with it for now. If Verizon roll s out their TV service I would have to take a look.

Yeah, I switched a while ago for the exact same reason. I was happy at first cause I just assumed they would add HD channels as they became available. We ended up waiting over a year for CBS and we are still waiting for TNT.

Course I just looked at DirecTV and they don't have TNT-HD either. lol Oh well, at least my Nascar will not be on TNT next year anyways.

I’m a reasonable person. I just want to know it’s going to happen and they are working on it, or something. Figured if I just waited it would happen, but after a year with zero new HD channels I'm kind of wondering now.

I wonder if Comcast is paying attention to these things - especially in HD.

Boeing satellite launched for DIRECTV
Spaceway F2, a Boeing 702 satellite built by the Boeing Satellite Development Center for DIRECTV Inc., was successfully launched Wednesday from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Spaceway F2 and another SDC-built satellite launched in April will support a capacity expansion for DIRECTV, allowing it to deliver more than 1,500 local and 150 national high-definition channels to dozens of the largest U.S. markets by 2007. "These satellites, in tandem with our broadcast centers, enable DIRECTV to be the first digital television service to offer the most advanced programming transmission in the world," said Chase Carey, DIRECTV president and CEO.

brownnet or anyone else ...

So is the Apple Cup going to be in HD or not? If so, which providers? Directv ch 95? Comcast?

Those of you with the motorola 6412 DVR box should check for the following bug.

While browsing through my DVR menu tonight I checked to see if survivor was going to be on Wednesday or Thanksgiving night. Much to my suprise I had no scheduled recordings. I went into the series manager and noticed that every series recording I had set to record at a specific hour (for example 8:00pm) was now off by an hour in the series manager (now set to record at 7:00pm). Thus I had no scheduled recordings.

This bug had to have happened recently (this week) and not immediately following daylight savings time. I fixed it by modifying all my series recording to record at any time.

Microsoft has a long way to go before it's as reliable a my old ReplayTV device. Obviously their QA process has some serious issues to allow a bug like this to slip through.

Microsoft has a long way to go before it's as reliable a my old ReplayTV device. Obviously their QA process has some serious issues to allow a bug like this to slip through.

How's the HD on your ReplayTV?

I had the same problem last week, but this week all of my series recordings claimed that there was nothing to record - I re-added them and the 2nd copy showed shows to record. I then deleted the 'empty' series set to record.

Sunday night series recorded just fine, so this happened between Sunday/Monday eves.

Add one more person who lost a scheduled shows last week- all my scheduled shows disappeared. I did not take the time to troubleshoot- I just rescheduled them all.

I had the same problem with my receiver changing recordings times over the weekend.

This same thing used to happen with every DST switch on my Dish Network Dishplayer, which also used Microsoft software and that was 5 years ago. Hasn't Microsoft figured out how to the DST change yet?

I too noticed the "scheduled series off by hour" bug last night - extremely irritating! Last night's episode of Surface didn't get recorded (I dislike having to find a copy on the Internet, but may have no choice). I would have lost "My Name is Earl" tonight as well if I hadn't started checking. I changed every series recording to "record at any time" to lessen the chance of this happening again. Also as already mentioned, this happened in the last few days, and not when DST changed (last week's recordings worked as expected).

My rating of the 6412 software just went from "mostly stable" to "has at least one unfixed major bug".

Cliff

Hello there!

I recently picked up a HDTV and I am trying to find the HD channels in Comcast's lineup. I haven't been able to find them by going through the channels, so I was wondering, does anyone know what their channels are on NON digital cable, or where abouts in this monstrous thread they are?

Thanks,

SC

this is all in digital tier..not sure what you mean by HD in non digital tier..
104
105
107
108
110
113
173
663
664
665
549
530 somtehing for stars
550 something for max
550 something for showtime...
181

I recently picked up a HDTV and I am trying to find the HD channels in Comcast's lineup.

From Mike777's post (#5581):

Digital QAM channel lineup

81-1 Fox Channel 13
81-2 WB
82-1 PBS channel 9 SD
82-4 ABC channel 4
82-5 PBS Channel 9 HDTV
83-1 NBC Channel 5
83-2 Kong
83-3 Weather channel 5
84-1 CBS channel 7
93 - SD movies
94 - SD movies
101 - PBS, maybe Tacoma?
103 - ESPN SD
105-4 Nascar SD
106 - audio channels
114-9 movies of some sort

From Mike777's post (#5581):

Digital QAM channel lineup

81-1 Fox Channel 13
81-2 WB
82-1 PBS channel 9 SD
82-4 ABC channel 4
82-5 PBS Channel 9 HDTV
83-1 NBC Channel 5
83-2 Kong
83-3 Weather channel 5
84-1 CBS channel 7
93 - SD movies
94 - SD movies
101 - PBS, maybe Tacoma?
103 - ESPN SD
105-4 Nascar SD
106 - audio channels
114-9 movies of some sort
That's an older list, post #5678 contains the current list.

Quote:
Originally Posted by metz520
Microsoft has a long way to go before it's as reliable a my old ReplayTV device. Obviously their QA process has some serious issues to allow a bug like this to slip through.


How's the HD on your ReplayTV?

Work for Microsoft QA do we?

The fact that my ReplayTV doesn't record in HD has no bearing on the issue of Microsoft's inability to thoroughly test out software before deploying it to the field.

I long ago abandoned setting a specific time for series recordings, simply because the networks insist on playing games with the start times (such as 10:01 or 9:59).

And I've never worked for Microsoft. All my software was of the type that killed people -- sometimes intentionally.

Anyone else hear the HUGE audio sync problem with KOMO-DT/Comcast tonight on Jeopardy? It must be at least 1-2 seconds out of sync.

Anyone else hear the HUGE audio sync problem with KOMO-DT/Comcast tonight on Jeopardy? It must be at least 1-2 seconds out of sync.

Same sync problem on KOMO-DT OTA, so it must have been KOMO problem.

The Country Music Awards (in SD) are in sync here.

Thanks for the info guys!

And metz520, is there really anything that Microsoft really tests before releasing it on the market?

SC

KOMO receives Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy as a file from Sony Entertainment via a service called Pathfire. We just play the file as received, and when there is a lip sync issue, it came that way from the source. Rest assured we have been in touch with Sony about this matter, and they are working on resolving it.

Kelly Alford
Director of Engineering
KOMO TV4-DT

Kelly,

Thanks for the update.

So those syndicated shows come to you as files rather than real-time video?

Very interesting. It won't be long before the only remnant of the original NTSC TV world will be just the name television, as even the last of the underlying technologies will be very different in just a few years from now.

Thanks once again for keeping us informed of the challenges and progress at KOMO-DT. Of course you realize that you are WAY ahead of the pack nationally (well, maybe at worst second or third) for local stations making progress with digital and HD TV. And I realize that part of the pain of being an early adopter is having equipment and software that are early generation with a greater risk of functional and technical deficiencies.

Kelly,

I haven't seen any posts about this, but I thought I'd add that the last few Lost episodes have still had severe audio dropouts during transitions to HD. I changed to the SD station after every commercial break to get around this.

Regarding KOMO's DT problems:

There was a lipsync issue through much of Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy on the Comcast digital simulcast. I switched to DT OTA half way through GA and didn't see it anymore. I'm not sure if that's a coincidence or not. (I've seen this on DT OTA before.)
KOMO-DT OTA flipped to a 4:3 signal for about half a second 2/3 of the way into GA.
I experienced the scratchy sound issue during one of the commercials, and actually during part of one of the shows (I think the GA opening theme before and after it went to commercial).
The audio cut out at the very end of the GA preview for next week on the DT OTA broadcast.


When will KOMO get its act together? The problems with network shows is very annoying, and it seems to be with KOMO since they occur on both cable and OTA. I've seen drop-outs on other channels, but I've never seen the scratchy audio elsewhere. (On a positive note, I do appreciate that most of its local news is in 16:9.)

I've noticed several mentions of these issues earlier in this thread. FYI, they have also been discussed in the Seattle OTA thread.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the updated list pastiche!


I saw a different sound problem at the same time as you. The audio sounded like is was recorded in an undergournd corigated tube; a wierd digital echo effect at high frequencies. I was recording the show (GA) and saw the problem get corrected. By that mean I saw the broadcast switch to SD then back to HD in a 1/2 second and the problem disappeared. It is like someone at KOMO/Comcast reset the broadcast inorder to correct bad hardware or something.

I have the recording avaliable if someone is interested in seeing it.

junkyard257[at]yahoo[dot]com

Setup:
Hardware - Dvico Fusion 3. Pentium 4 2.8ghz
Software - Dvico software v3.11, WinXPsp2
Tuner Software - Dvico Native software
Recpetion - QAM
Provider - Comcast "less than basic" cable

My recollection matches your description. I saw KOMO fix audio problems that night. And, they fixed them fairly quickly. I give them credit for paying attention.

Just noticed I now have channels 708 through 799. Is this part of the digital re-transmission of SD broadcasts?

Dave

Just noticed I now have channels 708 through 799. Is this part of the digital re-transmission of SD broadcasts?

Dave


None in Bellevue. What's on them?????