We just got our "Comcastic!" update to the new hidden HD locals here in Canonsburg today. If anyone is looking for them, and just to see how the mappings compare in various systems for the rest of us, here they are. I was relieved to discover that a modern vizio can handle the .xxxx format.

106.2101 WTAE HD
106.2102 WTAE DT Weather
106.2103 WQED HD
106.2104 WQED
106.2105 WQED DT
107.2201 WPXI HD
107.2202 WPXI DT Weather
107.2203 KDKA HD
108.2301 WPGH HD
108.2302 WPMY HD

They have removed PSIP mapping to the analog broadcast channel numbers, and they have stripped the in-band guide data.

I completely agree that they are just trying to make this so convoluted that no one can figure it out, and if they can find a couple % of existing sets that cannot tune the new channel mappings, that's just icing on the cake for them.

Is anyone else not getting audio on KDKA HD? It's been going on for a few months for me. Not that I actually watch anything on CBS except the NFL, but its very annoying. I'm using a QAM tuner and don't want to get the Comcast HD box. Am I crazy to think that Comcast took off this audio just to annoy those of us without boxes who want to enjoy the Steelers games?

Not overreacting. I've been looking into going back to D* once the new sats go live and I read reviews of the non-HD-Lite signal quality . I was using D* before Comcant brought out the 6408, don't remember how many years ago that was. But since then the promise of parity with the other areas ( I'm in Franklin Park) has never come about, the 6412 boxes are still buggy and short on space, the signal drops out way too often - I see no signs of improvement. Unfortunately FIOS is not going to be an option unless Verizon buys NPTCO, so that leaves the dish. If D* brings out an NHL Center Ice offer similar to what they're doing with Sunday Ticket, I'll switch.

NPTC was already bought out (it was heading into the tank) by Consolidated Communications, a telecom company from Illinois. In the small chance of adding some much needed competition to Comcast here, CC promises to underdeliver. I checked out their website and their prices/packages are WORSE than Comcast. Ugh!

I also talked to the Franklin Park borough head guy (I live in Wexford myself) and he says he's been dying for FiOS service himself but NPTC's grandfather clause prevents them from coming in. He said they plan on negotiating with CC to see if they'll open up competition for other providers (FiOS!!!!), but there is obviously little chance of them allowing that.

One other thing:

Since I helped set up my aunt's Samsung LCD a few months ago, I've been wanting to help her find the unencrypted local HD channels that she should be able to find. She has analog cable from Comcast, but I've managed to find NBC Weather Plus and all those silly Music Choice channels.

Does anybody know what the local HD channels are for her? She lives in Whitehall (South Hills).

I'm hoping that she can start watching Steelers games in HD because she is fed up with the PQ on the analog channels (her PQ becomes so abysmal in the higher channels--TV Land is almost unwatchable; I have to increase the tuning strength for it to look semi-watchable).

I can't help her look for them because I'm in Wexford and I'm not going to drive to Whitehall just to troubleshoot. FiOS can't come soon enough in her area.

Thanks.

One

I can't help her look for them because I'm in Wexford and I'm not going to drive to Whitehall just to troubleshoot. FiOS can't come soon enough in her area.

Thanks.

Can't drive 20 miles for your mother! Shame.

LAWL

Re-read the post more carefully this time.

The baseball play-offs are on TBS this week. Anyone get a TBS-HD?

One other thing:

Since I helped set up my aunt's Samsung LCD a few months ago, I've been wanting to help her find the unencrypted local HD channels that she should be able to find. She has analog cable from Comcast, but I've managed to find NBC Weather Plus and all those silly Music Choice channels.

Does anybody know what the local HD channels are for her? She lives in Whitehall (South Hills).

I'm hoping that she can start watching Steelers games in HD because she is fed up with the PQ on the analog channels (her PQ becomes so abysmal in the higher channels--TV Land is almost unwatchable; I have to increase the tuning strength for it to look semi-watchable).

I can't help her look for them because I'm in Wexford and I'm not going to drive to Whitehall just to troubleshoot. FiOS can't come soon enough in her area.

Thanks.

I live in Bethel, so channels might not be exactly the same, but have her try these.

83.1 - FoxSportsHD Also have gotten this on channel 0
89.1 - Weather (WTAE) Also try 4.2
89.2 - WTAEHD Also try 4.1
89.3 - WPXIHD Also try 11.1
91.1 - Fox53HD
91.2 - MY PittsburghHD
92.1-92.39 - Comcast Music Channels
100.13 - TNT-HD I no longer pick this up
109.1 QED
109.3 QEDHD
109.7 CBSHD Also try 2.1 These 109 channels are all iffy. sometimes they come in sometimes they don't. I have to keep trying them before my tv picks them up sometimes.
109.8 PBSHD
If the 109 stations dont show up try with these
13.1 (109) - WQED-HD
13.2 (109) - KDKA-HD
13.2 (109) - WQED-SD

On Demand Channels start
74.101-10, 75-101-4, 76.101-6, 77.101-06 . Its hard to tell because most of the time the channels are blank because no one is watching the on demand stuff.

Also get Sports IN Demand now. 110.14

I live in Bethel, so channels might not be exactly the same, but have her try these.

91.1 - Fox53HD


Hey Colonel have you been watching Bones or House? I've had some "flickering" macroblocking issues on the bottom 10% or so of the screen during these shows, it doesn't appear during the HD commercials only during hte show itself, I'm not home when they air so i can't check the OTA reception.

No, sorry, I don't watch either of those shows.

First of all..........Hello to the Pittsburgh crew here. I am new to the whole HD thing and wish I found this forum a few weeks ago. Woulda saved me some headaches. Was all proud of myself when I hooked up a new Samsung HDTV and was able to get HD channels on the QAM tuner on the TV by just plugging the cable directly to the TV. (Was kinda tickled that I didn't need a box and got some HD.) Then mysteriously a few days later, I could not get the same channels. Of course it occured at the same time I put a signal booster in to help the other TV's in the house because of some of the splits. GF instantly thought I F'd it up and of course I insisted I didn't. Was happy when I found them a few days later after they moved to 106.xxxx range. (Live in Bridgeville and get Comcast outta Canonsburg....same channels as posted previously)

Anyhow, I do have a question. Seems like I am getting PPV channels in the 115.1-115.10 range. Thought at first maybe it was because I lived in a townhouse and the wires were a bit botched. Can anyone explain this to me? Appears we are kinda at the mercy of whoever is watching the PPV selection at the time...is that right? (Watched Invincible one night and mysteriously it rewound a few times.)

Thanks in advance............glad to be here!

Zip

Anyhow, I do have a question. Seems like I am getting PPV channels in the 115.1-115.10 range. Thought at first maybe it was because I lived in a townhouse and the wires were a bit botched. Can anyone explain this to me? Appears we are kinda at the mercy of whoever is watching the PPV selection at the time...is that right? (Watched Invincible one night and mysteriously it rewound a few times.)

I think what your are seeing is the On Demand channels. You are right in that you are at the mercy of someone else when watching these channels. One of your neighbors is watching, you will get that show also. Not sure how or why that happens but I guess the cable co's arent able to block those out. With On Demand, you are able to rewind and fast forward, so that is what is happening. Its funny when you turn on something and see that person rewinding or fast forwarding to the sex scenes...:) You never know what you are going to see on those channels..

First of all..........Hello to the Pittsburgh crew here. I am new to the whole HD thing and wish I found this forum a few weeks ago. Woulda saved me some headaches. Was all proud of myself when I hooked up a new Samsung HDTV and was able to get HD channels on the QAM tuner on the TV by just plugging the cable directly to the TV. (Was kinda tickled that I didn't need a box and got some HD.) Then mysteriously a few days later, I could not get the same channels. Of course it occured at the same time I put a signal booster in to help the other TV's in the house because of some of the splits. GF instantly thought I F'd it up and of course I insisted I didn't. Was happy when I found them a few days later after they moved to 106.xxxx range. (Live in Bridgeville and get Comcast outta Canonsburg....same channels as posted previously)

Anyhow, I do have a question. Seems like I am getting PPV channels in the 115.1-115.10 range. Thought at first maybe it was because I lived in a townhouse and the wires were a bit botched. Can anyone explain this to me? Appears we are kinda at the mercy of whoever is watching the PPV selection at the time...is that right? (Watched Invincible one night and mysteriously it rewound a few times.)

Thanks in advance............glad to be here!

Zip


Welcome to the Canonsburg Headend. It goes all the way up to Bridgeville, does it? That's interesting. (BTW: Does anyone have a comcast headend map for Pittsburgh?)

Sorry to hear that the local channel moves had you tearing your hair out. I was waiting for it to come here after the north hills people warned us that Comcast was up to some mischief in their area.

You are right about the "Mystery Cable" that you are getting, but you may be able to get it on more channels than you think! In the Canonsburg system, they use channels 111 through 115 for the OnDemand programming. I ran some perl scripts to troll those channels with my HDHomeRun in the middle of September, and below are all of the channels that I saw active in a two day window.

In my dump, 111002 = Channel 111.2. The next number is the number of scans in which the channel was seen active. The next two columns are just debugging info, and then the last column is the number of times the channel was turned "on" (began showing something when it was dark the scan before) during that two day window.

I don't know if yours will be exactly the same, because I have no idea how wide a single "subnet" or "node" of OnDemand programming (number of households that can see each-others programming) is within this headend. I once read that it is on the order of 450 homes (http://www.slate.com/id/2167389/pagenum/all) , so we're probably not on the same one.

DUMPING CUMULATIVE CHANNEL LIST
Channel - Total Count - Active - Previously Active - Activations
111002 - 730 - 0 - 0 - 10
111003 - 335 - 0 - 0 - 10
111004 - 565 - 0 - 0 - 10
111005 - 626 - 0 - 0 - 10
111006 - 744 - 0 - 0 - 11
111007 - 355 - 0 - 0 - 10
111008 - 444 - 0 - 0 - 11
111009 - 546 - 0 - 0 - 10
111010 - 251 - 0 - 0 - 12
111011 - 325 - 0 - 0 - 8
112002 - 9 - 0 - 0 - 1
112003 - 115 - 0 - 0 - 1
112004 - 29 - 0 - 0 - 1
112005 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1
112006 - 34 - 0 - 0 - 1
112010 - 20 - 0 - 0 - 1
112011 - 31 - 0 - 0 - 1
113009 - 18 - 0 - 0 - 1
113011 - 14 - 0 - 0 - 1
114002 - 23 - 0 - 0 - 1
114003 - 28 - 0 - 0 - 1
114005 - 5 - 0 - 0 - 1
114007 - 3 - 0 - 0 - 1
114008 - 5 - 0 - 0 - 1
114009 - 12 - 0 - 0 - 1
114011 - 7 - 0 - 0 - 1
115002 - 624 - 0 - 0 - 8
115003 - 361 - 0 - 0 - 11
115004 - 619 - 0 - 0 - 9
115005 - 500 - 0 - 0 - 9
115006 - 303 - 0 - 0 - 8
115007 - 146 - 0 - 0 - 9
115008 - 500 - 0 - 0 - 11
115009 - 356 - 0 - 0 - 8
115010 - 738 - 0 - 0 - 8
115011 - 472 - 0 - 0 - 10

BTW.....Great article in your link. Raises another question. How frequently does Comcast move the Major (ABC/CBS/NBC, etc) Channels in HD?

Ugh.....sorry if you get this twice think I wiped the first time out.

Colonel..........too funny. Thought I was the only one with horny neighbors. We actually found porn pretty quickly. My GF was like......whoa......whats that. Then it fastforwarded all the diaglogue and straight to the juicy stuff. What a hoot we got out of that. We were actually placing bets which neighbor it was but guess we don't know..........we were assuming it was someone in our townhouse building but it could be one of ~450 or so.

JJC...maybe not as far as you think. Actually in Cecil even though a Bridgeville mailing addy. We are right on the Wash/Alleg county line.

Do you ever get the ESPN gameday packages?

Also, maybe you guys can help me with another issue. My Samsung TV will autoscan the 4 digit extensions (for example: 106.1234) on a channel and save it to memory but will not let me enter it manually to change to that channel....it only seems to want to let me enter a 3 digit extension (like 106.123) The only way to call up those channels (those in the range of 106.2101 to 108.2302, which are ABCHD, CBSHD, NBCHD, etc) is by programming them into my favs or using the channel list. Any workarounds? Kinda a PITA.

I'm a former Adelphia customer (South Hills USC area) as well and am completely fed up with Comcast. Since the switchover, they have taken away HDNET, HDNET Movies, INHD2 and taken NFLHD and put it on a "sports tier" which costs me extra... We have not gotten any of the newer HD channels and as far as i can tell, won't be recieving any soon. I want to switch to E* or D* but am scared of losing PQ. Any former Adelphia customers switch over to E* or D* here?

I live in Mt. Lebanon near the intersection of Cochran and Beverly. Out of the sheer frustration of being a former Adelphia customer, I have been checking the FIOS TV availability website almost daily.

On Monday, I almost passed out when I saw that I was able to order FIOS TV online. I went through the options and packages, but did not place an order. About an hour later I tried the website again. This time the website said FIOS TV was not available in my area.

So, I called Verizon. The rep I talked to said that they are doing test web orders so the order screen will occasionally pop-up. Then he told me that I can pre-order TV service for an approximate install date of 11/8/07. I took him up on the offer immediately. I was able to get a Triple Play type package and order cable cards for my TivoHD that I recently purchased.

Bye bye Comcrap.

I have been considering the switch to D* for more HD. I was switching through the channels and here in Peters (former Adelphia) they just added TBS HD (198) and CNN HD (197). I am in shock... Is more coming?

CNNHD (197) and TBSHD (198) are on the Greensburg system too. Baseball playoffs looking good on TBSHD.

I have both of them here in the Southside. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to have them, but I wish they would have put them in the 200's with the other HD channels.

Side question, related to comcast:

I just realized today, that i'm getting the dreaded green screen problem (randomly, only fix is to pull the power cable and reset).. on my dch3416..

I havent been able to find a definite fix for this issue..

Has anyone had the green screen issue and had it fixed with this dvr, without changing model numbers?

Cheers

I have both of them here in the Southside. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to have them, but I wish they would have put them in the 200's with the other HD channels.

Trade you lineups... in Bethel our HD's are in the 700's but the CNN and TBS are 198 and 197 still

Trade you lineups... in Bethel our HD's are in the 700's but the CNN and TBS are 198 and 197 still

I am guessing you were former Adelphia, hence the HDs in the 700's?

I have been considering the switch to D* for more HD. I was switching through the channels and here in Peters (former Adelphia) they just added TBS HD (198) and CNN HD (197). I am in shock... Is more coming?

SciFi channel next month and forget but i think 1or 2 more also, can't remember what that guy told me in July:confused:

I am guessing you were former Adelphia, hence the HDs in the 700's?

yep, Former adelphia but a 750mhz headend, we only get partially screwed on services thanks to that. Unfortunately, due to the economics of replacing all the SA equipment and headeand gear with Motorola so they could give us the same guide/vod/channels as the rest of comcastland, it seems unlikely to happen any time soon. I basicaly consider Bethel to be the Best of the bad, poor former adelphia area's, they really do get hosed, and it's just impractical to make it better. at least I get 16/2 mbit for my internet speed which doesn't completely suck.

Just ordered everything today. What kind of equipment does Comcast generally provide, HD/DVR? DCT3416? or the newer DCH one?

Just ordered everything today. What kind of equipment does Comcast generally provide, HD/DVR? DCT3416? or the newer DCH one?

I had the 6412 before.. but had space issues.. so i took it back last week.. they gave me the dch3416.. but be aware it has HDMI/component HDCP issues.. generating a random green screen, which is only fixable by pulling the power, which results in loss of guide information for some time.

I'm probably going to take it back and try to get another 6412 real soon. Noone seems to have a fix for the other.

Comcast added TBS HD & CNN HD to the channel lineup here in the Washington PA area.

Comcast added TBS HD & CNN HD to the channel lineup here in the Washington PA area.

What station numbers are they?

JJC...maybe not as far as you think. Actually in Cecil even though a Bridgeville mailing addy. We are right on the Wash/Alleg county line.

Do you ever get the ESPN gameday packages?

Also, maybe you guys can help me with another issue. My Samsung TV will autoscan the 4 digit extensions (for example: 106.1234) on a channel and save it to memory but will not let me enter it manually to change to that channel....it only seems to want to let me enter a 3 digit extension (like 106.123) The only way to call up those channels (those in the range of 106.2101 to 108.2302, which are ABCHD, CBSHD, NBCHD, etc) is by programming them into my favs or using the channel list. Any workarounds? Kinda a PITA.




I haven't seen any sports programming on the OnDemand channels, but I'm usually not searching during prime sports hours. I'll keep an eye out for any. I would guess that they are using normal dedicated encrypted QAM channels for those live sports package programs. FWIW, I see mostly cartoons and movies on the open OnDemand channels. (BTW: A lot of people in my neighborhood are watching "Blades Of Glory". Go figure.)

-justin

The HD Lineup here in the Washington All-Digital System is:

197 CNN HD
198 TBS HD
209 Music HD
210 WTAE HD
211 WPXI HD
212 KDKA HD
213 WPGH HD
214 WCWB HD
215 Universal HD
220 WQED HD
225 Discovery HD
226 MOJO HD
228 HBO HD
233 Cinemax HD
238 Showtime HD
248 Starz HD
249 TNT HD
252 ESPN HD
253 ESPN2 HD
254 National Geographic HD
255 VS Golf HD
256 A&E HD
257 Food HD
258 HGTV HD
261 NFL HD

Quick question Benji15301,
How did you figure out that your system was now all digital? I had Dish at one time and it was of course all digital, but suffered from very soft pictures that lacked any detail. When I went back to Comcast, the picture was analog but improved in detail.

Washington is an ADS (all digital system) but also features analog for the time being. I suppose that will change eventually to free up space.

All you have to do is talk to any Comcast rep. or field tech to find out whether your system is Digital or not. I would think Canonsburg is the same as Washington.

There was a big improvement when all the channels went digital in March/April.

Washington is an ADS (all digital system) but also features analog for the time being. I suppose that will change eventually to free up space.

All you have to do is talk to any Comcast rep. or field tech to find out whether your system is Digital or not. I would think Canonsburg is the same as Washington.

There was a big improvement when all the channels went digital in March/April.

Actually, ADS stands for Analog-Digital Switching. If you subscribe to the digital package (and have a STB or cablecards) you will get everything as digital (even channels 2-99). If you don't have the digital package then you will get the basic analog stations. However, if you have cablecards you need to double check, Comcast has been known to "forget" to provide the digital channels (for 2-99) for cable card users.

Here in Imperial, just noticed that we now have HD Theatre on 225. Nice!

Is HD Theatre the former Discovery HD channel? If so, I guessed I jumped the gun on the new channel. It's like a lottery, since Comcast never announces new channels, channel name changes, etc.

Yes, it was renamed. Discovery has an HD version of their standard def channel, which is now called Discovery HD.

Noticed we got a new channel this week in Bethel. RETRO Channel. Its on 110. Thats in addition to CNN and TBS HD on 197-198.

So what kind of content is Retro carrying? Old re-runs that are stretched or SD wide screen? Gilligan, Jed, Gennie? :D

we also have WPXIR which shows retro shows now, 207.

We just got our "Comcastic!" update to the new hidden HD locals here in Canonsburg today. If anyone is looking for them, and just to see how the mappings compare in various systems for the rest of us, here they are. I was relieved to discover that a modern vizio can handle the .xxxx format.

106.2101 WTAE HD
106.2102 WTAE DT Weather
106.2103 WQED HD
106.2104 WQED
106.2105 WQED DT
107.2201 WPXI HD
107.2202 WPXI DT Weather
107.2203 KDKA HD
108.2301 WPGH HD
108.2302 WPMY HD

They have removed PSIP mapping to the analog broadcast channel numbers, and they have stripped the in-band guide data.

I completely agree that they are just trying to make this so convoluted that no one can figure it out, and if they can find a couple % of existing sets that cannot tune the new channel mappings, that's just icing on the cake for them.

We just got our new 20 in Vizio for the kitchen area. I loved that beautiful HD picture at CC that was so much nicer than the darker Samsumg 19 in. Anyways, it was the QAM tuner that sold the set with the 30 day return policy (if I could not tune the "clear" HD channels.)

You are certainly correct about being hard to find. The auto scan found them, but it took me a while to find them in that maze of channels. But now I have them and they do look great. Thanks for the tips.

BTW, the data is so stripped out that my set does not even receive the correct time and date. (four hours wrong and the year is 2000) even after the time zone and daylight saving were checked.

Retro is now on 207 here too. Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Hogan's Heroes, Kojak, Laverne & Shirley, etc. It's in normal SD (no stretching or anything like that). I've only checked it briefly, but it's pretty much a macroblock fest. Not enough bandwidth is being allocated to prevent lots of video artifacts. But that's okay, I'd rather the main NBC channel get what it needs.

There may be some hope for the North Hills. My TiVo just added two channels for my lineup: 197 CNNHD and 198 TBSHD. Unfortunately, both channels are blank. TiVo gets the lineup from Tribune Media Services, so I assume that Comcast has notified them of the added channels for zip 15237. Usually I get the channel notification 4-5 days before the actual addition, so maybe next week we'll get them.

I am new to this thread, and I apologize if this question has been asked before, but I looked through a lost of posts and didn't see my particular scenario. I live in the North Hills(Ross Comcast) and have been attempting to setup myth-tv using a PC-HDTV 5500 tuner card. When I attempt to scan for channels I am only able to get a few local HDTV channels, a very large selection of digital music channels(10+) , QVC and Retro, but none of the other 'basic' channels. Has anyone else encountered this, and is this because comcast is encrypting the channels? Again I apologize if this is a simple question, but after trying a number of different cable lines in my house, all resulting in the same results, and not have any luck in researching my problem on the internet, I have become very frustrated and could use some help. Thanks in advance...

I know it's not HD but has anyone actually recieved this channel yet? I live in the Canonsburg area and don't have it yet. Comcast reps say it should be available.....

Did anyone else notice weirdness with Fox 213 yesterday? Significant amounts of the Vikings game and the Red Sox game weren't HD for me even though they should have been. I tried turning the box on and off and checking the swap button but no luck. All the other HD channels worked fine. The Red Sox game even started out in HD but eventually wasn't widescreen and lost the 5.1.

I dont know if it was WPGH or the national feed, but it was doing the same thing OTA.

I just feel like sharing my tale of woe with Comcast because I'm annoyed and basically defeated at this point.

The first strike against me is that I live in the North Hills area. It's well documented on how we get shafted on new channel additions so I won't go into that rant here. Second strike is I live in an apartment complex (small 8 unit) so I have very little influence on things like in-building wiring.

Here's where my problem starts. I've always had ingress problems on my cable. Channel 2, channel 11, channel 19 etc all show either shadow their broadcast counterparts or just have some sort of interference. I never really cared all that much though since these were mostly channels I didn't watch.

Well, I upgraded to digital premium with an HD DVR box in June when they added Universal HD and TNT HD since I finally felt HD service would be worth it with those channels. I got a nice 6 month deal that made that level of service only a few bucks more a month than what I was paying for analog only cable.

Well, from day one things weren't right. The first box I got from them was DOA. The hard drive was fried in it so I had no DVR functionality. I also noticed that random digital channels wouldn't tune including the majority of the music channels. I would also have random days where I couldn't get a good signal on some of the HD channels and they would break up like crazy. This problem actually gets worse the colder it gets. When it's in the 80s I get mostly everything, now in the fall UHD is basically unwatchable.

Well, I had a tech come out to replace the box and take a look at the other issues. He basically said that my cable in the apartment was too old and that it wasn't up to snuff for the digital and HD service and that I would have to get a new line run to resolve the issues. All this without even hooking up a signal meter. Fine, whatever, I decided to deal for the time being and figure out what to do later.

Fast forward to two weeks ago and I got to thinking. I know they are going to dismiss my digital and HD issues on the cable itself, but maybe if I can get them to solve the ingress problem, it will help the other issues. I spent extra time on the phone with customer service and they were actually very helpful in sending out a tech that they felt was experienced in these issues and would work with me on troubleshooting.

The guy really was helpful. He hooked up a meter to my line and told me that I had strong signal in the apartment (despite the older RJ59 wiring). He then went with me down to the tap in the basement and shot the line from the opposite direction to check for interference and found none. It seemed my line was in great working order. He then hooked a small tv directly up to the tap and reproduced the ingress problem down there. Great! Finally proof that simply running a new line to my unit would not be the great resolver for all my problems. He said he would call it into maintenance and that they would be out to check up on things. I wouldn't need to be around.

Well, maintenance calls me on Monday and said that they didn't find anything at the pole and that they couldn't get in the building (well, yeah, no one told me they were coming.) I should call back when I got home to tell them if any of their fiddling did anything. It did not and I let them know. A day later I get a call about having someone come out to take a look at things inside the building and I schedule an appointment for this past Saturday morning.

Saturday rolls around. What happens? They referred it back to tech. Not only that, but the tech's sheet says that maintenance says they examined everything down to including the tap which is an outright lie because they couldn't get in the building. With this tech, I basically get the same song and dance about how if they replaced my line everything would be resolved, even though the last guy hooked a tv up to the tap and had the same problems. In fact, the tech seemed almost to not believe me about that last bit of info saying "I don't know what kind of a tech carries a TV around with him."

So, I'm basically done at this point. I know running a new line to my unit will not solve the issues so there isn't much point in perusing that with my landlord. The only other thing that might be happening relating to building wiring is someone else has a break so bad that it's letting the ingress into the system and screwing with everyone on the tap. In that case, the entire building would have to be rewired. I honestly don't feel enough troubleshooting has been done on Comcast's end for me to start bugging my landlord about going through the time and expense of rewiring 8 units which include wall drops and mucking around in the attic (especially since I'm moving out in 6-8 months.)

The worst part is the time wasted to try to get a full level of service that, even when at 100%, is sub-par and overpriced at the best. I will be making absolutely certain that satellite is an option wherever I move next and I will likely throw a party when I shed myself of Comcast completely. From the time they took over the ATT system, they have been a constant source of annoyance, declining service, and increasing rates. Every single time I try to give them the benefit of the doubt and work within the system to get anything resolved I get my hand bitten and I'm often lied to.

I'm in the south hills area (former adelphia) and for the last 4 or 5 weeks WPXI's HD has been absolutely horrible, much worse than normal - macroblocking like crazy (Steeler game Sunday night was almost un-watchable). Should I bother calling the Comcast idiots, or does everyone in the area have the same problem with NBC?

I'm in the south hills area (former adelphia) and for the last 4 or 5 weeks WPXI's HD has been absolutely horrible, much worse than normal - macroblocking like crazy (Steeler game Sunday night was almost un-watchable). Should I bother calling the Comcast idiots, or does everyone in the area have the same problem with NBC?

It wasn't only you. That was horrible watching the Steeler game any time there was motion. I asked a friend from Carnegie if he experienced it, said he didn't notice it.

Bull3694;

I feel your frustration with the Comcast problem and that you are ready to give up. A few suggestions:

1. The fact that you had interference when you had a TV at the tap should be pursued with Comcast. Did they run any tests at that source? Usually they are happy with an indication of a strong signal, but with HD another indicator is the SNR. This should be at 35. If it is much less (even 30-33) you will have a bad HD reception. Do you have a TV of your own that you can carry down there if they come back?

2. The RG57 cable with multiple drops is also a bad situation. Even thought they say you have a strong signal, did they give you an actual reading? If it is greater than 6-8 dB you might be having problems from too strong a signal. Simply placing a splitter prior to the cable box could reduce that. If it is too weak, you could try an in-line amp (10dB) for $10.

3. Is there no way for Comcast to run a line directly into your apartment. They can run it externally and then thru the wall.

4. If you have a good southern exposure, have you considered Direct TV? I know that most small apartment complexes try to prevent this, but the FCC requires them to accomodate you if at all possible.

Not a lot of good choices, but maybe some things to consider.

Good luck.

It wasn't only you. That was horrible watching the Steeler game any time there was motion. I asked a friend from Carnegie if he experienced it, said he didn't notice it.

I watched the game OTA and TiVo'd it from cable feed and both were fine in the North Hills (gee, unusual for the North Hills to win one).

I thought SNF was poor as well, lots of macroblocking even for NBC which is always terrible for sports.

Bull3694;

I feel your frustration with the Comcast problem and that you are ready to give up. A few suggestions:

1. The fact that you had interference when you had a TV at the tap should be pursued with Comcast. Did they run any tests at that source? Usually they are happy with an indication of a strong signal, but with HD another indicator is the SNR. This should be at 35. If it is much less (even 30-33) you will have a bad HD reception. Do you have a TV of your own that you can carry down there if they come back?


You would think a problem at the tap would be good enough for them to pursue, but I guess it's not. The problem, as I see it, is the tap is in the jurisdiction of maintenance and not technical and maintenance already came to the building once. From what I gathered from the tech, maintenance will not come out more than once to a location. As far as they were concerned, since everything looked OK at the pole and no one was around to let them into the building (since they showed up on their own schedule) they are done.

Yeah, I do have a 13 inch TV I can take to the basement to show them if they ever came back, but I don't think there's much point in trying it again. It's a waste of my time since no one seems to actually want to get to the bottom of things with proper troubleshooting. I've already had 3 scheduled tech visits and one hijacked visit (neighbor had a tech come out for something and I just asked a few questions and he took a look at things.) I'm not sure how many times I'm supposed to give up 4 hour blocks of my life to wait around for Comcast to tell me they can't do anything.

I know my SNR is bad. I can get into the diagnostic menus of the box and the stations I have issue with usually float around 29-31 SNR. The real question is why it's bad. Is it truly the fault of the line running to my apartment or is there borderline SNR at the tap? That's a question I don't have an answer for and a question I would like to have resolved before I start taking up wiring problems with my landlord. One thing I do know is having a new line run up will not solve the ingress issue since it definitely exists at the tap.


2. The RG57 cable with multiple drops is also a bad situation. Even thought they say you have a strong signal, did they give you an actual reading? If it is greater than 6-8 dB you might be having problems from too strong a signal. Simply placing a splitter prior to the cable box could reduce that. If it is too weak, you could try an in-line amp (10dB) for $10.

They didn't give me an actual reading, only that it looked good. I don't actually have multiple drops going on in my apartment. There used to be a splitter in the attic to take my line and drop it to two places in my unit, but I snuck up there and bypassed it with an inline connector to try to fix these issues on my own. After I did that, I managed to get SOME of the music channels where before I would get none of the music channels, but the HD problem was unaffected. So, right now I have a direct line coming straight from the tap to a wall plate and from there it's split once to go into my cable box and my cable modem. I've tried an amp and I've tried various splitter combos to no avail. I think there's just too much noise on the line and nothing I've seen suggests that my line is is the cause of that noise.


3. Is there no way for Comcast to run a line directly into your apartment. They can run it externally and then thru the wall.

My landlord is very fastidious about the appearance of the building and I also don't think he would very much like someone drilling through the walls. It would be nice to bypass the building tap completely, but I don't think comcast will do that anyways. The way it works right now is a very fat cable comes into the basement, gets split by an 8 way tap and each individual line goes to each apartment (4 per floor). The bottom floor ones are serviced by the basement and the top floor ones have all 4 cables go up the center of the building in a bundle where they spider out in the attic to drop to all 4 apartments. Each also has a splitter to drop in two places of each apartment, but I bypassed mine when I first started having trouble.



4. If you have a good southern exposure, have you considered Direct TV? I know that most small apartment complexes try to prevent this, but the FCC requires them to accomodate you if at all possible.

The FCC regs only give you leverage if you have external space. I live on the top floor of a completely indoor apartment so I don't have a patio or anything to put a dish on. I also face the wrong direction so even trying a shady indoor through window setup is out of the question.


Not a lot of good choices, but maybe some things to consider.

Good luck.


Thanks for the response, I do think I'm at the end of my journey though. I don't want to give the impression that my landlord is some super strict totalitarian that can't be asked for anything. He's a very nice guy that keeps the building in good shape and is usually very accommodating. He's also had some family and health issues lately and I really would feel bad taking advantage of his good nature for something like cable TV. That's why I'm trying to make absolutely certain that it's a building wiring problem before I try to take any of these issues up with him. It would also be slightly different if I planned to live here longer too, but I can't bring myself to try to force though a big building upgrade like that (when I don't even know if it will work) when I'm not going to renew my lease in 7 months. I'm also forced to look at just exactly what I'm fighting for at this point which isn't very much (a handful of HD stations) and wonder if it's worth it.

I think my last ditch effort is just to include a letter in with my rent check this month detailing out the situation for him and being completely upfront with how long I'm planing on staying in the apartment and the uncertainty I have of whether or not the building being rewired will help things. One thing is for certain though, the wiring is old and comcast is going to be pushing more things to digital over time. I may find that if they switch to digital simulcast in the north hills that I may lose the stations I normally enjoy on analog service. If it is a building wiring issue, it's going to have to be upgraded eventually.

Oh, and by the way, I've pretty much confirmed that ingress is the root cause of my issues on even the high def channels.

The channels I have the most trouble with are Universal HD and National Geographic HD. They are both on 615mhz according to the diagnostic menus of the box and that is UHF 38, WQED-DT. They have an SNR of about 27. Meanwhile, TNT-HD which is on 633mhz has a very healthy 35.5 SNR. It seems that even my older cable has plenty of bandwidth to deliver the HD stations, it's just that the broadcast stations are interfering.

Oh, and by the way, I've pretty much confirmed that ingress is the root cause of my issues on even the high def channels.

The channels I have the most trouble with are Universal HD and National Geographic HD. They are both on 615mhz according to the diagnostic menus of the box and that is UHF 38, WQED-DT. They have an SNR of about 27. Meanwhile, TNT-HD which is on 633mhz has a very healthy 35.5 SNR. It seems that even my older cable has plenty of bandwidth to deliver the HD stations, it's just that the broadcast stations are interfering.

Do you have any splitters with an unused leg? This is a common source of this type of interference. Of course it could be from a neighbor's leg also, or from unused legs on splitters at the original entry point. I think that it is possible for Comcast to put a filter at the source point to reduce this also.

My HBO and Showtime HD channels (228, 238) were not working last night. I got the "channel should be available shortly" screen. Anyone else not receiving these channels? I will look again when I get home from work today.

Do you have any splitters with an unused leg? This is a common source of this type of interference. Of course it could be from a neighbor's leg also, or from unused legs on splitters at the original entry point. I think that it is possible for Comcast to put a filter at the source point to reduce this also.

Nope, I have a single splitter and the box is plugged into one and the cable modem is plugged into the other. A neighbor's leg is looking probable because the problem exists at the tap. I intend to find out if they can do any filtering at the tap to prevent inbound signals (that aren't inbound data channels) from coming back through the system so that there is better isolation between apartments.

In the mean time, I'm going to try terminating the output coax connection of my box to see if maybe any signal is managing to leak though there to add to the issues. I only need to eek out a little better SNR ratio to clear up my high def problems.

Broadcast signals are so strong at my apartment, I can watch KDKA with near perfect clarity by simply unscrewing all the coax from the box.

Nope, I have a single splitter and the box is plugged into one and the cable modem is plugged into the other. A neighbor's leg is looking probable because the problem exists at the tap. I intend to find out if they can do any filtering at the tap to prevent inbound signals (that aren't inbound data channels) from coming back through the system so that there is better isolation between apartments.

In the mean time, I'm going to try terminating the output coax connection of my box to see if maybe any signal is managing to leak though there to add to the issues. I only need to eek out a little better SNR ratio to clear up my high def problems.

Broadcast signals are so strong at my apartment, I can watch KDKA with near perfect clarity by simply unscrewing all the coax from the box.

If you really feel that you have a super strong signal that can be a problem also. Too high of a signal can affect the SNR also (SNR will show up as 37-39; it will also cause a cable modem to continually drop out). You could try to attenuate it by putting an extra splitter before the used splitter (just be sure to cap the unused leg to prevent more ingress feed).

If you really feel that you have a super strong signal that can be a problem also. Too high of a signal can affect the SNR also (it will also cause a cable modem to continually drop out). You could try to attenuate it by putting an extra splitter before the used splitter (just be sure to cap the unused leg to prevent more ingress feed).

My cable signal isn't super strong, the broadcast signal is super strong. There have been various splitter arrangments been tried before and I have zero problems with my internet service (that's been about the only bright spot in being a Comcast customer I have).

I live in the second story of an apartment on top of a hill right off of 279. I pretty much have line of sight with the antenna cluster behind North Hills Village on McKnight Road and they are only like a mile and a half away. Even with the other stations, I get way more than I should be able to with just a simple tabletop indoor antenna, likely due to the topology of where I am. WFMJ-DT out of Youngstown can usually be picked up by me even though antennaweb claims I should need a large directional antenna with pre-amp while all I have is a 10 year old radioshack indoor table-top antenna with amp.

Ah, OK. My mistake. You also probably have a direct line-of-site to my old house in Kinvara, so I know your location well. It does sound like that could be part of your problem (maybe all of it). I would imagine that cable channels 2,11 and 13 are almost unwatchable (BTW - that is why Comcast puts low priority programming on those channels). I still think that Comcast should be able to provide a filter for this.

Just out of curiosity, do you get WTAE OTA? I'm still trying to find someone in the North Hills who can get this without a rooftop antenna.

Is anyone in North Hills area able to pull in FSNHD using QAM and Verizon Cable?

Is anyone in North Hills area able to pull in FSNHD using QAM and Verizon Cable?

Verizon Cable?? Fios??

Quote:
Originally Posted by colonel7
Is anyone in North Hills area able to pull in FSNHD using QAM and Verizon Cable?

Verizon Cable?? Fios??

Verizon Cable

Just noticed the NHL Network showed up her today in Southside of Pittsburgh. Channel 276. Not HD, but maybe that will come shortly.

Just out of curiosity, do you get WTAE OTA? I'm still trying to find someone in the North Hills who can get this without a rooftop antenna.

Yup, pretty much perfectly. I do get the occasional audio dropout, but for the most part WTAE works without fault for me. I just have to put the antenna in a different position from everything else.

It's a 10 year old radio shack indoor amplified antenna. I bought it when I went off to college in Meadville because the dorms didn't have cable at the time. I was able to pull in Fox out of Erie with that bad boy.

It's a Radio Shack Cat No: 15-1828. Color Supreme 170. The TV is a Samsung LNS-4095d.

I called the one direct line I had from comcast maintenance last week on Tuesday night and left a message. I have yet to be called back.

Verizon Cable

Colonel:

Verizon doesn't offer cable service. They have Direct TV in all areas, and are just beginning to roll out Fios in a few areas. What exactly do you have?

My bad. I thought they had Verizon Cable. They just hooked up with Verizon Internet and Phone but still have Comcast. This is for my in-laws in Franklin Park.

A guy on a TivoCommunity forum thread stated that he had his Verizon Fios TV installed on October 16th (2007) in Mt. Lebanon. Can anyone verify that they are finally starting to roll it out around Pgh?


*edit*

Whoa!!!! I just checked Verizon's site and it is available in my area (Shaler) now!!! I'm definitely going to look into this.

Getting FIOS installed tomorrow in McCandless.

Here's a complete thread about FIOS in Pittsburgh in another forum (the last pages are the ones that talk about when and where it is available).

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r17607157-northeast-FIOS-TV-in-Pittsburgh

Question for those of you who are in the former Adelphia areas - our message channel is supposed to be channel 1, yet I have yet to see a message there in the 7 months we've been there. Is there something we are supposed to hit while on that channel?
I would have thought we'd be getting messages to say channels are added, etc.
I miss the red light on the "real" Comcast systems. At least we were kept up to date. I would have had no idea that CNN and TBS HD had been added to our system had it not been for this place.

There is no FSN HD channel in Franklin Park with Comcast. Occasionally you will get the Penguins games and Pirates games in HD, but at the expense of broadcasting on channel 226 (where MOJO HD is). I wish there was a dedicated FSN HD channel, but there is little chance of seeing that any time soon with Comcast IMO.

Question for those of you who are in the former Adelphia areas - our message channel is supposed to be channel 1, yet I have yet to see a message there in the 7 months we've been there. Is there something we are supposed to hit while on that channel?
I would have thought we'd be getting messages to say channels are added, etc.
I miss the red light on the "real" Comcast systems. At least we were kept up to date. I would have had no idea that CNN and TBS HD had been added to our system had it not been for this place.

Mark, I'll trade you my "Real" Comcast box with the red message light for your former Adelphia system that actually gets new HD channels...

I might as well not have the message indicator because they don't add anything...hence no messages anyway!

Has anyone else noticed the NBC, HD broadcast of Bionic woman is rather muffled, audio wise? Its like they aren't doing something quite right with the dolby digital.. I dont notice this for other shows on other nights.. like Heroes, which sounds great.

Has anyone else noticed the NBC, HD broadcast of Bionic woman is rather muffled, audio wise? Its like they aren't doing something quite right with the dolby digital.. I dont notice this for other shows on other nights.. like Heroes, which sounds great.

To me, NBC audio has sucked all week. The entire Monday lineup of Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman had all the audio collapsed to the two front channels with zero surround information and very little center channel information. I could understand the dialog good enough, but it was not a 5.1 mix.

I have not watched Bionic Woman yet this week, but I suspect it's exactly the same thing.

To me, NBC audio has sucked all week. The entire Monday lineup of Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman had all the audio collapsed to the two front channels with zero surround information and very little center channel information. I could understand the dialog good enough, but it was not a 5.1 mix.

I have not watched Bionic Woman yet this week, but I suspect it's exactly the same thing.

Yeah.. it seems like most of these stations get the 5.1 all wrong for some reason.. of all the things that seems to sound the best.. was usually abc's football presentation or espn.

I want to say, though i'm not sure as i havent watched in awhile.. but CSI had a good presentation of 5.1

Makes me wonder if it is the broadcasters (comcast) fault or the producers of the show itself.

Makes me wonder if it is the broadcasters (comcast) fault or the producers of the show itself.

There are several links in the chain and any one could be at fault.

I doubt it's the producers first off. These shows are made with proper soundtracks.

So, it can either be the fault of the national feed, the fault of the local affiliate, or the fault of the cable company.

Unfortunately, I didn't watch any of the NBC stuff OTA this week so I can't tell if it was Comcast, but I've never heard of them screwing up the audio.

The only way to tell if it was WPXI or not is whether or not someone was able to watch the show from a different affiliate and if it had proper audio.

I will say this, the audio for NBC has had one issue or another for weeks and it all started after WPXI moved into their new digs. I've also seen no mention of an audio problem in discussions of the shows themselves on other forums which would tend to indicate that the national feed is ok.

Last week was the only week in like a month were I didn't feel the audio was messed up for nbc shows. Before that, the center channel was almost non-existent and the dialog was hard to understand. Now, it seems like it's a strict 2.0 mix with no matrixed information for the center and surround channels.

Then again, Pushing Daisies had messed up audio last week and that's ABC (more or less the same problem, audio was collapsed to the two front channels.) My receiver seems to be processing 5.1 from other sources just fine so I don't think it's an equipment problem on my end. Maybe Comcast is messing with things.

Question for those of you who are in the former Adelphia areas - our message channel is supposed to be channel 1, yet I have yet to see a message there in the 7 months we've been there. Is there something we are supposed to hit while on that channel?
I would have thought we'd be getting messages to say channels are added, etc.
I miss the red light on the "real" Comcast systems. At least we were kept up to date. I would have had no idea that CNN and TBS HD had been added to our system had it not been for this place.

Comcast? Messages? Sorry, not trying to be a wisecracker but I have never seen anything on that message channel. I found CNN and TBSHD, by accident, on the last day of the baseball playoffs that TBS was broadcasting. Thanks Comcast...:mad: I have found free previews of both Showtime and HBO, by accident. Never a message. I guess they expect us to manually scan through all the channels to see if anything is new. I could go on but my fingers would be bleeding by the time I typed all my Comcast complaints....from the last month alone...:( If FIOS and Verizon High Speed Internet ever get their act together in my area, Comcast might as well pack it in. No small wonder that old lady took a hammer to their office...:rolleyes: Adelphia may not have been perfect, but they were lightyears ahead of these jokers.

Has anyone else noticed the NBC, HD broadcast of Bionic woman is rather muffled, audio wise? Its like they aren't doing something quite right with the dolby digital.. I dont notice this for other shows on other nights.. like Heroes, which sounds great.

Same thing here, i have noticed that the background music is much louder for Bionic. I am loosing interest in a show where i need to read lips, have you noticed that the commercials are nice and clear. It seems like the network pushing the artist music, did you notice that the lyrics are easy to understand. I have heard the same thing when watching the Journeyman too.:mad:

Comcast? Messages? Sorry, not trying to be a wisecracker but I have never seen anything on that message channel. I found CNN and TBSHD, by accident, on the last day of the baseball playoffs that TBS was broadcasting. Thanks Comcast...:mad: I have found free previews of both Showtime and HBO, by accident. Never a message. I guess they expect us to manually scan through all the channels to see if anything is new. I could go on but my fingers would be bleeding by the time I typed all my Comcast complaints....from the last month alone...:( If FIOS and Verizon High Speed Internet ever get their act together in my area, Comcast might as well pack it in. No small wonder that old lady took a hammer to their office...:rolleyes: Adelphia may not have been perfect, but they were lightyears ahead of these jokers.

I am in one of the original Comcast areas and I got the proper message about TBS-HD being added to the line-up the week AFETR the baseball play-offs ended. Nice timing!! It was not available during the play-offs.

I don't know if this has been discussed, but why has Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune not been in HD for the past couple months. Anytime I flip past it it's always 4:3 upconverted. Anyone else notice?

Yes, that is true and to be honest, it is better to watch it in SD then to watch the HD that they were sending out. It was full of glitches that were extremely annoying.

First, WPXI said they needed new equipment to record the HD format for rebroadcast. Then when they got the electronics, they did not function properly. I figured that moving into their new HD studios was the missing piece, but apparently not.

Maybe they should borrow some of the fine equipment and expertise from the NBC Sports Department. :D

thanks for a sunday of SD football, WPGH.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07322/835007-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml

thanks. interesting it makes no mention of the HD 'blackout'
of course, not like i expect a post gazette article to care.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07322/835007-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml

Anybody in Canonsburg notice Comcast moved the HD channels again? (The channels in the clear). Found ABC/CBS/NBC and, of course, the 40-some music channels again but can't seem to find Fox or WQED. Anybody?

HI. I am in Camomsburg too. I get the Channels you asked about on
WQED HD 106.2103
WQED on 106.2104
WQED DT on 106.2105
FOX HD on 108.2301
My TV on 108.2302
I just checked the above channels 11-29-07 6:00PM
Hope this helps

Arggghhhhhhhh. For some strange reason, I can't tune those channels. MY DVR with built in tuner gets WQED but my TV with Digital tuner will not get it. Any thoughts why the DVR (Panasonic DMR-EZ47VK) would get it but the TV (Samsung LN-T4661F) doesn't? Will have to check on he Fox HD channel. Thanks!

Here in Ross we get the same channels, but as subchannels of 75.76 and 85. However the sub-channel numbers are also 4-digit. My Mits DLP and my Tivo HD pick them up OK, but my Panny Plasma only allows 3 digit sub-channels. It manages to convert all except Fox into a 3-digit number. The Fox channel doesn't come in.

I believe that this is a violation of the spirit of the FCC requirement for them to carry the channels. If they would pass on the PSIP info for each channel (as they are supposed to) the channels would convert to the OTA equivalent numbers. They not only do not pass this on, but they are now using frequencies that cause the 4-digit classification.

I have filed a complaint with the FCC (http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints_general.html) and with our local Franchise Authority (Ross Township). I would encourage you to do the same.

Well, not sure if my letters to Franchise Authority (and their letter to Comcast) had anything to do with it, but as of today KDKA, WTAE and WPXI HD in-the-clear QAM on basic cable here in Ross have been re-mapped back to where they belong: 2-1, 4-1 and 11-1 (as well as 11-2 and 11-3). PBS and Fox are still at their strange locations 76xxxx and 85.xxxx. At least this is a start. Hope it continues.

Edit: Just did a new scan and I now have 225 QAM channels. Haven't checked to see what they are. Should be interesting.

Bravo for the good guys! I'm checking mine later today here in Canonsburg.

Yes, KDKA, WTAE, WPXI & WPMY have been moved to the correct areas and the guide data has been re-inserted. I have not located FOX or WQED yet. I'll wait till noon when I know that Terry and crew are available as a scanning clue.

I still show Fox at 76-2301 and PBS at 85.2103.

Yes, KDKA, WTAE, WPXI & WPMY have been moved to the correct areas and the guide data has been re-inserted. I have not located FOX or WQED yet. I'll wait till noon when I know that Terry and crew are available as a scanning clue.

Just refreshed my scan this morning and their still is no FOX HD anywhere. Isn't this a station that they are required to provide in the clear area?

I am getting it at 76.2301. Some TVs only use 2 or 3 sub-channel numbers. They can usually translate the 4-digit numbers into 2 or 3, but sometimes that fails and it won't show up.

Edit: Just realized your in Canonsburg - different head-end. Don't you get it at the old number (108.x)?

I am in one of the original Comcast areas and I got the proper message about TBS-HD being added to the line-up the week AFETR the baseball play-offs ended. Nice timing!! It was not available during the play-offs.

JRM01, you have TBS-HD ? Here in west view we don't have that or even WPMY-HD. Or atleast, not (WPMY) in the program guide. WPMY is there if you have a QAM TV, but they haven't added WPMY to the guide in atleast the last month since it showed up.
I thought all of pittsburgh north was out of the ross headend ? (except for perhaps the new ken area, which has always been comcast).
Does everyone have ch. 17 & 186 (CSPN2) mapped to the digital signal on the ch. 17 QAM carrier ? Picture quality looks great for std. def. ! The channel changes on the cable box seem to behave a little differently since this change. Has anyone heard any word on us getting SDV (switched digital video). I would think we would be at the top of the list, with our limited bandwidth.
I sure hope we get more than the 18 HD ch's we have now (4 are prem. movie ch's), on dec. 11th when GSN, ch. 52 moves to digital.
Best source that I have found for comcast announcements is "pa dot mypublicnotices dot com". Are we allowed to post links ?

I am using TiVo HD with Comcast and cablecards. TiVo displayed a message right after the playoffs that TBS HD was being added as channel 198. Tivo gets its guide data from Trib Media Services (which gets it from Comcast based on zip code). It usually gets the info for new channels several weeks ahead of the addition, but in this case it still has not happened. Also was supposed to add NFL HD (261) and CNN HD (197). None of this has happened yet.

WPMY is on QAM 76-2302. Most TVs only use 3-digit sub-channel numbers and have to convert the 4-digit number to 3-digit. You are probably losing it since FOX is on 76-2301 and your TV can't convert both of them properly.

We are in the same head end (Carnegie).

Yes, I found CSPAN-2 at QAM 17-12 yesterday also.

I had the Ross Franchise Authority (Town Manager) officially ask Comcast about SDV and their response was "we are always studying options to upgrade the service" usual vague nonsense. I'd like to get the added channels also, but am hoping it won't be with SDV option since cablecards (currently) cannot access SDV channels. I'd rather see them switch about 20 analog channels to digital.

BTW, I have heard that they are planning to switch to ADS in the near future. This won't add any capacity, but it will allow cablebox (and hopefully cablecard) customers to get all channels in digital form.

You can only post links after you have 5 (or is it 10?) posts on this forum. Your link:

pa.mypublicnotices.com

Pitt-Duquesne basketball game is on ESPNU tonight. Horse manure!!

Hey Comcast - how about throwing it on MOJO channel for us tonight.

Pitt-Duquesne basketball game is on ESPNU tonight. Horse manure!!

Hey Comcast - how about throwing it on MOJO channel for us tonight.

Lame. I work at Duquesne, and had a chance to get tickets, but I didn't because I figured I could go home and watch it. Thanks for carrying ESPNU Comcast.

Anyone know why Comcast (at least the Comcast in the Ambridge area) has taken off the HD channels from where they were?

On my HDTV without a box, I used to get KDKA-HD on 2-1, WTAE-HD on 4-1, and WPXI-HD on 11-1.

That was at least semi-logical.

Now, they are on absurdly-placed channels on the "dial..."

For example, WPXI-HD is now on 107-253, and WPGH-HD is on 108-253. And don't ask me where KDKA-HD is; I have yet to find it.

I don't know about you, but I can't remember those 6-digit channels. Plus, I have to hit the "-" button, so going to those HD channels are now a 7-digit entry.

Horrible.

PLUS, today, it seems WPXI-HD is no longer at 107-153. Nothing is there. It's missing.

What's Comcast thinking?

I think they WANT us to "rent" their $5 per month box. I don't want a box on every TV in the house.

Which brings me to another point....

On the Comcast box, WHY in God's name is the HD channel equivalent of the SD channels not in a more logic location?

Like, CBS on the box is channel 6. Why is the HD-equivalent on 212? It should be 206, if you ask me. And WPXI? The SD is channel 12, so why is the HD channel 208? 208 should be WTAE's (SD channel 8) HD channel.

Come on, am I wrong here?

While watching the morning news on 2.1 this morning, it froze at 6:15. All HD clear channels were pulled, and a new scan revealed no new placements. I'll rescan later today.

Rescanned at 8:00 and the big 3 are back in place. Still no FOX or QED in their correct spots or where there were previously.

jamski,

They did the same thing in Ross several months ago. I had our Franchise Authority file a complaint with Comcast and they (or most) were changed back last weekend.

I just filed my FCC complaint.

I live in the Southside, and can not receive any local HD channels, basically 210-220. I called comcast to complain but they already had a message up saying they are having problems with those channels. Sucks.

Here is what I am receiving in Bethel

Fox 53HD-
0
MYHD-
109.2302
Retro-
108.2204
CBSHD-
108.2203
NBCHD-
108.2201
Payper View Preview-
82.111
OnDemand-
76.104,02
75.104,03
74.101

Digital Music
101.1342,36,35,33,30,29,18,09,07
100.1347,46,45,44,43,32,28,27,23,22
93.1340,39,38,37,31,25,24,20
88.1318,13,06,05,04
87.1304,03,02,01
86.1326,12,11,10
83.1317,16,15,14

Here is what I get in Canonsburg. Still no Fox or WQED. (Sounds like it's because I can't tune the 4 digit extension.) FCC complaint on the way.

WQED-HD
WQED-HD
WQED-DT
4-2 WTAE Weather & Traffic
11-2 WPXI Weather Plus
MHD
4-1 WTAE-HD (ABC)
11-1 WPXI-HD (NBC)
11-3 WPXI Retro HD
2-1 KDKA-HD (CBS)
WPGH-HD (FOX)
22-1 WPMY-22 HD (WB Pitt)
Universal HD
Discovery HD
MOJO

Still getting the music channels as well but haven't botherd to map them all out.

Here is a complete canonsburg channel lineup. (The 7 dig HD channels are based on above postings because I can't get them.) The first column is the comcast location which mostly all tune in except the HD Channels, etc. First column for the HD channels is if you have a dig box.

2 69-1 C-SPAN
4 WQEX-PBS
5 WPCB
6 79-3 KDKA-CBS
7 79-4 WPGH-FOX
8 79-5 WTAE-ABC
9 79-6 WQED-PBS
10 79-7 WPMY-22 (My NW TV)
11 FYI
12 79-8 WPXI-NBC
13 Local Programming
14 Edu / Govt Channel
15 79-9 WPCW-19 (CW Pitt)
16 80-4 The Weather Channel
17 69-2 C-SPAN 2
18 TV Guide
19 79-11 WGN
20 QVC
21 Leased Access
22 EWTN
23 WTBS
24 MTV
25 USA Network
26 Nickelodeon
27 ESPN
28 ESPN2
29 FSN Pittsburgh
30 CNBC
31 MSNBC
32 CNN
33 Headline News
34 Fox News Channel
35 PCNC
36 TNT
37 The Learning Channel
38 ABC Family
39 Cartoon Network
40 Disney Channel
41 A&E
42 Lifetime
43 Spike TV
44 VH1
45 E!
46 The History Channel
47 AMC
48 PCN
49 Food Network
50 Animal Planet
51 HGTV
52 GSN
53 Turner Classic Movies
54 Comedy Central
55 Hallmark Channel
56 ION
57 TV Land
58 Travel Channel
59 Oxygen
60 Versus
61 Discovery Channel
62 FX
63 Court TV
65 The Golf Channel
66 Style
67 G4-Video Game TV
72 BET
80-22 WBGN-TV
99 HSN
HD Channels
220 106-2103 WQED-HD
106-2104 WQED-HD
106-2105 WQED-DT
204 4-2 WTAE Weather & Traffic
208 11-2 WPXI Weather Plus
209 MHD
210 4-1 WTAE-HD (ABC)
211 11-1 WPXI-HD (NBC)
11-3 WPXI Retro HD
212 2-1 KDKA-HD (CBS)
213 108-2301 WPGH-HD (FOX)
214 22-1 WPMY-22 HD (WB Pitt)
215 Universal HD
225 Discovery HD
226 MOJO
228 HBO-HD*
233 Cinemax-HD*
238 Showtime-HD*
241 The Tube
248 STARZ-HD*
249 TNT HD
252 ESPN-HD
253 ESPN2-HD
254 Natl Geographic HD
255 Comcast Sports Net HD
256 A&E - HD
257 Food Network - HD
258 HGTV - HD
280 ShopNBC
Music Channels
SOFT ROCK
Radio Disney
OPERA
SHOWCASE
R&B Hits
ELECTRONICA
ROCK
BLUEGRASS
Sounds Of Seasons
Kidz Only
REGGAE
R&B Soul
CLASSIC R&B
R&B AND HIP HOP
DANCE
RAP
METAL
Alternative
Adult Alternative
CLASSIC ROCK
Arena Rock
Lite Hits
HIT LIST
80’s
70’s
SOLID GOLD OLDIES
TODAY’S COUNTRY
CLASSIC COUNTRY
BIG BAND & SWING
SINGERS & Stds
EASY LISTENING
CLASSICAL MASTERPIECES
LIGHT CLASSICAL
SOUNDSCAPES
SMOOTH JAZZ
JAZZ
BLUES
GOSPEL
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN
Musica Urbana
SALSA y MERENGUE
90’s
Pop Latino
PARTY FAVORITES
SHOW TUNES
Adult Top 40
Retro-Active
MEXICANA
ROCK en ESPANOL
AMERICANA
PPV Previews

zipit555,

It's not about your tuner, because I can tune 4 digits and they are not there in Canonsburg.

As of last night. I still get FOX on 108.2301 in Canonsburg,
Yes it is 720P HD.
Will check today when FOOTBALL starts.

I am able to pick up all the locals now in Bethel.

107.2101 WTAEHD
107.2102 WTAE W
107.2103 QEDHD
107.2104 PBS
107.2105 QEDD
109.2301 FOXHD

i thought this thread was for comcast cable, not over the air pickups.

i thought this thread was for comcast cable, not over the air pickups.

This discussion is about using a QAM tuner with Comcast Cable. These channels are provided by Comcast as "clear HD" and can be received without their cable box. That is why they are trying so hard to hide them.

Has anyone heard any news on when Sci fi channel will be HD on comcast?

Originally I heard November, but here we are almost halfway into Dec...

This discussion is about using a QAM tuner with Comcast Cable. These channels are provided by Comcast as "clear HD" and can be received without their cable box. That is why they are trying so hard to hide them.

Ok, how do i know if i have this type of tuner in my HDTV and how do i start to use it? Sorry for jumping the gun, didn't even know about this QAM tuner stuff, learning something new.

Has anyone heard any news on when Sci fi channel will be HD on comcast?

Originally I heard November, but here we are almost halfway into Dec...

Ross hasn't seen the last round of HD channels yet (A&E, Food, TBS, CNN) so I'm not holding by breath.

I would be surprised if they are added in the North Hills before the end of 2008 at this point.

Ross hasn't seen the last round of HD channels yet (A&E, Food, TBS, CNN) so I'm not holding by breath.

I would be surprised if they are added in the North Hills before the end of 2008 at this point.
I'm hopefull we'll see something tomorrow (dec. 11th) when they move 52-GSN to digital, freeing some bandwidth. But, you are probably correct, since we didn't see anything new on nov. 15th, when they moved 17-cspn2 to digital. Atleast we have the assurance it is coming since Fios is in the neighborhood. Although, all the local HD channels were randomly going off last Thursday nite, so something is going on (incompetence perhaps ?).
Its kind of ironic, that WPMY-HD has been present for 1-2 months and it still isn't in the program guide, or is it in yours ?
I discovered there must be a noise ingress problem on the node i am on because my box wouldn't re-load the firmware from them. It kept disconnecting, during the transfer. TIP for you i discovered, wait till you are sure it is hung, unplug box, wait 2 minutes, plug it back in and it will begin the firmware re-load from where it left off, repeat till successfull. I found this out from a woman at comcast on the phone, after she gave up on the re-load, i went through a few more unplug cycles and it saved me a trip to Corliss street to exchange the box. Because of this, i guess its possible my box missed a channel re-map when WPMY-HD was added ??? Although, QVC digital (Std. def) is there also. I guess it slips thru from the main headend on corliss street ?

No, WPMY-HD is not in my guide.

As for ingress, just go back a couple pages and see what I went though and my situation is exactly the same as it was when the ordeal started (actually worse since winter weather conditions have amplified the ingress problem.)

My box is likely going back to Comcast the 1st of the year when my current promotion expires. Between the lack of HD channels and the writer's strike coupled with the fact that I get perfect HD OTA, Comcast isn't worth keeping at non-promotional prices. Hell, I really don't think it's worth keeping even with the promotional pricing at this point.

I'm just marking time at this point until my living situation changes in the spring. Comcast will be going away forever at that point and there really isn't anything they can do at now to retain me as a customer. I've been outright lied to more times than I have fingers and the service quality is below reprehensible.

Ok, how do i know if i have this type of tuner in my HDTV and how do i start to use it? Sorry for jumping the gun, didn't even know about this QAM tuner stuff, learning something new.

If you have an HD TV with ATSC tuner included you probably have the QAM tuner also. Check your owners guide.

To find the channels, just plug the Comcast cable from the wall directly into the TV (no cable box) and run the channel scan, being sure to run the Digital Scan also if it is listed seperately.

Viola! You'll have the clear-QAM channels. You should have all the local HD stations. Other stations will vary by area but could include: Music Channels, PPV Previews, Comcast Info Channels, Shopping Channels. On some sytems (although I never heard of it in this area) you may also get ESPN, TBS, TNT. The only "Cable-only" channel that I get is CSPAN-2, and I think that is because Comcast recently moved that to the digital tier and forgot to encrypt it. You may also get the VOD channles that your neighbor's are watching, but you will be at their mercy concerning start/stop times. It does give you a little insight into what your neighbor's are watching. It might surprise (entertain?) you.

The actual channel numbers will vary from area to area and could be some strange looking numbers like 75.2301.

Has anyone ever seen a list of the different head-ends that Comcast has in the Pittsburgh area, and what the capacity of each is? I know the North Hills headend is usually referred to as Carnegie and has a capacity of 650 mHz.

I think it consists of these zipcodes:

Comcast/North Hills-Fox Chapel, PA
15044 Gibsonia
15116 Glenshaw
15202 Pittsburgh
15209 Pittsburgh
15212 Pittsburgh
15214 Pittsburgh
15215 Pittsburgh
15223 Pittsburgh
15229 Pittsburgh
15233 Pittsburgh
15237 Pittsburgh
15238 Pittsburgh
15143 Sewickley
15090
15101

All i saw this morning in ross/west view was (EPG info., channels not active yet):
176 No EPG guide label, probably Si (std. def.)
194 No EPG guide label, probably SciFi-HD
195 USA-HD

Can anyone confirm more since GSN was still on 52 this morning ?

IF we get scifi in HD and IF i'm able to tune it, I'll keep the HD service come the new year.

That is, until I move and get a different service provider alltogether.

Ross hasn't seen the last round of HD channels yet (A&E, Food, TBS, CNN) so I'm not holding by breath.


What's annoying is that they are all listed in the TV Planner on Comcast.com which is based on zip and makes you select your head end!!

What's annoying is that they are all listed in the TV Planner on Comcast.com which is based on zip and makes you select your head end!!

They aren't for my zip code. I plug in 15229 and it gives me exactly the channels I have. What location name does it give you? For me it says "Comcast Ross - Gibsonia" Ditto if I plug in the adjacent 15237 zip code.

That's odd...I put in mine (15202) and it comes up Comcast Pitts Suburbs - Carnegie.
But I think I should be on Ross. Gee, something else fouled up by Comcast, I'm shocked...

IF we get scifi in HD and IF i'm able to tune it, I'll keep the HD service come the new year.

That is, until I move and get a different service provider alltogether.

Just noticed that Comcast has added Discovery, History, USA and SciFi around 194-195

Check it out!

Yup, just saw them too.

193 - Disc HD
194 - Sci Fi HD
195 - USA HD
196- Hist. HD

Nice surprise. This is in the southside (city) of Pittsburgh. Seems to me now the only thing I am missing that Comcast carries is TLC.

So, typically, how long is there between EPG info being leaked and channel going live based on past experience?

USA HD and Scifi HD could be just the perscription to help me choke back the bile for Comcast in these few remaining months I have them.

By the same token, if they are added and I'm unable to tune them. Dear god will I be upset. Does anyone know what frequency these channels are likely to be on? I can't get Universal HD and National Geo HD right now because their channel frequency is shared with the OTA broadcast of WQED and my ingress it too bad. Hopefully these will be assigned a frequency that has no broadcast counterpart in the Pittsburgh market.

So, typically, how long is there between EPG info being leaked and channel going live based on past experience?

USA HD and Scifi HD could be just the perscription to help me choke back the bile for Comcast in these few remaining months I have them.

By the same token, if they are added and I'm unable to tune them. Dear god will I be upset. Does anyone know what frequency these channels are likely to be on? I can't get Universal HD and National Geo HD right now because their channel frequency is shared with the OTA broadcast of WQED and my ingress it too bad. Hopefully these will be assigned a frequency that has no broadcast counterpart in the Pittsburgh market.

They were live when i came home from work, .... so < 8 hours ??

Both channels on 63Mhz., Ch. 3 , they either re-arranged them again or managed to cram more onto channel 3. They are encrypted. I don't have the digital Sci_fi, so i don't get the sci-fi HD version. :-( Anyone else feel this is an unfair trade practice that forces customers to buy all/more packages to get the HD channels ?
Well, lets see what, if anything, we get when they finally move GSN ch. 52 to digital ??

Wow, I just noticed USA HD is there. SCIFI HD isn't in my HD guide, but it is in the normal guide.

I can get both of them.

I AM AMAZED.

Seriously, I want to shout from the rooftops.

Great timing though, right AFTER BSG:Razor and SG-A finished the first half of the season.

Great timing though, right AFTER BSG:Razor and SG-A finished the first half of the season.

These were my exact thoughts last night.. just after these two finish.. sheese..

well.. good news is SG-A is back jan 4th..

Now if only the Science channel was in HD...

These were my exact thoughts last night.. just after these two finish.. sheese..

well.. good news is SG-A is back jan 4th..

Now if only the Science channel was in HD...

Yeah, I can't complain since this is about 80 years sooner than I was expecting to get them, but still. At this point in time, Scifi really isn't showing much that would BE in HD from now until the end of the year.

I would like regular old Discovery in HD right now. I would love some mythbusters HD.

USA HD is also something that was high on my want list. They are repeating this past season of The 4400 and I'm wondering if they are shown in HD rather than the cropped 4:3 that the SD broadcast was. It's not labeled HD in the guide, but that's not always correct.

I still find it interesting that Scifi is excluded from the HD guide. It starts at 195, not 194.

Ross hasn't seen the last round of HD channels yet (A&E, Food, TBS, CNN) so I'm not holding by breath.

I would be surprised if they are added in the North Hills before the end of 2008 at this point.

I was reading on a TiVo forum that Comcast is having trouble loading their new TiVo software onto their boxes in areas with old heads. If this is the case I would imagine they'll want to correct that problem, which is what we in the NH have IIRC, before spreading the TiVo software out across the country. Currently they are only rolling it out in New England with PA on the list sometime late Winter/early Spring of '08. At least that's the info I've seen to date and I'm sure it will change more than once.

All I want is Food HD but it's nice to see that a couple more HD channels are now available in the NH. I haven't checked them yet though.

I sorta wish they would try to "catch us up" in the North with Food, A&E etc. before adding channels like USA HD. Food is constantly on in my house (the girlfriend) and it pains me to watch it in SD.

I sorta wish they would try to "catch us up" in the North with Food, A&E etc. before adding channels like USA HD. Food is constantly on in my house (the girlfriend) and it pains me to watch it in SD.

See, I'm the opposite. Scifi HD is a godsend for me. The fact that I can watch the second half of SG-A Season 4 in HD makes me very very happy. Also, if I'm not out of my place by the time the new season of BSG starts, I'll be able to watch that in HD as well.

I was pleasantly surprised that they jumped right into giving us these channels instead of needing to catch up. It does still irk me though that I'm paying the same amount as all those people who have Discovery HD, TBS HD, Food HD, History HD, A&E HD, etc.

I've just needed something to watch on a regular basis in HD on cable to justify me keeping the HD service. The whole reason why I jumped to HD service in the first place was Universal HD and I can't tune that channel anymore since the weather got cold.

Aaaand scifi is gone again. Comcast says in an automated message that they are having guide data problems, but it's more than just guide data, the channel is gone completely.

Hopefully it will be resolved soon.

Aaaand scifi is gone again. Comcast says in an automated message that they are having guide data problems, but it's more than just guide data, the channel is gone completely.

Hopefully it will be resolved soon.

I was wondering why I couldn't find it last night. I found USA HD and it worked perfectly.

I noticed you said you don't have TBS HD. I do have it, and am in the NH, and it works great too. Do others in the NH not have TBS HD? I thought we all had that one now.

I have TNT HD, but not TBS HD. 15229 zip code.

I was disappointed to see that USA's reurun of The 4400 last night was in SD rather than HD. I don't understand that. The show is shot in HD, it's their property, it's released in anamorphic widescreen on DVD.

On the bright side though, it was VERY good upconverted SD. Night and day difference over Analog 25. It was pretty much as good as DVD except for the whole 4:3 problem.

No TBS HD in 15202 either.

I know everyone around here aren't all cought up on HD stations, but does anyone have any idea what the next wave of HD staions will be like? What are we missing ?

I live in Oakmont this is my current line-up (I think):

193- Discovery-HD
194- Sci Fi-HD
195- USA-HD
196- History-HD
197- CNN-HD
198- TBS-HD
209- MHD-HD
210- ABC-HD
211- NBC-HD
212- CBS-HD
213- Fox-HD
214- MyTV-HD
215- Universal-HD
220- PBS-HD
225- HD Theatre
226- Mojo-HD/Fox Sports Pittsburgh-HD (select Pens and Pirate games)
228- HBO-HD
233- Cinemax-HD
238- Showtime-HD
248- Starz-HD
249- TNT-HD
252- ESPN-HD
253- ESPN2-HD
254- National Geo-HD
255- Verses/Golf-HD
256- A&E-HD
257- Food-HD
258- HGTV-HD
261- NFL Network-HD

I know everyone around here aren't all cought up on HD stations, but does anyone have any idea what the next wave of HD staions will be like? What are we missing ?

I live in Oakmont this is my current line-up (I think):

193- Discovery-HD
194- Sci Fi-HD
195- USA-HD
196- History-HD
197- CNN-HD
198- TBS-HD
209- MHD-HD
210- ABC-HD
211- NBC-HD
212- CBS-HD
213- Fox-HD
214- MyTV-HD
215- Universal-HD
220- PBS-HD
225- HD Theatre
226- Mojo-HD/Fox Sports Pittsburgh-HD (select Pens and Pirate games)
228- HBO-HD
233- Cinemax-HD
238- Showtime-HD
248- Starz-HD
249- TNT-HD
252- ESPN-HD
253- ESPN2-HD
254- National Geo-HD
255- Verses/Golf-HD
256- A&E-HD
257- Food-HD
258- HGTV-HD
261- NFL Network-HD

That's exactly what I have in the Southside. You have everything Comcast offers in our area.

The last Public Announcement by Comcast (they are supposed to give 30 days notice) was on 11/29 indicating the Si TV will be added at 176 on 12/26. Although in the NH we already have it now.

BTW I've seen some people refer to this channel as SciFi. It is Si TV, latino programming in English (high priority for this area).

I know everyone around here aren't all cought up on HD stations, but does anyone have any idea what the next wave of HD staions will be like? What are we missing ?

I live in Oakmont this is my current line-up (I think):

193- Discovery-HD
194- Sci Fi-HD
195- USA-HD
196- History-HD
197- CNN-HD
198- TBS-HD
209- MHD-HD
210- ABC-HD
211- NBC-HD
212- CBS-HD
213- Fox-HD
214- MyTV-HD
215- Universal-HD
220- PBS-HD
225- HD Theatre
226- Mojo-HD/Fox Sports Pittsburgh-HD (select Pens and Pirate games)
228- HBO-HD
233- Cinemax-HD
238- Showtime-HD
248- Starz-HD
249- TNT-HD
252- ESPN-HD
253- ESPN2-HD
254- National Geo-HD
255- Verses/Golf-HD
256- A&E-HD
257- Food-HD
258- HGTV-HD
261- NFL Network-HD

Nice list. In the North Hills we get the same channels, except for 193, 194, 196, 197, 198, 214, 256, 257, 258, and 261!!!!!

That's exactly what I have in the Southside. You have everything Comcast offers in our area.

What can we expect next!! What else is out there that we don't have yet in this area?

Nice list. In the North Hills we get the same channels, except for 193, 194, 196, 197, 198, 214, 256, 257, 258, and 261!!!!!

Don't forget ADS as well!

Plus we get to PAY the same amount too, what a deal!

Err... wait...

I have TNT HD, but not TBS HD. 15229 zip code.

I was disappointed to see that USA's reurun of The 4400 last night was in SD rather than HD. I don't understand that. The show is shot in HD, it's their property, it's released in anamorphic widescreen on DVD.

On the bright side though, it was VERY good upconverted SD. Night and day difference over Analog 25. It was pretty much as good as DVD except for the whole 4:3 problem.


My bad, it is TNT that I have. I don't really watch it all that often so I got it mixed up.

History HD has appeared on 196 in the North Hills. Can anyone tell me if it's lit up yet? I can't get a signal lock.

The diagnostic menu tells me it's on 639mhz which is close to Channel 42 UHF. That would be WPMY-TV. I'm wondering if my ingress has claimed another channel.

So I drove out to best buy and picked up an RCA signal amp to try again. This time, I decided to try it from the basement instead of at my apt.

SUCCESS. All of my HD stations are back. Universal HD, everything. I must have been able to pull in JUST enough signal now to keep the channels.

History HD is now working for me as well. Still no sign of scifi.

So I drove out to best buy and picked up an RCA signal amp to try again. This time, I decided to try it from the basement instead of at my apt.

SUCCESS. All of my HD stations are back. Universal HD, everything. I must have been able to pull in JUST enough signal now to keep the channels.

History HD is now working for me as well. Still no sign of scifi.

bull3964 , you are in 15229 and you have 196-History HD ?? I am in 15229 also, and I don't have it :-(

I did not have Hist-HD at 4 p.m., but I have it now. (15202).

bull3964 , you are in 15229 and you have 196-History HD ?? I am in 15229 also, and I don't have it :-(

Yup, it's there at 196. It's been there pretty much since I got home at 6:30.


Still waiting for scifi to make a re-appearance.

Yup, it's there at 196. It's been there pretty much since I got home at 6:30.


Still waiting for scifi to make a re-appearance.

Ok, i have history-HD now also.
Hmmmm, ... if we all really got it at different times, that would mean our nodes are now somewhat different feeds. Could they have just added seperate QAM modulators for various nodes, to allow them to be fed, on command by the channel selected by the setop boxes ? AKA SDV. My guess, is this is next big thing, unless they eliminate a bunch of analog channels. But, unfortunately, too many people would probably scream if they had to have a set-top box.
... Well, i watch history more than sci-fi anyway. :-) I still don't understand why they have transmited WPMY-HD for a couple months, but haven't added it to the EPG yet ?

Ok, i have history-HD now also.
Hmmmm, ... if we all really got it at different times, that would mean our nodes are now somewhat different feeds. Could they have just added seperate QAM modulators for various nodes, to allow them to be fed, on command by the channel selected by the setop boxes ? AKA SDV. My guess, is this is next big thing, unless they eliminate a bunch of analog channels. But, unfortunately, too many people would probably scream if they had to have a set-top box.
... Well, i watch history more than sci-fi anyway. :-) I still don't understand why they have transmited WPMY-HD for a couple months, but haven't added it to the EPG yet ?

Can't be SDV. I am using Tivo and get History-HD now, and TiVo doesn't support SDV (yet). Timing issue is probably related to the fact that the head-end consists of sevaeral thousand subscribers, but it is broken down into many nodes of 150-200 subs. Probably just takes time to update each node.

You say you are getting WPMY-HD? I assume this is on ch. 214. I still can't get that.

Anyone else find it slightly amusing that SUDDENLY we have all these new stations and FIOS TV was launched in the North Hills not more than a week or two ago.

Me thinks that Comcast may have seen a significant subscriber base drop off the past month in the North Hills as a resuilt of FIOS TV and is playing catchup right now.

Competition is great.

Is anybody getting the CW HD?

Is anybody getting the CW HD?

Nobody does because it doesn't exist.

There's a huge fiasco related to WPCW's digital transmission frequency. The frequency they wanted (49 UHF) was contested by a LP station, the FCC asked them to consider another frequency but for whatever reason WPCW rejected it. The resolution of this was the FCC assigning them VHF 11 for their digital transmission.

As you know, VHF 11 is currently analog WPXI. So, as a result, we will not get a digital transmission of WPCW (and thus, The CW) until after analog WPXI goes dark on February 17th, 2009.

I suppose there exists a slight hope that they will either appeal and get another frequency or that they will get a temporary assignment in the interim, but as of right now it will be Mid 2009 before we have any HD CW in the Pittsburgh market for anyone. This isn't a Comcast issue, it's an FCC issue.

Now, what I wonder is, couldn't WPCW create an HD feed and give it to Comcast, DirecTV, Verizon, and Dish and just not broadcast it OTA? It's my understanding that some of the affiliates come in as direct feeds to the cable/sat companies rather than them picking them up OTA. It's probably in violation of some obscure FCC rule or something though.

I have Directv I read here http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07347/841207-237.stm that comcast added the cw hd. Just wanted to Know If it was True. I would really like to have the channel.

Comcast announced yesterday the launch of five new high definition channels, including an HD version of WPCW, Pittsburgh's CW station

Huh, news to me. I haven't heard anyone mention it. If that truely is the case, then they must be doing exactly how I describe. They are pushing an HD feed to cable/sat and not broadcasting it OTA. I didn't know they would actually consider something like that.

Well, I called Comcast and they basically played dumb about Scifi HD.

About the only thing they could tell me is "It's not on your current lineup."

I feel teased. "Here's a channel for a day, whoops we're taking it back."

Well, hopefully it will come back again before Jan 4th so I can watch SG-A when it resumes.

engagdegthd.com is reporting the north hills will be uprgaded by the end of this year. I'll believe it when i see it. So are they correct or the post gazette reporting it will be in 2008 ?

http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/12/14/comcast-enhancing-infrastructure-adding-more-hd-options-in-nort/

engagdegthd.com is reporting the north hills will be uprgaded by the end of this year. I'll believe it when i see it. So are they correct or the post gazette reporting it will be in 2008 ?

http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/12/14/comcast-enhancing-infrastructure-adding-more-hd-options-in-nort/

We've been fed the "We're upgrading in 6 months" line for the past 3 years.

I'm sure this time next year, we'll be hearing "And comcast expects to have network upgrades completed in the North Hills area by 2009."

While I'm glad Comcast has decided to give me more HD, the PQ quality of these channels is just plain bad (pixelation, artifacts). And I'm not talking about upconverted shows...

For instance, I've watched Planet Earth on 'Discovery hd theater' and the PQ absolutely blows away the 'Discovery Channel HD' version of the same program. I'm guessing that Comcast is compressing these new channels. Anyone else noticing this? Should I call Comcast and complain?

Can't wait for FIOS TV to get to my area...

"When you roll around in the mud with the Pig (E* & D*) you both get muddy, the only difference being the Pig likes it." :D

Well, Nat Geo-Hd is out. I called Comcrap, they wanted to hit my box and wipeout the EPG. I said no, and commented i was in the infamous ross headend, the guy said it was going to be re-built in the summer. I asked him :

Does Brian Roberts know the expression, "Too little, too late" ?

He asked who brian was and i told him CEO.

Nat Geo has been out for me all afternoon too.

Like i said, standard line. "We're gonna be upgraded in 6 months." We've heard this for years.

For what it's worth, my friends that work for comcast tell me it's Adelphia's fault Ross keeps getting pushed back. Apparently, Adelphia's systems were in far worse shape than they were led to believe before the acquisition and most of the resources in the past year have been spent getting them into some semblance of order. Thus Ross got pushed back again.

At this point, I don't care what their future plans are. I've secured (through retentions) my current deals until this time next year and I will have moved long before that time to a place where I have far more options. Too little too late indeed. If I would have had a positive experience in the past 3 years, I probably wouldn't even be thinking about jumping to sat or FIOS, but they squandered their chances.

Anyone else experiencing extreme pixelation with HD Comcast today. I've especially had it with Fox football today and HBO.

Anyone else experiencing extreme pixelation with HD Comcast today. I've especially had it with Fox football today and HBO.

Mine all looked fine yesterday. One thing I've been noticing now that I've switched to a DVR HD box is that the HD channels seem grainy and not as clear as they were with the non-DVR HD box. Is that normal with the DVR boxes? Seeing as I have TiVo as well I'm not so sure the DVR is worth the loss in picture quality if that's the case.

If it should be as clear then I'll try exchanging the box without hesitation. My non-HD channels are much less clear as well.

Not sure if this is the right forum for this or not. Just recently purchased a LNT4661F Samsung lcd. I live in Washington (15301) and I’m trying to pick up the HD channels with the qam tuner that is in the TV. I have a digital box downstairs, however this tv is in an upstairs room, dont really want to get another box. I have been able to pick up all of the “local” station except for Fox. Is anyone in my area able to pick up Fox?

Not sure if this is the right forum for this or not. Just recently purchased a LNT4661F Samsung lcd. I live in Washington (15301) and I’m trying to pick up the HD channels with the qam tuner that is in the TV. I have a digital box downstairs, however this tv is in an upstairs room, dont really want to get another box. I have been able to pick up all of the “local” station except for Fox. Is anyone in my area able to pick up Fox?

Go back and start reading around my post #1090 and this will catch you up to people in the area with problems like you.

Bill

Go back and start reading around my post #1090 and this will catch you up to people in the area with problems like you.

Bill

Thank you, i will keep an eye out on this post.

hey guys, i live in the north hills, and i dont get fox's hd channel (53.1)

also, i was thinking of spending the extra $10 a month to get comcasts HD package.. is it worth it? and i dont have to get digital cable, correct?

also, i understand that a few new channels are comming.. i assume that is for people that have comcasts hd box?

Neither do I in Canonsburg. I filled a complaint with the above link provided in post #1087 compliments of JRM01. I used to get that clear channel until they remapped them back to their original placement.

As far as I know, if you want the "full HD" package, you get a cable box to do the decoding. Your QAM tuner will only do the clear HD channels, 2, 4, 11, 22.

hey guys, i live in the north hills, and i dont get fox's hd channel (53.1)

also, i was thinking of spending the extra $10 a month to get comcasts HD package.. is it worth it? and i dont have to get digital cable, correct?

also, i understand that a few new channels are comming.. i assume that is for people that have comcasts hd box?

Check 76.2301 for Fox. Hopefully your tv will use 4-digit sub-channel numbers.

also, i understand that a few new channels are comming.. i assume that is for people that have comcasts hd box?

By my count, Comcast in Pittsburgh has 30 HD channels available. In the North Hills we get 19 of them. It is a capacity issue. Our headend is only 625 Mhz (vs. 750 for most others). So don't count on too many new channels until they can move more of their analog channels to digital to free up space. However, Comcast is kind enough to charge us the same as it does for the larger systems.

This is the list I have, with NH marked with an "x":

193- Discovery-HD
194- Sci Fi-HD
x 195- USA-HD
x 196- History-HD
197- CNN-HD
198- TBS-HD
x 209- MHD-HD
x 210- WTAE-HD (ABC)
x 211- WPXI-HD (NBC)
x 212- KDKA-HD (CBS)
x 213- WPGH-HD (Fox)
214- MyTV-HD
x 215- Universal-HD
216 – WPCW-HD (CW)
x 220- WQED-HD (PBS)
x 225- HD Theatre
x 226- Mojo-HD/FSN-HD (select Pens and Pirate games)
x 228- HBO-HD
x 233- Cinemax-HD
x 238- Showtime-HD
x 248- Starz-HD
x 249- TNT-HD
x 252- ESPN-HD
x 253- ESPN2-HD
x 254- National Geo-HD
x 255- Verses/Golf-HD
256- A&E-HD
257- Food-HD
258- HGTV-HD
261- NFL Network-HD

You don't have 196 History HD? I've had it since last week in the north hills.

You don't have 196 History HD? I've had it since last week in the north hills.

oops. Forgot to update this list. History did show up last week.

216 – WPCW-HD (CW) shows up on the line up for 15317 on comcast.com. I haven't gotten it yet. Does anyone have the CW in HD in any area?

Last I heard CW doesn't broadcast in HD. They were going to, but they didn't get the frequency they wanted from the FCC. I have no idea if that's right, but I heard that from somewhere.

i dont know why it hasnt been added. even the PG reported it should be up

216 – WPCW-HD (CW) shows up on the line up for 15317 on comcast.com. I haven't gotten it yet. Does anyone have the CW in HD in any area?

To better answer this and clarify my reponse two posts ago, refer back to post #1152 in this thread. That is where I read the information I replied with earlier.

To better answer this and clarify my reponse two posts ago, refer back to post #1152 in this thread. That is where I read the information I replied with earlier.

CW is digitally broadcasting UHF CH. 49

CW is digitally broadcasting UHF CH. 49

No, it's not. It was denied that frequency.

No, it's not. It was denied that frequency.

you are correct -- it appears this will be up by the end of the month and will most likely be a direct transfer to Comcast from the CW.

193-196 are up for me (and have been for about 1 week) but routinely are a jumbled pixelation/drop out mess (central pgh area somewhere between shadyside/pointbreeze/squirrel hill)

anyone else? any ideas when it might be fixed, or should I call them?

By my count, Comcast in Pittsburgh has 30 HD channels available. In the North Hills we get 19 of them. It is a capacity issue. Our headend is only 625 Mhz (vs. 750 for most others). So don't count on too many new channels until they can move more of their analog channels to digital to free up space. However, Comcast is kind enough to charge us the same as it does for the larger systems.

This is the list I have, with NH marked with an "x":

193- Discovery-HD
194- Sci Fi-HD
x 195- USA-HD
x 196- History-HD
197- CNN-HD
198- TBS-HD
x 209- MHD-HD
x 210- WTAE-HD (ABC)
x 211- WPXI-HD (NBC)
x 212- KDKA-HD (CBS)
x 213- WPGH-HD (Fox)
214- MyTV-HD
x 215- Universal-HD
216 – WPCW-HD (CW)
x 220- WQED-HD (PBS)
x 225- HD Theatre
x 226- Mojo-HD/FSN-HD (select Pens and Pirate games)
x 228- HBO-HD
x 233- Cinemax-HD
x 238- Showtime-HD
x 248- Starz-HD
x 249- TNT-HD
x 252- ESPN-HD
x 253- ESPN2-HD
x 254- National Geo-HD
x 255- Verses/Golf-HD
256- A&E-HD
257- Food-HD
258- HGTV-HD
261- NFL Network-HD

thanks, but when i go to these channels, nothing happens, it doesnt even switch the station, like if i want kdka i go to 2-1 channel 212 does nothing

thanks, but when i go to these channels, nothing happens, it doesnt even switch the station, like if i want kdka i go to 2-1 channel 212 does nothing

I would assume from that that you do not subscribe to the HD package from Comcast and therefore do not have an HD Cable Box. The channels I listed are only for HD Digital package subscribers with HD cable box or cablecards.

If you have only basic cable, without a box, then you will receive the local HD channels as you described. If you have the black cable box (Digital) it will not tune these channels. It just ignores you.

Does anyone know if the clear QAM channels are availble in the Morgantown area. I was getting all the ones that they have in the other main Pittsburgh markets ( 2.1, 4.1 etc.) but now I am not finding anthing after a few rescans.

New Ad for Comcast (at least new to me, I use Tivo and don't see many ads):

Comcats provides 3 times more HD programming than Direct TV.

Hmm, they wouldn't be counting VOD would they?:rolleyes:

New Ad for Comcast (at least new to me, I use Tivo and don't see many ads):

Comcats provides 3 times more HD programming than Direct TV.

Hmm, they wouldn't be counting VOD would they?:rolleyes:

Of course, didn't you read the fine print at the bottom of the ad?

Oh, yeah, that's right, it's a muddied mess since the ad is in SD.

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Why was the CW denied Ch. 49?

Why was the CW denied Ch. 49?

In a nutshell.

FCC allotted WPCW UHF 30.

CBS filed petition to change it to 49.

WLLS-LP in Indiana, PA said "hells no, you are going to knock us off the air" and filed petition with the FCC.

FCC determined that not only would WPCW being on 49 interfere with WLLS, it had the potential to interfere WEAO in Akron, OH. So, FCC said, "fine, you get channel 11 then." That, as you know, is WPXI's analog frequency so WPCW has to wait until WPXI abandons it after the digital switchover.

Now, the 90 million dollar question is, why did CBS not want channel 30 to begin with? You got me there. I think part of it had to do with location. CBS wanted to move WCPW from Johnstown to Jeannette. Maybe channel 30 would have interfered with something at that location.

It looks like we need to finance comcast's expansion to give us all of the hd channels we don't have, ... so they can charge us more, to make more money.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_544004.html

:mad:

I liked the spin on that "Most people play more so the percentage is actually lower."

Oh well, I don't care. I just got a $99 bundle deal for a year so I don't have to deal with this price increase (and if I do get a price increase I'll surely be chewing out a CS rep.)

Before that bundle deal is up, I will be off of comcast for good. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn't even care if I spent twice as much for TV, as long as it's not comcast I'll be happy.

thats bascially what i told them when i canceled HSI after i had Verizon dsl installed.

It is quiet on this thread so maybe I can ask a real basic question. I use Tivo with cablecards on Comcast so I don't have a lot of experience with their remote for the hd cablebox.

At the club that I belong to they have the hd cablebox and remote, and everything works fine, except the Guide Data button and the Info button don't work. Pressing them provides nothing.

Any ideas on what could cause this?

It may not have been programmed for the box. I had one in which the OnDemand button did not work and that's what the tech told me. He then set it up for the new box I was getting and gave me the new remote that came with it so I'd have a spare. There is a manual for the remotes and I do have one. If you need it I can try to scan it in and email it to you if you want?

I have a TiVo Series 3 with two cablecards connected to Comcast cable. I've had it for over a year. It receives the basic channels (2-99) as an analog signal and all others as digital.

That is, it did until recently. Now channel 17 (c-span2) has suddenly changed to a digital feed (QAM 256). Coincidentaly (maybe not) I notice that this channel is also available clear-QAM on channel 17.1 with basic cable.

If what I am seeing is true I would think that anyone with basic cable plugged into a TV without an ATSC tuner will now have lost c-span2 on channel 17. Anyone know if that is true?

Could it be that Comcast is experimenting with ADS and has just picked this channel to test?

Anyone with a cablebox notice that they are getting this as digital?

It may not have been programmed for the box. I had one in which the OnDemand button did not work and that's what the tech told me. He then set it up for the new box I was getting and gave me the new remote that came with it so I'd have a spare. There is a manual for the remotes and I do have one. If you need it I can try to scan it in and email it to you if you want?

Thanks for the reply and the offer. Sounds like a lot of trouble for you. I tried to find one on line at comcast.com but couldn't find it. I even asked "Amy" but she couldn't understand my question.

Let me look around. I used to have the box and remote and may still have the manual.

I have a TiVo Series 3 with two cablecards connected to Comcast cable. I've had it for over a year. It receives the basic channels (2-99) as an analog signal and all others as digital.

That is, it did until recently. Now channel 17 (c-span2) has suddenly changed to a digital feed (QAM 256). Coincidentaly (maybe not) I notice that this channel is also available clear-QAM on channel 17.1 with basic cable.

If what I am seeing is true I would think that anyone with basic cable plugged into a TV without an ATSC tuner will now have lost c-span2 on channel 17. Anyone know if that is true?

Could it be that Comcast is experimenting with ADS and has just picked this channel to test?

Anyone with a cablebox notice that they are getting this as digital?
cspn2 was supposedly moved to digital on nov 15. GSN was supposed to have been moved to digital only on dec. 11. cspn2 has been mapped to 17 and 186 since the switch over. I be surprised if they go to ADS, since we are so bandwidth limited. Don't you get QVC, WPMY-hd & i tihnk a 3rd std. def. channel in digital somwhere in the channel range if you scan ? Only 17 is mapped to a digital channel thogh, or atleast last time i checked, which has been a while. BTW, whats the digital signal on ch. 80 ? Tonight they were showing star wars in std. def. and then a jack nocholson and leonardo dicaprio moveiw was on. I don't think this is an on demand ch. is it ?

cspn2 was supposedly moved to digital on nov 15. GSN was supposed to have been moved to digital only on dec. 11. cspn2 has been mapped to 17 and 186 since the switch over. I be surprised if they go to ADS, since we are so bandwidth limited. Don't you get QVC, WPMY-hd & i tihnk a 3rd std. def. channel in digital somwhere in the channel range if you scan ? Only 17 is mapped to a digital channel thogh, or atleast last time i checked, which has been a while. BTW, whats the digital signal on ch. 80 ? Tonight they were showing star wars in std. def. and then a jack nocholson and leonardo dicaprio moveiw was on. I don't think this is an on demand ch. is it ?

I just checked on my analog TiVo S2 and channel 17 is blank, so I guess this isn't ADS. I knew they were moving cspan2 to digital 186, but I'm just surprised it's also on 17 as digital. But then, I never understood why there are duplicates of the HD versions of HBO, MAX, SHO and STARZ (2xx and 3xx). I hope in these cases they are just mapping the same feed to two different channel numbers (for whatever reason) and not wasting our precious bandwidth with duplicate feeds.

The only other channels I have around cspan2 is 188 CN8 and Gospel 189, and 180 (NFL) on the low end.

I don't get anything on channel 80 (but then I don't tune to it at 4:00 a.m.!!). I doubt that it is VOD since I never heard of that on anything other than channel 1 with the box. The clear-QAM versions of VOD that I get are usually in the 64.xxxx and 65.xxx range. I do get a clear-QAM 80-801 but it is always blank when I check it.

I hope in these cases they are just mapping the same feed to two different channel numbers (for whatever reason) and not wasting our precious bandwidth with duplicate feeds.



They are just mapping. I checked it out myself and they are all the same frequencies.

Its HBO Zone that I have on 80. You don't get QVC in std. def. digital ? Kinda weird now though, if i scan I don't find most of the channels I normally do. like most of the music channels disappeared. Must be a time warp :-) Seriously though. I have hboz in std. def. on 80, and FLN on ch. 122 is un encrypted. Also, did you guys see comcast seems to be dropping DIY and FLN here and in several other areas ?

http://pa.mypublicnotices.com/PublicNotice.asp?Page=PublicNotice&AdId=772845

Coincidentally, "boys on the side" just came on, and there was a shot of pgh. in the movie. My friend in castle shannon confirmed his is free too.

By my count, Comcast in Pittsburgh has 30 HD channels available. In the North Hills we get 19 of them. It is a capacity issue. Our headend is only 625 Mhz (vs. 750 for most others). So don't count on too many new channels until they can move more of their analog channels to digital to free up space. However, Comcast is kind enough to charge us the same as it does for the larger systems.

This is the list I have, with NH marked with an "x":

193- Discovery-HD
194- Sci Fi-HD
x 195- USA-HD
x 196- History-HD
197- CNN-HD
198- TBS-HD
x 209- MHD-HD
x 210- WTAE-HD (ABC)
x 211- WPXI-HD (NBC)
x 212- KDKA-HD (CBS)
x 213- WPGH-HD (Fox)
214- MyTV-HD
x 215- Universal-HD
216 – WPCW-HD (CW)
x 220- WQED-HD (PBS)
x 225- HD Theatre
x 226- Mojo-HD/FSN-HD (select Pens and Pirate games)
x 228- HBO-HD
x 233- Cinemax-HD
x 238- Showtime-HD
x 248- Starz-HD
x 249- TNT-HD
x 252- ESPN-HD
x 253- ESPN2-HD
x 254- National Geo-HD
x 255- Verses/Golf-HD
256- A&E-HD
257- Food-HD
258- HGTV-HD
261- NFL Network-HD

625 MHz really? When I spoke with a tech on the phone a few months ago asking when the hell we'd get more HD channels in the NH he said the Ross headend was only a 550 MHz!

He also said that we'd get the newer HD channels which everyone else has had for ages (like Food Network HD, etc.) in early 2008. So far I'd say that's still an accurate prediction. I'm just pissed that the NH is getting the shaft while the city gets great cable.

Another thing, does anyone have NFL Network HD? I could have sworn I used to have it on channel 275 in HD before it was moved to the Sports pack. I negotiated my way back onto the Sports pack for free until the end of this month (a few months ago). Now both channels 180 and 275 carry the standard DTV feed. What the hell for? Why waste bandwidth like that? Plus the EPG states that Thursday night football games are broadcast in HD in the channel 275 description. This is true (but we cannot view them) because the recent Steelers game was simulcasted on KDKA 212. It made no sense that the NFL Network HD feed was carried on KDKA when the Steelers were playing but the channel itself didn't. How backasswards is that? Does anyone else in the NH have NFL Network in HD? Any idea why there are two SDTV channels? Does anyone remember having an HD feed? Should I complain to someone (besides you guys :P)?

Hey JRM01 does this match your lineup for HD channels?

195 USA Network - HD
196 History Channel - HD
209 MHD
210 WTAE-HD
212 KDKA-HD
213 WPGH-HD
215 NBC Universal - HD
220 WQED-HD
225 Discovery HD
226 MOJO
228 HBO-HD
233 Cinemax-HD
238 Showtime-HD
248 STARZ!-HD
249 TNT HD
252 ESPN-HD
253 ESPN2-HD
254 National Geographic - HD
255 Comcast Sports Net - HD

Hey JRM01 does this match your lineup for HD channels?

195 USA Network - HD
196 History Channel - HD
209 MHD
210 WTAE-HD
212 KDKA-HD
213 WPGH-HD
215 NBC Universal - HD
220 WQED-HD
225 Discovery HD
226 MOJO
228 HBO-HD
233 Cinemax-HD
238 Showtime-HD
248 STARZ!-HD
249 TNT HD
252 ESPN-HD
253 ESPN2-HD
254 National Geographic - HD
255 Comcast Sports Net - HD

Exactly the same for me.

625 MHz really? When I spoke with a tech on the phone a few months ago asking when the hell we'd get more HD channels in the NH he said the Ross headend was only a 550 MHz!

He also said that we'd get the newer HD channels which everyone else has had for ages (like Food Network HD, etc.) in early 2008. So far I'd say that's still an accurate prediction. I'm just pissed that the NH is getting the shaft while the city gets great cable.

I always thought that we were 550 mhz also. But several months ago I drafted a letter for Ross Township to send to Comcast requesting answers to several issue. Their response back was that it was 625 mhz, but would be upgraded in 2008. They wouldn't commit as to the new capacity that they were upgrading to. I hope it is the 1000 mhz system they are rolling out in other places, but I guess I'd be happy with 750 mhz.

I'll ask around and see if I can find out any info on the planned upgrades for you Jrm01.

I actually am in the bethel park area, the former adelphia are that adelphia actually tried to compete in and not just let their equipment rot away to garbage, it's a 750mhz headend, my HD channel lineup is a little different than yours.

This is what I get now, several of these were added december 11th, I still get no guide data on my tivo for them yet

I have seen info about CW coming soon, let me see if I can find what I saw. I sure hope they upgrade your area soon, it really does suck for customers in that are to suffer due to the headend not being able to support what they are wanting to do.


189 MHD - HD
190 National Geographic - HD
191 Food Network - HD
192 A&E HD
193 HGTV - HD
194 Universal HD
195 USA Network - HD
196 History Channel - HD
197 CNN-HD
198 TBS-HD
704 WTAE-4 HD(ABC Pittsburgh)
713 WQED-13 HD (PBS Pittsburgh)
725 KDKA-2 HD(CBS Pittsburgh)
748 WPXI-11 HD (NBC Pittsburgh)
750 HBO-HD
751 Showtime-HD
752 Starz-HD
753 Cinemax-HD
770 Comcast Sports Net - HD
772 ESPN-HD
773 ESPN2-HD
774 MOJO
775 TNT HD
776 HD Theater
779 Discovery Channel - HD
780 Sci-Fi HD

Nice list. So you get 26 compared to our 19 channels. I don't see WPGH (Fox) HD on your list. Also, no Golf/VS HD or NFL HD. Is that because you don't have the Sports Package?

BTW, if your TiVo doesn't have the proper guide data you can report it to them at:

http://tivosupport2.instancy.com/LineUpForm.aspx

I've had to do it a couple of times and they usually get it done in 5-6 days, although I am still waiting for History HD to be updated. They have to wait until Comcast confirms it with Tribune Media Services.

I always thought that we were 550 mhz also. But several months ago I drafted a letter for Ross Township to send to Comcast requesting answers to several issue. Their response back was that it was 625 mhz, but would be upgraded in 2008. They wouldn't commit as to the new capacity that they were upgrading to. I hope it is the 1000 mhz system they are rolling out in other places, but I guess I'd be happy with 750 mhz.

It may be a 550mhz. system. The digital QAM signals can be run in the bandwidth roll-off area of the amps, giving them more, like 625 mhz. I don't have time to google deeper now, but, we should be able to track down more on this C-Cor line amp. they are using, which from a VERY brief Google search, it may be an 860 or 960 amp ?? So maybe only the headend needs upgraded?

Description: 862 LE IPS 900 ALC EXT
Part number: E96DDJ-KB6D2G1 Rev. A

I sure hope its only the headend though and not the distrib. network. I wouldn't expect to see any outside plant upgrades. Wall street won't tolerate that again, and comcasts stock is in the dumps. Comcast has boasted/stated they have more than enough bandwidth for the forseeable future. They have been testing, selected vendors for, and from my understanding plan to roll out SDV, as well as using the higher compression ratio that Comcast Media Center has reported (still mpeg2). They also plan to use analog reclamation in some cases, as they did in chicago. I would hope for SDV, since it would be quicker than a plant upgrade anyway. It took forever for the system to be re-built, when it was rebuilt to an HFC system (i think AT&T was the operator then).

JRM01, i would be interested to see you post your letter to comcast and their response letter.
Anyone have any info. on the contract negotiated with verizon by the n. hills council of governments that includes most of the north hills ?

JRM01, i would be interested to see you post your letter to comcast and their response letter.
Anyone have any info. on the contract negotiated with verizon by the n. hills council of governments that includes most of the north hills ?

The letter was sent last March (boy does time fly). I included it in Post 770. The response that I got was very vague on commitments for the upgrade but did indicate that it was just a headend upgrade.

They would not comment on plans for ADS or SDV other than to say they were testing SDV in Denver and New Jersey.

I know that SDV would provide a nice boost for channel capacity (and Comcast is positioned for this here since they do have fiber to the nodes) but it would disable those channels for anyone using cablecards. Since I use the Tivo S3 that would affect me. There is supposed to be a solution for that in 2Q2008, so I am hoping they will hold off on that until the solution is in place.

I have exchanged e-mails with Dan Cohen who negotiated the Verizon contract with NH COG. He said that their capacity was 860 mhz, although I had understood it to be 1000mhz with 860 allotted to video. They also are using fiber-to-premisis with coax internally (unlike AT&T who foolishly are using twisted-pair in the house).

Odd. I've been checking tvplanner.comcast.net every few days to see if they add USA HD and History HD to the lineup. In my mind, once they are added, it marks the end of hope that Scifi HD or any of the other handful of stations that other areas got will be added in the near future.

Well, they are still missing, but 225 is marked as DSCHD rather than HDT which I know is really wrong. I'm not sure what, if anything, to infer from this. Probably it's just further proof that Comcast is run by not so highly trained chimps.

I do have NFL HD, channel 777, for some reason it's now showing on my lineup, go figure. I've not really heard much of anything about SDV in the area, I kind of dread it myself, I really don't want to see my tivo HD stop working even for a day or two let alone how long I know it will be out for.

So, this morning, tvplanner.comcast.net is showing the following for Ross/Gibsonia

193 DSC HD
194 Scifi HD
197 CNN HD
198 TBS HD

in addition to the previously mentioned HD channels. I didn't turn on my TV this morning to see if they were actually there.

However, if you go to Comcast.com and to a channel lineup lookup there, only the 195 USA and 196 HIS are listed.

Hello

I am in the Mckeesport / So Hills area for Comcast and I now have On demand and digital HD with the stb. Am I correct that with a qam tuner I will only get the locals without the stb even though I subscribe to the digital tier?

Hello

I am in the Mckeesport / So Hills area for Comcast and I now have On demand and digital HD with the stb. Am I correct that with a qam tuner I will only get the locals without the stb even though I subscribe to the digital tier?

You should get all the subscribed HD channels thru the settop box (including the locals). However, if you have split the cable before the settop box and have one leg going directly to the TV you will only get the unencrypted-QAM channels in HD on that input, which is usually just the local channels.

My TiVo just told me that I am getting two new HD channels here in the North Hills. DiscoveryHD (193) and SciFiHD (194). That means that Comcast sent that info to Tribune Media Services (where TiVo gets the info). Of course when I tune to either of them I get Guide info but "Channel Not Available".

That means one of two things.
(1) Those channels are coming soon and Comcast just jumped the gun
(2) Comcast just screwed up again

Thanks for your reply. I do get all the channels with the stb in my family room. I was hoping that a bedroom tv would not need another box and just be able to receive the same with the QAM but thinking more about it they wouldn't be able to allow the package I pay for thru to me without the stb regulating the feed. Correct?

My TiVo just told me that I am getting two new HD channels here in the North Hills. DiscoveryHD (193) and SciFiHD (194). That means that Comcast sent that info to Tribune Media Services (where TiVo gets the info). Of course when I tune to either of them I get Guide info but "Channel Not Available".

That means one of two things.
(1) Those channels are coming soon and Comcast just jumped the gun
(2) Comcast just screwed up again

Well, like I said above, they are listed on tvplanner.comcast.net

Comon scifi HD before Jan 4th. Me wantie Atlantis HD

I actually am in the bethel park area, the former adelphia are that adelphia actually tried to compete in and not just let their equipment rot away to garbage, it's a 750mhz headend, my HD channel lineup is a little different than yours.

189 MHD - HD
190 National Geographic - HD
191 Food Network - HD
192 A&E HD
193 HGTV - HD
194 Universal HD
195 USA Network - HD
196 History Channel - HD
197 CNN-HD
198 TBS-HD
704 WTAE-4 HD(ABC Pittsburgh)
713 WQED-13 HD (PBS Pittsburgh)
725 KDKA-2 HD(CBS Pittsburgh)
748 WPXI-11 HD (NBC Pittsburgh)
750 HBO-HD
751 Showtime-HD
752 Starz-HD
753 Cinemax-HD
770 Comcast Sports Net - HD
772 ESPN-HD
773 ESPN2-HD
774 MOJO
775 TNT HD
776 HD Theater
779 Discovery Channel - HD
780 Sci-Fi HD

Cyrl... I'm in Bethel Park as well, and I have a slightly different lineup than you. You don't list 706 which I have as WPGH-HD. My 770 is Versus/Golf-HD, and I have FSN Pittsburgh on 769 (although there's only occasional programming on that).

You mention having Comcast Sports Net on 770. Is that the Philly-based station?

Also, since you're in BP and know about the quality maybe you could help my decision. I've noticed that our On Demand in BP is awful (nothing like the city's version). So I figured everything about the equipment quality in this area was bad. That's why I haven't even bothered getting the Digital Voice (figuring it would be embarrassingly bad). So I was going to jump to FIOS so I could get a phone. But your comments make it seem like Comcast's quality out here in Bethel Park actually good. I don't know much about evaluating mhz statistics, so how does our headend being 750mhz compare with headends in the city?

I didn't type out that list manually, that was from a list elsewhere, so yeah it's missing a couple channels like 777 for NFL HD and 706 for that junky My Pittsburgh HD channel (does it ever have hd on it?)

On demand in bethel is crap because of the scientific atlanta equipment, the guide for those boxes is trash. Unfortunately that is not going to change, they can't just sway to motorola boxes without doing the entire area at once, the two cant' really co-exist with the two types in one area. Iv'e had digital voice since february and have only had one time where it went out due to the pittsburgh switch going down, it was back up the same day. Bethel Park's headend was the only former adelphia one that ever got any love because of the Fios competition, it's one of the few former adelphia areas that actually can handle the capacity that the city has. As a matter of fact Bethel park was the first comcast area in the region to offer the 16mb internet service because it was grandfathered in from adelphia competing with fios. If you live in any othe former adelphia area, god have mercy on your soul though, bleh.

That's great info, Cyrl. Thanks. I didn't realize the crappy On Demand was a result of the SA box. Strangely though, my brother (in Castle Shannon) currently has a Motorola box that needs replaced, so Comcast is bringing him a SA box as his replacement. I guess we'll see how that works. He loves his On Demand, so he'll be pretty angry when he sees it's different with the SA box.

I'm glad to hear the digital voice has been reliable for you in BP. Has the sound quality been good on both ends as well? If so, I guess I'll probably stick around.

I don't use the home phone all that often, but I can't tell the difference on the line.

I'll ask around and see if I can find out any info on the planned upgrades for you Jrm01.

I actually am in the bethel park area, the former adelphia are that adelphia actually tried to compete in and not just let their equipment rot away to garbage, it's a 750mhz headend, my HD channel lineup is a little different than yours.

This is what I get now, several of these were added december 11th, I still get no guide data on my tivo for them yet

I have seen info about CW coming soon, let me see if I can find what I saw. I sure hope they upgrade your area soon, it really does suck for customers in that are to suffer due to the headend not being able to support what they are wanting to do.


189 MHD - HD
190 National Geographic - HD
191 Food Network - HD
192 A&E HD
193 HGTV - HD
194 Universal HD
195 USA Network - HD
196 History Channel - HD
197 CNN-HD
198 TBS-HD
704 WTAE-4 HD(ABC Pittsburgh)
713 WQED-13 HD (PBS Pittsburgh)
725 KDKA-2 HD(CBS Pittsburgh)
748 WPXI-11 HD (NBC Pittsburgh)
750 HBO-HD
751 Showtime-HD
752 Starz-HD
753 Cinemax-HD
770 Comcast Sports Net - HD
772 ESPN-HD
773 ESPN2-HD
774 MOJO
775 TNT HD
776 HD Theater
779 Discovery Channel - HD
780 Sci-Fi HD

Our channel line-up in Monroeville is pretty much the same. I sent an email to Comcast about a month ago complaining that I'm paying the same for HD channels as others in the area, but not getting nearly as many. I left town on a business trip and came back to find all these new channels were available. For a minute, I thought to myself, "Did someone at Comcast actually listen to me?" Then I woke up and realized it must be a coincidence! :)

That's great info, Cyrl. Thanks. I didn't realize the crappy On Demand was a result of the SA box. Strangely though, my brother (in Castle Shannon) currently has a Motorola box that needs replaced, so Comcast is bringing him a SA box as his replacement. I guess we'll see how that works. He loves his On Demand, so he'll be pretty angry when he sees it's different with the SA box.



That is very strange. It is my understanding that if your provider has a Motorola Head-end you must use the Motorola box, and if it is SA you use the SA box. Never heard of a change like this unless the head-end was changing. Let us know if this really happens.

WPGH Pittsburgh Fox Affiliate in 4:3 SD for SF-CLE as of 1:20 PM EST (1st look in to the game)

what a shock they f' it up . what a shock there's no way to contact them to fix it.


watching via Pittsburgh Comcast

WPGH Pittsburgh Fox Affiliate in 4:3 SD for SF-CLE as of 1:20 PM EST (1st look in to the game)

what a shock they f' it up . what a shock there's no way to contact them to fix it.


watching via Pittsburgh Comcast

Oh they have been going back and forth between SD and HD for the whole game. They even switched in mid-play one time.

Oh they have been going back and forth between SD and HD for the whole game. They even switched in mid-play one time.

when did hd come on? i gave up after checking again at 145

My TiVo just told me that I am getting two new HD channels here in the North Hills. DiscoveryHD (193) and SciFiHD (194). That means that Comcast sent that info to Tribune Media Services (where TiVo gets the info). Of course when I tune to either of them I get Guide info but "Channel Not Available".

That means one of two things.
(1) Those channels are coming soon and Comcast just jumped the gun
(2) Comcast just screwed up again

Tv planner is showing 2 more: CNN-HD and TBS-HD. Woo Hooo !

I want to believe. I really do. But tvplanner hasn't been the most reliable when it comes to channel lineup in the past and the channel lineup on Comcast.com was updated and only reflects the two new HD stations (USA HD and History HD.)

That's great info, Cyrl. Thanks. I didn't realize the crappy On Demand was a result of the SA box. Strangely though, my brother (in Castle Shannon) currently has a Motorola box that needs replaced, so Comcast is bringing him a SA box as his replacement. I guess we'll see how that works. He loves his On Demand, so he'll be pretty angry when he sees it's different with the SA box.

That is very strange. It is my understanding that if your provider has a Motorola Head-end you must use the Motorola box, and if it is SA you use the SA box. Never heard of a change like this unless the head-end was changing. Let us know if this really happens.

As you suspected, it did not end up happening. They brought him a Motorola box. The Comcast rep he spoke with on the phone actually told him that he'd be getting rid of the Motorola box in favor of a "top of the line" SA box. Yikes... if that guy doesn't realize what you mentioned, then I have no faith in what Comcast says (this is not to suggest that I ever DID have faith... just a reassurance that I've been right not to trust them).

Neither do I in Canonsburg. I filled a complaint with the above link provided in post #1087 compliments of JRM01. I used to get that clear channel until they remapped them back to their original placement.

As far as I know, if you want the "full HD" package, you get a cable box to do the decoding. Your QAM tuner will only do the clear HD channels, 2, 4, 11, 22.

I don't have a solution to this problem, but I think I have some more information about it. I'm on the Canonsburg system, and I was happily getting all of the HD locals (including PBS and FOX) in their strange 106.xxxx to 108.xxxx locations for months up until two days ago. Then I did a RESCAN. In hindsight, this was a BAD idea. I was happy to see the locals (2,4,11,22) move back to their correct locations with full PSIP mapping and guide data. However, like wstanko, I was then missing FOX and PBS which had been working just a few minutes before.

I also have an HDHomeRun, so I fired it up and saw the problem. FOX and PBS are both still there, and I can tune them just fine with my HDHomeRun, but they are not passing any PSIP translation data. (Both show up as channel "0.0" in the HDHomeRun Display). All of the others locals are passing the mapped channel (2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, etc...) in addition to the channel name (KDKA, WTAE, etc)

I think the true problem is a combination of my Vizio tuner and comcast's mixed feed. Here are the channels and the PSIP mappings that the HDHomeRun sees.

106.2101: 4.1 WTAE-DT
106.2102: 4.2 WTAE-WX
106.2103: 0.0 (No info, but this is WQED)
106.2104: 0.0 (No info, but this is WQED SD)
106.2105: 0.0 (No info, but this is WQED Neigh)

107.2201: 11.1 WPXI-DT
107.2202: 11.2 WX PLUS
107.2203: 2.1 KDKA-DT
107.2204: 11.3 RETRO W

108.2301: 0.0 (No info, but this is WPGH)
108.2302: 22.1 WPMY-DT


So it appears that when my Vizio tuner searches and finds a single QAM channel with SOME re-mapped streams, and SOME unmapped streams, it just ignores the unmapped streams and can never tune them. (They aren't at 0.0, they aren't at 13.1/53.1, and they aren't at 106.2103/108.2301)

When NONE of the streams in a given QAM channel are re-mapped, the channels are saved at their detected loaction. In my example the previous scan saved 106.xxxx 107.xxxx and 108.xxxx just like normal channels and the set could tune to any of them directly. I've found no way to manually add a channel that the set doesn't find in the scan, so I think I'm out of luck until comcast adds 13/53 PSIP data, or removes some other PSIP data. (For instance, if they removed 22's PSIP data, I think 22 & 53 would show up again as 108.2301 and 108.2302 on my set)

Like I said, no solutions. But maybe this helps us complain a little more effectively.

-justin

Do those of you that get the free QAM digital local channels have 'Standard' Cable (for around $50/month) or the super 'basic' package (for around $15/month)? I have the really basic package and have yet to get the local channels in digital, I am only getting analog. How long have the digital signals been available? I will rerun the channel setup on my TV (Sharp Aquos LC-37D62U) tonight and see if it finds anything this time, but I just got the TV a few months ago.

I do get some channels in digital, so I know the tuner works and can pick up the digital stuff. Since this basic package only gets me mostly local channels anyway, there is no advantage to it over OTA if I cannot get the local channels in digital.

Do those of you that get the free QAM digital local channels have 'Standard' Cable (for around $50/month) or the super 'basic' package (for around $15/month)? I have the really basic package and have yet to get the local channels in digital, I am only getting analog. How long have the digital signals been available? I will rerun the channel setup on my TV (Sharp Aquos LC-37D62U) tonight and see if it finds anything this time, but I just got the TV a few months ago.

I do get some channels in digital, so I know the tuner works and can pick up the digital stuff. Since this basic package only gets me mostly local channels anyway, there is no advantage to it over OTA if I cannot get the local channels in digital.

They are available on Standard Cable. When you run your channel scan be sure to include the digital scan.

Couldn't quite understand your last question. If you get the channels OTA they are probably as good, or probably better than what you would get from the QAM cable.

They are available on Standard Cable. When you run your channel scan be sure to include the digital scan.

Couldn't quite understand your last question. If you get the channels OTA they are probably as good, or probably better than what you would get from the QAM cable.

Thanks for the info. I will re-run the channel scan tonight and see what I can find.

I meant that if I cannot get the HD channels through my basic cable, then I might just dump it and get an antenna for OTA reception. But since I already have the cable I was hoping to get it working and not have to buy and locate an antenna somewhere.

OK, I ran the channel setup again on my TV and it did find a bunch more channels that did not come up last time I did it. I think I get the major local stations in digital now. One more question, many stations that are in digital do no appear to be HD. Are only some programs broadcast in HD and others are in SD, or is everything in SD but just in digital instead of analog form? The digital does appear sharper even if it is not full HD, but it's annoying not having shows in widescreen.

OK, I ran the channel setup again on my TV and it did find a bunch more channels that did not come up last time I did it. I think I get the major local stations in digital now. One more question, many stations that are in digital do no appear to be HD. Are only some programs broadcast in HD and others are in SD, or is everything in SD but just in digital instead of analog form? The digital does appear sharper even if it is not full HD, but it's annoying not having shows in widescreen.

Many combinations. For instance, WQED has analog, digital, HD and another digital channel. WPXI has analog, HD, digital-weather and RTN (not sure if that's digital or analog). You also may get a bunch of the Music channels and also the neighborhood VOD channels (anything that one of your neighbors is watching on VOD).

Many combinations. For instance, WQED has analog, digital, HD and another digital channel. WPXI has analog, HD, digital-weather and RTN (not sure if that's digital or analog). You also may get a bunch of the Music channels and also the neighborhood VOD channels (anything that one of your neighbors is watching on VOD).

Yep that pretty much covers it. Many of the prime time shows were in widescreen HD, and I get the weather channels and some music and the neighbor's VOD. I was able to get some VOD stations before which is why I knew the digital worked, but maybe last time I ran the TV setup it just didn't find everything else for some reason. Now I feel like I am actually getting something for my money, thanks for the help everyone.

I just finished watching Wednesday's episode of Law & Order (I have Tivo). Although I recorded it on WPXI HD it was in 4x3 Letterbox, which means I had bars on top/bottom & sides. Real nice. Anyone else get this? Anyone know if other NBC feeds were the same? How about OTA? Don't know if I should blame NBC, WPXI or Comcast.

I watched a little of Conan the other night, it was 4x3 letterbox on the HD channel for a while.

It's likely WPXI's fault. They've been screwing up left and right ever since they moved into their new studio.

once again im looking for fox's HD station.. i just have the built in HD tuner in my tv, but i cant seem to find the channel for fox

it is the 2-1 type.. thanks!

once again im looking for fox's HD station.. i just have the built in HD tuner in my tv, but i cant seem to find the channel for fox

it is the 2-1 type.. thanks!

The channel number will vary depending on which Comcast head-end you are located. Where are you?

The channel number will vary depending on which Comcast head-end you are located. Where are you?

i live in ross (15229)

i live in ross (15229)

I am also Ross. I get WPGH on 76-2303.

I am also Ross. I get WPGH on 76-2303.

thanks, but my tv doesnt let me type in 4 numbers after the -

edit* actually i was wrong, it does, but that channel is not available

how can someone in ross get it, but another cant?

Quick Question for youins...

I live in WashPA and subscribe to Digital Preferred and have a dual-tuner Motorola HD-DVR. Recently, Comcast began to charge me for an "additional cable card" at $2 per month.

So I get billed...
54.48 - Digital Starter
11.95 - Digital Preferred
9.95 - HD-DVR
2.00 - Additional Cable Card
---------------------------
78.38 - Monthly Plus Taxes & Fees

I have a TOTAL OF ONE digital outlet (which I thought was included in my Digital Package) and nothing else...none of my tv's even have a card slot, but two different reps have told me that the $2 charge is for the cable card that is inside my DVR. I advised both of them that I've had the same setup for the past 3 years and have NEVER been charged the $2 fee for the card until my January bill which arrived in December. One of them CLAIMS that an audit of my account was performed and they realized that I have not been paying the $2 fee so they added it to my bill.

My question is...Does EVERYONE in this area who has an HD-DVR have to pay the $9.95 monthly fee PLUS $2.00 more for the card that goes in it to make it work?

Just wondering if I did, in fact, skate by having to pay this fee for the past 3 years...or, if the CSR's are feeding me a line of bologna.

Thanks in advance!!

Ken

i believe they are misleading you -- the only box that uses a cablecard is the DCH 3416 DVR I believe and they don't fee you for this.

Are you positive you never had a cable card or perhaps an old cable converter box sitting in your basement?

thanks, but my tv doesnt let me type in 4 numbers after the -

edit* actually i was wrong, it does, but that channel is not available

how can someone in ross get it, but another cant?

Belive it or not the QAM tuners in all devices are not created equal. The channel number is derived from the frequency so it should always be the same (76 in this case). the sub-channel number uses an algorithm to determine the number, and it can vary from tuner to tuner. However, it should be similar to the 2603 number. Have you run a recent scan to find it?

I always thought that we were 550 mhz also. But several months ago I drafted a letter for Ross Township to send to Comcast requesting answers to several issue. Their response back was that it was 625 mhz, but would be upgraded in 2008. They wouldn't commit as to the new capacity that they were upgrading to. I hope it is the 1000 mhz system they are rolling out in other places, but I guess I'd be happy with 750 mhz.

i'm in ross twp, and i got pretty much the same answer from a tech many months ago.

I have three devices with QAM tuners (two TVs and Tivo). I just checked and only my main TV gets WPGH on 76-2301. The other two do not get it. I believe that it is because until recently WPMY HD was on 76.2302, but now when I tune to that on the other devices it is redirected to 22-1 (where it is now).

It all boils down to Comcast not providing the proper PSIP info on these channels. If they did they would all be displayed on the OTA channel number and would have proper guide data.

I have been in discussions with Comcast concerning the QAM issues in the North Hills. I got a call last night saying we may see some improvement this weekend. Let's hope so.

A CSR from Comcast called yesterday regarding my filed complaint of the missing and hidden 4 digit "clear QAM" channels. She was totally unprepared for the upcoming discussion with no knowledge of what a clear channel was, no concept of a QAM tuner, and no knowledge of Comcast's obligations to broadcast these locals.

We talked she learned little but promised to research and call back.
When she did, she told me that I had all the local HD channels on my cable box. It was my fault for not using it properly. :eek:

After I raised her level of anxiety, she again promised to research better this time, and call back again. It was her assigned task to resolve this problem and submit the solution to the FCC.

JRM01, I wish I knew as much about all of this as you do.

A CSR from Comcast called yesterday regarding my filed complaint of the missing and hidden 4 digit "clear QAM" channels. She was totally unprepared for the upcoming discussion with no knowledge of what a clear channel was, no concept of a QAM tuner, and no knowledge of Comcast's obligations to broadcast these locals.

We talked she learned little but promised to research and call back.
When she did, she told me that I had all the local HD channels on my cable box. It was my fault for not using it properly. :eek:

After I raised her level of anxiety, she again promised to research better this time, and call back again. It was her assigned task to resolve this problem and submit the solution to the FCC.

JRM01, I wish I knew as much about all of this as you do.

The complete regulations that they must follow are on this site (about 1000 pages). Note particularly Section 76.640 (b) (iv) which states:
=======================
"(iv) For each digital transport stream that includes one or more services carried in-the-clear, such transport stream shall include virtual channel data in-band in the form of ATSC A/65B: “ATSC Standard: Program and System Information Protocol for Terrestrial Broadcast and Cable (Revision B)” (incorporated by reference, see §76.602), when available from the content provider. With respect to in-band transport:

(A) The data shall, at minimum, describe services carried within the transport stream carrying the PSIP data itself;

(B) PSIP data describing a twelve-hour time period shall be carried for each service in the transport stream. This twelve-hour period corresponds to delivery of the following event information tables: EIT–0, –1, –2 and –3;

(C) The format of event information data format shall conform to ATSC A/65B: “ATSC Standard: Program and System Information Protocol for Terrestrial Broadcast and Cable (Revision B)” (incorporated by reference, see §76.602);

(D) Each channel shall be identified by a one- or two-part channel number and a textual channel name"
===============================

The site is:
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=01c09b7bd05ac390a6dd8c3734cc766c&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title47/47cfr76_main_02.tpl

When you are finished reading the 1000 pages you'll know all you need to know in dealing with them.