snap/crackle/pop

Rice Krispies!

Just to let you know, there's another of us in Kitsap County (Poulsbo area) anxiously awaiting HDTV. I'm right now in the process of moving from a house where I had great OTA signals from Seattle- all the locals strong through my HiPix. My new place is on the Hood Canal side of the peninsula, so NO OTA, and no prospect of ever having it.

I went with Comcast largely because of high speed internet availability. When I signed up for HD, I was told that HBO, ESPN, PBS, and KOMO were already available and included, and the other locals were expected before the fall season started. From the discussions here, it appears that was (charitably) marketing hype. I'll know more later this month when I actually get my equipment moved into the new house.

Jeremyfr, thank you so much for participating in this forum and being forthcoming with what you know and can find out. Feel free to share this comment with the 'higher-ups': You are in a race for people who care about and can afford HDTV with the satellite providers, and you're currently losing rather badly. I can buy DISH equipment right now that allows me to *record* all of the locals, HDNet, etc. in HD. The Comcast tech (98370) tells me I got the fifth Moto 5100 they've installed, and the 6k series is nothing but a rumor. You can't seem to get the deal done with most of the locals, but both of the satellite companies have had them for quite awhile.

Anyone who has made the investment in HDTV wants to have everything available in HDTV available to them. We want to time shift programs so we can watch on our schedule, not regress to the bad old days of arranging our lives around sitting down at x time so we don't miss something interesting to us.

I'm really glad to hear that Comcast is investing in this market, and I hope it all happens real soon now- in reality, not in the vaporware sense of that phrase. My wife, spoiled by OTA and the HiPix, has made me promise that if we don't have at least all the locals and the ability to timeshift in one year, we're going satellite.

Andy / Jeremy....thanks for sharing your experience with it. I'm patient just wanted to see since I never heard anyone else mention it.

P.s. - YO NIZ......."Got Milk?" I coulda ate a big ole' bowl last night........biz

Originally posted by drbenson
...snip

I'm really glad to hear that Comcast is investing in this market, and I hope it all happens real soon now- in reality, not in the vaporware sense of that phrase. My wife, spoiled by OTA and the HiPix, has made me promise that if we don't have at least all the locals and the ability to timeshift in one year, we're going satellite.

Problem here is, Satellite companies don't have HD locals either, and likely won't for a couple of years.

Originally posted by drbenson
, and the 6k series is nothing but a rumor. .

The 6200's are not rumors........

You mean the satellite companies are lying to me too? Perhaps I should have been more precise and said that HD network feeds for all the major networks are available through DISH (according to their rep).

The 6200s are real, all right- as far as I have read, Comcast made a deal with Moto early this year. But they're still just a rumor to the installation techs here in Kitsap County!

Originally posted by drbenson
You mean the satellite companies are lying to me too? Perhaps I should have been more precise and said that HD network feeds for all the major networks are available through DISH (according to their rep).


A network feed is available through Dish. CBS-HD from New York. That's it.

Now if you're talking about Canadian satellite providers Bell Express View, they carry U.S. networks in HD, and just happen to carry the Seattle locals for the West Coast network feeds.

As far as the info I've recieved so far 6000/6200's by first quarter next year.

From what I've heard they want to wait for the launch of VOD as well as Microsoft TV which will be the new guide system and backend for VOD. As for MSTV it looks quite nice much better than the current onscreen guide supplied by TV Guide.

So they should be coming shortly I'll see if I can get more definate info.

Jeremy

Originally posted by drbenson
The 6200s are real, all right- as far as I have read, Comcast made a deal with Moto early this year. But they're still just a rumor to the installation techs here in Kitsap County!

Now that I cannot argue........I used a 6208 @ the Cable Tec Expo this year in Philly.....it had an 80GB HDD, but was a prototype, so not much could be said about what parts of the box would make it to production. But the words I have heard that it will have most of the same functions of a typical Replay or Tivo......but I can't say for sure until I see a production one....which we all hope will be soon.......

All I wanna know about the 6200s is if they will activate the firewire port so you can add your own external hard drive. If they do that then I might even consider selling my ReplayTV, but it'd be tough to give up commercial advance.

Jeremy,

shouldn't your signature read:

For Those of you who know your job is to teach.
For those of you who dont know your JOB is to learn.

I wouldn't be worried about them activating it....I would be more worried about it at least being installed in the box....The 6208 I saw did not have a IEEE1394 port installed, just a blank plate where one could go.......

OK, well that too. Now that you mention it I think my 5100 has a blank plate for a firewire port that isn't installed, but I'm not sure what they were going to use that for anyway. I'm pretty certain I read the 6200 would use it for external hard drives, which would be the killer feature for me. Especially if you could plug it into a pc and archive a show to a dvd.

They probably wouldn't make it that simple, but someone would figure out how to get get the files off the hard drive

Jeremy,

Thanks for the info. It's greatly appreciated.

Dan

SInce we've mentioned the 6208's...everything I've read about them has mentioned the HD and PVR capability, they tout that quite a bit. Now, I've never actually seen them touting the machine's "HD-PVR" capability--that is, the ability to record HD content.

Anyone have a clue as to the extent of the 6208's recording capabilities?

Originally posted by Roto
OK, well that too. Now that you mention it I think my 5100 has a blank plate for a firewire port that isn't installed, but I'm not sure what they were going to use that for anyway. I'm pretty certain I read the 6200 would use it for external hard drives, which would be the killer feature for me. Especially if you could plug it into a pc and archive a show to a dvd.

"Archiving a show to a dvd" would be much more complex than simply pointing your files to a program and pushing a button. I would guess that most editing and DVD programs won't use or recognize HDTV video files. So you would have to convert the HD file to a format that could then be converted to DVD. This would take lots of time and be prone to all kinds of recompression problems.

Trust me, it would not be a simple point and click operation.

HD material is about 8.5GB per hour, so even if you just moved the files to DVD disks, it would take four disks for one 2 hour HDTV movie. And these would be pure "data" disks, which means your DVD player would not play them. And even your DVD-ROM would play the file with stops and stutters because the data rate would be too high. So you would end up just copying the material back to your hard drive when you wanted to watch the HD movie. Not very practical in my opinion.

Probably the best solution would be some kind of specialized HD DVD recoderer, whether tape or DVD-R disks.

Originally posted by Andy Anderson
SInce we've mentioned the 6208's...everything I've read about them has mentioned the HD and PVR capability, they tout that quite a bit. Now, I've never actually seen them touting the machine's "HD-PVR" capability--that is, the ability to record HD content.

Anyone have a clue as to the extent of the 6208's recording capabilities?

Ya know, I never even thought of the possibility that it wouldn't PVR HD Programming, I just assumed it would. I will see what I can find out.

AFA firewire goes, they at least have a blank plate there which means it was a at least a thought. If I'm not mistaken though if you read the data sheets on the 5100 is says that the USB ports are for connecting external devices like keyboards, cameras, disk storage, ect. (yes it specifically mentions Disk drives). This means, I would hope, that the USB ports were USB 2.0, which can support much higher data rates. But none of the documentation states what version of USB they are. Time will only tell.....

Mine are specifically marked USB 1.1 on the front usb ports.

http://home.comcast.net/~jeremyfr/usb.htm

jeremy, do you know if the 6208 box has an "auto" resolution output where it will display the incoming hd signal rather than scaling to a fixed res? (so, a 720p signal will output 720p and a 1080i will output as 1080i without having to reconfigure the box) this is sure a pain with the 5100

brente: not sure best thing on that is to contact Motorola we haven't gotten too many details from them yet regarding the box. Unfortunately there site doesnt shed too much light on this either.

Jeremy

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
From what I've heard they want to wait for the launch of VOD as well as Microsoft TV which will be the new guide system and backend for VOD. As for MSTV it looks quite nice much better than the current onscreen guide supplied by TV Guide.

I can vouch for that. I have a friend on the MSTV team and have seen the EPG aolution, it is very nice. As in: you'd actually use it nice as opposed to the "how do I turn this thing OFF" variety we get with the 5100.

As in: you'd actually use it nice as opposed to the "how do I turn this thing OFF" variety we get with the 5100.

Hehe I have to laugh at that especially since its so true:) If anyone is interested in checking out MSTV you can go to

http://www.microsoft.com/tv

The only real thing you can see what its like is in the video section they seem kind of shy to put up any screenshots though they show it quite extensively in the video's, Quite nice! I think anyways one of the best looking guides I've seen much more user friendly and gives alot more info. I've even seen where it will show you the front cover of the movie and the details from the back for PPV/VOD movies quite cool!

Jeremy

Originally posted by simmike
"Archiving a show to a dvd" would be much more complex than simply pointing your files to a program and pushing a button. I would guess that most editing and DVD programs won't use or recognize HDTV video files.
...snip

I wasn't specifically thinking just HDTV here, especially considering it will be a while before we have more than just a handful of HD stations. I have a ReplayTV and every now and then I use a program called DVArchive which copies the mpg files from the Replay to a pc. (go check the Replay forum here at AVS) Those files happen to be pretty simple to burn to DVD. So my thinking was if they have the firewire port on the 6200 something similar could be possible. Don't burst my bubble! :mad: :mad: ;) :p

Until the boxes come out who knows what we can do with the files. There are people that convert HD to WM9 and burn them to DVDs.

Regarding the connector issue:

Pure speculation on my part, but perhaps this is related to the National Cable Plug & Play regulations that are set to be adopted by the FCC later today? The FCC was kind enough to send me the following email yesterday:

"Thanks for contacting the FCC. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.

The FCC is scheduled to adopt plug and play regulations at the
Commission meeting on September 10, 2003 and the rules will answer many
of your questions. Please check the FCC's website (www.fcc.gov) after
2pm on 9/10/03 for additional information.

I hope that this information is helpful."

Perhaps, we may finally have some digital interoperability standards for cable/satellite delivery, PVR's, TV's, etc. I could understand a company such as Comcast waiting until after today to decide what to ask Motorola or Microsoft to include on the boxes they order from them. It would be nice to have the initial products come out and meet the standard that is adopted. In any case, it will certainly be interesting to see what happens, and I'm sure we'll be seeing many other threads on this same issue today.

So, we've come full circle on the program guide. Years ago, John Malone of TCI rejected Microsoft because he feared it would monopolize the set top like it does the desktop. So he selected that goofy Prevue IPG that became TV Guide. John Malone and TCI are now long gone, and Microsoft is back, selected by the mega-cable company Comcast.

As long as the MSTV guide is immunized against viruses, it looks like it should be a definite improvement over the current guide.

Jeremyfr, who do we bug about CBS and secondarily NBC not being on Comcast in HD? Is this a Comcast issue, a local affiliate issue, a network issue, a copy protection issue, or a money issue (or a combination of the above)? I would be willing to write letters or email if it might do some good, or put a bug in some local officials' ears if pressure from that quarter would help get the deals done.

Seems the FCC did indeed adopt the plug and play proposal without any changes. More info can be found at:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=298086

IMHO, this looks to be VERY good news, although I know there will always be people who will still be unhappy and very vocal in voicing their concerns to the contrary. I doubt there ever could have been a perfect solution, but this is about as close as I could have ever hoped we'd get.

Looks like I was wrong in my optimism. A Comcast rep just let me know that the two INHD channels won't launch until October 1st here in the Seattle market. They will be on channels 664 and 665 and will be available to anyone with digital basic and above.

I just got my box. Now I have a couple of questions.

1) How do I get the DVI to work?
2) Where do I select the output mode? (i.e. 720p, etc.)

Thanks,
Steve

1) DVI is not active.

2) Turn the box off and hit menu to bring up the configuration screen.

For more info, see miatasm's excellent 5100 info site:

http://cjhengineering.com/5100faq.htm

Originally posted by danstone
Looks like I was wrong in my optimism. A Comcast rep just let me know that the two INHD channels won't launch until October 1st here in the Seattle market. They will be on channels 664 and 665 and will be available to anyone with digital basic and above.

I wonder if they are waiting to free up that FSNHD channel before putting on INHD? It's just too coincidental that the day after baseball season ends, they will put up those new channels.

The good news is if you check the INHD schedule for the rest of September, there isn't anything worth watching, except for the MLB games.

Originally posted by danstone
1) DVI is not active.

2) Turn the box off and hit menu to bring up the configuration screen.

For more info, see miatasm's excellent 5100 info site:

http://cjhengineering.com/5100faq.htm

Thanks :)

Cheers,
Steve

Originally posted by Al Shing
So, we've come full circle on the program guide. Years ago, John Malone of TCI rejected Microsoft because he feared it would monopolize the set top like it does the desktop. So he selected that goofy Prevue IPG that became TV Guide. John Malone and TCI are now long gone, and Microsoft is back, selected by the mega-cable company Comcast.

As long as the MSTV guide is immunized against viruses, it looks like it should be a definite improvement over the current guide.

Kinda off topic, but some may find this interesting:

Microsoft has had its up and downs with the cable industry. Many false starts and several cool projects that never made it out the door. MSTV seems to have finally exorcised its demons and groked what the cable guys want as opposed to telling them what they want. MSTV has two angles they're pushing with the cable operators: a super lightwight client, like the guide solution they are curently deploying with Comcast and others. The other thing is a big honkin client with everthing and the kitchen sink that will run (I'm told) on an embedded system like CE or XP-Embedded.

There are two major TV efforts at MSFT: MSTV, which is aimed at partering with the cable industry and cable hardware guys (Motorola et al) to provide end to end TV solutions. The other is the WindowsXP Media Center team which does what is basically a turn key HTPC solution parterned with IHVs/OEMs like Samsung, Dell, HP and others.

Both projects have cool stuff comming down the pipe. The nice thing is the folks working on this stuff at MSFT are HTPC, TV, HT freaks too and they "get it." And more importantly they have the cash to hang in there for the long haul and get it right.

Ok confirmation I didn't work today and have been out all day just got home Oct 1 is correct for INHD and they will be 664 & 665.

Also we will be launching BYU TV which is Bringham Young University and if I remember correctly the "Mormon Channel" on channel 232

and then also EWTN or Eternal Word TV Network another christian interest channel on 233

Lastly HGTV will migrate to analog channel 68

as for bandwidth issues with the Mariners that has nothing to do with INHD however it is my understanding that they are removing severall PPV channels to put in INHD.

I'm bummed to see them moving a digital feed to suck up a whole 6mhz in an analog slot. The addition of the religious stuff is alos a bummer. I can think of better uses for the bandwidth. Like DiscoveryHD or any of the HDNet offerings.

But that's just me.

I'd prefer that analog was just turned off (except for the locals maybe, I'm feeling charitable) and have all the SD content up there as higher bitrate digital. I think seeing the locals as 5mbps D1 MPEG2 would be a big improvement over their analog counterparts.

SciFi remodulated and put on there without recompression (SciFi West is distributed as MPEG2 via satellite) would be nice. Same for Cartoon Network.

I'd like to see the premium stuff (HBO, et al) up there without re-compression. All of the premium stuff is uplinked in Digicipher2 (aka "DC2") format and the orginal digital feeds I get on my "old fashioned" big dish are clearly superior to their digital counterparts on cable. Even though Comcast uses Motorola DC2 technology they obviously recompress. I'd like to see that stop.

For their feeds that originate as analog via satellite I'd like to see good bitrates there too.

And of course I'd like to see the local HD stuff (and even the pseudo HD stuff like Fox) up there. Not entirely Comcasts fault her but you'd think stations would be eager to get carriage of their content, particularly in Seattle where the terrain precludes OTA for many people.

I guess I'm just crazy. I want the convience of a cable box with the image quality I get with my BUD. There is NO TECHNICAL reason this cannot be done. None. I have cable for their (eventual) HD offerings and due to the support for cable from ReplayTV. It still angers me that I pay a premium for cable compared to my BUD subscription for less programming at a lower quality level (HD excepted of course). Simply put: SD cable (digital or analog ) does not fare well when splatterd on a 92" 16:9 screen.

I guess that turned into a rant of sorts. Sorry.

I am glad to see a Comcast guy up here. That IS appreciated.

man... Komo4 HD is just garbage tonight.. i can't believe how bad the audio synch is!.. i hope they fix this soon

According to the info I recieved they moved HGTV to analog because so many people were requesting it but did not want to subscribe to Digital to get it.

I to agree with the religous channels I do not find myself being very religous (guess thats what happens growing up with a dad who was a minister) I dont watch them I think there are too many of them as it is. But we lose a lot of business to Dish right now over the carriage of BYU amongst the mormon community.

I can definately agree with alot of your points iankin and I have never really had the time to venture into the headend and pick there minds about re-compression etc. I've been in there a few times poked around etc and it is truely astounding all the equipment that it takes to provide cable service.

Kind of funny I've only been in the headend twice and I work at the same building everyday:) but obviously its a cramped facility with lots of equipment they'd rather not have too many people poking around.

I do know they've been working with Motorola and upgrading alot of equipment from C-band recievers to the DAC Controllers. We have 18 satellite dish's not including our transmitter 2 microwave systems and 2 100' towers in our back yard its quite mind boggling, I'll probably end up with brain cancer by the time I'm 30 working there:) hehe

Well I got off on a dumb tangent there I'll keep the updates coming as I get em.

Jeremy

Jeremy,

Can you comment on the following from earlier in this thread? If you go back up the thread, you will see an identical message from a receptionist at Channel 13 KCPQ Fox, as apparently both KCPQ and KTWB are owned by the same company, Tribune. The crux of the matter is, they are saying that the signal is available for the taking by Comcast, so there shouldn't be the same issues that there are with KING and KIRO for putting them on the system.

"-----Original Message-----
From: Goodman, Michael Z. [mailto:MGoodman@tribune.com]
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 11:18 AM
To: Receptionist, Tnw; Hachey, Joe
Cc: Woon, Teresa
Subject: RE: WB22 HDTV

Joe,

Comcast, formerly AT &T can start carrying our HDTV anytime they wish. We have had discussions w/them about fiber connectivity, they may elect to run a fiber connection to our studio or simply just pull our HDTV signals off air, you know the old saying, if you build it they will come, well we built it, now the ball is in the cable and satellites companies ballparks to get the signal and put it on their systems, the truth is they do not have the required bandwidth to make good HDTV without re-compressing the signal and further degrading it, so really when they figure out a way to either drop some channels to make room for broadcast HDTV or they invent a new HDTV compression/coding scheme that allows the cable and satellite companies to rebroadcast our HD without making a mess out of it will be the day you start to see us on local cable in HD.

Appreciate your interest.

Michael Z. Goodman
Director of Engineering Tribune Television Northwest
1813 Westlake Ave. North
Seattle, WA 98109"

Maybe the INHD channels will get me to use my cable box for HD more than my OTA. But we'll see Oct. 1.

Anybody getting 104 and 108 from Comcast on Mercer Island? 100 and 173 comes in fine but no 104 and 108 yet. Re-pinging the box did nothing. Comcast rep says 104 and 108 will be available "shortly".

Originally posted by Al Shing
"-----Original Message-----
From: Goodman, Michael Z. [mailto:MGoodman@tribune.com]
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 11:18 AM
To: Receptionist, Tnw; Hachey, Joe
Cc: Woon, Teresa
Subject: RE: WB22 HDTV

Joe,

Comcast, formerly AT &T can start carrying our HDTV anytime they wish. We have had discussions w/them about fiber connectivity, they may elect to run a fiber connection to our studio or simply just pull our HDTV signals off air, you know the old saying, if you build it they will come, well we built it, now the ball is in the cable and satellites companies ballparks to get the signal and put it on their systems, the truth is they do not have the required bandwidth to make good HDTV without re-compressing the signal and further degrading it, so really when they figure out a way to either drop some channels to make room for broadcast HDTV or they invent a new HDTV compression/coding scheme that allows the cable and satellite companies to rebroadcast our HD without making a mess out of it will be the day you start to see us on local cable in HD.

Appreciate your interest.

Michael Z. Goodman
Director of Engineering Tribune Television Northwest
1813 Westlake Ave. North
Seattle, WA 98109" I think we've discussed this before. The statement from this guy is blatantly false on several counts:

1. Comcast obviously has the bandwidth - this hasn't stopped them from adding KOMO-HD, KCTS-HD, ESPN-HD, etc.

2. FOX digital isn't HD in the first place. It's 480p, not high-definition. Don't make us laugh by talking about "good quality HDTV".

3. Comcast, so far anyway, is not re-compressing anyone's HD signals. They are simply re-modulating the original bitstream onto their QAM-256 transport. No new magical compression scheme is required.

Whatever the real reasons for Comcast not carrying FOX digital, it's NOT any of the lame excuses this guy is spewing.

Isn't that just a form letter that FOX affilliates are sending out? I swear I've seen that letter on these forums from various locations, one even from a receptionist...off to do a search "the ball is in their court"

Edit, well I guess it was all in this thread. There are letters nearly identical to that all from channels 13 and 22.

Originally posted by jimre
1. Comcast obviously has the bandwidth - this hasn't stopped them from adding KOMO-HD, KCTS-HD, ESPN-HD, etc.


If they are having to remove PPV channels in order to add INHD and INHD2, it seems like there is a bandwidth issue of some kind.

Comcast's bandwdith is finite, certainly. Existing channels may have to be dropped or shuffled to add ANY new channel (HD or otherwise) to their lineup. But there's no question Comcast could easily add KCPQ and KTWB digital if there was demand. Perhaps the real problem is few Comcast subscribers care about those channels. Apparently we all prefer to see more shopping and religious channels :-)

Yeah, I guess nobody wants to see the Seahawks or other NFC games in Fox Widescreen this year. Certainly nobody wants to see Smallville or Gilmore Girls in HD.

Originally posted by jimre
Apparently we all prefer to see more shopping and religious channels :-)

Well will now bow our heads in a moment of silent reflection for the special value of the day being sold out.... :)

Originally posted by jimre
Comcast's bandwdith is finite, certainly. Existing channels may have to be dropped or shuffled to add ANY new channel (HD or otherwise) to their lineup. But there's no question Comcast could easily add KCPQ and KTWB digital if there was demand. Perhaps the real problem is few Comcast subscribers care about those channels. Apparently we all prefer to see more shopping and religious channels :-)

Their badwidth is finite, but I think they need to do a serious audit of what they carry. IMHO there is a lot of junk up there.

When people SEE HD they get it. People are happy with plain old low bitrate cable or poor analog video becuase they don't know better. They don't know that better than DVD quality is possible for some stuff and close to DVD quality is possible for most of it. They accept a crappy picture because that's what they expect.

I belive one day folks will get it. It'll just take time. Untill then the early adopter kool-aid drinkers like us need to keep pusing them to up the quality bar.

What is the proper person or department to complain to or request from about what channels are carried? When I call a CSR to check HDTV locals availability, and decline to sign up for Comcast's service because those locals are not available, does this data get entered for review, or does it just disappear into the void? Between all the crap channels (that I suspect might be paying to be carried) and lack of HD content, I'd like to be able to express my opinion to someone who cares about the data, even if my data point is just compiled into a pile with a million other opinions.

--Mike

Sorry for me not having read the whole thread and may be asking the obvious. A friend of mine is having standard cable from Comcast, he has a dandy set but never heard of HDTV programming. I wonder if she can rent the HDTV converter for those non-PPV HDTV channels? What is the cost? Any programming cost? Will Comcast eventually provide all local channels in HDTV? Thanks.

Llamas: Unfortunately without an account there is no way for the rep to note your discontent, but I can tell you most reps like I do pass info along as to high request amounts for things.

Unfortunately this is how the Catholics & Mormons and Little Grandma's who like QVC also get there channels on the air.

As a cable company you have to even things out to please everyone you cant just cater to one group of people we have to cater to everyone and offer a variety of programming choice due to that.

I'm not trying to be a badguy here but look at it this way to, believe it or not even the shopping channels have HDTV feeds OTA so be careful what you ask for:) As for the rest of the locals I have gotten it on good authority that most except for CBS due to there own little temper tantrums in negotiations will be online within the next 2 months ie. KING, KONG, KCPQ, KTWB, & KSTW.

So in short I know you've all been waiting awhile for these but the wait is coming to a close.

Tuquet: Your friend could get HD with standard cable. They'd be looking at $5.10 for the box per month addtl on there bill and a 1 time $15.99 fee to have the box brought out.

This will only get them KOMO, KCTS, and ESPN. To get the INHD1&2 coming out 10/1 they would need to upgrade to the digital classic teir which would be an addtl 5.99 a month and include the box fee so in reality only end up being .89 more than just renting the box and this will also add roughly 15 digital channels, PPV access, and the Music Choice service. Clearly the better deal.

Jeremy

Originally posted by jhachey
I'm also disappointed with the apparent lack of progress with KIRO. CBS seems to have the highest percentage of HD during prime time, so KIRO is a big gap in our coverage. An absent KIRO will be particularly painful when the Super Bowl is broadcast on CBS in January.


Are you sure about this jhachey? I thought that the Superbowl was going to be on ABC since Monday Night Football is. With talk of InHD1 & 2 coming Oct. 1, VOD soon, 6200 and 6208 soon, and most of the other locals (except KIRO) by end of year I was just about to pull the trigger on going with Comcast rather than OTA but no Superbowl in HD would be a serious bummer as I've already told friends and co-workers to get ready to watch it on my 9' wide screen.

I've never paid any attention to what channel the Superbowl has been on in the past. The closest thing an Internet search provided was this site (www.superbowltickets.net/super_bowl%20seating.htm) that says ABC has broadcast the Superbowl for the last 6 years. I could also not find anything about it on either the ABC or CBS site.

Could you let us know where your getting your info for the Superbowl being on CBS this year? A link would be appreciated. Any chance that ESPN will have it too in HD since Comcast has that or maybe even InHD?

This really bites. Thanks a lot KIRO :mad: :mad:

Brent

I believe that the Superbowl will be on FOX this year....I'm pretty sure that it rotates from FOX & ABC each year. But I could be wrong....I know that FOX was hoping to get their true HD feed up before then. I could be wrong though....

Thanks Jeremyfr. As for Super Bowl, I think they will resolve all issues by then, not to worry about who is going to show it.

Originally posted by tuquet
Thanks Jeremyfr. As for Super Bowl, I think they will resolve all issues by then, not to worry about who is going to show it.

I hope you are right. A lot of people were feeling the same way a year ago this time, and progress has been VERY slow.

As for KIRO I think and before I say this yes I know there are many areas/cable companies including ours that carry CBS HD, but honestly I think alot of this had to do with CBS's big agreement recently with Direct TV for carriage of there feed.

I think CBS is really trying to play hardball now that they as well as others realize the profitability of HDTV. I think the markets/companys that already have them had easier times getting them as it was still early in the game people were unsure and it was in a very early state of infancy.

But these are all just my thoughts as I'm obviously not high enough up the food chain to be sitting at the negotiation table between Cox (not cable)/CBS/Comcast for carriage of the HD feed from KIRO in our market.

Originally posted by BJM:
Could you let us know where your getting your info for the Superbowl being on CBS this year? A link would be appreciated. Any chance that ESPN will have it too in HD since Comcast has that or maybe even InHD?

Check out:

http://ww2.nfl.com/tvradio/cbs.html

Highlighted by Super Bowl XXXVIII on Feb. 1, 2004 from Houston, the CBS Television Network announces its 2003 NFL broadcast schedule.

The CBS Television Network will broadcast a total of 111 games during its 17 weeks of regular-season coverage of the NFL's American Football Conference. The regular season schedule is followed by a full postseason slate including an AFC Wild Card playoff game on Jan. 4, 2004, two divisional playoff games on Jan. 10 and 11, the AFC Championship game on Jan. 18 and Super Bowl XXXVIII on Feb. 1. CBS Sports' coverage of Super Bowl XXXVIII marks the 15th time the Network has broadcast the Super Bowl with the last being 2001 when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants in Tampa, Fla.

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
As for the rest of the locals I have gotten it on good authority that most except for CBS due to there own little temper tantrums in negotiations will be online within the next 2 months ie. KING, KONG, KCPQ, KTWB, & KSTW.

So in short I know you've all been waiting awhile for these but the wait is coming to a close.

Tuquet: Your friend could get HD with standard cable. They'd be looking at $5.10 for the box per month addtl on there bill and a 1 time $15.99 fee to have the box brought out.

This will only get them KOMO, KCTS, and ESPN. To get the INHD1&2 coming out 10/1 they would need to upgrade to the digital classic teir which would be an addtl 5.99 a month and include the box fee so in reality only end up being .89 more than just renting the box and this will also add roughly 15 digital channels, PPV access, and the Music Choice service. Clearly the better deal.

Jeremy


Jeremy, Awesome news about the locals! Your presence in this thread has been invaluable. I haven't posted in this thread much but have followed it since its beginning.

Comcast's web site lists digital classic as $11.99/month not $5.99/month. If that includes the $5.10 box fee then that's $6.89 more than just getting the box for the locals, not $.89. Which is it?

Also if you're just getting the box for $5.10 for the locals and not getting the digital package is it still the Moto5100? There's a post a ways back in this thread where somebody said if you do get the box only for the locals it's another box than the 5100. Enlighten us?

Thanks,
Brent

Originally posted by jhachey
Check out:

http://ww2.nfl.com/tvradio/cbs.html

Thanks man. That really does bite though for Comcast and their users.

Brent

BJM thanks for pointing that out I apologize it is 11.99 for digital classic on top of standard cable. And yes the box is included but you HAVE!! to ask for HDTV access we dont just give out 5100's on every install you have to say I have an HDTV and I want an HDTV box otherwise yes they will bring out a regular off the shelf Moto DCT2000.

I hope this clears things up and sorry I screwed up on the pricing I work Help Desk not Sales:)

Thanks Jeremy.

Brent

Does the Digital Classic tier also get you the M's games on Fox?

The M's games on 100 are available with Standard Cable and HDTV box no digital buythrough required.

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
The M's games on 100 are available with Standard Cable and HDTV box no digital buythrough required.

That's not what I was told when called to ask (CSR). I was told to get Mariners you had to subscribe to a digital package, and that you could NOT get Mariners with just Basic cable and the rented HDTV box.

Then he was mistaken you have to only have Standard which includes FSNW and inturn if you have a 5100 access to the M's games on 100 its a non encrypted channel so you just have to have the DCT to get it.

Theres a difference between Basic and Standard, Basic gives you locals with discovery and Public Interest/education channels nothing like espn, fsnw etc so no you couldn't get the Mariners with Basic but with Standard which is all the analog channels then yes you can get the M's in HD with it.

Jeremy

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
Theres a difference between Basic and Standard, Basic gives you locals with discovery and Public Interest/education channels nothing like espn, fsnw etc so no you couldn't get the Mariners with Basic but with Standard which is all the analog channels then yes you can get the M's in HD with it.

Jeremy

Thank you for the clarification.

I just want to throw out a thanks to Jeremy for putting up with all our bellyaching and getting us the inside dope /wrt Comcast.

Thanks guys I'm glad I can be of such help, hopefully I can help change your minds about us and the people that work here:)

Without wading through 28 pages (!) of posts, what is the current and near future list of HD channels available?

I am about to buy a HDTV tube (Sony or Tosh) and I need as much data as possible to "sell" this to the wife.

If the industry REALLY wanted to increase the sale of HD sets, equiopment and services then they need target the right audience: THE WIFE. With that in mind, their priority should be getting QVC, Lifetime, E! and the Style Network on HD (not even sure if many of them are broadcasting their signals in HD, but I think you get my point.) If I could show my wife the crisp clarity of that CZ diamond on QVC, or the EXACT color and texture of Jennifer Aniston's hair on E! she would be on board in a SECOND.

She could care less about seeing the sweat on the brow of Edgar Martinez.

Just a thought.

Ok heres the Current List Through Comcast

Chl 100 - Mariners HDTV - 1080i
Chl 104 - KOMO HD - 720p but the box will upconvert to 1080i - 24 hours
Chl 108 - KCTS HD - 1080i - 5pm - 12am
Chl 109 - KCTS Digital Simulcast - 480p - 24hours
Chl 110 - KCTS Kids Digital - 480p - 12am - 5pm
Chl 112 - KCTS Learns Digital - 480p - 12am - 5pm
Chl 173 - ESPN HD - 1080i - 24hours
Chl 549 - HBO HD - 1080i - 24hours
Chl 574 - Showtime HD - 1080i - 24hours
Chl 664 - INHD 1 - 1080i - 24hours - coming 10/1
Chl 665 - INHD 2 - 1080i - 24hours - coming 10/1

Channels planned to be online in the next few months
Contracts are done with most just waiting on launch dates.

KING HD - NBC
KONG HD - Independent
KSTW HD - UPN
KCPQ HD - FOX
KTWB HD - Warner Bros Television

Ongoing negotiations
KIRO/CBS
Discovery HD
STARZ HD when they decide launch date
HDNET - unsure of this one but I do believe we are working on it unless its a dish only thing like INHD is a cable only thing

Great...thanks. Is this is the best place to get reliable breaking info? The CSR's don't seem to informed.

<-------is a CSR:) but I work Help Desk takes a little more intelligence than sales:) which I used to do.

If you could PM me your direct line and email, that would be great :) :)

(lol)

If you could PM me your direct line and email, that would be great

Hehe, unfortunately I dont have a direct line ext # but that wouldn't do you any good unfortunately as for email I really cant give out my work email but you are more than welcome to IM me at Djquantum22 through AOL Instant Messenger (when I'm on) or you could email me at jeremycomcast@comcast.net. I've set that up specifically for any questions any of you may want to send me.

Jeremy

Originally posted by Vespa
I am about to buy a HDTV tube (Sony or Tosh) and I need as much data as possible to "sell" this to the wife.

Unless you must buy a set right not, it might behoove you to wait just a few months to get a set that is Cable Labs certified. Even if you choose not to get a certified set, the availability of them should drive down the price of non-certified sets like the two you are currently looking at. Read the following thread for more info:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=298086

Hope this may prove helpful.

Thanks Dan....but what do.

Jeremy, I was kidding when I asked for your direct line....but happy to see that you set up an email to help those in need. Do you handle high speed internet questions/issues as well?

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
Then he was mistaken you have to only have Standard which includes FSNW and inturn if you have a 5100 access to the M's games on 100 its a non encrypted channel so you just have to have the DCT to get it.

Jeremy,

If Channel 100 is "non-encrypted", does it mean that my integrated QAM tuner would pick it up? I have Digital cable but have chosen to wait for a better HD-STB from Comcast before signing up for the HD package. (I am able to pick up all local HD with built-in HD tuner via OTA antenna in my attic........)
I guess what I'm asking is whether Ch.100 is 'QAM in the clear' over cable?

Thanks.

Do you handle high speed internet questions/issues as well?

Thats actually what I work help desk for is HSI.

HDNW: As to the question about mariners being unencrypted last time I checked that station is QAM in the clear so you should be able to get it on an integrated tuner. Though I have not researched the integrated tuners enough to know if they have to be authorized on the system to access the QAM material encrypted or not.

One other thing I made a correction to the above channel list, I had INHD as channels 674/675 when they will be 664/665 sorry bout that guys!

Jeremy

A comment and a question:

1) ESPN is WAY WAY WAY too loud. Something needs to be done about this. This is not an analog - vs- digital thing (at the box level). I switch between 104-173-249-274 via the favs button, and if I'm not paying attention it can downright shock me. (I am using the SPDIF out)

2) Does anyone have directions for programming the remote. I would try the all in one directions but I don't have a setup button.

Thanks,
Steve

ESPN is WAY WAY WAY too loud. Something needs to be done about this

I agree unfortunately this isnt a problem on our end but the volume that they transmit at we just pass the signalfrom them. I dont know why they have there audio so loud compared to other channels its quite annoying to me as well but seeing as they rarely show true hd content I dont really watch that channel.

As for you question are you wanting to program the Cable Box Remote?? if so then you can find directions @ http://jeremycomcast.home.comcast.net/manual.pdf

Hope this helps!

Has anyone tried the firwire interface to see if it is active or not? Jeremyfr? Or must it be activated by Comcast?

Babula: the box's in this market do not come with this port even installed on the box so that should answer your question.

We wont see firewire untill the next round of box's ie. the 6000 series more to the point the 6208 will have firewire but from what I've read from Motorola it will only be for expanding hard drive capacity on the box for more recording time other than that I dont know.

Jeremy

Jeremy,
Are there currently any deals running that I can get my broadband and digital cable packaged together for one low price?

Vespa: Honestly that question would be best answered by a salesperson. I dont really keep up on the current promotions that we are offering, I believe right now you can get HSI for 19.99 a month till the end of the year with a $30 mail rebate on install as well as digital classic with HBO for rougly 45 a month through the end of the year at which point hsi would go up to 45.95 and the cable to about 55.00 you'd of course be able to get HDTV with that with access to all HDTV channels except SHOHD for no additional charge.

Since I have both HSI and digital cable (full package) I did not know if there was a package since I am paying a LOT of $$$ each month, and frankly Comcast treats me like I am in Coach when I am paying for a first class ticket.

Jeremyfr, anything we 'civilians' can do to move the CBS and Discovery negotiations along?

and frankly Comcast treats me like I am in Coach when I am paying for a first class ticket.

Vespa-

I am in the SAME boat, and I couldn't have said it better myself.

Andy

I have one and only one last dying request to Comcast..........

PLEEEEEEEEASE bring back NBATV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the ultimate guide to the NBA season pack and shows 24/7 ball. It was the only channel I watched then...poof gone. The station reformatted and went to showing ALL games in HD. Direct and dish picked it up a week later.....that was two years ago now!!!!!!

I've talked to AT$T, Comcast and in-demand in Denver and feel oh so helpless. The last thing I want to do is get a dish just to get this channel, especially with the 5100 just installed.

Jeremy, If you know what's good for ya.....hit the switch and turn it on buddy!!

Hehe Biz have I ever told you about the gigantic room that has millions of switchs in it so that when someone says just flip the switch I run into this arena size room find the appropriate switch and "flip" it :) hehe I always love that term "flip the switch" if it were only that easy:)

I am really pleased with the addition of KOMO and KCTS hd channels. (I always look to see what on the hd channels first.)

However I am somewhat disappointed in Comcast's ability or motivation to get new channels quickly. I know that the local stations are at least mostly to blame for this but what about INHD? From what I see in these forums most other Comcast service areas have either had a preview of INHD for the last couple of weeks or were able to participate in today's INHD launch. If Seattle is the third largest market for Comcast, you would think we would be a priority.

Originally posted by markhs
If Seattle is the third largest market for Comcast, you would think we would be a priority. I think we still suffer from not being a "real" original Comcast market - we're one of those "former AT&T, former TCI, catch-up" markets.

I think we still suffer from not being a "real" original Comcast market - we're one of those "former AT&T, former TCI, catch-up" markets

To a point you're correct but its not that Comcast isn't bustin its you know what to get us up to par, its the fact that AT&T had this market so far behind that its taking tons of work by 100's of people stringing cable and upgrading equipment.

At the start of this year only 40% of our customers could get all channels that we offer and about 30% our HSI service. By years end it will be over 90%. I'd say thats a huge stride in 1 year.

I can understand everyones frustration but at the same time I'd say that we (Comcast) has done exceptionally well so far in trying to get this area to where it needs to be and getting HD content on the air.

I can honestly say that as for INHD launching 2 weeks later here has a lot to do with all the other work that is going on that all rely's on the same depts/equipment/systems. They're trying to get VOD ready for release etc and so they have to fit that with channel launches moving channels around to be more efficient etc its a lot of work.

I'm not trying to attack anyone or anything please dont take this as such just trying to clear up just what all is going on right now.

I assure there is noone in this company that gets to sit on there a** around here. :)


Jeremy

Originally posted by markhs
I know that the local stations are at least mostly to blame for this but what about INHD? From what I see in these forums most other Comcast service areas have either had a preview of INHD for the last couple of weeks or were able to participate in today's INHD launch. If Seattle is the third largest market for Comcast, you would think we would be a priority.

It feels a lot like being at a banquet where all the other tables are getting served by waiters, but yours is extremely lazy or absent minded, and they don't bring you your prime rib until everyone else has gotten theirs long ago. Some tables may already be done and on to dessert by the time you get your prime rib.

Since both INHD and INHD2 are pretty much the same with staggered schedules, why don't they just put up one of the channels until the bandwidth becomes available? They actually can just do away with FSNHD now and preempt INHD2 for that last Mariners HD game. INHD2 is supposed to be preemptable for local sports broadcasts. They've done away with 4 of the PPV channels, and it looks like 830 is on it's way out. How many more do they need to get rid of to get INHD on?

Its not worth doing one HD channel because you can fit 2 into the same amount for bandwidth of 1 analog channel. Plus I'm sure that Comcast has a contract with InHD where both channels have to go up at the same time.....Be patient as Jeremy said Seattle and many other non-classic Comcast systems were waaay behind as far as plant upgrades go.

Its not that easy just to remove and add channels. If there is a channel that is on your line-up now there is most likely a contract with that broadcaster to have that channel in your line-up. If they are moving channels now, they are getting prepared to launch the channels you want....Be patient......HD is still considered new technology.....

Jeremy, I appreciate all of your Comcast updates! Although I am firmly using OTA, I still look forward to some things not available OTA, such as INHD.

I'm quite excited about INHD & INHD2 myself looks like they are going to have some great content right off the bat.

Does anybody know if Comcast is in serious negotiations with Bravo HD+? I could watch West Wing reruns in HD every night. Also, it sounds like Bravo HD+ will have a lot of HD coverage of the Olympics next summer.

Jhachey: Honestly I wish I had an answer for that but for a channel like bravo that would be negotiated on a national level and those negotians are kept alot more secret than a local negotiation for a local HD feed.

I wish I had a more clear answer for you. Honestly I think Comcast will try to get as many HD feeds as they can. We all know HD is gonna be a make or break thing for a lot of content providers and content suppliers. Comcast is the absolute largest cableco's in the nation and has a lot of swing when it comes to negotiations with providers.

If I hear anything I'll let you guy's know

Jeremy

Is it true that you can only get one HDTV box? I have HD capable tv's upstairs and downstairs and I really don't want to switch boxes everytime someone comes over.

Thanks...Steve

I've got two boxes - one for each of my HDTVs.

hmmm..jhachey, do you have to pay the box fee for each box?

Rich

Three 5100's here. Just be sure to let them know how many HDTV compatible devices you have when you order, so that the tech will have them in the truck with them when they arrive, and there should not be a problem now that the supply of 5100's seems to have gotten more plentiful.

Originally posted by boykster
hmmm..jhachey, do you have to pay the box fee for each box?

Rich

You only pay (at $4.95/month) for any additional boxes beyond the number that are included with the package that you subscribe to.

I think one box is included with a digital cable subscription, and there's a monthly fee ($5 I think) for each additional box. I also have two 5100s, one for each of my HD sets.

Cool...I might have to order up another 5100 in addition to my existing one and my older 22xx series box for the HD setup upstairs. It doesn't get much use (now that the theater is done), but it'd be nice to have HD in there as well (36XBR400).

Cheers,

Rich

As far as multiple box's just let them know you need more than one HD box so they can add the appropriate amount to the workorder.

Jeremy

Yo Jeremy.......

Your killin me.......FLIP THA SWITCH!!!!!!!

:D

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
Babula: the box's in this market do not come with this port even installed on the box so that should answer your question.

We wont see firewire untill the next round of box's ie. the 6000 series more to the point the 6208 will have firewire but from what I've read from Motorola it will only be for expanding hard drive capacity on the box for more recording time other than that I dont know.

Jeremy

When? I don't care about using firewire to send video to a display, but being able to use it for storage and timeshifting is desireable.

Reading the specs for the current uber DCTs makes me drool. Dual tuner, HD, SD and analog time shifting. That's good. As long as the software is not a joke. I know Motorola had a deal with Replay/SonicBlue some time ago. Maybe well see some of that?

Yo Jeremy.......

Your killin me.......FLIP THA SWITCH!!!!!!!

Hehe let me run back to that room I think we've got your switch way way in the back so it may take me a while to find it :p

CBC, CTV in Canada begin migration to HDTV

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=303054

Jeremy, don't forget that we consider CBC to be a local channel around here. Besides, Canada gets some of our channels in HD, so it is only fair that we get some of their's.

Here's another vote for Comcast-Seattle carrying CBC HD when it's available...Hockey Night in Canada in HD will blow the doors off anything ESPN-HD puts together (especially given that ESPN-HD is really a misnomer -- it seems like it's never in HD)

(especially given that ESPN-HD is really a misnomer -- it seems like it's never in HD)
:D

I couldn't agree more. What's the average weekly percentage of ESPN-HD content that's actually HD? (It's probably in the single digits.) Add to that the fact that when they do actually show a game in HD, a sizable portion of it is not actually HD, but a craptacular upconvert (smaller sideline cams, halftime shows, etc.) Makes you wonder why it's called ESPN-HD, eh? It's like calling a prime steakhouse like the Metropolitan Grill "The Metropolitan Chowder House" because sometimes they serve clam chowder. Don't get me wrong--I'm thrilled that they're taking some baby steps into HD, but the title of the station is misleading. I honestly wouldn't have this problem if it were ESPN-DT. I won't even start on the stretching--:rolleyes:--there's a whole 'nother thread for that.

Anyway, keeping this post local--
KOMO still seems to be having problems syncing the ABC digital audio. It's really annoying--and pretty unwatchable. I really don't feel like hooking up analog cables and switching to analog audio on the box and my receiver simply to watch ABC--especially because they're doing 5.1. Are we positive that this is a KOMO/ABC problem, and not a Comcast problem as well? In essence, does KOMO-DT OTA have the same problems with digital audio sync for the ABC content?

Andy

*edit*
P.S. - Out of curiosity, I did a calculation of ESPN-HD's content. Out of 744 broadcasting hours in the month of October (24 hours * 31 days), the ESPN-HD website lists 19 events/shows in HD. Assuming 2.5 hours per sporting event (3 hours minus .5 hour for halftime show) and 1 hour for each "Playmakers" episode, that works out to 26 hours of HD. That's a little less than 3.5%. ESPN-HD: a misnomer? You make the call.

Yes, if you look back earlier in the thread, you'll see that I and a couple others have stated that the same problem occurs with OTA signals as well. I used to think it was an issue with my MyHD PCI card I'm using to watch HD, but now that I see you guys on Comcast get it, plus the fact that KOMO has admitted to its existence, I know that it is for sure a KOMO issue.

-Joe

I was watching KOMO last night (Threat Matrix) on Comcast cable channel 104 and also noticed the audio sync problem. The wife also mentioned it. I eventually tuned to KOMO 4-1 OTA on my Zenith 1080 and there was no lip sync problem at all.

Darryl

Originally posted by Andy Anderson
:D

It's like calling a prime steakhouse like the Metropolitan Grill "The Metropolitan Chowder House" because sometimes they serve clam chowder.

Are we positive that this is a KOMO/ABC problem, and not a Comcast problem as well? In essence, does KOMO-DT OTA have the same problems with digital audio sync for the ABC content?

Andy

Mmm, the Met, my alltime favorite restaurant.

I've seen the sync issues on ABC OTA as well. I pretty much only watch Monday Night Football on ABC right now, but I did see it on Alias a few weeks ago.

Just to followup on my last post. I have seen the audio sync problems OTA on programs such as Alias. Last night though, I did not see it on Threat Matrix OTA, only on Comcast.

Darryl

This may have been answered but would someone please let me know if the HD box would send everything out via component or just the HD stuff? This is quite important for some, thanks.

Yes everything gets sent through component. You can also use S-Video or composite to another tv. I have the Component go to my projector and a composite cable going to my 17 inch lcd if I don't want to fire up the projector.

The sync problem seems to be the audio playing catch up, I was watching the George Lopez show the other night and it seemed to fall behind and then caught back up with the video it was quite odd.

As for Threat Matrix I watched it to and didn't have really any sync issues through my Comcast box.

Also as for the person who was going to use the Analog output for the audio I do not believe this would fix your problem since either way its Dolby digital you're just choosing to have the box decode it and output it in analog over using the digital output of the box.

Jeremy

Hey just one other thing looks like I'm going to be able to start Beta Testing VOD here in the very near future.

If and when I do I'll keep you all up to date on how it goes and would be more than happy to have people over to check it out.

Jeremy

jeremy - I'm assuming the vod includes hd content - right?

Brente: Probably not right off the bat we still have not recieved a whole lot of info regarding VOD in this area:(

Jeremy

VOD will not have any HD content for awhile....

As for questions about the Box functionality refer to the FAQ below.....

VOD will not have any HD content for awhile....

From my understanding we have HD-VOD up & running in Philly already through a partnership with iNDemand....though I'm sure its limited content at the moment it still gives quite a bit of hope.

Jeremy

Nope not here yet......

wow ok then wonder who iNDemand is doing it through then because they state they've been doing content since April on there site.

Originally posted by miatasm
VOD will not have any HD content for awhile....

Pardon my ignorance but I am a little confused about what VOD is all about. What is the difference of VOD and having a STB with PVR capabilities? Will VOD be included in the cost of the packages we already pay for?

.... also If VOD won't have hd, then why all the fuss?

Sorry I've posted this answer so many times I just had to find it in another thread and copy/paste it....

VOD is NOTHING like Tivo or PVR/DVR technology. VOD programming is located on servers at you local CSO. The programming that goes on to those servers is chosen by your Cable Co. Then you chose from that programming what you want to watch. You can FF/RWD/Pause the programming & order it whenever you want. But you can only choose from the programming on the servers.

PVR/DVR (tivo/replytv) basically works like a VCR where it records programming onto a Hard Drive, but YOU decide which programming goes on to YOUR HDD. And you can watch-pause-rewind live TV. And also record anything you want, when you want.

VOD & PVR are 2 different animals, you cannot even compare the 2 technologies.......

The biggest fuss about VOD is with PPV. When you order a PPV movie you get it for a full 24 hours, and you can watch it as many times as you like. It also includes the some of the extra stuff that you normally only see on DVD's.

There are also rebroadcasts of local news & Sports. VOD also makes it possible for the Cable Co. to see if a new channel may be added to the permanent line-up by putting some of the programming on VOD first, if they wanted to.

Jeremy,

Right now, there in nothing on VOD in HD, mostly I think, is because of the amount of bandwidth it will take up on the servers. Once some of the PPV channels are cleared & HBO/Sho are up full time on VOD, they could probably clear some of the unnecessary channels in those line-ups (like the WEST channels). This will then maybe allow for some extra space on the servers for HD programming. I can't see it happening anytime soon, but who knows......

Just thought I'd bump this thread back up.... no new updates for me and thanks for the info miatasm. All I know is I'm getting too antsy about getting INHD I hope I dont get dissapointed though so far everyone I've talked to really likes it.

Jeremy

I've been watching InHD down here in the Bay Area for about a week, and believe me, you won't be dissapointed.

There's nothing like being able to see HD content any time of day or night, on 2 different channels. And everything looks excellent. They seem to only be interested in showing stuff that is quite impressive visually. And all the movies they play are optimized for HD, unlike the HBO and Showtime HD channels.

They seem to have quite a bit more variety than the HDnet channels. Especially if you go to HDTVgalaxy.com and click on "what's on", you can see the programming compared side by side.

If you watch a lot, you will see things repeated every now and then. But then again, I make a living installing HD, and InHD are the best demo channels.

Thats a nice little website will have to add it to my favorites, when I was visiting HDnets website yesterday it seems they repeat the same program over and over I'll be it different subject in each episode but still it seems they kind of lack a variety of content compared to INHD.

Jeremy

When will we be getting the latest Software & Firmware Updates:

S/W Ver: 51.20 – 1040
Firmware: 08 (02.50)

Will these updates address the picture quality issues?

good question to my knowledge its already on the box's hence the addition of the 4:3 override fuction in the system menu.

Nope, my DCT5100 isn't up-to-date:mad:

Software Ver: 50.00 - 1078
Firmware: 08 (2.48)

I live in the Kent/SEATAC area.

I'll check mine tonight to make sure and if thats the case then I'll see what I can do, where do you live??

also looking at miatasm's site about the 5100 the version numbers can differ from area to area and still be the same firmware/software.

if you press power and then the menu button do you have 4:3 override listed if so you have the newest software.

Originally posted by brvheart
I've been watching InHD down here in the Bay Area for about a week, and believe me, you won't be dissapointed.


I just looked at the lineup ofr InHD and was wodnering: you have to pay per day or per show for this stuff? Sure, it's HD but BFD, looking at the schedule I don't see anything I'd pay a premium for. I expected to see a-list films in HD but all I see is waht appears to be a wattered down mutated offspring of DiscoveryHD and HDNet.

I just looked at the lineup ofr InHD and was wodnering: you have to pay per day or per show for this stuff? Sure, it's HD but BFD, looking at the schedule I don't see anything I'd pay a premium for. I expected to see a-list films in HD but all I see is waht appears to be a wattered down mutated offspring of DiscoveryHD and HDNet.

These are NOT PPV channels but linear cable channels available to anyone who has the digital classic and above cable packages there is no extra charge for these channels.

Hooray! More KOMO ABC-HD with audio sync issues tonight during the airing of Lethal Weapon! :(

Regardless of whether this is a Comcast or KOMO problem (or some combination) you would think that Comcast would be aware of the problem and get this resolved for their customers...Don't know about everyone else, but I find this channel unwatchable in its current state which is a shame given how good the PQ can be.

How can Comcast fix a problem that is resulting from ABC???? We have no control over them, there satellite that gives there feed to KOMO or anything else that has to do with it. All we have control of is making sure that the signal is on from KOMO to the customer, any other issues farther up the line we cannot do anything about. I understand the frustration I'm quite sick of this problem myself but unfortunately theres nothing we can do about it.

So what you are saying Jeremy, is that Comcast does not really care if the channels they are charging customers for are watchable or not? Just that there is a signal being retransmitted. (Note that I am not talking about the quality of the content of the channels).

>>How can Comcast fix a problem that is resulting from ABC????
They can't necessarily, but if this is a KOMO-DT problem (not ABC proper), then you would think that some intelligent Seattle area Comcast employee could pick up a phone and talk to the people over at KOMO and at least apply some pressure to have them fix it.

Or everyone can just point fingers at everyone else....
It's called being proactive. I've already sent my email to KOMO about the problem. What has Comcast done?

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
How can Comcast fix a problem that is resulting from ABC???? We have no control over them, there satellite that gives there feed to KOMO or anything else that has to do with it. All we have control of is making sure that the signal is on from KOMO to the customer, any other issues farther up the line we cannot do anything about. I understand the frustration I'm quite sick of this problem myself but unfortunately theres nothing we can do about it.

It all depends on what you guys are doing with the signal. Ar eyou only remodulating it? Then it cannot be your fault at all, other than perhaps a problem with the DCT.

If you're remuxing it to didle the psip tables or something then it could very well be an issue at the comcast headend. Who knows?

But, since I've been reading about this issue from OTA viewers ever since ABC started HD feeds I'm willing to bet this is a problem at the point of origin.

Yes Comcast only modulates the channel......it was a problem here in Philly and it took many e-mails from end users, and I am positive Comcast was involved in talking with the Broadcasters in getting the problems resolved but it didn't happen overnight. I think it was an ongoing problem for at least a couple of months on & off.

CoolCanuck,

This will not happen overnight....I don't think Jeremy was poining fingers he was just merely stating that from his position that the problem was not being caused by Comcast so your efforts should be focused on the source of the problem, not the middleman (Comcast).

I'm assuming your last question was sarcastic, because I don't think that you honestly believe that Jeremy will be able to answer it. So I will redirect, What hasn't Comcast Done? They brought you the channel, they are not charging you for it (over the price of regular digital), and you, me & Jeremy have no idea who @ Comcast is talking to KOMO about the situation...

Sure Comcast can put pressure on KOMO to fix it, but the point is you don't know if they haven't already? You did what you could, sent an e-mail to KOMO.

I suggest that the rest of the users do the same. Please post KOMO's e-mail address, CoolCanuck....

I'm sorry I know I must have come accross wrong in my response and I apologize but theres only so much I can do I'm a CSR a very knowledgeable CSR I'd like to think but nothing more. I'm not an area V.P. or anything like that. I am quite sure that we have approached KOMO regarding this issue and they have as I'm sure told everyone else thats questioned the issue told us they are working on it. They know the problem is there its there ballgame to fix it. It's not like Comcast can go hey fix your stuff or we're pulling your feed's! Comcast is very big yes, and we have alot of influence yes again but.....there once again is only so much we can do.

If anyone would like to email KOMO regarding this you can do so at Tips@KOMO4NEWS.com

Also Miatasm thanks for your help and great info you also put in its too bad you live in Philly I'd love to have coffee with ya one night and shoot the sh**.

if you press power and then the menu button do you have 4:3 override listed if so you have the newest software.
The 4:3 override has been there at least since June.

I checked my box tonight shows 50.00 1070 and firmware 08 or 2.5 which seems to be consistent with what miatasm has on his site except for he shows latest in Philly to be 51.20 but the other firmware numbers match. So it may be numbered differently here in the Seattle region.

Miatasm: when did you guys get your last software update in Philly on the 5100's?? Our's was around 4-5 months ago does this corespond with yours?

Thought Comcast subscribers in Kitsap would be interested in a tidbit I got from a service call over the weekend. My 5100 was not tuning to HDTV, specifically HBO HD and ESPN HD. A signal sent to the box fixed that problem, but get this: SHO, HBO, and ESPN are the ONLY HD channels we will be able to get until Comcast runs a new fiber optic cable across the sound. Until then we are an island, and very little of the Seattle Comcast info applies to us.

The tech said the permits were in place, but there was only a small window during the year when the work could actually be done. He (of course) didn't know when it would be done.

I'm feeling 'bait and switched' right now, since I was told when I signed up that PBS was already online, KOMO in the next week, and the other locals by start of new season. Seems to have been untrue.

Jeremyfr, do you have contacts who can let us know when the fiber will be installed? If a short time, I may wait. If longer, or undetermined, is there a way to back out of the deal? I was very specific about my interest in HD content.

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
I'm sorry I know I must have come accross wrong in my response and I apologize but theres only so much I can do I'm a CSR a very knowledgeable CSR I'd like to think but nothing more. I'm not an area V.P. or anything like that.

Jeremy,

I'd like to offer a bit of friendly but free advice, so take it for what's it worth. I also sincerely hope that this doesn't come across the wrong way, so I apologize in advance if it does or if it does not apply in this case.

Does Comcast know you are posting in these forums and that you are letting people know you work for the company in your posts? The reason I'm asking is that most (if not all) large corporations have a policy that says basically you are prohibited from "communicating in a public forum about (your employer's) business operations, products or services unless expressly authorized to do so." This is why you always see the same people in the news media representing a company in regards to any statements or releases of information (I believe Steve Kipp is the Comcast media rep). The reason companies do this is to keep any potential (and usually unintentional) liabilities from occurring due to the wrong information being said in a public forum (and without company knowledge), and which is implied that the company endorses it due to it originating from a company employee.

While I know we all appreciate your information and efforts, I'm hoping that you are not inadvertently jeopardizing your job in any way. Perhaps Comcast is different in their policies, but I just thought I'd try to point this out in a friendly manner before things could potentially get ugly. All of these factors contribute to why we may have never seen a Comcast employee posting in this thread in the past.

If you discover you are indeed prohibited from posting here, I'm sure we would all understand why, and would respect you not wanting to lose your job, despite wanting to assist us as well as you are trying to do.

Hope this may help,

Dan

Jeremy--

Regarding Dan's post above--I've actually thought the same thing. I have a few friends that work for Xbox, and I know that they are not permitted to post, even when they see things posted that are blatantly false and they can directly refute. Just check up on it, and be safe.

Having said that, I know that I've taken some shots at Comcast, and that the aggravation level is pretty high here, but be aware that your help is genuinely appreciated. What you're doing here is very cool, and I hope you can keep it up.

Thanks, man.

Andy

Andy & Dan: Thank you both for your concern, with Comcast they care about "propietary" information i.e. what is not and does not need to be known publicly. The information that I choose to divulge is not what is considered "propietary" Most of the stuff I've said or talked about has been released by Comcast in other forms i.e. advertisements etc. The rest is the same info I'd be able to tell you if you had called in and I took your call.

My supervisor and many other people I work with know I'm a "hometheater nut" and most in the office call me the "HDTV God" and they are fully aware I post on this and HTF.

Trust me it may not seem like I do so but I try to be very careful in what I post and I am one person who try's to make sure that he has the most accurate information regarding things. I'm wrong sometimes but who isnt?? hehe and when I am I admit it and move on.

Once again I appreciate your concern and I'm glad I've been able to help you all out and if big IF it becomes a concern with my employment I will cease to post but as a regular person.

Dr Benson: I have not heard anything about that but I can definately speak with some people in my office regarding the lineup in Kitsap and find out what they say.

Jeremy

It would figure that the home theater nut at the cable company works on the Internet services side. :rolleyes:

Jeremy,

I'm glad that you've discussed things with your supervisor regarding the posts. Once again a small tidbit of free advice, just make sure that you aren't signing anything (such as an acknowledgement form to adhere to company policies) that may directly contradict what your supervisor is advising you that they *think* is correct. Speaking from past personal experience working in a large corporation, it is the written company policy (as you usually have to sign to acknowledge to uphold on an annual basis) that will most likely hold up in any potential conflicts/disputes, despite what you may have been directed to do by a supervisor, unfortunately. As Andy stated, you may want to double check just to be safe. A simple misunderstanding is not worth your job IMHO.

Hopefully I'm wrong in this case, but I'd be really surprised if a company the size of Comcast has a policy that is much different than what's been outlined. Many times, what seems to be a trivial issue is not taken so lightly by the powers that be.

I'll move on to other topics from here on out. Sorry if I've been a bit of a downer in these last two posts, but I would just hate to have you post that you are no longer with Comcast due to something as simple as trying to help us all out.

Dan

It would figure that the home theater nut at the cable company works on the Internet services side.

hehe I was a "computer geek" long before I became a "hometheater nut" and have years upon years of computer experience including 3 years as a network administrator for a local school district while I was in High School.

Well I spoke to a friend today who has DVI and one of our HD box's, he told me upon hooking it up through DVI he was able to get a picture but not an HDTV signal so in some way the DVI out is working, now I'm wondering if it may be a conflict in DVI standards that hes able to get pic but not HDTV.

Reading Miatasm's Site on the 5100 (great job by the way) I see that it is a DVI-D out and I've noticed there are several standards for DVI do most HDTV's accept a DVI-D input.

You'll have to forgive my ignorance in this question DVI is something I really haven't delven into yet or done alot of research on. hehe I never claimed to know everything.

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
Well I spoke to a friend today who has DVI and one of our HD box's, he told me upon hooking it up through DVI he was able to get a picture but not an HDTV signal so in some way the DVI out is working, now I'm wondering if it may be a conflict in DVI standards that hes able to get pic but not HDTV.

Reading Miatasm's Site on the 5100 (great job by the way) I see that it is a DVI-D out and I've noticed there are several standards for DVI do most HDTV's accept a DVI-D input.



I have a Samsung DLP TV, with DVI input. But I couldn't find what DVD standard it meets; nor could I find what standard my DVI DVD player meets. So, I suspect it doesn't matter.

Please let me know if you need a guinea pig for that DVI enabled cable box!

Please let me know if you need a guinea pig for that DVI enabled cable box!

I might take you up on that I'd like to see if I could get it working.

Why would they need a beta tester for DVI?

DVI will be enabled via a Firmware update (for the boxes that have the connector which all new ones since 2/03 do).....Its not something that needs to be tested first. Its not like DVI is some new prototype product that has never been seen or used before. It is standardized. When Motorola/Comcast is ready to activate it, they will and everyone will get it enabled at the same time, regionally of course.

I know you were speaking hypothetically, weren't you?

Regarding KOMO sound problem:

FWIW - here's the guy at KOMO I conversed with via email. He was certainly interested in trying to help solve my problem with KOMO sound. Oddly it seemed to go away when I upgraded the firmware on my STB. Give him a try:

DonW@fisherbroadcasting.com

Why would they need a beta tester for DVI?


He was just saying if I wanted to try my box on a DVI tv I could bring it over. A friend of mine here at work said that he had hooked his DVI up the other night and was getting a picture not a very good one but a pic none the less so I was wondering if the DVI is enabled but takes some toying around with to get it working is all:) hehe just wanted to play with the box. I know its useless since its not enabled in firm ware though mine does show it as installed so I dont know. :)

BTW due to welcome concern from other members I changed my signature a little theres still a link to email though if you have any questions.

Jeremyfr,

I am using the current HD offerings and I am really looking forward to the new HD offerings. Problem is, I'm watching more live TV than before and I only see this increasing until y'all have HD PVRs. In the meantime, the Comcast guide sucks. I find myself switching to my ReplayTV to find a show I'm interested in, selecting the channel, then switching back to the 5100. Fortunately, the HD channel listings are on my Replay. Any idea as to if or when we'll get an update to the guide? Thanks!

jamesskollar: From what I've seen/heard Microsoft TV which is the new guide will probably roll out late this year or 1Q next year. I posted earlier about this about 4 pages back with links to www.microsoft.com/tv that has more info and video that shows what it will look like. All I have to say is I cant wait! its sooooooo much nicer than TV-Guide interactive.

sorry if this has been covered here... How does one go about updating their firmware on the STB? does a CSR have to push it through or is it something I can take care of?

Originally posted by quarque
Regarding KOMO sound problem:

FWIW - here's the guy at KOMO I conversed with via email. He was certainly interested in trying to help solve my problem with KOMO sound. Oddly it seemed to go away when I upgraded the firmware on my STB. Give him a try:

DonW@fisherbroadcasting.com

See the last question of the FAQ.

I emailed KOMO (Tips@KOMO4NEWS.com) concerning their audio-synch problems, they responded about 10 minutes later with this:

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

We are aware of the problem and are working on a solution.

Regards,

John L. Forbes
KOMO-TV/DT Engineering
JohnF@komotv.com

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

I asked for an "ETA," but no response...


miatasm. thanks for the FAQ 411

And here's the response that I got from KOMO....

"Our engineering folks are aware of the problem and are trying to fix it.
It's some sort of problem with the interface to comcast. They are working
very hard to get it resolved."

Well, at least they seem to be working on it, but it sounds like it does involve Comcast in some form or another. Maybe they'll be smart enough to get engineers from both companies together to troubleshoot it.

Our engineering folks are aware of the problem and are trying to fix it.
It's some sort of problem with the interface to comcast. They are working
very hard to get it resolved

Funny how do they explain that the problem exhist's OTA and is happening in other markets through other local ABC affiliates??

Jeremy

I don't know how they explain that, but feel free to call or email their engineering dept. to get an answer. I'm sure they'd welcome someone from Comcast helping them out with the issue and a lot of people on the forums would appreciate it.

I wrote an email to KOMO and received a pretty quick response--similar to the others:
Hi Andy,

Our engineering folks are aware of the audio sync problem and are trying to
fix it. It's some sort of problem with the interface to comcast. They are
working very hard to get it resolved.

I would think it has something to do with them constantly switching their audio format between the programming and the commercials. For Instance, MNF is in 5.1 and the commercials are 2.0. When MNF comes back from commercials my receiver occasionally has a field day trying to lock in the audio signal. I would think they could broadcast in 5.1 all the time and just leave the 3.1 channels blank/silent during commercials.

By the way, I only get KOMO OTA. I've been riding the fence in making a decision to move to Comcast from Directv for some time now. One more local ought to do it.

My new DVD recorder requires Guide Plus before I can select anything other than the analog channels. I got the feature up and running two weeks ago and it looked good. Through the digital box, I could use the DVD timer to switch between digital channels and the guide looked good.

Then I went for a two week vacation. When I returned, the channel info was blank. The DVD recorder CSR said to go through the set-up procedure. I did. Now the guide says it can't find data.

I'm caught between the DVD mfg (Philips), GemStar (Guide Plus), and Comcast. Each say it's the others problem. I'm an electrical engineer. A little info on how the Guide Plus data is transmitter would really help isolate the failure point. Can anyone help? :confused:

My Philips DVDR80 just arrived, and I'm scanning page 3 of the "Quick-Use Guide". I'm debating about selling it, buying a TIVO, or waiting for Comcast to roll out the DCT5200 / DCT6200 (Built-In PVR).

I've had nothing but trouble with Philip's DVDR985. It was in for repair 5 times, and customer support is staffed by ignorant Jamaican liars. Near the expiration of the warranty, they offered their latest greatest DVDR80 with 1-year Warranty; not a refund.

It won't record High Definition, and the time record feature only works off ANT.

Which model Philips DVDR do you have?

Here are some helpful links:
* http://www.dvdplusrw.org/index.html
* http://www.dvdplusrw.org/cgi/forum/ikonboard.cgi

I have the DVDR80. It won't record HD & there is no passive pass through. All inputs are MPEG encoded. That's why I set my default record time to HQ.

My previous recorder was the 985. I broke twice within 15 monthes. Fortunately, I purchased with a credit card that doubled the 1 year warranty. The R80 is my replacement, paid with the CC insurance refund. I now have another two years of warranty.

If I can get the Guide Plus to work, I might be happy.

Stephen

To tie PVRs back into the Seattle Comcast theme, how many of you are hesitant to switch to Comcast before HD PVRs are available?

I had a stand-alone Tivo, and now have two DirecTivos. I can't go back. I may sign up for basic cable when I move in a few weeks (staying in Issaquah), if only because the discount on the cable modem would make it almost free. But, I'd be keeping my DirecTV service for anything above the lifeline level.

I'd really like to get all the locals in HD (when Comcast and the stations get around to it), and add on some premium packages to get more HD, but if I can't time shift it, I won't watch it. It's not that I don't want to, but I'm so out of the habit of scheduling my life around being home for a TV show that it won't work. And now that I've seen it characterized as "scheduling my life around the TV schedule", I have no plans to change back.

I know the 6208 is lurking out there somewhere--I've heard rumors of November--but I hope Comcast seizes the opportunity here to field a real satellite killer. Locals in HD with an integrated PVR. Sat can't match that. (Keep in mind that I can't receive OTA signal). Until then, I'll take recordable SD over real-time HD, and keep sending my money to DirecTV.

I'm just waiting for Comcast to start selling something that I want to buy.

Jeremy, thanks for keeping us informed on how things are progressing. It really does reduce the frustration a great deal.

--Mike

Mike, I couldn't agree more. Comcast has the opportunity to be the BEST alternative, if they get the locals in HD and a PVR into our homes. I have no desire to resume scheduling my life around the TV schedule.

Since I was sold a bill of goods on HD in my area, I'm probably going to drop back to basic cable (and high speed internet) until HD and PVR are available for real.

Jeremyfr, any word on the fiber optic link to Kitsap?

To my knowledge Kitsap is being rebuilt as we speak However I dont know if this means HD will be immediately available, there may need to be more work done to the local headend to make it viable.

Jeremy

Rebuilt as we speak? Joy unbounded! Is there some way I will be able to know when things are complete and HD is available?

You guys want to make Kitsap the beta site for the Moto 6208s? I know someone who's interested....

My channel 30 using the 5100 reverts to Black and white once the program screen fades out. Until that time, the picture is in color. Any ideas what could be causing this? I suspect the source is "mistuned" a little off channel??

sounds like a software issue on the box to me. The 5100 digitizes the picture on analog channels so that there is no wait time changing from a digital to analog channel so it may have faulty software or there may be something wrong with the MPEG encoder.

Jeremy

For those asking about Kitsap Pen. I've recieved word of a planned launch date for 9/25. However it was unclear as to if this was high speed internet or advanced video or both.

Due to issues that have arose with rebuild and our now almost complete box controller migration they changed they way they launch areas, it used to be we'd launch video side and then 4-6 weeks later HSI would launch to give them time to test the new plant. Now they've been doing it backwards and launching HSI and waiting on the video. I'll see what I can find out though I'm on my weekend right now.

Jeremy

Babula, I have the exact same issue, and seems to be with channel 30 the most. I will be watching channel 104 (komo hd) and turn to channel 30 (fox sports nw) and the picture turns black and white within a few seconds...I never bothered to look into it as I usually watch Directv for SD broadcasts.

Now, just patiently waiting to see what INHD has to offer in less than a week....

Keithaxis, you are right. I am not going to raise the issue with Comcast for the moment as I use Directv as well. If and when Comcast gets the rest of the locals, HDnet, Discovery and/or basically what I access on Directv, I will probably drop Directv. It would really make my decision easier if the 6208(when available) will have the firewire interface active so I could offload the Harddrive to my JVC 30k DVHS tape machine. Then all would be well in Tunerville!

Has Comcast announced what features will be available in their PVR boxes? I harbor some deep fear that 30 second skip and FF will be "disabled" and the feature set will consist of record, play and rewind.

Sure we'll be able to time shift but we won't be able to skip past commercials. I have no basis for this fear other than my general disregard for the motion picture industry, their willingness to threaten and cajole other companies (and government) into giving in to their demands and other deep seated paranoias.

Metz

It looks like Kitsap is getting ESPN-HD,HBO-HD & SHOHD as of today, I'll find out if you'll be getting INHD1&2 on 10/1 like everyone else and try and find out when KCTS/KOMO will be online for you guys. I have a feeling the statement about Fiber is probably correct as there a few other channels missing as compared to the Pierce County Lineup.

Looks likes Jeremy WAS able to find that switch to flip ;)

Ok it is confirmed We have additional fiber to lay to Key Pen. /Fox Island/Gig Harbor to offer further channels, I've been given a time line of completion for around 1Q of 2004 so about 3-5 months from now.

I wish I had better news to offer but at least its due to what most had thought.

I will try to update as I get further info.

Jeremy

Thanks for the great news on Kitsap. The streets here have been crawling with Comcast trucks for the past few weeks, so I figured we must be close.

Less traffic jams and more HD... I like it!

I'm also eager for the HD Tivo or similar PVR option, but that can wait til next year.

Thanks for the Kitsap info, Jeremy. Even though it doesn't lessen the wait, knowing makes it much more tolerable than not knowing. If we can get PVR boxes about the same time we get the HD channels, you'd have some real happy customers!

BTW, high speed internet has been up and running for a couple of years over here. No problems on that score.

(From LLamas) "how many of you are hesitant to switch to Comcast before HD PVRs are available?"

Count me in as another one that will not switch from DirecTV until PVR is supplied for Comcast (in particular, HD PVR). I'd love to switch now - besides the package with most of the channels, I also have to pay DirecTV extra for local channels (none in HD) and for two extra receivers (I have a DTC 100, DirecTivo, upstairs receiver). I think my monthly bill is close to $80. Plus it will be nice to get the dish off of the roof.

My family is so used to using the DirecTivo that we won't do without it - it saves times, always records our shows (regardless of TV schedule changes), makes it easy to keep a small backlog of favorite stuff (specially for the kid), makes it easy to search for a show, etc.

I can't get OTA (wrong side of a big hill, plus I don't want a big antenna on the roof), so I'm really looking forward to a few of our favorite shows in HD.

A minor benefit - if the upcoming new box supplied by Comcast also has a cable modem enabled, then it will replace 3 boxes (DTC 100, DirecTivo, cable modem). :)

Now I only need to figure out how to do the component (or DVI) -> VGA conversion (for the projector). Besides a stand-alone converter box, does anyone know of a computer video card that would take either DVI or component IN, and provide the signal as VGA out? (I would guess not ... but it's worth asking). I could run the cable box output through my HTPC then.

Cliff

I'd like a Motorola DCT5100 Software/Firmware/Bootloader Revision History (ie. Software 5x.xx-xxxx/Firmware (0x) 2.xx/Bootloader 2.xx: 480 Override Feature, 1080i Red Push, low sound output on analog stations, analog stations video quality is very poor in comparison to old digital cable box or cable being plugged directly ... etc.)

I'd like to know why the Greater Seattle Area hasn't had an update since the 480 Override. I feel like a damn beta tester for the POS DCT5100. When is Comcast going to enable the other inputs 7 outputs of this POS?

I'd like to use the firewire and/or usb ports & add my own hard drive, instead of waiting for them monkeys. What happened to the DCT5200?!? I'd like the built-in cable modem to be enabled, so I can replace my aging RCA DCM235.

If the home owners association would allow me to place a dish ... bye bye Comcast.

robert4u: I've raised the same question's regarding software/firmware version and am currenly waiting for an answer, As to USB/Cable Modem/etc being enabled I would not count on this anytime soon.

Firewire is not even a feature we offer in the 5100 so it would do no good to enable something the box doesn't even have installed. The only thing that I really forsee being enabled soon is the DVI output.

Currently there is no need for us to activate the other stuff nor any support currently built into the interactive software, the only outputs that are not enabled on the box is the DVI-out everything else should be enabled it is on mine.

also adding a hard drive to the 5100 would be great but once again the current interactive software has no support for PVR functionality.

somewhere around 1st quarter of next year we will be switching to Microsoft TV for the interactive guide as well as offering the 6208. The 5100 would not make that great a PVR anyways it does not have the ability to record HD material in its supposed PVR cabability and its a much slower box than the 6208.

Jeremy

Cool that we get the MS Guide...will that require a hardware change??

Originally posted by r0bErT4u
...If the home owners association would allow me to place a dish ... bye bye Comcast.

The HOA cannot legally stop you from placing a dish except on a common property (i.e., if you lived in a condo or town house building with multiple occupants and a shared roof).

This forum is filled with info on this topic.

Do a search for homeowner and antenna or dish.

nope the guide is certified to work on all Motorola Box's

Jeremy

COOOL! Finally a userful guide...from what I have seen. Hopefully we can turn the banner off for us TIVO users :)

r0bErT4u,

Beep Beep Beep.....Back the truck up.

The 5100 a POS. What is your comparison? Oh thats right you have no comparison. Maybe you do though, a friend of yours might be using the Scientific Atlanta 3100HD STB for Cable HD.....No, it can't be that because if you saw what the SA 3100HD is like your would think the 5100 is a stroke of genius.

"Can you sense my sarcasm, because I'm laying it on pretty thick?" (favorite quote from Tommy Boy)

Seriously,
You can try to compare it to Dish but HD over Cable doesn't use the same technology as the Dish, this made the equipment completely different, which also means ground-up development.

The fact that Mototrola took this box to market "bare-bones", and listened to what the end-users had to say and have been making constant adjustments to the box for almost a year now. The SA box doesn't even allow for firmware updates or upgrade-ability on-the-fly. The 5100 is less than a year old. And in a little over a year from its debut, Motorola will have an updated 6200, and a 6208 with integrated PVR. That may or may not have all of the functionality you are asking for.

But you are not thinking about one thing....Every function of the box that is enabled, then has to be supported by the Cable Provider directly, not Motorola. That means essentially 3rd party support, which can, in ANY situation become more difficult for all parties involved. Which means alot more training on-the-fly and an expanded support team. Which is all good but doing this to everyone for everything at once is shooting yourself in the foot, big time.

There is alot to learn by the CSRs, the Field Technicians, and everyone involved, even the end-user, when a brand-new product is launched. And for them to know how it will work with all of these different features connected in thousands of different configurations, takes time....

For you and lots of others, the possible retail option of these STBs is your best bet. That way you can buy them with whatever features you want and complain directly to the manufacture if something doesn't work quite as perfect as you want. But this may not be supported by all of the Cable Companies in all of the areas. So you can only pray.

Good Luck....with getting the dish, Is it that much better than cable now, because I've used it in its full capacity and it lacked the support, IMO. But then again that was when it first started, should I have waited? (Again a little more sarcasm to finish off this waaay too long post)

Originally posted by Vespa
COOOL! Finally a userful guide...from what I have seen. Hopefully we can turn the banner off for us TIVO users :)

Are you talking about the entire EPG, when you say banner?

Hello Miatasm,

In this area of Comcast (formerly AT&T Broadband) territory, the support & products are almost a year behind. I've read your many helpful postings, and I thank you ... but you're the favored Comcast subscribers. We, the red headed step children of Comcast, are being supported by ignorant monkeys. I hope the 6208 comes soon, because I'm stuck with them. I'm on the Platinum Package w/ High Speed Internet with no alternatives:mad:

are being supported by ignorant monkeys.

Thanks!!!

Comcast has no preference over markets. You want someone to be mad at it, its AT&T why you ask?? because they are the company that didn't spend any money to keep the system in Washington up to par. Comcast has come in and has been spending millions of dollars upgrading equipment/cabling/fiber/etc. to get Seattle up to par with the rest of Comcast.

Think we've got it bad?? maybe you should talk to some of the people on here who live in say San Francisco/San Jose market where half of silicon valley doesn't even get HSI yet and then complain. For an X-ATT market we've moved a long way in less than a year and theres even more on the very near horizon.

So you cant have everything right now??? neither can most of Comcast you act as if all this stuff is available to "classic" Comcast Cable.

Lets see what do the "favored" markets have over us hmmmm VOD thats it! Everything else they get we get now.

Jeremy

Yes, I mean the little cheesy banner that stays on the screen for no less then 3-seconds.

Yes, I mean the little cheesy banner that stays on the screen for no less then 3-seconds.

You can change the display time by going into the OSD, selecting setup, and then selecting guide. One of the options will be flip bar display time.

Jeremy

Originally posted by Vespa
COOOL! Finally a userful guide...from what I have seen. Hopefully we can turn the banner off for us TIVO users :)

If you go into the setup screen and make the box upconvert SD to 480p then it won't output any screens or the banner to the S-Video port. I just use the S-Video port for Tivo so this setup is ideal.

Today I also changed my Tivo (you need a shell prompt to do this) to ignore the 5100 for analog channels and only use it for digital ones. This lets me record an analog show while watching a digital one live and makes channel flipping with the Tivo more accurate.

alex

Jeremy,
I know you can crank down the time...that's why I said "no less then three seconds"

Alex: How do I tell it do to the upconvert??

I am also curious about how to tell it to ignore the 5100 for the analog...let me wander over to the Tivo Community and find out.

[i]Alex: How do I tell it do to the upconvert??
[/B]

Turn of the 5100 and then press Menu right away. This brings up the setup menu. The second or third option down lets you select the format to upconvert SD content to and gives you options of 480P, 720P and 1080I.

The downside is that the box's scaler is probably not as good as the one in your TV. If you only use the box for HD content that doesn't really matter.

One of the threads on serial control of the Tivo has a script called "setup.txt" that allows you to change the Tivo to use it's tuner for analog and the 5100 for digital.

alex

Cool..thanks. At this point our friends at Video Only screwed up my HD delivery, so I am still on my 10-year old RCA.

What are the optimum settings for pre HD (my RCA) and what should I change them to when I do get the TV? (Note: I am using a S1 Tivo)

actually the options are

1.) screen format: 4:3 P&S, 4:3letterbox, 16:9
2.) YPbPr Output: 480p,720p,1080i - this is the HD output rez for HD material
3.) 4:3 override: off(uses whatever your HD rez on 2 is set at for SD material) 480i & 480P

Jeremy,
What networks have 5.1 audio? I usually see HBO, but what is the complete list?

Also, what are the video optimum settings for the above ?

Here in Seattle its as follows

104 - KOMOHD
517 - Encore
533 - Starz
534 - Starz East
538 - Starz Cinema
549 - HBO HD
550 - HBO East
551 - HBO West
574 - Showtime HD
575 - Showtime East
576 - Showtime West
578 - Showtime 2 West
580 - Showtime Showcase West
582 - Showtime Extreme West
591 - The Movie Channel West
593 - The Movie Channel Xtra West

Had to make a correction from east to west feeds.

Optimum settings will vary on the set but for most HD sets it would be.

1.) 16x9
2.) 1080i
3.) 480p

for #1 the only time you'd really use the 4:3 modes is if you had the box outputing to an SD only TV

In that case best would be
1.) 4:3 Letterbox
2.) 480i
3.) Not Available due to #2 being 480i

4:3 P&S is really only for those that want to watch HD material on an SD set and have the box zoom the picture to fill a 4:3 screen of course loosing the side information.

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
Thanks!!!

Comcast has no preference over markets. You want someone to be mad at it, its AT&T why you ask?? because they are the company that didn't spend any money to keep the system in Washington up to par. Comcast has come in and has been spending millions of dollars upgrading equipment/cabling/fiber/etc. to get Seattle up to par with the rest of Comcast.

Sorry Jeremyfr ... You're one of the few people at Comcast (formerly AT&T Broadband) that isn't an IGNORANT MONKEY;)

I have, still am experiencing almost 2-years of crappy service with attitude, endless truck rolls, so called technicians damaging my property, wasting both of our time & money, and I don't see this endless support loop from hell changing. I'm so frustrated, and have to vent:mad:

Again, I apologize for my stereotyping of ignorant Comcast monkeys. I guess, all I can do is be patient and put up with the endless truck rolls & hours on the phone:(

It's ok rObErt, what kind of problems have you been having??

What I want: "native" setting for HD output.

The HDD-200 had this (I still use one with my BUD). ABC in 720p, HBO in 1080i, let me provide the scaler/processor.

I hope this feature makes it back in to the 6208.

This is the cheesy "how to" video some cable operators play in a loop to help new users grok the MSTV guide. But you can see the features of the guide. I am curious as to how they plan to integrate PVR with this.

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

Oh, and will the 6208 be a dual tuner system?

MSTV will be a much more "user friendly" back end. Right now the TV guide that you see is the old onvue system which of course TV guide bought out. its all controlled via TV-Guides central system. MSTV will be a local system hence the huge box controller migration we've been going through to support both MSTV and VOD.

MSTV will allow new features to be added locally and in a timely manner. It will be a very easy system to program for new features etc without taking forever for updates to hit the box.

I really cant wait for this to launch as it will be faster/better, really its going to be all that and a bag of chips! hehe it will also be a much easier programming language similar to that of JAVA or whats used in Windows CE which means that it will be alot easier for the programmers to work with who will keep it running.

Jeremy

Damn you all beat me to it. That is, answering Vespa's question about getting rid of the guide for Tivo use. That just goes to show you this board is on the ball.

Yes the 6208 will have a dual tuner.

I am not sure if the topic police would nab me on this, but what the heck:

I am looking at getting a 16:9 HDTV (TUBE). I have been following the postings over in the direct view forum, but I wanted to ask folks local to Seattle what their feeling is on the retailer "Video Only" ? I got a deal (I think) on a Toshiba 16:9 Cinema Series (pre order it and we'll give you a couple hundred off) but I am REALLY afraid if I get it home and either don't like it, or there is a problem with it Video Only will say "screw you." I can't put my finger on it, but I just don't get a good level of customer service from them...it's quite the opposite: It feels like a used car lot when I walk in. It makes me very uneasy.

On the other hand, I have read good things about Sears.

Thoughts? Feel free to PM me any comments.

Thanks

Vespa: I can only speak on one experience of Video Only and it was years ago but here goes!

When I was about 14 my parents decided that it was time to upgrade the old 1983 19" GE TV to something a little bigger and newer. So we looked around at several places and my parents decided on a 25" RCA at Video Only. They had it for around 75 or 100 less than everyone else. So my parents decided to get it and $325 later we were at that moment proud new owners of what ended up being one of the worst TV's we ever owned but thats a different story and not anything to do with V.O..

At any rate at that time in my life my parents did not own a car we all rode the bus and walked everywhere. They were going to deliver the TV and it was going to take like 2 days to get it. Me being the impatient 14 year old that I was wanting to play my Super Nintendo on a at that time to me huge 25" tv was just too enticing so I tried to talk my parents into letting me carry it on the bus etc.

Well the Salesman overheard this and offered to deliver that night himself, mind you are house was a good 20 minutes from the store. He was very cool about it, and it was close to closing time. So my parents went out and caught the bus and I rode with the salesman and our new TV home in his car.

He carried the set up to our apartment and took it out and made the basic connections. The guy was totally awesome and I think that he is kind of what had inspired me to always try to go 110% when I did retail sales. So to me it was a very good experience today you would never see a person do this but I guess things change.

Jeremy

Originally posted by miatasm
Yes the 6208 will have a dual tuner.

I can see from the specs on Motorolas site that it's a dual tuner boc, but then so is the 5100, but a lot of good that does you.

I guess what I want to know is will it be able to timeshift two analog ahannels at once? One analog + one digital, etc. If so, then it's gonna be a welcome, box clutter reducing addition to my rack.

Ya know Comcast should do an eraly deployment test to the folks on this thread. That's what I think. Yeah.....

It makes me sick yearning for new hardware from Motorola considering what a wonderful job (biting sarcasm) they've done supporting the 4DTV.

The 5100 is not a dual tuner box, its a triple tuner but heres the 3 tuners,

1.) analog
2.) digital
3.) docsis for cable modem

so the 5100 would have no way of showing 2 channels at once, as for the 6208 I wouldn't know for sure. Miatasm probably could get you a better answer on that.

Jeremy,
Great story...but I think those days are over. If anyone has any current VO experience, I'd love to hear it.

Let me elaborate on my answer...The 6208 will have 2 video tuners, these are not included in the count of the Cable Modem & Out Of Band Controller tuners(see the FAQ for more info). I do not know the full functionality of the tuners yet, like whether you will be able to record two different channels at the same time onto the HDD in the box. Or you will just be able to watch one while recording another. Only time will tell....

re: VO...

I've purchased 2 tv's from VO in the past 10 years...a Magnavox 25" TV (and vcr), and a 20" sony WEGA...both experiences were good..but I didnt' deal with the salesmen in any capacity other than telling them what I wanted (Had done my homework prior to entering the store).

So, the extra mile? 91 days after I bought the vcr from them (this was several years ago), the vcr broke (90 day warranty). VO replaced the vcr, even though it was out of warranty.

Other than that, they seem ok.

Rich

Thanks Bokskter....good to know.
Appreciate your comments.

Video Only

I bought my 48 in. HDTV from the Southcenter store last December. They delivered it and took my old TV away for a nominal fee ($35 something).

After a week or so, the TV developed a weird problem with moving, streaky vertical lines going through red areas, such as the info field in the Comcast digital cable guide. This happened with every source, including DVDs and HD.

I called Video Only, and they set up a swap out of the TV, but I had to pay for redelivery. They brought me a brand new one, manufactured in December, 2002, and wheeled out the bad one. The new one has been fine to date.

They sold me the TV basically for the sale price of $1499 without sales tax. It was a couple of hundred less than anywhere else at the time.

I would be very comfortable recommending Video Only, as I have to many folks in my extended family.

I have purchased several TVs and one HD-ready TV from Video Only, along with VCRs, DVD players, a DV camcorder and a HTIB DD 5.1 audio/video system. The HD-ready TV developed problems after I had it for a month or so and was replaced immediately with no hesitation on their part.

When buying my first HDTV and my first DVD player, they helped me understand progressive scan DVD and convinced me to buy the PS DVD player. They helped me buy the right choices before I even understood what the right choices were. The Kenwood HTIB A/V receiver turns out to have enough optical and coax inputs for my 2 HDTV tuners, 1 DVD player and 2 DirecTiVo units. Again, I was provided capabilities and sufficient capacity that I did not fully understand until later.

That said, I am not impressed with some of their more recent sales folks. I have been shopping at their flagship store in Tukwila, WA, and I deal with long term salesmen and in one case the owner (who maintains his office at that site and can be found in the showroom at times).

Bottom line for me: If they have the product I want, I will buy it there. I always get the best price there, and I usually get a lower price than their initial asking price--at least on the bigger ticket items.

My only VO experience:

I opt for delivery. They tell me the guys will show up in the evening with a truck, dolly and TV.

One guy shows in his pickup with no dolly to deliver a 52" RPTV up three flights of stairs and then asks for me to help even though I told them specifically i was unable to do so due to a respritory infection that made anything other than walking and buying TVs a strain.

Then, when I stiff the guy for 50% (I did half the work) he gets all pissed and threatens to call the cops. I offer him my phone after which he leaves.

That was about 1993 from the Bellevue store across from magnolia HiFi.

No more VO for me.

Originally posted by sastimac
My new DVD recorder requires Guide Plus before I can select anything other than the analog channels. I got the feature up and running two weeks ago and it looked good. Through the digital box, I could use the DVD timer to switch between digital channels and the guide looked good.

Then I went for a two week vacation. When I returned, the channel info was blank. The DVD recorder CSR said to go through the set-up procedure. I did. Now the guide says it can't find data.

I'm caught between the DVD mfg (Philips), GemStar (Guide Plus), and Comcast. Each say it's the others problem. I'm an electrical engineer. A little info on how the Guide Plus data is transmitter would really help isolate the failure point. Can anyone help? :confused: Same problem here:mad: I've discovered that there's a compatibility problem with our DCT5100's Override 480p & Guide+:confused: When Override is set to 480p, Guide+ fails. When set to 480i, it seems to be loading listings?!? I dunno ... 3-hours and still empty listings?!?

How long did it take for your Guide+ to fully populate, and does it list the premium channels?

After several hours a couple of channels appeared. It took overnight for the full data dump.Three weeks ago, I didn't get the HD channels.

I'll check my 5100 settings, but don't think it will help. After calling all the local stations, I learned the Guide Plus+ signal is sent over channel four, KOMO. I send a coax feed AND a VHS feed into the recorder. This way the Guide Plus+ signal bypassess the digital decoder box. After about an hour or so, I get a "no signal found" type display. Do you get some, or all, of the channels but not the show information?

Because of my location, I don't have over the air signals. I'm about to send the recorder to the service center for repair. There isn't much else to try. :mad:

Anyone want to buy a DVDR80?

Originally posted by sastimac
... After calling all the local stations, I learned the Guide Plus+ signal is sent over channel four, KOMO. I send a coax feed AND a VHS feed into the recorder. This way the Guide Plus+ signal bypassess the digital decoder box. After about an hour or so, I get a "no signal found" type display. Do you get some, or all, of the channels but not the show information? I'm not bypassing the DCT5100. My cable feed: Wall Jack > DCT5100 > Video Tape Recorder > DVDR80 > Yamaha AV > Plasma ...

UPDATE: Almost all channels & listings populated. I'm missing 2-NWCN, 53-FX ... more. There seems to be no reasoning why some channels DO & DON'T get into the guide. It doesn't matter whether or not the channels are HD:confused:

If you want to use the Guide Plus+ feature, downgrade your DCT5100's Override to 480i.

I'm not going to use Guide Plus+, and restore my Override to 480p. I'll turn it back on the night before, I need to do Timer Recordings. I've e-mailed Philips, requesting this as one of the fixes in upcoming firmware updates.

If you're selling it, how much? FYI: The DVDR90 will have a built-in hard drive.

Does Comcast need to do anything to my cable drops to make them HDTV ready? I ask, because my friend has Comcast digital, and and old Toshibad 4:3. I want to take my HIDEF box over to his house to see what his PQ lookd like.

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
... what kind of problems have you been having?? I FEEL LIKE A VOLLEY BALL BEING PASSED TO/FROM TRUCK ROLLS - LINE TECHS - CUSTOMER RETENTION - BILLING - REPAIR - HIGH SPEED INTERNET - 3H Cable - City Cable Commissioner ... endless loop I don't know what you can do, but you don't want to get involved with this mess. Thanks anyway.

Video Only has been great for me and my son. He just bought a 27" TV and found it wouldn't fit in his car when they brought it out. The salesman unpacked the TV and loaded it in the car. Not a big deal bought he could have made my son do it. This was after the store had closed for the evening. They seem to want their customers to be happy no matter what.

New to this thread as well as HD (Got our box installed today). Chiming in because of the Video Only references.

When I was doing research on a new TV, I had my sights set on a Samsung DLP. Hoping to do some price comparison I went to my local VO (Tacoma) and asked the sales rep if they carried the Samsungs. He told me no and asked why I was interested in the DLPs. I told him I was originally looking at a plasma TV, but after doing some research (on these forums), I was concerned about burn-in and the fact that if anything went wrong with a plasma, it was pretty much unrepairable.

He then asked me if it was Magnolia Hi-Fi who told me that about plasmas. He then told me with a straight face that plasma TVs do not get burn-in. I walked out after that.

I'm sure this was just an over-zealous salesman, but I just thought I'd share my last VO experience. :)

GREAT NEWS!!!!.......Oh My God......WHAT?????

- The only channel I USED to watch was NBATV.

- The perfect compliment to the NBA in-demand package.

- 24/7 HDTV NBA programming.

- 5 HD games per week

- EVERYONE in the states gets it except Comcast subscribers Now?

- Why oh Why does Comcast suck so bad!!!!!!

NBA TV signed today with COX, Cablevision, and Time Warner. It's been availibe on Dish and DirectTV all along.

I have been waiting patiently for about a year now for Comcast to give me this channel BACK, that I had. Let me guess.....another MF'ing money issue for them.....or wait.....how bout not enough bandwith to pick it up?

Please tell me who I can write about this B.S.

Originally posted by biz_qwik
GREAT NEWS!!!!.......Oh My God......WHAT?????

- The only channel I USED to watch was NBATV.

- The perfect compliment to the NBA in-demand package.

- 24/7 HDTV NBA programming.

- 5 HD games per week

- EVERYONE in the states gets it except Comcast subscribers Now?

- Why oh Why does Comcast suck so bad!!!!!!

NBA TV signed today with COX, Cablevision, and Time Warner. It's been availibe on Dish and DirectTV all along.

I have been waiting patiently for about a year now for Comcast to give me this channel BACK, that I had. Let me guess.....another MF'ing money issue for them.....or wait.....how bout not enough bandwith to pick it up?

Please tell me who I can write about this B.S.

Well why didn't you say so!

Jeremy can you "flip that switch" also. Thanks!

See, that wasn't that hard.

;)

Originally posted by r0bErT4u
I'm not bypassing the DCT5100. My cable feed: Wall Jack > DCT5100 > Video Tape Recorder > DVDR80 > Yamaha AV > Plasma ...

UPDATE: Almost all channels & listings populated. I'm missing 2-NWCN, 53-FX ... more. There seems to be no reasoning why some channels DO & DON'T get into the guide. It doesn't matter whether or not the channels are HD:confused:

If you want to use the Guide Plus+ feature, downgrade your DCT5100's Override to 480i.

I'm not going to use Guide Plus+, and restore my Override to 480p. I'll turn it back on the night before, I need to do Timer Recordings. I've e-mailed Philips, requesting this as one of the fixes in upcoming firmware updates.

If you're selling it, how much? FYI: The DVDR90 will have a built-in hard drive.

Good to hear you got most of the chanels. For the others, go to the SETUP function. The chanels may be turned off. Some of mine were until I manual turned them ON.

I'm on travel to Taiwan and will give Guide Plus+ another try when I get back. If it doesn't work, I'll send it to the Philips service center. Maybe I'm unlucky and have a busted recorder.:cool:

Question for anyone in the Tacoma area. Is anyone able to get OTA HD signals in Tacoma?

Assuming I can get an OTA signal, I need to purchase a seperate HD box and an antenna, correct?

Any suggestions on a box and antenna?

Oh...and I tried to read this thread, but with 37 pages it got a bit tiresome. Can someone explain exactly why Comcast only has a handful of stations available in HD while stations like CBS, WB and NBC are broadcasting programs in HD?

Originally posted by mpestrada74
Question for anyone in the Tacoma area. Is anyone able to get OTA HD signals in Tacoma?

Assuming I can get an OTA signal, I need to purchase a seperate HD box and an antenna, correct?

Any suggestions on a box and antenna?

Oh...and I tried to read this thread, but with 37 pages it got a bit tiresome. Can someone explain exactly why Comcast only has a handful of stations available in HD while stations like CBS, WB and NBC are broadcasting programs in HD? Click Over Here & Enter Your ZipCode >>>--> http://www.hdtvpub.com/

Originally posted by mpestrada74
Oh...and I tried to read this thread, but with 37 pages it got a bit tiresome. Can someone explain exactly why Comcast only has a handful of stations available in HD while stations like CBS, WB and NBC are broadcasting programs in HD? Sure - I'll summarize for you: MONEY. Those stations and Comcast are still negotiating how much Comcast should pay to carry their HD signal (it ain't free).

Questions from down the road in Portland ...

We are just about to get Comcast HD, supposedly on 10/8.

1) Do you need to sign up for any certain level of service to get HD via Comcast? For example, could I stay on my $12/month basic cable and just get the locals via HD? Obviously, if I want to get other stations (like ESPN-HD), I'd have to sign up for a package that has those stations. Or do you have to sign up for at least the cheapest digital cable package?

2) If I do sign up for digital cable, do I get the full standard/analog cable on other TVs in my house (i.e. - my 3rd and 4th TVs) for "free" where I don't have a digital box?

3) What is the additional cost for getting the HD stations, beyond the cost for the package that you are signed up for? Is it just $6 (or something like that) to rent the HD box?

4) When the Comcast HD-PVR comes, will I just have to take my other box back to Comcast and have them give me a PVR box?

And finally (sorry) ...

5) In the meantime, before the PVR box comes, does anyone have experience recording Comcast HD onto a regular TiVo or Replay PVR (I have an old series 1 TiVo)? Obviously, it won't record in HD quality, but will it still record widescreen material in the best possible quality? If so, does it crop the sides of the widescreen or does it do black bars on the top and bottom?

Thanks for answers to any or all of my questions ... just a bit excited to be getting HD (if you can't tell) ...

Go Huskies!

marshdom,

1) I believe that you can rent a digital cable box on top of the basic package to get the HD local channels. The number that comes to mind is $5, but I could be incorrect.
2) Yes, all of the channels below 100 are analog and are available to any TV or VCR without requiring a cable box.
3) When I got the HD channels, my monthly cost didn't go up at all over the base digital cable package that I already had.
4) I would imagine that Comcast would deliver the PVR and install it, but time will tell.
5) The HD channels appear on my TiVo letterboxed. The PQ is still pretty good, but nowhere near HD. TiVo has been pretty good about adding the HD channels to their lineup as they are added by Comcast.

Hope this helps.

Marshdom:

1.) Yes you can get HD access with only the Basic cable. The HD Box will run $5.10 per month additional. It will give you access to the HD channels but have no guide functionallity or access to anything else aside from your basic cable and HD channels.

2.) Yes you do not pay anything extra to have the Standard cable on any other TV in the house that is cable ready and on an "active" jack.

3.) there is no additional charge for HD access but some HD channels require a minimum digital buy through to get, i.e. INHD requires you subscribe to Digital Classic or above.

4.) Like any box the PVR box would be delivered and professionally setup by a Comcast installation technician

mpestrada74: Current plans are to have nearly all the local affiliates HD feed up by end of year. Exception here is CBS due to ongoing negotiations between Comcast/Viacom. But slated for the next few months is KING,KONG,KTWB,KSTW,KCPQ.


Jeremy

Is INHD up and running yet? I haven't turned on the 5100 box in a couple weeks? Tomorrow was supposed to be day 1, but havn't heard much lately...thankx

Originally posted by Jeremyfr

4.) Like any box the PVR box would be delivered and professionally setup by a Comcast installation technician
Jeremy

Jeremy:

I think it's great that Comcast is going to offer PVR enabled STB!

Is there some way that we can pick up STBs and install them ourselves? When I ordered the DCT-5100 this summer, the 'technician' basically handed me the box and left. I had to hook it up, search the AVS forum to figure out how to configure the box and call customer service when I found channels that weren't working. AND I paid $15 for this ... :rolleyes: He didn't even know the difference between composite and component cables.

Originally posted by Jeremyfr
Current plans are to have nearly all the local affiliates HD feed up by end of year. Exception here is CBS due to ongoing negotiations between Comcast/Viacom.



Jeremy,

Seattle's CBS affiliate is not owned by Viacom. It is independently owned by Cox. So you will see KIRO in HD when Comcast and Cox reach an agreement-- it has nothing to do with Viacom.

Cox also owns S.F.'s Fox affiliate, Atlanta's ABC affiliate and Pittsburgh's NBC affiliate, none of which are being carried by Comcast.

For whatever reasons, Comcast and Cox have been unable to reach an agreement regarding carriage of the digitals of these channels to date. My best bet would be that, if and when it does happen, Seattle, S.F., Atlanta and Pittsburgh will all see these channels appear in our respective lineups at the same time based on a "global" deal between Cox Television and Comcast.

drewba & Jeremy,

Thanks for your replies ... very helpful.

drewba ... glad to hear that Comcast HD works with your old TiVo ... I had been worried about that. Obviously it is heresy to record HD at non-HD quality, but at least it will be good quality and letterboxed.

Now what are the chances that our Portland roll-out will happen as scheduled on 10/8 ... can't wait!

SonomaSearcher,

Do you, by chance, know who owns the Portland, OR CBS (KOIN) and FOX (KPTV) affiliates? I checked both of their websites, but did not find ownership information. It sounds as if both will NOT be carried by Comcast at the outset ... wondering if either (or both) could be due to the Cox issue you mentioned. And if either or both are O&O by the network, does that hurt our outlook for getting them via Comcast (it sounds like it does for at least CBS)?

Jeremy,

This is probably beyond your reach, but any insights on Portland? Doesn't sound like we'll have ID-HD at launch, in addition to CBS and FOX. Any contacts down here that could give you insight on their status?


Sorry to hijack this Seattle thread for Portland ...

I'll second Markhs' thoughts and go one further: When the Motorola 6x PVRs are available, make them available first to AVS participants. Just give them to us- don't bother to install. We will actually read the manual (which the techs don't seem to have the time to do), and get the box set up correctly for HD. For 'free rent' on the box, I'd even be willing to provide some email or Forum support for end-users and your techs. How about it?

Even for the 5100, I, too, found that 'delivered and professionally installed' was a joke- both techs involved admitted they hadn't read anything about the box. They didn't know about the cables- I had to connect the component outputs and figure out that they needed to go to the progressive inputs on my HDTV, no matter how the box was set. I was told that the optical audio carried only 'supplemental information', not sound (though I already had it working), etc. For this I paid thirty bucks.

My favorite Comcast installation experience: Tech came over and stared at my projection screen (wondering where the TV was), and then proceeded to try to run coax cable from the 5100 box to my projector (an X1 which incidentally doesn't even have a coax input). 'Ummmm....I think we're gonna want to try the component/vga connections for HD'. The installation fee is a joke since we all end up doing it ourselves. I did mine while he ran downstairs to go get some extra long coax.

Yeah, my receiver only switches S-Video, so I use a Zektor switch for component video and digital audio (it can switch up to 4 sources). I had everything ready for him to hook up, but he couldn't understand why I had "only 4 wires instead of 5" (Essentially, I had the 3 component video cables plus the optical all ready to go.)
I tried to explain it all, but he didn't really want to hear it. He refused to use my cabling, and wanted to run "All 5 wires" to my TV. He said that the cables he had were "of much higher quality than most". He hooked everything up, and wondered why the sound didn't work. (I have my TV speakers turned off.) After he left, I had to completely re-cable everything, turn off my TV speakers, reset the box to the proper audio output, etc.

And yes, I paid the $15-16 "Home Theater Access" fee as well. :rolleyes: