Yes, all the CBS shows I watch/record on my 6412 have audio and video glitches. Been this way for a few weeks.

The game was available on DirecTV and other smaller cable outlets. Not Comcast or Dish, though.

What channel on DirecTV? I looked for it but didn't find it.

Anyone here with Comcast HD cable seeing brief interruptions of video and audio (less than one second) when watching KIRO-DT (channel 107 or 86-2)?

Folks on the Seattle OTA forum are reporting these brief interruptions occuring a few times per hour, mostly on CBS HDTV programs.

I will be asking the KIRO Engineers to read through relevant posts in this thread (starting from this one) to get more input from cable viewers of KIRO-DT HDTV programs.

In the OTA world we have seen these interruptions on DVR and non-DVR receivers from various manufacturers. In the DVR cases, the interruption appears on the recording and repeats in the same place if rewound and played back again.


This is a common problem for me with CBSHD. I don't think I have seen it with any other station. I am glad the issue came up here, though it still gives me an unconfterable feeling, as I don't know what it is doing to my equipment. The receiver has to reset itself into dolby each time there is a blip. This cannot be good. :(

The most recent problem I've seen was with a Monday night recording of a half-hour sitcom (The Class). The file said it was 31 minutes long, but the playing of the program terminated at about 28 minutes. I've noticed things like this before, but I'm not sure it was always on KIRO.

I have also seen occasional glitches on CBS-HD. Haven't noticed it on other channels. Worse, my wife noticed it and wants to switch to analog CBS if it won't go away. I'm getting CBS-HD on Comcast channel 86-2 using my TV's built-in QAM tuner. No DVR, PC tuner card or cable box involved.

This should blow your mind:

FSN HD EXPANDS ON SONICS OPENING NIGHT, NOW BOASTS 120 EVENTS PER YEAR FOR SONICS, MARINERS, BLAZERS, COLLEGE FOOTBALL
FSN HD Now Available in 2.2 Million Homes



FSN Northwest, the leading provider of sports programming and production in the Northwest, has announced a new package of games on FSN HD that provides viewers a minimum of 120 live events per year in high-definition featuring the Seattle Sonics, Seattle Mariners, Portland Trail Blazers and NCAA football. With carriage on cable and satellite providers including Comcast, DirecTV, Click! Network, Wave Broadband and Bend Broadband, live events on FSN in high definition may reach as many as 2.2 million homes of the more than 3.4 million homes that FSN Northwest services.



Sports fans and television experts alike argue that game action is the absolute best application of the high-definition technology. With a clearer, sharper and more vibrant image, HD delivers a game into your home with the kind of detail that isn’t even available from the closest seat in the stadium. You’ll see the sweat on the pitcher’s forehead, the point guard’s eyes look up the court for an alley-oop, the receiver’s fingertip stretching out to make the touchdown grab with a clarity that won’t allow you to take your eyes off the television screen.



The regional network will begin its new local HD package with high-definition telecasts of all Sonics home games on FSN in the 2006-07 season to area HD cable and satellite subscribers. The schedule of Sonics games in HD tips off Opening Night on November 1st at 7:00pm when the Sonics take on the Portland Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers will be featured 35 times this season on FSN and the network will produce 10 of those telecasts in high-definition.



Following the NBA season, FSN HD will deliver 65 high-definition Mariners games in 2007, the largest number of games FSN has ever produced in HD for a team partner. The network will also continue its production of live college football in HD next fall.



“The Northwest is proud to be known as the nation’s leader in taking new technologies and applying them to our daily routines, so local sports television can’t afford to be any different,” said Mark Shuken, FSN Northwest Vice President and General Manager. “We’re fortunate to work with some of the most progressive teams and conferences anywhere and are proud to partner with them in meeting the evolving needs of our local community by producing our most popular events in this new format, both now and going forward.”



In addition to Comcast, FSN HD is also available on DirecTV, Click! Network, Wave Broadband and Bend Broadband. The alternate HD channels for each of these carriers are:



Comcast Channel 664

DirecTV Channel 95

Click! Network Channel 519

Wave Broadband Channels 130, 246 or 125

Bend Broadband Channel 628



Over the course of the 2006-07 seasons, the 18 Fox-owned and operated regional sports networks are planning to produce nearly 900 live HD events, featuring more than 2,500 hours of programming, making them one of the nation’s most significant producers of local HD sports programming.





FSN Northwest is the cable home of the Seattle Mariners, Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Storm, Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars, Oregon State Beavers and Gonzaga Bulldogs. The region reaches more than 3.4 million homes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. FSN reaches more than 82 million homes through its 20 regional sports channels, and serves as the only supplier of national, regional and local sports programming. For the latest up-to-the-minute sports news and opinions, visit FoxSports.com on msn.

Way Cool. Looks like the FSN HD games will be interrupting INHD like NFL Network does sometimes.

This is great news.

For comcast - Looks like every HD event from FSN HD will be shown on INHD....

brownnet where did hear this?

What is posted above was released by FSN via email at 3:00 today.

so i don't get it. will it be up to comcast here locally as to whether or not they interupt 664 with the content? i'm not complaining, just trying to understand it. does this mean, this years apple cup will be in HD?! now that would be sweet! when does this start? now?

So who gets priority - Thursday night NFL Network Football, or a Sonics home game?

Will the Sonics and Mariners preempt the E! Red Carpet at the Golden Globes/Oscars, et al?

This time sharing of that one channel is getting ridiculous.

I agree sharing one channel is a problem.

I would rather take FSN HD as seperate channel. Comcast should add this channel first and then add MHD (which I don't care about).

We should all send an email to Steve VP of Comcast NW about FSN HD being a seperate channel.

This time sharing of that one channel is getting ridiculous.

I agree. FSN HD needs its own channel.

I was just told that this starts immediately, and that the USC/OSU CFB game this weekend should be on Comcast in the Seattle Area. FSN has not determined if they will be producing the Apple Cup and/or Civil War, but if it is produced in HD, it will be on the Comcast channel in Seattle.

For those in Portland, it will apparently be December before they are technically able to broadcast FSN HD there.

What is posted above was released by FSN via email at 3:00 today.

Do they have it on the web somewhere? I'd like to send a link to a few people.

They don't generally post releases publicly on a website, but I imagine the Times or PI will have a blurb in tomorrow's paper.

On a side note, am I the only one here who thinks it is wierd that the spell checker for this forum doesn't recognize the word "website"? Is website a word, or am I supposed to make it two words?

Is there a schedule for HD coverage on FSN? I can't find anything.

so will the guide be correct? probably not, huh.

What comcast package will I need to get INHD/FSN-HD? I only have extended basic, which provides the local channels in HD only . . .

In any case, I didn't see any reference to college basketbal on FSNHD. This is unfortunate. This should be another year of great college BB in the NW. We can't say the same about football. Gonzaga should have some of its games shown in HD, as FSN, ESPN, and ESPN are sharing their contract. UW has a great team too, but our HD viewing pleasure of them may be hampered by the fact that FSN did not pick up the college games.

This leaves me with one question: should I get a bigger package just to get 3 HD channels?

Here is the FSN HD schedule for month of Nov. There is no Thursday game for sonics which means we can still watch NFL games.

http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD - Sonics Schedule

http://fsnbayarea.com/Sched_CollegeHD.jsp - College FB schedule

Too bad the Husky Football season will be pretty much done before they get around to putting FSNNW HD on the system. During last weeks California/Husky football game, I was constantly annoyed when I saw the FSN-HD logo on the fuzzy SD picture.

What comcast package will I need to get INHD/FSN-HD? I only have extended basic, which provides the local channels in HD only . . .

UW has a great team too, but our HD viewing pleasure of them may be hampered by the fact that FSN did not pick up the college games.

This leaves me with one question: should I get a bigger package just to get 3 HD channels?

I'm not sure what you mean by your line about FSN not picking up college games, but I can tell you that almost every UW game will be shown by FSN. There will be no UW games in HD, however. The GU games on FSN will also be in SD (those games are actually produced by a local station in Spokane on a contract basis for FSN). Most GU games on ESPN or E2 will be likely be in HD. FSN is probably 2-3 years minimum from having a similar HD schedule to ESPN.

That schedule is a buzz-kill after the FSN-HD news. :eek:

Wow, I'm so excited for FSN-HD after all that time checking for updates daily!

Does anyone have the email address for "Steve VP" at Comcast that we can contact about getting a dedicated channel for FSN-HD rather than having to share it with INHD. Sharing would almost certainly screw up the guide for those of us who have to watch virtually everything via DVR due to family and business schedules?

Tim

steve_kipp@cable.comcast.com

I called tivo and they couldn't give me an answer to why my channel 107 is actually espn2hd and vice versa. The tivo says it is the correct channel and guide, but what is actually showing is not. Anyone have a clue. Only happens on the tivo with cablecard.

This started about 10 days ago I think.

I called tivo and they couldn't give me an answer to why my channel 107 is actually espn2hd and vice versa. The tivo says it is the correct channel and guide, but what is actually showing is not. Anyone have a clue. Only happens on the tivo with cablecard.

This started about 10 days ago I think.

I have a S3. It appears you you do too. Though I didn't see the same problem here. I expect you are having cable card problems. Try rebooting.

I have a S3. It appears you you do too. Though I didn't see the same problem here. I expect you are having cable card problems. Try rebooting.


I called comcast and had them rehit the cards and they were unsucessful. I then looked at my cable signal strength and they showed 87 on each card. I then looked and retightened my cable connections and now at 94-97. Could that have been the problem? Wonder if I should have them rehit them again.

Also when I have them rehit them does it matter if the tivo is tuned to live tv or should I have it on the cablecard menu?

Wow, I'm so excited for FSN-HD after all that time checking for updates daily!

Who do you work for? Comcast or FSN? :cool:

Back in early summer, I called Comcast to request for additional HD, they told me that they were going to add a horror channel... Fearnet to On Demand on Oct. 31st with some HD content. I haven't heard anything since then about it or any messages from Comcast. I guess we'll find out on Halloween. Anyone hear about this or know if this is true?

Back in early summer, I called Comcast to request for additional HD, they told me that they were going to add a horror channel... Fearnet to On Demand on Oct. 31st with some HD content. I haven't heard anything since then about it or any messages from Comcast. I guess we'll find out on Halloween. Anyone hear about this or know if this is true?


I was told this morning that Comcast still plans on adding a total of 4 HD channels in 2006. I think this means that they have one more, after MHD is added. This does assume that Comcast did not count FSNHD as a new channel, as it is broadcast on INHD.

Too bad. The Sonics, finally in HD.... But since they are leaving, I really don't care anymore.

Too bad. The Sonics, finally in HD.... But since they are leaving, I really don't care anymore.

I bet the Sonics are looking for any way possible to get people to watch their games and selling an HD contract for cheap was a good option. If they combine this with (1) staying in town, and (2) winning, I may just watch a few games.

Back in early summer, I called Comcast to request for additional HD, they told me that they were going to add a horror channel... Fearnet to On Demand on Oct. 31st with some HD content. I haven't heard anything since then about it or any messages from Comcast. I guess we'll find out on Halloween. Anyone hear about this or know if this is true?

FYI: quick google search for fearnet (http://www.fearnet.com/)

I suspect fearnet will be pay VOD content.

read here (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117950329.html?categoryid=14&cs=1)

However Horror movies in DTS 5.1 make my girlfriend get closer :)

Too bad. The Sonics, finally in HD.... But since they are leaving, I really don't care anymore.I really believe there's still a good chance of the Sonics staying in the area. There's a number of people with a lot of money over here on the Eastside that are trying to get something to work and I don't think New Orleans is going to be able to support the Hornets as well as Oklahoma City for quite some time. Regardless, more NBA in HD is not a bad thing (even though I'd much rather get the Cougs, Huskies, and Zags :( ).

FYI: quick google search for fearnet (http://www.fearnet.com/)

I suspect fearnet will be pay VOD content.

read here (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117950329.html?categoryid=14&cs=1)

However Horror movies in DTS 5.1 make my girlfriend get closer :)


Just saw the ad for it on SciFi. Debuting on Holloween

Hi guys,

I don't have much hope for this location, but I'm just wondering if someone can do me a check on my reception:

187th AVE NE and 155th AVE (off Avondale) in Woodinville

Lots of trees, and hills, and...comcast that costs too much.

Thanks much.

Hi guys,

I don't have much hope for this location, but I'm just wondering if someone can do me a check on my reception:

187th AVE NE and 155th AVE (off Avondale) in Woodinville

Lots of trees, and hills, and...comcast that costs too much.

Thanks much.
You would be better off posting this in the Seattle OTA thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8751335&&#post8751335

That is where over-the-air reception is discussed.

I'm sorry! I thought that's where I was.


My mistake.

First I've seen FSN show up. USC vs. OSU

First I've seen FSN show up. USC vs. OSU

Thanks for the heads-up. Great looks great in HD

Still a little new to this but INHD is not available OTA correct? If it is what channel is it on? Thanks.

channel 664- not available OTA

I took a chance and set up some manual records on 664 from 12:30pm just in case I'd get the game of the year so far. I lucked out! But how in the heck are we supposed to know what's going to be on 664 at any given time?!?!?!?

Doesn't anybody at Comcast have a clue about using a guide with a DVR? :mad:

Tim

I took a chance and set up some manual records on 664 from 12:30pm just in case I'd get the game of the year so far. I lucked out! But how in the heck are we supposed to know what's going to be on 664 at any given time?!?!?!?

Doesn't anybody at Comcast have a clue about using a guide with a DVR? :mad:

Tim


Yes, I totally agree. I was watching NFL Replay in the morning and went and had lunch after it was over. I left the TV on and when I came back to change the channel suddenly and suprisingly, it switched to FSN. I had no idea about this since it was not on the schedule, no messages on the box... nothing. So that's why I posted here asap that FSN was on INHD with today's game.

The channel schedule is not printed media, why can't they update it live with software? I mean probably a lot of people missed that game cause they had no idea it was even on, and visa vera, people who might have wanted to record or watch was ever on INHD at the time would have been confused as to why there was a football game on instead.

...and the only way I know NFL Replay is on Saturday mornings is from coming across it randomly once and now checking each weekend for it. Discovering FSN today was kind of a fluke as well... How are we supposed to know what is on or record without an updated schedule on channel 664??

ABHD - in a word... it's COMCASTIC!

(and now we know exactly what that means)

Here's an update of the QAM list. The biggest changes:

* Moved KIRO HD, Deleted KIRO SD
* Removed PSIP table

If Comcast has restored the PSIP passthrough, and someone can post what's mapped (and where) again, I'll include it next time. (My tuner doesn't do PSIP over QAM.)

I'm a bit late on posting this, but if anyone who was having trouble with KMYQ/The Tube is still having trouble:

Channel 96 (96-1/110, 96-2/116) lies right smack in the middle of the FM band. If you're near any strong FM transmitters (Cougar Mountain, Capitol Hill, etc.) and there's any ingress on your line, things are likely to get dicey.

Comcast seems to be using QAM-64 rather than QAM-256 on channel 96, which is a bit more resiliant in high-interference situations, but it's not a silver bullet when up against 100,000 watt transmitter in the same spectrum.

Be sure that your connections are tight and undamaged, and that no water from outside has seeped into the coax.

Where does the CBS HD go on QAM? it's no longer on 84-1.

can anyone tell me how i can still use my tivo if i switch to digital cable via cable card? Currently only use basic cable with my LCD TV but want to make the switch and get more hd channels besides the locals I can get. Wondering if I have to give up my Tivo, or if i can maybe have a switch between using the cable card, and analog onmmy tv for tivo use??

Thanks..

Also if I upgrade to digital can I just pick up a cable card so i dont need to sit at my house for an appointment... i find the 4 hour block annoying to wait around for a tech, and that is one reason I have not switched.

can anyone tell me how i can still use my tivo if i switch to digital cable via cable card? Currently only use basic cable with my LCD TV but want to make the switch and get more hd channels besides the locals I can get. Wondering if I have to give up my Tivo, or if i can maybe have a switch between using the cable card, and analog onmmy tv for tivo use??

Thanks..

Also if I upgrade to digital can I just pick up a cable card so i dont need to sit at my house for an appointment... i find the 4 hour block annoying to wait around for a tech, and that is one reason I have not switched.

Simply put a splitter on the incoming cable line- one side to your TiVO- the other side to your TV.

Where does the CBS HD go on QAM? it's no longer on 84-1.
It moved (last week) to 86.2

can anyone tell me how i can still use my tivo if i switch to digital cable via cable card? Currently only use basic cable with my LCD TV but want to make the switch and get more hd channels besides the locals I can get. Wondering if I have to give up my Tivo, or if i can maybe have a switch between using the cable card, and analog onmmy tv for tivo use??

Thanks..

Also if I upgrade to digital can I just pick up a cable card so i dont need to sit at my house for an appointment... i find the 4 hour block annoying to wait around for a tech, and that is one reason I have not switched.

I have a TiVo Series 3, which takes two CableCARDs. You can view all digital TV and receive all of the HD channels with TiVo. The Series 3 has an outstanding digital tuner and you can hook up your HD OTA antenna and switch back and forth seamlessly between OTA channels and digital cable. TiVo does a cable and OTA scan when you set it up and adds all of the channels it finds to your channel guide. That said, I've found it much easier to just use the Comcast's local channels rather than the OTA channels, but the option is certainly there for you.

Comcast does allow you to pick up two CableCARDS directly from their retail stores instead of have a truck roll out to your house. The exhaustive forum thread about Comcast and the Series 3 can be found here with many references to Comcast Seattle: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=316310

can anyone tell me how i can still use my tivo if i switch to digital cable via cable card? Currently only use basic cable with my LCD TV but want to make the switch and get more hd channels besides the locals I can get. Wondering if I have to give up my Tivo, or if i can maybe have a switch between using the cable card, and analog onmmy tv for tivo use??

Thanks..

Also if I upgrade to digital can I just pick up a cable card so i dont need to sit at my house for an appointment... i find the 4 hour block annoying to wait around for a tech, and that is one reason I have not switched.

If you only have a Tivo series 1 or 2, it won't get digital cable. Only Series 3 has digital capabilities (both SD and HD). As someone mentioned above, you can use two cablecards with a series 3 and use both of its included tuners.

Assuming you have an S1 or S2 Tivo, you can use the cablecard with your TV. This will allow you to have digital cable on your TV but not your Tivo. In this case, with a splitter, your Tivo should still get the extended basis analog channels, but not the digital channels that you want to upgrade to.

I realize this is a pain.

Does TNTHD broadcast the same shows as TNT SD? I just upgraded to digital classic, and would like to delete TNT SD from my lineup if it is basically a duplicate. I already deleted the SD versions of Discovery and ESPN 1 & 2. I was also looking forward to deleting SD FSN, but we're not there yet.

Does TNTHD broadcast the same shows as TNT SD? I just upgraded to digital classic, and would like to delete TNT SD from my lineup if it is basically a duplicate. I already deleted the SD versions of Discovery and ESPN 1 & 2. I was also looking forward to deleting SD FSN, but we're not there yet.

No, I don't believe it does. From my experience, I've noticed that they'll be showing different things at the same time. I actually don't ever recall the same show being on at the same time on both channels. Typically I find that TNT HD will have a movie on, while regular TNT (SD) will be showing a show. But I could be wrong, since I'm not watching TNT all the time. There could be times where the same show is on both channels at the same time.

No, I don't believe it does. From my experience, I've noticed that they'll be showing different things at the same time. I actually don't ever recall the same show being on at the same time on both channels. Typically I find that TNT HD will have a movie on, while regular TNT (SD) will be showing a show. But I could be wrong, since I'm not watching TNT all the time. There could be times where the same show is on both channels at the same time.

TNT-HD seems to be east-coast feed of TNT, so most shows seems to be 3hrs before TNT-SD (except for live sports events etc of course)

TNT-HD seems to be east-coast feed of TNT, so most shows seems to be 3hrs before TNT-SD (except for live sports events etc of course)

Not to mention their stretching out SD format programming to fit the 16:9 size, distorting the picture, yuck.

I noticed that Alyssa Milano looked a bit streched out.

I read the following in a news article that near the end of this year, "Customers will be able to choose Comcast's own existing DVR service, which currently has a monthly fee of $9.95, or download the TiVo service right over the Comcast network for a price yet to be announced" Wow! All you have to do it download TiVO and pay a fee and you've got yourself a TiVO.

Article on C-Net (http://news.com.com/TiVo+readies+for+prime+time+with+Comcast/2100-1041_3-6130862.html?tag=html.alert)

So last night I scrolled forever to the weekend for 664 to see if any FSN content and nothing.

This morning on KJR AM Mitch in the Morning gave a comcast commerical about the Sonics in HD. 37 home games and would all be on 664 including the home opener tomorrow vs Portland. Wonder if they just waited till today and then will update the guide. :^)

Nothing about any other local teams.

they do not update or change the guide on 664. Just like last saturday they showed the husky game but it did not list that on 664. I just came across it when I was on channel 30 and saw the FoxHD logo, so I went and looked and sure enough it was on 664...

so just tune into 664 and cross your fingers...although is there really much to root for with the Oklahoma city sonics>?

Thanks for the info for sure!

Not that I'm a sonics or even basketball fan but I'll watch it for the fact that it's HD and I listen to KJR all day long so tough for me to listen to them talk about something I didn't watch. :^)

Least with all this I hope to have my Seattle Thunderbirds playing in Kent in a couple years! 5 mins away from my house!

I heard Fearnet was added to On Demand content today. As for HD content, only one movie so far... I'm at work so haven't had a chance to check it out yet.

Any news on MHD? What's the hold up? I thought they had made room for more HD by getting rid of some analog channels, and was expecting it would have been added by now.

Hmmm -- I am still having trouble tuning 96-1 and 96-2 (KMYQ & TheTube) with HTPC w/ DVICO Fusion 3.41 on Comcast -- anyone having any success?

Thanks

Dumb newbie question here. If I am already a comcast basic cable and cable internet subscriber, to get HD content, is the $5.00 HDTV package and a comcast HD box all I need? And if so, does anyone know how much the monthly rental charge on that box is?

Also what outputs does the HD box have? Ideally I would want component video and digital audio.

Thanks!

Hey, they moved analog TV Guide channel on 74 to a digital channel. Anyone know where it moved to?

I found it.

BTW, I also noticed that they moved Kiro in HD from 84-1 to 86-2. Not sure what happened to Kiro-DT. Now how will I find out if the airport is busy? :)

Looks like AVS saved the day once more. It's been 84-1 for me for a while now but tonight I got a scrambled signal tuned to 86-2 and sure enough KIRO CBS.

Anyway I've got a complete listing faxed over to me from the Comcast office in Redmond on 8/10. I've updated it and noted a couple things if anyone is interested I'll post the complete list of channels that we should be able to get with QAM enabled tuners.

Where does the CBS HD go on QAM? it's no longer on 84-1.

86-2

Here's what Comcast says about FSN HD Sonics/Mariners/NCAA Football games on INHD:

Thank you for contacting Comcast Cable.

I understand that you would like the Sonics FSN HD schedule. Comcast and Fox
Sports Net have finalized an agreement to present 37 Seattle Sonics, 65 Seattle
Mariners and various college games in high-definition television (HDTV). Each
game will be inserted on iNHD, channel 664. The Sonics HD games will only be
available in Western Washington only. The Mariner HD and various College HD
games will be available in both Western Washington and Spokane. The guide date
will be correct. There is a high likelihood that some planned iNHD programming
will be interrupted as the HD games are inserted. Here is the list of Sonics
games that will be aired on INHD.

1-Nov
Wednesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Portland

4-Nov
Saturday
4:00 PM
8:00 PM
NCAA: Stanford vs. USC

5-Nov
Sunday
6:00 PM
10:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. L.A. Lakers

11-Nov
Saturday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NCAA: Oregon vs. USC

15-Nov
Wednesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Philadelphia 76er's

17-Nov
Friday
7:30 PM
11:30 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Utah

20-Nov
Monday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. New Jersey Nets

24-Nov
Friday
7:30 PM
11:30 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Sacramento

26-Nov
Sunday
6:00 PM
10:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. San Antonio

29-Nov
Wednesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Orlando

5-Dec
Tuesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Atlanta Hawks

8-Dec
Friday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. NO/Oklahoma City

10-Dec
Sunday
6:00 PM
10:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Golden State

23-Dec
Saturday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Toronto

26-Dec
Tuesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. NO/Oklahoma City

31-Dec
Sunday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Boston Celtics

5-Jan
Friday
7:30 PM
11:30 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. New York

10-Jan
Wednesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Miami

12-Jan
Friday
7:30 PM
11:30 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Utah

16-Jan
Tuesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Cleveland

19-Jan
Friday
7:30 PM
11:30 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Milwaukee

23-Jan
Tuesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Denver

26-Jan
Friday
7:30 PM
11:30 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Minnesota Timber

28-Jan
Sunday
6:00 PM
10:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. L.A. Clippers

2-Feb
Friday
7:30 PM
11:30 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Chicago Bulls

10-Feb
Saturday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Sacramento

14-Feb
Wednesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Phoenix Suns

20-Feb
Tuesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Memphis

26-Feb
Monday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Portland

4-Mar
Sunday
6:00 PM
10:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Charlotte

13-Mar
Tuesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Detroit Pistons

17-Mar
Saturday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Golden State

21-Mar
Wednesday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Washington Wizards

23-Mar
Friday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Minnesota Timber

25-Mar
Sunday
6:00 PM
10:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. San Antonio

30-Mar
Friday
7:30 PM
11:30 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Memphis

1-Apr
Sunday
9:00 PM
1:00 AM
NBA: Sonics vs. Denver

6-Apr
Friday
7:30 PM
11:30 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. L.A. Lakers

9-Apr
Monday
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
NBA: Sonics vs. Houston


Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Thank you for choosing Comcast.

Sincerely,

Dawn
Comcast Online Customer Support

Great News on FSN HD. Thanks for the Update

I count 37 Sonics games on FSN-HD - that's almost as many HD games as I've seen for any NBA team. Nice job!

Now, how are we going to schedule our DVRs to record these games for us so we can actually watch them?

Looks like AVS saved the day once more. It's been 84-1 for me for a while now but tonight I got a scrambled signal tuned to 86-2 and sure enough KIRO CBS.

Anyway I've got a complete listing faxed over to me from the Comcast office in Redmond on 8/10. I've updated it and noted a couple things if anyone is interested I'll post the complete list of channels that we should be able to get with QAM enabled tuners.
please post new QAM CHANNELS.
Thanks,
Ralph

please post new QAM CHANNELS.
Thanks,
Ralph

Here's my listing provided by Comcast Redmond:

DTV

79-1 NWCN
79-2 KWPX (PAX)
79-3 KOMO (ABC)
79-4 KING (NBC)
79-5 KONG
79-6 CBUT
79-7 KCTS
79-8 KTWB (WB)
79-9 KSTW (CW11 aka UPN)
79-10 KBTC
80-1 KCPQ (FOX)
80-2 KIRO (CBS)
80-3 KHVC
80-4 KWDK
80-6 KBTW
80-7 GOACO23
80-8 KWOG
80-10 KBCB


HDTV

81-1 KCPQ-HD (FOX)
81-2 KTWB-HD (WB, now known as KMYQ)
82-1 KCTSDT
82-3 KCTSDT3
82-4 KOMO-HD (ABC)
82-5 KCTS-HD (1080i, pretty cool for demos)
83-1 KING-HD (NBC)
83-2 KONG-HD
83-3 KING WTHR PLS
84-1 KIRO-HD (CBS, NOW ON 86-2)


More DTV

91-8 HALMRK
102-8 JWLTV
102-9 UWTV
103-4 DSCP (Discovery, wish it was Discovery HD)
104-1 CSPAN
104-2 CSPAN2
104-9 CCHSN
104-10 QVC


Other QAM

116-1 League Pass
118-16 ~ 118-23 Various Español Music
119-10 ~ 119-54 Various Assorted Music


There you have it. If anyone has any updates/changes/etc please fill us all in. Hope this helps everyone out.

Corego.

Many thanks

Ralph

The sonics game looks awesome on 664 but is anyone else getting a black screen when watching ESPN-HD?

I heard Fearnet was added to On Demand content today. As for HD content, only one movie so far... I'm at work so haven't had a chance to check it out yet.

Any news on MHD? What's the hold up? I thought they had made room for more HD by getting rid of some analog channels, and was expecting it would have been added by now.

I have heard that MHD may be coming by the end of the year. There was a piece of mail that went out last month saying to watch out for it. So, it is coming, maybe soon.

A great addition for the Sonics and Mariners games in HD, sad that it is taking over the iNHD channels but since there really isn't much programming for FSN in HD (at least, that's what I understand) it does seem silly to dedicate another channel and use up the bandwidth. College games too?

Check out FEARnet! There are only 3 HD movies that I see right now but crossing my fingers for more. Full screen horror can't be beat :D

What channel is Fearnet?

The sonics game looks awesome on 664 but is anyone else getting a black screen when watching ESPN-HD?

Nope, was watching it last night about the time you posted this. No problems.

What channel is Fearnet?

Fearnet is on demand content.

Sonics game did look great for sure.... Not 5.1 for me though. :^(

I have heard that MHD may be coming by the end of the year.

Now it's by the end of the year? Hmmm... so what is the hold up in Seattle with Comcast and HD? What does "soon" mean to Comcast? I mean, I was told almost 2 months ago that they were going to add MHD soon, within the next 2 months they said... there are 10 days left for them to add that since I got that email saying that. I got that pamphlet in the mail about a month ago or so saying MHD would be coming soon. I was also told this summer that I would be "pleasantly surprised" with the HD additions if I stuck with Comcast until Oct 31st. So I figured for sure they'd at least add MHD and more by Oct. 31st.... We got CW-HD since then, which is cool, but I'm really not "pleasantly surprised"

and now the real kicker... I used to live in a very small town in Oregon and still have friends that live there. They've had all the HD channels we have plus they've had UHD and MHD. Today I get a message from a friend teasing me about the fact that they got a new message today from Comcast that they are going to add A&E HD and National Geographic HD on Dec. 5th!! :eek:

Now if they'd add those 4 HD channels to our area "soon" then I'd be "pleasantly surprised!"

Ok now sorry for the long rant here. Just want to see more HD added from Seattle Comcast like everyone else seems to be getting around the country.

I'd be totally happy with MHD and INHD this year, but would have to admit A&EHD & NGHD would be cool.

I'd be totally happy with MHD and INHD this year, but would have to admit A&EHD & NGHD would be cool.

And Univerisal HD and bug fix update to their DVR software.

Ok now sorry for the long rant here. Just want to see more HD added from Seattle Comcast like everyone else seems to be getting around the country.


We all need to keep sending emails to Steve Kipp....I sent him an email on saturday about MHD but no reply yet (third email about MHD to him).


The more emails he get the more chances that we get new hd channels.

We all need to keep sending emails to Steve Kipp....I sent him an email on saturday about MHD but no reply yet (third email about MHD to him).

Cool, thanks. Yeah I'll keep emailing too. My next request will include the 2 new HD's that Comcast is adding.

I emailed Steve before and also John Dietrich. John gave me the quote about MHD coming next and possibly UHD. If John's quote is accurate we should be seeing MHD in the next couple weeks. But honestly, I thought we'd see it come sooner after the channel changes that were made for 111. I don't know what takes so long especially when we got ESPN-2 right away after requesting it.

Contact info:

Steve Kipp: Steve_Kipp@cable.comcast.com

John M. Dietrich
Area Vice President
Puget Sound North
Comcast Corporation
(425) 867-7440

John_Dietrich@cable.comcast.com

"Getting our Customers.......to Notice the Difference"

Just sent John an email....Telling him about how OR is getting more hd channels then us. I also mentioned to him that Verizon's Fios tv is coming soon so, comcast better start adding more hd channels.

Just got a note from someone in Comcast that they are just about to announce that they are adding MHD and Universal HD effective 12/15 (Channels 660 and 661)

Hey folks. I have Comcast Basic cable. I also have a Pioneer 5070HD that was recently purchased. My understanding was that I should be able to access all of comcast's non-premium HD channels by running the cable into the Antenna A slot and using my built in QAM tuner. I don't have a cable box. At any rate, it doesn't work. Any ideas? Do I need a cable box to do it?
Thanks.

You don't need a cable box, you're doing something wrong. I have a Pioneer 4360HD and it works fine. Did you do a channel scan? You must do this before it will work. We have basic + extended.


Hey folks. I have Comcast Basic cable. I also have a Pioneer 5070HD that was recently purchased. My understanding was that I should be able to access all of comcast's non-premium HD channels by running the cable into the Antenna A slot and using my built in QAM tuner. I don't have a cable box. At any rate, it doesn't work. Any ideas? Do I need a cable box to do it?
Thanks.

Hey folks. I have Comcast Basic cable. I also have a Pioneer 5070HD that was recently purchased. My understanding was that I should be able to access all of comcast's non-premium HD channels by running the cable into the Antenna A slot and using my built in QAM tuner. I don't have a cable box. At any rate, it doesn't work. Any ideas? Do I need a cable box to do it?
Thanks.

If you only have Comcast Basic, you will only get the local HD channels. You can step-up to the "digital classic" package and add ESPN 1 & 2, TNTHD, DiscoveryHD, INHD. I assume MHD & UHD will be added to this package too, and believe that a cablecard is necessary for all but the local HD channels. :mad:

yeah, I did the channel search, but didn't get any of the '.01' type channels...

Just got a note from someone in Comcast that they are just about to announce that they are adding MHD and Universal HD effective 12/15 (Channels 660 and 661)

This is great news. Now they need to add A&E and Neo Geo HD as OR comcast is adding this in Novemeber.

Here is an article on comcast washington adding new HD channels

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,16189.shtml

Apologies if this is too much of a noob question, as I'm not an expert in all of the technologies, but still learning. :D

I have the Comcast HD-DVR box, I believe it's the 3412 that other people have mentioned. My TV is the Vizio 42" that was featured at Costco a while back.

My question is regarding signal strength. For HD channels, ABC and NBC seem to come in great, but CBS and ESPN are a bit more spotty. FOX as well. The resolution for the World Series games, for example, just didn't seem up to HD par for me. Shows like Lost still look incredible though.

I thought that perhaps my TV was having trouble with the signal, but a friend of mine who lives a mile or two away, noted that he has the same spotty HD quality, especially with sports, on FOX and CBS.

Is this just normal for Comcast? For things like football I just feel like I'm seeing too much pixelation in the picture.

FWIW, my cable box outside of my house is a bit sensitive. When I previously still just had regular cable, I noticed that the signal for the lower end channels would get really bad if the box with the cables had been bumped, etc. So is there a chance that I'm not getting a great signal into my house?

Any thoughts appreciated. I really want to watch the Sonics in HD, but I didn't think it looked that great on my set.

Apologies if this is too much of a noob question, as I'm not an expert in all of the technologies, but still learning. :D

I have the Comcast HD-DVR box, I believe it's the 3412 that other people have mentioned. My TV is the Vizio 42" that was featured at Costco a while back.

My question is regarding signal strength. For HD channels, ABC and NBC seem to come in great, but CBS and ESPN are a bit more spotty. FOX as well. The resolution for the World Series games, for example, just didn't seem up to HD par for me. Shows like Lost still look incredible though.

I thought that perhaps my TV was having trouble with the signal, but a friend of mine who lives a mile or two away, noted that he has the same spotty HD quality, especially with sports, on FOX and CBS.

Is this just normal for Comcast? For things like football I just feel like I'm seeing too much pixelation in the picture.

FWIW, my cable box outside of my house is a bit sensitive. When I previously still just had regular cable, I noticed that the signal for the lower end channels would get really bad if the box with the cables had been bumped, etc. So is there a chance that I'm not getting a great signal into my house?

Any thoughts appreciated. I really want to watch the Sonics in HD, but I didn't think it looked that great on my set.


I've never had any of these problems with Comcast, but I have a Tivo S3. It was a total rip off, but I get the channels I'm supposed too. :)

sarm34,
I had the same issues channels 107 and 173 with the Comcast HD-DVR, and was sure that it was because the signal from the street to my house was not strong enough. I already had an signal amplifier purchased through Comcast, but that still was not giving me a signal that would consistently give me those two channels without interruption. I purchased a cable signal booster off of Ebay seller: "signalboosters" and haven't had any issues since. I also have a Dvico FusionHDTV5, and it increased the signal strength on the QAM HD channels on that significantly as well. Hope that helps. The signal booster should resolve the issues that you're having.

sarm34,
I had the same issues channels 107 and 173 with the Comcast HD-DVR, and was sure that it was because the signal from the street to my house was not strong enough. I already had an signal amplifier purchased through Comcast, but that still was not giving me a signal that would consistently give me those two channels without interruption. I purchased a cable signal booster off of Ebay seller: "signalboosters" and haven't had any issues since. I also have a Dvico FusionHDTV5, and it increased the signal strength on the QAM HD channels on that significantly as well. Hope that helps. The signal booster should resolve the issues that you're having.


I've always wondered how well these worked. I generally don't have any problems with my setup, but every now and then I have noticed a few channels will get pixelated and/or stutter or drop out completely (although this is typically few and far between). Generally the channels that are hit if it does occur are USA, ESPNHD & ESPN2HD. I never thought much of why it happened, as they would come back after a bit, and since it didn't happen often I dismissed it as weird network issues.

So the question is this, how well do they work, and are they worth it? I do have my signal split as follows:
Wall->Surge->splitter (which breaks down as follows)
-> HD DVR 3412
-> MCE Hauppauge 250 Tuner
-> MCE Hauppauge 250 Tuner

Thus far I've been happy with the picture quality. I have noticed a bit of graininess in my HD picture, but its generally not that noticeable, and I don't know if its my TV, the HD Tuner, or my signal, but since its never been that bad I've dismissed it.
However, it could just be my ignorance since I've never seen what the picture *COULD* possibly be. So could this improve it at all?

Also, if its definitely a benefit, what manufacturer/type would you, or anyone recommend? (According to some of the auctions, PCT is a highly regarded manufacturer)

Thanks in advance for any advice you all might have.
kli

Just heard on KOMO radio that Comcast will be adding FSN HD and Universal HD..missed the dates though.

sarm34,
I had the same issues channels 107 and 173 with the Comcast HD-DVR, and was sure that it was because the signal from the street to my house was not strong enough. I already had an signal amplifier purchased through Comcast, but that still was not giving me a signal that would consistently give me those two channels without interruption. I purchased a cable signal booster off of Ebay seller: "signalboosters" and haven't had any issues since. I also have a Dvico FusionHDTV5, and it increased the signal strength on the QAM HD channels on that significantly as well. Hope that helps. The signal booster should resolve the issues that you're having.

Thanks for the info. I generally don't ever have those channels cut in or out, but do have some of the pixelating problems.

My cable box to the house outside has one line coming in, and is then split 4 ways - should I just boost the main line to the TV, or boost it into the splitter? Does it matter at all?

Press Release News | Home



Comcast in Washington State Enhances High-Definition Line-Up With Sports From FSN, Plus MHD and Universal HD

Posted on : Fri, 03 Nov 2006 18:00:00 GMT | Author : Comcast Corporation
News Category : PressRelease






SEATTLE, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Comcast, the nation's premier provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, announced today that it is launching two new channels and carrying FSN Northwest games in state-of-the-art high-definition (HD) format on its cable systems throughout Western Washington.



Comcast will carry a minimum of 35 Sonics games in HD on Comcast Digital Cable channel 664. The next scheduled game to be telecast in HD will be the Sonics against the LA Lakers on Nov. 5. In addition, FSN Northwest programming will include up to 65 Mariners games. Other programs already scheduled include Pac-10 College football games, Stanford vs. USC (Nov. 4) and Oregon vs. USC (Nov. 11).



On Dec. 15, Comcast will add MHD and Universal HD to its lineup. -- MHD: Music High-Definition blends musical programming from MTV, VH1 and CMT, such as MTV Unplugged, VH1 Storytellers and CMT Crossroads, as well as original concert series like Music with Altitude featuring the Goo Goo Dolls. The network covers all genres of music, including rock, country, pop, hip hop, reggae, soul and more. -- Universal HD offers the best in HD from NBC Universal including programs that have aired on NBC, Bravo, USA Network, and the Sci-Fi Channel, including Law & Order: SVU, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, and many live sports events.



"Through the power of HD, our customers will feel like they are on the floor with the Sonics, in the concert hall with their favorite band, or in the middle of the action in their favorite drama. Music, entertainment and top- rated network TV shows are among the most popular programming in HD, so we are delighted to give our customers even more of the high-definition programming they want to watch," said Tom Pierce, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Comcast's Washington market.



The FSN Network games will be broadcast on INHD on Comcast Digital Cable Channel 664. Universal HD will be on Channel 660, while MHD will be on Channel 661.



HD technology provides video and audio that is clearer, sharper and more vibrant than traditional standard-definition video transmissions. HD generates significantly wider pictures (16x9 ratio) compared to standard TV (4x3 ratio).



With these new offerings, Comcast Digital Cable customers with high- definition television sets and HD service from Comcast can choose from as many as 19 HD channels throughout Western Washington. Comcast offers the most HD choices with 100 hours of HD VOD programs each month as well as the local affiliates of most major broadcast networks and many of the most popular HD cable networks and premium channels.



About Comcast

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One and four regional Comcast SportsNets. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

Comcast currently employs more than 2,800 people in 14 offices in Washington, including two call centers. The company has 1.2 million customers in Washington.

December 15: Who won the pool?

Kli and sarm34,
I really couldn't comment on the technical aspects of it, but I knew that I had a weak signal, as I've had to had Comcast come out a few times (constant cable modem signal dropout, etc.) - apparently there is a lot of interference between the street-level box and my house. I've been using the amplifier I bought from them for a couple years now, and while that did increase the signal, I think I have something like 6 splits in my house. The ones with the HD-DVRs were problematic on Kiro-HD and ESPNHD, while the one split to the cable modem would sporadically drop out. Right now, I have the Comcast amplifier with the main signal and then have it going into a Viewsonics 4-port amplifier I bought off seller "signalboosters" on Ebay. I don't know if I'm supposed to run two amplifiers contiguously like that, but I do know that I have strong signals where signals used to be weak. I was having a difficult time tuning into the QAM Komo HD channel. It used to come in at ~79% (stuttering visuals if any at all) and now is consistently at >95%. It's increased my signal dramatically.

Just found this on the Puget Sound Business Journal website:

Comcast to show 65 Mariners games in HD
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - 10:49 AM PST Friday

Seattle Mariners fans will once again see the Mariners play in high-definition television next season.

Comcast announced that at least 65 Mariners games on FSN Northwest next season will be broadcast in high definition. In addition, 35 Seattle SuperSonics games this season on FSN Northwest will be broadcast in high definition, beginning with the Sonics versus the L.A. Lakers on Nov. 5.

The FSN Northwest games will be aired on Comcast's channel 664.

Two seasons ago, Comcast broadcast some Mariners games in high definition but this season, fans weren't able to see the FSN games in HD.

Comcast officials also said they're adding a music high-definition channel (661) and a University HD channel (660) beginning Dec. 15.

If there's only going to be 35 Sonics games on FSN-HD this year, I wonder which 2 of the 37 listed up in Post 7822 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8791791&&#post8791791) above are listed in error?

Tim

On edit: Oh, yes - I see the 35 doesn't include the season opener against Portland that was on FSN-HD on 664. So that leaves one more that's not accounted for.

Thanks for posting the announcement and to all who emailed in requesting more HD. I've been waiting a long time to hear an official announcement like this. Some really great news indeed! :)

I promise not to rank on Comcast adding more HD until next year :D

I promise not to rank on Comcast adding more HD until next year :D


I will wait until Jan 1st of 2007 and then start sending my emails for A&E and National Geo HD.

The guide now shows the FSN HD games on 664.

The guide now shows the FSN HD games on 664.

Also the channel name changed to INHDCO on channel guide

How about dumping both MHD and UHD and then adding National Geographic. By the way, Radio Shack sells a four way splitter amplifier (8 db per channel) for about $50 for those with pixelation problems. sam

I've tried the cable amplifiers that are readily available at Radio Shack and they don't perform nearly as well as the Viewsonics ones.

Does anyone know the differnce between "Roosevelt-Comcast" and "Seattle-Comcast" in different tv schedule listings (e.g. TV Guide on-line) in the Seattle area? I live right off of Roosevelt way (a few blocks from the old Comcast building).

One other thing. This morning, Saturday, November 4th, my ABC HD signal (104) is completely unwatchable. Anyone else having this problem?

Patrick

Hopefully Huskie basketball will have some HD games on FSN-HD. In my opinion, the SD version of FSN sucks the big one.

How about dumping both MHD and UHD and then adding National Geographic.
And here's proof positive that you can't please everybody: while I could give a rip about MHD, I would WAY rather have UHD over an HD National Geographic channel.

Unfortunately FSN has no plans at this time to produce any college basketball in HD. I think it will be next year at the earliest before we see that, and then probably only the national games.

Thank you, Comcast, for adding the FSN-HD programming into the INHD (now INHDCOM 664) program guide. That works great!!

Tim

Thank you, Comcast, for adding the FSN-HD programming into the INHD (now INHDCOM 664) program guide. That works great!!

Tim


Did anybody had any problems viewing INHD right after college football game last night? My DVR was set to record the basketball game between phx and lac and all i got was colorfull stripes for 2hr and 10mins.

I switched from basic to digital cable a month or so ago and got the Comcast HD-DVR (Mot 3412) temporarily to evaluate how bad it really was. What I really want is the Tivo S3, but I can't justify the expense. I had read previously on this forum about many of the issues people were having with this box.

Here are the issues I've noticed in the short time I've had it.

1. It sometimes does not record what it is told to.
2. Sometimes it says it has recorded something, but when I go to view it and error message pops up and the recording is not there.
3. Once during a recent Seahawk HD recording, short segments of the game were dropped. There was no gap in the recording, it would just suddenly go from 6:35 left in the 2nd quarter to 5:55. If you weren't paying attention, you might not notice it
4. Yesterday's recording of the Huskies (SD) had a strange problem with the indicated length of the recording. Sometimes when I would FF it would say the recording length was 4 hrs(correct), at other times it would say 2:39. All went well until I got past the 2:39 point in the recording. Once past this point, I could no longer FF. If I tried, I would return to the 2:39 point of the game. It was like watching "Groundhog Day". [Can you imagine watching the rest of that game with no FF] :)

I sort of expected the type 1 and 2 errors. However, I am interested if others have seen the type 3 or 4 errors.

I would be extremely frustrated if my only DVR was the 3412. Lucky I have a number of SD Tivos as backup. I can live with the 3412 for a while longer but if the price of the S3 drops a bit more, I might have to bite the bullet.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

Did anybody had any problems viewing INHD right after college football game last night? My DVR was set to record the basketball game between phx and lac and all i got was colorfull stripes for 2hr and 10mins.Same here. Then the picture came back for the end of the NBA game.

BR, at various times I've experienced each of the symptoms you described. Every once in a while I forget to make a backup recording with one of my ReplayTVs and I'm hosed if the Comcast DVR makes a mistake. :mad:

BTW, my guide says the Broncos-Steelers game is supposed to be in HiDef. Did someone forget to "flip the switch" or is the guide incorrect?

Tim

Same here. Then the picture came back for the end of the NBA game.

BTW, my guide says the Broncos-Steelers game is supposed to be in HiDef. Did someone forget to "flip the switch" or is the guide incorrect?

Tim

i think the "switch" didn't get flipped -- CBS advertised that it's supposed to be HD. :(

someone just flipped the switch, much better

I switched from basic to digital cable a month or so ago and got the Comcast HD-DVR (Mot 3412) temporarily to evaluate how bad it really was. What I really want is the Tivo S3, but I can't justify the expense. I had read previously on this forum about many of the issues people were having with this box.

Here are the issues I've noticed in the short time I've had it.

1. It sometimes does not record what it is told to.
2. Sometimes it says it has recorded something, but when I go to view it and error message pops up and the recording is not there.
3. Once during a recent Seahawk HD recording, short segments of the game were dropped. There was no gap in the recording, it would just suddenly go from 6:35 left in the 2nd quarter to 5:55. If you weren't paying attention, you might not notice it
4. Yesterday's recording of the Huskies (SD) had a strange problem with the indicated length of the recording. Sometimes when I would FF it would say the recording length was 4 hrs(correct), at other times it would say 2:39. All went well until I got past the 2:39 point in the recording. Once past this point, I could no longer FF. If I tried, I would return to the 2:39 point of the game. It was like watching "Groundhog Day". [Can you imagine watching the rest of that game with no FF] :)

I sort of expected the type 1 and 2 errors. However, I am interested if others have seen the type 3 or 4 errors.

I would be extremely frustrated if my only DVR was the 3412. Lucky I have a number of SD Tivos as backup. I can live with the 3412 for a while longer but if the price of the S3 drops a bit more, I might have to bite the bullet.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

Never had a problem with my TiVo Series 3, the expense is justified IMO, you can't beat it.

Never had a problem with my TiVo Series 3, the expense is justified IMO, you can't beat it.
The only problem I have ever had with my 3412 is the well reported rebooting bug associated with the software "upgrade" from version 12.31 to 12.35. Since calling Comcast to rollback the software, I have had no problems.

I am curious to see a Tivo interface. I have been reading for some time how much better it is than the Microsoft guide on the Motorola boxes. The MS guide is very easy to use and I am curious what Tivo does that makes it substantially better than the MS Guide.

My biggest beefs with the 3412 are that I would like a hard drive about twice the size and I'd like an easy way to archive shows to an external hard drive for long-term storage.

I've tried the cable amplifiers that are readily available at Radio Shack and they don't perform nearly as well as the Viewsonics ones.

well, i'm going to give these a shot. i checked the signal strength, and its hovering around 35db... i vaguely remember reading somewhere that they suggested it should be above a certain level, but I can't seem to find that at the moment. does anyone know?

also, i've read that the drop amp should be placed before you split anything (or you could go with one that splits them itself), which seems logical to me. however, I also remember someone saying that they put 2 cable amps in series... this doesn't sound like a good idea to me. any thoughts?

thanks.

btw, i agree, the broncos game looked *MUCH* better after they "flipped" the switch. also, i caught some of the sonics game last night in HD on 664... looked great.

Kli,
I'm the one running two amplifiers in series. I agree that it's not necessarily the smartest idea, but I haven't run into any problems yet. Give one of the Viewsonics a try (before any splits). I think you'll be very satisfied with the results. I think in your original post, you had mentioned something about pixelation. The amp should resolve that.

I've got the Motorola cable box with Microsoft's software. Some of the HD shows include an "LB" icon in addition to the "HD" and "CC" icons for HDTV and Closed Captioned.

Does anyone know what the "LB" stands for? I've tried searching and figuring it out and just wasted a lot of time for no answer.

Thanks!

I've got the Motorola cable box with Microsoft's software. Some of the HD shows include an "LB" icon in addition to the "HD" and "CC" icons for HDTV and Closed Captioned.

Does anyone know what the "LB" stands for? I've tried searching and figuring it out and just wasted a lot of time for no answer.

Thanks!

I'd venture to guess it stands for "Letter Box" format (e.g. 16:9 or more)

Best Regards,

Kli,
I'm the one running two amplifiers in series. I agree that it's not necessarily the smartest idea, but I haven't run into any problems yet. Give one of the Viewsonics a try (before any splits). I think you'll be very satisfied with the results. I think in your original post, you had mentioned something about pixelation. The amp should resolve that.

Thanks yesan. I'm taking a look at several on ebay, and will be getting one soon (either a PCT or Viewsonics). I'll let you know how it turns out.

Anybody else unable to view the Sonics game in HD today?

Anybody else unable to view the Sonics game in HD today?

I'm getting a black screen on 664. :mad:

Anybody else unable to view the Sonics game in HD today?

I believe that the broadcast on 664 is not produced by FSN-NW. It's being carried nationally on NBA TV via the Miami broadcast. It is probably subject to the same type of blackout restrictions we're used to seeing when the M's play on iNHD and FSN at the same time.

I thought only the home games were shown in HD on FSN.

I believe that the broadcast on 664 is not produced by FSN-NW. It's being carried nationally on NBA TV via the Miami broadcast. It is probably subject to the same type of blackout restrictions we're used to seeing when the M's play on iNHD and FSN at the same time.


I called Comcast and they said they were aware of the problem and were fixing it.

I think you are right, though. I guess the CSR didn't know.

Yeah, they will fix it when the games over.

hmmm . . . the sonics game is not listed on the schedule for tonight. Is it just fluke that we had a black screen at the same time? NOT!!! I suspect a screwup.

I set the DVR to record the Sonics-Miami game that was listed on 664 and didn't get home from work until the game was over. Imagine my disappointment to find nothing but a black screen! Thanik goodness the game was replayed on FSN channel 30 so I got to see at least see some of it. Seems like it's going to take them some work to make sure the guide is consistently accurate.

the guide was accurate. that was the national game last night and it was blacked out in seattle due to Fox having rights. Last nights game was not one of the 37 games that we will see. Of course why were we able to view the oklahoma sonics against the lakers on espn HD...but what we saw last night always is the case on a national iNHD game...

the guide was accurate. that was the national game last night and it was blacked out in seattle due to Fox having rights. Last nights game was not one of the 37 games that we will see. Of course why were we able to view the oklahoma sonics against the lakers on espn HD...but what we saw last night always is the case on a national iNHD game...Perhaps you don't have a DVR. The guide on a DVR is NOT "accurate" when it allows a recording to be scheduled that it's not going to be able to do.

I'm afraid this is going to be one of the problems we risk running into as long as we have to work with a manually blended guide. We've now got at least three different networks populating a single channel and the guide is going to need to show program information that includes which network the program is from if we are expected to know whether it will be subject to blackout rules or not ourselves.

Tim

Perhaps you don't have a DVR. The guide on a DVR is NOT "accurate" when it allows a recording to be scheduled that it's not going to be able to do.

I'm afraid this is going to be one of the problems we risk running into as long as we have to work with a manually blended guide. We've now got at least three different networks populating a single channel and the guide is going to need to show program information that includes which network the program is from if we are expected to know whether it will be subject to blackout rules or not ourselves.

Tim


The FSN HD guide was accurate (not listing the game as being broadcast on FSNHD). Hopefully, the Comcast/Tivo/Trinity Broadcast people will use it as a resource in the future. The link is http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD.

The guide is showing NBA basketball at 7PM tomorrow (Sat, 11/11) on 664 whereas we were told a few posts back that at that time they were going to have FSN-HD's USC at Oregon football game. Does anyone know which one is correct?

Thanks!

Tim

Never had a problem with my TiVo Series 3, the expense is justified IMO, you can't beat it.
I've been a looong time Tivo user (Sony-Tivo series 1 DVR connected to an SD Direc** Sat rcvr). I'm goin HD; so I picked up two cablecards from Comcast last week, and my Tivo S-3 arrived from magnolia on Tuesday. The first card paired-up fine; the second card would latch and authorize, but then de-authorized itself only minutes later. After 4 more phone calls to Comcast customer support, I have these comments to make:

- The motorola cablecards come in two firmware versions; the older rev fails about 30% on the first try, and can fail up to 6 months later (per one of the CSRs). These are currently being phased out; always obtain and keep handy a spare, I was told...

- The Wife specifically insisted on a Tivo, and not just any DVR. Curse the expense, but she was right...this thing is awesome and completely meets my expectations once both cablecards were working.

- Even accounting for differences in panels, the HD I'm receiving over Comcast looks better on average than the HD my buddy is geting via Direc** Sat on his setup and he's got everything configured right and calibrated on his Sharp Aquos.

- The Comcast Customer Service via phone was outstanding. Every one of the CSRs I spoke with was a local, spoke english as a first language, and was familiar with cablecards and 'had a clue'. I even got a call back from their second-tier support 'Guru Guy", we had a nice chat and I learned a few things about the system.

- If you have a cablecard that receives digital channels up to some arbitrary number, but no channels above that number that you *should* receive (ex.: Card only receives up to ch. 427, but you should be getting channels above that) then the card is defective - swing by the Comcast office and exchange it for two new cablecards (one replacement, plus one spare) and it's almost certain one of the two new cards will work correctly.

I was very impressed with Comcast's customer support - we resolved all of my cards issues and I am loving the signal quality (all channels sig. strength is +97%). :cool:

Cheers,
-3Gun

The guide is showing NBA basketball at 7PM tomorrow (Sat, 11/11) on 664 whereas we were told a few posts back that at that time they were going to have FSN-HD's USC at Oregon football game. Does anyone know which one is correct?

Thanks!

Tim

The Oregon at USC game is on 664 now.

The Oregon at USC game is on 664 now.Good thing. I needed to know last night as we were
3+ hours away from home all day for my brother-in-law's wedding and I just had to take a chance. The biggest problem is these hard disks are so small that I have to sacrifice other HD games in order to take a chance on things like the Oregon-USC game today.

Any information on the Apply Cup being in HD? I know it starts at 3:45PM.

Originally, I heard it was down to the Civil War game in Oregon, or the Apple Cup for HD. No doubt the Oregon game has more appeal, but I'm a homer and want the Apple Cup in HD.

On Dec. 15, Comcast will add MHD and Universal HD to its lineup. -- MHD: Music High-Definition blends musical programming from MTV, VH1 and CMT, such as MTV Unplugged, VH1 Storytellers and CMT Crossroads, as well as original concert series like Music with Altitude featuring the Goo Goo Dolls. The network covers all genres of music, including rock, country, pop, hip hop, reggae, soul and more. -- Universal HD offers the best in HD from NBC Universal including programs that have aired on NBC, Bravo, USA Network, and the Sci-Fi Channel, including Law & Order: SVU, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, and many live sports events.

[...]

The FSN Network games will be broadcast on INHD on Comcast Digital Cable Channel 664. Universal HD will be on Channel 660, while MHD will be on Channel 661.

[...]

With these new offerings, Comcast Digital Cable customers with high- definition television sets and HD service from Comcast can choose from as many as 19 HD channels throughout Western Washington. Comcast offers the most HD choices with 100 hours of HD VOD programs each month as well as the local affiliates of most major broadcast networks and many of the most popular HD cable networks and premium channels.


Can I assume Universal HD won't be via QAM? I currently have extended basic and am considering one of the HDHomerun (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=731457) QAM capable tuners. I really don't want to buy/rent a cablebox (sigh).

Also, can someone explain a bit more about the QAM lineup (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8796655&&#post8796655)... Does that mean that NWCN and HALMRK are provided via HTDV/QAM, but at std def resolution? Can I get all the listed channels with extended basic?

Is there a list somewhere of all the HD channels -- including encrypted ones?

Thanks!

-john

All digital cable channels are QAM. It seems likely UHD and MHD will be part of Comcast's digital classic lineup, which requires a cablecard or cablebox.

Just learned ...

As of December 14th, Comcast will add to Digital Classic:
Fox Reality on channel 159
UHD on channel 660
MHD on channel 661
Encore on channel 518 (moving from Digital Plus)

As of January 3rd, 2007, Comcast will add to Digital Classic:
Comcast SportsHD on channel 665 (seems like mix of Comcast owned channels like Versus and Golf Channel)

This means CableCARD or set top box required.

Also, the Digital Extra and Digital Sports Tiers will merge together to form Sports Entertainment tier as of December 14th. No additional charge for customers with Extra, but customers with Sports Tier only will see an increase next year.

And lastly, the upcoming HD games for NCAA Football on channel 664 will be:
11/18 UCLA at Stanford 7pm
11/25 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State 11:30am with 30 minute pregame
12/2 Stanford at CAL 12pm with 30 minute pregame

Hope this helps!

Fox Reality is NOT HD, it is a standard definition channel. My mistake, sorry for the confusion.

In case you haven't seen it - On Demand now has HD art/photo slideshows from www.galleryplayer.com. Turn that plasma into a really expensive picture frame...

Kinda cool but since it's really just a video you can't adjust the slideshow speed or anything.

OnDemand -> HD on Demand -> TV Entertainment -> HDTV Gallery

As of January 3rd, 2007, Comcast will add to Digital Classic:
Comcast SportsHD on channel 665 (seems like mix of Comcast owned channels like Versus and Golf Channel)



This is great news....

Any information on the Apply Cup being in HD? I know it starts at 3:45PM.

Originally, I heard it was down to the Civil War game in Oregon, or the Apple Cup for HD. No doubt the Oregon game has more appeal, but I'm a homer and want the Apple Cup in HD.

Neither of those two will be in HD. It is not Comcast's decision but FSNs.

Can I assume Universal HD won't be via QAM? I currently have extended basic and am considering one of the HDHomerun (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=731457) QAM capable tuners. I really don't want to buy/rent a cablebox (sigh).

Also, can someone explain a bit more about the QAM lineup (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8796655&&#post8796655)... Does that mean that NWCN and HALMRK are provided via HTDV/QAM, but at std def resolution? Can I get all the listed channels with extended basic?

Is there a list somewhere of all the HD channels -- including encrypted ones?

Thanks!

-john

All digital channels are QAM. In fact, all the channels Comcast provides are available QAM.

The Homerun doesn't take a CableCARD and therefore can only play "Clear" i.e. unencrypted QAM. The list you pointed to is the list of clear QAM channels.

QAM channels can be SD or HD. NWCN and HALMRK are SD channels. The channels listed as "HDTV" in that list are the ones available in HD - the others are SD.

In my opinion, you're giving up quite a bit when you choose something like the Homerun v/s renting a cable box for what is not a lot of money saved.

Hope this helps.

We are finally going to get a PDP for the living room and an LCD for the bedroom, finally getting rid of our CRT's and I have a few questions.

I have a DVR already (6412 I think) and am going to get a second for the bedroom, should I try to get another 6412 or will I be forced to get a 3412?

How do I check to see what firmware I have?

How do I check to see what firmware I have?

Menu/Settings/Cable Box Options/Diagnostics
Fourth line down

Any information on the Apply Cup being in HD? I know it starts at 3:45PM.

Originally, I heard it was down to the Civil War game in Oregon, or the Apple Cup for HD. No doubt the Oregon game has more appeal, but I'm a homer and want the Apple Cup in HD.I thought the Civil War game was scheduled for next weekeng, not this weekend.

Still, are we really only going to get one game (UCLA at Stanford) on 664 this weekend?

In case you haven't seen it - On Demand now has HD art/photo slideshows from www.galleryplayer.com. Turn that plasma into a really expensive picture frame...

Kinda cool but since it's really just a video you can't adjust the slideshow speed or anything.

OnDemand -> HD on Demand -> TV Entertainment -> HDTV Gallery

Thanks for this - Awesome!!!

I thought the Civil War game was scheduled for next weekeng, not this weekend.

Still, are we really only going to get one game (UCLA at Stanford) on 664 this weekend?

What do you suppose the logic is behind this one? It's not even a big rivalry game and you're looking at a 5-5 UCLA facing a 1-9 Stanford. Do we need that game in HD or would the Civil War or Apple Cup make more sense. Granted the Apple Cup is 6-5 WSU versus 4-7 UW but still a better game. The Civil War would make the most sense with 7-3 Oregon facing 6-4 OSU - this is the game to air!

I guess you can lead a station to HD but you can't make it choose the right content! :mad:

It could be that they don't want to lug the HD equipment to Pullman, and that the Oregon-OSU game isn't until next week.

It could be that they don't want to lug the HD equipment to Pullman, and that the Oregon-OSU game isn't until next week.

Okay, alright. So that Civil War isn't until next weekend...minor detail. It seems to me they should pick the game that will get the most ad dollars, right? Is that UCLA vs Stanford on the farm or the Apple Cup?

I'd say UCLA-Stanford.

I'd say UCLA-Stanford.

By sheer numbers of people in the state maybe. I'd rather watch a rivaly game any day. If it were UCLA v USC I'd say that game all day. UCLA v Stanford is just bad football.

Actually, UCLA plays at Arizona State this weekend. I have no idea what game will be on 664.

the Schedule says NBA Basketball Cleveland @ Washington

In case you haven't seen it - On Demand now has HD art/photo slideshows from www.galleryplayer.com. Turn that plasma into a really expensive picture frame...

Kinda cool but since it's really just a video you can't adjust the slideshow speed or anything.

OnDemand -> HD on Demand -> TV Entertainment -> HDTV Gallery

kinda nice but I noticed 2 things:

1) I have a non-DVR box and I was able to use FF pause and REW to control the speed of the slideshow just like VOD movies

2) The image quality (at least on the Italy show) did not look full HD - I'd say half way between HD and SD widescreen. Certainly not like the best quality HD I've seen on Comcast like HD football. It may be the shots were not taken in HD but upconverted from a lower resolution digital image or scanned from film.

I still like the concept though. You can use it as background for dinners or parties or just relaxing by the fire. The music was OK.

This slideshow idea is what Bill Gates was doing with his plasma screens when his house was first built. I took a tour just before it was done (a buddy of mine did the fire suppression & alarm systems). They had slide shows running on screens all over the place. That was when a 72" plasma cost major $$$$.

I'm hearing that lot of people got messages on their settop about new hd channels but i haven't seen anything.

Can somebody please post those messages?

I'm hearing that lot of people got messages on their settop about new hd channels but i haven't seen anything.

Can somebody please post those messages?
I've deleted them, but this is what I remember:
A comcast sports HD channel (665) - boxing, NHL, Basketball, field sports coming sometime in early January
MHD (music) in mid December

12/14:

UHD on 660
MHD on 661

kinda nice but I noticed 2 things:

2) The image quality (at least on the Italy show) did not look full HD - I'd say half way between HD and SD widescreen. Certainly not like the best quality HD I've seen on Comcast like HD football. It may be the shots were not taken in HD but upconverted from a lower resolution digital image or scanned from film.

Although this may be the case, I think another major factor that plays a role in the images not looking great is the simple fact that the compression algorithms used to transmit HD video and video in general are not good at displaying static images, they are optimized for moving pictures.

Still, from a bit further away this looks pretty good. I'll take this over no gallery at all :)

Here is the schedule:

http://fsnbayarea.com/Sched_CollegeHoopsHD.jsp

Hopefully comcast seattle will air all games on INHD.

I only got messages for Comcast SportsHD coming Jan 3 and MHD coming Dec. 14th. Never got anything about UHD, but I also never got any messages about The Tube 116 that people said they got, but after I read about that here I checked and I do get that channel now. It seems not all the messages are getting through in certain areas.

The Bradley U guide shows the following for the MVC tournament schedule:

State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Thu, Mar 01 Session I - First Round at St. Louis, Mo. 6:05 p.m. Broadcast WMBD Radio 1470
Fri, Mar 02 Session II - Quarterfinals at St. Louis, Mo. 12:05 p.m. Broadcast FSN/Comcast

Fri, Mar 02 Session III - Quarterfinals at St. Louis, Mo. 6:05 p.m. Broadcast FSN/Comcast

Sat, Mar 03 Session IV - Semifinals at St. Louis, Mo. 1:35 p.m. Broadcast FSN/Comcast

I only got messages for Comcast SportsHD coming Jan 3 and MHD coming Dec. 14th. Never got anything about UHD, but I also never got any messages about The Tube 116 that people said they got, but after I read about that here I checked and I do get that channel now. It seems not all the messages are getting through in certain areas.

I never got any message for new hd channels coming in Dec and Jan.

Any news on Nat Geo and A&E launching here?

Although this may be the case, I think another major factor that plays a role in the images not looking great is the simple fact that the compression algorithms used to transmit HD video and video in general are not good at displaying static images, they are optimized for moving pictures.

Still, from a bit further away this looks pretty good. I'll take this over no gallery at all :)

Good point about compression but I don't think that is it. If the algorithms are optimized for moving images then why are the moving images in all football games much worse than the static images (or ones with little movement)? There are varying amounts of macro blocking and video noise on every network when things are moving fast. Some have argued that it is the 1080i vs. 720p difference but I think it is mostly due to compression since I see the artifacts on both 1080i and 720p games.

Does tonights Sonics game in HD look worse than previous games to anyone else?

Does tonights Sonics game in HD look worse than previous games to anyone else?

It looks terrible. It seems to be what FOX did with football a few years ago. It's widescreen but decidely not high definition.

Sonics look terrible.
picture is shimmering all over the place.

It looks terrible. It seems to be what FOX did with football a few years ago. It's widescreen but decidely not high definition.
I know this is a Comcast forum. But, does anyone know if this game is also bad on other cable/satellite systems?

It's been a while since the subject has come up-

Has anyone been able to get any of the PCHDTV (Linux-based) tuners to work with Comcast in Seattle? I'm fiddling with my new 5500, and it finds channels but can't tune them...

- David

It looks terrible. It seems to be what FOX did with football a few years ago. It's widescreen but decidely not high definition.


Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, except Fox baseball this year instead of football.(widescreen but no HD).

Pq was really crappy. Seems to me that Comcast aired SD game instead of HD on 664.

It's been a while since the subject has come up-

Has anyone been able to get any of the PCHDTV (Linux-based) tuners to work with Comcast in Seattle? I'm fiddling with my new 5500, and it finds channels but can't tune them...

- David

I have MythTV working with QAM/Comcast in Seattle on a Fusion card, but I am still trying to figure out how to get the XML channel feed to map correctly to the scanner. I am a total MythTV newb, though, so I probably can't offer you much help.

Pq was really crappy. Seems to me that Comcast aired SD game instead of HD on 664.

The HD Encoder that sends the signal to the uplink center in the production truck died 1 1/2 hours before the game. It was sent out SD widescreen because the part couldn't be repaired or replaced in time. It should be fixed by the next game. All part of the brave new world of HD production!

Our rates are going up by 6.5% in WA state.

If they are hiking our rates then they better add more HD channels like A&E and Neo Geo.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/comcastprice112206.htm

It's been a while since the subject has come up-

Has anyone been able to get any of the PCHDTV (Linux-based) tuners to work with Comcast in Seattle? I'm fiddling with my new 5500, and it finds channels but can't tune them...

- David

I just bought a pchdtv 5500 which should arrive soon. Unfortunately the other parts to the HTPC I'm building won't be here for another week or two. After I build it and try tuning I'll let you know my experience. Meanwhile, if you do get it to work, let us know. I sure hope it works fine with Seattle comcast.

Our rates are going up by 6.5% in WA state.

If they are hiking our rates then they better add more HD channels like A&E and Neo Geo.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/comcastprice112206.htm
My suggestion would be that they get rid of Video On Demand thereby creating room for more HD channels and saving money. sam

My suggestion would be that they get rid of Video On Demand thereby creating room for more HD channels and saving money. samSorry, but I disagree. VOD is the future. It's absolutely wasteful & stupid to be taking up hundreds of channels, 24 hours day with traditional realtime programming - WHETHER ANYONE IS WATCHING THEM OR NOT! Within the next 10 years, I believe that cable will move to 100% on-demand. It's the only way they'll ever have enough bandwidth to carry the thousands (millions?) of different program streams we all want to watch.

I agree with what jimre just said. we (hdtv people) don't like it yet because it's primarily sd. soon enough (probably immediately after digital-only conversion) your box will start a vod session for any program you want to watch. it won't feel like that's what you're doing, but that's how it will work. if someone else in your node tunes to the same channel, they'll be watching the same stream as you. if nobody is watching a given channel, it will not be delivered to that node. A quick Google search on "Switched Digital Video" shows this technology is ready to go as soon as analog is turned off. At that point there will no longer be any bandwith constraints to speak of.

My suggestion would be that they get rid of Video On Demand thereby creating room for more HD channels and saving money. sam

Ohhh, no. Disagree. That's useful too me. There is a lot of almost commercial free content on it. However the amount of HD programs on it is pitiful.

I'd say get rid of those Pay Per Channels, not needed with On Demand.

On the FSN site (http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD) it lists tonight's Sonics game as broadcast in HD. It's not in HD, is it just a misprint?

On the FSN site (http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD) it lists tonight's Sonics game as broadcast in HD. It's not in HD, is it just a misprint?

Looks like somebody from Comcast forgot to turn it on 664.

Looks like somebody from Comcast forgot to turn it on 664.Or if you read back a few posts -- it's reasonable to assume the broken HD encoder in the production truck at the Sonics game is still broken.

Or if you read back a few posts -- it's reasonable to assume the broken HD encoder in the production truck at the Sonics game is still broken.


The game was in LA, so it would be a different truck, right? I'm guessing FSN just made a misprint on their schedule.

The game was in LA, so it would be a different truck, right? I'm guessing FSN just made a misprint on their schedule.

That would be a misprint. ONLY home games are in HD this year.

The encoder should be fixed for Seattle's game on Friday, BTW.

The game was in LA, so it would be a different truck, right? I'm guessing FSN just made a misprint on their schedule.

FSN is scheduled to air 37 sonics games in HD which means 35 home and 2 away games in HD. I thought this one was the 1 of 2 away games in HD.

During NJ games I know I saw a reminder about Sonics vs Clippers in HD.

Can you link to the schedule you saw that showed this game in HD? The release I posted in this thread just says home games.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8749802&&#post8749802

why does 37 HD games mean 2 away games? They play 41 home games in total

Can you link to the schedule you saw that showed this game in HD?

http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD#FSNwest

Our rates are going up by 6.5% in WA state.

If they are hiking our rates then they better add more HD channels like A&E and Neo Geo.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/comcastprice112206.htm

I have extended basic for a rip off $48.63/mo. This provides zero HD chanels. I watch so little Comcast SD programming that if 6.5% is passed on to everyone then I'll probably drop Comcast. OTA programming covers >80% of my needs.

thought I would see some info on here about the nfl game..I guess we do not get it in seattle on comcast? that is rediculous....I guess it was to be on 664 but no sign of it...

I have extended basic for a rip off $48.63/mo. This provides zero HD chanels. I watch so little Comcast SD programming that if 6.5% is passed on to everyone then I'll probably drop Comcast. OTA programming covers >80% of my needs.
You can receive all of the free HD channels with your service, or even with Limited Basic for $13 if you have a digital TV with a QAM tuner.

thought I would see some info on here about the nfl game..I guess we do not get it in seattle on comcast? that is rediculous....I guess it was to be on 664 but no sign of it...

Down in Gig Harbor, we're not seeing anything NFL related either. We'll see, but I'm not too confident.

You can receive all of the free HD channels with your service, or even with Limited Basic for $13 if you have a digital TV with a QAM tuner.

That's true but I get all the local chanels via OTA right now. I pretty much don't need comcast unless I decide to upgrade to digital cable and get an HD box for about another $20/mo.

Comcast prices keep leaping up but my need for them is gradually reducing.

The main reason I'm still a subscriber is because they don't scramble their on-demand channels. I watch a lot of free premium content. If this went away then I would instantly cancel.

Down in Gig Harbor, we're not seeing anything NFL related either. We'll see, but I'm not too confident.

I'm getting the NFL game on 664 down in the Olympia area.

Looking at the tvplanner.comcast.net site today (in the 98501 zip code), showed a channel 800 (NHL Center Ice Hi-Def Games)....

Anyone know anything about this?

comcast site chat said "I'll give your boxes a hit and tell me if they start working...", of course not even checking what the channel was, then saying that it's a new channel that'll be on in a week (that's what Dennis:18797 says, so it MUST be true.....). HMM 2 different stories in 2 minutes......THEN......

The guys at the end of 1-800-COMCAST says it's a web-site error, and no such channel exists.....

I'm sure that something in between is the truth (NAW....Comcast wouldn't LIE to me, would they?????? oh, the horror....)...

I just find it strange that the channels that they've TOLD us are coming in 3 weeks, MHD, UHD, etc., haven't even showed up in any tvguides, boxes, tvplanner sites, etc, and something that is coming 'sooner' (in a week), is on the tvplanner site, but no news has gone out? Strange...

Does anyone have any info at all? I already subscribe to the NHL Center Ice package, so I would assume that it would be available to me if it exists....(I can dream. can't I)?

The channel name on the tvplanner site is PPVHD, so it may end up being PPV, but that would be a shame for us already paying WAYY too much for the NHL Center ICE package now....

Thanks.

I have basic cable - no digital packages - and Redmond comcast office gave me a free cablecard today, no questions asked. they said at some point soon, comcast may start charging $1.50 per month for additional cablecards, after the first one free.

Got a new TV and couldn't find any guides on all the digital channels available through a straight cable hookup. Thought I'd pass this on to others who might want it.

81-1 Fox Q13 KCPQ HDTV
81-2 CW11 KMYQ HDTV
82-1 Seattle Public Television KCTS HDTV
82-3 Seattle Public Television 2 KCTS HDTV
82-4 ABC KOMO4 HDTV
82-5 KCTSHD (1080i) KCTS HDTV
83-1- NBC KING5 HDTV
83-2 KONG KONG6 HDTV
83-3 KING WeatherPlus KING HDTV
86-2 KIRO KIRO HDTV
79-1 Northwest Cable News NWCN DTV
79-10 Seattle/Tacoma Public Television KBTC DTV
79-2 PAX KWPX DTV
79-3 ABC KOMO4 DTV
79-4 NBC KING5 DTV
79-5 Independent Seattle KONG6 DTV
79-6 Canada CBUT DTV
79-7 Seattle Public Television KCTS DTV
79-8 The WB KTWB DTV
79-9 The CW (UPN) KSTW DTV
80-1 Fox KCPQ DTV
80-10 World Television of Washington KBCB DTV
80-2 CBS KIRO7 DTV
80-3 Home Shopping KVHC DTV
80-4 Christian – Daystar KWDK DTV
80-6 Trinity Broadcasting KBTW DTV
80-7 TVW23 GOACO23 DTV
80-8 ShopNBC KWOG DTV
80-9 KCTS2 KCTS DTV
91-4 Espanol DTV
91-8 Hallmark DTV
100-11 CBS2 DTV
102-10 UW2TV DTV
102-9 UWTV DTV
103-4 Discovery Channel DTV
105-1035 SCCTV DTV
105-1037 RCTV DTV
105-1040 EDUACC DTV
105-1041 Redmond Planning DTV
105-1049 Seattle Channel DTV
105-1059 King County Channel DTV
105-1067 Cable Guide DTV
105-1072 Weather Channel DTV
112-11 Local WeatherScan DTV
114-9 MoviePlex DTV
116-1 LeaguePress Home DTV
119-10 Music Choice – Showcase Music
119-11 Music Choice – Country Music
119-12 Music Choice – Country Classic Music
119-13 Music Choice – BlueGrass Music
119-14 Music Choice – R&B and Hip Hop Music
119-15 Music Choice – R&B Classic Music
119-16 Music Choice – R&B Smooth Music
119-17 Music Choice – R&B Hits Music
119-18 Music Choice – Rap Music
119-19 Music Choice – Metal Music
119-20 Music Choice – Rock Music
119-21 Music Choice – Rock, Arena Music
119-22 Music Choice – Rock, Classic Music
119-23 Music Choice – Alernative Music
119-24 Music Choice – RetroActive Music
119-25 Music Choice – Electronica Music
119-26 Music Choice – Dance Music
119-27 Music Choice – Alternative, Adult Music
119-28 Music Choice – Rock, Soft Music
119-29 Music Choice – Rock, Hit List Music
119-30 Music Choice – Party Favorites Music
119-31 Music Choice – 90’s Music
119-32 Music Choice – 80’s Music
119-33 Music Choice – 70’s Music
119-34 Music Choice – Oldies, Solid Gold Music
119-35 Music Choice – Singers & Standards Music
119-36 Music Choice – Big Band & Swing Music
119-37 Music Choice – Easy Listening Music
119-38 Music Choice – Jazz, Smooth Music
119-39 Music Choice – Jazz Music
119-40 Music Choice – Blues Music
119-41 Music Choice – Reggae Music
119-42 Music Choice – Soundscapes Music
119-43 Music Choice – Classical Music
119-44 Music Choice – Opera Music
119-45 Music Choice – Classical, Light Music
119-46 Music Choice – Showtunes Music
119-47 Music Choice – Contemporary Christian Music
119-48 Music Choice – Gospel Music
119-49 Music Choice – Disney Radio Music
119-50 Music Choice – Seasonal Sounds Music
119-51 Music Choice – Music Urbana Music
119-52 Music Choice – Salsa y Merengue Music
119-53 Music Choice – Rock, Espanol Music
119-54 Music Choice – Pop, Latino Music

Does the list JINGOS submitted of channels apply to for basic subscribers, or only those with a digital package?

I have extended basic for a rip off $48.63/mo. This provides zero HD chanels. I watch so little Comcast SD programming that if 6.5% is passed on to everyone then I'll probably drop Comcast. OTA programming covers >80% of my needs.

I have Comcast extended basic and I get 8 HD channels: ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, myQ2, FOX, CW, and KONG.

You should get these channels, too. Do you have a QAM tuner?

BTW, even with the HD channels, it's a rip off. Verizon can't come soon enough.

I have Comcast extended basic and I get 8 HD channels: ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, myQ2, FOX, CW, and KONG.

You should get these channels, too. Do you have a QAM tuner?

BTW, even with the HD channels, it's a rip off. Verizon can't come soon enough.
With a QAM tuner, you can get all of those HD channels with $14 Limited Basic service from Comcast. You do NOT need to have extended basic or any digital package unless you want to use a Comcast HDTV or HD DVR set top box.

Anybody know who to contact at KIRO to get them to flip the switch for the HD Georia-GeorgiaTech game? Since Steve Raible's from GaTech you'd think they'd be all over this one. :confused:

Tim

Anybody know who to contact at KIRO to get them to flip the switch for the HD Georia-GeorgiaTech game? Since Steve Raible's from GaTech you'd think they'd be all over this one. :confused:

Tim
Tim,

Sorry I did not see this earlier.

I have had good luck calling in to their news tip line, since it seems to be the only phone answered after normal business hours.

I simply ask them to pass a message to control to do or check whatever I am looking to have resolved.

I have done this at KIRO and some other Seattle stations.

Can you guys help me? I'm brand new to this HD stuff.

I just picked up a new 32" HD LCD with a built in HD tuner. I currently have Comcast Enhanced digital cable. My setup is as follows: wall > cable box > tv. Pretty simple. When I did a channel scan, though, it only came up with channels 3.0 and 8.0. Why is that? Is it because 3.0 is the cablebox? I can understand that if that's the case. BUT, according to the channel scan, both came in as analog. If I have digital cable, why didn't 3.0 come in as analog? And thus, isn't it affecting my picture quality?

Also, if I have a built in HD tuner, do I need to get a HD cable box form Comcast to watch everything I'm entitled to?

If your tv has a QAM tuner you will get all of the channels listed in post 7957. If you don't have QAM, then you need to get the HD cable box.

Can you guys help me? I'm brand new to this HD stuff.

I just picked up a new 32" HD LCD with a built in HD tuner. I currently have Comcast Enhanced digital cable. My setup is as follows: wall > cable box > tv. Pretty simple. When I did a channel scan, though, it only came up with channels 3.0 and 8.0. Why is that? Is it because 3.0 is the cablebox? I can understand that if that's the case. BUT, according to the channel scan, both came in as analog. If I have digital cable, why didn't 3.0 come in as analog? And thus, isn't it affecting my picture quality?

Also, if I have a built in HD tuner, do I need to get a HD cable box form Comcast to watch everything I'm entitled to?
You need to try a connection directly from the wall to the TV (or through a splitter, but not through the cable box).

You need to try a connection directly from the wall to the TV (or through a splitter, but not through the cable box).



Thanks. I tried that, and I found some HD channels, such as channel 83.1, which I guess is NBCHD. Is that how HD works? Does that mean that channels 5, 7, 4, etc, are always going to be 480i? They'll never come in HD, and rather I have to search the 80's, etc?

Also, there seems to be a yellow line on the left side of my screen on NBCHD. Is that my set, or the broadcast?

And if I wanted to watch say, a basketball game on ESPN in HD, how do I do that? Because I tried to go to channel 32 yesterday, and the game was only in 480i. :( Is there a separate ESPN HD channel I have to go to?

Is there a link somewhere that has a listing of all the HD channels?

Thanks. I tried that, and I found some HD channels, such as channel 83.1, which I guess is NBCHD. Is that how HD works? Does that mean that channels 5, 7, 4, etc, are always going to be 480i? They'll never come in HD, and rather I have to search the 80's, etc?

Also, there seems to be a yellow line on the left side of my screen on NBCHD. Is that my set, or the broadcast?

And if I wanted to watch say, a basketball game on ESPN in HD, how do I do that? Because I tried to go to channel 32 yesterday, and the game was only in 480i. :( Is there a separate ESPN HD channel I have to go to?

Is there a link somewhere that has a listing of all the HD channels?
As Chris5977 stated a few posts earlier, you can find a list of HD and SD digital channels here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8982216&&#post8982216

Comcast actually sends several channels for many local broadcast stations and some cable channels: the original analog channels, their digital SD counterparts, and their HD counterparts. All of the SD and HD channels are listed in the post referenced above.

The local broadcast digital channels are "free and clear" meaning they can be received by any QAM tuner. The digital SD and HD premium channels like ESPN are encrypted and require either a cable card (added to your TV or external STB digital tuner) or the use of a Comcast cable box.

What happened to NFL-HD? Now that they actually carry games on Thurs night, that channel would be helpful, but it's gone now (used to be on 181).

As Chris5977 stated a few posts earlier, you can find a list of HD and SD digital channels here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8982216&&#post8982216

Comcast actually sends several channels for many local broadcast stations and some cable channels: the original analog channels, their digital SD counterparts, and their HD counterparts. All of the SD and HD channels are listed in the post referenced above.

The local broadcast digital channels are "free and clear" meaning they can be received by any QAM tuner. The digital SD and HD premium channels like ESPN are encrypted and require either a cable card (added to your TV or external STB digital tuner) or the use of a Comcast cable box.
To further clarify, you can receive HD in 2 ways from Comcast. The first is using the Comcast box. If you choose this method you connect the cable from the wall to the box- and then run a cable from the box to your TV. When you set your TV up, it should recognize all channels. Channels 4,5, and 7 are SD-- and channels 104, 105, 107 are their HD versions. Most channels above Channel 13 (or 113 in HD) are broadcast only in analog- for example, Channel 35 (Food Channel) is broadcast only in analog-there is no HD equivalent on 135. ESPN broadcasts analog on 31- and HD on 173. Comcast MENU on its box has a tab for HD channels only. If you use the Comcast box you also have the feature to view Shows on Demand. Some are free, some are pay-per-view.

The other way to receive HD is to hook the cable directly from the wall to the TV. In this case you obviously do not use the Cable box. You TV must have a built-in tuner, which all new TV sets over 27" are required by law to have. But without a cable box, you lose the ability to receive the On Demand shows but you can receive all the normally free SD channels (mainly 1 through 13) in HD.

To further complicate things, Comcast also rents a box with a built in hard drive that can be scheduled to record shows- and you can then actually view the show at a later time. This box is similar to the TiVO boxes with one huge difference: It will record HD content where the TiVO is analog only (there is a new TiVo that will record HD- but it is very pricy, currently in the $900 range). So if you want to time-shift HD content, you must get this box from Comcast. The upgrade on the rental is actually very reasonable, about $10 a month-- but you are forced to subscribe to some premium features in order to "qualify" for a DVR box.

Hope this cleared things up a bit for you-- and other that view this down the road.

What happened to NFL-HD? Now that they actually carry games on Thurs night, that channel would be helpful, but it's gone now (used to be on 181).

Games will air on INHD channel 664.

...Also, if I have a built in HD tuner, do I need to get a HD cable box form Comcast to watch everything I'm entitled to?Yes. Your TV's built-in QAM tuner most likely will only be able to receive the "free" HD channels (the same ones you could get over-the-air with an antenna). To get all of Comcast's HD channels you've subscribed to, you'll need either:

1) Comcast's HD cable box, or
2) a TV with its own "CableCard" tuner, plus an activated CableCard from Comcast.

To watch any HD On-Demand programming, you must have Comcast's HD cable box.

I recently purchased (about a month ago) a Sony KD-34XBR970 with the built in HD tuner, and as a result I don't pay for the HD package from Comcast.

With that said I have noticed that ABC's HD feed (82.4) has a clear picture but the audio consistently stutters so bad that it isn't worth watching....


Any thoughts?

From what I can tell the rest of the HD feeds appear with no problems, but since I am still exploring all the Digital and HD feeds I can't be absolutely sure.

So far this site has been a huge help especially Jingos post a few days ago listing the digital/HD channel lineup.

Games will air on INHD channel 664.


I thought I checked that on Thurs, but maybe I was wrong -- do they change the guide to reflect it?

I thought I checked that on Thurs, but maybe I was wrong -- do they change the guide to reflect it?

In my experience sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I don't think the guide for that channel (especially for sports) is completely reliable yet.

I thought I checked that on Thurs, but maybe I was wrong -- do they change the guide to reflect it?
They didn't on Thanksgiving.

To further clarify, you can receive HD in 2 ways from Comcast. The first is using the Comcast box. If you choose this method you connect the cable from the wall to the box- and then run a cable from the box to your TV. When you set your TV up, it should recognize all channels. Channels 4,5, and 7 are SD-- and channels 104, 105, 107 are their HD versions. Most channels above Channel 13 (or 113 in HD) are broadcast only in analog- for example, Channel 35 (Food Channel) is broadcast only in analog-there is no HD equivalent on 135. ESPN broadcasts analog on 31- and HD on 173. Comcast MENU on its box has a tab for HD channels only. If you use the Comcast box you also have the feature to view Shows on Demand. Some are free, some are pay-per-view.

The other way to receive HD is to hook the cable directly from the wall to the TV. In this case you obviously do not use the Cable box. You TV must have a built-in tuner, which all new TV sets over 27" are required by law to have. But without a cable box, you lose the ability to receive the On Demand shows but you can receive all the normally free SD channels (mainly 1 through 13) in HD.

To further complicate things, Comcast also rents a box with a built in hard drive that can be scheduled to record shows- and you can then actually view the show at a later time. This box is similar to the TiVO boxes with one huge difference: It will record HD content where the TiVO is analog only (there is a new TiVo that will record HD- but it is very pricy, currently in the $900 range). So if you want to time-shift HD content, you must get this box from Comcast. The upgrade on the rental is actually very reasonable, about $10 a month-- but you are forced to subscribe to some premium features in order to "qualify" for a DVR box.

Hope this cleared things up a bit for you-- and other that view this down the road.

Thanks for all of that. Believe it or not, it's very difficult to find this sort of straight-forward, newbie information on this forum.

So, here's what I think I understand:

-I have a HD set with built in HD tuner and QAM tuner
-Buy elminating the Comcast cable box and plugging the tv directly into the wall, I'm able to enjoy the basic HD channels(NBC, ABC, FOX, etc) for free via channels 83.1, etc.
-HD content is not available on the standard, original channels... meaning, NBC on channel 5 is never going to broadcast anything better than 480i. Instead, I have to go to NBCHD on channel 83.1 if I want to see HD.

Here are a few things maybe you can clarify for me again, and then I think I'll finally be set on all this confusing HD stuff:

-So, if I have the Comcast Enhanced cable package, and want to view ESPNHD, what exactly do I have to get? I know I can rent the HD set top box from Comcast for an extra $5 a month... but does that automatically give me the extra "premium" HD channels, like ESPNHD, TNTHD, etc? Or do I also need to subscribe to a more expensive service on top of renting the box?

-You mentioned that Channels 4, 5 and 7 have HD versions on Channels 104, 105 and 107, etc. Were you just generalizing? Because for me, Channel 5(NBC)'s HD version is on 83.1. It would be a lot more convenient to have HD channels simply 100 channels higher than their SD versions, I think. I would remember which channel was which easier.

-What the heck is a card reader? Is this a better option than a HD STB from Comcast?

-And lastly... I want to pay the least amount of money for the most amount of content(obviously). Which cable package should I get, now that I'm ready for HD? Should I stick with the Enhanced? Or is it now a waste of money should I get the Comcast STB(if that's even what I'm supposed to do for ESPNHD, etc)?

I think new TVs are supposed to have an HD OTA tuner, otherwise known as an ATSC tuner. I don't think there is any law requiring a QAM version of the HD tuner. Also, I think the HD monitor from days of yore is alive and well, which means you will get some that have no tuner whatsoever. Quite a few of the best deals over the past weekend, at least for LCD TVs, were the no tuner variety.

To get ESPN HD, you need one of the digital packages. So expect to pay at least $20 more per month for the box and basic digital tier. You might be able to do this with a cable card, but the easiest route to go would be one of their boxes. In addition to ESPN 1 and 2 in HD, you get about five or six more HD channels, with some of these starting the middle of next month and FSN-HD coming in January. You also get the guide that is built into the box and quite a few free on-demand things, including some HD programming. Even some network HD shows like CSI are in the free on-demand section. Also free high school football games in on-demand.

I don't want to pump up the digital too much, but if you have an HDTV and you like sports, the digital package is good.

-So, if I have the Comcast Enhanced cable package, and want to view ESPNHD, what exactly do I have to get? I know I can rent the HD set top box from Comcast for an extra $5 a month... but does that automatically give me the extra "premium" HD channels, like ESPNHD, TNTHD, etc? Or do I also need to subscribe to a more expensive service on top of renting the box?You'll have to double-check w/ Comcast for sure, but I think those are included in Enhanced Digital w/ an HD box.

-You mentioned that Channels 4, 5 and 7 have HD versions on Channels 104, 105 and 107, etc. Were you just generalizing? Because for me, Channel 5(NBC)'s HD version is on 83.1. It would be a lot more convenient to have HD channels simply 100 channels higher than their SD versions, I think. I would remember which channel was which easier.You'll only see those channel #s if you rent Comcat's HD box. It automatically "re-maps" the actual transmission frequencies (eg, 83.1) into an easier-to-understand numbering system. With your own tuner, you're on your own.

-What the heck is a card reader? Is this a better option than a HD STB from Comcast? I presume you mean a CableCard? Your TV set doesn't have it, so don't worry about it.

A CableCard is basically a smart-card that's tied to your cable subscription. Some TVs, Tivos, or other devices have them, so they can "authenticate" themselves to Comcast. It lets the device receive the subscription or premium channels you've paid for - WITHOUT requiring a Comcast box. But it still doesn't support any "interactive" services, so if you want to use OnDemand, you *must* have a Comcast box. Because of this and other limitations, I believe Cablecard is a short-term solution at best, and will be obsolete in a couple years.

Awesome, thanks. I think I'm pretty clear now on how all this stuff works.

Two more:

-Is EVERYONE in the Seattle area getting that yellow line on the left side of the screen for NBCHD? Or is it just my specific tv?

-When I get the HD box(which I think I will, since I want ESPNHD and Discovery Channel HD, plus all of the "easier" channel numbers), what more do I need? I've read that better "cables" can improve picture quality for broadcasted tv as well as DVD's. I'd like to have all of this stuff DONE and setup by at the latest next weekend so that I can finally sit back and enjoy my new tv!

when you get the box they'll give you component cables that plug right into the back of your tv. then you just set your tv input to the one that matches the label of the input you pluged the component cables into -- presto! Digital Classic is $11.99 a month and includes all those channels you mentioned. Then you also have to tell them you want an HD or HD-DVR box and the additional chard for that is $5 or $9.95, respectively. So you can significantly bump up your HD options and not have to fool with those QAM frequencies for about $15 per month more. I hope that all makes sense. If I'm wrong about anything I know there will be people here to set me straight ;-)

Awesome, thanks. I think I'm pretty clear now on how all this stuff works.

Two more:

-Is EVERYONE in the Seattle area getting that yellow line on the left side of the screen for NBCHD? Or is it just my specific tv?

-When I get the HD box(which I think I will, since I want ESPNHD and Discovery Channel HD, plus all of the "easier" channel numbers), what more do I need? I've read that better "cables" can improve picture quality for broadcasted tv as well as DVD's. I'd like to have all of this stuff DONE and setup by at the latest next weekend so that I can finally sit back and enjoy my new tv!
1. Yellow line: No, this is not normal. May be a loose cable- more likely a faulty TV- I suggest you check with tech rep at store you bought the TV

2. Comcast will give you the component cables, as described above. Or you could buy a HDMI cable, which is supposed to be state-of-the art. But your TV must have a HDMI input. Personally, and there will be those who will argue, I can not tell the difference between component and HDMI. Also there will be those that insist that you buy Monstor branded cables (less interference)- but, again, I personally can not tell the difference so I did not spend the money.

Good luck

I do have a HDMI imput, so maybe I'll go that route once I get the HD STB, just to be sure. Are there brands of HDMI cables that are better than others?

I've checked the connections many times, but the yellow line seems to stay where it is on NBC HD. Once in a while it disappears... but most of the time it's there. Once I get the new STB setup with the new cables, I'll evaluate it then. If it's still there, maybe I'll call Best Buy or something. I'd hate to have to go through the processes of exchanging, etc, since it seems like a good set otherwise, without any dead pixels, etc.

I do have a HDMI imput, so maybe I'll go that route once I get the HD STB, just to be sure. Are there brands of HDMI cables that are better than others?

I've checked the connections many times, but the yellow line seems to stay where it is on NBC HD. Once in a while it disappears... but most of the time it's there. Once I get the new STB setup with the new cables, I'll evaluate it then. If it's still there, maybe I'll call Best Buy or something. I'd hate to have to go through the processes of exchanging, etc, since it seems like a good set otherwise, without any dead pixels, etc.

I don't know if there are brands better than others for most of us! Yea, some will say you absolutely have to buy Monster brand. I, on the other hand, just bought an inexpensive HDMI cable on-line. Cost - $19 with shipping. I saw that Fred Meyer had one for $39. Sears had a "cheap" one for $60. And the axis-of-evil Wal-Mart has one on-line for $26.

Buy what you want. My cheap one works great.

Awesome, thanks. I think I'm pretty clear now on how all this stuff works.

Two more:

-Is EVERYONE in the Seattle area getting that yellow line on the left side of the screen for NBCHD? Or is it just my specific tv?

-When I get the HD box(which I think I will, since I want ESPNHD and Discovery Channel HD, plus all of the "easier" channel numbers), what more do I need? I've read that better "cables" can improve picture quality for broadcasted tv as well as DVD's. I'd like to have all of this stuff DONE and setup by at the latest next weekend so that I can finally sit back and enjoy my new tv!


I can see the yellow line on the left side too. It is probably a broadcast issue, I workaround it by enabling 1% overscan on my DVR. I can play the recordings on my PC in Windows Media player and the yellow line is there also.

I don't know if there are brands better than others for most of us! Yea, some will say you absolutely have to buy Monster brand. I, on the other hand, just bought an inexpensive HDMI cable on-line. Cost - $19 with shipping. I saw that Fred Meyer had one for $39. Sears had a "cheap" one for $60. And the axis-of-evil Wal-Mart has one on-line for $26.

Buy what you want. My cheap one works great.
I agree. I'm of the camp that believes that the brand probably won't make much difference.

With the current firmware on the DVRs having rebooting problems there is one thing to note (that happens for me anyway). When the machines reboot, sometimes the HDMI input doesn't work until I disable and then reenable it on my HDTVs or I cycle through the resolution (480i-480p-720p-1080i) on the setup menu (I get no picture until I do this). This happens on both of my HDTVs (different brands, quality, etc.). I'm guessing something happens to the HDCP handshake between the units that must be reinitialized. This happens often enough that on the tv I primarily watch I have component hooked up until the issue is solved. But I do think the HDMI looked a little better. But HD looks great either way.

Awesome, thanks. I think I'm pretty clear now on how all this stuff works.

Two more:

-Is EVERYONE in the Seattle area getting that yellow line on the left side of the screen for NBCHD? Or is it just my specific tv?


Unfortunately, depending on the overscan and/or clipping settings of your tuner, a line along the left side of many channels is "normal". Also there can be noise along the top and bottom as well. Fortunately, most HDTVs and set-top boxes have controls for clipping and overscan. This isn't a problem with your TV or monitor, but rather garbage inherent in the broadcast signal.

Sopranos on A&E starts in January. Sure would be cool if we had A&E HD by then. ;)

Sopranos on A&E starts in January. Sure would be cool if we had A&E HD by then. ;)

Will they censor them, or bleep/clip them down to 15 minute episodes?

Here are a few things maybe you can clarify for me again, and then I think I'll finally be set on all this confusing HD stuff:

-So, if I have the Comcast Enhanced cable package, and want to view ESPNHD, what exactly do I have to get? I know I can rent the HD set top box from Comcast for an extra $5 a month... but does that automatically give me the extra "premium" HD channels, like ESPNHD, TNTHD, etc? Or do I also need to subscribe to a more expensive service on top of renting the box?

-You mentioned that Channels 4, 5 and 7 have HD versions on Channels 104, 105 and 107, etc. Were you just generalizing? Because for me, Channel 5(NBC)'s HD version is on 83.1. It would be a lot more convenient to have HD channels simply 100 channels higher than their SD versions, I think. I would remember which channel was which easier.

-What the heck is a card reader? Is this a better option than a HD STB from Comcast?

-And lastly... I want to pay the least amount of money for the most amount of content(obviously). Which cable package should I get, now that I'm ready for HD? Should I stick with the Enhanced? Or is it now a waste of money should I get the Comcast STB(if that's even what I'm supposed to do for ESPNHD, etc)?[/QUOTE]


I went through the exact same set up questions you've raised very recently. On the advice of a Comcast telephone sales rep, I didn't request the HD cable box or HD DVR since I have a QAM tuner and wasn't able to get the encrypted channels initially with my digital cable subscription. The Comcast installer was nice enough to call another installer that happened to be working in my neighborhood to drop a spare HD DVR box by and only then was I able to receive the encrypted channels such as ESPN and Discovery HD and record HD programming. The key is get the HD cable box or HD DVR. You do need it. I also purchased a $60 HDMI cable from Circuitcity that was supposed to be the "mid range" solution and a $30 HDMI cable from Video Only on the advice of the Comcast installer. I cannot tell the difference in picture or audio quality between the two. Lastly FWIW, I don't have the yellow line issues you're experiencing with NBC-HD.

Will they censor them, or bleep/clip them down to 15 minute episodes?

I expect they'll do something. Hopefully, A&E will only play them after 10:00PM, and leave some good stuff. I'll be happy, if they use the same set of "standards and practices" as "The Shield."

It's my impression that they shot duplicate, broadcast-able scenes of those scenes that couldn't go on the air or on non-pay cable channels.

why does comcast have the nfl network (standard Def) on two channels? I saw it have the exact same programming on channel 417 and channel 180? Why would they need this channel twice? Maybe channel 180 should be the HD version?

why does comcast have the nfl network (standard Def) on two channels? I saw it have the exact same programming on channel 417 and channel 180? Why would they need this channel twice? Maybe channel 180 should be the HD version?

There are two different packages which include NFL Network. Both channels show the same content, so no extra bandwidth is required (only channel numbers are wasted).

I do have a HDMI imput, so maybe I'll go that route once I get the HD STB, just to be sure. Are there brands of HDMI cables that are better than others?

I've checked the connections many times, but the yellow line seems to stay where it is on NBC HD. Once in a while it disappears... but most of the time it's there. Once I get the new STB setup with the new cables, I'll evaluate it then. If it's still there, maybe I'll call Best Buy or something. I'd hate to have to go through the processes of exchanging, etc, since it seems like a good set otherwise, without any dead pixels, etc.
FWIW, I found picture quality to be significantly better using an HDMI connection between the Comcast Motorola 3412 STB and a Panasonic 50PX500u plasma. Component cables produced gagged edges that disappeared with HDMI. I found this to be true regardless of whether the STB was setup to output 720p or 1080i. Also, even though the set is native 720p (768, actually), the picture looks better using the 1080i output from the set top box. This is true regardless of the resolution of the source material (720p on ABC/ESPN or 1080i on most everything else).

FWIW, I found picture quality to be significantly better using an HDMI connection between the Comcast Motorola 3412 STB and a Panasonic 50PX500u plasma. Component cables produced gagged edges that disappeared with HDMI. I found this to be true regardless of whether the STB was setup to output 720p or 1080i. Also, even though the set is native 720p (768, actually), the picture looks better using the 1080i output from the set top box. This is true regardless of the resolution of the source material (720p on ABC/ESPN or 1080i on most everything else).

I agree...I connected hdmi with my Samsung plasma. Picture and sound quality is better with hdmi.

Are there brands of HDMI cables that are better than others?
My personal view is to get the least expensive. Every test I've seen indicates there's no difference.

My personal view is to get the least expensive. Every test I've seen indicates there's no difference.

That's true....I got mine from walmart for about 30 bucks.

My personal view is to get the least expensive. Every test I've seen indicates there's no difference.

That's very true. Since HDMI cables carry digital signals, the only way there should be a difference is in cables is if the cable itself is bad. With digital it's either going to work or it's not. Expensive cables don't make the bits get to their destination any better or faster, no matter what the high school kids at best buy try and tell you.

That's very true. Since HDMI cables carry digital signals, the only way there should be a difference is in cables is if the cable itself is bad. With digital it's either going to work or it's not. Expensive cables don't make the bits get to their destination any better or faster, no matter what the high school kids at best buy try and tell you.Yes, it's a digital signal and as long as the cables aren't damaged - and they're shorter than the official HDMI distance limit of 15 feet - there shouldn't be any difference. It's when you go beyond 15 feet that you'll notice differences between cables. Bit errors will start to show up, usually visible as "sparklies" or random dots of noise. Better-quality cables can make a big difference over long runs. Cheaper cables are built to meet the HDMI spec; but nothing more.

Yes, it's a digital signal and as long as the cables aren't damaged - and they're shorter than the official HDMI distance limit of 15 feet - there shouldn't be any difference. It's when you go beyond 15 feet that you'll notice differences between cables. Bit errors will start to show up, usually visible as "sparklies" or random dots of noise. Better-quality cables can make a big difference over long runs.

You're right, if you're going over 15 feet you might want to do some research on the cable first... otherwise you should be fine.

Those of you w/ QAM check out KSTW-DT (81-1?) for MNF on HD!
--
Sang

Those of you w/ QAM check out KSTW-DT (81-1?) for MNF on HD!
--
Sang

And those without, check 111 for the same thing. Looks like the same picture (ESPN) but the sound could use help.