I have a DCH 3416 box. It's been acting up a bit lately and the comcast guy came today to swap it out.

The first box he brought into the house was built in 2003 and had no HDMI connection.
The second one was a 3412. I told him I did not want a smaller hard drive.

Anyone know what boxes comcast is currently offering and which ones are best?

You have your location listed as "Chicago."  If you mean that literally (it's common for suburbanites and even exurbanites to fudge and list the central city), you should be able to swap for another DCH3416.

Why all the references to HD, when 7.2 is a 480i subchannel?* Is 7.2 going to broadcast at 720p this evening?* I'll try to remember to check.

Comcast 217 surely as heck will stay in SD.
The Clemson vs. Alabama Game was in SD on 7.2. WLS/ABC typically does this for out of market games. On the main channel we'll get our regional game , (Most of the time a Big Ten game no matter how non competative), and they'll show another out of market game, or the "feature attraction" on the sub channel. Last year, the noon games, (can't speak for the primetime game), were always a Big East match up that you can't see on the 7.1 channel, or analog/SD channel 7. Yeah, the quality wasn't the best, (Over the Air or on 217). I'd love to have both games in HD also, but I love college football and am happy to see the extra games.

Also, note that ESPN does this as well for the afternoon games, (2:30pm 'ish). They'll show one game, (usually the regional game), on the ESPN-HD channel, and they'll show the feature game which is out of market on the analog ESPN channel. Last week the did this on ESPN2. On the analog station they showed USC vs. Virginia, and on the HD station they were showing ESPNews, which would have been LSU vs. App. St. if the game wouldn't have been moved up because of the hurricane.

Nationally you'll always see a Big 10 games in the morning either on ESPN or ESPN 2 because of the funky agreement that ESPN has to broadcast Big 10 games, and the afternoon game (2:30 ish), will be a SEC match up again because of the funky agreement they have to broadcast the conference, (This is where I see they like to let you see differnt games on the analog vs. digital channels). The don't really tell you this in advance, so you have to kinda tune in to see what you're getting. Sometimes the same game is on both analog and digital stations.

Is it just me, or are half the HD stations unavailable right now? I've been on hold w/customer service for half an hour now and I'm wondering if this is a service outage or something's wrong on my end.

I'm on Schaumburg headend and all my HD channels come in just fine.

I'm on Schaumburg headend and all my HD channels come in just fine.

Crap... looks like something is definitely hosed here. I unplugged/replugged the box a few minutes ago and it still hasn't set the system time correctly. Thanks for the reply.

Also, note that ESPN does this as well for the afternoon games, (2:30pm 'ish). They'll show one game, (usually the regional game), on the ESPN-HD channel, and they'll show the feature game which is out of market on the analog ESPN channel.And that's just fine to show two different games; my objection is that the hype for it quoted by Wizzy implied that the game on 7.2 would be in HD.  As long as the game on ESPN analog isn't advertised as an HD broadcast, you'll hear no complaint from me.

Hmm.  I wonder if Comcast is going to carry channel 5.3.

Hmm.* I wonder if Comcast is going to carry channel 5.3.

I guess I'm behind the curve. Whats 5.3? I thought there were only 2 subchannels for NBC, The weather one, and the HD one. At least that was the way it was as of last week.

Guys, I hate to tell you this - but 5.1 has declined even further now that they've added 5.3. A few of us on the OTA thread have already noticed this.

I guess I'm behind the curve. Whats 5.3?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Sports

(scroll down to affiliates)

Can't answer for the Comcast office up there but the Schaumburg office on Wise road will hand the DVR's over the counter. I've done it several times with no questions asked. Both for replacing an old one as well as asking for a new one for a TV that didn't previously have one.

I just got back from this Comcast office. I swapped my first generation DCT6412 for a newer DCH3416. No lines, no waiting - the entire exchange took all of two minutes. They had plenty of cable boxes in stock and the woman who handled my exchange was very pleasant and helpful. Sure beats waiting for days for a Comcast tech to show up at my house.

Other than the slight bump in hard drive capacity (160 vs 120, which is better than nothing, I guess) what are the differences? From the description, they sound basically the same.

Other than the slight bump in hard drive capacity (160 vs 120, which is better than nothing, I guess) what are the differences? From the description, they sound basically the same.

Well, the 3416 has a HDMI port (as do later versions of the 6412), but the biggest difference is the 3416 is a digital only tuner, so you'll have to be in an area serviced by a digital or analog/digital-simulcasting cable plant. There are other minor physical differences (3416 is a bit smaller and doesn't have as many ports as the 6412), but those are relatively minor.

You can check here (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Identifying_your_model#DCH_3416) to see all the differences..

Thanks. I missed the HDMI port before.

I guess I'm behind the curve. Whats 5.3?It's Universal Sports and WMAQ-DT just started carrying it this week.

We really ought to be discussing its PQ and its effect on 5.1's PQ on the Chicago OTA thread.

So far, in Chicago Area 2, I can't find it through Comcast at all, only OTA: the box has 5.1 on 188 and 5.2 on 194 but 5.3's content doesn't show up anywhere.  Bypassing the box for the clear QAM channels straight off Comcast's coax, there are only 5.1 and 5.2, and 5.3's nowhere to be found (but 11.2 is now on both 79-5 and 115-5: still not on 11-2).

We really ought to be discussing its PQ and its effect on 5.1's PQ on the Chicago OTA thread.I just wanted to alert people in case they're getting the same signal (or worse) passed to them.

Anyone happen to be watching 216 (CNNHD) this past week and notice lots of picture break ups? It was bad enough for me to switch to channel 40 instead.

It didn't seem as bad on any channel as it was on 216...is it possible that it was a CNN only problem?

I've now got all my OTA antenna and wiring in place, as well as converter boxes for the televisions that don't have digital tuners. So I'm going to pull the plug on "Digital Preferred" when my six-month special expires next week. I'll keep "Basic Cable" for the local government access and also because it lowers my internet bill.

My question, which I will soon find the answer to by actually doing it, are whether any of the clear QAM digital signals for local broadcast stations are likely to still be there after I make this switch, and whether the Motorola DVR will still work at all.

Anybody made a change like this already?

Is it just me, or are half the HD stations unavailable right now? I've been on hold w/customer service for half an hour now and I'm wondering if this is a service outage or something's wrong on my end.

Well, all's well that ends well. Turns out that when my new neighbor moved in a couple of days ago, a different Comcast tech installed a video filter on my cable line by mistake. A different tech came out this morning and diagnosed the problem pretty quickly. Phew. At least I got a new DVR with a bigger hard drive out of the ordeal.

zqxthree,

I was looking into same situation and called up Comcast. Their CSR informed me that if I went to Basic plan they would not let me keep the DVR/STB as it only for the digital plan customers and they would send a tech out to put filter on to block all the other analog channels.

Unfortunately giving up the DVR STB would not work as our TV has no QAM tuner nor do we have an ability to record shows which is important to us.

You may call them and find out yourself. Let me know if you get a different response.

I have a random question for folks out there regarding Comcast Tech's... I am moving this week and having Comcast installed on Saturday. I noticed while moving in yesterday that the CAT wiring seems old.

I'm wondering what the tech is willing to do to change that? I am going to an older building in Evanston where I will be setting up HSI, Voice and HD cable. With the bandwidth requirements for this setup, is there any way I can request that the wiring be replaced? Also are there specific HD channels to check while I have the tech there for verification that I am getting the best signal possible?

Sorry for the random, rambling questions but I'm trying to get think this through ahead of time before the tech shows up... Thanks!

I have a random question for folks out there regarding Comcast Tech's... I am moving this week and having Comcast installed on Saturday. I noticed while moving in yesterday that the CAT wiring seems old.

I'm wondering what the tech is willing to do to change that? I am going to an older building in Evanston where I will be setting up HSI, Voice and HD cable. With the bandwidth requirements for this setup, is there any way I can request that the wiring be replaced? Also are there specific HD channels to check while I have the tech there for verification that I am getting the best signal possible?

I don't know if a tech will go so far as to replace wiring that's inside your walls, but any decent tech will measure the signal strength going to your cable box/modem. On the video side, they will activate your cable box and call up a training video located in the On Demand section to test your connection. I think it's around six or seven minutes long, and the techs are told to play the video completely through from beginning to end to ensure the video quality. They will probably go through the diagnostic menu in the cable box to do a quick double-check on signal levels, too. While the tech is there, I recommend that you flip through the dial to make sure you're getting all the channels for your subscription package. The last thing you want is to discover that HBO doesn't come in when the tech is pulling out of your driveway.

I was having trouble recently with some HD channels not coming in properly, and the tech who came out replaced about half the wiring in the house. Two years ago, a different tech had replaced the first half. This required going down into the crawl space and tracing the ancient coax (which used to bring in signal from the roof antenna) from where it came into the house to the holes in the walls where it went into the living area. This was after hooking up a diagnostic box of some kind and checking the signal.

Both times it was no charge, part of the service. Both times they said it was necessary to get a decent signal since the house is 40 years old and I'm guessing that the old black coax is nearly that old. We now have all nice white cable and clean HD.

Looking for help here from you comcast folk.... I'm looking to sign up for the internet-tv double play which comcast states is $66 on their site (for one year). I would need to add an HD package with HD DVR.... what type of HD DVR does comcast typically use.... and how much extra is the HD/HD DVR service a month... thanks!

what type of HD DVR does comcast typically use.... and how much extra is the HD/HD DVR service a month... thanks!

They use Motorola DCT/DCH boxes with the fugly TV guide software. The HDDVR service is like $12/month extra.

Also... can anyone chime in on how to enable the 30-second skip feature?

Also... can anyone chime in on how to enable the 30-second skip feature?

The page up & page down buttons will skip 30 seconds forward & backward.

Does Comcast enable the eSATA port for external storage expansion?

From wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote):

Add 30-Second Skip

The following technique can be used to map an unused or unneeded button on the "silver" remote to the 30-second skip command. Current versions of the i-Guide software will skip forward 30 seconds into a recording when this command is sent. A good choice is the 'A / Lock' button since many users don't need that function; you can feel both the '15-second-back' and '30-second-skip' buttons with one finger and move between them without looking. Another option is to reprogram the '15-second back' button, since PgDn already provides that functionality.
Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice.
Type in the code 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice.
Press (do not hold) the "Setup" button.
Type in the code 00173.
Press whatever button you want to map the 30-second skip command to (ex: A / Lock). The "Cable" button will blink twice if successful.


Note: This did not work on boxes with the Microsoft TV Foundation Interface (previously used in Washington State, but now converted back to the i-Guide software). As of firmware version 12.22 Insight Cable disabled this feature, but has been re-enabled in firmware version 16.35. Comcast software Version 73.44 disabled this feature, but the latest software, Version 74.53-3321, re-enables it (this has been confirmed on the 3416 w/ 16.20 firmware). See software for more info.

Note: As of software 75.59, the Page Up key is recognized as an alternate for the 30-second skip.

It looks like the Schaumburg Library's video computer runs Win2K. It's frozen with a pop-up message about an 'Unsafe Removal of Device'. Somebody unplugged or turned off an external hard drive.

I have a pretty large house and I want to distribute my Comcast to a bunch of TVs. The tech who set me up put a booster to the infeed to strengthen the signal.

I plan on having 3 HD-DVR boxes and a bunch of other tv sets hooked up to the wall jack directly and just getting basic cable (perhaps 5-6 other sets). In addition I am using Comcast for my internet and phone.

Will the booster that was installed be enough to power all of this usage, and if not can somebody recommend what I should be to make sure that I can do all of that.

Thanks.

I have a pretty large house and I want to distribute my Comcast to a bunch of TVs. The tech who set me up put a booster to the infeed to strengthen the signal.

I plan on having 3 HD-DVR boxes and a bunch of other tv sets hooked up to the wall jack directly and just getting basic cable (perhaps 5-6 other sets). In addition I am using Comcast for my internet and phone.

Will the booster that was installed be enough to power all of this usage, and if not can somebody recommend what I should be to make sure that I can do all of that.

Thanks.


I was just curious whether you have been experiencing any problems without a signal booster. I have about six TVs off a splitter and experience poor tuning when changing channels with the cablebox. I'm suspecting the box (since QAM-equipped TVs do not show the problem), but trying to rule out all other options before spending a lot of time with Comcast.

Just got my bill. In it is this disturbing note:

Effective with October bills, due to higher costs of doing business including technology, service improvements, programming costs & gas prices, some monthly prices will increase and Dig. Preferred tier will be discontinued. Dig. Preferred customers will receive Dig. Classic.

Basic $15.99 to $16.99; Standard Cable $52.99 to $56.99; premium movie channels $16.99 to $17.99 each; Dig. Classic $14.99 to $16.99; HD-DVR Service $13.99 to $15.99; DVR Service $8.99 to $9.99; HDTV Equip. $7 to $8.99; new Dig. Starter Additional Outlets $5.99 each.

Does this mean I will lose the extra channels I get above Digital Classic? What plans will offer them? Will I be forced into one of those Silver/Gold plans??

It also looks like my bill will go up by $4 (standard cbl) + $2 (dig classic) + $2 (HD-DVR) + $2 (HDTV) = $10. According to the Comcast site, Classic is $1 less than Preferred.

The Comcast site is a mess. The Channel listing is missing some channels I do receive when I pick Preferred. It also shows that Encore is part of Classic?

Can anybody in the Schaumburg area with Classic + HD look at the .DOC file in the .ZIP file at the link and let me know what I might lose?
http://home.att.net/~andyross/Schaumburg_Cable_Channels.zip

And in other news:
9/30 - TLC will move from analog 65 to digital 138.
10/1 - AMC HD, History HD, and HGTV HD will be available on Digital Starter.

I checked the Comcast website and if you get the Digital Preferred package w/1 premium channel it's now Digital Silver btw.[looks to be the same price as the old preferred package w/1 premium channel $84.99]

And in other news:
9/30 - TLC will move from analog 65 to digital 138.
10/1 - AMC HD, History HD, and HGTV HD will be available on Digital Starter.

I think you meant TLN (not TLC) :)

The price increases are getting ridiculous.

I checked the Comcast website and if you get the Digital Preferred package w/1 premium channel it's now Digital Silver btw.[looks to be the same price as the old preferred package w/1 premium channel $84.99]
I just have the plain Digital Preferred (currently $68.98), and no premiums. Encore is included with Digital Preferred.

I noticed Comcast is now carrying WMAQ-DT 5.3 (Universal [fuzzy] Sports) on channel 251.

I phoned Comcast after reading AndyRoss's post last night, and the rep told me that what is now Digital Classic is going away, Digital Preferred is being renamed Digital Classic, and customers who have the current Digital Classic will by default be upgraded to the new Digital Classic, which is the same as the current Digital Preferred.

I noticed Comcast is now carrying WMAQ-DT 5.3 (Universal [fuzzy] Sports) on channel 251.Wonderful, isn't it? :rolleyes:

Actually, they should call it "Universal You Tube Sports".

I phoned Comcast after reading AndyRoss's post last night, and the rep told me that what is now Digital Classic is going away, Digital Preferred is being renamed Digital Classic, and customers who have the current Digital Classic will by default be upgraded to the new Digital Classic, which is the same as the current Digital Preferred.
So that means that part of my bill may actually only go up $1 instead of $2 ($2 - $1 former price difference.)

Also, I think I'm being double-charged for the DVR (I only have the DVR.) I'm being charged both for an HD-DVR and 'HD Equipment'. If I can get that dropped, I think my bill may actually decrease!

I noticed Comcast is now carrying WMAQ-DT 5.3 (Universal [fuzzy] Sports) on channel 251.Unfortunately, they're using WMAQ as its mnemonic, same as for the regular SD feed of channel 5.  (188 is WMAQD and 194 is, I think, WMAQ2.)  But since the guide is not dividing it into programs (somehow TitanTV can do it), you can't schedule a recording from channel 251 by program title or series anyway, so it wouldn't matter that it would record the regular WMAQ instead.  Moreover, who'd want to record repeats of past sports events?  Still, it was careless to duplicate the mnemonic.  I'm surprised that the software even allows it.

Universal Sports is also coming in on Comcast's clear QAM feed on virtual channel 5-3.  (I wouldn't have a way of finding out the real channel.)

Universal Sports is also coming in on Comcast's clear QAM feed on virtual channel 5-3.* (I wouldn't have a way of finding out the real channel.)
Odds are it's on the same channel as 5-1 and 5-2. Comcast basically keeps digital broadcast channels and their subchannels together. Here in Schaumburg, it's on analog 115.

As for the name, my guess is they'll change it to WMAQ3 or similar, like they do for WLS.

Over the weekend, I bought a Samsung LN19A450 for the bedroom that is directly connected to the cable. I can now get some more direct info on the digital channels for the Excel sheet. I already caught a few issues that need updating.

Odds are it's on the same channel as 5-1 and 5-2. Comcast basically keeps digital broadcast channels and their subchannels together. Here in Schaumburg, it's on analog 115.Most of the clear QAM channels that are also available OTA and are translated to the same virtual channel as their OTA counterparts are on 113, 114, 115, or 116, I think.  I really don't have a way of knowing which are where, short of wiping out the entire QAM channel table by scanning with no coax connected and then trying to add one real QAM channel at a time and seeing which virtual channels turn up.
As for the name, my guess is they'll change it to WMAQ3 or similar, like they do for WLS.So far they have not fixed it.

Thanks a lot Comcast. You guys suck. I heard no audio problems on CBS HD the entire summer. Now tonight, the first night of the new TV season we get flipped front and rear channels, no sound, sound in and out, and static. Idiots!

Thanks a lot Comcast. You guys suck. I heard no audio problems on CBS HD the entire summer. Now tonight, the first night of the new TV season we get flipped front and rear channels, no sound, sound in and out, and static. Idiots!

Make sure you put the blame where it belongs. It's not Comcast's fault - it's WBBM. They switched to their new digital digs this weekend and that's where the problem lies.

Make sure you put the blame where it belongs. It's not Comcast's fault - it's WBBM. They switched to their new digital digs this weekend and that's where the problem lies.
Oops. I guess I"m just used to blaming Comcast as its usually their fault.

WBBM better have everything straightened out by tonight. If NCIS is ruined I'm really not going to be a happy camper.

Make sure you put the blame where it belongs. It's not Comcast's fault - it's WBBM. They switched to their new digital digs this weekend and that's where the problem lies.

The SD feed also had problems last night. Wife kept asking me what was wrong with the TV during How I Met My Mother.

Make sure you put the blame where it belongs. It's not Comcast's fault - it's WBBM. They switched to their new digital digs this weekend and that's where the problem lies.

True, it's also doing it on WBBM's DirecTV SD & HD signals, & NOT just during network prog, either - pretty bad... :eek:

The CBS problems started Sunday evening during the football game, where I could hear the crowd but not the announcers. Strangely, the problems vary by tuner. Any tuner that picked up 5.1 audio was LOUD. I thought I blew my speakers.

On Monday night, my 3416 was still very loud on CBS, but not as bad as Sunday. Here's the really weird part: My Sony DVR got normal sound on CBS commercials, but got only the Spanish audio track from the left front speaker on CSI Miami. Other channels (and tuners) are normal. What the heck could cause that?!?

Looks like good news - the audio problems appear to be fixed. No problems during the evening newscasts, and even Entertainment Tonight is coming in without glitches.

Doh! Spoke too soon - NCIS just started and they forgot to flip to 5.1 audio.


OT - I don't watch E.T., so imagine my surprise when I saw their set for the first time tonight. Holy crap, they have three 100"+ monitors on swiveling platforms!

This sucks. So much for watching NCIS tonight... When are they going to fix this issue. Seems like they should have made the move before all these shows start.

Well, I called WBBM's newsdesk (the only number I could find for the station) and asked to speak to engineering. The receptionist told me they're trying to fix the audio problem, so I imagine she's gotten plenty of calls on it.

What really sucks is the problem is also on the analog channel, so watching in SD is not a solution.

Guess thats what On Demand is for... LOL Hopefully this gets fixed though. Honestly, You couldn't even watch the Big Bang Theory last night but CSI Miami was fine. Thanks for making the call though. I was just looking up a number so I could do the same. :)

Finally fixed at 7:21. Geez...

Nice it's working. Just 23 minutes late... haha

The sound on Letterman is currently out on Comcast with my motorola HD DVR. Had similar problems with football on Sunday.

In the past, the page up and down buttons duplicated the 15-sec review and undocumented 30-sec skip buttons. Today, I noticed they reconfigured them to skip or review by 5 minutes instead. The regular review and skip work the same as before.

Sort of confusing. I thought something was broken when I tried to review by using page down and it jumped WAY back. The way my universal remote is laid out, it's easier to use page down as review. Now I have to use another button for the regular review.

My Comcast 6 month promo package is coming to an end. I previously called & "complained" that they were way higher than DirecTV, which they were. They reduced my bill to DirecTV's price and gave me Digital Classic. I tried to get another deal, but they won't budge. They said I could cut back on my service in order to reduce my cost.

Does anyone know of any current Comcast deals and/or secret phone number to call?

I did check with AT&T and they offered me phone/internet/Dish package for $100/month. It's their entry level Top 100 package and included locals and a DVR. That's less channels than I now get, but it does give me the ones I want. I know some folks here have tried Comcast & Dish and I would like to know what the current state of satisfaction is with Dish. Most things I read give Comcast the edge in PG. Is Dish really that much different?

Well, doesn't that suck. I just checked and yeah - the skip feature changed to 5 minute intervals. Egads.

At least I still have a 30 second skip thanks to this tip (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote#Add_30-Second_Skip). Now I just have to put back the 15-second rewind...

Most things I read give Comcast the edge in PG. Is Dish really that much different?For SD? Probably not. At least from what I see with my Dish SD compared to my BIL's Comcast digital SD in this same area. Some of the stuff even looks better on Dish, IMO (YMMV though).

Many people here are saying that U-verse's SD is supposed to be very good (just not their HD).

What's the deal with Comcast not showing the Cubs game against
the Mets on Wednesday night. It was to be shown on 173 ESPN HD.
ESPN news HD was on instead. It was played in N.Y. so why are we
part of the blackout in the Chicago area? It seems like everytime
the Cubs were on ESPN HD we did not get the signal in the Chicago
area.

What's the deal with Comcast not showing the Cubs game against
the Mets on Wednesday night. It was to be shown on 173 ESPN HD.
ESPN news HD was on instead. It was played in N.Y. so why are we
part of the blackout in the Chicago area? It seems like everytime
the Cubs were on ESPN HD we did not get the signal in the Chicago
area.

I think the Sox have priority this week (since the Cubs clinched already), so CSN ran the Sox game and pushed the Cubs to CSN+ (which is WCIU or sometimes MOJO). I'm guessing ESPN didn't carry the game here because of the blackout rules, but I thought those only applied to home games. <shrug>

It doesn't apply to home games only. Check to see if your cable system gets CSN+ because that's where the game is broadcast tonight.

Well that was lame. MOJO cut off the very end of the game. By the time I turned on CLTV, Reyes had just scored. Oh well.

It doesn't apply to home games only. Check to see if your cable system gets CSN+ because that's where the game is broadcast tonight.

So if an away game is not sold out the blackout rule applys to both teams?

So if an away game is not sold out the blackout rule applys to both teams?
MLB blackouts have nothing to do with home or away, tickets sold or even if a game is being aired in the home market.

Using the Cubs as an example. The home market rights to all of their games are owned by Comcast SportsNet, WGN and WCIU. Whether they exercise those rights is up to them for each particular game. When ESPN broadcasts a game, they have the national rights to the game but cannot air the games in the home market for the Cubs or the visitor.

That said, there are going to be many changes in blackout rules during this offseason because of the MLB Network as well as some areas that have no team nearby (Las Vegas in particular) but are claimed by 6 different teams as a home market and are therefore blacked out of national games while the games are not available on any broadcast outlet in the area.

In the past, the page up and down buttons duplicated the 15-sec review and undocumented 30-sec skip buttons. Today, I noticed they reconfigured them to skip or review by 5 minutes instead.I noticed it as well, so it's happening in the city as well as the suburbs.The regular review and skip work the same as before.Except that there is no regular review button now; the customer has to program one per the wikibook's instructions to send code 00173.

For SD? Probably not. At least from what I see with my Dish SD compared to my BIL's Comcast digital SD in this same area. Some of the stuff even looks better on Dish, IMO (YMMV though).

Many people here are saying that U-verse's SD is supposed to be very good (just not their HD).


I cannot get U-verse so am thinking about Dish. I don't want to get off topic, but I would like to compare Dish with Comcast.

I don't know what package you have, but Dish says they supply local channels. Does this include WGN and WTTW (11)?

If you have an HD package, does it include WTTW-D?

Thanks in advance.

I just have the Top 100 SD's. I supplement that with OTA HD, using my Sony DVR (I use a Panny EH75V to record from Dish).

For local SD they have:
WBBM
WMAQ
WLS
WGN
WOCK
WYCC
WWME
WCIU
WFLD
WSNS
WPWR
WYIN
WXFT
WJYS
WGBO

For HD I'm not sure if they have PBS-HD or not - they might. Not sure about WGN-HD, either - but they do have the WGN Superstation-HD, I believe. I know for sure they have CBS, NBC, ABC & Fox-HD.

Looks like we finally got the new guide in Oak Forest sometime between Monday night and yesterday. The tipoff was the record light on the DVR being lit for the first time yesterday.

Some of the new features are nice, but what I would like is a feature from the old Hughes E-1 Directv boxes, which when using the mini guide and hitting the last channel button, the guide would stay on but go to the channel on the screen instead of having it exit like it does now.

But I can live without that if I get the extra HD channels that the City has.

I noticed a recent post of yours stating a possible update to the Excel Spreadsheet for Schaumburg. Have you done that? Some time ago my WLS and WGN HD channels went fritzy (two different Sony 768p TV's w QAM tuners). 7.1 shows what could be taken for a 4 screen PIP. I have not rescanned in a while. Do you know the digital frequency for WLS-DT? It is blank in the spreadsheet. Finally, some posters were wondering about DISH service. My opinion is it is really very good and their tuners/DVR's are superior. We've kept a basic Comcast service just to have something to watch during severe weather.

Rammitinski,

Thanks for the information. I previously was in Sam's Club and stopped at the cell phone / Dish booth and asked a few questions. Of course they had no idea what locals were available. No surprise there.

I know there used to be a satellite forum here but it was removed & members were referred elsewhere. Do you have any recommendations for a sat forum to visit?

I think the Sox have priority this week (since the Cubs clinched already), so CSN ran the Sox game and pushed the Cubs to CSN+ (which is WCIU or sometimes MOJO). I'm guessing ESPN didn't carry the game here because of the blackout rules, but I thought those only applied to home games. <shrug>


WCIU is NEVER CSN+. WCIU games are scheduled & produced by WGN, they are called CubsNet/SoxNet/BullsNet. CSN+ SD is on CLTV & CSN+ HD is on MOJO. As was previously noted, blackouts of ESPN coverage are in BOTH teams markets for MLB. The local coverage trumps the national coverage.

Do you have any recommendations for a sat forum to visit?www.satelliteguys.us and www.dbstalk.com.

Doesn't the Dish website tell you what locals are available in your area in HD if you put in your zipcode? I know they did with the SD's, but they might also tell you the HD's now.

www.satelliteguys.us and www.dbstalk.com.

Doesn't the Dish website tell you what locals are available in your area in HD if you put in your zipcode? I know they did with the SD's, but they might also tell you the HD's now.


I did not see that path to a zip code before. I just saw the CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox and that locals vary by market. I checked and the only local HDs are ABC and CBS. I figured if I got them all (NBC, Fox & WTTW-D) then I might not have to worry about an antenna. I'm in a townhouse & there is an antenna in the attic, but I have no idea how it feeds the unit. Cable feeds the wall outlets so I don't know what happened to the antenna feed. It's getting cooler so I might crawl around in the attic & see how the antenna is hooked up.

Thanks for pointing out the zip code

I noticed a recent post of yours stating a possible update to the Excel Spreadsheet for Schaumburg. Have you done that? Some time ago my WLS and WGN HD channels went fritzy (two different Sony 768p TV's w QAM tuners). 7.1 shows what could be taken for a 4 screen PIP. I have not rescanned in a while. Do you know the digital frequency for WLS-DT? It is blank in the spreadsheet. Finally, some posters were wondering about DISH service. My opinion is it is really very good and their tuners/DVR's are superior. We've kept a basic Comcast service just to have something to watch during severe weather.
The latest is at:
http://home.att.net/~andyross/Schaumburg_Cable_Channels.zip

I don't think there have been any major changes for awhile. WLS and WGN (both mains and subs) are on 120.

I updated the frequency list today. It's not a total recheck, but does include changes I noticed since getting a new TV with a digital tuner that can pick up digital channels.
http://home.att.net/~andyross/Schaumburg_Cable_Channels.zip

In playing with my new TV, I did notice a few oddities with digital channels:
The Weather Channel is on 85 according to the cable box, but there is also an unencrypted copy on 86-15.
Public access (35) is on 123-21, but there is a second copy with no audio on 86-4 (a few days ago, 86-4 was QVC with no audio).
WSNS used to be 122-3. For a few days, a no-audio copy was on 86-20, which has now become the 'real' channel. 122-3 seems to be dead.

The HD feed for WBBM has been showing a test pattern since the end of the SEC football game. Analog is fine.

It was on when I switched at 9:58 to watch the 10PM news, but since 10PM it has just been a blank screen. Must be a local issue, network programming seems to be fine.

Mike99

I hope my explanation of the routing of the coax in my In-Laws Townhouse will help you figure out how yours is run including the antenna. This townhouse was built in 1992 by Lexington and also has an antenna in the attic. The building has 6 units, ours is a middle unit. I don’t know what unit has the antenna in the attic, it isn’t ours.

Anyway, 1st I’ll explain the Comcast cable feed into our unit, the “lockbox” for the 6 units is on the end of the building on the outside. From there the drop cable to our unit is buried outside around the back of the building and comes out of the ground to a ground block on the brick. It then enters the unit thru a hole in the brick and heads straight up to the attic above the 2nd floor bedroom.

At the same spot in the 2nd floor attic, the coax comes from the antenna, and is just laying loose on the insulation. Both the Cable line and the antenna line are marked with a nice plastic tag noting what each cable is for.

A 2 way splitter is just laying loose on the insulation, At that point 2 coax lines are connected to the splitter outputs, and head all the way back down to 2 outlets, the 1st floor living room and the 1st floor master bedroom, these 2 outlets are actually back to back on the same wall.

So, they made it very easy to switch between the cable TV feed and the antenna feed by just opening the attic trap door and the splitter and all the coax lines are right there, no need to even climb into the attic. Just disconnect the cable TV feed to the input of the splitter, and connect the antenna cable.

All coax is RG59 and the picture is really not too bad considering the townhouse is in Crystal Lake. Hope this can help you.

jay2031,

Thanks for the information. My Comcast coax enters the back basement of my 2 story unit where it connects to another coax which runs a few feet & goes up inside the wall, but I don't know how far. I have 3 rooms fed by the signal, 1 on the first floor. If I take off the wall plate I can see the coax going upward. It's been some time & I don't recall which way the second floor coax runs as seen from taking off their wall plates. But somehow I thought the splitter may have been between the 1st & 2nd floors.

One time Comcast came out because I had a poor picture & the tech did look in the attic & said he did not see any splitter. Of course he might have missed it. He missed removing the filters from the "lockbox", the ones that have not been used in years. Another tech came out later & saw I was the only unit that still had these old filters inline. After removing them my picture cleared up. Anyway I do have an antenna in my attic and have no idea if it feeds just my unit. But I'll go up there on a cool day and see where its coax goes & hopefully there will be a connection similar to yours.

Thanks again.

jay2031,

I went up in the attic & followed the antenna coax. It met with another coax & both went downward. I looked where it went & matched it up with the utility room on the first floor. There's a 4”x4” wall plate next to an alarm panel. I always figured it was for the alarm. I took off the cover plate & there is a 4-way splitter in there and a bunch of coax, including a rolled up unused one labeled “ANT”. So I've had easy access all this time.

I connected the antenna & it works. CBS analog and WTTW-11 analog were quite noisy. I took the splitter out of the circuit and it made a slight improvement. But all the digitals come in good. So if I decide to drop Comcast I'll still have some TV.

Mike - If you're still interested in Dish, I'd suggest one of their all-HD Turbo Packages. Very, very reasonably priced, and even if you have an SDTV, the PQ will be much better (it will beat Comcast's SD hands down). They carry a lot of the standard, national channels, and will be adding more as they become available. Also, with a dual-tuner or DVR, you will receive independent, downscaled HD programming to a second set for no extra cost. (If you don't want a DVR, you can just ask for a 222 dual-tuner. No fees involved at all with one of those.) The lowest Turbo Package, the Bronze, is only $24.99 without the locals.

Another thing I should mention is that AT&T has their lowest tier DSL for only $10.00/mo. for new DSL customers. So if you find a better deal on Dish elsewhere, and add something like that to a Turbo Package, with your phone you may even considerably beat that $100.00/mo. bundle deal. (I don't know how fast that DSL is, though. I have the next one up myself - the $25.00 one, although I only pay $20.00 - and it's plenty fast.)

Rammitinski,

I'm looking at my options. I already have AT&T phone and dsl, so I'm not a new customer. They had a $100/month pkg for phone, dsl and Dish with 100 channels, including locals & DVR.

The 6 month deal that Comcast gave me is about to end and I'm not going to pay $70/month to watch TV. So I'm either going to downgrade Comcast to expanded basic, go 100% OTA, or go satellite with possible OTA for the HD locals. I thought I'd wait till after Oct 1 and call Comcast again in case another promo is offered.

Anyone watching the Cubs tonight on TBS HD? I am finding that the AQ is rather sucky...especially compared to the Sox on TBS HD last night.

Anyone watching the Cubs tonight on TBS HD? I am finding that the AQ is rather sucky...especially compared to the Sox on TBS HD last night.

I could hear the booing quite clear. ;)

Anyone watching the Cubs tonight on TBS HD? I am finding that the AQ is rather sucky...especially compared to the Sox on TBS HD last night.


All joking aside, I am hoping that Comcast gets it right tonight. I was extremely disappointed with the AQ last night especially compared to the night before when watching the Sox on TBS HD.
I also watched the RedSox and and Angels game and the AQ was just as poor. By poor I mean I could only hear the commentators and while I did receive it in 5.1, it seemed that only 2.0 was working. I did check my gear.

As a side note: I always do Auto Decode with my receiver with 5.1 sound.

Is this issue related to TBS? The gear at the ballpark? or Comcast dumbing down the signal?
If its comcast, is there someone I can contact about this?

Did anybody have comcast problems last evening (10/1)? On our new Samsung LCD virtually all of the qam hd channels were missing, just showing black with a "missing or weak signal" message from the set. I did a rescan of all channels, and poof! they were all gone. We are in Barrington, and have the usual analog/no stb with comcast. So my usual channel 2-1 or 5-1 for example were not captured in the rerun of channel setup. I checked the coax and it seemed fine. Analog channels were okay, but seemed weak.

Is there a spreadsheet for the Barrington/Lake Zurich comcast channel lineup?

Does anyone know when we will be getting the dreaded "all digital, here's your one free stb" letter? I've read that comcast wants to completely shutdown the analog tiers by the end of 2008.

All joking aside, I am hoping that Comcast gets it right tonight. I was extremely disappointed with the AQ last night especially compared to the night before when watching the Sox on TBS HD.
I also watched the RedSox and and Angels game and the AQ was just as poor. By poor I mean I could only hear the commentators and while I did receive it in 5.1, it seemed that only 2.0 was working. I did check my gear.

As a side note: I always do Auto Decode with my receiver with 5.1 sound.

Is this issue related to TBS? The gear at the ballpark? or Comcast dumbing down the signal?
If its comcast, is there someone I can contact about this?
It would either be TBS or the TBS truck at the park. Issues where a specific provider is mucking up a signal are rare.

Anyone watching the Cubs tonight on TBS HD? I am finding that the AQ is rather sucky...especially compared to the Sox on TBS HD last night.

yea it was bad. I had static in the rear channels when Derosa hit his home run.. generally the crowd sound was just lacking and I think there was a Nascar driver in the booth judging from his accent ;)

... I think there was a Nascar driver in the booth judging from his accent ;)

That would be Tony Gwynn.

Hello, I have comcast basic cable and HSI. I just got a hdtv and I see the hd channels as 7-1, 7-2, ect. but they appear to be encrypted. I suppose that I need to get a box and pay the $7/mo for HD? Is that my problem? Would I get On-Demand for the added $7/mo or is it extra? Would I need a box for each tv in my house? Thanks!

Hello All,
My Comcast is out of the Prospect Heights office. Using the cable Directly into A tv works fine. I find the Local channels in the 122 and 123 groups but on Channels like 104.33 i See a label that says Sports and 4 mini screens display different broadcasts. The top left one looks to be the Golf channel and that's the one the audio is from. What's up with these. IS their a way to get to the other 3 or to expand any of them?
Thanks in advance

Actually I just found out that hitting the MTS button switches the sound but still can't separate the images

Can anyone please confirm with me when the Chicago market will receive more HD channels? I have spoken to three different customer service representatives-Maria, Linda, & Evelyn- and they all told me that Comcast will be adding the following channels in October: Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, MGM, Travel Channel, ESPNews, FearNet, Toon Disney, Biography, & Planet Green. One of them told me October 15th & another one told me by the end of last month.

I have had no audio from my CBS HD station since last night. Is anyone else having this problem? Every other station seems to be working fine and I'm getting audio from the SD CBS station.

I have had no audio from my CBS HD station since last night. Is anyone else having this problem? Every other station seems to be working fine and I'm getting audio from the SD CBS station.
WBBM's audio has been f'd up since the move to their new studios. Lately, they seem to be 'upconverting' stereo to 5.1, but the level is VERY loud, and it's either distorted or has some nasty strong treble boost.

Letterman has always been plain stereo/ProLogic, but now it's that harsh-sounding 5.1. Can anybody watch Letterman on another CBS station and let me know if it's switched to 5.1, or if this is a WBBM issue?

Hello, I have comcast basic cable and HSI. I just got a hdtv and I see the hd channels as 7-1, 7-2, ect. but they appear to be encrypted. I suppose that I need to get a box and pay the $7/mo for HD? Is that my problem? Would I get On-Demand for the added $7/mo or is it extra? Would I need a box for each tv in my house? Thanks!


I presume that you have no set top box and that you have the Comcast cable coming from the wall and going directly to your HDTV. Does your HDTV have a QAM tuner & did your HDTV do a channel scan during setup in order to find all the channels?

I'm guessing it did because you said you get 7.1. But if you get 7.1 then it should not be encrypted. What does the picture look like? Is it just black?

For a few weeks now, Comcast's guide information has not indicated HD for any high-definition network programming, though what should be in HD still seems to be coming in HD.

If you check what's upcoming in HD, 187 (WLS) shows only news and late-night past-season reruns of "Lost"; 188 (WMAQ), 189 (WBBM), and 190 (WFLD) list nothing; and 192 (WGN) lists only some sports events.

Is that all over the region or is it a problem only in Chicago Area 2?

I presume that you have no set top box and that you have the Comcast cable coming from the wall and going directly to your HDTV. Does your HDTV have a QAM tuner & did your HDTV do a channel scan during setup in order to find all the channels?

I'm guessing it did because you said you get 7.1. But if you get 7.1 then it should not be encrypted. What does the picture look like? Is it just black?

I do have a QAM tuner hdtv, the picture is clear for a moment, then sometimes jerky, sometimes a wobbly horizontal bar, sometimes it froze for a second. Same thing on all the digital sub-channels none watchable. I was told by a guy at Circuit City that I probably only have the expanded basic, not digital cable. He said I need to have the box to get digital cable & high def. I DON'T WANT A BOX! I seem to remember that when I signed up a few years ago that they installed a filter trap in the backyard box since I didn't want any premium stations. Wonder what it would do without the filter. Also, wondering what happens in 2/09 when everything goes digital? Will Comcast downgrade the signal to analog so they can charge you for digital?

I decided today to connect the old OTA ant, and it works just great! I am getting all the local hd stuff. I maybe soon dropping the cable and just keeping the HSI. :D

I do have a QAM tuner hdtv, the picture is clear for a moment, then sometimes jerky, sometimes a wobbly horizontal bar, sometimes it froze for a second. Same thing on all the digital sub-channels none watchable. I was told by a guy at Circuit City that I probably only have the expanded basic, not digital cable. He said I need to have the box to get digital cable & high def. I DON'T WANT A BOX! I seem to remember that when I signed up a few years ago that they installed a filter trap in the backyard box since I didn't want any premium stations. Wonder what it would do without the filter. Also, wondering what happens in 2/09 when everything goes digital? Will Comcast downgrade the signal to analog so they can charge you for digital?

I decided today to connect the old OTA ant, and it works just great! I am getting all the local hd stuff. I maybe soon dropping the cable and just keeping the HSI. :D


It almost sounds like a weak signal. Comcast used to use filters by me but now use addressable boxes. I was getting a noisy picture on a couple low band VHF analog channels. The Comcast tech came out & found I had 3 filters on my line in the lock box. I was the only one out of 6 houses. He removed it and everything has been fine since then.

You might want to have them come out & make sure the filter is removed. Or if they still require a filter at least see what the picture looks like without one. If it improves, then tell them you want a filter that does not block what you are paying for.

For a few weeks now, Comcast's guide information has not indicated HD for any high-definition network programming, though what should be in HD still seems to be coming in HD.
The Guide data is only as good as the information given to TV Guide, who supplies it to Comcast. There have been alot of weird issues with the Guide data recently. More and more programs only list generic descriptions, and there seems to be an unusual amount of 'To Be Announced'. I wonder if they are trying to reduce the data size as much as possible due to the ever growing number of channels. They increased the database size on the DVR's (and presumably all HD boxes), but many older boxes do not have enough spare RAM. They are down to only 1.5-2 days now.

It almost sounds like a weak signal. Comcast used to use filters by me but now use addressable boxes. I was getting a noisy picture on a couple low band VHF analog channels. The Comcast tech came out & found I had 3 filters on my line in the lock box. I was the only one out of 6 houses. He removed it and everything has been fine since then.

You might want to have them come out & make sure the filter is removed. Or if they still require a filter at least see what the picture looks like without one. If it improves, then tell them you want a filter that does not block what you are paying for.

Thanks for your reply, I really do think it is their filter not a weak signal (HSI works great and I actually have a motorola amp installed which they said wasn't needed when I first got it hooked-up). My bill is $42.95 for HSI, $19.24 for Cable, plus taxes, = $64.55/mo. I think that should get me "digital cable" with the local HD stuff!

Update: Just chatted with comcast online and they scheduled a tech to come out to investigate next week. He agred I should be getting the the local digitals (without a box), he didn't comment on the filter. He wanted me to check my connections etc. Told him everything is good except the local digitals and then he sched. the technician. Keeping my fingers crossed he shows up and gets it done.

Update #2: I was reading in one of the antennae threads and someone was saying it was bad to have more than one signal amplifier in your system (maybe interference, maybe too strong of a signal - I would have never thought you could have too much signal but interferences made sense). I had what I called a main amp (motorola) that split off two ways one side going to my modem; and then a "distribution amp" (radio shack) with 6 coax lines connected. I just eliminated the "distribution amp" with a few splitters (I know that isn't always a good thing) and now it is working fine. Cancelled the comcast tech appt.

The Guide data is only as good as the information given to TV Guide, who supplies it to Comcast.
Then where does TitanTV get its information?  They still seem to have most, if not all, of the HD indicators.
There have been alot of weird issues with the Guide data recently. More and more programs only list generic descriptions,
That is another thing I had noticed, but it doesn't cause a problem for me.  The actual episode synopsis always seems to come in a few days before airing, and that's time enough (at least for me, since I never travel) to mark an episode of a series not to be recorded by the DVR if it's one I don't want.

On the other hand, whether a series (far more so than a single-shot program) on an HD channel is true HD rather than an upconversion is something I'd like to know when I'm scheduling a recording of the series.  If it's an upconversion, I'd rather record it from the SD channel: it will take less DVR space; if it fails to record (though that hasn't happened to me in quite a while, knock silicon) I'll have longer after it ends to rewind back into it through the buffer; and thanks to an idiosyncrasy of my television, I can view 4:3 material from an SD station at 1400x1050 but 4:3 material from an HD station at 1260x945, and with my eyesight sometimes that lost 19% of screen area can make a difference.

and there seems to be an unusual amount of 'To Be Announced'.

I'd noticed only a small increase in that.

I do have a QAM tuner hdtv, the picture is clear for a moment, then sometimes jerky, sometimes a wobbly horizontal bar, sometimes it froze for a second. Same thing on all the digital sub-channels none watchable. I was told by a guy at Circuit City that I probably only have the expanded basic, not digital cable. He said I need to have the box to get digital cable & high def. I DON'T WANT A BOX! I seem to remember that when I signed up a few years ago that they installed a filter trap in the backyard box since I didn't want any premium stations. Wonder what it would do without the filter. Also, wondering what happens in 2/09 when everything goes digital? Will Comcast downgrade the signal to analog so they can charge you for digital?

I decided today to connect the old OTA ant, and it works just great! I am getting all the local hd stuff. I maybe soon dropping the cable and just keeping the HSI. :D

You do not need a box to receive HD network stations if you have analog cable. However, you will not receive any digital stations without the box (I'm still upset about this one after upgrading to Digital Preferred).

Speaking of that, only had the service for 2 months and I'm ready to get my third box (nice that the box I got on Saturday morning crapped out at about 1pm on Saturday, right when the Elgin office closes). Would be nice if Comcast let us have the stations we pay for on QAM TVs without having to deal with that Motorola POS box that seems to break on a dime, or CableCards, which virtually no TV available seems to support!

Before I drive myself nuts, a digital box that shows the channel guide info and the time, but no picture (says "this channel will be available shortly") is bad, right? Left it on for a couple of hours and still said that.

I'm starting to have this feeling I shouldn't have turned in the first box that worked but was quirky -- took more than 5 seconds to show a clear picture when changing the channel and OnDemand was pretty flaky. Oh, it is not a weak signal, the QAM TVs in the house work perfectly and Comcast checked the signal strength back in August when this was installed.

[QUOTE=Paul Brazis;14808889] However, you will not receive any digital stations without the box (I'm still upset about this one after upgrading to Digital Preferred).

I do receive the digital stations but they are not watchable as I explained above. I believe when I initally got service a filter was installed on my line. I hope that is my problem I chatted with Comcast yesterday and was told that I should be receiving a digital signal and be able to get the local digitals in high def. without a box. But, like you say I have also been told by more than one comcast rep that no box means no digital. I hooked up my antennae yesterday and it works great so.... comcast better be able to fix this.

I now think comcast is encrypting all high def digitals (maybe at their head-end so maybe not with filters onsite) so they can sell you high def (VIA THEIR BOXES) when I believe the locals should be received in high def without any extra charges, just like you can do today using a antennae. In 2/09, when the locals will all be broadcast in digital high def. will comcast downgrade or encrypt the signal so we need to subscribe to high def.....hope not.

I'm still thinking that Comcast here in Barrington, IL either encrypted or dropped the QAM HD local channels. I replace my HDTV (still under warranty) but the new tv has the same issue, a channel scan cannot find channels like 2-1, or 5-1. We still get these channels on another hdtv in another room, but I hooked the replacement tv up to that exact cable, and nothing. I'm afraid to re-scan on the tv that still gets the hd qams. Dunno why one tv would still get 'em, but another would not. I've run new cable to the troubled set with no help. Checked all the outside wiring, etc. as well.

Does anybody have some advice? I refuse to believe that my first new set which got the qams for a month, then suddenly lost 'em all, and now it's replacement are both busted.

What kind of TV is it? If it's Funai-made (Philips, Magnavox, Toshiba, Sylvania, Emerson, et al), they are infamous for not picking up all the available clear-QAM channels.

There are others, but they are one of the most blantant, consistent offenders. Makes one wonder if there's some kind of a conspiracy, or "pay-off" by the cable industry going on.

It's a Samsung. Our Panasonic plasma still gets the Qam channels, but I am fearful of doing another auto-channel programming. What's odd is that the first Samsung we had (from about September) did get the Qams for the first couple of weeks, then they disappeared with the usual "no signal or weak signal" message. An auto-reprogram did not detect them at all, as did many, many auto-reprogram attempts, including varying the type of cable system, etc.

Hooking the Samsung up to the exact same cable as the Panny produced the same results, no Qams. Did the same thing with the replacement Samsung today, and still no Qams, yet the Panny still gets them. Very mysterious, since the first Samsung had no problem getting them for weeks.

Hmmm. I don't know what to say, except exchange it for another brand if that's still possible.

I'm still thinking that Comcast here in Barrington, IL either encrypted or dropped the QAM HD local channels.

I have a friend who lives in Barrington, and he gets the QAM HD channels just fine on his Mitsubishi set. It's a fairly recent 73" set, but I don't remember the exact model number.

I'm still thinking that Comcast here in Barrington, IL either encrypted or dropped the QAM HD local channels. I replace my HDTV (still under warranty) but the new tv has the same issue, a channel scan cannot find channels like 2-1, or 5-1. We still get these channels on another hdtv in another room, but I hooked the replacement tv up to that exact cable, and nothing. I'm afraid to re-scan on the tv that still gets the hd qams. Dunno why one tv would still get 'em, but another would not. I've run new cable to the troubled set with no help. Checked all the outside wiring, etc. as well.

Does anybody have some advice? I refuse to believe that my first new set which got the qams for a month, then suddenly lost 'em all, and now it's replacement are both busted.

Your predictiment sounds somewhat similiar to mine. Just wondering if you are using the STB or connected directly? What cable plan do you have? Do you subscribe to the high def plan?

Not using STB. We are analog tier customers and connect all sets directly.

What doesn't make sense is that the original Samsung found and displayed the Qams just fine for several weeks. The problem began shortly after the WBBM switch to their new setup during a football game, maybe 10 days ago. But even that day, we were gettin 'em. Then within the next 2 days, poof! Blank channels, and re-scan doesn't find them. Same with the new Sammy...doesn't find 'em.

Not using STB. We are analog tier customers and connect all sets directly.

What doesn't make sense is that the original Samsung found and displayed the Qams just fine for several weeks. The problem began shortly after the WBBM switch to their new setup during a football game, maybe 10 days ago. But even that day, we were gettin 'em. Then within the next 2 days, poof! Blank channels, and re-scan doesn't find them. Same with the new Sammy...doesn't find 'em.

Our situations then are very similiar (no STB'S, no digital high def packages). I haven't experienced the disappearance of the stations you are discribing. Is anyone out there getting high def digitals without a STB?

I have extended basic as a back-up to satellite. I'm on the Aurora system and still recieve all the major network hd feeds using the Qam tuner in my Sony tv (no cable box). I just checked and they're all still there.

Our situations then are very similiar (no STB'S, no digital high def packages). I haven't experienced the disappearance of the stations you are discribing. Is anyone out there getting high def digitals without a STB?

My 32" Visio LCD is connected directly to the cable and receives all of the local high def digital channels. My 60" Sony is connected to a STB but can receive the hi def channels when connected directly to the cable.

[QUOTE=Steve_V;14814360]My 32" Visio LCD is connected directly to the cable and receives all of the local high def digital channels. My 60" Sony is connected to a STB but can receive the hi def channels when connected directly to the cable.[/QUOTE

Thanks for the info, I guess there is hope that Comcast will be able to fix it then. I have been watching 7-1 tonight (hooked up to the old ant,) on my new 73" mits diamond. It's fantastic! My appointment with the comcast tech is this Sat. If he can't make the cable as good as the antennae (without a STB) I will be dropping the cable service.

Update: I am now getting the local digitals on the cable without a STB. I had 2 signal amplifers connected and I believe my problem was interferences caused between them or maybe the rado shack distribution amp failed (it was 10 years old I guess).
fixed it myself, service call cancelled.

I get the local HD QAM channels on my Sony TV, but I get them at the real channels from a scan done long time ago, not the mapped ones. I'm afraid to re-scan.

My Panasonic DVD recorder gets the QAMs on the mapped channels, not the real channels.

[QUOTE=Steve_V;14814360]My 32" Visio LCD is connected directly to the cable and receives all of the local high def digital channels. My 60" Sony is connected to a STB but can receive the hi def channels when connected directly to the cable.[/QUOTE

Thanks for the info, I guess there is hope that Comcast will be able to fix it then. I have been watching 7-1 tonight (hooked up to the old ant,) on my new 73" mits diamond. It's fantastic! My appointment with the comcast tech is this Sat. If he can't make the cable as good as the antennae (without a STB) I will be dropping the cable service.I had a problem for awhile where the 7-1, 5.5 channels weren't coming in; I had to go to like 114.1 to find the hidef qam channels. See if you can find anythere. Of course when I told comcast about this, they had no idea what I was talking about. It seems like they deny QAM exisits so they can rent STBs!

I’m trying to find the Comcast QAM channel numbers. I use the STB, power off & press ok/select. Then arrow down to d06 and find the tuned freq. I use a chart & get the cable channel number. However the tuned frequency does not tell me the sub-channel number.

For example, NBC 188 and FOX 190 both have a tuned freq of 753.0000 Mhz. But NBC is QAM is 117.5 and FOX is QAM 117.2.

Is there anyway to determine the .XX part of the QAM channel number?

The following channels will be launched on October 15th:

ESPNews-231
Planet Green-261
Biography (Bio)-269
Toon Disney-283
MGM-284

Here is an interesting article I found about Comcast's $350 million
860MHz upgrade to the Chicago area back in 2004.



http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA488927.html

The following channels will be launched on October 15th:

ESPNews-231
Planet Green-261
Biography (Bio)-269
Toon Disney-283
MGM-284

Is this Chicago-specific, or the Chicagoland area? I'm guessing the gap between the city and burbs will get bigger next week.

Well, Qams are back on our Sammy. My last ditch plan worked. I purchased an inline RF amp, and replaced the splitter on that line, so I guess the issue was a weak signal. Dunno why the Sammy could not find the Qams on our other coax line which feeds the plasma, which has had no issues at all.

Well, Qams are back on our Sammy. My last ditch plan worked. I purchased an inline RF amp, and replaced the splitter on that line, so I guess the issue was a weak signal. Dunno why the Sammy could not find the Qams on our other coax line which feeds the plasma, which has had no issues at all.

Do you have any recommendations for an RF amp to boost the signal, or at least specifications that are needed? I'm getting increased errors in the digital picture (pixellation, dropouts, and other fun stuff), and wondering whether this will help. I'm on my third Motorola box in a week and a bit tired of exchanging them.

I purchased an RCA digital rated bi-directional inline amplifier from Best Buy. They also have one that is an amp and four way splitter. Both indicate that they will accept cable modems with bi-directional feed. These RCA amps had pretty good ratings. It's powered by a small wall wart which was more trouble to hookup since the place I wanted to put the amp in the incoming coax cable was fairly distant from an AC outlet. SD analog channels look better also, with no amplifier induced interference noticeable.

With NBC Weather Plus on the way out, and Mojo going away also, any chance those slots can be used for HDNet and HDNet Movies?

Thanks to all who responded to my posts. I just wanted to confirm to everyone that you can indeed get the local digitals in high def if you have an hdtv. You do not need to rent a box or need more than basic service.
My problem was that I had two signal amplifiers in my system. I eliminated one (after learning that interference could be happening) and now I am getting the local sub-stations 7-1, 7-2, 7-3 and the others and all are a near perfect signal.

I believe the reason some people can receive the high def. digitals without a box and others can't is based upon your tv. You need to have a QAM tuner in your set to do this on cable. Apparently, not all sets have a QAM tuner.

I purchased an RCA digital rated bi-directional inline amplifier from Best Buy. They also have one that is an amp and four way splitter. Both indicate that they will accept cable modems with bi-directional feed. These RCA amps had pretty good ratings. It's powered by a small wall wart which was more trouble to hookup since the place I wanted to put the amp in the incoming coax cable was fairly distant from an AC outlet. SD analog channels look better also, with no amplifier induced interference noticeable.

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will try this out to see whether it fixes my problems with the Motorola box. I have a 6-way splitter that has a cable modem and 5 TVs, might just be the signal is just below what is needed. My first Motorola box didn't show any errors, but took forever to tune in a station (3-5 seconds to stabilize). The second box never started up, and the third works but shows the drop-outs. I almost feel like it's rolling the dice to exchange the box a third time...

With NBC Weather Plus on the way out, and Mojo going away also, any chance those slots can be used for HDNet and HDNet Movies?

Comcast: The most HD choices*

* Unless you want to watch HDNet, HDNet Movies, or dozens of other HD channels that they don't/won't/refuse to carry.

Saw this in my latest bill:
On 11/4, Cook County Access launches on Basic service on channel 900.
On 11/20, Ovation (182) moves from Sports/Entertainment to Digital Classic.
On 12/1, MOJO (174) shuts down.
An 12/8, Versus HD goes full time on 174. Golf HD goes full-time on 199.
On 12/9, Local Origination HD is added to Digital Starter on channel 285.

Comcast: The most HD choices*

* Unless you want to watch HDNet, HDNet Movies, or dozens of other HD channels that they don't/won't/refuse to carry.

I really think Comcast needs to start concentrating on quality instead of quantity. I understand that its an important marketing strategy to have more (or think you do) than the competition, but when it looks as horrid as it does, then the game is over. For instance, I watched the Blackhawks game Saturday night on WGN-HD via Comcast. Granted WGN doesn't have the prettiest HD signal in Chicago, but the visual quality of the game was horrible. The Mpeg-2 tiling during any graphical transition was completely unacceptable! I would never put my name to HD of that quality.

I really think Comcast needs to start concentrating on quality instead of quantity. I understand that its an important marketing strategy to have more (or think you do) than the competition, but when it looks as horrid as it does, then the game is over. For instance, I watched the Blackhawks game Saturday night on WGN-HD via Comcast. Granted WGN doesn't have the prettiest HD signal in Chicago, but the visual quality of the game was horrible. The Mpeg-2 tiling during any graphical transition was completely unacceptable! I would never put my name to HD of that quality.
Did you compare it to an OTA feed? That's the only way to truly figure out if Comcast is the one causing quality issues or if there are other issues with WGN's feed.

I really think Comcast needs to start concentrating on quality instead of quantity. I understand that its an important marketing strategy to have more (or think you do) than the competition, but when it looks as horrid as it does, then the game is over.

I agree that there are a number of Comcast HD channels that are of marginal quality at best. What irritates me more is that there are several good HD channels (HDNet/HDNet movies/MGM come to mind) that they don't carry and don't seem to be making much of an effort to ever add.

I don't expect/want Comcast to carry every HD channel that's available on satellite - but considering how much Comcast costs per month, we definitely deserve more than what we're currently getting. Boneheaded moves like replacing Mojo (admittedly junk, but at least the programming was 100% HD) with a full time version of a B-rate mostly upconverted SD sports network like Versus does not help.

For instance, I watched the Blackhawks game Saturday night on WGN-HD via Comcast. Granted WGN doesn't have the prettiest HD signal in Chicago, but the visual quality of the game was horrible. The Mpeg-2 tiling during any graphical transition was completely unacceptable! I would never put my name to HD of that quality.

I've compared live sports broadcasts OTA versus Comcast on a number of occasions. WGN-HD is the absolute worst and looks every bit as bad OTA as it does via Comcast.

WMAQ is not much better -- although I've noticed that the macroblocking on this season's version of Sunday Night Football is less obnoxious than last season. The edges of the macroblocks are now blurred a bit so they tend to blend in more to the adjacent block. I don't know if this is a consequence of the addition of 5-3 or if it's an intentional attempt to disguise the macroblocking. Either way, it doesn't look any worse on Comcast than it does OTA but is an improvement over last season.

On the other hand, Fox and WCIU look equally good on both OTA and Comcast. CBS looks outstanding (yes, I'm one of the dozen or so viewers that can actually pick up WBBM-HD OTA).

I agree that there are a number of Comcast HD channels that are of marginal quality at best. What irritates me more is that there are several good HD channels (HDNet/HDNet movies/MGM come to mind) that they don't carry and don't seem to be making much of an effort to ever add.

You probably missed this message (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14591900#post14591900) regarding Comcast and HDNet.

I agree that there are a number of Comcast HD channels that are of marginal quality at best. What irritates me more is that there are several good HD channels (HDNet/HDNet movies/MGM come to mind) that they don't carry and don't seem to be making much of an effort to ever add.

I don't expect/want Comcast to carry every HD channel that's available on satellite - but considering how much Comcast costs per month, we definitely deserve more than what we're currently getting. Boneheaded moves like replacing Mojo (admittedly junk, but at least the programming was 100% HD) with a full time version of a B-rate mostly upconverted SD sports network like Versus does not help.


One thing to remember is that Comcast owns Versus. Versus & Golf were running into situations where both had an HD program to show, usually Versus lost out & Golf took over. I'm all for splitting & carrying both of these. MGM is supposed to be added in the city 10/15. I have heard that there is an agreement with HDNet, but i'd bet Comcast tries to to a quasi "national" rollout of that & get some publicity.

You probably missed this message (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14591900#post14591900) regarding Comcast and HDNet.

I did miss that. And while it's certainly a step in the right direction, I'll only believe it when it shows up as a working channel on my cable box.

Comcast announced back in May (http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/05/comcast_lands_mgm_hd.php) that they had reached an agreement to carry MGM-HD, too. Per Sparkman's post above, it will finally be added in the city on Oct 15. But as I live in the suburbs, I'm not holding my breath as to when it will be available here.

One thing to remember is that Comcast owns Versus. Versus & Golf were running into situations where both had an HD program to show, usually Versus lost out & Golf took over. I'm all for splitting & carrying both of these. MGM is supposed to be added in the city 10/15. I have heard that there is an agreement with HDNet, but i'd bet Comcast tries to to a quasi "national" rollout of that & get some publicity.

Maybe I've just got bad timing but it seems like all I ever see on Versus is a lot of upconverted SD rodeo and cage fighting (my apologies if you're a rodeo and/or cage fighting fan).

A national rollout of HDNet would be a pleasant surprise.

Maybe I've just got bad timing but it seems like all I ever see on Versus is a lot of upconverted SD rodeo and cage fighting (my apologies if you're a rodeo and/or cage fighting fan).

A national rollout of HDNet would be a pleasant surprise.

Per the Comcast HDTV thread in programming:


VERSUS HD PROGRAMMING
• NHL
• World Extreme Cagefighting
• PAC-10 College Football
• Tour De France
(new in 2009)

Now I'm not a big fan of any of these, but I can understand peoples frustration when these were blacked out in HD because Golf HD had programming on.

Did you compare it to an OTA feed? That's the only way to truly figure out if Comcast is the one causing quality issues or if there are other issues with WGN's feed.

No and I wish I could have. I have never seen their DT signal that bad. In fact, I dont think I've seen anyones DT that bad. I'll have to catch the next hockey game on WGN via OTA.

Saw this in my latest bill:
On 11/4, Cook County Access launches on Basic service on channel 900.
On 11/20, Ovation (182) moves from Sports/Entertainment to Digital Classic.
On 12/1, MOJO (174) shuts down.
An 12/8, Versus HD goes full time on 174. Golf HD goes full-time on 199.
On 12/9, Local Origination HD is added to Digital Starter on channel 285.







Andy, what is the local origination HD that will be on channel 285 starting 12/9? Will it HDNet, Travel HD, or FearNet HD?

Andy, what is the local origination HD that will be on channel 285 starting 12/9? Will it HDNet, Travel HD, or FearNet HD?
Probably CSN+ games in HD.

Just for fun I plugged my Coax into my LCD TV and did a channel search. I got basic cable with about 9 HD channels. I subscribed to Comcast a while ago for internet only and for some reason I get this basic cable. I wish I would've known earlier so I can watch Bears games in HD.

The Bears' games have been in widescreen SD on FOX the last couple of weeks anyway, so you didn't really miss much.

I purchased an RCA digital rated bi-directional inline amplifier from Best Buy. They also have one that is an amp and four way splitter. Both indicate that they will accept cable modems with bi-directional feed. These RCA amps had pretty good ratings. It's powered by a small wall wart which was more trouble to hookup since the place I wanted to put the amp in the incoming coax cable was fairly distant from an AC outlet. SD analog channels look better also, with no amplifier induced interference noticeable.

I followed your advice and purchased the RCA amp last night from Best Buy. I did it pretty late so I didn't spend a lot of time watching, but so far so good. I'm hoping this reduces the picture drop-outs, weird pixellation, and the eternity it takes for the picture to settle after changing the channel. Looks like it might be a lot better.

I've also noticed that the picture from the Moto box into my Series 2 TiVo takes a bit longer to settle after changing the channel than the feed directly to the TV from the box.

Andy, what is the local origination HD that will be on channel 285 starting 12/9? Will it HDNet, Travel HD, or FearNet HD?
All I know is what the bill said. I'm guessing it could be HD overflow from CSN, public access, etc...

WLSD1, 2, and 3 as well as WGNDT and Tube (all carried on 699 MHz) have been down all evening in the Wilmette / Evanston area. Just in case anyone else was wondering "is it just me?"

Has anyone else been receiving some strange DD audio the last week or so? The audio sounds almost robotic and my receiver keeps repeating DD5.1 as if there is something wrong with the metadata. I use ClearQAM with the audio passed to the receiver using an optical cable. Only happens on digital channels with DD sound. I'm thinking it's just something on my end (probably the dirt cheap cable I bought) but just wondering if anyone else has noticed anything.

I'm in Lake Forest, not sure what system that's on.

What brand of TV? Some Samsung's have been known to suffer from 'robot audio'.

The Bears' games have been in widescreen SD on FOX the last couple of weeks anyway, so you didn't really miss much.

All NFL games are in HD this year.

The following channels will be launched on October 15th:

ESPNews-231
Planet Green-261
Biography (Bio)-269
Toon Disney-283
MGM-284
It's October 15 now, and they're working in Chicago Area 2.  ESPNews and Toon Disney are in 720p like other Disney-owned HD channels, while Planet Green is in 1080i like other Discovery-owned HD channels.  Biography is in 720p, and MGM is in 1080i.

Comcast Chicago HD Stations

This is a copy of the listing I maintain in the Comcast Cable TV thread on DSLReports.com.

Channels slated for addition today confirmed. Added updates per Comcast mailing. Corrected channel names per messages in this thread (thanks). Channels listed in italics are available only in the city of Chicago (those of us in the 'burbs will have to pay the same but miss out :mad: ).


01 - 169 NFL Network
02 - 171 AMC
03 - 173 ESPN
04 - 174 MOJO (gone Dec. 1; changes to Versus effective Dec. 8)
05 - 175 History
06 - 176 TLC
07 - 177 Sci-Fi
08 - 179 HGTV
09 - 181 Food Network
10 - 183 WCIU (Independent)
11 - 184 WPWR (My Network)
12 - 185 Showtime
13 - 186 HBO
14 - 187 WLS (ABC)
15 - 188 WMAQ (NBC)
16 - 189 WBBM (CBS)
17 - 190 WFLD (Fox)
18 - 191 WTTW (PBS)
19 - 192 WGN (CW)
20 - 195 Cinemax
21 - 196 Starz
22 - 197 Disney
23 - 198 ABC Family
24 - 199 Versus/Golf (changes to Golf fulltime effective Dec. 8)
25 - 200 Comcast SportsNet
26 - 203 ESPN2
27 - 204 TNT
28 - 205 HD Theater
29 - 206 National Geographic
30 - 207 Universal
31 - 208 A&E
32 - 209 Palladia
33 - 212 Science
34 - 216 CNN
35 - 218 Discovery Channel
36 - 219 TBS
37 - 221 USA
38 - 224 Animal Planet
39 - 227 Hallmark Movie Channel
40 - 231 ESPNews
41 - 234 NHL Network
42 - 235 NBA TV
43 - 237 Speed
44 - 256 Big Ten Network
45 - 261 Planet Green
46 - 263 Encore
47 - 264 Fox Business Network
48 - 265 Fox News Channel
49 - 266 CNBC
50 - 267 FX
51 - 269 Biography
52 - 270 Weather Channel
53 - 278 Bravo
54 - 279 Fuse
55 - 280 Independent Film Channel (IFC)
56 - 281 WE
57 - 282 QVC
58 - 283 Toon Disney
59 - 284 MGM
60 - 285 To Be Announced (coming Dec. 9, local origination, maybe Comcast SportsNet PLUS?)

Does anyone have a list of the QAM stations available?

WLSD1, 2, and 3 as well as WGNDT and Tube (all carried on 699 MHz) have been down all evening in the Wilmette / Evanston area. Just in case anyone else was wondering "is it just me?"

MY WLSD channels and WGN have been out as of sometime last night on Clear-QAM. These are working fine on my TiVo HD with cable card though... Strange.
I'm in woodridge, btw.


This might have something to do with the new channels coming out. I'll try a re-scan tonight.

Has anyone else been receiving some strange DD audio the last week or so? The audio sounds almost robotic and my receiver keeps repeating DD5.1 as if there is something wrong with the metadata. I use ClearQAM with the audio passed to the receiver using an optical cable. Only happens on digital channels with DD sound. I'm thinking it's just something on my end (probably the dirt cheap cable I bought) but just wondering if anyone else has noticed anything.

I'm in Lake Forest, not sure what system that's on.

I heard this during the bears game sunday. Very "tinny" audio on DD.

All NFL games are in HD this year.

Did you see the feed for the game? it looked horrible. I watched part of the game on CBS later and it was like night and day. I don't have an antenna so I couldn't compare comcast's feed to the original, but to my eyes, the FOX feed was either compressed to hell or streched sd feed.

Did you see the feed for the game? it looked horrible. I watched part of the game on CBS later and it was like night and day. I don't have an antenna so I couldn't compare comcast's feed to the original, but to my eyes, the FOX feed was either compressed to hell or streched sd feed.


Being replayed tonight on NFL Network @ 8:30. Watch their HD feed on 169 & see if you notice a difference.

What brand of TV? Some Samsung's have been known to suffer from 'robot audio'.
It is indeed a Samsung.

:S

I heard this during the bears game sunday. Very "tinny" audio on DD.
Did you get it during any other games? I heard it during the CBS games and during the Sunday Night NBC game.

Being replayed tonight on NFL Network @ 8:30. Watch their HD feed on 169 & see if you notice a difference.

Cant. Dont have the "sports" tier.

All NFL games are in HD this year.

Except when FOX has been showing SD in 16x9.. like last weekend.

Well, even if it is an improvement on NFL Network, who wants to watch it now? :(

Well, even if it is an improvement on NFL Network, who wants to watch it now? :(


Just to see if it really was in widescreen SD Sunday as you say. I only was home for the 4th quarter, but it did look like it was in HD here.

It is indeed a Samsung.
You may want to see this:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1070848

I have a small LN19A450 in the bedroom which has occasionally done this. Changing channels and back fixes it. It happened several times in a row a week or two ago, but hasn't been a problem since.

This is a link to the 450 series thread, but AVS also has threads for the other series if you search for them:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008342

You may want to see this:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1070848

I have a small LN19A450 in the bedroom which has occasionally done this. Changing channels and back fixes it. It happened several times in a row a week or two ago, but hasn't been a problem since.

This is a link to the 450 series thread, but AVS also has threads for the other series if you search for them:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008342
Yeah same series and changing the channel does the same fix. It seems like the firmware upgrade may fix it? Or I'll have to have a Samsung rep out. Thanks.

Does anyone have a list of the QAM stations available?That varies from area to area.  Unless you're in Area 2 or Area 3 of the city of Chicago, a list of the clear QAM stations that I get would not help you very much.

If you'll say where you're located, maybe someone else in the same region can give you a list.

MY WLSD channels and WGN have been out as of sometime last night on Clear-QAM. These are working fine on my TiVo HD with cable card though... Strange.
I'm in woodridge, btw.


This might have something to do with the new channels coming out. I'll try a re-scan tonight.

My WGN,WLSD are out too on my Vizio tv (clearQAM) -- in fact, none of the lower hd channels are present - I'm in Evanston too. I was just going to re-scan - but wanted to know if there's a reason for this and it's simply broken right now -- or if they moved the clear QAM? Anybody have a clue?

My WGN,WLSD are out too on my Vizio tv (clearQAM) -- in fact, none of the lower hd channels are present - I'm in Evanston too. I was just going to re-scan - but wanted to know if there's a reason for this and it's simply broken right now -- or if they moved the clear QAM? Anybody have a clue?

Got 'em! ClearQAM 7.1 and 9.1 have moved from 699 MHz to 555 MHz. They still show up with the same channel numbers, but it took a rescan to find them.

The strange thing is, the old frequency still has good signal strength, just no programming. Maybe they are keeping a carrier there to add a new channel later?

Except when FOX has been showing SD in 16x9.. like last weekend.

http://www.hdsportsguide.com/nfl/

MY WLSD channels and WGN have been out as of sometime last night on Clear-QAM. These are working fine on my TiVo HD with cable card though... Strange.
I'm in woodridge, btw.


This might have something to do with the new channels coming out. I'll try a re-scan tonight.

I did a re-scan and the channels are back. I wonder if they moved the channels around.

http://www.hdsportsguide.com/nfl/I forget why - there's a specific reason - maybe someone else here can answer that - but the games, at least in the last couple of weeks that I've noticed, have definitely been in widescreen SD.

Have you even watched them on an HD display? At least one large enough to tell?

Actually, now that I think of it, I believe there's a thread in the HDTV Programming sub-forum explaining the whole thing. It's been due to some kind of problem.

I forget why - there's a specific reason - maybe someone else here can answer that - but the games, at least in the last couple of weeks that I've noticed, have definitely been in widescreen SD.

Have you even watched them on an HD display? At least one large enough to tell?

Actually, now that I think of it, I believe there's a thread in the HDTV Programming sub-forum explaining the whole thing. It's been due to some kind of problem.


Maybe this is what you were thinking about:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1074764

Games flipped last week for a short period of time due to Sun outages. Looks to have been over by the time I was watching in th 4th quarter. If you were watching during this time you would have seen SD for awhile.

http://www.hdsportsguide.com/nfl/

You are right, it was scheduled to be in HD.. that is not the point, it was in SD.. Sun outages caused it to be in SD for most of the game. We were lucky, some areas were not even 16X9!

ksdhg -

Thanks for the info.

I did a rescan with my Panasonic DVD recorder & it found the new channels. This is the third time in about a year I had to do this because Comcast has changed around the virtual mapped channels. I remember last year when NBC was 5.2, not 5.1 and WTTW-D was 11.2, not 11.1.

However I use the real QAM channels on my Sony HDTV because the major networks have been fairly consistent & I could pretty much rely on finding them. So I never rescanned the TV. Since you mentioned the new freq of 555 Mhz I looked at a chart to determine this was cable channel 79, and they by trial & error found 79.1 and 79.2 to be what I wanted.

I know how to find the actual Comcast freq using data from their STB. ABC & WGN are 555 Mhz as you stated. But how do you find the sub-channel number, other than by trial & error?

I know how to find the actual Comcast freq using data from their STB. ABC & WGN are 555 Mhz as you stated. But how do you find the sub-channel number, other than by trial & error?

Pure trial and error ;) After a rescan, I jam my thumb on Channel Up and wait until something promising goes by. I haven't had to use that procedure in a while, though. The Sony DVR has been picking up the recognizable alias (7.1, etc) for the last 6 months or so. On the Mac, EyeTV seems to match up the TitanTV listing based on the callsign, and then map it to the published Comcast channel (187).

Is alias the right word for the number a channel claims to be (regardless of frequency)?

Pure trial and error ;) After a rescan, I jam my thumb on Channel Up and wait until something promising goes by. I haven't had to use that procedure in a while, though. The Sony DVR has been picking up the recognizable alias (7.1, etc) for the last 6 months or so. On the Mac, EyeTV seems to match up the TitanTV listing based on the callsign, and then map it to the published Comcast channel (187).

Is alias the right word for the number a channel claims to be (regardless of frequency)?


I believe the mapped channel numbers, such as 7.1, are called virtual channels.

Ok guys. This is weird. I'm getting TBS on the channel that's supposed to be Big Ten Network HD (channel 256). I want to see the Illinois vs. Indiana game, but I only get the SD version. NO HD!

Anybody else experiencing this?

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about WOW cable...maybe any serious gripes to dissuade me from considering switching to them. Been with Comcast for a long time and for various reasons am considering going with an alternative.

Thoughts on WOW, or a dish service, anyone? Looking for a less expensive alternative to Comcast. It seems awfully tough to compare apples to apples when looking around.

Thanks.

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about WOW cable...maybe any serious gripes to dissuade me from considering switching to them. Been with Comcast for a long time and for various reasons am considering going with an alternative.

Have you checked out the Chicago WOW thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=502618)?

Have you checked out the Chicago WOW thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=502618)?

I did read a good deal of it but didn't get much of what I was looking for. I will probably cross post this into that thread this week...just didn't want to do both at the same time.

I really couldn't find anything too bad about WOW so I figured I'd ask directly. In the end I may well end up staying with Comcast...I always have in the past. Kind of kicking the tires I guess. WOW is guaranteeing their pricing until Jan 2011 though...that is nice.

Maybe I'll call Comcast again and see if I can negotiate a rate decrease. When I spoke with them last week and told them I would likely be switching all my services over to one of their competitors she wanted to connect me to "another department". I just didn't have time at the time to listen to them. She told me to call back when I had more time - before I cancel. I'm guessing there is some kind of pitch to be made.

I currently have phone, HSI, and cable (3 hd dvrs) with Comcast. My bill is $200 a month...I was hoping to do better either here or somewhere else.

We'll see...

...on another note, is anyone elses email notifications not sending them to the forums when you click on the link in the email? This has been the case for me today.

Will Comcast allow me to switch out my 6412 for a 3416 without giving me a hard time?

Will Comcast allow me to switch out my 6412 for a 3416 without giving me a hard time?

The office by me in Schaumburg would allow that - no questions asked. I've swapped boxes out at their office on a couple occasions...if they have what you want in stock they make the switch over the counter for you.

Will Comcast allow me to switch out my 6412 for a 3416 without giving me a hard time?

I got mine swapped with no hassle. Drove in, said I wanted a box with an HDMI connector, and the woman at the window said no problem. The entire transaction took all of three minutes. Got the box home, hooked it up, and a quick call to Comcast customer service to activate the box took care of business.

The following channels will be launched on October 15th:

ESPNews-231
Planet Green-261
Biography (Bio)-269
Toon Disney-283
MGM-284

Strange things happening with these channels. They appear and disappear from my channel lineup 10 times a day. When they're gone, i can't even access these channels from my favorite list on 3416.

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about WOW cable...maybe any serious gripes to dissuade me from considering switching to them. Been with Comcast for a long time and for various reasons am considering going with an alternative.

Thoughts on WOW, or a dish service, anyone? Looking for a less expensive alternative to Comcast. It seems awfully tough to compare apples to apples when looking around.

Thanks.

Every WOW subscriber I have talked to like them very much and would not change. I wish they were available in my area but they don't seem to be expanding.

Don't know what service you have, but WOW has also stated they will not be removing their analog programming for some time so no STB required if you have no desire for the fancy digital features.

That varies from area to area.  Unless you're in Area 2 or Area 3 of the city of Chicago, a list of the clear QAM stations that I get would not help you very much.

If you'll say where you're located, maybe someone else in the same region can give you a list.
go to
http://www.whereishd.com/
and put in your zip code.

Does anyone have a list of the QAM stations available?
Sorry, replied to wrong post.

go to:
http://www.whereishd.com/
and put in your zip code.

hello. for anyone that has the Sony DVR and just Comcast cable service -- no OTA, what channel are you using for TV Guide data that is reliable? i think 94 (WTTW) has VBI but it does not stick as host. Will analog 2 (CBS) work? How about digital 189 (CBS-HD)? thank you.
i am using a cablecard, btw.

Sorry, replied to wrong post.

go to:
http://www.whereishd.com/
and put in your zip code.

Great find! Just what I wanted. Thanks.

Did anyone have problem recording Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother Monday? I do have 3 programs scheduled from 7-8pm, the above, Chuck and Terminator. But the 2 CBS shows are of higher priority. They always recorded before... The only thing I can think of is that they were falsely marked as reruns or they didn't start on time and so the other 2 shows recorded instead, but that seems suspicious. I deleted Chuck now since it is being recorded on another box, but this is the first time I've seen this. Too bad the Motorola dvr doesn't have a history like Tivo which says why it wasn't recorded.

Phil,

My DCH3416 recorded them OK, but I have them set as a manually timed event from 6:59 to 8:31 PM Mondays on channel 189 (including "Two and a Half Men") rather than as individual programs.

Sometimes the DCH3416 does miss a scheduled event, and I can't pinpoint the circumstances.  Usually it disappears from the Scheduled Recordings area beforehand, and if I happen to be checking it and notice its absence, I reenter it.  But sometimes I haven't been there, and something just plain isn't recorded.  It's not the full-recording-space bug, since (1) that has other symptoms, which don't appear here, and (2) the event vanishes from Scheduled Recordings before the time comes.

I do encounter one problem with priorities: if the power is cycled or if (as happened Monday or Tuesday morning) the box reboots for any other reason and the guide is wiped out, as series recordings are repopulated, they revert to the default priorities, and I have to re-correct any situations where the default priorities should not apply.

My bill says that This TV (OTA 26.4) will be available on channel 246 starting November 18.

Phil,

My DCH3416 recorded them OK, but I have them set as a manually timed event from 6:59 to 8:31 PM Mondays on channel 189 (including "Two and a Half Men") rather than as individual programs.

Sometimes the DCH3416 does miss a scheduled event, and I can't pinpoint the circumstances.* Usually it disappears from the Scheduled Recordings area beforehand, and if I happen to be checking it and notice its absence, I reenter it.* But sometimes I haven't been there, and something just plain isn't recorded.* It's not the full-recording-space bug, since (1) that has other symptoms, which don't appear here, and (2) the event vanishes from Scheduled Recordings before the time comes.

I do encounter one problem with priorities: if the power is cycled or if (as happened Monday or Tuesday morning) the box reboots for any other reason and the guide is wiped out, as series recordings are repopulated, they revert to the default priorities, and I have to re-correct any situations where the default priorities should not apply.thanks, I checked the priorities afterwards and they were still correct. All were series recordings. oh well, I got to see them on my backup unit.

Phil,

My DCH3416 recorded them OK, but I have them set as a manually timed event from 6:59 to 8:31 PM Mondays on channel 189 (including "Two and a Half Men") rather than as individual programs.

Sometimes the DCH3416 does miss a scheduled event, and I can't pinpoint the circumstances.* Usually it disappears from the Scheduled Recordings area beforehand, and if I happen to be checking it and notice its absence, I reenter it.* But sometimes I haven't been there, and something just plain isn't recorded.* It's not the full-recording-space bug, since (1) that has other symptoms, which don't appear here, and (2) the event vanishes from Scheduled Recordings before the time comes.

I do encounter one problem with priorities: if the power is cycled or if (as happened Monday or Tuesday morning) the box reboots for any other reason and the guide is wiped out, as series recordings are repopulated, they revert to the default priorities, and I have to re-correct any situations where the default priorities should not apply.

Wow, the more I hear about the Comcast DVRs, the more I love my TiVo...!

I had no problems recording How I Met Your Mother. It's set up as a series recording.

I have noticed issues where single recordings (where you hit Record on the guide or program info) will disappear from a current day, but show up in the list as recording 1 or 2 weeks later.

No problems for me recording the 2 good CBS shows, but Fringe didn't record for me. :(


tim

I'm new to the forum, but I have seen that many of you rely on your in set tuners to pick up HD signals from Comcast. Several channels disappeared from my set last week. All of the 108's and 116's are gone. The ABC and WGN HD signals have now reappeared in 2 places - the 79's and as virtual channels (7.1,9.1 etc....

The 116's have not reappeared despite two digital searches and my painstaking searching with the channel set feature. I need WTTW digital and CBS digital. When I called my friends at Comcast, the response I received was "We are changing our offerings, and only our digital subscribers will be getting these anymore." It seems odd that they are singling out those channels while WLS and WMAQ come in without a problem. Any thoughts?

I'm new to the forum, but I have seen that many of you rely on your in set tuners to pick up HD signals from Comcast. Several channels disappeared from my set last week. All of the 108's and 116's are gone. The ABC and WGN HD signals have now reappeared in 2 places - the 79's and as virtual channels (7.1,9.1 etc....

The 116's have not reappeared despite two digital searches and my painstaking searching with the channel set feature. I need WTTW digital and CBS digital. When I called my friends at Comcast, the response I received was "We are changing our offerings, and only our digital subscribers will be getting these anymore." It seems odd that they are singling out those channels while WLS and WMAQ come in without a problem. Any thoughts?
It is not uncommon for Comcast to shuffle the QAM channels. Sometimes it can take a little while for them to sort everything out and get the locals unencrypted.

All of the 108's and 116's are gone. The ABC and WGN HD signals have now reappeared in 2 places - the 79's and as virtual channels (7.1,9.1 etc....)They aren't gone; they're just properly translated to their virtual channels now, and you found them at 7-1 and 9-1.  (I have a personal preference for using hyphens in QAM channel numbers and decimal points in ATSC channel numbers.)

The ones in the 79's and 80's, if your area is like mine, are in SD.  I get WLS HD on 7-1 and WGN HD on 9-1, though they're really around 115 or 116; WLS SD (a digital SD feed of channel 7.1's fare, not of channel 7.2, which is on 7-2) comes in on 79-4 and WGN SD on 80-13 and those are probably their real QAM locations.

Wow, the more I hear about the Comcast DVRs, the more I love my TiVo...!
Paul, you mean, the more you hear about Motorola DVRs.  This is their doing, not Comcast's.

Good news Chicago Comcast customers! I have spoken to Rosalind, a customer service rep today & she informed that Cartoon Network HD & Entertainment (E!) HD will be launched on November 4th.

Paul, you mean, the more you hear about Motorola DVRs.* This is their doing, not Comcast's.

I stand corrected. That and the poor performance of my Motorola box (it's the SD type). Surprising since my TiVo Series 2 DVR has performed flawlessly for almost 5 years now. I am not proud of my former employer....

But Comcast could look into Motorola competitors, then again Motorola has a commanding share (for now) of the set top market.

for anyone that has the Sony DVR and just Comcast cable service -- no OTA, what channel are you using for TV Guide data that is reliable?

Host Chan 1:0-2
VBI Chan 1:2-1
No cable card, but as you can see, I am getting VBI on CBS-HD (don't ask me how that works over QAM, but I guess they worked it out).

hello. for anyone that has the Sony DVR and just Comcast cable service -- no OTA, what channel are you using for TV Guide data that is reliable? i think 94 (WTTW) has VBI but it does not stick as host. Will analog 2 (CBS) work? How about digital 189 (CBS-HD)? thank you.
i am using a cablecard, btw.

If you have a cablecard, channel 189 works great.

If you have a cablecard, channel 189 works great.
thanks for all the replies. is there anything special i need to do to force it to use 189? would i need a firmware update? thanks again!

thanks for all the replies. is there anything special i need to do to force it to use 189? would i need a firmware update? thanks again!

The firmware is not a factor. Go over to the Sony DVR thread. The very first post has been updated with a link to Spiff's FAQ that contains all the information you need.

Be aware that some units (like mine) easily accept the change to a digital host, but some do not. Or maybe it depends on what area you are in.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5593255#post5593255

Good news Chicago Comcast customers! I have spoken to Rosalind, a customer service rep today & she informed that Cartoon Network HD & Entertainment (E!) HD will be launched on November 4th.

sweet

Anyone know the local (not the general comcast number 1-866-594-1234) phone number to the comcast center on 655 Wise Rd. in Schaumburg, IL.

Thanks

Does anyone understand what will happen after the digital tv transition? Comcast says that nothing is needed for analog tvs that are connected to cable. I assume they also are saying you don't need any type of set top box either right?

So what I don't understand is for some local station like NBC; after the transition date they will only broadcast OTA on 5.1 right and not on ch 5? So what will I see on a cable ready tv (no QAM) without a set top box? Will they still tune to ch 5 analog channel or will ch 5 now be the equivalent of what gets broadcast on 5.1 (HD QAM channel)? Will all shows appear in 16:9 format if that's how they are broadcast on HD?

And I assume if I currently have cable going into a dvd-recorder that uses TVGOS, I will no longer get guide information and would have to program everything using manual recording?

My guess is they'll downconvert HD to SD for analog broadcast. Whether it's letterboxed, trimmed to 4:3, or otherwise mangled, I don't know. It will probably depend on possible agreements. Also, I think many of the local channels feed directly to various cable companies. They don't use antennas to pick up an OTA signal. They may still feed an SD signal generated internally.

What I understood -- however, the rep who told me knew where I live and may have given me a city-specific answer that might not apply in the suburbs -- is that Comcast will drop analog cable roughly around the time of the transition for full-power OTA stations, and that you'll need either a QAM tuner or a rented-from-Comcast STB or a cable card to watch a Comcast cable TV signal.

Comcast will drop analog cable roughly around the time of the transition for full-power OTA stations, and that you'll need either a QAM tuner or a rented-from-Comcast STB or a cable card to watch a Comcast cable TV signal.

It may indeed be location specific. Here in Downers Grove, I have been told just the opposite: Comcast will continue to make the local channels (but maybe not all their subchannels) plus the local government feed available in clear analog so no STB will be required. Local channels are also on the cable in clear QAM digital signals. Over time the non-local programming will migrate to digital, scrambled or not.

Note that even with the clear QAM digital signals, they don't always put the complete PSIP information into the stream. Some channels can be tuned by their virtual channel number, some you have to hunt for.

I think there's an FCC ruling that they need to provide the analog versions of local broadcast channels UNTIL they switch to 100% digital service. I don't live in Chicago, but I understand that is their plan in the city.

They have three motives for going all digital: (1) reallocating bandwidth to carry more programming, (2) gaining a la carte control of what you receive on a set-by-set basis, and (3) adding STB rental revenue.

sweet









The following channels were added on November 4th for the city of Chicago:

Cartoon Network-channel 226
Lifetime Movie Network-channel 229
Entertainment (E!)-channel 262

Comcast Chicago HD Stations

Channels slated for addition on Nov. 4 confirmed and in bold. Channels listed in italics are available only in the city of Chicago (those of us in the 'burbs will have to pay the same but miss out :mad:).

01 - 169 NFL Network
02 - 171 AMC
03 - 173 ESPN
04 - 174 MOJO (gone Dec. 1; changes to Versus effective Dec. 8)
05 - 175 History
06 - 176 TLC
07 - 177 Sci-Fi
08 - 179 HGTV
09 - 181 Food Network
10 - 183 WCIU (Independent)
11 - 184 WPWR (My Network)
12 - 185 Showtime
13 - 186 HBO
14 - 187 WLS (ABC)
15 - 188 WMAQ (NBC)
16 - 189 WBBM (CBS)
17 - 190 WFLD (Fox)
18 - 191 WTTW (PBS)
19 - 192 WGN (CW)
20 - 195 Cinemax
21 - 196 Starz
22 - 197 Disney
23 - 198 ABC Family
24 - 199 Versus/Golf (changes to Golf full-time effective Dec. 8)
25 - 200 Comcast SportsNet
26 - 203 ESPN2
27 - 204 TNT
28 - 205 HD Theater
29 - 206 National Geographic
30 - 207 Universal
31 - 208 A&E
32 - 209 Palladia
33 - 212 Science
34 - 216 CNN
35 - 218 Discovery Channel
36 - 219 TBS
37 - 221 USA
38 - 224 Animal Planet
39 - 226 Cartoon Network
40 - 227 Hallmark Movie Channel
41 - 229 Lifetime Movie
42 - 231 ESPNews
43 - 234 NHL Network
44 - 235 NBA TV
45 - 237 Speed
46 - 256 Big Ten Network
47 - 261 Planet Green
48 - 262 Entertainment (E!)
49 - 263 Encore
50 - 264 Fox Business Network
51 - 265 Fox News Channel
52 - 266 CNBC
53 - 267 FX
54 - 269 Biography
55 - 270 Weather Channel
56 - 278 Bravo
57 - 279 Fuse
58 - 280 Independent Film Channel (IFC)
59 - 281 WE
60 - 282 QVC
61 - 283 Toon Disney
62 - 284 MGM
63 - 285 To Be Announced (coming Dec. 9, local origination, maybe Comcast SportsNet PLUS?)

I read on another thread that Comast is starting to give out 2 free DTA's to digital customers in Portland, OR, to help smooth the digital transition. Any word of a similar thing here in Chicago?

The following [HD] channels were added on November 4th for the city of Chicago:

Cartoon Network-channel 226
Lifetime Movie Network-channel 229
Entertainment (E!)-channel 262And I've been meaning to post that myself to confirm that they are a reality here.  Thanks, Donn.

All three are at 1080i.

Also, WOCK on channel 599 (QAM 54-8, at least in Chicago Area 2) is just a placeholder now with a still card that Azteca America is now on channel 598 (QAM 54-11 in Chicago Area 2).  (Over the air, WOCK-CA on VHF13 now carries CV instead of Azteca America, while WLFM-LP on VHF6 and WCHU-LP on UHF61 carry Azteca America instead of MTV Tr3s.)  WOCK itself doesn't seem to be available from Comcast at present.  Since WOCH isn't either, I'm not expecting WOCK to be again, but channel 599 is still reserved for it.

Also, WOCK on channel 599 (QAM 54-8, at least in Chicago Area 2) is just a placeholder now with a still card that Azteca America is now on channel 598 (QAM 54-11 in Chicago Area 2).* (Over the air, WOCK-CA on VHF13 now carries CV instead of Azteca America, while WLFM-LP on VHF6 and WCHU-LP on UHF61 carry Azteca America instead of MTV Tr3s.)* WOCK itself doesn't seem to be available from Comcast at present.* Since WOCH isn't either, I'm not expecting WOCK to be again, but channel 599 is still reserved for it.
Here in Schaumburg, WOCK (just the placeholder card) and Azteca are on 29-8 and 29-11.

Waiting for them to add WCIU 26.4. They did fix the PSIP so that FBT is now 26-6 (was 26-4).

Here in Schaumburg, WOCK (just the placeholder card) and Azteca are on 29-8 and 29-11. I figured it would vary from region to region, and in fact it's a surprise that the minor portions match up. Waiting for them to add WCIU 26.4. They did fix the PSIP so that FBT is now 26-6 (was 26-4). Since it's not promised to appear on digital cable channel 246 (not 264; would have been cute if they put it on 264) until November 18, I'm not hoping to see it by QAM before then.

My bill says that This TV (OTA 26.4) will be available on channel 246 starting November 18.







Hey dattier, This TV will not be the only HD channel added on
November 18th. I just spoke with Rose, a Comcast service representative, and she told me that the following channels will be added for the city of Chicago:

This TV-channel 246
Starz Kids & Family-channel 257
Starz Comedy-channel 258
Starz Edge-channel 259

The following channels were added on November 4th for the city of Chicago:

Cartoon Network-channel 226
Lifetime Movie Network-channel 229
Entertainment (E!)-channel 262

what package? I have Digital Starter. I didn't get an Tivo notices about added channels so I wasn't sure if I get them.

what package? I have Digital Starter.I have Digital Classic (was Digital Preferred, but they terminated Classic and changed Preferred's name to Classic) through December 21, when I'll likely downgrade.

Unfortunately, the package listings at comcast.com tend to get out of date.

what package? I have Digital Starter. I didn't get an Tivo notices about added channels so I wasn't sure if I get them.









I have the Digital Premier package & all the HD channels!

what package? I have Digital Starter. I didn't get an Tivo notices about added channels so I wasn't sure if I get them.

My tivo is all jacked up.. I have the last round of channels (MGM and those) but no guide info and this time I get 2 out of 3 (E! still says fox college sports).

I already reported the channel issues with Tivo to their service department, they're working on the issue with the 6 new channels.

Anyone getting a weak signal since the weather got cold the past few days?

Is anyone else having problems getting NHL Network HD (ch. 234)? A blue box w/ "Not Authorized" comes up for me. I have the Sports&Entertainment package and the SD NHL Network (ch. 404) comes in fine.

Is anyone else having problems getting NHL Network HD (ch. 234)? A blue box w/ "Not Authorized" comes up for me. I have the Sports&Entertainment package and the SD NHL Network (ch. 404) comes in fine.
Yes. I'm having the same problem. I finally spoke to someone who was able to verify that others have complained about it. She said it is something they need to resolve with NHL Network directly.

I already reported the channel issues with Tivo to their service department, they're working on the issue with the 6 new channels.

cool.. I know comcast indicated something about previewing these channels and then officially launching them in December.. so maybe that screwed the process up.

We need a "Chicago suburbs - Comcast" thread. I get more and more jealous every time I read this one :)

We need a "Chicago suburbs - Comcast" thread. I get more and more jealous every time I read this one :)
Seems logical to me.  I'd read it and resist gloating.  In fact, I'd probably post my dejection and disappointment every time you folks get something that we aren't getting in 773-land.

Anybody else's box get rebooted this morning (11/12)?

Anybody else's box get rebooted this morning (11/12)?

Yes, got rebooted in Wheeling. Also, a wierd thing happened with my DCH 3416. All my recordings indicated a recording length of 18 minutes. I power cycled and each recording was now 1 minute. Eventually it worked itself out and all was normal.

Since my guide information wasn't wiped out, apparently there was no reboot in Chicago Area 2.

Any idea if the new channels added on 11/4 are switched digital video? They came up as adds on my TiVo, but they don't seem to be coming in for me.


Comcast Chicago HD Stations

Channels slated for addition on Nov. 4 confirmed and in bold. Channels listed in italics are available only in the city of Chicago (those of us in the 'burbs will have to pay the same but miss out :mad:).

01 - 169 NFL Network
02 - 171 AMC
03 - 173 ESPN
04 - 174 MOJO (gone Dec. 1; changes to Versus effective Dec. 8)
05 - 175 History
06 - 176 TLC
07 - 177 Sci-Fi
08 - 179 HGTV
09 - 181 Food Network
10 - 183 WCIU (Independent)
11 - 184 WPWR (My Network)
12 - 185 Showtime
13 - 186 HBO
14 - 187 WLS (ABC)
15 - 188 WMAQ (NBC)
16 - 189 WBBM (CBS)
17 - 190 WFLD (Fox)
18 - 191 WTTW (PBS)
19 - 192 WGN (CW)
20 - 195 Cinemax
21 - 196 Starz
22 - 197 Disney
23 - 198 ABC Family
24 - 199 Versus/Golf (changes to Golf full-time effective Dec. 8)
25 - 200 Comcast SportsNet
26 - 203 ESPN2
27 - 204 TNT
28 - 205 HD Theater
29 - 206 National Geographic
30 - 207 Universal
31 - 208 A&E
32 - 209 Palladia
33 - 212 Science
34 - 216 CNN
35 - 218 Discovery Channel
36 - 219 TBS
37 - 221 USA
38 - 224 Animal Planet
39 - 226 Cartoon Network
40 - 227 Hallmark Movie Channel
41 - 229 Lifetime Movie
42 - 231 ESPNews
43 - 234 NHL Network
44 - 235 NBA TV
45 - 237 Speed
46 - 256 Big Ten Network
47 - 261 Planet Green
48 - 262 Entertainment (E!)
49 - 263 Encore
50 - 264 Fox Business Network
51 - 265 Fox News Channel
52 - 266 CNBC
53 - 267 FX
54 - 269 Biography
55 - 270 Weather Channel
56 - 278 Bravo
57 - 279 Fuse
58 - 280 Independent Film Channel (IFC)
59 - 281 WE
60 - 282 QVC
61 - 283 Toon Disney
62 - 284 MGM
63 - 285 To Be Announced (coming Dec. 9, local origination, maybe Comcast SportsNet PLUS?)

Anybody else's box get rebooted this morning (11/12)?
My box was rebooted at some point last night. Was there any signifcance to the reboot?

Any idea if the new channels added on 11/4 are switched digital video? They came up as adds on my TiVo, but they don't seem to be coming in for me.

I can view them all on my tivoHD.. I just dont have the guide quite right.. im showing all the channels but the EHD is just showing off the air for the entire day.

I can view them all on my tivoHD.. I just dont have the guide quite right.. im showing all the channels but the EHD is just showing off the air for the entire day.

Yeah, the channels magically started working for me yesterday. There was a solid week there though where they were coming up blank.

According to last month's bill, Cook County was supposed to have a channel added (900) on November 4. I don't see it here in Schaumburg. Does anybody have it?

Has there been any news of where Comcast Sportsnet Plus HD is going to appear once Mojo is gone in December? Thanks

Has there been any news of where Comcast Sportsnet Plus HD is going to appear once Mojo is gone in December? Thanks


My guess is that it will be on 285, the new "local" HD channel.

My guess is that it will be on 285, the new "local" HD channel.

Do you have any idea what other kinds of programming (something local I assume) will be on this channel when games aren't on? I can't imagine there are too many local access type shows taping in HD.

did anyone else have horrible audio and video on ABC-HD (187) last night? i'm constantly trying to figure out whether the problem is cabling or comcast's signal.

did anyone else have horrible audio and video on ABC-HD (187) last night? i'm constantly trying to figure out whether the problem is cabling or comcast's signal.

Yes, very disturbing. Especially Desperate Housewives. I read in another forum that OTA also had problems.

Do you have any idea what other kinds of programming (something local I assume) will be on this channel when games aren't on? I can't imagine there are too many local access type shows taping in HD.


Nope, I think they're just doing this to keep a space open for CSN+ HD. I'd bet it's relatively useless other than that.

ThisTV (OTA 26.4) was available on channel 246 in Chicago Area 2 as of this morning, with WCIUT as its mnemonic.

There's still nothing on channel 900, where my last bill says that Cook County Access was to start airing on November 4.

Also shows up as 26-4 in ClearQAM.

Is there any word on when the Chicago burbs will get all the HD channels that Chicago gets? I'd love to get CNBCHD.

Also shows up as 26-4 in ClearQAM.Inexplicably, in my area Comcast put ThisTV on 26-6 and bumped FBT to 26-8.

Also, a couple of weeks ago, 11.1, 11.3, and 11.4, which had been on 11-1, 11-3, and 11-4 respectively, were kicked to 11-3, 11-5, and 11-6, and they remain there.  11.2 is still on 79-5.