That's interesting news. I hope bringing back INHD2 is in the cards, since I understand INHD carries much of the OLN hi-def hockey broadcasts, but I don't know how it gets split up between 1 and 2. (I wouldn't mind CBC-HD either, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.)

Comcast call-center agents were distributed some talking points yesterday referencing that Jewelry TV and TV Guide channel are moving to digital service and being eliminated on analog some time in September. The memo referenced freeing up bandwidth to add HDTV channels that customers were demanding. CW was specifically mentioned but the tone of the memo was that other channels were in play too... Seems to validate the theory that they are completely starved for bandwidth but nice to learn they are trying to adapt. Will share more if any info comes my way.

Wow, is this for Seattle Comcast specifically? If so that's great news!
I have got conficting stories about new HD when I call Comcast, so I don't know what to believe.

I read in the Portland Or. Comcast forum that they have announced the addition of MHD and UHD by the end of this and next month, and in San Francisco Bay Area it looks like they are adding MHD, and TNT-HD (which we already have), on 9/20.

So maybe this is an indication that the new HD channels are coming to the west coast and finally coming to Seattle as well.

I also called comcast yesterday and the rep told me that they are planning to move channel 74 (channel guide) to digital tier which should free up bandwidth to add new hd channel soon.

I would like to see UHD first then MHD....and hopefully channel 11 (KSTW i think) to digital tier.

The "video bandwith" is 37MHz for each (and 1080i usually can get away with as little as 22MHz before it "softens"). As to the raw pixel rate, 1080i is more then double what 720p's is (of course, 720p sends twice as much data per unit of measurement since it is non-interlaced), so I imagine they end up about the same in how much cable-capacity they chew up... :confused:

1280X720X60p = 55296000 pixels / s

1920X1080X60i = 62208000 pixels / s

So, going from 1080i to 720p would potentially free up about 11% of the bandwidth if "raw pixel rate" was the only factor.

-eric

Anyone know what comcast was doing this morning at 5am exactly? I get ready for work at that time and all the boxes shut down and starting a spinningt light and showed the text/numbers d1
it went on for 15 minutes then started changing the letters to like fg and others....just curious if they were moving analog stuff..ok at that time of morning you can dream still

That was a firmware download ("dl"). I just checked and my version is now 12.35 (it was 12.31). Now we need to look for new bugs!

(The guide build for my 3412 also changed from 25129S to 25145S.)

I hope to see some tivoness soon

That was a firmware download ("dl"). I just checked and my version is now 12.35 (it was 12.31). Now we need to look for new bugs!

(The guide build for my 3412 also changed from 25129S to 25145S.)

I have the 6412, and the firmware is 9.19 with guide build 25145S. I am getting left behind, or are the updates coming out for just the 3412? I am happy with my DVR and would not trade the little bugs I have for the other ones, just wondering of others are getting these updates and not me :)

Now for some small rants. First, they are moving the TVGuide channel to Enhanced Cable, which means that you have to have a set top box to receive. Is this not pointless since people with a box will have the onscreen guide? Say what you will, it's better than the channel any day. I don't know how this will affect the lucky people who have basic only with a CableCard, you may have to start paying for the package which is a $1 more. Technically, it's the minimum for the card anyway, so we'll see how it goes. Of course, most people with CC have their own menu.

Second, they can just get rid of Jewelry TV in my opinion :D

How much bandwidth will this really clear up moving these two channels the target date of 9/14? I hear they are working on CW-HD, but will there really be any room for more? Also, I thought that iNHD2 was going "dark", meaning the channel was going out of existence. I had not problem losing it a few weeks early to get the World Cup games, but it seems like they still have programming? Really did not want to trade channels, I could have stuck with the games in SD or just take over the channel for a while with the World Cup like they did with the Olympics.

BTW, NFL Preseason games will be showing in HD this Saturday and Sunday on iNHD 664. I believe they are the same games showing on NFLNET, so the games are not live but delayed.

As for My Network TV in HD, no matter how pretty they are to look at I can't see the justification on including the channel for 12 hours a week (2 of which are just replays) in HD on a new network that shows soap operas. All I can see is if there is a required "must-have" agreement since it is a local channel. But would that not be the same for CW-HD?

Asking a Comcast employee to speak on new channels is usually pointless. They can't speak on negotiations that may or not be happening, all they can do is speculate like us. It doesn't hurt to call and request the channel, they have some way to document that for the powers that be. They find out maybe a day or two before I see the info here ...

That is it for my rant right now, thanks for tuning in ...

Motorola DVR firmware versions: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software

The version numbers for earlier 6412's are different, and 9.19 seems to be the latest. I don't know how that correlates to 12.35.

Noticed that KCTS is now 720p, not 1080i, maybe they are trying to fix their bad HD picture. Anyone know m ore about this?

720p takes a little less bandwidth than 1080i. So this helps to reduce the severe macro blocking kcts hd has exhibited. I'm guessing kcts also upgraded there almost 10 yr old encoding hardware/software. It appears to be a significant improvement.

I think the new firmware is related to fixing the freezing motion on SD channels after watching a HD channel.

I wish they'd fix the DVR software. I'm tired of pressing a button and dealing with delays as the box takes time to respond to the command.

Noticed that KCTS is now 720p, not 1080i, maybe they are trying to fix their bad HD picture. Anyone know m ore about this?


Some programs are still in 1080i. For example I recorded Northwest backroads today and it was in 1080i. Up next was "Nova - Who killed the red barron" which was in 720p.

I thought Northwest Backroads was on channel 5 (and 5.1 in HD).

Is it also carried on KCTS?

So, why were both the Seahawks game and the Emmys in SD. By the way, in South King, I have never seen pixellation on 108 as is claimed for it in Seattle. (In the past, I did have heat related, total dropouts on all digital due to a bad box on the pole outside until they replaced it.) sam

How do you tell what type of system we are on? I hear people say they are on a 750 mhz system, or a 550 mhz system etc... Anybody know what type of system we are on here in Seattle? How do you find this info out? Thanks

I thought Northwest Backroads was on channel 5 (and 5.1 in HD).

Is it also carried on KCTS?

Doh, you're right.

The word is in that Comcast plans to add KSTW-HD on September 18, 2006. KSTW will appear on digital cable channel 111.

How do you tell what type of system we are on? I hear people say they are on a 750 mhz system, or a 550 mhz system etc... Anybody know what type of system we are on here in Seattle? How do you find this info out? Thanks

It's a reference to the system's highest usable frequency. I'm reasonably certain that the Seattle system's an 800 MHz system, although the highest channel I remember seeing activity (digital) on is 121.

So, why were both the Seahawks game and the Emmys in SD. By the way, in South King, I have never seen pixellation on 108 as is claimed for it in Seattle. (In the past, I did have heat related, total dropouts on all digital due to a bad box on the pole outside until they replaced it.) sam
The Seahawks produce the preseason games and they elected to do them in SD this year. HD is likely for 2007. NBC chose to do the Emmys in SD.

The word is in that Comcast plans to add KSTW-HD on September 18, 2006. KSTW will appear on digital cable channel 111.

Just heard the same. Also, KCTS-HD on 108 will be airing HD 24hrs a day but dropping KCTS Kids on 119 as of September 28.

Just heard the same. Also, KCTS-HD on 108 will be airing HD 24hrs a day but dropping KCTS Kids on 119 as of September 28.
Do you have a source for this info? Enough to move it out of rumor status?

Sep 18 for kstw eh?? Just in time for the launch of the CW Television network... any QAM info?

Great news about KSTW-HD channel....

I don't know if anybody else has noticed but comcast is automatically changing the picture size on non hd channels now. Previous i had set my plasma and lcd to change the picture size from 16:9 to 4:3 on non hd channels (which displayed grey bars on every non hd channel and tv's picture size setting was set to 4:3).

For ex: (channel 180 - nfl network) Now when I look at my picture size setting it is showing up as 16:9 with black bars on the sides.

So today my box restarted twice and one of the time was during weeds (thus making me very angry). Basically it lasted about a minute. The Box turned off then a bunch of eights came up on the cable box. After about 1minute\it turned back on a then it took another 4 minutes till the time kicked in. Anyone else have this problem? I know it dosen't have anything to do if your recording or not since on the other ocasion I was not recording anything. I am probably going to call them tomorrow since they get too much money a month for this ****.

I emailed Mark Shuken, VP/General Manager of FSN Northwest to complain to him about FSN-HD and Comcast...Hopefully I'll get some kind of reply!

So today my box restarted twice...The Box turned off then a bunch of eights came up on the cable box. After about 1minute\it turned back on a then it took another 4 minutes till the time kicked in. Anyone else have this problem?

Very rarely. Like maybe once. Usually Comcast seems to schedule the firmware updates (which requires the box to restart) during off-hours.

Mine is doing the restarting thing too. I described it in the general 3412/3416 thread. I'm planning to go swap my box for a new one this morning (this will be the third in less than a week), but I'm beginning to wonder if this actually may be a bug introduced by the firmware update or something. It just seems too odd that I never had a single problem like this until last Thursday, and now I've had it with multiple boxes and apparently other people are seeing similar things.

You can put my 3412 in the same boat. No major problems (other than the usual delay remote and jerky motion from HD to SD) until the last upgrade. I got the same crash (as mentioned by others) happen just before my box was set to record Dead Zone Sunday night. That would be 2nd time in the last few days.

--
Sang

I just got back from the Redmond Comcast office, trading for another new box. The lady there said that the update they did last week was causing problems with boxes, and they knew about it. She then said that all the boxes they have there have been updated and should be fine now. I wasn't able to clearly get an answer if there was a second update they did to the boxes to fix the problem with the first update, or if she thinks the first update is supposed to have fixed the problems, or what. But she clearly knew that a lot of people were having problems, and she said that people have been having to come in and swap their boxes.

I don't have a huge amount of confidence that the box I got today will fix it, but I'm certainly crossing my fingers. Not only is it a pain to have to keep going over there, but it's a huge annoyance to have to keep losing my recordings and reprogramming my preferences and series. And my wife is so upset about it that she says she wouldn't hesitate to pay the rumored $800 for the TiVo Series 3 now. Maybe this is all sabotage by TiVo to get people to buy the S3...

Also, if you're having a problem, PLEASE call Comcast and complain. They're only going to take broad action if they know a lot of people are having problems. If it seems like just one or two people are having trouble, they're going to assume it's a bad box or the person is doing something wrong. Me going in there and claiming I've seen other people complaining on the web isn't quite enough...

Just saw a message on my box confirming that KCTS will be broadcasting in HD 24 hours a day (and sacrificing KCTS KIDS). This will start on Sept. 28th. On the 18th, KSTW will start broadcasting in HD on 111.

I wonder if Mariners games on KSTW will be in HD or SD.

I just returned from a store and turned my non dvr Motorola HD box on and NO sound. The box wouldn't respond to the remote either. I finally unplugged it for a minute and then restored power. It then worked. sam

I just returned from a store and turned my non dvr Motorola HD box on and NO sound. The box wouldn't respond to the remote either. I finally unplugged it for a minute and then restored power. It then worked. sam

You should get a DVR, Sam.

Incidentally, my 3412 also has undergone four unprovoked power cycles since the firmware update last week. It seems reasonable to me that they should be able to fix it with another update, especially if they've done that to the ones they still have in stock.

I wonder if Mariners games on KSTW will be in HD or SD.

As someone that has KSTW in HD today via OTA I can tell you they are in SD and always have been unfortunetly.

In fact there was a post recently on the Seattle OTA forum from someone at KSTW, and copied here in this thread back on the 22nd, that indicated that they simply can not afford to broadcast them in HD. To do so they'd have to buy the HD feed(s) from someone already doing it, i.e. NHK, at $25k per game.

Do you have a source for this info? Enough to move it out of rumor status?

None that can be supported, but the message on the box was a surprise. I think it's the first time there was an annoucement on there for a change on an HD channel.

I still have the old mostly reliable 6412 and it turned off on me twice in the last week. The second time was when I stopped playing a recording. I checked the temperature on it and it was over 130 degrees (usually runs about 121) and it was warm in my house that night. Don't know if it's related to some of the people having problems. The last time it happened was when we had the heat wave earlier this summer.

Wareagle, I will get a dvr when the firmware/software/hardware actually works and the broadcasts are worth saving. sam

(My dvr may end up being a Mac Pro)

In South King, I just got a message about 111 on September 18. No message about 108.

Wareagle, I will get a dvr when the firmware/software/hardware actually works and the broadcasts are worth saving.

I don't save them -- I just watch them on my own terms.

Just saw a message on my box confirming that KCTS will be broadcasting in HD 24 hours a day (and sacrificing KCTS KIDS). This will start on Sept. 28th. On the 18th, KSTW will start broadcasting in HD on 111.


Cool, this will be the first HD channel Comcast has added since I upgraded from regular digital cable box to the HD DVR about 7 months ago or so.

I was hoping we'd be getting more HD this summer or at least by the end of the year like UHD, MHD, and the HDnet's that are coming, etc... but I'll take what I can get. I'm just really happy we are finally getting some new HD added! Keep adding more HD to Seattle Comcast! :)

You forget they added ESPN2 HD within the last 7 months. Sure the gain was a net ZERO since they deleted INHD2 to add it!

You forget they added ESPN2 HD within the last 7 months. Sure the gain was a net ZERO since they deleted INHD2 to add it!

Yes sorry, I know ESPN2-HD is new to the lineup, but consder that a replacement channel not an addition since we lost another HD channel(INHD2) for it as you mentioned.

To make myself clear, I mean to say that the new CW-HD will be the first new HD addition to the current HD lineup without replacing another HD channel ( I hope?) since I upgraded to Comcast HD service.

I'm excited about this because everytime I call or email Comcast about expanding HD service, I get a response like the following:

"- there are issues with the negotiation and contract process required to obtain the rights to carry a specific high definition broadcast.

-the increased bandwidth resources which are required

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

-surveys done in your market"

Hopefully, if we keep bugging them they'll continue expanding our HD lineup.

I'll take ESPN2-HD over INHD2 any day!

My 6200 has repeated its failure thrice more including in the middle of watching CNBC. Sound and all responses to both remote and external buttons on its surface. Unplugging for one minute and then returning power restores normal operation. If I get a "new" box, will the "improved" firmware continue this "windows" type operation or has my STB died independently of Comcast? sam

Has anybody else with a free QAM tuner noticed a change in the lineup this morning? ABC is now at 4.1 and PBS-HD is now at 9.5. They had previously been at 82 something. The feed even has the EPG information that one would get on an OTA broadcast.

I am HOPING that they are migrating the free QAM channels to numbers that make sense. They have traditionally parked the free QAM HD channels on 82 to 84.

Interesting...looks like I'll have to run a scan for the changes. This is good, because I wasn't getting a strong enough signal for 82 to get anything. I ordered a couple of signal boosters, but am still waiting for them to come. Anyone know if KOMO has the proper equipment to show the HD feeds of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy?

Third, I searched for the Horror Network and found Comcast and Sony are in fact going to have a Horror Network this October, but it says nothing about it being in HD. I bet it will just be another SD digital channel, but hope I'm wrong

I just wanted to add some info on the Horror Network. It is not a channel, but rather will be available OnDemand with 40 hours of programming per month from the Sony and MGM libraries. It is expected to start Halloween this year. I hope that it will start sooner, I prefer to make all of October scary movie month.

No word on what the minimum subscription will be or if it's a pay subscription like Stern or WWE 24/7. It is possible that HD versions of some movies may also be available, although it's all a guess at this point. There is also to be an online component (blogs and short movies) to the agreement and also wireless (wallpapers and ringtones).

Sources here (http://www.tv.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer/show/10/story.html?story_id=4042) and here (http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B8B9792EE-74A5-40D4-A2CB-929D46615A1C%7D&dist=newsfinder&siteid=google&keyword=)

Has anybody else with a free QAM tuner noticed a change in the lineup this morning? ABC is now at 4.1 and PBS-HD is now at 9.5. They had previously been at 82 something. The feed even has the EPG information that one would get on an OTA broadcast.

I am HOPING that they are migrating the free QAM channels to numbers that make sense. They have traditionally parked the free QAM HD channels on 82 to 84.

I'll check tonight. I certainly hope they didnt. I use MythTV and it is a pain in the ass to configure the channels.

I'll take ESPN2-HD over INHD2 any day!
Us non-sports people don't. INHD2 really brought out the colors and clariety.

Interesting...looks like I'll have to run a scan for the changes. This is good, because I wasn't getting a strong enough signal for 82 to get anything. I ordered a couple of signal boosters, but am still waiting for them to come.
This change is just about mapping the channels to their 'real' numbers. The physical channels are probably not affected by this. So I don't think you will see any change reagarding your signal strength.

I'll check tonight. I certainly hope they didnt. I use MythTV and it is a pain in the ass to configure the channels.

ABC-HD and PBS-HD are both on their original channels, the actual frequency has not changed.

Comcast is probably forwarding the PSIP information from the station networks. The same thing is currently implemented with KTWB-DT and KCPQ-DT. Notice how KCPQ-DT and KTWB-DT are remapped to channel 13.1 and 22.1. Those channels are actualy on 81.1 and 81.2 but have been remapped by your TV because of PSIP information.

The PSIP is multiplexed into the HD signal and contains information about the channel like Program IDs, the current time, where the channel should be remapped to (4.1), the station callsign (KOMO-DT) and program information (Show titles, descriptions and show times). Comcast use to just forward partial PSIP information, it is nice to see they are converting more channels to transmit complete PSIP.

How far out does the program guide go? 2 hours? a day? 2 weeks? Back when I was using the PSIP information for my listings, comcast used to just transmit ~6 hours in advanced which is not enough. I switched to linux and my listings come from the internet now. Just curious.

-Nate

The only bad part about the remaping is that my Samsung stand alone tuner simple will not get ABC or NBC anymore. It's a quirky box.

The only bad part about the remaping is that my Samsung stand alone tuner simple will not get ABC or NBC anymore. It's a quirky box. Is there a way to force your tuner to rescan for channels?

so after the 5th time of my box freaking after the firmware the tech is comming out and replacing it. Though when I asked about getting a second box they said someone else has to come out. LAME but whateve I will just pick one up. Besides they said they would be out here tomorrow and I calleld the day before and it usually takes them a week.

so after the 5th time of my box freaking after the firmware the tech is comming out and replacing it.

Let us know if it's fixed, and whether the firmware on the new box is the same version that was dumped on us last week. I don't understand, if it's a firmware problem, why they can't just roll it back to the previous version for everyone.

The box I picked up yesterday seems better, very tentatively. It hasn't spontaneously rebooted yet, at least, and the previous one did it several times. However, I programmed a whole bunch of series recordings last night, and this morning it had forgotten about all but four of them. I re-entered them tonight. We'll see if they stick. It's possible that was an existing bug I'd just never seen before, I dunno. Seems less likely to be related to firmware than the random reboots were.

It also seems like this thing isn't great at figuring out what to do in the case of conflicts. This isn't a new issue, but having to re-program all of my shows again reminded me of it. I have a bunch of news-style shows (e.g. Larry King Live, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, E! News, The Daily 10) for which I'd like to record each day's episode, and keep just that. These shows tend to rerun several times throughout the day. So the logical thing to do is to set it to "new only," "any time" (so I don't have to keep track of when it airs, and which one doesn't conflict with anything) and "keep last episode." However, some of these shows conflict. It seems that when it decides it can't record one airing, it isn't smart enough to pick up the next airing. I guess it's because that one isn't "new" anymore. But if I pick "new and reruns," it seems to want to record *every* airing, all day long. So if I look in "scheduled" right now, it looks like it's basically spending all day recording these shows over and over. So not only do I get conflicts with a bunch of other things I shouldn't be, but any live viewing I may want to do also is constantly getting interrupted with the box wanting to change channels to record yet another airing of something I already have. This whole thing is amazingly frustrating. I know some of it is probably a limitation of the guide data. TiVo has a problem with that too. But somehow, it's much less of a pain in the butt to work out on TiVo. I just program it, and it usually does the right thing. I feel like I'm having to try to figure out the under the covers logic going on in the Comcast box, and try to outwit it to get the result I want.

ABC-HD and PBS-HD are both on their original channels, the actual frequency has not changed.

Comcast is probably forwarding the PSIP information from the station networks. The same thing is currently implemented with KTWB-DT and KCPQ-DT. Notice how KCPQ-DT and KTWB-DT are remapped to channel 13.1 and 22.1. Those channels are actualy on 81.1 and 81.2 but have been remapped by your TV because of PSIP information.

The PSIP is multiplexed into the HD signal and contains information about the channel like Program IDs, the current time, where the channel should be remapped to (4.1), the station callsign (KOMO-DT) and program information (Show titles, descriptions and show times). Comcast use to just forward partial PSIP information, it is nice to see they are converting more channels to transmit complete PSIP.

How far out does the program guide go? 2 hours? a day? 2 weeks? Back when I was using the PSIP information for my listings, comcast used to just transmit ~6 hours in advanced which is not enough. I switched to linux and my listings come from the internet now. Just curious.

-Nate

Looks like about 6 hours worth of data to me.

Also, KIRO-SD has been mapped to 7.1 with EPG information, but not the HD channel (still at 84.1).

Maybe there are more channels with EPG info to come. :) Well, one could hope...

-eric

Last night 20/20 on KOMO was listed as HD program but it showed up in SD. This tells me that come september 15th wheel of fortune and jeopardy won't be in HD.
I hope I'm proved wrong come september 15th.

As some of you have read in other threads, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune will be going to HD in September. I emailed KOMO to ask about their plans for these shows and got the following response:At this time we will not be able to air it in HD because of the technology Sony will use to distribute the HD version. There are two separate HD formats, and they will not be using the same one used by all ABC affiliates.I understand from other threads that Sony will distribute these shows in 1080i. KOMO-HD broadcasts in 720p. I assume this is the "format issue" discussed in KOMO's reply.

Is tonight's Seahawks game on KING really not going to be HD? I'm pissed enough that they're pre-empting The Office (which I care about more than even a regular Seahawks game, but making it pre-season adds insult to injury). But if they're also broadcasting it in SD, that really sucks.

Is tonight's Seahawks game on KING really not going to be HD? I'm pissed enough that they're pre-empting The Office (which I care about more than even a regular Seahawks game, but making it pre-season adds insult to injury). But if they're also broadcasting it in SD, that really sucks.
The preseason Seahawks games this year have been SD, except for the NBC production of Sunday Night Football (which I forgot to mention when I originally posted this).

Stupid question: Are most NFL games throughout the season SD? Should I only expect HD for the Super Bowl? Last season, I didn't have an HDTV (and I don't watch much NFL football anyway), so I don't really know what to expect.

All regular season NFL games are produced in HD, unless there is a truck problem with the network covering the game at a particular site.

As noted elsewhere, the Seahawks pay for production of preseason games, and they have chosen not to incur that extra expense.

I just found out that the original Star Trek has been re-mastered in HD, with all new digital effects, and that it will be out to syndication and broadcast starting September 16. With KSTW going HD on Comcast September 16, I'm wondering if it has picked up the series for our area. Anyone have any news on this?

The only bad part about the remaping is that my Samsung stand alone tuner simple will not get ABC or NBC anymore. It's a quirky box.
What model is it?

All of the prior preseason Seahawks games this year have been SD.

The Seahawks were on Sunday Night Football in full HD a couple weeks ago. But all the rest of the pre season games are in SD.

The Seahawks were on Sunday Night Football in full HD a couple weeks ago. But all the rest of the pre season games are in SD.
Obviously you're right, and I even watched part of that game. How quickly I forget, the older I get.

Of course, that was an NBC network production instead of a Seahawks local production.

scenic, thanks for setting me straight!

I just found out that the original Star Trek has been re-mastered in HD, with all new digital effects, and that it will be out to syndication and broadcast starting September 16. With KSTW going HD on Comcast September 16, I'm wondering if it has picked up the series for our area. Anyone have any news on this?



We at KSTW have the Star Trek series, however, there is no plan by the syndicator, Paramount, to distribute it to us in HD.

Almost all syndicated programming for TV stations across the country comes from a distribution clearinghouse by satellite called Pathfire. All Pathfire can support at this time is SD distribution. We are told there are plans to ramp up the system to carry HD programs for syndicated distribution but we're not there yet. Pathfire uses a store/forward file distrubution system in order to feed some 800 TV stations programming on a daily basis and not eat up a tremendous amount of bandwidth on the satellite system. HD distribution would tax that system for obvious reasons. It's the same reason why we at KSTW take CSI in syndication, but cant' get it in HD yet. Now that a sunset date of analog broadcasting has been set by Congress.....broadcasters and program distributors will have justification to work on HD distribution now.

RDiotte
CE, KSTW

All regular season NFL games are produced in HD, unless there is a truck problem with the network covering the game at a particular site.

As noted elsewhere, the Seahawks pay for production of preseason games, and they have chosen not to incur that extra expense.

A lot of regular season games will be in HD, but not all of them.

Most FOX games will be HD, CBS will be doing 3 games per week in HD and I think that all NBC and ESPN games will be HD.

We at KSTW have the Star Trek series, however, there is no plan by the syndicator, Paramount, to distribute it to us in HD.

Almost all syndicated programming for TV stations across the country comes from a distribution clearinghouse by satellite called Pathfire. All Pathfire can support at this time is SD distribution. We are told there are plans to ramp up the system to carry HD programs for syndicated distribution but we're not there yet. Pathfire uses a store/forward file distrubution system in order to feed some 800 TV stations programming on a daily basis and not eat up a tremendous amount of bandwidth on the satellite system. HD distribution would tax that system for obvious reasons. It's the same reason why we at KSTW take CSI in syndication, but cant' get it in HD yet. Now that a sunset date of analog broadcasting has been set by Congress.....broadcasters and program distributors will have justification to work on HD distribution now.Thanks much for the information. I appreciate it. Disappointing about the HD, but thanks for carrying the series, just the same.

On the 18th, KSTW will start broadcasting in HD on 111..

Finally, I can ditch the antenna for good!

Thanks for keeping us updated on this battle for the last couple of years, Ron. And if Kathy's still PD, thank her too: I think I first spoke to her about this back in 2003 or so!

I'm considering it. Dish is wanting a lot of cash to upgrade my systems to HD, and I'm getting an offer I cant refuse from the big "C"

Ony problem is, when I last did Comcast, the 0-100 channels were analog, and very dirty in my location.

Has that changed???

Is everyone happy with their picture quality??

Is there a reason channel 664 is not doing INHD tonight and is instead showing me HD NFL, SF vs. SD?

I wanted my Beer Nuts man.

I used to have DirecTV, but it was years ago (and two TVs ago), so I can't make a direct picture quality comparison. However, all of the channels are digital now (if you have a digital box), so analog PQ issues are gone. Of course, now there are digital PQ issues (mostly overcompression). And if the analog signal was poor for you, I'm not sure you'd get solid digital reception. You may need to fix whatever was causing that.

So today my box restarted twice and one of the time was during weeds (thus making me very angry). Basically it lasted about a minute. The Box turned off then a bunch of eights came up on the cable box. After about 1minute\it turned back on a then it took another 4 minutes till the time kicked in. Anyone else have this problem? I know it dosen't have anything to do if your recording or not since on the other ocasion I was not recording anything. I am probably going to call them tomorrow since they get too much money a month for this ****.
I've had the same problem on two DVR's, both 3412's.

So far so good on my latest replacement, at least with respect to spontaneous reboots. Of course, it's demonstrating other problems I've never seen before. But they're all less annoying than the problems the previous boxes had, so I'm planning to keep this one for now.

Is there a reason channel 664 is not doing INHD tonight and is instead showing me HD NFL, SF vs. SD?

I wanted my Beer Nuts man.

I love that show and Three Sheets!

Anyway, is anyone else having a problem with the HD NFL broadcast on 664? It seems every few minutes it breaks up. Sure it is nice they're giving us HD sports but it is annoying that 1) it's pre-empting regular programming and 2) it's a bad feed.

I'm considering it. Dish is wanting a lot of cash to upgrade my systems to HD, and I'm getting an offer I cant refuse from the big "C"

Ony problem is, when I last did Comcast, the 0-100 channels were analog, and very dirty in my location.

Has that changed???

Is everyone happy with their picture quality??

Same as you, I switched from Dish to Comcast this spring prompted by that great deal from Comcast and the expense associated with upgrading to HD with Dish.

You'll find that all the channels in the sub 100 range are now digital. On a large screen HD, you'll find them decent at best in quality. Secondly, if you had DVR with Dish Network, you'll be sorely disappointed with the crap Motorola/Microsoft box being passed off as cutting edge technology equipment. The 4 year old dish network DVR was far superior.

But...It's way cheaper than Dish during the promo. :)

I traded my dead Motorola STB at the Auburn office for a new one and they offered to upgrade me from digital classic to digital plus for one year at NO charge. I turned it down as there is no HD in these channels. sam

I'm considering it. Dish is wanting a lot of cash to upgrade my systems to HD, and I'm getting an offer I cant refuse from the big "C"

Ony problem is, when I last did Comcast, the 0-100 channels were analog, and very dirty in my location.

Has that changed???

Is everyone happy with their picture quality??

I was with dish and directv since 1999 and got a deal in the mail to try comcast and after watching comparing comcast to dish I cancelled dish the very next day. The pic quality on hd was not even close. Same as with the regular digital channels. You will not be dissapointed with the pic quality if you go comcast.

Also the upfront costs for leasing a hd dvr receiver from dish is a joke.

I was with dish and directv since 1999 and got a deal in the mail to try comcast and after watching comparing comcast to dish I cancelled dish the very next day. The pic quality on hd was not even close. Same as with the regular digital channels. You will not be dissapointed with the pic quality if you go comcast.

Also the upfront costs for leasing a hd dvr receiver from dish is a joke.
Your Comcast evaluation is only good for where you live.

Their service is bad at my house and 2 other relative's homes.

It really varies by where you are located and the quality of their plant serving your area.

I traded my dead Motorola STB at the Auburn office for a new one and they offered to upgrade me from digital classic to digital plus for one year at NO charge. I turned it down as there is no HD in these channels. sam Why did you turn down free service upgrade for a year? While I agree, digital plus doesn't offer very much, it does offer a bunch of Encore movie channels. Granted they are SD, but still, free is free.

I traded my dead Motorola STB at the Auburn office for a new one and they offered to upgrade me from digital classic to digital plus for one year at NO charge. I turned it down as there is no HD in these channels. sam

You should've taken advantage of the opportunity to get a DVR.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ABHD
How do you tell what type of system we are on? I hear people say they are on a 750 mhz system, or a 550 mhz system etc... Anybody know what type of system we are on here in Seattle? How do you find this info out? Thanks

It's a reference to the system's highest usable frequency. I'm reasonably certain that the Seattle system's an 800 MHz system, although the highest channel I remember seeing activity (digital) on is 121.

Thanks, I really wish we were on a 800 MHZ system because that would mean they could add a lot more HD, but I just looked up how to find this out, and if I'm reading the info correctly then it says we are on a 550 MHZ system( at least in my neighborhood ) which is probably why we haven't seen UHD, MHD, etc added in our area.

I've been reading that Portland, Or, Tuscon Az, Utah, SF Bay Area, and other areas in the west have all been getting these new HD channels added this month and was curious as to why we have not, and it looks like we need more bandwidth. :( I hope they will upgrade us soon.

Not sure if I'm interpreting the info correctly, but I read that a 550 MHZ system can have a spread from 50 MHZ to 600 MHZ. When I go to the channel status info (d06) on my 3412 I see tuner one has 573MHZ and tuner 2 has 597MHZ which is supposedly how you tell what mhz your system is. Therefore, I assume we are on a 550MHZ system since it falls below 600. Can anyone correct me if I'm wrong?

When I go to the channel status info (d06) on my 3412 I see tuner one has 573MHZ and tuner 2 has 597MHZ which is supposedly how you tell what mhz your system is. Therefore, I assume we are on a 550MHZ system since it falls below 600. Can anyone correct me if I'm wrong?

The CHANNEL status simply indicates the frequency of the last channel tuned to. If you change the channel and look again, the status will change.

Not sure if I'm interpreting the info correctly, but I read that a 550 MHZ system can have a spread from 50 MHZ to 600 MHZ. When I go to the channel status info (d06) on my 3412 I see tuner one has 573MHZ and tuner 2 has 597MHZ which is supposedly how you tell what mhz your system is. Therefore, I assume we are on a 550MHZ system since it falls below 600. Can anyone correct me if I'm wrong?

Check out this link I Googled up:

http://www.jneuhaus.com/fccindex/cablech.html

Channel 121 is the highest I've seen in active use, which sits around 775MHz, only four channels off 800MHz (Channel 125.)

573MHz is the upper end of Channel 82, where the KCTS digitals and KOMO-HD live.

597MHz is the upper end of Channel 86, although I'm not sure which encrypted services actually live there.

I think what the point of confusion here might be that both frequency and system capacity are expressed in MHz. Channel 2 (55.25MHz) is where Comcast's analogue begins, and Channel 78 (547.25MHz) is where Comcast's analogue ends. (Channels 95-99 are actually between Channels 6 and 14, spectrum-wise.) This is essentially a 500MHz spread. It ignores, however, the seven return channels (below Channel 2, spectrum-wise) that carry return data (cable box, cable modem, voice) to the headend, which dip down to 7000kHz, and the digital services, which reach nearly up to Channel 125 (800MHz).

I cannot believe that KOMO is not showing the Notre Dame game in HD!!!! If ANYTHING should be in HD, it should be football. Come on KOMO get your act together!

OK now they turned on the HD. Looks like someone was sleeping in the control room there.

Do you have a source for this info? Enough to move it out of rumor status?

Yup. I handle all of KCTS's encoders and can confirm that KCTS will drop this kids service on 9-2 effective 1500 on September 28th. At that time the HD service will become 24 hours.

The CHANNEL status simply indicates the frequency of the last channel tuned to. If you change the channel and look again, the status will change.

Check out this link I Googled up:

http://www.jneuhaus.com/fccindex/cablech.html

Channel 121 is the highest I've seen in active use, which sits around 775MHz, only four channels off 800MHz (Channel 125.)

Ah thanks for the info and link, I was confused on what to read from the diagnostics menu. I was following directions someone put up on a Broadbandreports cable forum on how to look up the system bandwidth on a motorola box.

Anyone know why when I look forward in the Microsoft guide to next Monday (Sept 10th) the Seahawks vs Lions game does not say "HD" in the description? Game starts at 10:00am on KCPQDT 113.

Is this game in HD or not?

A couple of questions from a newbie to HD and to Comcast digital:

1 - How do I know for sure if a program is being broadcast in HD? While I can press a button on my new 50" Panasonic 1080i plasma remote to see the supposed broadcast resolution of the picture, I'm not sure that just because it says 1080i that it's necessarily an HD broadcast. Case in point, several people commented here a few days ago that last week's Seahawks game wasn't broadcast in HD, but when I was watching it and checked the broadcast resolution of channel 105, the TV display showed 1080i, whereas channel 5 showed the usual 480i. And the picture quality looked better on channel 105 too. So how does one know for sure if it's HD or not? Hopefully there's a better way than looking for a screen logo or a newspaper entry.

2 - My Panasonic plasma has a built-in QAM tuner, and in the couple of weeks I had it before the Comcast cable box (3412) was installed, I played around with the various QAM channels and, using the list of Comcast box channels on their website, even tried to make a list showing which QAM channel corresponds to which mapped channel. I've had a problem doing that, mainly because some of the QAM channels seem to operate some times but not at other times and/or seem to jump around. For example, some of the QAM channel 101 series, such 101.3, .4, .7, .11, etc. show up sometimes--but not consistently. Sometimes 101.3 and .5 will be playing, sometimes it's 101.4 and .11, etc. I guess one of my bottom line questions here is whether, now that I have the STB, should I just give up on the QAM stations because they are all duplicated on the mapped STB channels, or are there some QAM channels that I might receive that I don't receive on the STB. I have the Comcast Plus service.

Any thought on either of these matters, anyone?

A couple of questions from a newbie to HD and to Comcast digital:

1 - How do I know for sure if a program is being broadcast in HD?

If you select 1080i or 720p for your box's HD output, that's what you'll see for 105 regardless of whether it's HD or not. A good clue is the display aspect ratio, which would be 16x9 for HD and 4x3 for SD (assuming normal setup). What you see for 5 would depend on your override settings. Sometimes you'll get 16x9 without true HD, such as when the coverage is done with handheld lower resolution cameras.

So comcast gave me a new box it took the tech guy 10 mins to get it working but it works now and has been going good. Now they better show me some more HD channels and i will truely be a happy customer.

Wareagle, not sure how to select the resolution on my Comcast 3412 box as you mention. I don't see that option in any of the Menu settings. How do I check to see what it's set at and to change it if appropriate?

Thanks for the other tips also. I'm now noticing the 4s3 vs. 16s9 aspect ratio differences on channels 104, 105, 107, etc. Thanks.

Al--

So far so good on my latest replacement, at least with respect to spontaneous reboots. Of course, it's demonstrating other problems I've never seen before. But they're all less annoying than the problems the previous boxes had, so I'm planning to keep this one for now.

Ok, retracted. It just sponatenously rebooted. I am so pissed off at this garbage that I can barely describe it. They said that if I have another DVR problem, they're going to have to send out a tech, which seems absolutely ridiculous, since a firmware bug is not going to be fixed by an onsite tech.

Also, The Office is in SD on 105 right now (probably KING's fault, not Comcast's).

Sigh.

BTW, can someone explain why the TV stations even have to manually switch between HD and SD? It seems that the technology to make that switch automatically (based on the format of the source) shouldn't be terribly difficult to develop. Obviously human error often causes programs to be shown in the wrong format (The Office tonight, the Notre Dame game last night, etc.). I don't see why they can't just eliminate the human factor from that piece of the equation.

Well I can deal with the office in SD since I don't watch it, still annoyning since windfall is on next and it better not be in SD or I will be so mad.

Wareagle, not sure how to select the resolution on my Comcast 3412 box as you mention. I don't see that option in any of the Menu settings. How do I check to see what it's set at and to change it if appropriate?

See this Wikipedia section: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Setup#Accessing_User_Settings

For example, some of the QAM channel 101 series, such 101.3, .4, .7, .11, etc. show up sometimes--but not consistently. Sometimes 101.3 and .5 will be playing, sometimes it's 101.4 and .11, etc.

Channels 93, 94, 100, and 101 are the OnDemand streams of other subscribers on your node. (If you view something from your box, OnDemand, then go to your QAM-capable set, you'll find your stream on one of those channels.) They're inconsistent by nature. (Channel 121 is also involved, and delivers the "Thank you for choosing Comcast" splashscreens.)

Post #7146 has the latest listing of the "static" QAM channels.

2 - My Panasonic plasma has a built-in QAM tuner, and in the couple of weeks I had it before the Comcast cable box (3412) was installed, I played around with the various QAM channels and, using the list of Comcast box channels on their website, even tried to make a list showing which QAM channel corresponds to which mapped channel. I've had a problem doing that, mainly because some of the QAM channels seem to operate some times but not at other times and/or seem to jump around. For example, some of the QAM channel 101 series, such 101.3, .4, .7, .11, etc. show up sometimes--but not consistently. Sometimes 101.3 and .5 will be playing, sometimes it's 101.4 and .11, etc. I guess one of my bottom line questions here is whether, now that I have the STB, should I just give up on the QAM stations because they are all duplicated on the mapped STB channels, or are there some QAM channels that I might receive that I don't receive on the STB. I have the Comcast Plus service.

Any thought on either of these matters, anyone?

As far as I can tell, the channels in the 90's (93.x, 94.x) and 100's (100.x, 101.x) are my neighbors Pay per view or On Demand broadcasts. It has become a new family night activity to sit down on a Friday or Saturday night and see what movies our neighbors are watching. We've seen some new movies this way.

I also called comcast yesterday and the rep told me that they are planning to move channel 74 (channel guide) to digital tier which should free up bandwidth to add new hd channel soon.

I would like to see UHD first then MHD....and hopefully channel 11 (KSTW i think) to digital tier.

I would like to see these added as well and hope they are working on it. I recently wrote an email to Comcast about it, don't know if it will help or not.... have not got a response so far.

The thing that motivated me to write them was that the other day, just for the hell of it, I put my old address into the Comcast site to see what the channel lineup was from where I lived when I was younger. I didn't expect to see much of a HD lineup since this place is out in the middle of nowhere in farm country north of good old Junction City, Oregon.

Well, as it turns out, they got more HD than I do here:eek: LOL, it was rather suprising to me at first, but they have basically our same channel lineup with the addtion of MHD, INHD2 with UHD coming later this month.

Since Oregon isn't all that far from here, I hope this is a sign that these channels will be added here soon too.

BTW, can someone explain why the TV stations even have to manually switch between HD and SD? It seems that the technology to make that switch automatically (based on the format of the source) shouldn't be terribly difficult to develop. Obviously human error often causes programs to be shown in the wrong format (The Office tonight, the Notre Dame game last night, etc.). I don't see why they can't just eliminate the human factor from that piece of the equation.

I can't speak for all the other stations, but I can speak for Q13, MyQ2, and Portland's CW, since I work in Master Control. Both analog and digital transmissions run off the same automated playlist. In order for different satellites to be selected for different transmissions, we have gpi events that trigger a splicer to select the HD satellite when going into network programming. A human has to build the playlist and a human has to make sure the gpi events are in and working, but a computer does all the work. Different variables always come into play and sometimes the automation just doesn't do it's job, so don't assume its always a human error.

So new update my new replacement box RESET again at the exact same time on the exact same channel on the exact same night. That now means my new box has done the autorest twice in 4 days. Going to have call comcast again and I don't know how they will replace it now since I start school tomorrow.

So new update my new replacement box RESET again at the exact same time on the exact same channel on the exact same night. That now means my new box has done the autorest twice in 4 days. Going to have call comcast again and I don't know how they will replace it now since I start school tomorrow.

It doesn't sound like replacement is the answer.

As far as I can tell, the channels in the 90's (93.x, 94.x) and 100's (100.x, 101.x) are my neighbors Pay per view or On Demand broadcasts. It has become a new family night activity to sit down on a Friday or Saturday night and see what movies our neighbors are watching. We've seen some new movies this way.
So let me get this straight: are you saying that On Demand comes over the cable unencrypted? So if my neighbor orders up Big Booties, Volume 8*, and I have a TV with a QAM tuner (which I do) I can see it?

* Not that I would want to, of course. That was just....um...an example. :D

It doesn't sound like replacement is the answer.

I agree, replacement isn't the answer. However, I think that people need to keep calling, complaining, and jumping through Comcast's hoops to prove that there's really a problem. Comcast is quite content to blame problems on individual boxes or setups. They'll keep swapping boxes, send out techs who can't do anything and blame issues on the subscriber's TV or splitters. It's especially easy for them to dismiss a problem if people aren't willing to go through their (admittedly lame) "troubleshooting" steps. But if they're confronted with an ongoing stream of people all having the same problem, none of which are solved by swapping boxes or sending out techs, eventually they're going to have to really solve it.

Please don't suffer in silence. At least call them up and tell them you're having the problem, so it's on the record.

:o :eek: Finally, I can ditch the antenna for good!

Thanks for keeping us updated on this battle for the last couple of years, Ron. And if Kathy's still PD, thank her too: I think I first spoke to her about this back in 2003 or so!


It's now official....the start date for Comcast to carry CW11 on the HD tier (ch.111) is Tuesday, September 19th, 2006. :D


RDiotte
CE, KSTW CW11

So let me get this straight: are you saying that On Demand comes over the cable unencrypted? So if my neighbor orders up Big Booties, Volume 8*, and I have a TV with a QAM tuner (which I do) I can see it?

* Not that I would want to, of course. That was just....um...an example. :D

Maybe, In addition to my cablecard equiped Sony TV I have a FusionLite HDTV tuner card in my PC. I have gotten hardcore porn on occasion. Since the tuner card doesn't decrypt your QAM TV tuner might see it also. You'll probably only get it sporadically, since it switches around.

:o :eek:


It's now official....the start date for Comcast to carry CW11 on the HD tier (ch.111) is Tuesday, September 19th, 2006. :D


RDiotte
CE, KSTW CW11

Thank you for the great news. :) Finally, we can say Comcast broadcasts *ALL* the local channels in HD. :)

-eric

Finally, we can say Comcast broadcasts *ALL* the local channels in HD. :)

I thought it meant we can start complaining about not getting CBC in HD. :-)

Maybe, In addition to my cablecard equiped Sony TV I have a FusionLite HDTV tuner card in my PC. I have gotten hardcore porn on occasion. Since the tuner card doesn't decrypt your QAM TV tuner might see it also. You'll probably only get it sporadically, since it switches around.

I think what you are seeing is when someone orders ondemand porn, it kind of sneaks into the QAM channels unencrypted, I think anywhere between 94 and 110. Heres to your pervert neighbors! The reason I think it is ondemand, is it sometimes fast forwards and rewinds. I've watched it occasionally when I had my QAM tuner. Extremely rarely could I watch a whole show without it cutting out.

When I was watching all the college games on Saturday, occasionally they would show clips from a game being broadcast on FSN. I was teased and intrigued that the logo said FSN-HD.

When are we going to get FSN-HD? I doubt every game, or even many games would be in HD, but the digital part would probably help all by itself.

Yeah, I'm itching for FSN-HD also. Last week, I was lucky enough that my team's game was on KOMO in HD, but it would be great to get more HD games this season. Unfortunately, I'm not expecting it any time soon. It seems like we usually hear rumors about new channels quite a while before we actually get them, and I haven't even heard any rumors about FSN-HD...

:o :eek:


It's now official....the start date for Comcast to carry CW11 on the HD tier (ch.111) is Tuesday, September 19th, 2006. :D


RDiotte
CE, KSTW CW11


Any idea what channel, for us that still have all of the HD channels in the 80's and 90s, such as CBS on 84.1? Will it be the same 79.9 that the SD version of CW11 is on? If so that would be great. Thanks.

I am basic user with QAM tuner that is looking to go cablke card with an upgrade to digital. Can i still use my Tivo for the basic cable channels with aa cable card? Or will it make the tivo non usable? Can u use hd dvr with the cable card or do you need a box??

SO Good News a comcast phone representative gave me a solid answer.

She told me that if you have your box pluged in to a surge proteector or like in my cause my AV Receiver it can cause it to reset itself cause of the whatever. So anyway she told me to plug it directly into the wall, and even if it surges they will replace the box. So if it stops reseting I will be happy.

Though can anyone give me a reason I shouldn't switch to dish and if it is better than comcast, the money is not the problem I dont mind paying comcast the higher price since they make stuff simplier, but does dish make everything better even though you have to pay 200 for a HD DVR.

She told me that if you have your box pluged in to a surge proteector or like in my cause my AV Receiver it can cause it to reset itself cause of the whatever. So anyway she told me to plug it directly into the wall, and even if it surges they will replace the box. So if it stops reseting I will be happy.

This is bogus. I find it unlikely that running the box through a surge protector would cause this, but even if it could, that is not the cause of all of the recent trouble. At least, not of mine.

First of all, I do have mine plugged directly into the wall, and it's been resetting regularly. (Three boxes in a row now).

Second, none of this ever happened until immediately after the firmware update, and now it's happening regularly.

Third, there are some actions I can now take that almost always result in a reset, when they never did before.

If this fixes it for you, that's great. But from my perspective, blaming it on a surge protector isn't any better than blaming it on splitters or the TV (both of which have been tried on me so far -- yes, one rep blamed it on my TV). I feel like they have a short list of problems that they think can cause issues, and there's no room for considering other possibilities.

This is bogus. I find it unlikely that running the box through a surge protector would cause this, but even if it could, that is not the cause of all of the recent trouble. At least, not of mine.

First of all, I do have mine plugged directly into the wall, and it's been resetting regularly. (Three boxes in a row now).

Second, none of this ever happened until immediately after the firmware update, and now it's happening regularly.

Third, there are some actions I can now take that almost always result in a reset, when they never did before.

If this fixes it for you, that's great. But from my perspective, blaming it on a surge protector isn't any better than blaming it on splitters or the TV (both of which have been tried on me so far -- yes, one rep blamed it on my TV). I feel like they have a short list of problems that they think can cause issues, and there's no room for considering other possibilities.

Well I am trying to be optimistic about it maybe I will get lucky but I still have a tech comming out on saturday. If it happens again I will call and I only have room for a couple more of these episodes before I get my HDTV somwhere else.

This is bogus. ...

Agreed on all points. Time for a Comcastic firmware rollback.

I thought it meant we can start complaining about not getting CBC in HD. :-)

Oh man, I would kill to get that channel in HD... But somehow, I doubt we're going to see a Canadian channel take priority on hard sought bandwidth over any other home grown channels.

But one can always hope, especially if it could happen before the next Olympics! :D

-eric

But one can always hope, especially if it could happen before the next Olympics! :D

Won't do a lick of good. CTV/TSN has the Canadian rights to the Vancouver Olympics. (Last I looked, anyhow. I'd love to be wrong.) I'll be happy if we even GET that when the time comes, much LESS in HD. The idea of watching NBC's crap tape-delayed coverage of an Olympics happening three hours up the road from me makes me ill.

I feel like they have a short list of problems that they think can cause issues, and there's no room for considering other possibilities.
Comcast's M.O. when it comes to customer support has always been to put the user through a series of really inconvenient tests (crawling behind the set, rerouting your computer network to plug directly into the cable modem, locating the power plug to cycle the power, etc), which either buys them time for whatever intermittent issue to disappear on its own (until next time), or gets the user to balk, at which point they can say "well, if you're not willing to do that, there's nothing we can do. Thanks for calling!"

This sounds like no exception.

Won't do a lick of good. CTV/TSN has the Canadian rights to the Vancouver Olympics.

That raises another question altogether: why does Comcast in Whatcom County have CTV and CBC, while the rest of us have only CBC?

And, yes, I expect them both in HD, too. :-)

which either buys them time for whatever intermittent issue to disappear on its own (until next time), or gets the user to balk, at which point they can say "well, if you're not willing to do that, there's nothing we can do. Thanks for calling!"


Funny, that exact thing happened to me with my HSI last week. I got home, and the Internet connection was out (no "online" light on the modem). This has happened a few times in the past, and generally resolved itself before I got annoyed enough to call. But last Monday, I called and it turned out to be a known outage in the area (though they didn't tell me that until I'd spent 10 minutes jumping through troubleshooting hoops for them). So, when it went out again Thursday (I think), I called them up right away.

The guy argued with me for a while, and finally told me that there's nothing they can do for me unless I can prove that the problem persists with no splitters at all in the line. So that means I have to either take the modem outside, to where the cable comes in from the street, or I have to go buy an adaptor to plug the two long pieces of cable together without the splitter in-line. After going back and forth with him for a while, I finally gave up and said, "fine. I'll take the modem outside, and then I'll call you back when it still doesn't work."

Of course, after I hung up with him, and before I got a chance to even unplug the modem, it started working again. So now, they probably have a record that I called in, argued about doing the troubleshooting, and then never called back to report a continuing problem (the assumption being that eliminating the splitter did fix the problem after all).

So now, they probably have a record that I called in, argued about doing the troubleshooting, and then never called back to report a continuing problem (the assumption being that eliminating the splitter did fix the problem after all).
Oh, you bet. Closed resolved. Boy, those Comcast reps are master troubleshooters!

So here's an interesting Bug with my 3412 after the update.

If I record a program and then start watching the same program later while its still recording. At the exact moment the recording stops it reboots every time.

Once it comes back up the recording is still there but I have to start at the beginning.

This is kind of a pain but it's an improvement over the FF/ REW issue thats pretty much gone away at this point.

Anyone else seen this?

If I record a program and then start watching the same program later while its still recording. At the exact moment the recording stops it reboots every time.


Yes, mine reboots under that circumstance.

It also reboots if I push "channel up" or "channel down" while watching a recorded show (I discovered that one accidentally, so I don't know if it's new).

FSN-HD rumors anyone?

Yes, mine reboots under that circumstance.

It also reboots if I push "channel up" or "channel down" while watching a recorded show (I discovered that one accidentally, so I don't know if it's new).

Mine was rebooting under various types of OnDemand access last night. It's probably doing it now, just because I'm writing about it.

Yes, mine reboots under that circumstance.

It also reboots if I push "channel up" or "channel down" while watching a recorded show (I discovered that one accidentally, so I don't know if it's new).

I think mine does that to.

I meant to hit the volume the first time it happened.

Hows your FF/REW?

That problem seems OK except once after it rebooted itself it reverted to the old behaviour for a few minutes then fixed itself. :confused:

My FF/REW seem ok. But I'm kind of afraid to do much with them, since it seems like stressing the box in any way makes it behave badly.

Hello all,

I am using a HTPC and I am thinking of moving from analog to QAM clear. I would really like to go HD through QAM clear but what stopped me was the assumption that extended basic channels like TBS, Sci-Fi, TNT, Lifetime, AMC, ESPN, et al are not available unencrypted through QAM clear.

I am currently with Comcast in Renton (KE Nodes) and I was wondering if the basic extended channels are available in the QAM clear. If so then I can go ahead and purchase a QAM tuner for my HTPC and finally ditch the PVR150 analog tuner.

Hello all,

I am using a HTPC and I am thinking of moving from analog to QAM clear. I would really like to go HD through QAM clear but what stopped me was the assumption that extended basic channels like TBS, Sci-Fi, TNT, Lifetime, AMC, ESPN, et al are not available unencrypted through QAM clear.

I am currently with Comcast in Renton (KE Nodes) and I was wondering if the basic extended channels are available in the QAM clear. If so then I can go ahead and purchase a QAM tuner for my HTPC and finally ditch the PVR150 analog tuner.

1. They aren't, but even if they were, Comcast could pull the plug at any moment they choose, as the only channels they're mandated to provide in the clear are the HD channels.

2. Do a lot of research regarding QAM tuners and HTPC support. My personal experience was abysmal (bad hardware + REALLY BAD software). I finally opted for using MCE with the firewire hook-up to a 6200 and never looked back since I got it to work to record local HD channels. I hope you'll have better luck than me...

-eric

I've seen conflicting answers regarding whether the lower channels (2-99) are digital or analog in Seattle.


I live in Bothell and currently use Comcast analog cable. I have 2 Tivos and a ReplayTV which I love being able to connect without a STB.

I am considering switching to Comcast digital cable in or to more easily access HD content. If Comcast broadcasts 2-99 in digital I would have to think long and hard about making the switch.

Can someone give me a definitive answer? Thx

So, what HD channel is Comcast going to drop to add 11? Anyone know?

Man, I wish they could fix their bandwidth or whatever problem is holding up all the great HD channels we're missing. It's a travesty that tiny little Millenium gets more/better HD channels than Comcast!

Oh, you bet. Closed resolved. Boy, those Comcast reps are master troubleshooters!

Nah, you just have to lie...

Q: 'Do you have your cable modem hooked up to a router?'
(Of course I do you dumbass!)

A: "No, direct to my PC"

Q: 'Please power cycle your modem'

A: "Ok, just a sec... It's booting up now, flashing lights, oops, cable light is still off... "(Though, I generally will do a power cycle prior to calling)

Basically, since I am not a moron, I just skip all the annoying things, so they can give me the shaft sooner (; And then I get the lovely response:

'Ok, we'll send a technician out in a week, sometime between 10am and 7pm'

I've seen conflicting answers regarding whether the lower channels (2-99) are digital or analog in Seattle.


I live in Bothell and currently use Comcast analog cable. I have 2 Tivos and a ReplayTV which I love being able to connect without a STB.

I am considering switching to Comcast digital cable in or to more easily access HD content. If Comcast broadcasts 2-99 in digital I would have to think long and hard about making the switch.

Can someone give me a definitive answer? Thx

The picture you're currently getting is analog.
Comcast simulcasts all of those channels in digital, so when you start using a Comcast CableCard or Set-Top Box the device will map to the digital versions of those channels instead of the analog version.
The only people who see analog are people who do not have a CableCard or Set Top Box from Comcast.

If I record a program and then start watching the same program later while its still recording. At the exact moment the recording stops it reboots every time.

Comcast was just here to swap boxes for this issue, although for me it didn't have to be the same program -- any old program would do. I could look at the recording schedule for the evening, and plan my viewing schedule around the crash I knew would be coming 2 minutes after a recorded show ended. That started about a week ago, right after the firmware update. So they carted away my 3412.

Now I've got an old 6412 Phase II box, just like I started with a year ago. The installer told me they had sent all their 3412's back to Motorola, and that I should periodically check with the Comcast Store to see when the replacements come in.

I'm leaning more towards checking with Tivo to see when the Series 3 comes out.

The installer told me they had sent all their 3412's back to Motorola, and that I should periodically check with the Comcast Store to see when the replacements come in.

Now that is interesting. I'm not sure it excites me a lot, but it's nice to see a different answer. The 6412 has DVI (rather than HDMI), right? I guess I'd have to go to component, or go buy a DVI->HDMI cable if I swap to a 6412.

I'm leaning more towards checking with Tivo to see when the Series 3 comes out.

I'm right with you. In fact, I think I'll wait until next week to see if the TiVo annoucement comes before I go get a 6412. The 3412 I have right now is still rebooting randomly, but not as much as the last one I had (of course, it just did it as I was writing this).

Now that is interesting. I'm not sure it excites me a lot, but it's nice to see a different answer. The 6412 has DVI (rather than HDMI), right? I guess I'd have to go to component, or go buy a DVI->HDMI cable if I swap to a 6412.

The 6412 Phase III has HDMI, but the others have DVI.

I wonder if I should complain about the 3412 and get someone else's recycled 6412 (or mine!), or wait. When is the recall?

The picture you're currently getting is analog.
Comcast simulcasts all of those channels in digital, so when you start using a Comcast CableCard or Set-Top Box the device will map to the digital versions of those channels instead of the analog version.
The only people who see analog are people who do not have a CableCard or Set Top Box from Comcast.

Sorry to be so dense, but does that mean I cannot use a regular TV or VCR/DVR without a STB/CC/etc? Tell me it ain't so

Sorry to be so dense, but does that mean I cannot use a regular TV or VCR/DVR without a STB/CC/etc? Tell me it ain't so

It ain't so. That's currnetly one of the benifits of cable over satellite. How long that remains "it ain't so" is speculative. It WILL eventually go away, but for now, don't worry.

The picture you're currently getting is analog.
Comcast simulcasts all of those channels in digital, so when you start using a Comcast CableCard or Set-Top Box the device will map to the digital versions of those channels instead of the analog version.
The only people who see analog are people who do not have a CableCard or Set Top Box from Comcast.

OK, I am getting more confused here. If Comcast simulcasts all analog channels in digital then does it mean that the analog channels are available in QAM clear? Please be clear what you mean by "digital". Is it digital QAM ENCRYPTED or digital QAM clear? Thanks.

OK, I am getting more confused here. If Comcast simulcasts all analog channels in digital then does it mean that the analog channels are available in QAM clear? Please be clear what you mean by "digital". Is it digital QAM ENCRYPTED or digital QAM clear? Thanks.
Only the channels that are on limited cable are simulcast digitally unencrypted. All the extended basic channels like sci-fi or ESPN are encrypted. If you want to get them on a computer you have to use the analog versions.

So let me get this straight: are you saying that On Demand comes over the cable unencrypted? So if my neighbor orders up Big Booties, Volume 8*, and I have a TV with a QAM tuner (which I do) I can see it?

* Not that I would want to, of course. That was just....um...an example. :DYes, I believe this is currently a limitation of the technology Comcast uses for Ondemand (which they license from SeaChange International). OnDemand programs are stored on big servers at the comcast office. When you request a program, it's transmitted over fiber (using TCP/IP I believe) to your local "neighborhood node", each of which serves up to several hundred homes. The local node encodes the program onto an available digital cable (QAM) channel, selected from a pool of channels reserved for OnDemand use. The local nodes apparently don't have the ability to perform real-time encryption on each channel, handshake with your local box to give it the decryption keys, etc. - so it's transmitted in the clear. Anyone else connected to that same local node would be able to see the OnDemand program, if they have their own QAM tuner and know what channels to tune to.

The other option comcast *could* use is to "pre-encrypt" all of the OnDemand shows, but I believe that would require storage of two copies of every show on their servers, and would complicate FF/REW "trick play" stuff.

Over the next few years I expect Comcast will end up using TCP/IP all the way to your set-top box, making individual session encryption a lot easier.

Is anybody with the Motorola 3412 DVR not getting random reboots? Mine's been working pretty well for the most part ever since I left my JVC 40k DVHS plugged into the firewire and turned on, but over the last week or so it reboots several times a night. At least half the time it's right near the top of the hour.

Firewire captures have been hit and miss.

Tim

FSN-HD Update?

The local nodes apparently don't have the ability to perform real-time encryption on each channel, handshake with your local box to give it the decryption keys, etc. - so it's transmitted in the clear. Anyone else connected to that same local node would be able to see the OnDemand program, if they have their own QAM tuner and know what channels to tune to.
Okay, then here's my followup question, because now I'm interested in this from the technical side in addition to the curiosity of being able to snoop on my neighbors: so let's say I come across this show my neighbor is watching on my QAM tuner. And my neighbor decides that he needs to pause to raid the fridge, or he doesn't like this scene so he wants to fast-forward ahead, or he had no idea that pr0n star could do that with a zucchini and he wants to see that again. What happens to what I'm watching? Am I basically at the mercy of what he's doing with the remote?

Okay, then here's my followup question, because now I'm interested in this from the technical side in addition to the curiosity of being able to snoop on my neighbors: so let's say I come across this show my neighbor is watching on my QAM tuner. And my neighbor decides that he needs to pause to raid the fridge, or he doesn't like this scene so he wants to fast-forward ahead, or he had no idea that pr0n star could do that with a zucchini and he wants to see that again. What happens to what I'm watching? Am I basically at the mercy of what he's doing with the remote?

Yeah, that is pretty much what happens. You are basically witnessing your neighbor's TV watching habits, right down to his/her Rew/FF/Pause behavior.

Only the channels that are on limited cable are simulcast digitally unencrypted. All the extended basic channels like sci-fi or ESPN are encrypted. If you want to get them on a computer you have to use the analog versions.

What's the point of encrypting the extended basis channels in the digital if they are already available in the clear in analog? Is this Comcast's way in forcing subscribers to get set-top boxes? This makes even less sense when you consider that none of the extended basic channels are available in HD (as far as I know).

Set-top box is a 4-letter word in the HTPC world. Thank heavens analog is still available.

What's the point of encrypting the extended basis channels in the digital if they are already available in the clear in analog? Is this Comcast's way in forcing subscribers to get set-top boxes? This makes even less sense when you consider that none of the extended basic channels are available in HD (as far as I know).

Set-top box is a 4-letter word in the HTPC world. Thank heavens analog is still available.
They are only available in analog if you subscribe to extended basic. You don't receive them, if you only subscribe to limited basic. Therefore only channels that are part of limited basic are in the clear.

They are only available in analog if you subscribe to extended basic. You don't receive them, if you only subscribe to limited basic. Therefore only channels that are part of limited basic are in the clear.

Yes I understand that. What I am trying to say is that if a channel is currently available in analog (as part of the extended basic analog package), then it should also be available in QAM clear.

Ideal situation:
Purchase limited basic analog = get limited basic in QAM clear.

Purchase extended basic analog = get extended basic in QAM clear.

Right now, I am paying for extended basic analog but I am getting only limited basic in QAM clear. Why is Comcast encrypting extended basic in QAM when it is available in the clear in analog?

Right now, I am paying for extended basic analog but I am getting only limited basic in QAM clear. Why is Comcast encrypting extended basic in QAM when it is available in the clear in analog?
Because they are greedy bastards and want you to rent STBs from them. If they provided the digital channels you paid for in the clear (and they have been doing this just fine for years with analog, now haven't they?) then you could use a Myth or MCE DVR that actually worked. Comcast would rather give you no options but to rent a defective DVR with no 30 second skip that reboots constantly and shows you advertisments.

Who would rent a 3412 from Comcast if there was any competition what-so-over? But there is no competition! Comcast is able to use cablecard to lock out all their potential competitors in the STB and DVR market.

Yes I understand that. What I am trying to say is that if a channel is currently available in analog (as part of the extended basic analog package), then it should also be available in QAM clear.

Ideal situation:
Purchase limited basic analog = get limited basic in QAM clear.

Purchase extended basic analog = get extended basic in QAM clear.

Right now, I am paying for extended basic analog but I am getting only limited basic in QAM clear. Why is Comcast encrypting extended basic in QAM when it is available in the clear in analog?
If you don't encrypt these channels, then basically everyone (with the lowest subscription tier) could receive them. Technically all digital channels are on channels next to each other, so the way how analog channels get disabled for limited only customers (by disabling certain frequency ranges) doesn't work here.

Question for those of you in the know,
if I just order hi-speed internet from Comcast,
do they put a band pass filter on the line if I'm
not subscribing to basic cable?
Can I get channels 8,37,49, etc?

thanks
Cam

If you don't encrypt these channels, then basically everyone (with the lowest subscription tier) could receive them. Technically all digital channels are on channels next to each other, so the way how analog channels get disabled for limited only customers (by disabling certain frequency ranges) doesn't work here.
Sure it would. Comcast has already arranged it so most of the digital simulcasts of the limited cable channels are by themselves on 79 and 80. There is no reason they couldn't use a couple of the frequencies in the basic cable block to broadcast the digital versions of of the basic cable channels.

They don't want to because encrypting the channels locks out any competition in the STB and DVR markets. It also lets Comcast bring back per-television fees, something they were loathe to give up.

Question for those of you in the know,
if I just order hi-speed internet from Comcast,
do they put a band pass filter on the line if I'm
not subscribing to basic cable?
Can I get channels 8,37,49, etc?

thanks
Cam
I had the same situation, until this past Saturday, and there was a filter in place (as far as they knew ;) ) and I was able to get the digital channels with my QAM tuner, I was not able to pick up the NTSC signals with that filter in place.

Sure it would. Comcast has already arranged it so most of the digital simulcasts of the limited cable channels are by themselves on 79 and 80. There is no reason they couldn't use a couple of the frequencies in the basic cable block to broadcast the digital versions of of the basic cable channels.

They don't want to because encrypting the channels locks out any competition in the STB and DVR markets. It also lets Comcast bring back per-television fees, something they were loathe to give up.I'm not sure I agree with either your math or your premise:

1) I believe 256 QAM encoding means Comcast can squeeze up to 10-12 SD digital channels into an 8 Mhz analog channel "slot". They have, what, 60-70 analog channels being simulcast now? So it takes betwen 5-7 analog channels to transmit their digital simulcasts - not "a couple". They don't have that many free analog channels.

2) I'm sure Comcast would like extra box revenue from all our spare bedroom TVs - but don't fool yourself: the move to digital simulcast is all about BANDWIDTH. It's step one in getting rid of their analog channels entirely. Eventually, it's all about having room for 100-200 new HD channels. It's about keeping up with their Satellite and FIOS competitors, and not losing our business entirely in the long run.

... Eventually, it's all about having room for 100-200 new HD channels...I should have added: knowing Comcast, though - at least 100 of these will probably be HD shopping channels... :(

...They don't want to because encrypting the channels locks out any competition in the STB and DVR markets. ...I'm pretty sure a 3rd-party Cablecard tuner could receive these encrypted channels if your subscription is authorized, just like they can receive HBO, Showtime, etc.

IMHO, they are encrypting the extended basic digital simulcasts because they are a tier that you pay extra for. And as we've seen with OnDemand, Comcast doesn't have the technical ability to encrypt digital channels *just for you* (eg, encrypted just for those folks who don't pay for these channels). Either the digital channel is encrypted for everyone, or it's not. And they're not about to give everyone the extended basic channels for free.

...Ideal situation:
Purchase limited basic analog = get limited basic in QAM clear.

Purchase extended basic analog = get extended basic in QAM clear.
...Would be nice - but it doesn't work that way. We all get the same digital channels pumped into our house. Comcast currently has no way to pump "clear" channels to your house, and pump "encrypted" channels to mine. A digital channel is either encrypted or not - for EVERYONE. If your subscription authorizes you to watch an encrypted channel, then your set-top box(es) can decrypt it.

So if Comcast wants people to pay extra for the extended basic tier of digital-simulcast channels, then they have to be encrypted.

Any news on comcast seattle adding new hd channel? I know kstw is coming this month.

Well, these messages just showed up on my box:

KCTS Changes
9/28 108 goes to 24/7 and 119 disappears

CW11 in High Def.
9/18 on 111

New Channel
10/11 "The Tube" Music Network on 116
(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tube_%28TV_channel%29 for info on The Tube.)

Jewelry TV
9/14 Jewelry TV on 96 moves to digital.
(Yeah! The more of these the better.)

So, no new HD other than KSTW, so far.

I've got limited basic (though extended basic shows up on one of my outlets) and cable internet with comcast. From reading some of the recent posts it seems like I should be able to get some HD by connecting my samsung lcd directly into the coax in the wall. Is this correct? The channel scan on the tv isn't picking up any HD.

Thanks!

I'm not sure I agree with either your math or your premise:

1) I believe 256 QAM encoding means Comcast can squeeze up to 10-12 SD digital channels into an 8 Mhz analog channel "slot". They have, what, 60-70 analog channels being simulcast now? So it takes betwen 5-7 analog channels to transmit their digital simulcasts - not "a couple". They don't have that many free analog channels.


Comcast does put 11 to 12 digital SD channels on each QAM-256 frequency. For instance nearly all of the limited cable channels are on 79 and 80. There are about 41 analog channels in basic cable that aren't in limited cable. Comcast can, and does, easily fit them into 4 QAM-256 channels.

When you say they would need 5-7 extra analog channels, you aren't thinking about it clearly. They are already using that bandwidth to broadcast the digital simulcasts. They don't need any extra bandwidth, all they need to do is shift to frequencies in the basic cable block. Assuming they aren't in the frequencies that are blocked already.


2) I'm sure Comcast would like extra box revenue from all our spare bedroom TVs - but don't fool yourself: the move to digital simulcast is all about BANDWIDTH. It's step one in getting rid of their analog channels

Encrypting the digital channels has nothing to do with bandwidth. They could block the frequencies used by the digital channels the same way they have been doing with analog channels for years. They don't because the encryption lets them lock out any competition in the STB and DVR market and bring back per-TV fees.

...Encrypting the digital channels has nothing to do with bandwidth. No, not directly. Moving to digital is all about bandwidth, and encryption just happens to be the technique they've chosen to enforce to keep people from stealing premium or extended content. Once again - I don't buy the argument that this is all a conspiracy to get a bump in set-top box lease revenue. Comcast may be greedy bastards, but they're not short-sighted & stupid. This is part of a long-term bandwidth play.
...They could block the frequencies used by the digital channels the same way they have been doing with analog channels for years. They don't because the encryption lets them lock out any competition in the STB and DVR market and bring back per-TV fees....Well yeah, I guess they *could* go back to the 1960's-era technique of slapping crude low-pass filters on our lines to enforce subscriptions - but I doubt it. When a customer orders extended channels, they want them NOW. Not in 3 weeks when they can schedule a truck roll. Comcast wants this automated, and tied automatically to their billing system - not tied to paper forms filled out by field technicians. Like it or not - we're going to get a digital solution to enforcing digital channel subscriptions, not an analog solution. This is 2006, not 1966.

Not really a patch, but I learned that Comcast can now roll back the firmware version on your 3412 to 12.31 if you are having issues with it turning off and on since the latest upgrade of 12.35. Since this is not happening to everyone I assume that is why it's not going to everyone. Also, you can have a choice. Either it can powercycle and not get stuck in fast forward, or get stuck in ff but not powercycle. Or if you are lucky all is fine since the upgrade.

You will need to call to get the roll back.

That certainly makes more sense than shipping it back to Motorola (or swapping for another box with the old firmware!) Do you suppose they'll reissue the bad 12.35 firmware next week, though?

I don't think mine ever stuck in FF before, but now I have a new box, so maybe this one would. And this one isn't powercycling as much as the last two. So I'm not sure what to do :-p

I got this reply from Program Coordinator for KSTW


The official start date is Tuesday, September 19th and we've worked
very
hard to get Comcast to carry us in HD. Unfortunately, our final
Mariners game will be on Friday, 9/22 and will not be carried in HD,
but
the 2007 season should be.

I don't think mine ever stuck in FF before, but now I have a new box, so maybe this one would. And this one isn't powercycling as much as the last two. So I'm not sure what to do :-p

Most of my FF/REW problems with this one happened because of firewire, and I've given up on that with the 3412, so I may opt for the rollback. What I'd prefer is a rollback to the 6412 that worked fine for 18 months (but then died).

Well, these messages just showed up on my box:

KCTS Changes
9/28 108 goes to 24/7 and 119 disappears

CW11 in High Def.
9/18 on 111

New Channel
10/11 "The Tube" Music Network on 116
(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tube_%28TV_channel%29 for info on The Tube.)

Jewelry TV
9/14 Jewelry TV on 96 moves to digital.
(Yeah! The more of these the better.)

So, no new HD other than KSTW, so far.

Deleting an analog channel makes one dream they're making room for HD!

The only sucky thing about Channel 111, is that you can't schedule any recordings until the channel goes 'live' /:

The only sucky thing about Channel 111, is that you can't schedule any recordings until the channel goes 'live' /:

I'm sure there will be more (sucky things, that is).

When/if any of you local folks go through the process of getting CableCards for a Tivo Series 3, please let us know how it goes. I'll post if I end up being the first. I'm especially interested to know if they'll let you go to the offices and pick them up. It seems like they're more open to that kind of thing here than in many other markets. Also, it sounds like people in other areas are getting flack about wanting to use them in a device other than a TV, and about wanting two of them. I'm curious about the local experience.

When/if any of you local folks go through the process of getting CableCards for a Tivo Series 3, please let us know how it goes. I'll post if I end up being the first. I'm especially interested to know if they'll let you go to the offices and pick them up. It seems like they're more open to that kind of thing here than in many other markets. Also, it sounds like people in other areas are getting flack about wanting to use them in a device other than a TV, and about wanting two of them. I'm curious about the local experience.


I got two cablecards. Not using either one at the moment. I just went in to the office off of 94th Auruara and told them I have a tv with cablecard and want to try it. I told them after reading reports online that sometimes one will work and the other won't so she gave me two and said just don't lose them or we will charge you like $90 each. They are free to use. No monthly charge. You must subscribe to digital cable at a certian tier to get them though.

Deleting an analog channel makes one dream they're making room for HD!

They are probably making room for 111, but lets hope they can add more than just that.
Also didn't someone say they were going to move that analog TVguide channel 74 to digital too, or is that just a rumor?

If they are going to add more HD soon, then my guess would be UHD and MHD. Comcast recently added both those HD channels to the channel lineup in Oregon.

Last month comcast rep told me that channel guide 74 was moving to digital tier.

New Channel
10/11 "The Tube" Music Network on 116


Hmmm... I just remembered I got the messages about KCTS, CW 111, and Jewelry 96 going to digital, but nothing about "The Tube" 116 being added.

I just went in to the office off of 94th Auruara and told them I have a tv with cablecard and want to try it. I told them after reading reports online that sometimes one will work and the other won't so she gave me two and said just don't lose them or we will charge you like $90 each. They are free to use. No monthly charge. You must subscribe to digital cable at a certian tier to get them though.

Encouraging news. Thanks!

I wonder why our Comcast offices are so willing to hand stuff out without rolling a truck, when it sounds like almost everyone else has to have a tech come out. I guess I should just consider us lucky, and quit thinking too much about it ;)

I called and got a CSR who was well aware of the 12.35 firmware connection to the 3412 power cycle problem, and the rollback to 12.31 is now underway. Assuming it completes, I'll report back if it doesn't cure the problem.

In addition to the firmware rollback to 12.31, the guide build reverted from 25145S to 25129S. No recordings were lost, but the guide data haven't repopulated beyond today, yet.

I got two cablecards. Not using either one at the moment. I just went in to the office off of 94th Auruara and told them I have a tv with cablecard and want to try it. I told them after reading reports online that sometimes one will work and the other won't so she gave me two and said just don't lose them or we will charge you like $90 each. They are free to use. No monthly charge. You must subscribe to digital cable at a certian tier to get them though.

No, you don't need to subscribe to digital cable to get a free CableCARD. I was able to get one when I had Limited Cable in order to get broadcast HD channels. With Basic/Extended Cable, you also get ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, TNTHD and INHD.

I've got limited basic (though extended basic shows up on one of my outlets) and cable internet with comcast. From reading some of the recent posts it seems like I should be able to get some HD by connecting my samsung lcd directly into the coax in the wall. Is this correct? The channel scan on the tv isn't picking up any HD.

Thanks!

That is correct - provided your Samsung LCD has a QAM tuner built in (it should say HD tuner/Cable ready). You might need to fiddle with the menus to get it to tune into QAM content. If your TV is Cable Ready, you should just go get yourself a CableCARD and get all your channels in digital. With Limited Cable you should get channels 2-29 + all the broadcast HD channels.

No, you don't need to subscribe to digital cable to get a free CableCARD. I was able to get one when I had Limited Cable in order to get broadcast HD channels. With Basic/Extended Cable, you also get ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, TNTHD and INHD.

There is no charge for the cablecard, but to get the ESPNHD/TNT/INHD you have to get the digital classic or plus package which costs $11 ontop.

Saw that Jeopardy was under the HDTV listings on the guide and went to check it out, and saw it was not in HD. I know Jeopardy is being broadcast now in HD in some areas. Was this a mistake?

Somebody from Komo posted following message in Seattle OTA forum:

Wheel and Jeopardy are currently being distributed to some stations in HD, however KOMO is currently unable to air the HD version. The reason is that Wheel and Jeop are in 1080I HD format, whereas KOMO, (and all other ABC affiliated stations), are native 720P HD format.

We are looking at some options to record the feed from the program syndicator in 1080I, but would then need to create a format-converted version to 720P. For those of you that aren't aware of the differences in HD formats, format conversion on a daily basis is a rather expensive and work-intensive process that we don't have a workflow devised yet.

Obviously if King World/Sony Entertainment would be willing to also distribute the show in 720P, it would make our life easier, but 1080I is Sony's standard, so it will probably be on us to figure out a way to provide daily record and format conversion.

No, you don't need to subscribe to digital cable to get a free CableCARD. I was able to get one when I had Limited Cable in order to get broadcast HD channels. With Basic/Extended Cable, you also get ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, TNTHD and INHD.

When did they start giving out free cableCARDs???!!!

I got one when they first came out. They required that I

1. Have a digital cable package.

2. Pay $5 month for the card.

3. Pay $15 for a techinician to come out and install the card.

When/if any of you local folks go through the process of getting CableCards for a Tivo Series 3, please let us know how it goes. I'll post if I end up being the first. I'm especially interested to know if they'll let you go to the offices and pick them up. It seems like they're more open to that kind of thing here than in many other markets. Also, it sounds like people in other areas are getting flack about wanting to use them in a device other than a TV, and about wanting two of them. I'm curious about the local experience.

I was able to grab 2 cards up from 94th and Aurora yesterday. No charge. I told her it was for the new Tivo Series 3, and warned her that the demand for cards might go up soon. She said I got the last two, but she was on the phone ordering more before I left.

I'm thinking about switching to digital cable now that I have a Panasonic AE900 PJ. I'm thinking about calling and asking to stop my analog cable (telling them I'm switching to satellite) with the hope that they will offer some sort of well priced digital package. Has anyone used this strategy successfully lately?

question about the comast 3412 box. I just bought a second hd set and this one is a DLP which accepts hdmi and dvi along with component. What does the 3412 have setup that I can use? HDMI? at this time I am using component on the new set but woudl like to go to one wire if the 3412 can do that..
Thanks,

Keith

Somebody from Komo posted following message in Seattle OTA forum:

Wheel and Jeopardy are currently being distributed to some stations in HD, however KOMO is currently unable to air the HD version. The reason is that Wheel and Jeop are in 1080I HD format, whereas KOMO, (and all other ABC affiliated stations), are native 720P HD format.

We are looking at some options to record the feed from the program syndicator in 1080I, but would then need to create a format-converted version to 720P. For those of you that aren't aware of the differences in HD formats, format conversion on a daily basis is a rather expensive and work-intensive process that we don't have a workflow devised yet.

Obviously if King World/Sony Entertainment would be willing to also distribute the show in 720P, it would make our life easier, but 1080I is Sony's standard, so it will probably be on us to figure out a way to provide daily record and format conversion.

What a bogus excuse! If every HD TV on the planet can convert whatever HD format it gets to the native resolution of the TV, all on-the-fly, I seriously doubt a full-blown TV station can't do the same thing.

In my opinion, it probably has more to do with time-shifting and recording the feed for later playback.

What a bogus excuse! If every HD TV on the planet can convert whatever HD format it gets to the native resolution of the TV, all on-the-fly, I seriously doubt a full-blown TV station can't do the same thing.

In my opinion, it probably has more to do with time-shifting and recording the feed for later playback.


Why would KOMO lie to us about this? Kelly from KOMO has always been upfront on these forums about KOMO and their HD issues. Frankly I'm glad that they are upfront and keep us up to date on issues, heck even asking for our feedback when they have had an ongoing problem (i.e. the audio drop out issues from over a year ago).

If they say that they can not convert 1080i recorded material to 720p to be broadcast through their equipment I would tend to believe it.

Heck, at least they are indicating that they can record and re-broadcast 720p content, KING couldn't even rebroadcast HD period until 2/3 of the way through the 2005-2006 TV season (i.e. Saturday Night Live).

question about the comast 3412 box. I just bought a second hd set and this one is a DLP which accepts hdmi and dvi along with component. What does the 3412 have setup that I can use? HDMI? at this time I am using component on the new set but woudl like to go to one wire if the 3412 can do that..
Thanks,

Keith


Yes they have hdmi. I output mine to 1080i for best pic quality. The moto box's don't deinterlace properly so let your set do it for best pic.

I believe it deinterlaces from 1080i to 540p then up to 720p so you loose alot of quality.

I'm thinking about switching to digital cable now that I have a Panasonic AE900 PJ. I'm thinking about calling and asking to stop my analog cable (telling them I'm switching to satellite) with the hope that they will offer some sort of well priced digital package. Has anyone used this strategy successfully lately?

Hey you got the same PJ as me. Looks good on hd stuff.

Just make sure whatever you do do not go to sattelite. I came from dish and boy am I glad I did.

Just received my toshiba hd-a1 yesterday and watch Training Day. All I can say is wow it looked and sounded good.

When did they start giving out free cableCARDs???!!!

I got one when they first came out. They required that I

1. Have a digital cable package.

2. Pay $5 month for the card.

3. Pay $15 for a techinician to come out and install the card.

I have no idea when they changed it. I had a digital package when I got my card. I picked it up at the store on 94th St so I didn't have to pay a technician and there was never a monthly charge. When I downgraded my package to Limited Cable for the summer, the technician on the phone asked me to return the CableCARD. I told him I needed it for the broadcast HD channels. He went off the phone for a few seconds and came back and told me I was right and could keep it for no charge. You should call them and ask them to stop charging you for the CableCARD.

I have no idea when they changed it. I had a digital package when I got my card. I picked it up at the store on 94th St so I didn't have to pay a technician and there was never a monthly charge. When I downgraded my package to Limited Cable for the summer, the technician on the phone asked me to return the CableCARD. I told him I needed it for the broadcast HD channels. He went off the phone for a few seconds and came back and told me I was right and could keep it for no charge. You should call them and ask them to stop charging you for the CableCARD.

Technically you need a minimum of Enhanced Cable to receive the card as it is useless on it's primary function - to decode encrypted channels - if you have anything less. There is no monthly charge for the card at this time, and I don't think there ever was but if you have a box also you may be getting charged for that. For example, if you had just the box and then got the card, they started charging for the box. There was a lot of confusion on this at the beginning so it was possible for some people to get the card without a digital package.

At first a technician had to install the card and report the information back to the head-end, now it's all automatic so customers can do themselves and call in for the initialization. It's also cheaper for Comcast, considering fuel prices and labor, and more convenient for customers themselves as they can do on their own time and not wait for an appointment.

I don't know of any limits that a customer can have and if it has to be in a television.

Guessing on my part, expect a charge for the cards when they start releasing 2.0.

Why would KOMO lie to us about this? Kelly from KOMO has always been upfront on these forums about KOMO and their HD issues. Frankly I'm glad that they are upfront and keep us up to date on issues, heck even asking for our feedback when they have had an ongoing problem (i.e. the audio drop out issues from over a year ago).

If they say that they can not convert 1080i recorded material to 720p to be broadcast through their equipment I would tend to believe it.

Heck, at least they are indicating that they can record and re-broadcast 720p content, KING couldn't even rebroadcast HD period until 2/3 of the way through the 2005-2006 TV season (i.e. Saturday Night Live).
You know what, I understand that broadcast equipment is more complex and needs to be more reliable than a consumer-quality DVR. However, if Motorola can build a DVR that records in 720p and 1080i, and then replays it in the format of my choice (720p or 1080i), and can do it so cheaply that Comcast will rent me one of these boxes for $10/month, it's hard to believe that your average TV station (KOMO or KING) can't buy a broadcast-grade equivalent for a reasonable price.

No, you don't need to subscribe to digital cable to get a free CableCARD. I was able to get one when I had Limited Cable in order to get broadcast HD channels. With Basic/Extended Cable, you also get ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, TNTHD and INHD.

Are you certain of this? I have Basic/Extended plus what they call "Digital Lite" and I don't get ESPNHD, TNTHD, or INHD. I do get ESPN2HD.

Hmmm... I just remembered I got the messages about KCTS, CW 111, and Jewelry 96 going to digital, but nothing about "The Tube" 116 being added.

Opposite for me, I got messages about The Tube and Jewelry, but not CW 111 (;

What a bogus excuse! If every HD TV on the planet can convert whatever HD format it gets to the native resolution of the TV, all on-the-fly, I seriously doubt a full-blown TV station can't do the same thing.

In my opinion, it probably has more to do with time-shifting and recording the feed for later playback.Sorry - but your TV is NOT decompressing the MPEG2 program, re-scaling to 720p, and then re-compressing back into MPEG2 for distribution. Your TV is just doing the scaling - the easy part.

Are you certain of this? I have Basic/Extended plus what they call "Digital Lite" and I don't get ESPNHD, TNTHD, or INHD. I do get ESPN2HD.

The minimum for any HD channel above the locals is Digital Classic. If you are getting ESPN2 either the authorization was screwed up or they have not encryped that channel yet.

Quick highlights-

Dual Tuners - ATSC & Analog compatible
Backlit remote
Front panel readerboard - gives recording info
Requires dual CableCards for two HD Feeds

http://www.tivo.com/2.0.boxdetails.asp?box=series3HDDVR

Quick highlights-

Dual Tuners - ATSC & Analog compatible
Backlit remote
Front panel readerboard - gives recording info
Requires dual CableCards for two HD Feeds

http://www.tivo.com/2.0.boxdetails.asp?box=series3HDDVR

Unencrypted signals only. $800.00 and you own it. No upgrades. It's close but I'll wait till there is the ability to record premium channels. Does it require a subscription service? That would be another negative.

Waiting for cablecard 2. Not holding my breath.

Unencrypted signals only. $800.00 and you own it. No upgrades. It's close but I'll wait till there is the ability to record premium channels. Does it require a subscription service? That would be another negative.

Waiting for cablecard 2. Not holding my breath.I thought Cablecard let you receive premium channels that you're subscribed to. Just not OnDemand, PPV, or anything else that requires 2-way interactive.

It can record premium (encrypted) channels. You do not need cablecard 2 for that.

I thought Cablecard let you receive premium channels that you're subscribed to. Just not OnDemand, PPV, or anything else that requires 2-way interactive.
Yeah, my bad :o I had a senior moment.

So, now the question I have is if the TIVO HD is 5C1 compliant. Even though the cable card will allow you to get premium on a TV set, recording it may be another matter. I really don't know the answer to this. If the TIVO will be allowed to record 5C1 compliant material then my interest in this box just went way up! :D

BTW: In the FAQs on the web site for this device they state that the cable card allows for decoding and reception of decrytped signals. They state nothing about being able record decrypted 5C1 programming.

Yeah, my bad :o I had a senior moment.

So, now the question I have is if the TIVO HD is 5C1 compliant. Even though the cable card will allow you to get premium on a TV set, recording it may be another matter. I really don't know the answer to this. If the TIVO will be allowed to record 5C1 compliant material then my interest in this box just went way up! :D

BTW: In the FAQs on the web site for this device they state that the cable card allows for decoding and reception of decrytped signals. They state nothing about being able record decrypted 5C1 programming.Unless it also records over Firewire, 5C is irrelevant.

The minimum for any HD channel above the locals is Digital Classic. If you are getting ESPN2 either the authorization was screwed up or they have not encryped that channel yet.

They had a package called Digital Lite that cost $4.95 above the expanded Basic. I got a Motorola DCT700 STB but don't use that now that I have a Sony HDTV with built in tuner and CableCard. I don't see that package offered anymore so maybe they don't know what to do with me :)

Unless it also records over Firewire, 5C is irrelevant.

Hmmm...

Seems you're right. Quick search in the Tivo forum showed no such concern. It's missing some features of previous Tivo boxes but since it can do HD and SD digital it does indeed look promising.

No, not directly. Moving to digital is all about bandwidth, and encryption just happens to be the technique they've chosen to enforce

An encryption system that locks you into their boxes. I'm sure that's a feature Comcast has not failed to consider.
Comcast may be greedy bastards, but they're not short-sighted & stupid. This is part of a long-term bandwidth play.

And CableCard is part of the long-term lock out competition in the dvr market play.

Well yeah, I guess they *could* go back to the 1960's-era technique of slapping crude low-pass filters on our lines to enforce subscriptions

They are already doing this for everyone who has limited cable now. They could just use those same filters that are blocking the analog channels to block their digital simulcasts too, but they don't.

They could have used an existing CAM system, like those used in Europe for DVB Cable and Satellite subscription systems. You can use MythTV with the channels you pay for in the rest of the world, but not in this country and not with Comcast. I guess we don't believe in competition and the free market here.

Didn't you need to rent your telephones from ma bell back in 1966? In 2006 you need to rent your DVR from the cable company. New technology, same old anti-competitive practices.

... In 2006 you need to rent your DVR from the cable company. New technology, same old anti-competitive practices.Unless of couse, you buy the Tivo Series 3 we've just been discussing here. Or use any one of dozens of standalone, analog DVRs like regular Tivo, ReplayTV, etc.

Recently (last weekend in August), I moved from zip 98105 to a condo in zip 98115, six blocks away. I subscribed to Comcast Limited Cable at the old address and asked them for the same service at the new address.

I've got a Panasonic TH-42PX60U HDTV with a QAM tuner. With this setup and limited cable, I was getting all of the local HD stations with no STB and no cable card at the old address.

Now I've moved and the technician hooked me up with limited cable. I'm getting all of the channels I got at the old address EXCEPT for these (from a list someone here posted a while ago):

82-1 KCTS DT
82-2 * KCTS Now
82-3 KCTS Create
82-4 KOMO HD
82-5 KCTS HD
83-1 KING HD
83-2 KONG HD
83-3 Weather Plus

The only HD channels I get are KIRO on 84-1, KCPQ on 13-1 and KTWB (or whatever it's called now) on 22-1. The last two are remapped from 81-1 and 81-2 because this TV has a PSIP-capable QAM tuner.

I called Comcast after I discovered I wasn't getting the channels listed above. They sent a tech who removed the limited filter. Predictably, I got all of the extended *analog* channels, but the digital lineup was unchanged - still missing the channels listed above. I called Comcast and spoke to a relatively reasonable person (didn't ask insulting questions like "Are you sure you have an HD TV?"). Here's the bottom line from Comcast: "We don't guarantee that your QAM TV will get the local HD channels. Consider yourself fortunate if you do. We can't troubleshoot problems on customer's QAM TVs. Of course, if you were to purchase one of the digital tiered services with our STB, we would guarantee you'd get all of the local channels."

What gives here? Has anyone else had this problem? Comcast says that the channel lineup at the old address is exactly the same as the lineup at the new address. Any insight is appreciated.

smagnuson,

QAM tuners can be quirky beeotches. I have three in my house and all of them behave differently in which channels they will and will not get. Some of my channels are mapped differently as well.

Like you, I have a Panny plasma and its QAM tuner seems to work the best of all three. Maybe you have a weak cable signal or bad cabling?

Unless it also records over Firewire, 5C is irrelevant.Doesn't seem to have a firewire port. I can't imagine paying that kind of money ($800 PLUS $13/mo.) for a box that I can't even archive anything off of.

Tim

Doesn't seem to have a firewire port. I can't imagine paying that kind of money ($800 PLUS $13/mo.) for a box that I can't even archive anything off of.

TimWell, Tivo isn't a cable company so they have no FCC mandate to give you a device with a Firewire port. However, it does have an ethernet port - so getting at its content over the network might be possible. But I'd expect the disk content to be pretty well encrypted & not accessible without some serious hacks.

Unless of couse, you buy the Tivo Series 3 we've just been discussing here. Or use any one of dozens of standalone, analog DVRs like regular Tivo, ReplayTV, etc.
Those analog DVRs don't work with digital cable, and will be useless as soon as analog broadcasts are turned off. How about one of the dozens of digital DVRs? Oh wait, there aren't any! There is plenty of software out there that works with digital OTA, but Comcast has used CableCard to avoid competition. There would be dozens of digital DVRs to choose from just like there is for analog, if it wasn't for CableCard locking them out of the market.

How how that series 3 tivo? How much of that $800 price tag goes to CableCard licensing fees? $200? Does the series 3 have 30 second skip? No. Can it archive to a DVD? No. How about an external HD to add more storage? Can't be done. What about TiVo-To-Go, does that work? Nope, disabled.

The series 3 has been crippled by the media and cable companies. The series 3 tivo isn't competing with the cable companies' DVRs. It's more along the lines of tivo producing it for the cable companies.

Doesn't seem to have a firewire port. I can't imagine paying that kind of money ($800 PLUS $13/mo.) for a box that I can't even archive anything off of.

Tim


It's obviously copyright concerns. Personally, I can't imagine wanting to archive anything. I have an HTPC, and I don't save (archive) a thing.

Now I've moved and the technician hooked me up with limited cable. I'm getting all of the channels I got at the old address EXCEPT for these (from a list someone here posted a while ago):

82-1 KCTS DT
82-2 * KCTS Now
82-3 KCTS Create
82-4 KOMO HD
82-5 KCTS HD
83-1 KING HD
83-2 KONG HD
83-3 Weather Plus

The only HD channels I get are KIRO on 84-1, KCPQ on 13-1 and KTWB (or whatever it's called now) on 22-1. The last two are remapped from 81-1 and 81-2 because this TV has a PSIP-capable QAM tuner.


When I saw the first 5 entries in this list I noticed that all of them have been recently "remapped" to 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 4.1 and 9.5 by Comcast correctly broadcasting the stream. The last three in your list on my Philips QAM tv are still at 83.1, 83.2 & 83.3. You might find some of the channels have been remapped.

Those analog DVRs don't work with digital cable, and will be useless as soon as analog broadcasts are turned off. How about one of the dozens of digital DVRs? Oh wait, there aren't any! There is plenty of software out there that works with digital OTA, but Comcast has used CableCard to avoid competition. There would be dozens of digital DVRs to choose from just like there is for analog, if it wasn't for CableCard locking them out of the market.

How how that series 3 tivo? How much of that $800 price tag goes to CableCard licensing fees? $200? Does the series 3 have 30 second skip? No. Can it archive to a DVD? No. How about an external HD to add more storage? Can't be done. What about TiVo-To-Go, does that work? Nope, disabled.

The series 3 has been crippled by the media and cable companies. The series 3 tivo isn't competing with the cable companies' DVRs. It's more along the lines of tivo producing it for the cable companies.

Most of your points are valid. A couple of errors though

1. 30 second skip does work
2. It has connection for external disk storage which should be activated in the coming year.

Those analog DVRs don't work with digital cable, and will be useless as soon as analog broadcasts are turned off. ...Really? My analog ReplayTV boxes don't work with digital cable? (yes they do, except of course for HD).

You mean that when analog broadcasts are turned off, the S-Video output on my cable box will cease to work also? (no, it won't).

Every time you start to make some good points, you sabotage your argument with ridiculous, over-the-top statements like these....

Somebody from Komo posted following message in Seattle OTA forum:

Wheel and Jeopardy are currently being distributed to some stations in HD, however KOMO is currently unable to air the HD version. The reason is that Wheel and Jeop are in 1080I HD format, whereas KOMO, (and all other ABC affiliated stations), are native 720P HD format.

We are looking at some options to record the feed from the program syndicator in 1080I, but would then need to create a format-converted version to 720P. For those of you that aren't aware of the differences in HD formats, format conversion on a daily basis is a rather expensive and work-intensive process that we don't have a workflow devised yet.

Obviously if King World/Sony Entertainment would be willing to also distribute the show in 720P, it would make our life easier, but 1080I is Sony's standard, so it will probably be on us to figure out a way to provide daily record and format conversion.

How come the ABC station in LA can broadcast in 720P?

Don't know what to make of this, but I went to the new Comcast site and checked the channel lineup for the Eastside. I think it used to be split into 2 sections ( can't remember exactly ), but now I see the following when I put in 98072, a woodinville zip.

East King County, Wa
* Avondale, Redmond, Kirkland
* Bothell, North King County
* Pine Lake, Sammamish
* Snohomish County/Bothell
* Woodinville
Snohomish County, Wa
* Sno Co./Lynnwood

Right now I think each area has the same channel lineup. But why all the separation suddenly? Does this mean we might have different channel lineups per area soon?

My Internet's down at home, so I can't actually update the list, but these showed up yesterday:

96-1 KMYQ HD
96-2 The Tube

If anyone can let me know definitively which stations are now PSIP-mapped, I'd like to include that in my next update. (I don't have a PSIP-capable tuner when in QAM.)

I would not be surprised if KSTW shows up over the weekend since it's usually on the wire before being mapped to the box.

Just did a scan myself, and KSTW is on.

81-2 KSTW HD
96-1 KMYQ HD
96-2 The Tube SD

When I saw the first 5 entries in this list I noticed that all of them have been recently "remapped" to 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 4.1 and 9.5 by Comcast correctly broadcasting the stream. The last three in your list on my Philips QAM tv are still at 83.1, 83.2 & 83.3. You might find some of the channels have been remapped.

Thanks for the replies/tips, chris5977 and ssbkt.

Ssbkt, I tried the channels you mention above. No go. I rescanned this morning and noticed a couple of changes. Now I'm getting these HD channels:

11-1 KSTW HD
13-1 KCPQ HD
84-1 KIRO HD
96-1 KMYQ HD

These jive with the changes someone else here observed today. Still no KING HD, KOMO HD, KONG HD, or KCTS HD, though. :confused:

You mean that when analog broadcasts are turned off, the S-Video output on my cable box will cease to work also? (no, it won't)

I can only think that what tap meant is that when the all digital change will take place (not just the simulcast) the ReplayTV (and similar) will not be able to tune in the digital channels on their own. The same will be true for older televisions without digital tuners. If you have a cable box, the box will convert the signal to analog for your television or DVR device.

This is happening in the Aberdeen area now. Limited can be received without a box, but for basic you need one.

Just skimmed the last couple pages and didn't see any mention of this, so I assume this is news:
There is now more HD On Demand content! It has its own category near the bottom
Same PPV and free movies
Starz and Encore HD have about 10 movies, including the likes of Narnia and The Incredibles
A few shows from DiscoveryHD.
A few 10 minute snippets from OLN
Some music videos and concert clips
A few photo slideshows

Starz is the major addition. There isn't much in the other categories yet, but it's a start! I still wish the menu system would bring you back to where you were when the video ends. It makes watching music videos and all the other 5 minute clips too tedious to bother with when you have to start over from the main menu.

question for KOMO people-
right now there are at least two college football games offered by ABC, OKLA/ORE and LSU/AUBURN.
the LSU/AUBURN game is offered in YD and the OKLA/ORE game is not.
understanding that the ORE game is of regional interest, I understand the decision to air it.
why not offer the ORE game on KOMO-TV and the LSU/AUBURN game on KOMO-YD?
it seems this would provide twice as much choice, while adding an YD offering and reducing redundancy...
I'm just interested to know if this is ever considered or if it may be in the future.

I think the Oregon game is supposed to be HD also. The guide says it is, and every other weekend when they've had two games nationally, both have been HD. I'm guessing that KOMO was getting the wrong game on the HD feed or something (thus why the LSU game was playing for a minute before it switched over to Oregon). I'd rather see the right game in SD than the wrong game in HD.

OK, my post was based on an assumption that the ORE game was produced in SD and the LSU/AUBURN was produced in HD. That was when I thought it made more sense to carry both games rather than the SD one twice.

I don't know what KOMO-YD is, but the Auburn-LSU game is on CBS.

OK, my post was based on an assumption that the ORE game was produced in SD and the LSU/AUBURN was produced in HD. That was when I thought it made more sense to carry both games rather than the SD one twice.

Even if your original assumptions were true, you should take into account the fact that most subscribers and OTA viewers don't have HD, and thus couldn't see one of the games at all.

well I pretty much totally screwed up every fact in my first post.
all I was trying to say is that there are other ABC games being broadcast right now in HD.
I was trying to say Lousville/Miami was a game that ABC was carrying in HD at the same time as the Oregon game, which was apparently not being carried in HD.
what I was meaning to suggest is that why couldn't they show the Oregon/OK game on Komo-SD ch 4, and at the same time, show an HD game like Louisville/Miami on their HD channel. KIRO has done this before during NCAA basketball last March and KING did something similar with the olympics a couple years ago.
basically, showing the SD game on both channel 4 and 104 isn't as good as carrying the SD game on channel 4 and an HD game on channel 104 at the same time.
If this doesn't make sense I'm willing to just drop the issue and accept the fact that there is some nuiance here that I can't express clearly enough to make sense.

* I kept saying Auburn because I was actually watching that game on CBS as I was typing and I can not multi-task well enough to keep everything I was thinking about straight in my head at the same time. Sorry.

I've seen one of the local affiliates show different games on the SD and HD channels during the NCAA basketball tournement. But other than that, I've never seen them do it.

I was told by two different Comcast technicians that a digital package was required before Comcast would give me a CableCard. I was specifically informed that if I JUST had limited basic or enhanced basic, I would not be given a CableCard. Previous to this, I had been using a Motorola cable box and Limited Basic to get the HD versions of local broadcast channels. My goal was to replace the cable box with a cable card. I did not want to bump up my service to a digital package in the exchange. As it turns out, neither of the two technicians could get the cable card to work with my TV (Mitsubishi WD-62525). I'm currently just using the TV's internal tuner (no CableCard) and aside from the fact that some of the local HD channels scan at un-remapped locations (96-1 is HD KMYQ for instance) and I don't get any station or content information for those channels, life is good.

Does anyone know why the content information for 4-1, 9-1, 9-3, 9-5, 11-1 and 13-1 is off by an hour?

Some CBS shows are now available through OnDemand under the category Network Shows, which I found on the second page of categories. I learned that shows will be available after midnight when it's on and will be available for 4 weeks. Of course, they are free because CBS sold commercials.

Survivor: Cook Island - now on
CSI
CSI: Miami
NCIS
CSI: NY
Jericho
Numb3rs
Big Brother

Source: Press Release (http://www.cmcsk.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=147565&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=905571&highlight=)

Just skimmed the last couple pages and didn't see any mention of this, so I assume this is news:
There is now more HD On Demand content! It has its own category near the bottom
Same PPV and free movies
Starz and Encore HD have about 10 movies, including the likes of Narnia and The Incredibles
A few shows from DiscoveryHD.
A few 10 minute snippets from OLN
Some music videos and concert clips
A few photo slideshows

Starz is the major addition. There isn't much in the other categories yet, but it's a start! I still wish the menu system would bring you back to where you were when the video ends. It makes watching music videos and all the other 5 minute clips too tedious to bother with when you have to start over from the main menu.

Yes! On Demand HD makes cable better than sat systems (maybe?). I think the Starz stuff is a limited freebie - there was a message a few days ago about it. I think it ends around 9/19. It is still nice to have more HD content that you can watch whenever you want - better than time shifting on your own DVR.

Here's a full update of the QAM list.

- Added/deleted channels to reflect current lineup
- Added Comcast channel numbers
- Noted PSIP channel numbers
- Noted upcoming changes

Really? My analog ReplayTV boxes don't work with digital cable? (yes they do, except of course for HD).

You mean that when analog broadcasts are turned off, the S-Video output on my cable box will cease to work also? (no, it won't).

Every time you start to make some good points, you sabotage your argument with ridiculous, over-the-top statements like these....

They won't work with digital cable, unless you rent a cable box from the cable company. And even if you do, no HD.

The thing is, if it wasn't for cablecard being used to prevent competition, there would already be dozens on digital DVR systems to choose from on the market, just like for analog. Systems not crippled and overpriced like the series 3 tivo, or worthless defective crap like comcast's DVRs.

They will roll back your firmware if you call with a problemo. Also with more HD on demand I have renewed faith in comcast.

I have gotten so use to HD now since I have had it for 3 years I can't watch tv in 4:3 in SD if the show is in HD.

Well, I finally bit the bullet and called CC to come out and upgrade me to digital/HD cable. I also ordered the HD DVR (in spite of all the bad press I've read here). I'm hoping it isn't as bad as some make it out to be. I thought I would try the DVR for a couple of months and see for myself. What I really want is the Tivo S3 but I think I will wait on the user reports and maybe for the price to come down.

Well, I finally bit the bullet and called CC to come out and upgrade me to digital/HD cable. I also ordered the HD DVR (in spite of all the bad press I've read here). I'm hoping it isn't as bad as some make it out to be. I thought I would try the DVR for a couple of months and see for myself. What I really want is the Tivo S3 but I think I will wait on the user reports and maybe for the price to come down.


I hope you don't get all the problems with your dvr that I have had. I broke down and ordered the tivo even at that high price. I figure that since I got over $20K invested in my audio system I should at least upgrade part of my video a little more. LOL.

The main problems I have had over the last 5 months are that the box would always revert back to 720p or even 480p like it did yesteday. Irritating when your recording stuff and then you turn it on and you have no way to turn it back unless you cancel your recordings. I will give you guys a report about video quality on the tivo when I get it next week. Of course I am no expert, but I do have better than 20/10 vision.

I also ordered the HD DVR (in spite of all the bad press I've read here). I'm hoping it isn't as bad as some make it out to be. I thought I would try the DVR for a couple of months and see for myself.

This is exactly what I did a few months ago.

I bought a TiVo Series3 on Friday.

Is there any word at all around when UniversalHD will be added to our lineup like other comcast users have in other areas of the country?

It is now the only channel on DirecTV I miss.

It's not just me, I assume. The KIRO game on right now - the Raiders vs. the Ravens - is not in HD.

No one answers at KIRO, at least through their main line and the 'programming' line I found elsewhere in this forum.

Argh.

It's not just me, I assume. The KIRO game on right now - the Raiders vs. the Ravens - is not in HD.

It isn't just you, of course, but with those teams playing, even color is a waste of resources.

It isn't just you, of course, but with those teams playing, even color is a waste of resources.

Yeah, that's unfortunately true.

The program guide says this is just in SD, so perhaps it's not a mistake on KIRO's part. Whatever.

It's not just me, I assume. The KIRO game on right now - the Raiders vs. the Ravens - is not in HD.

Argh.

Nope not just you, and I assumed all NFL games were going to broadcast in HD this year. Yesterday there were a ton of college games in HD to watch. The guide said it wasn't going to be in HD, but I was hoping it was a mistake. Guess I was wrong.

This is the first weekend I've been able to watch football since I was away on opening weekend, and this is my first season to watch football in HD since I got my tv early this year. Kind of disappointing that the first game of the morning is in SD.

Is there any word at all around when UniversalHD will be added to our lineup like other comcast users have in other areas of the country?

It is now the only channel on DirecTV I miss.

I don't have any info when this will be added, but please call or email and request this channel to be added if you have not already. I know that the large number of people requesting for ESPN2-HD helped us get it sooner. I've called and emailed and requested for both Comcast's recent additons UHD and MHD.
The last person I talked to from Comcast told me that they do surveys and that the small number of HDTV owners and lack of interest in those channels in our area is why they don't carry them here. This really doesn't make sense to me since Western Washington has a bigger population than Western Oregon who recently had UHD and MHD added.

I'm hoping and predictiong we will get UHD and MHD soon. Most of Western Oregon now has the same HD lineup we have here in Seattle plus the addition of UHD and MHD, and a few months ago we actually had more HD channels than Portland. Now they have a very nice HD lineup that makes me jealous. :) I don't know what the hold up is here in Washington, but seems like everytime I browse the forums, I read about another location around the country adding UHD and MHD to their lineup, but not here :(

Hmmmmm.... Seattle......
rains a lot there, right?
people spend more time indoors than say, California...
fairly high median income level...
strong interest in high tech...
lots of new HD set owners this year...
lots of interest on AVS forum...
13th largest market in the US...

Gee, doesn't sound like a place to put more HD on cable to me! They should start removing HD and put more Jewelry channels on. Yeah that's what we want.
*NOT*!!! :D