Originally posted by Syzygy
"Subject to local blackout." Vendors of substandard, fuzzy SD conspiring to try to force us to watch their @%$#!* commercials. Well, I'm not watching any of their fuzzy crap.

Fortunately the game is in Baltimore so I assume it'll be on here.

Go Twins!

I'm in Baltimore, so the game will be blacked-out in Baltimore. INHD shows a lot of Baltimore home games since their Mon-Thurs games are always in HD. I'll watch it on Comcast Sportsnet.

Rich N.

Oh, it's in Baltimore. Never mind, then. ;)
But I'm now with D*, so I'll be limited to ƒårgìñ Fox Sports Net.
Summadaßitch!

Then again...

The few times that I checked, the game (and whole d@mn channel seemed blacked out despite the fact that it was played in Baltimore.
Am I right?

Originally posted by Markito
Then again...

The few times that I checked, the game (and whole d@mn channel seemed blacked out despite the fact that it was played in Baltimore.
Am I right?

You are right - it was blacked out here as well. It must be some type of agreement with the league not to infringe upon the local TV (FoxSports) exclusive broadcasting rights. Too bad as I was looking forward to it - at least they won!

How about the Vikings game this Sunday - any high def available?

Reported by SteveS in the HDTV Twin Cities Forum (http://www.hdtvtwincities.com/forumbb/viewforum.php?f=1) ...

The Vikings' first 5 games will be in HD.

Per this link

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=189249

Fox will do the Week 1, Week 3, and Week 5 Vikings games in HD.
ABC (MNF) does Week 2.
Week 4 is a "bye" for the purple.
Week 6 is on ESPN-HD.

Actually, Fox's "HD" isn't officially HD, it is called "Fox Widescreen", because it isn't at all as good as HD. But it is better than standard TV. :(

Originally posted by Markito
Actually, Fox's "HD" isn't officially HD, it is called "Fox Widescreen", because it isn't at all as good as HD. But it is better than standard TV. :( Not as of this Sunday, Sept. 12th. NFL on FOX in HD will premier along with most of their primetime lineup in 720p HD.

WoW!!! VERY cool!
I did not know that.
Thanks for the exciting heads-up tall1!

Not cool, actually. :(
Is it just me, or was the quality still not very good on FoxHD?
I thought that as usual, it was clearer than standard tv, but not at all as sharp, crisp and lucious as HD.
Am I wrong? I mean the game on ESPN looked much better than the Vikes game on Fox.

Anyone agree with me?

Originally posted by Markito
Not cool, actually. :(
Is it just me, or was the quality still not very good on FoxHD?
I thought that as usual, it was clearer than standard tv, but not at all as sharp, crisp and lucious as HD.
Am I wrong? I mean the game on ESPN looked much better than the Vikes game on Fox.

Anyone agree with me?

I watched it on my large TV that does not have digital cable connected. I thought the PQ was very very good, but maybe not as quite as sharp as channels 2.1 or 45.2 's HD broadcasts.

At least OTA, Fox's HD feed for the Vikings game (on 9.1) was delayed for about 10 minutes. Standard OTA on 9.2 was coming in fine during this time.

Markito, I agree with you. The picture quality was not as good as I expected. It seemed like it improved later in the broadcast, and my hubby commented that he thought it was related to camera focusing issues more than anything else. Maybe they're just trying to figure out how to use their new equipment??

I agree also markito. When I turned on the ESPN game last night I thought, WOW...this is so much better than the vikes game. I was reading some posters from around the country and while they all agreed the PQ improved throughout the game, overall it was still not as good as CBS/ABC/ESPN. But for their first Sunday of HD, FOX did a pretty good job and things will only get better from here. I watched highlights from other HD FOX games on ESPN and they looked wonderful. One thing no one mentioned is the new turf..what an embarrassing looking piece of crap. It looks all worn out and washed out...looks gawd awful in HD.

4 things I noticed:

1) The HD feed didn't show up until 20 minutes after the start of the game.

2) On my 57" RPTV, the video didn't look much better than the 480p widescreen they broadcast last year. Very disappointing. The Bears/Lions game looked much better than this one.

3) The game audio was much softer compared to the commercials and the other channels.

4) The new turf looks horrible in HD. There's a weird "sheen" produced when those lights bounce off of it.

Now if only Comcast would get off their ass and get us ABC-HD...

I just got a letter in the mail that said channel reallignment starting Sept 30 and finishing by October 12. This looks to be a major digital reallignment. I wonder if On Demand will come at the same time. The letter does say "In the comming weeks....On Demand"

Originally posted by berg0449
I just got a letter in the mail that said channel reallignment starting Sept 30 and finishing by October 12. This looks to be a major digital reallignment. I wonder if On Demand will come at the same time. The letter does say "In the comming weeks....On Demand" Well calling Comcast doesn't provide any enlightenment. I called a few times about the channel realignment and got some misinformation each time. Comcast tells their CSRs very little about upcoming new services etc. So I guess I will just wait and see.

Anyone hear any new info on the 6408 or 6412 Dual harddrive/tuners HD cableboxes?

<Bump>

...CSRs I emailed a week or so ago seemed to think the new boxes will be here `later this year'. Which I read as past the original guesstimate of Fall. My neighbor just got an HDTV and called for a 6208 and was told they are all gone, so they must be waiting on the new ones.

Thanks for the update JonM.

I don't know which sucked more:

Watching the Vikes game in standard definition or their actual playing.

Now that I think of it, I think their playing sucked more.:(

<Bump>

Just a reminder that the changes were dated to start on the 30th, but finishing in a few weeks.

Originally posted by berg0449
Just a reminder that the changes were dated to start today, but finishing in a few weeks.

Um... what "changes"?

[Edit] Oh, I bet you are referring to this:
Originally posted by berg0449
I just got a letter in the mail that said channel reallignment starting Sept 30 and finishing by October 12. This looks to be a major digital reallignment. I wonder if On Demand will come at the same time. The letter does say "In the comming weeks....On Demand"

Cool. Thanks for the heads up.

Why is it so dead around here?

The changes to the channel lineup. If you didn't get a new card in the mail showing the changes, call Comcast right away to have one mailed to you.

Originally posted by Markito
Um... what "changes"?

[Edit] Why is it so dead around here? I think it is because FW 7.15 actually fixed alot of the persistant problems and everyone is simply enjoying HD. BTW, my channel lineup changed last night around midnight.

Does this affect our ReplayTV units?

It would affect replaytv units if you have them connected to the cable box to tape channels above 100. IF you have just analog channels under 100, they are staying the same.

My channel lineup hasn't changed yet.

Originally posted by cielo
My channel lineup hasn't changed yet.

Mine hasn't either - I'm in Shoreview.

So only Northern Dakota County Comcast has changed the channel lineup so far? For once I am first and all the change got me was some grief from my wife. She thought I did something to change the channels around and screw up her channel favorites.

Got the new line up in St Paul too, maybe the old Continental system got something first for once.

I wish I was able to get some closer date of the channel change. I know the mail gae a 2 week period for all cable changes, but the I expected the channel changes to occure already. Maplewood still does not have any real changes, except a channel added.

New channel lineup is active in the Plymouth area. Also there is an HBO free promotion going on right now, including HBO-HD (#300).

I need to call Comcast however as I cannot tune in NBC, WCCO and KMSP in HD on channels 211-213.

The locals are 232 NBC, 233 CBS and 234 FOX now

Originally posted by berg0449
I wish I was able to get some closer date of the channel change. I know the mail gae a 2 week period for all cable changes, but the I expected the channel changes to occure already. Maplewood still does not have any real changes, except a channel added. Why? There is no upside to the channel change. The content is the same, just the numbers changed.

Originally posted by kip43
The locals are 232 NBC, 233 CBS and 234 FOX now

I had received a Channel Lineup card in the mail about a month ago, and it had indicated that these would be 211-213. I called Comcast after posting above, and amazingly it took them over 20 MINUTES, most of which I spent on hold, to point me to 232-234! Of course I could have figured this out myself but I had to leave the house and didn't have time to scroll all the way through to find them.

GO TWINS!

Originally posted by tall1
Why? There is no upside to the channel change. The content is the same, just the numbers changed.

There IS an upside to the channel change - it's just not obvious. Comcast wants to get all it's systems on a similar channel lineup for national channels. This makes it easier for them to administer and support. My guess is that Comcast doesn't want to switch people to the new IGuide until this channel allignment is complete. Then, their support people can more easily handle calls from customers on how to use the new guide when it comes out. They can focus on helping people understand the IGuide and know that Discovery HD is ALWAYS channel 205 (or whatever) - no matter which system the caller may be on.

Having the HD channels all grouped together will be nice too.

blitzen: I understand the global upside for the channel change but fretting about when an individual gets the channel changes is wasted energy because there isn't any individual upside. It's funny, my wife still can't figure out where the HD locals are even though I have explained to her a zillion times to either hit favorites or channel 232 and hit channel up.

The main reason I care about when my channels change is that I use several methods to tape some shows. I have several places that will need to be changed, or at least checked, to make sure they have a new channel lineup.

If it were not for the taping of a few shows I could not care less about were the channels are located.

Ahhh, makes sense. I was just curious cuz I thought I might be missing out on new channels/programming/services. You must be busy taping stuff, I can barely keep up with archiving all the HD OAR movies available on Showtime now...as well recording and watching HD prime time shows and sports. A good problem to have though.

Originally posted by tall1
blitzen: I understand the global upside for the channel change but fretting about when an individual gets the channel changes is wasted energy because there isn't any individual upside. It's funny, my wife still can't figure out where the HD locals are even though I have explained to her a zillion times to either hit favorites or channel 232 and hit channel up.

I agree there is nothing to get exited about in the short term.

bump

Any word on the dual-tuner DVR boxes? When I got my 6208 earlier this year, they were mentioning a late summer rollout.

I haven't heard anything about the 6412's, but did anyone else notice VOD showed up yesterday? Pretty cool, but no HD. Not much wide screen or DD5.1 on the free stuff either, but I guess there's some if you want to pay $3.99 to see it.

Hey, there is life out there! What VOD is available? I guess that we will be seeing some NFL replays for free if I correctly interpreted some recent articles I read regarding comcast VOD.

Also, I am not that excited about the 6412. I have a 6208 & 6200 and it works just fine for me (sans the IR problems, see below). I have been reading about a slew of problems Cox subs have been having with the 6412 and I will not be an early adopter until the problems are ironed out.

Does anyone here use Tivo for SD recording using the comcast STB? I am befuddled at how you handle the IR stuff when you introduce a Tivo to the mix. I had to use the IR blaster because the 620x does not have a serial port. I considered getting a DCT 2224 with serial port but now that would make 3 STBs all with the same IR codes. I am constantly placing things in front of the IR on the boxes so I can use the remote with the other tuners IR. Just wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience/solution.

Here's another (Comcast specific) demo of the new I-Guide. The demo includes the dual-tuner DVR.

http://comcast.com/newguide/flashdemo.html

I hunted around a little more this morning. Some in other cities are reporting 6412s are being received by Comcast offices and the boxes have the I-Guide software already on them. Also, the I-Guide software is required for the two-tuner functionality. So.... once we get the I-Guide, the dual-tuner DVR should follow shortly after.

Originally posted by tall1
Also, I am not that excited about the 6412. I have a 6208 & 6200 and it works just fine for me (sans the IR problems, see below). I have been reading about a slew of problems Cox subs have been having with the 6412 and I will not be an early adopter until the problems are ironed out. Cox uses a totally different software (Pioneer Passport) which is the root of the Cox 6412 bugs. Comcast will be using TVGuide iGuide in your area.

GoIrish (reliable) is saying no later than 12/1 for the IGuide - probably by 11/15.

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
Cox uses a totally different software (Pioneer Passport) which is the root of the Cox 6412 bugs. Comcast will be using TVGuide iGuide in your area. I know and it is good you made that clear. iGuide will be a much different experience, maybe even very positive. But in light of all the problems I had with the 6208 pre 7.15 FW and the TV Guide software, I am going to wait this one out on the sidelines.

<Bump>

Any news on the 6412?

Well the 6412 Thread here has people being installed as of today for the dual tuner, (in areas like Chicago). I called yesterday and was told "soon", so I'm guessing in the next couple of weeks.

BTW, I just received a letter in the mail saying there are going to do some change line up changes sometime between Sept 30 and October 12..and they sent me a line up card... Nothing like being a month late on notifying me. ;)

Actually, I think the accompanying letter said that the first card sent didn't include enough stuff so they are sent us a new card.

By the way, what are the Video On Demand channels? 197, 198 and 501-531? That's what the new card lists for "iNDEMAND" and "iNDEMAND 2".

Finally, as soon as anyone here finds out about the launch date here in Saint Paul, for the 6412's, please post it here. I'm dying for one.

Thanks,

I just got off the phone with Comcast... The CSR said that it should be soon. That they are planning on having the In Demand rolled out to all their areas in the state by the end of the month. So far only the Area around St. Paul.

He also mentioned that the hold up on the 6412 was that the maker hasn't been able to supply them with many as of yet.

I wonder what tomorrow's phone call will bring... Since I started to call them everyday now :)

Originally posted by etoop
I just got off the phone with Comcast... The CSR said that it should be soon. That they are planning on having the In Demand rolled out to all their areas in the state by the end of the month. So far only the Area around St. Paul.

He also mentioned that the hold up on the 6412 was that the maker hasn't been able to supply them with many as of yet.

I wonder what tomorrow's phone call will bring... Since I started to call them everyday now :)

Do you happen to know if the 6412 pricing has been established yet? Will it be on top of the extra $5/month they charge for the older style (5100?) box?

Originally posted by etoop
I just got off the phone with Comcast... The CSR said that it should be soon. That they are planning on having the In Demand rolled out to all their areas in the state by the end of the month. So far only the Area around St. Paul.

He also mentioned that the hold up on the 6412 was that the maker hasn't been able to supply them with many as of yet.

I wonder what tomorrow's phone call will bring... Since I started to call them everyday now :)

Something weird: I did a new digital channel search with my HD set with built in tuner, which is connected to an OTA antenna and Comcast analog cable only. It locked onto several digital channels over 100, including I think 3 different "In Demand" movie channels. It appears that so far they are only showing the main screen so I doubt that I could ever order a movie using this set, but I found it strange that they even showed up. The search also produced over 50 audio-only digital channels that I will never use...

Originally posted by JBaumgart
Do you happen to know if the 6412 pricing has been established yet? Will it be on top of the extra $5/month they charge for the older style (5100?) box?

From my understanding it is the same price as the single tuner, So $5 for HD (or the box itself) and $9.95 for DVR

Originally posted by etoop
I wonder what tomorrow's phone call will bring... Since I started to call them everyday now :)

Great work etoop!
Keep it up.

Originally posted by Markito
Actually, I think the accompanying letter said that the first card sent didn't include enough stuff so they are sent us a new card.

By the way, what are the Video On Demand channels? 197, 198 and 501-531? That's what the new card lists for "iNDEMAND" and "iNDEMAND 2".

Finally, as soon as anyone here finds out about the launch date here in Saint Paul, for the 6412's, please post it here. I'm dying for one.

Thanks,

Video on Demand is channel 001.

InDemand is different. InDemand does the NHL Center Ice and NBA League Pass packages and other pay-per-view events (boxing, etc.).

InDemand.com (http://www.indemand.com/)

It looks like you can watch "Ultimate Poker Babes I" tonight at 10:00 on Channel 501.

;-)

You Poker, you brought 'er.

Thanks for the explanation blitzen102.
So I go to channel 001 and it lists the available shows?
Thanks,

Originally posted by Markito
Thanks for the explanation blitzen102.
So I go to channel 001 and it lits the available shows?
Thanks,

When VOD is active for you --- yes.

There is a "On Demand" button on my remote but from what I can tell it is just mapped to enter channel 001.

Anyone have any new news about the 6412 coming out yet?

Soon..... is all I can get out of them

I finally had a 6200 installed on my main TV yesterday, and asked the tech about the 6412. He said Comcast is being secretive because they only have 1600 of them allocated for our whole area, and they will dole them out judiously.

Originally posted by JBaumgart
I finally had a 6200 installed on my main TV yesterday, and asked the tech about the 6412. He said Comcast is being secretive because they only have 1600 of them allocated for our whole area, and they will dole them out judiously.

I think this meams they are only being released to new installs only. I keep calling and the CSRs keeep telling me they are not available yet.

For the 6412, I'll have it between 3 and 5 tomorrow---confirmed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whoo hoo!!!!! Let the calling commence!!!!!!

Getting mine Sunday. Now if they'd just add ABC-HD, but don't get me going on that...

WHY are they only releasing it in the East METRO!! Grrrr I want my 6412 :(

JonM,
Thank you so much for sharing the happy news ASAP!
Upon reading your post, I immediately called and just got off the phone right now.

Though I had to go through a few customer reps and they all thought at first that it wasn't yet available, I assured them that it was and then they finally transfered me to another department (sorry, I didn't hear what it was called) that booked and confirmed my 6412 installation (swap) for between 1pm and 3pm tomorrow (Thursday)!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yippppppppeeeeeee!!!!!

I am so excited to finally have a dual tuner, dual/larger harddrive HD DVR!

Incidentally, it is the same $9.95 rental price (just like for the 6208), so no price increase there, but they did say I'd have to pay $15.99 for the service call to swap them. They also said that I couldn't bring my 6208 to them and swap them myself.

I told them that if $15.99 would get me the 6412 tomorrow, I'd be happy to pay it.

Looks like I'm not going to get much work done tomorrow.

Thanks again JonM!

No problem, Markito, for all the great info I've gotten from AVS, and from this thread in particular, I'm happy to pass that along. My install was 15.99 too, and my CSR was just about the best I've worked with---there's a longer discussion about all this going on at hdtvtwincities.com Any reason to think my new 6412 WON'T have the new iGuide??

I got VOD last night at midnight. Called this morning and asked about availability of the 6412. "Not available". I told her I knew that customers were scheduled for install, she tranferred me to "technical" (whatever that is). Asked again, "Not available". Told him about folks are getting them, he tells me he will check and puts me on hold. Tells me, "Out of stock". Offers to add me to the "List". EDIT: [deleted emotional comments] Let us know how things go with the install guys, I would really appreciate it.

EDIT: I am scheduled for install. Took another call. They simply do not know they are available.

I'd call back and get that from another CSR or two before I'd give up. This is apparently very new info to them, and as always, YMMV depending on who you talk to...

Originally posted by tall1
I got VOD last night at midnight.

Man, they can't slip anything past us. We are all over any changes or additions at Comcast.

Thanks for the V.O.D. update. As of a few days ago, I couldn't access channel 001. I'll have to try again today.

I just thought of something:
When they swap out my 6208, I will be losing the shows I have on its harddrive (well worth it for the 6412), I guess I have a lot of viewing to do tonight.

Originally posted by Markito
When they swap out my 6208, I will be losing the shows I have on its harddrive (well worth it for the 6412), I guess I have a lot of viewing to do tonight. I forgot about this too! I am going to go home at lunch to fire up the JVC 40K and archive a couple movies. Thanks Markito.

I'll be dumping (to DVHS) Master and Commander and have to watch October Sky---unless I can find it to re-schedule---nice problems to have. The word elsewhere is that the 6412 may NOT have iGuide---I'll try and let everybody know when I get it tomorrow night.

I too will try to confirm iGuide or no iGuide tomorrow afternoon.
I sure hope it has iGuide, because the guide on our 6208 is so bad!

It's great to see some new life in this thread!

Originally posted by JonM in MN
I'll be dumping (to DVHS) Master and Commander and have to watch October Sky---unless I can find it to re-schedule---nice problems to have. The word elsewhere is that the 6412 may NOT have iGuide---I'll try and let everybody know when I get it tomorrow night. Jon: Just order the D-Theater M&C...outstanding PQ and sound.

Markito---hats off to you for keeping it going. I know I always looked forward to the little email notices when there was activity.
Now...once we get firewire externall HDD functionality, the MSTV guide, and full HD VOD, HDNet, etc., I might be able to die happy... :o)

Nice suggestion, but I have the Mits DVHS. Couldn't resist it for $125 at the Inver Grove Best Buy. Maybe I need to find a cheap JVC somewhere... :o)

JonM,
Thanks. I love our little MN HD community here.

Originally posted by JonM in MN
Now...once we get firewire externall HDD functionality, the MSTV guide, and full HD VOD, HDNet, etc., I might be able to die happy... :o)

Don't die yet, we need you around here.
Thanks again for the initial announcement this morning. It made my whole week.

Originally posted by JonM in MN
Nice suggestion, but I have the Mits DVHS. Couldn't resist it for $125 at the Inver Grove Best Buy. Maybe I need to find a cheap JVC somewhere... :o) You crossed the river?!?! I thought you east enders never crossed the river ;) Man, I am in that store all the time looking for bargains...what a steal on that Mits.

I just called and my 6412 is coming tomorrow between 1 and 3pm. I just told the CSR that I was calling to arrange for my box to be replaced with the new 6412, and she said no problem. She also commented that the word gets out fast (in part due to this forum, no doubt). Thanks for getting the word out!

Congrats cielo!

You HAVE to post here tomorrow after your install as to whether you have iGuide or not, and what you think. Nice going!

I went over there when the Woodbury store wouldn't sell me theirs, and they found the one in IGH. BTW, I cross the river all the time, I work in Brooklyn Park! I guess that's around 4 crossings a day, isn't it?

Are you all in the east and south metro? I'm up north.. Ramsey...

Just trying to track the locations

I'm in Woodbury. And I'll post tomorrow after the install.

Originally posted by cielo
I just called and my 6412 is coming tomorrow between 1 and 3pm. My install is 3-5pm. You just had to be first, right cielo? ;)

Guys I'm getting one too... called for the 3rd time today and just said my friends were getting them installed can I? He checked and said YES... setup for Friday 7-9 .... They have an opening for 1-3 tomorrow...but didn't dare take off work for a DVR box LOL

So I might be the first in the north to get one... Hope they bring a dual tuner that night :) like he wrote on the order!!

Originally posted by etoop
Guys I'm getting one too... called for the 3rd time today and just said my friends were getting them installed can I? He checked and said YES... setup for Friday 7-9 .... They have an opening for 1-3 tomorrow...but didn't dare take off work for a DVR box LOL

So I might be the first in the north to get one... Hope they bring a dual tuner that night :) like he wrote on the order!!

I nabbed your 1-3 slot.

I had a really cynical thought...what if the installers show up with 6208 boxes? This would be my kinda luck.

Speaking of bad luck, I went home at lunch to archive a couple movies from my 6208...my freakin' JVC 40K does not recognize the 6208 or the 6200 via the firewire cable! I noticed the display on the front of the 40K is now I- with no number after the dash. This happened after VOD was downloaded. So now I lose all my stuff (I guess I could cancel the 6412 install, yeah right!). I hope it is just a fluke and the 40K recognizes the 6412. Anyone out there with a DVHS have this same problem since VOD was downloaded?

That's odd, Tall. I'll look at my setup when I get home...have you tried re-initializing everything, in other words unplugging and then re-plugging everything?

Originally posted by JonM in MN
That's odd, Tall. I'll look at my setup when I get home...have you tried re-initializing everything, in other words unplugging and then re-plugging everything? Yup. Power'd off everything. Unplug the firewire cable etc. I checked and it is still FW 7.15. I didn't try running the 1394 cable to my pc and see if I could see either 620x STB. I'll try that tonight.

I'm in Saint Paul near the University of St. Thomas.

I have VOD, and my DVHS PLAYED, at least, didn't check if it could record from my 6208...

thanks for checking. I hit the panic button I guess..when I got home from work, the iLink firewire on the 40K was lit up with a I-1. All is working fine and I am archiving a few movies getting ready for the install tomorrow. But that firewire port was dead as a door nail this afternoon. I had never seen that happen before, oh well.

Good morning future 6412'ers! What a beautiful day it is.


Originally posted by tall1
I had a really cynical thought...what if the installers show up with 6208 boxes? This would be my kinda luck.

tall,
I got paranoid just like you did and worried about the same thing! So I called Comcast this morning to have them confirm the time and tell me what they are coming to do. They confirmed 1pm-3pm today and said that they were to replace my box with a "Dual Tuner" box. They didn't have "6412" written down, but I'm sure that the 6412 is their only dual tuner box.

Whew!

I'll report back at some point after the install.

Has anybody asked if we're getting the iGuide with this box? Not that what a CSR would say would be 100% accurate, but it might give us a clue. Looking forward to seeing it in action!

I am pretty certain that a CSR wouldn't have any idea, so I didn't even want to waste the breath. We'll know soon.

What I want to know is whether Comcast will be offering Starz OnDemand now. It's part of the Starz package, so if you subscribe, Starz includes it at no extra charge. The last time I asked about it, the CSR said Comcast had to get VOD up and running in order to have it work properly. So, now that we have VOD, we ought to be getting it now! I'll ask the technician today when s/he comes to install my 6412, but does anyone else know about this?

I think , based on my limited use of it, that's it's going to be terrific, and I'll get REALLY excited when they add HD content. Otherwise it's just a novelty. Anybody have any new news?

I have VOD and it is really cool, almost addictive. I have Showtime and HBO VOD and they have alot of movies, series, specials of stuff I wouldn't record. In addition, it has alot of content from channels I never watch A&E, Tech TV etc. So it is a great alternative to simply watching recorded content you KNOW you want to watch. I assumed eveyone who is getting a 6412 has VOD already? No?

As far as I know, I can only access it for pay-per-view. How do you access HBO VOD? I subscribe to Starz and HBO, so if they both offer it, then how come I don't know about it? Comcast is so darn frustrating!!

Oh I'm sure they will send you something in the mail or on the message section of the box LOL yeah right

Ramsey still not VOD up here :( 6412 coming friday night

cielo: call comcast and ask when you are on the schedule for VOD. This is the one piece of information the CSR at comcast got correct. A little after midnight monday night this week, my display went blank and dl displayed on the 6208. About 20-30 mintues later I went into Guide and clicked "ondemand". It displays HBO-Sho VOD, then another menu showing the premium channels, then menus showing series, movies, specials, after dark. Typing from memory here but you get the idea.

What I found odd about the implementation of VOD was that it seemed to require the tuner to browse---I was watching CSI NY last night and during the commercials wanted to browse the titles, not necessarily tune in to VOD, but I'm pretty sure I would have lost my recording of CSI, which I was also doing. What I have really liked about digital cable when it came out years ago is the ability to browse what else was on--using the guide-- during commercials---I wonder in Comcast did this by choice?

I can't believe this -- yes, I have access to all the OnDemand programs through the Guide. Comcast never even told me that VOD launched, much less that all the Starz and HBO VOD shows included with my subscriptions are available at no charge! How difficult is it to send a message to users' boxes? And how many unfortunate people have no resource like this board to tell them all the cable services they pay for but don't know they can access?!

Proactive isn't in Comcast's vocabulary

You're right, of course, Eric. I have largely accepted that fact, but every once in a while they really tick me off -- like today.

And thanks, tall1, for helping me learn that the various VOD offerings are all available to me!

Hi all.
Almost 2pm and so far no cable guy/gal. But then they usually arrive at the last second or late.
So I don't have my 6412 yet, but I thought I'd chat about some details ahead of time...

I have heard that the way to access the Service Menu on the new 6412 is, while it is on, push the power button (to turn it off) and then the menu button. Hopefully that will work.

Then, what setting should we have the "4:3 override" set to, to look best? I always forget.

Please let me know.
Thanks,

Originally posted by etoop
Proactive isn't in Comcast's vocabulary I don't understand why either. For the first time ever, they have a cool product to sell with VOD and dual tuner DVR and no one knows about it. They need a better marketing plan and throw a few commercials on the air to show off this stuff.

Markito: Right before the installer leaves, tell him to get his butt in gear cuz there are alot of us waiting today for the 6412.

My CSR showed up right away at about 1:10pm, but unfortunately, there are something like 110 or so in the cue right now for 6412 box downloads. So...we're just waiting for the download and watching a screen that says "one moment please."

I can't remember exactly how to access all the secret menus, but there were at least two ways I think, both of which are accessed immediately after powering the box off: the "select" button and the "menu" button.

And for everyone wondering, YES, iguide is preloaded on the 6412!

Well, the download just began -- 40 minutes after he called to activate the box. And he said those 110 or so boxes waiting for downloads were all in Woodbury! Wow!

He didn't have a user's guide for the new box, so they're going to drop one off on Saturday. In the meantime, it seems fairly user friendly.

Let the fun begin!

NO FAIR!!!!!!
cielo beat me to it.
Here it is 2:36 and still no cable installer! Maybe it's the same guy and he hasn't left Woodbury yet. :D :( :(
He better not run out of them before he gets to my house, I was one of the first callers!!!

Aaaaaarrrrrrrggggggghhhhh!!!!!!

Markito, it can't be the same guy -- mine was his last job of the day. There must be a ton of installers out there today if there were 110 new boxes in Woodbury alone! Amazing! I hope your installer shows up soon!

Thanks cielo.
Well almost 3pm and still no one.
Real glad I left work at 12:30 today to just sit around waiting. :(

Well, I came across this in the meantime.
The User's Guide:
http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/downloads/DCT6412_UserGuide.pdf

Cielo...wasn't your appointment 1 -3?

How did 110 people in Woodbury hear about the 6412? Maybe these are new residences and they ran a promo? I am scheduled 3-5pm. If he is here by 7pm I will be surprised.

So in the User's Guide pdf, on page 12 it gives the options for the 4:3 Override.

Here it is:

"4:3 Override Sets the display format for 4:3 standard-definition
programming. If the YPrPb Output is set to 1080i, 720p, or
480p, this setting defaults to 480i. If the YPrPb Output is set
to 480i, this setting defaults to OFF and cannot be changed.

Options are:
• OFF displays non-high-definition programs having a 4:3
aspect ratio in wide screen format. On an HDTV, black
bars display on the left and right of the picture.
Selecting OFF for a 4:3 TV may result in a small picture
with black bars around it.

• 480i displays non-high-definition programs in their
original 480i format. Some TVs cannot display 480i
format on their component video inputs (YPbPr). Check
the TV user manual for more information. Graphics
overlaying the video are displayed.

• 480p converts non-high-definition TV programs to a
higher-quality 480p format. Some TVs cannot display
480p format on their component video inputs (YPbPr).
Check the TV user manual for more information.
Graphics overlaying the video are not displayed.

• Stretch automatically stretches all standard definition
programming to fill your widescreen display. Stretch can
only be selected if you have TV Type set to 16:9."

So for our purposes, we want 480i or 480p options, right? Which is best for us?

Rememeber Comcast has an Install guarantee...I think you get like $20 or $30 if they dont' show in the time frame promised...called Custmer Service

Well, it's now 7 minutes after the time frame and not even a "sorry, I'm running late" call.

Me wants me $30. But I'd prefer my 2 hours back.

etoop: I have invoked that at least 3 times and it always took a followup call to give me the credit. It is worth it but you have to be persistant.

Yes, Eric, my appointment was from 1-3, and he showed up at about 1:10pm. Very prompt!

Markito, thanks for the link to the user guide.

I have always preferred the 480p setting, but I suppose it can depend on certain variables (your display, the type of programming, etc.). Anyway, I always set mine to the 480p override.

. . . although, Markito, if you use a standard definition connection too (s-video or composite video) in addition to the HD connection (YPbPr or DVI), you might want to leave it at 480i. Otherwise, when you're using the standard definition connection, you will not see the on-screen (iguide) graphics.

Just talked to the installer...my wife let him in as I am still working. He has both 6412's up and working! He said the guide info is downloading and said it should take about 45 minutes(?). My appt. was 3-5pm, he arrived at 3pm on the nose. He also left a couple of the new remotes, the ones with the PIP and Swap keys on them. Good luck to all. I will report in later tonight.

Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!
So I was on hold for about 15 minutes and the CSR finally came back on the phone and said that my installation got accidentally routed to the wrong team of guys. They don't even install 6412's!!!!!

So he said, "Sorry. But I do have an open spot for this Saturday or Monday".

What the H*ll!!!!!! Was I not one of the first callers?!? Did I not call early this morning to confirm the details of the install?!? WTF?!?

I am soooooooo mad!

I got very upset and explained those two things to him. He felt bad, and said they'd wave the installation fee. I'd think so being that I missed 3 hours of work and I make more than the $5 an hour that the $15 install fee represents!

Anyway, he could tell I was mad (and I never get mad with people - until now), so he talked to his supervisor. He said he'd call me back in a half hour to see if he could get me permission to just come in to Comcast and get it myself.
I explained that I am a home theater nut and know a ton about this stuff.

So we'll see. They had better let me come get it or I will freak!!!!

What a waste of half a day.

Man, you other guys (and gal) are so lucky! :(

Ouch!!!!

Wow, sorry about all the hassle, Markito! I sure hope they accommodate your request. And more than just waiving the installation fee, they should credit you some amount on your bill!

Tall1, I got that new remote with the PIP and swap keys too, but the installer said he didn't think they were working yet. Sure enough, they don't work with my tv. Have you had luck with them?

cielo: I am still at work but from what I have read, PIP is not active yet on the moto STBs with no ETA when they will be. But, the swap key is active and it is how you "swap" tuners.

EDIT: I called my "blonde" wife to try the swap and she couldn't find the button <shaking head>. I had to spell swap for her <banging head on desk>. I tried.

So far, I can only get the "swap" button to function as a last-channel button. I can't figure out how to get the two DVR tuners onto two channels to use with PIP. Damn . . . I might have to read the online manual Markito provided . . .

Originally posted by cielo
Damn . . . I might have to read the online manual Markito provided . . . Turn in your "man card" immediately! Real men do not read instructions!

Remap the button!!!
To map a button on your remote to swap between the two tuners:

1) Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote.
2) Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice.
3) Enter 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice
4) Press (don't hold) the "Setup" button
5) Enter 00236 (code for Swap).
6) Press whatever button you want to map the swap function to (SWAP)

Sorry forgot to change the TV/VCR to SWAP

Tall1, I never had a "man card" in the first place, as I am most certainly not a man. Still, like most people, I have much better things to do than read a user guide.

Eric, I actually use my "tv/vcr" button because it toggles through my tv inputs. I suppose I could use the "HD Zoom" button, but I'm not sure what good that would do since that button would then likely do what the "swap" button now does. The "swap" button seems like it works in some sense, but I can't figure out how to access the second tuner. I am a reasonably astute techno-geek, so this is really pissing me off! It shouldn't be this hard.

Originally posted by tall1
Turn in your "man card" immediately! Real men do not read instructions!

Since cielo's a chick, she won't mind losing her Man Card! :D

Sorry forgot to change the TV/VCR to SWAP in the last part of the instructions

Markito...any word yet if you can pick up a box?

Eric, is there a listing of all the codes somewhere for remapping buttons on the remote?

Tall1, good luck with your wife. Might want to keep her away from your more delicate electronics. ;-)

Originally posted by Markito
Since cielo's a chick, she won't mind losing her Man Card! :D Oh...sowwy.

You should be able to find a link in this forum on the 6412

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=464986&goto=newpost

Mine works, and is the second button from the left, on the very bottom.

only 26 hours to go until I get mine :)

Thanks, Eric!

Well, I realized that the swap button is working correctly. It's just difficult to tell since you can't see both tuners at the same time since the PIP isn't active yet. I was trying to make it more complicated than it is. I hope it won't take them too long to get the PIP active. When you have two tuners, it's a shame to not have that function working.

Well, not only can I NOT go to them to swap it, while I was waiting to hear back from them, the Saturday slots got taken, so I had to settle for Sunday night from 5 to 7pm! Aaaaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!

This sucks, I was supposed to have it ASAP.

Oh well, I'll quit whining so that we can discuss better things here.

Thanks for caring you guys (and gal), it helped to have some folks to cry to.
But I am happy for all of you and glad that you have gotten your 6412. Keep the info coming.

I am relieved to hear that it has iGuide.

Markito, that is just terrible what they did. I hope we can share in your joy soon when you get your 6412. Here is what you can look forward to though...a gorgeous user interface. Very intuitive...it looks and feels more high end than the Playskool looking UI on my Tivo. Recordings are really easy to setup. I set up series recordings for all the Thursday night shows in a few minutes. I have 2 of these babies so I am recording 4 programs at once! I am going to fill the hard drives up quickly but that is what these DVRs are for. I havent tried to record via firewire out to my 40K but it is connected. It displays I-4 on the 40K which is really weird. But what a relief that everything is working normally.

One concern is when setting up a series recording for Jay Leno for "First Run Only", it sets up a recording for 10:35 in HD and the SD repeat(?) of Jay at 2:05am. There isn't a ToDo list like on Tivo where you could go in and delete the shows in the series you dont want. But that is a little thing...I hate Leno anyway. This would be a problem for CCO news too cuz it is repeated at 1am.

Cool feature: the little window that displays the current show in the upper right hand corner when you display the fullscreen guide.

EDIT: As JonM discovered, you can go to Scheduled Recordings and delete the repeated episodes you do not want. It lists the recordings by day and unlike the ToDo list in Tivo, it does not list ALL recordings schedule. Which really is no big deal.

I agree -- it's great that you can see the current program while you're looking at the fullscreen guide. The miniguide is also cool, allowing you to see 2/3 of the current program while you're surfing around the guide.

By the way, on the 6412 thread, the subject of when the PIP buttons will become live has come up quite a bit. Seems like there's no consensus. There's some indication that it might be soon, but in general, it seems like no one really knows.

Markito, give them hell -- what a bunch of crap! I hope they follow through on Sunday. And they should give you a nice credit off your next bill...

Originally posted by cielo
Well, the download just began -- 40 minutes after he called to activate the box. And he said those 110 or so boxes waiting for downloads were all in Woodbury! Wow!

He didn't have a user's guide for the new box, so they're going to drop one off on Saturday. In the meantime, it seems fairly user friendly.

Let the fun begin!

My installer said the iGuide server was down for a while yesterday. That's probably why the downloads were delayed for some of you for a time. My iGuide loaded in about 10 minutes.

Yes, it took less than 10 minutes after the download started, but I was backed up in a cue of 110 people waiting for downloads. That's what took so long for me. Hopefully, as the number of new installs slow down, people won't get so backed up. . . especially for you, Markito! You have waited too long already!

Lets not get poor Markito all excited again... I think we just got him calmed down.

I CS center is a joke for Comcast... I try to avoid talk to them. Heck this whole 6412 ordeal was proof of that.... "no we don't have them yet" "Yes we have them, but only for the east metro cities" grr.. different rep ... different story

It took a few hours for all the programming info to download. When the download was taking place, the setup menus were really slow. Don't be alarmed if you go to setup to change the box to display the time and it is really lagged. Everything speeds up considerably after the downlad is complete.

Another thing I have noticed after watching a lot of recorded shows and live TV last night...there were ZERO video breakups! The video tiling and breakups were getting almost intolerable with the 6208 to the point where I never watched live tv anymore on the 6208, only watched live on the 6200.

The 30 second skip is as smooth as Tivo's. I forgot to try FF. Anyone notice if that is substantially faster thean the 6208?

Tall1.. .My wife will sure be happy to hear that.... That use to DRIVE HER NUTS

Got a procedure for a 30 second skip for a Tivo? My wife would love that...didn't think it existed.
Sure wish there was a favorites icon on the Quick menu---that'd be nice.

Originally posted by JonM in MN
Got a procedure for a 30 second skip for a Tivo? My wife would love that...didn't think it existed.
Sure wish there was a favorites icon on the Quick menu---that'd be nice. On your remote, click SELECT-PLAY-SELECT-3-0-SELECT

You'll hear Tivo nutjobs refer to these as as "S-P-S" codes. I think you hear 3 tones when it is invoked. If you ever reboot your Tivo, you need to re-enter.

Or click here. (http://forums.tivo.com/pe/forums/displaypost.jsp?postID=10113323)

Pretty cool, Tall. You lose the first FF speed though, right? It all goes to 30 second increments?

JonM: No. It is the "skip to end" key that you are replacing with the 30 second skip. FF still works.

The FF on the 6412 has 4 levels. The last is 60X which is very fast. I forget the others. So it is much better than the 6208 in that, as in every other, regard.

Rich N.

Originally posted by etoop
Tall1.. .My wife will sure be happy to hear that.... That use to DRIVE HER NUTS Everything about my HT drives "Blondie" nuts but, I was actually able to teach Blondie how to access the recordings. I didn't even bother to show her how with the 6208 but the iGuide UI is soooo much easier, almost Tivo like. But when I tried explaining the "swap tuners" concept to her, there was such a vacant look in her eyes that it scared me. Baby steps, baby steps ;)

Markito you won't believe it... My installed called at lunch and asked if he could come sooner than my 7-9pm appointment, but he didn't leave his number. So I called Comcast and said let him know he can come anytime after 5:30 tonight...

Well he showed up at 2:15pm and installed the box. My wife is home with our sick 18 month old.

So I can't figure out why they can't help you out... but they can install mine 5+ hours earlier than planned... Gotta love a big company...

Man. Glad I didn't waste any money on lottery tickets lately. :(

Originally posted by JonM in MN
Got a procedure for a 30 second skip for a Tivo? My wife would love that...didn't think it existed.
Sure wish there was a favorites icon on the Quick menu---that'd be nice.

Jon, I know that tall1 already answered your question, but here is a great webpage that describes the Tivo hidden feature/Easter Egg very well.

http://www.bigmarv.net/how/tivo30secondskip.html

I've known about it for a long time and I don't even have a Tivo. I have 3 ReplayTV units.

But I send that link to all my Tivo-owning friends.

etoop, thanks for thinking of me.

Hey, what happened to all the great 6412 info?
Keep it coming!
Since I don't have mine yet, we've been watching a lot of Video On Demand all weekend long.
There are lots of free kids shows and my wife and I paid for a widescreen movie too.
It is fun and handy.

Well, as you know, someone is supposed to come tonight between 5 and 7pm, so I'll let you know if it actually happens. :(

I hope it all works out for you Markito. I am so impressed with the 6412. I like the user interface better than Tivo. It seems I can navigate the menu structure alot quicker than Tivo. I have also discovered the magic of the "Last" key on the comcast remote (it is the "PREV" key on the harmony remote). Maybe I am just a slow learner but when I would get into the VOD a couple of menus and wanted to return I would either hit OnDemand again which would give me an error then dump me out of VOD or I hit Exit which would also dump me out of VOD. The trick is to hit the "Last" key to go back one screen.

Speaking of Harmony remotes, I never updated my remote when I added a 6208 and now with the 6412. It worked ok but I thought I might as well go through the agony of downloading the new file and pickup some additional features. It is pretty cool. I now have PageUp and PageDn, DayUp and DayDn. I have the 30 sec. skip programmed (it is called "Advance" in the harmony database) and MyDVR (called "List" in harmony DB).

And I can't say enough about the video stability. Absolutely no breakups..NONE! This alone makes it worth getting the 6412. That single tuner 6208 is a steaming pile of poop.

One cool thing that happened yesterday...I started watching a program on Discovery and after about 15 minutes I thought..damn! I wish I woulda recorded this! I wanted Blondie to see it so she might broaden her tv viewing beyond soaps and Lifetime movies. So I begin searching to see when it is on next and I suddenly remembered....the 6412 will record what is in the buffer! I hit record and it made a perfect recording from the beginning of the show. I need to remember this nice feature.

I was also poking around in the VOD content and noticed they had some VOD clips of the single tuner DVR. They haven't updated this yet. I also read on avsforums that Chicago just got VOD HD...so it is coming.

I would also like to hear how others like their 6412. Good luck Markito and others who are scheduled.

Thanks tall1 for all the great observations.
Well the guy DID come tonight, so I do finally have my 6412!!!
I love it and will share my own observations tomorrow (Monday).
Let's all chat then.

I'm scheduled to get the 6412 on tuesday.

Did anyone have problems with their 6208 locking up? It doesn't happen often but when it does only way to get around it is to unplug it from the outlet. Sometimes it actually shuts off by itself. Comcast has replaced it twice but never could fix it. Last tech that came out thought it might be the DVI connection on 6208. He said Motorola has alot of issues with their DVI connectivity.

I'm hoping 6412 will resolve the issue.

SonyHome,
I had the 6208 from the day it was released until yesterday and mine never once locked up. And mine was with a DVI connection.

And so far no lock ups on my new 6412 (knock on wood).

So I wouldn't worry about it. I think you just had some bad luck with the 6208s.

Good luck!

Well, I love my 6412!
It really is way, way better than the 6208!

tall1, I have a Harmony remote too and look forward to updating mine from the 6208 profile to the new one with the added button options.

I too found that the "Previous" button on the Harmony (or "Last" on the Comcast remote) is absolutely essential while wading through menus.

I could go on and on, but all of you have covered the great improvements so well.

I do have two small issues:

1) No matter how I go to the On Demand channel either by typing in "001", or via the menus, or scrolling through my favorites (since I added it to my favorites list), I just get the "Press OK to activate" text, I do and then instead of it showing me the On Demand stuff, I just get a black screen. BUT I do get the audio. So I can hear the repetative annoying speal from the E! Live guy, but there is nothing on my screen.

Before my 6412, I got On Demand perfectly every time on my 6208.
I figured that maybe more info has to download, but it has been about 18 hours and it is still the same. I even called Comcast and had it reset my signal via their automated system, but no change. Oh and I did the old unplug for a minute thing. Same result: On Demand audio, but no visual.


2) Speaking of On Demand audio, do you find that the On Demand main menu screen, E! Live guy and Mean Girls video clip on the corner are WAY LOUDER than all your other channels? It is so loud for us. As I surf through channels, when it gets to On Demand, I have to remember to quickly turn down the volume. Then when done, I have to remember to turn it back up before going to other channels. It is annoying and jolts me everytime.


Do you guys have these problems?
Any solutions?

Otherwise, I am sooooooooo happy with my new HT toy!

Thanks,

Markito,

I'm so glad you got your 6412! I haven't had either of those problems with mine. I hope Comcast can solve it for you. Mine has worked flawlessly and is fantastic. I even noticed this week that Fox's Sunday football HD picture looked better than it has in the past and wondered if it was possibly due to this much better box.

Now, if we could only get VOD HD, ABC HD, and PBS HD . . .

I found...or have a bug.....If I hit the red ALL ON button to turn on the box and my tv....Everything turns on... but NO Audio or Video.. I still get the guide and menu's... but nothing else. Tried turning it to SD and HD channels..nothing...but if I hit MY DVR and then play a recorded show.. it plays fine... I hit stop and Audio and Video are back on all channels.

I just started last night...and tested it again this morning. :(

SonyHome: I had several 6200 & 6208's that locked up and I am using component. I finally decided just to live with it and surprisingly the problem went away. I did have one of my 6412's reboot last night. It started to lag pretty badly then it didn't respond at all. Then suddenly it started popping up very quickly all the menus I had clicked on. Then it powered off and rebooted. All the guide data was lost. My other 6412 was just fine and this was the STB I had been watching football on all day and recording stuff etc. I hope this was a one time deal..I have read other's 6412s rebooted alot.

Hey Markito, great news on your 6412! It's amazing what we put up with on the 6208, isn't it? I don't have the same problem with VOD you are having but have read others did and it either cleared up after awhile or they called and reset the box (which you already tried). Keep us posted.

Oh and that damn head bangin' music for VOD drives me crazy! Although I tried it just now and it seems they turned the volume down a bit but it is still too loud. And why do we need to see the clips anyway?

etoop: just leave the 6412's on. I gave up on shutting them down long ago.

Thanks for the info tall1.

Yeah etoop, just always leave your 6412 on. I've had three ReplayTV DVR units for the past 4 years (all at the same time) and have always left them on all the time and have never had any problems. You are far better off leaving yours on.

I'll let you know when and if my On Demand ever kicks in.

I will be leaving town for the holiday tonight (Tuesday) and will be gone for a few days. I will miss my new 6412. Seems like that always happens. I always have to leave my new gadgets right after I get them.

But I will have computer access, so I will check in here every once in awhile.
So keep the chatting going.

Have a great Thanksgiving everybody!

I had the 6208 for a long time without any issues.. :)

O.k., update time:

So I went home for lunch today and decided to fire up the HT to see if OnDemand has magically appeared yet, and of course it hasn't.

BUT then I discovered something else shocking, none of my channels show video except for the HD ones! I usually only watch the HD channels when I'm down in my theater, so I hadn't noticed until now that those were the only channels showing up! Today I just happened to hit the Channel Up button and go to a non-HD channel and there I saw the blank screen.

Why would this be????

I don't have time now (gotta get back to work), but I guess I'll check the connections that the installer made behind my 6412, but I don't know.

Do you think it is something on Comcast's end? Or a connection in the back? I mean, if I can see and hear the HD cannels fine, how could it be one of my connections? Plus the only connection for "In" would be the actual cable and that is connected and obviously I'm getting the HD channels through it, so it can't be a prob on my side, right?

I greatly welcome your input.

Thanks guys,

Markito: I would try checking the user Settings (power off - menu) to see if the 4:3 override is set to 480i.

Hi tall1,
Are you saying that the override SHOULD or shouldn't be on 480i?
Thanks,

I just messed with all the settings and for me the video output disappears if the YpbPr is set to anything other than 1080i. But then nothing displays on any channel. So that must not be your problem. Sounds like a bad box. Do you use DVI? Did they leave the component cables? you could try hooking those up and see if you can narrow down the cause. good luck.

Markito,
I would guess it's something on the Comcast side. Maybe they are not sending you anything other than HD.

tall1,
Did you have any other strange issues beside the lockups on 6208? I have Sony Grand Wega III LCD Projection TV and some other issues I've experienced are:

1. When watching none HD channel for awhile I would lose the picture but not sound. TV just has color specs looks like when you have no receiption. Only way to get the picture back is to change to HD channel and change back.

2. When I turn on the TV sometimes I notice there are two of the same picture but it's offset and not quilte aligned correctly. If I change to any other channel and come back it seems to fix it.

3. I've had 6208 just shut it self down.

Originally posted by SonyHome
2. When I turn on the TV sometimes I notice there are two of the same picture but it's offset and not quilte aligned correctly. If I change to any other channel and come back it seems to fix it.



SonyHome, I too sometimes get the double picture from the 6412 and then changing the channel fixes it. While fixing my DVI connection the tech said he thought it might be the TV. I have an HLN5065W r204 from 2003.

I doubt that it could be the TV, since this only started happening with the 6208 (not the 5100).

Rich N.

(Reporting in from out of town for the holiday :D)

Everyone,
Thank you so much for all of your ideas.
I have GREAT news (!) I found the problem!

tall1 was right, it had to do with the 4:3 override.
It was set to "480i" and that was keeping me from seeing any of the non-HD channels. When I set the override to "Off", all of the channels were back to normal again! Even my OnDemand showed up!

So now I am 100% up and running.

tall1, you are a genius!

Thanks so much for your time everybody.

By the way, on Monday night the Timberwolves game was supposed to be live on NBATV on INHD, but a second before the game started, it was blacked out (or actually frozen) because it was a local game. We were not pleased to say the least.

But yesterday (Tuesday) when I was home for lunch, I saw that INHD's NBATV was rerunning it at the time. So I recorded it. Though a day late, it was still nice of them to show it.

Markito: as the kids say, thanks for the props. Actually, I have messed up so much stuff along the way, I have become an expert at fixing my screwups. I am happy to hear you got things working.

One other thing, INHD NBA-TV will usually show the repeat broadcast the next day (at different times). The next time this happens with the Timberwolves on INHD is Dec. 8th against the 76ers...the game will be blacked out (because it will be carried locally on FSN) but the game will be repeated on INHD - December 9th (REPLAY) 8:00am CST.

Thanks tall1. I'll look forward to that broadcast.

Let me be the first to say:

"Happy Thanksgiving everyone!"

And apparently the only one to say it. :D

Originally posted by raidbuck
SonyHome, I too sometimes get the double picture from the 6412 and then changing the channel fixes it. While fixing my DVI connection the tech said he thought it might be the TV. I have an HLN5065W r204 from 2003.

I doubt that it could be the TV, since this only started happening with the 6208 (not the 5100).

Rich N.

I've had 6412 for few days now and only problem I've seen so far is the issue of loosing picture but sound still works. Screen just has the snowing effect (dots) like when you have no receiption. When I experienced this on 6208 I thought it was only happening on none HD channels but it happened on HD channel this time with 6412. It seems only way to fix this is to change to none HD channel from HD channel or vise versa. So far no lock ups but I don't think I've had it for long enough to see everything.

Originally posted by Markito
Thanks tall1. I'll look forward to that broadcast.

Let me be the first to say:

"Happy Thanksgiving everyone!" Happy belated Thanksgiving! I am not so sure I will be looking forward to that broadcast with the dismal basketball the Timbies are playing now.

It seems to me....

that Comcast is getting in a position to begin carrying more HD channels starting in 2005.

Some reasons:
The rollouts of the 6412s, iGuide, VOD, and VoIP will be complete to most of their systems by the end of this year.
With VOD - I would think some - if not all - of the inDemand channels (501-531) could be eliminated to free up bandwidth.
It's been reported that Comcast will be increasing their Internet download speeds for customers in the first quarter - this also indicates they are freeing up bandwidth somehow.

ESPN2-HD, TNT-HD and Universal HD should be the minimum added.

Thoughts?

I like the way you think blitzen102, and can only hope that they do.

PBS-HD & ABC-HD would sure be nice too.

Hi all, I have a question...

This is a Comcast HD thread, right?

And Comcast is only in Saint Paul (and its surrounding suburbs) because Minneapolis only has Time Warner, am I right?

If so, I don't know why the thread's title got changed to, "Minneapolis, MN - Comcast".

Should it really be "Saint Paul, MN - Comcast"?

I just want it accurate for those out there looking for info on local Comcast HD.

Let's discuss and then if a change is needed, I'll contact the admin and have them edit the title.

It used to be titled "St. Paul-Minneapolis Comcast HDTV Thread" (it's on my favorites list). I have relatives who live in South and Northeast Minneapolis, and they have Time Warner in both those areas. I, myself, don't know of any Minneapolis areas in the Comcast coverage area. Are there any Minneapolis suburbs that get Comcast?

(Another long-time lurker emerges from the ether...)

Comcast is in much more than just St. Paul, for example, many of the Northwest Suburbs of Minneapolis (Robbinsdale, Crystal, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, New Hope, Champlin and Osseo) are all on Comcast.

I agree, that the thread title should be changed, but I'd consider "Twin Cities, MN and surrounding areas - Comcast"

Of course, now that I put those cities in the body of my post, anyone casually searching the Local HDTV and Reception Forum will now come to this thread.

Tech that came out recently told me that Comcast will have 15+ HD channels very shortly. He didn't say any thing specific but I would love to get TNT-HD & ABC-HD.

What will the Comcast HSI speed be after they increase it? I would prefer they drop the price on this over priced service and give the increase in speed as option since for me current speed is sufficient for now any way.

I'm from New Brighton (35W & 694) and have Comcast as well.

Since I have a front projector w/out an HD tuner (and don't want to buy a tuner for ~2 channels), here is my wishlist, in order, for HD channels for Comcast to negotiate and provide:

1. ABC (this is HUGE... I could do without any of those below if we could just get ABC... MNF and Lost are begging to be in HD)
2. TNT
3. ESPN2
4. PBS

Around 11/4/2004, I emailed Comcast about ABC, and they sent me the following reply back:

Thank you for contacting Comcast in regards to HDTV services and availability.

We're very excited about the potential of HD, and while we do not have agreements with all programmers that would allow us to carry their HD programming, we continue to have discussions with a number of them in the hopes of reaching an agreement to carry their signals...

...We are negotiating with ABC and other stations at this time and do not have any specific details to offer in regards to the status of these talks.

Good work miltimj!
I agree with you about ABC-HD. Jennifer Garner from Alias in high def would make it all worthwhile too. Hubba-hubba.

Does anyone in the Twin Cities area rely on mainly on a roof or attic antenna for HDTV Reception? - If so, what channels do you receive in HD? Also what do the regular channels (Non HD) look like on your HD TV?

Just getting into HDTV - Thanks!

Originally posted by Cut-Throat
Does anyone in the Twin Cities area rely on mainly on a roof or attic antenna for HDTV Reception? - If so, what channels do you receive in HD? Also what do the regular channels (Non HD) look like on your HD TV?

I would suggest you look at HDTV Twin Cities (http://www.hdtvtwincities.com) and the antenna selector (http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Welcome.aspx) for these details.

Standard definition channels will look the same as a high quality (i.e. not junk) standard definition TV would display them. In other words, the best they can look given the relatively poor resolution. DVDs will look better though (especially with progressive scan), since they are of higher resolution than SD.

You may want to check out various HDTV FAQs (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hdtv+faq) first -- this thread is more for specific Twin Cities programming related information.

<Bump>

Any new HD channels coming out?

Everyone still enjoying their 6412's? I know I sure am!!!!

I am enjoying the 6412 but the firewire recording is still giving me fits. I have to unplug both the 6412 and my JVC 40K to get the HDCP handshake to work. Before I would just have to turn off and on (not unplug) the 6208 and then I could archive to the 40K. Plus the 6412 I have the 40K connected to lags pretty bad when trying to navigate through the menus. This would drive me nuts if I only had the one 6412. But eveything else works beautifully.

Originally posted by blitzen102
It seems to me....

that Comcast is getting in a position to begin carrying more HD channels starting in 2005.

Some reasons:
The rollouts of the 6412s, iGuide, VOD, and VoIP will be complete to most of their systems by the end of this year.
With VOD - I would think some - if not all - of the inDemand channels (501-531) could be eliminated to free up bandwidth.
It's been reported that Comcast will be increasing their Internet download speeds for customers in the first quarter - this also indicates they are freeing up bandwidth somehow.

ESPN2-HD, TNT-HD and Universal HD should be the minimum added.

Thoughts?

More info to make me feel positive about more HD channels coming soon....

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/11/118591/cmcsa_120704.pdf

The link is to slides from an investor conference. It talks about their network upgrade(s) being complete and ready for deployment of new products and services. It also discusses digital simulcast (at first) of all the analogs and then eventually going "digital only" - eliminating the analogs all together. They are expecting a sub $100 digital STB to be available this year.

The requirement of a digital STB even at < $100 could be a helluva outlay of cash for folks that have 5-6 TVs connected without a cable STB. That may make folks decide to look elsewhere if they have to come up with the money to continue to receive cable. I wonder what the strategy will be to head this off? Personally, I can hardly wait for digital simulcast.

Great point about digital simulcast -- I for one would likely leave Comcast if i couldn't continue having the option of analog cable throughout the house.

Originally posted by miltimj
Great point about digital simulcast -- I for one would likely leave Comcast if i couldn't continue having the option of analog cable throughout the house.

I wouldn't. I think it'd be great to get all digitals throughout the house. Especially if the digital boxes use CableCards - which would mean you could take them to a different cable sysstem when you move and you could easily sell them if you switched to satellite. You'll probably be able to access your recorded DVR content through them as well.

I guess I'm coming from the side of a landlord who provides cable TV and doesn't want to have to provide a digital cable box for the tenants (in the lower level) too...

That, and the lag in channel changing and interfacing with my ReplayTV isn't as smooth as with analog (and the picture isn't all that different, IMO... other than the HD channels of course!)

I see both sides of the issue. For me, I have 4-5 TVs around the house that are "no box" analog. I would hate to lose this capabilty but on my Sammy 50" the analog looks like hell through the 6412 and not much better using the TV tuner. Also on my SA Tivo, there is a huge PQ difference when playing back recordings of analog versus digital. I rarely watch much TV on anything other than my sammy so I really want the digital simulcast and the improvement in PQ. But it would be a pain and maybe cause me to switch if they turned off analog and I had to purchase or rent digital boxes for each analog TV. I do believe they will not turn off the analog for quite awhile so maybe this will be moot anyway.

Also, the sub $100 might be Comcast's cost. Also, we have no details -- Comcast could offer "one free per household" or something like that to try to keep us happy.

I'd consider what we have now "one free per household", actually... granted, we pay the monthly fee, but at least we don't have to pay for the STB (as you usually must do for satellite).

I would very likely cancel my service if they quit offering analog. That, in combination with the $6/month rate hike for January, would almost certainly send me packing.

On the rate hike notice received in today's mail, they kindly informed us that "ON DEMAND will soon be available to all digital cable customers." I only received a message on our box this week, yet how many weeks has it been available to us?! Maybe with the extra $6/month they'll be able to afford some real customer service...

Originally posted by cielo

On the rate hike notice received in today's mail, they kindly informed us that "ON DEMAND will soon be available to all digital cable customers." I only received a message on our box this week, yet how many weeks has it been available to us?! Maybe with the extra $6/month they'll be able to afford some real customer service...

They did a silent rollout. It's smart business. If they would have announced it when it actually was turned on and they had a ton of problems they would have looked foolish.

By doing a silent (or very quiet) rollout the idea was they could hopefully identify and fix any issues before announcing that VOD was available to the world.

They also did a silent addition of $10.32 to my bill, in error, as a result of the box switchout. Also smart business? I had to make the call to customer service to get it reversed and corrected for future bills. Watch your bills to make sure your box switchouts were handled correctly...

Originally posted by cielo
They also did a silent addition of $10.32 to my bill, in error, as a result of the box switchout. Also smart business? I had to make the call to customer service to get it reversed and corrected for future bills. Watch your bills to make sure your box switchouts were handled correctly...

I actually READ what they made me sign when my install was done and saw I was being charged correctly for the swap. Lo and behold it showed up correctly on my bill too.

What I signed when my box was installed was correct; my bill was NOT.

More on digital simulcast of analogs....

Comcast: Digital Simulcasts Soon
By Matt Stump Multichannel.com 12/13/2004
Comcast Corp. executives last week detailed plans to launch a digital simulcast of its analog channel lineup across most of its systems by the end of 2005, the largest single commitment by an MSO to the first stage of an all-digital transition.
The MSO also signed a 20-year, $100 million fiber backbone deal with Level 3 Communications Inc. last week, covering the lease of 19,000 route miles that will reach 95% of Comcast systems.
The backbone will provide Comcast with greater efficiencies for VOD transport and capacity for the implementation of digital simulcasting.
“Digital simulcast is the first step towards all digital,” said Dave Fellows, Comcast chief technology officer, at a Credit Suisse First Boston analyst conference last week in New York.
Although Comcast will keep its 80 or so analog channel lineup intact, Fellows said digital simulcast “gives us significant near-term benefits,” he said. “It gives us 100% digital product availability and allows us to deliver VOD more broadly.” It also gives the MSO packaging flexibility, including the ability to offer a “lower-than-basic tier.”
Fellows pegged the infrastructure cost of digital simulcast at $150 million, largely spent on digital ad insertion and encoding equipment. Current low-end digital set-tops are trending in the $70 to $75 range, the other significant costs in a digital simulcast strategy.
“This gives us the ability to be more competitive across multiple customers segments,” Comcast chief operating officer David Watson said at a UBS Warburg Media Week conference last week. Comcast could go to analog subscribers who have a pay service and present an offer to get digital that would include VOD, he said. “It’s a natural, elegant way to start the process.”
Comcast has to convert analog signals and buy digital ad-insertion equipment to handle the digital feeds of Cable News Network, ESPN and MTV: Music Television, which had previously been delivered in analog.
Comcast has started to purchase encoders for each of its systems to handle the conversion of local TV station signals and local origination channels, Fellows said. In some markets, that could be as many as 30 or more encoders.
“The assumption is that with the off-airs, we will have to do the encoding,” Fellows said.
The rest of the current analog lineup consists of satellite-delivered networks. Comcast has started talking to programmers about originating a digital feed for its headends that would include digital cue tones for ad insertion, similar to the cue tones for analog feeds.
That would be more efficient than Comcast encoding 40 to 50 analog feeds at hundreds of headends across the country.
Fellows said the Comcast Media Center will encode content for the digital simulcast. The CMC can handle some digital ad cue tone insertion. It will also provide some high-quality encoding for analog signals.
Those signals will be delivered from the CMC in Denver to headends via satellite. Once the Level 3 backbone is up and running, that content will get shipped over the national fiber backbone, Fellows said.
He added Comcast has enough bandwidth in its markets to convert its 80 or so analog channels to digital.

I have a locked package until 2006 that includes DVR service... so on my recent bill they tried to add on the partial month of DVR service and the next full month... CS corrected with out any pain :)

I noticed the 2xx HD Premium channels are gone from the lineup. I had a scheduled recording set for channel 223 Showtime HD and it was deleted. I also discovered this when my favorites button stopped working on Sunday. It also was missing WCCOHD from my favorites and I had to reenter it.

Interesting.
I too noticed yesterday (Sunday) that WCCO-HD was no longer in my "Favorites" line up. I too had to add it again. I don't know about the other stuff as I didn't look at the time.

Thanks for giving us all a heads up.
Good to see you around these parts again.

I still have Starz and Cinemax in the 2xx HD range, but HBO and Showtime disappeared from there. And I too had the problem with WCCO-HD disappearing from my favorites list. Thanks for the heads up on this, tall1!

Did anyone else have trouble with ESPN-HD over the past two days? We had to watch the football game on Sunday night in standard definition because it was out ("one moment please" message). It didn't start working again until last night around dinner time. I didn't call Comcast about it until Monday morning, at which time the CSR told me I was only the second person to report the problem -- so maybe it wasn't a widespread problem.

Sorry cielo, I didn't even watch Sunday night football because I was too depressed about my fantasy football team and I couldn't bear to watch the carnage. We watched Desperate Housewives OTA KSTP-DT. Now with Alias beginning next month plus Lost and MNF, it is becoming increasingly painful not being able to record KSTP-DT. I feel the situation is hopeless but I really wish Comcast would pickup KSTP-DT.

BTW, I also have StarzHD and Cinemax HD in the 200 range. I don't subscribe to either one of these dogs but I do subscribe to HBO and SHO.

I posted this at hdtvtwincities.com too. My first rant against Comcast.

I know this happened a few days ago, but I just saw on my own system that it happened, and have some questions....

1. Why? Why move the premium channels only a few months after they'd already done a lineup shift?

2. Why weren't we notified? No message on the cable box, no letter in the mail, no email, NOTHING.

3. I had to re-schedule a future recording on HBOHD, had it already passed I'd have missed it. Why didn't the software catch it? When the lineup changed a few months ago, my scheduled recording went over to the new channel numbers automatically. On this change, nada.

This was handled very poorly. What's up, Comcast?

I agree Jon...that seemed reckless by comcast to remove those channels without notifying us. I luckily checked my recordings and saw that it deleted Standing in the Shadows of Motown (which is fantastic BTW) on SHO. I would have been pissed cuz it looks like it was my last chance to record it. So, you want to call and bitch or should I? ;)

HBO-HD is now back on both channels so it wasn't on purpose that the one in the 200 range disappeared for a while.

I'm (optimistically) thinking that this and the problems reported with ESPN-HD last weekend was Comcast testing - or getting their equipment ready - for new HD channels in January (ESPN2-HD for one).

Originally posted by Markito
Interesting.
I too noticed yesterday (Sunday) that WCCO-HD was no longer in my "Favorites" line up. I too had to add it again. I don't know about the other stuff as I didn't look at the time.

Thanks for giving us all a heads up.
Good to see you around these parts again.

Since I had just gotten my HDTV, I actually ended up calling WCCO and talking to an engineer and he told re access the channels again.

He said that he had made some changes and Added program information to the 'Guide' - he did and it works!

Maybe I am fooling myself but I swear the 6412 SD Analog recordings have recently looked much better. They are now better than my SA Tivo analog channel recordings which is fed off a splitter placed before the 6412.

I use my 6412s exclusively for recording HD and SD Digital but last night just for the heck of it I recorded the Gopher hockey game off FSN channel 52 and it looked pretty good. In an a/b comparison with the SA Tivo the 6412 recording looked better. I do remember how disappointed I was with the 6208 analog so much so I bought a SA Tivo just so I could bypass the 6208 for analog viewing and recording. I didn't pay much attention to the improvement in analog with the 6412 because I was already used to watching analog on my SA Tivo. But just flippling around the analog channels last night with the 6412, they looked pretty good...much better than the 6208 and on a par with the SA Tivo tuner.

Any one else have a similar experience or does the PQ on the 6412 analog channels look the same as the 6208?

Originally posted by tall1
I use my 6412s exclusively for recording HD and SD Digital but last night just for the heck of it I recorded the Gopher hockey game off FSN channel 52 and it looked pretty good.

I was at the game a little early last night, and as they were getting ready to do their pre-game stuff I asked the cameraman when they're going to start using HD cameras in their telecasts. His response was that the HD cameras weren't that good yet (???) so it was going to be "a while." I just hope that he doesn't have any influence over their decision and they get it set up before he is expecting them to...hockey in HD really makes watching a lot more entertaining - you can see the puck better and the three dimensional aspect makes it more like being there.

Can't provide any input on the 6412's SD picture quality since I'm still using the 6200 (have two of them).

I am pretty sure the analog channels are now digital. I can't stretch the picture anymore on my sammy DLP when I tune to a 2-99 channel. If they are not, they sure look a whole lot better than a couple weeks ago.

I also noticed that the signal is better on the lower (supposedly analog) channels.

Originally posted by tall1
I am pretty sure the analog channels are now digital. I can't stretch the picture anymore on my sammy DLP when I tune to a 2-99 channel. If they are not, they sure look a whole lot better than a couple weeks ago.

Hmmm.... it's possible. Comcast could have added the digital simulcasts of the analogs and changed the STBs to point t to the new digital channels so to us we'd see nothing different as far as the channel line-up goes.

Probably a way to tell is to compare side-by-side an analog-only cable-ready TV picture against a digital STB picture. Any delay (out of synch)between the two would be the tip-off.

I just checked and there is a noticable delay between the 26 on my analog-only TV and my digital TV (Comcast 6412 STB). The analog is about a second ahead. It would make sense that the extra time is being used for the digital processing.

[Edit: I suppose the extra time COULD be for the buffering in the DVR too...]

Good catch if you are indeed right, tall1!

Originally posted by JBaumgart
[B]I was at the game a little early last night, and as they were getting ready to do their pre-game stuff I asked the cameraman when they're going to start using HD cameras in their telecasts. His response was that the HD cameras weren't that good yet (???) so it was going to be "a while." I just hope that he doesn't have any influence over their decision and they get it set up before he is expecting them to...hockey in HD really makes watching a lot more entertaining - you can see the puck better and the three dimensional aspect makes it more like being there. [B]

The real problem is, it's not just cameras that's needed -- it's a whole HD production truck that is required -- and they are a sparse commodity right now.

There are about 32 full-scale HD trucks in use right now. Unfortunately, none of them are based in the Twin Cities. Until FSN North commits to either buying or getting an exlusive lease deal with an HD truck provider HD content on FSN North will be minimal.

More trucks are coming on-line though - about 3 are added on average per quarter.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=311694&perpage=20&pagenumber=3

Has anyone else noticed that the Audio is all screwed up on TPT HDTV? This is Channel 34 OTA - 2.1

Yesterday there was an echo. Today it has gotten worse!

I noticed it to today. Audio is out of sync and dropping

I leave town (and my computer goes down too---anybody know a good place to fix a laptop's screen?) and all hell breaks loose! Digital simulcasts? Has anybody called Comcast and asked them about this?
If true, it sure will be nice to watch the Woofies in digital...if not HD

Originally posted by blitzen102
The real problem is, it's not just cameras that's needed -- it's a whole HD production truck that is required -- and they are a sparse commodity right now.

There are about 32 full-scale HD trucks in use right now. Unfortunately, none of them are based in the Twin Cities. Until FSN North commits to either buying or getting an exlusive lease deal with an HD truck provider HD content on FSN North will be minimal.

More trucks are coming on-line though - about 3 are added on average per quarter.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=311694&perpage=20&pagenumber=3


Are you saying Comcast has FSN North in HD? I thought only Time Warner has it? (and why would that be, are they sister companies?) I'd be willing to dump my directv when I can get comcast DVR in Lake Elmo instead of having to buy a $1000 TiVo for D*TV, and the occasional Twins game in HD would be an added incentive to switch.

Originally posted by lewie
Are you saying Comcast has FSN North in HD? I thought only Time Warner has it? (and why would that be, are they sister companies?) I'd be willing to dump my directv when I can get comcast DVR in Lake Elmo instead of having to buy a $1000 TiVo for D*TV, and the occasional Twins game in HD would be an added incentive to switch. Only TWC has FSN North. The thread strayed a bit OT and blitzen was responding to a post about regional sports in HD. If I had D*, this would be a huge deterrent to switching to Comcast...even more so than the DVR issue. I really wish FSN would go fulltime and comcast would pick it up. I have had HD since April and I have never watched nor had the opportunity to watch the twins in HD. The only time I've seen the wolves in HD on comcast was tape delayed on INHD. And nevermind the Wild but they too would be unavailable to me in HD if they ever play again.

Originally posted by JonM in MN
I leave town (and my computer goes down too---anybody know a good place to fix a laptop's screen?) and all hell breaks loose! Digital simulcasts? Has anybody called Comcast and asked them about this?
If true, it sure will be nice to watch the Woofies in digital...if not HD Hi Jon, not sure the 2-99 channels are digital but the PQ has improved a great deal. Don't you think? Who would I call if I wanted to ask them what changed?

Comcast carried about 3 or 4 four Wolves games from FSN HD at the very end of last year (just after TWC's ecxcusive carriage agreement expired) - Time Warner did not carrry these games.

FSN North HD is not a full-time channel - I'd call it a special events channel. It's only on for HD games and maybe the pre and post game shows. Most of the time it shows "Not Available" when you tune to it on TWC.

Originally posted by tall1
Hi Jon, not sure the 2-99 channels are digital but the PQ has improved a great deal. Don't you think? Who would I call if I wanted to ask them what changed?

Channel 96 (Bravo) has always been the worst analog for me. It looks pretty darn good now through my STB.

It's seems to me the analogs in overall look better but there are still a couple that look pretty bad.

You're talking FSN HD only, right? Or does Comcast not offer FSN at all full time? On D* we do get FSN north (and rocky mountain for some reason) and can subscribe to about 25 other FSN's and the like if we wish

Originally posted by lewie
You're talking FSN HD only, right? Or does Comcast not offer FSN at all full time? On D* we do get FSN north (and rocky mountain for some reason) and can subscribe to about 25 other FSN's and the like if we wish

Yes, I'm talking FSN North (Minnesota) HD. Comcast has FSN North SD full-time. Sorry, I've edited that post to make it more clear.

Originally posted by blitzen102
I just checked and there is a noticable delay between the 26 on my analog-only TV and my digital TV (Comcast 6412 STB). The analog is about a second ahead. It would make sense that the extra time is being used for the digital processing.

[Edit: I suppose the extra time COULD be for the buffering in the DVR too...]

I really believe it is due to the buffering. DVR's have a delay, so that you can control "live" TV.

Good to see everyone out and chatting here! Happy New Year to you all.:)

Originally posted by blitzen102
Channel 96 (Bravo) has always been the worst analog for me. It looks pretty darn good now through my STB.

It's seems to me the analogs in overall look better but there are still a couple that look pretty bad. Channel 96 is the food network, right? I don't know, I never watch it...makes me eat more. I am really curious why the analog PQ suddenly began to look better whether it is digital simulcast or comcast installed an mpeg2 encoder at the headend (I may be talking out my a$$ here) in preparation for digital simulcast? But I haven't read anywhere on avsforums of other folks experiencing improved PQ on analog except here in the twin cities.

My update on OnDemand...I never use it. Screwed around with it for a weekend but I can't find anything on there to watch. I guess if I hadn't subscribed to showtime and hbo for the past few years there would be plenty of new content for me to watch or if I had little kids the programming might be accessed more as an electronic babysitter. But with barely any HD movies, I don't find the OnDemand service valuable right now. Has anyone seen any HD from the NFL network on OnDemand? I thought that might be cool but none so far that I can see.

I haven't seen anything worth watching OnDemand either...

Yeah. I've watched a few things on HBO on an analog TV, but they are going to have to roll out a lot of HD, and FREE, before I am really excited. Love the concept, though. I suspect it'll be getting better.

hey i'd just like to thank comcast for not getting the kstp-hd deal done yet,

2 NFL games on today and nothing

comcast is a joke

i got it 2 months ago after moving from minneapolis to coon rapids, man i wish time warner would wipe them out

I'm not sure what's going on but my ESPN-HD on 6412 just saids

ONE MOMENT PLEASE
This channel should be available shortly.

It's working on my 6208 tuner. What's up? It's been this way for a while.

SonyHome, that exact same thing happened for three days in December. When I called them, they claimed I was only the second person to call, but it began on a Sunday, making it impossible to watch the football game in HD so that seemed odd.

My ESPN-HD is working this morning, so either the problem is fixed or it's localized. If you're still having the problem, I would definitely call right away to report it.

Originally posted by pimpzilla
hey i'd just like to thank comcast for not getting the kstp-hd deal done yet,

2 NFL games on today and nothing

comcast is a joke

i got it 2 months ago after moving from minneapolis to coon rapids, man i wish time warner would wipe them out

Why aren't you thanking KSTP?

Comcast was able to work out deals with the other major network locals....

Originally posted by cielo
SonyHome, that exact same thing happened for three days in December. When I called them, they claimed I was only the second person to call, but it began on a Sunday, making it impossible to watch the football game in HD so that seemed odd.

My ESPN-HD is working this morning, so either the problem is fixed or it's localized. If you're still having the problem, I would definitely call right away to report it.

cielo,
I called and they had me do a power cycle but it did not fix the problem. Called again and they are sending someone out. It's strange why it works on 6208 HD tuner but not on the 6412 tuner. I think I've had this problem for more than a week.

What model HD tuner do you have? Is anyone else having this problem?

When it happened to me, it was also on the 6412, but I no longer had a 6208 so I don't know if it would have affected that box too. They sent a signal to my box to no avail.

Eventually they sent someone out, but they never warned me that someone was coming. They came when only my teenager was home, and they told her they could not fix the problem since an adult was not home. Then, mysteriously, the problem corrected itself about a day later. I have no idea what they did to fix it.

Clearly, it occurs as a fairly isolated problem. Unfortunately, my experience sheds no light on how or why it happens or how to fix it. Let us know what happens. Good luck.

Originally posted by SonyHome
I'm not sure what's going on but my ESPN-HD on 6412 just saids

ONE MOMENT PLEASE
This channel should be available shortly.

It's working on my 6208 tuner. What's up? It's been this way for a while. I do not mean to make light of your problem SonyHome but I find it kinda quaint that the 6208 is able to receive ESPN but the 6412 cannot. For once the 6208 does something right. Just curious, why not swap out the 6208? For the same price you would get 2 tuners and 50% more disk space and a ton more stability (sans the ESPN problem). Good luck.

Originally posted by tall1
I do not mean to make light of your problem SonyHome but I find it kinda quaint that the 6208 is able to receive ESPN but the 6412 cannot. For once the 6208 does something right. Just curious, why not swap out the 6208? For the same price you would get 2 tuners and 50% more disk space and a ton more stability (sans the ESPN problem). Good luck.

Maybe I got the model # wrong for the 6208. I have the one without the DVR since I only need 1 DVR which is 6412. ESPN-HD was working on my 6412 at one point so I'm not sure what happened.